grandgame

Runeguard Epilogue (Book 1)

Added 2025-01-10 12:00:04 +0000 UTC

Al-Takor closed his eyes, savoring the intense heat of the gelatid crystals he was submerged in. He had missed such pleasures while traipsing by ship around the galaxy.

Thank the Creators I don’t have to do any of that anymore, he thought. He had found not one, but two, species for the emperor’s armies.

He smiled a deep, intense smile of self-satisfaction. The emperor was best pleased with his efforts, and Al-Takor was sure he would soon be richly rewarded.

The doors to his chambers swished open, and his seneschal stepped in.

“My apologies for disturbing you, Highness,” the servant said, “but there is a naval officer here to see you.”

Al-Takor’s eyes narrowed. “I asked not to be disturbed.”

The seneschal bowed. “The captain insisted on seeing you, Suzerain.”

“Insisted?” Al-Takor inquired in a mild tone that belied the anger quivering beneath his voice.

The seneschal bowed again, sensing the danger. “The captain has an urgent report to deliver regarding the Proving Grounds and one of the empire’s latest assets: the humans.”

Al-Takor closed his eyes. He did not want to deal with matters of state right now, but the tranquility of his bath had already been disturbed, and if this matter touched on the war… “Send him in,” he said.

The seneschal disappeared and returned a moment later with the captain.

“Speak,” Al-Takor ordered with his eyes still closed.

There was a drawn-out moment of silence. Al-Takor almost smiled as he sensed the captain’s unease, but he did nothing to relieve it.

“I have received a report from the Sector 52 administrator, Suzerain,” the captain said eventually.

Al-Takor waited, still saying nothing.

The captain’s discomfort deepened, and he shifted restlessly before going on. “A human has gained the Essence of Rune.”

Al-Takor’s eyes snapped open. Impossible.

He surged upwards and out of his bath, nakedness be damned. Ignoring the dripping gelatid crystals, he stomped up to the naval officer.

“I’m not sure, I heard you correctly, Captain,” Al-Takor said, his voice pleasant despite his bared teeth. “Repeat that.”

The captain’s swallow was audible, but Al-Takor could derive no pleasure from his subordinate’s terror, not anymore.

His own fear was exploding.

“A human player has found and installed a Rune Essence,” the captain stuttered.

Al-Takor’s head snapped forward, placing dripping fangs an inch from the captain’s naked throat. “How is this possible?”

The captain licked his lips nervously. “I don’t know, Highness,” he replied. “I checked the sector administrator’s subroutines for the directive myself. Directive 52-24 was implemented exactly as you requested.”

Spinning on his heel, Al-Takor turned away and paced the carpeted floors. As much as he wished to, he couldn’t blame the captain. The System had a mind of its own sometimes.

Al-Takor hid a grimace. Despite the best efforts of all their scientists, the empire’s control of the Proving Grounds was imperfect at best. But that wouldn’t stop the emperor from laying the blame for this mess squarely at his own feet.

Al-Takor couldn’t afford to let his liege find out.

He eyed the naval officer. The dear captain would have to die. But not yet. “Do we know which human carries the Essence?” Al-Takor asked.

Relief suffused the captain’s face as he realized he was not to be executed. “No, Highness. The sector administrator’s logs contain no mention of the player’s identity.”

“Find out,” Al-Takor ordered. “Scan all the sector logs if you have to, terminate the sector administrator if necessary, but do whatever you must to get me the name of the player. Understood?”

“Yes, Suzerain,” the captain replied, abasing himself in gratitude for his continued existence. With slow careful steps, the naval officer began to withdraw from his superior’s presence.

“One more thing,” Al-Takor said, stopping his subordinate’s retreat. “You will keep this to yourself, won’t you?”

The captain bobbed his head vigorously.

“Good,” Al-Takor said, waving his hand in dismissal. “Don’t disappoint me again, Captain.”

The doors swished closed as the captain left, but Al-Takor did not hear them. His thoughts were awhirl with how to deal with the disaster that had befallen him.

And just exactly who he would have to kill to keep it a secret.

✵ ✵ ✵

The End.

Here ends the first book in the Annals of the Runeguard.

If you enjoyed the story, you’re sure to like my other series, The Grand Game—it’s at 7 books and counting!

Finally, can I please ask you to let other readers know what you thought of the story? Every review matters!

Click here to leave a review.

Happy reading!

Tom Elliot.

Dace’s Profile

Player Profile: Dace Tolman

Level: 10. Health: 300 / 300 HP.

Stamina: 300 / 300 SP. Mana: 30 / 150 MP.

Species: Human. Essence Points: 6 EP.

Remaining Lives: 3.

Base attack: 7 (with warhammer).

Base defense: 60 (with large steel shield).

Classes

Guardian, a tier 2 Class.

Nodal Capability

Max Nodes: 17. Total Occupied: 13 / 17.

Available Essence Nodes: 0 / 17.

Class Reserved: 4 / 17.

Occupied Nodes

Strength, tier 1 Essence: 16.

Dexterity, tier 1 Essence: 10.

Constitution, tier 1 Essence: 30.

Life, tier 2 Essence: 17.

Channeling, tier 1 Essence: 15.

Perception, tier 1 Essence: 6.

Rune, tier 4 Essence: 1.

Guardian, tier 2 Class: 1.

Skills

Strength: swords: 16, heavy armor: 16, mining: 10, hammers: 10, armor synergy: 5.

Dexterity: evasion: 10, sneaking: 10, daggers: 10, herbalism: 10, light armor: 10.

Constitution: recovery: 28.

Life: restoration: 17, life magic: 16, life resistance: 0, spirit expertise: 12.

Channeling: regeneration: 14, spirit link: 12.

Perception: scouting: 1, insight: 6, detection: 6, weapon-throwing: 6.

Rune: runic lore: 1.

Active Abilities

Life: lesser heal, lesser bless.

Guardian: spirit guard.

Current Effects

-55% to life magic skills from 10 items.

-60% to all other magic skills from 10 items.

-50% to dexterity skills from 6 items.

+2 heavy armor skill from 2 items.

Equipped

leather armor set.

steel armor set.

steel warhammer and large steel shield.

2 x steel throwing axes.

1 x large backpack.

3 gold, 3 silver, and 0 copper coins.

Backup Contents

4 x beef jerky strips.

15 x travel rations.

2 x water canteens.

1 x pickaxe.

1 x hatchet.

1 x shovel.

1 x fire starter.

Bank

Available slots: 1 small, 7 medium.

Slot S1: 3 x rebirth tokens.

Slot M1: 12 x steel daggers.

Slot M2: 27 x lesser mana potions

Slot M3: 2 x lesser heal potions.

Slot M4: 150 x sheets of paper.

Slot M5: 1 x ink and pen.

Slot M6: 1 x lesser wisp summoning scroll.

Slot M7: empty.

Affiliations

Guild: Soldiers of Ruin (guildmaster).

Faction: Humanity Rising (founder).

Faction officers: Evelyn Martins (governor), Everett Longmire (guard captain), Alexis Womack (treasurer), Juyorah Kladis (factor), Bayan Storm (sheriff).

Achievements

First level 10 player in Creche 1050.

First clearance of A Swampy Place dungeon.

First player with a tier 4 Essence in Sector 52.

Open Tasks

Creche Task 06: Become a Runelord.

Creche Task 08: Learn the Rune of Life.

Creche Task 09: Establish your Province.

Night’s Profile