Source & Soul: A Deckbuilding LitRPG

I wiped my sweat-slick brow and stepped away from the mobile forge to catch my breath. The Queen's smith – a man named Flockson – dismissed the Lesser Fire Elemental he'd had heating the coals and began stowing his tools. I only had eyes for the card I – we – had just elevated.

"Power," little Hull grunted approvingly.

"Not exactly how I might have phrased it," Morgane said from my other side, "but I can't disagree."

My lips curved in a smile. My very first Nether card, and now it was Mythic. It was like coming home and finding a feast on the table and a chair made of gold to sit in.

I'd talked with Morgane about the versions of the card that Basil had shown me forever ago when we'd been walking to the Lows together, and he had agreed that the extra turns of protection were more valuable than making the Spell only destroy half my deck. The one-time card huckster was still as sharp as ever with deck construction and strategy, and I'd gladly welcomed his input when he'd wandered over wondering what I was up to with the smith. He'd been bemused to meet the younger version of me but had kept the obvious questions to himself, which I appreciated. He might not be the near-brother kind of fellow that Basil had turned out to be, but he was a solid friend. I almost felt bad remembering how much I'd hated him when we first met.

I'd only had time to elevate three of my cards, as the smith had said the Queen had already instructed him to pack up his things, but I'd made the time count. The man was a true genius, equally capable with Souls, Spells, or Relics in addition to his quick card-breakdown ability. The Legendary Death Soul I'd had him destroy had yielded three shards – thankfully, no one present felt any compunction about destroying Undead Souls – and for a moment I'd believed that might take some of my cards all the way to Legendary, but he'd thrown cold water on that idea from the start. At the highest rarity, the costs for elevation increased. My Legendary shards had only been enough to take three Epics to Mythic. Well, fine – I wasn't going to look a gift Undead in the mouth. Prior to elevating the Sucking Void, I'd had him work on another Soul for elevation. This one had taken extra shards, as I'd elevated it by two steps, not just one.

I'd been promising the pathetic creature I'd elevate him at the first opportunity. I'd been tempted to focus on my Talisman of Spite or Iron Maiden Plate instead, but I felt a responsibility to the Soul that had previously belonged to Mother. We were supposed to take good care of the Souls entrusted to us, Penkmun said, and I believed him. Well, he was a mean bastard now, and maybe he'd stop complaining. I wasn't even sure what Oversized meant, but I was only going to try to summon him when I was out of doors.

And, of course, there had been the elevation I'd done first, the one that had brought me running over to Flockson to begin with. My little guy, my other self. Morgane hadn't been present to advise me for that one, and I wouldn't have wanted him to be. I hadn't even asked Basil to view the card for upgrade paths. I'd wanted little Hull himself to have the final say on it, and he'd had very specific ideas. It had honestly been a little painful to unsummon him and hand the card over to the smith. I felt protective of him. Flockson, seeing my distress, had let me put more of myself into the process. I hadn't just spit onto the card while it was in the coals; I had talked to the little guy's card while he was in the middle of the elevation. I hardly even knew what I'd said, but when the card had come out of the coals all shiny and emerald-bordered, my face had been wet with tears.

He'd told me that all he wanted was to be stronger, to do more damage. I'd tried to guide him toward a more balanced approach, but he was adamant, and in the end, I'd decided to simply trust him and let him become what he wanted to become. Looking at his card after the fact, I was… proud of him. He would hit far harder than anybody his size had a right to, and while the addition of a Pay mechanic on his ability was less ideal on the face of things, the fact that it could be used whenever he took damage instead of just once a turn as it had been previously – not to mention doubling the damage! – more than made up for it.

I had summoned him back immediately to help me with the other elevations, and he was different than before. Still a mouthy little shit, of course, but he stood closer to me than he ever would previously. He rolled his eyes less. He gave me his opinion instead of sulking and going silent. He knew his name now, and strange as it seemed, that made more of a difference than anything. He was on my team now, at least partially. I didn't know how I was going to convince him to merge with my other card – or even how I'd accomplish such a thing once I managed to steal my other card back from Mother – but it no longer felt like quite the hopeless task it had been before.

"You sure you can't spare a little more time?" I asked Flockson, who was collapsing the metal walls of his mobile forge. "I've still got plenty of lesser shards."

He shook his head ruefully, his short gray hair still wet with sweat. "Be happy to once we're set up wherever we're going, but when the Queen speaks, I go. She's not one to wait patiently, and she's been my patron for more years than you've been living."

"Let me go talk to her," I said. "It might be less of a rush than you think."

He shrugged but kept packing. "As you please, young master. If she tells me to set back up, I will."

"Come on," I said to little Hull and Morgane. "Put on a good smile and let's see if we can sweet-talk royalty."

"You've never been within spitting distance of sweet talk," Morgane scoffed, "and your junior version makes you look like sugar pie."

"That's why we've got you," I said, tackling the stairs with all the energy my dying body could muster. "Just act like that poor boy who ended up in a tournament somehow and doesn't know anything about his cards, and she'll hand you the keys to the kingdom."

"It was a good strategy," he mumbled, grinning shamelessly. "I'd do it again if I could."

We reached the main hall with all the desks to find the Queen addressing everyone, a curious ball made of metal links held high over her head. "I had a hand in its creation, though my husband was the primary power source. My facility with Artifacts was a large part of our union. Once activated, this device will count down from five minutes, and we need to be outside the city walls before it detonates."

"Detonates?" I echoed, feeling slow. "You're going to set off a bomb?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Yes," she said gravely, "though not of a type anyone will expect. Anyone within a mile of this sphere when it goes off will experience an explosion in their Mind Home. It will strip every card out and do substantial damage besides. No one who lacks cards will be affected."

Basil grasped the situation far quicker than I did. "If we remove ourselves, our enemies in the palace and throughout the city will be the primary targets. Most townsfolk who have managed to hunker down and hide will be safe."

"Substantial damage," Lord Hintal said from the far side of the room. "How substantial?"

"Their heads will pop like grapes," the Queen said.

"Not my mother," I said, sighing. "She's powerful and tricky. You can bet she'll come out like a cockroach no matter how strong that thing is."

"I have accounted for that," she said. "Many of the highest-tier souls will have some kind of internal protection or simply be tough enough that they won't die. They will, however, be temporarily stripped of cards and surrounded by dead and demoralized underlings. That's why we will have an elite squad of duelists on standby right near the palace to swoop in and finish them off." She gave me a meaningful look, and I nodded wearily. Like it or not – half-dead or not – I was not finished fighting yet. Not by a long shot.

"Wouldn't any such duelists be dead or incapacitated themselves?" Esmi asked. The Queen's look of intent had taken in her and Basil in its sweep as well. As new Epics, they were prime candidates for something like this.

"They'll be sitting with the device," the Queen said. "So long as they've set themselves up somewhere unseen and safe, they can remove their decks from their Mind Homes before the detonation and have themselves back to fighting trim within seconds afterward. Then it's as simple as marching in and mopping up."

"Hang on," I said, my mind churning like cold mud. "Anybody with cards in their Mind Home will go boom?"

"Like a grape," Morgane echoed softly, sounding sick.

"We have to notify the remaining noble houses," Edaine said, concerned. "There are still several we haven't been able to reach. We do ourselves no good if we decapitate ourselves along with the enemy."

"Accounted for," the Queen said. "Every head of house, male and female, have Artifact pins that I made myself and that they are required to wear at all times." She gestured to Basil's dad, who thumbed an ornate pin on his sash with obvious pride. "One of my abilities allows me to speak through any Artifact I have had a hand in making. As soon as we disperse I will send a message telling any of them still holed up in the city to empty their Mind Homes as soon as possible and remain thus until nightfall."

My heart clenched painfully. "It's not just them" I said to the Queen, stumbling forward. "There are so many others out there. You'll kill them all."

She looked at me sternly, and I realized too late I shouldn't talk to royalty like that, but her voice was gentle when she spoke. "The city is lost, Hull. Our own dead multiply against us, and large engagements simply mean greater casualties. If we do not take this measure, we will be taken within the week, and all will be for naught. All of us among the leadership will go out to Gerard's troops and sweep back in with the might of the army behind us once the enemy's rank and file is destroyed."

"But think of how many of our own people this will kill!" I said, feeling desperate. "How many regular folks have a card or two just for their business or to protect their wares?"

"I will grieve for them," she said evenly. "And once the city is restored, those cards will bless the lives of others."

My guts went cold. I knew she was tough, but this was beyond that. This was something my father would have done. "I had combat cards handed out to every able-bodied adult in the Lows just days ago so they could defend themselves," I said, the words ashes on my tongue. "They'll all die."

Her lips thinned and she bowed her head. "You should have consulted me first. It will not be the last error of leadership you make in your life, young man, but you had best learn from it."

"But wait, wait, there's another way," I said desperately. "We talked to Hestorus in the in-between space. He said we could trigger an apotheosis tournament for control of the city."

"What is this?" she said sharply. All around, the rank and file of the City Watch murmured in disbelief. "Tell me quickly."

I sagged against a table. "It was when we left the palace…" My mouth was so dry. I was so tired.

Afi stepped up and put a hand on my shoulder. Taking over, she told the tale simply and without embellishment.

"Impossible," Edaine grunted when she was done. "We watched him die."

"And yet," the Queen said thoughtfully. "And yet." She tapped her lips. "He often suggested that he saw how the world worked differently as a Legendary." Her gaze swept over the rest of us who'd been involved. "She tells it true? You all attest to this?"

"On pain of death, Your Majesty," Basil said formally. "We would have spoken of it already had our arrival been less chaotic."

"Hmm," she said. "A tournament. An intriguing possibility. But the strength and rarity of soul is higher among those who oppose us than we can muster."

"There is one less Mythic among them," Basil said grimly.

"A feat I would love to laud as it deserves, young Basil," she said, sighing, "but between Yveda, Targu'Thal, and the remaining necromancers and vampires, we are still outmatched. Not to mention that the risk inherent in a set of one-on-one duels is far greater than that represented by a sneak attack that will undermine even their very strongest fighters. No. I appreciate the information, and I will wish to speak to you all at great length to be able to understand this post-mortal state my husband now occupies, but my command stands as it was given. We need someone willing to take the device near to the palace and trigger it from a place of safety."

I wanted to scream, to argue, to plead – but the Queen had spoken. She was wrong, but she was the one who got to decide. Only someone who had lived their entire life in a palace could think this was the right thing to do.

"I'll go," came an unexpected voice from the gallery overlooking the main floor. Looking up, I couldn't help but give a weak, derisive laugh. It was that turd Warrick.

"Warrick, I think this task may be beyond you," the Queen said shortly.

"You don't need a warrior for this," he insisted, his ugly voice wheedling. "And you said you'd send in fighters too, didn't you? To do the dirty work once the bomb has gone off? Please, Your Majesty. I want to do something useful. Everyone else has an important task. I, too, wish to protect the city."

She grimaced. "You will be accompanied. And protected. You will have to obey those who go with you without question. Can you do that?"

"I can," he said, coming down the stairs. "I have a boon to ask, as well."

"In a moment," the Queen said. "Hull, Basil, Esmi, Afi, attend. Edaine, Lord Hintal, and I must find a way out of the city to join the army and help direct its movements. I call on you to be our strike force."

"Afi should take you to safety," I said. My mind was racing. I had to do something, but I couldn't just make a scene or storm out.

Afi, who was still holding onto my arm, tightened her grip and gave me a frown.

"I mean it," I said to her. "You can get them out to Gerard without any danger." I lowered my voice. "And then you'd be safe too."

It looked like she wasn't sure whether to be touched or annoyed, but after a moment she seemed to think of something and said, "At your service, Your Majesty, as you see fit. Might I be allowed to fetch my parents while we're at it?"

"I'll allow it, " the Queen said. "I must confess I wish to see how this Mind Home traveling works. An ideal solution. Will you other three be able to keep Warrick safe and also get to the enemy leaders quickly?" She speared me with a look. "More importantly, Hull, will you be able to face your mother and do what is necessary?"

I straightened. "No worries on that count. The world would be a better place with one less Yveda in it."

She stepped close and spoke quietly. "I am sorry for your people, Hull. It is for the best."

I didn't trust myself to speak. I simply clenched my fists and nodded.

"Let us be about it, then," the Queen said to the room. "We must move quickly. Warrick, to me. I will show you how the device is activated, and we can speak of your boon."

The room burst into noise and activity, leaving Basil, Esmi, Afi, and I alone in its center.

"I don't like this," Afi said quietly. "I should be going with you. Even if I can get my parents out, most everyone I knew growing up will die."

"My father never wears his pin," Esmi whispered, looking frightened. "How will he know? I can't let him die."

Basil clasped her hands, looking ill. "I think also of all the common folk who will perish not even knowing that we are winning the day." He sighed. "Can we truly go through with this?"

"Not going to happen," I said very quietly.

"What?" Esmi asked, taking me by the elbow. "You have an idea? Speak. Whatever it is, we'll listen."

Basil bobbed his head emphatically, and Afi did the same. Morgane, who'd been listening, gulped and shrugged. They all looked to me.

"We're going to go with that little shit Warrick, but we're not going to let him use the bomb," I whispered. "We're going head straight for the throne room to get the herald card the way Hestorus said, and we're going to trigger the apotheosis instead." I thought of Roshum, of Naydarin, of Harker. Of Bryll. "We're not letting all the regular people in this city die."