The Right to Choose

by Andrey Vasilyev

  Foundations of the Universe, a tome with Inquisitor approval, a multi-use buff (works for half an hour, can be used once a day)

  The next quest in the series

  Accept?

  Oh, damn it. The items were good, the money was, too, but the multi-use buff…that was a fantastic reward. I’d read about them, and they weren’t given to everyone. They were books, pieces of paper, or wafers that sat in your bag waiting for you to use them every once in a while, depending on how often you could. They were for individual use, too; you couldn’t steal, lose, or sell them. Even after death, they didn’t disappear. What am I going to do? I didn’t really have time to do the quest myself.

  “What’s on your mind?” Florence asked.

  “Master, I’m just thinking about how difficult this is going to be without a good helper.”

  “Okay, why don’t I give you one of my people? They’re fantastic!”

  “I know, but I need one of my people—this one right here, in fact.”

  “You’re hiding something,” Florence said, brushing his brow. “But why not? You can both do it.”

  Join Together is now a joint quest.

  Updated reward for beating all three stages of the quest:

  5000 experience

  10000 gold

  +14 to your friendship with the Rattermark Inquisition

  A magic weapon (random, at least elite)

  A magic piece of jewelry (at least rare)

  Title: Seer Through Land

  Accept?

  It was the wrong title. It should have been “Greedy Idiot.” I was still going to have to do the quest, even though the reward was laughable.

  “I’ll do my best,” Kro said, clearly pleased by the turn of events.

  I agreed, as well. What other option do I have?

  You unlocked the first stage of Join Together.

  Task: Find and collect the first part of the legendary sword.

  Reward:

  2000 experience

  3000 gold

  Scroll with Onward, Inquisitors, a one-time buff

  The next stage in the quest

  Accept?

  It was almost as if I had a choice.

  As usual, I had the quest, but nowhere to go. The only thing on my map was a red spot in the Western Mark the size of the Netherlands. At least, it was covering some familiar areas. The spot itself, on the other hand, was a bit odd—it was pale and dull.

  “How are things in general?” Martin’s face broke into the kind of smile you get from children and the elderly who are turning back into children. It’s a vulnerable, sincere smile.

  “All right,” Kro jumped in. “Same as everyone.”

  “That’s good.” Martin paused before continuing. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you. How’s my old treasurer doing? I hope, he hasn’t done anything unpleasant? It just turns out that he stole quite a bit from us.”

  I completely forgot about him. What’s his name? Romul? Yes, that’s it.

  “No, no,” Kro replied. “We don’t really have anything to steal as it is, so he’s fine. Ours is a humble beginning.”

  ***

  We left Florence about half an hour later. There was no point discussing any long-term plans with him, especially, since I’d already done that with Ranien. The fine old man was basically a British queen—there, but without much to offer. He could step out onto the balcony once a year and wave to the crowd. At least, he wasn’t going to be dying anytime soon; he was part of too many quests.

  Speaking of which, how do other players come find him? They were out there, players with Inquisition quests. Although, I guess it’s simple. Ranien needed to talk to me, but they probably let everybody go by without a problem.

  “Hey, I forgot about that rascal,” I said to Kro when we walked out. “Are we sure he isn’t going to embarrass us in front of the king?”

  “Don’t worry,” Kro giggled. “He tried to get money from the local treasury, saying that we were living here and protecting the castle and that we should, therefore, be getting cash for food, everyday expenses, and ammunition. That plan went very wrong, however.”

  “It did? What happened?”

  “The local treasurer is a ferocious guy even our crazy fairy stays away from. He pulled out an axe as big as Romul and offered to make Romul the castle’s main defender. If Romul won in a duel, the treasurer would give up the money; if he won, he’d stick Romul’s monstrous head on the castle wall to scare away aggressors.”

  “I can figure out how that ended.” I just wish I had been there to see it.

  “Oddly enough, he does have his uses,” Kro laughed. “I don’t know how, but he found us a great spot for a clan storehouse. It has two doors, it’s a corner room…it’s perfect.”

  “I’ll have to go check it out,” I said, thinking back to what the duel would have looked like—little weasel treasurer versus a monster gelt. Hilarious.

  “What were you and Ranien talking about? I saw your face, and you definitely weren’t talking about chicks.”

  “That’s another conversation,” I told her softly. “You’ll hear the whole thing once we’re outside.”

  I don’t know why, but I believed the inquisitor. To be honest, I’d never trusted Nazir too far, and I’d suspected that he was there both to protect me and to keep an eye on me. He would fight to the end and die for me, I knew, but that was only until he was given new orders.

  When we got out into the courtyard, I turned to him. “Nazir, find Flosi. He’s the ugly one with the matted hair and beard, the one who smells…unusual. Go ahead; nothing’s going to happen to me here.”

  He didn’t look happy to go, but he did.

  I quickly explained to Krolina what Ranien and I had discussed, and I was surprised to get her approval. I’d thought she would criticize me again.

  “Obviously, it isn’t an equal deal,” she said when I finished. “Land and protection cost more than that. On the other hand, they’ll keep the clan safe if something happens. We get that military aid, too.”

  “You go ahead and figure out a rendezvous, and then tell everyone where to run if the worst does happen. They’ll definitely listen to you. Make sure that happens soon, too.”

  “Got it,” Kro nodded. “Are you sure you don’t want to do your part, first? I could get everybody riled up just to have the king turn you down.”

  “He won’t. I have a couple good arguments in my back pocket.”

  “Are we brothers or aren’t we?” Kro laughed. “That’s not an argument.”

  “When I head over to the other side, to gelt heaven, I’ll say hello to his dad. That’ll do it; gelts are all dead serious when it comes to that kind of thing.”

  “Ah, I’m really not a big fan of that trip.” Krolina sighed. “There’s a catch somewhere. When are you planning to register your clinical death?”

  “The first, afternoon. Around two.”

  “Okay, I’ll be there. I’m planning to head to Kosh Castle that night, and then it’ll be dancing in Aegan until five. That’ll give me a chance to get some sleep before we meet at that boney psychic’s tent. Don’t go without me.”

  “I won’t.”

  “We can figure out our meeting on the second at the same time.” She had me. I’d been planning to write it off to not being able to get in touch with her. Damn it, I did myself in. I was going to have to ask permission from the bosses and make some story up for Vika. Damn it, damn it, damn it.

  “Okay, I’m off,” Kro said with a stretch and a yawn. “Oh, right! Hey, why didn’t you turn down that sword quest? You didn’t want it, right? Or was the reward so good that you forgot about your plans? Obviously, it got cut down, but at the beginning…”

  Right, like I’m going to tell you. All she would have done was let me have it for missing out on that multi-use buff both in the game and in real life. No, better lie.

  “No, nothing like that,” I replied casually. “Just nicer items and some more experience. I figured
, I spend so much time out and about, I might stumble across the sword pieces.”

  “Yes, that makes sense. I’ll do some digging online and see what the place for the first stage is. It’s underground, obviously. Did you see how dull the red spot is? That means it’s underground. Okay, Happy New Year! Although, we’ll see each other tomorrow. You’ll be here tomorrow, right?”

  “Yes, but I’ll be taking a trip.” There was no point telling her which.

  Krolina left and was replaced almost immediately by Nazir dragging Flosi, who as usual, was in a drunken stupor.

  “Flosi, you bastard,” I said with a note of affection in my voice, “I told you not to drink!”

  The toilet worked just snored louder and mumbled something. My voice had apparently broken into his dream, and it was there that he replied.

  “Girl!” Nazir barked so loudly that the gelt woman carrying a bucket of water past us nearly fell down the stairs. “Pour some of that on him.”

  The water was apparently cold since Flosi puffed up like a hedgehog, his eyes popped open, and he cut loose an awfully unpleasant string of curses. Then, he saw me and fell silent.

  “Yes?” I glowered at him.

  “Jarl,” Flosi replied, slamming his fist against his chest, “I just had a few glasses with the falconer. I didn’t want the kids to be afraid of thunder.”

  “Nazir?” I said to the assassin. “I want this drunk under lock and key in my quarters until tomorrow at eleven, when I want to see both of you right here. And he’d better be sober.”

  “You…” Flosi hiccupped, glancing at Nazir unpleasantly. The latter frowned and reached toward his sabers. “You’re bad. I don’t like you.”

  Yes, I’d decided to head north. There was no sense in wasting time. I didn’t have anything else the next day, and Vika would spend it in the beauty salons, probably with Zimin’s sister. That was great because it gave her something to do. But that left me out. I wasn’t going to watch TV or get drunk with Valyaev before the clock ever had a chance to strike midnight. That wasn’t for me. Things needed to move along in the game, anyway, and I wasn’t going to have much time after the holiday. Krolina’s coffee date was on the second, a conversation with Jeremiah was on the third, and the fourth… God, I don’t want to go to Kasimov.

  But I was going to have time the next day, so I decided I would go pay the könig a visit and see what he knew.

  Night had fallen, the courtyard lit with torches. Nazir pulled Flosi inside, and I listened for a while to my toilet worker clipping the walls as they went around corners and cursing sadly. Wondering at his rich vocabulary, I logged out of the game.

  ***

  Vika was home, but that wasn’t all—she was in a great mood. She kissed me when I crawled out of the capsule (the new model really was better; I didn’t feel the familiar pain in my back), and I could smell meat cooking in the kitchen.

  “Mmm,” I said, looking in that direction.

  “Pork chops,” Vika replied gravely, “on the bone, with a variety of trimmings.”

  “Woman, you’re a dream come true. Go ahead; ask whatever you want while I’m still hungry. Afterward, all the blood will go from my brain to my stomach.”

  “We-ell,” she said, looking away, “tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve, and it’s been a while since I got a haircut and everything else… I bought a new purse, today, too, and a bag and shoes…”

  What did I say? It’s always the same.

  Chapter Ten

  On how sometimes, you want one thing and get something very different.

  “Of course!” I told her. “Let’s have everyone drooling when they see you. Oh, and I don’t want to hear anyone saying that I don’t keep my word now!”

  “What do you mean?” Vika placed her arms on my shoulders.

  “Well, didn’t I promise you that you’d be going to a ball in a beautiful dress? Sure, this is more just a ballroom, but they’ll have five plasma screens in a row, at least.”

  “I believed you,” she replied, kissing my cheek. “You always do what you say you’ll do.”

  “Okay, what about those pork chops?” I could tell where the conversation was going next, and I didn’t like it in the least. I’d promised a lot as it was.

  “In the kitchen,” Vika said as she scrunched her lips up. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”

  I did exactly that before rushing off to the bathroom.

  “Okay, I’m going to wash my hands.” It isn’t running away if you have something elsewhere to do, and hygiene is important.

  It just wasn’t the right time. Us men are the ones who look for the right moment to broach a topic, steering things in the direction we need. Women are often much more direct. They skip out on all the superfluous fluff. Getting right down to brass tacks, they drive their defenseless and distraught man into a corner, finally dropping a supple net right over the top of him. Sure, if the frontal attack doesn’t look like the smartest option or they need money from the opposite gender, they can weave a web any spider would be jealous of, but that’s only when they’re on more unsteady footing or still in the honeymoon stage.

  “So, heading off the morning of the fourth?” Vika dropped a piece of steaming, delectably smelling meat onto my plate, which she was holding. “It’ll be getting dark by the time we get there. It’s a ways away. We don’t know what the weather will be like, either. What if there’s a snowstorm?”

  “I’d rather avoid that,” I replied as I slid my knife against my fork and swallowed the saliva forming in my mouth. “Driving in a snow storm is rough, no visibility, and—”

  “You didn’t answer the question.” Whole tomatoes, cucumbers, and a few pepper slices found their way onto my plate, as well. “Leaving on the fourth?”

  “Vika, I’ll talk to Zimin,” I said, waving my knife and fork at her as if telling her how much I wanted to just eat. “Seriously.”

  Vika held my plate up on her fingertips, circled it around, and looked at me thoughtfully. “I really shouldn’t give you anything to eat until I have a clear, coherent answer, but whatever. Go ahead and eat; I’m in a good mood today.”

  She placed the dish loaded with food in front of me.

  “That you are,” I practically sang, bending my head over the meat and breathing in the aroma. “May all your dreams come true.”

  “Excellent. Dig in, and then go talk to Zimin. Or just call him.”

  “Why so pushy?” I cut off the first piece of meat, speared it with my fork, thought for a second, added a slice of cucumber, thought for another second, and smeared some mayonnaise on the cucumber. “Today, tomorrow, it doesn’t really matter.”

  “If nobody hurries you, you’ll wait until the last minute. You take forever. In the meantime, my parents keep asking me if we’re coming, and I have no idea what to tell them. ‘He doesn’t know because he still hasn’t asked if they’re going to let us come.’ That sounds ridiculous.”

  “You’re right about that,” I said, tossing the food of the gods into my mouth.

  “Okay, okay, there’s no point talking until you’re done.” Vika got up and turned on the coffeemaker.

  I ate slowly. It wasn’t that I was trying to buy time; I was just thoroughly enjoying myself. It was warm, it was light, there was food. What else do humans need for happiness? Perhaps, for other people not to bother them with trivial problems…

  “Okay, I’ll go talk to him,” I said finally, taking a crust of bread and swabbing my plate clean. “We do need to know what’s going on. But if he says no, and it’s a real, firm no, I’m not going to push it. Arguing with him is a great way to shorten your life expectancy. I’m not interested in that outcome, no offense to your parents.”

  “You just be convincing, make sure he doesn’t say that,” Vika pleaded. “This isn’t just for me; most importantly, it’s for our parents. Remember how happy your mom was? My mom deserves to be just as happy. There isn’t a lot left in life for them, especially since Elina’s hopeless; all she care
s about are her games. For my parents, our visit is like a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m their daughter; you’re basically my husband and the father of our child.”

  “What?” Something whistled in my head, and then everything clicked. The freckles in winter, her feeling nauseous, the mood swings… A part of me whined wimpily about how she was just trying to trick me into doing what she wanted, but the Great Male Intuition, which always tells truth from fiction, was ringing loudly in my head. This is it, old boy.

  “Yep,” Vika said proudly, cutting my hopes off at the knees. “We’re going to have a baby, and why not? I didn’t even want to think about it at first since it would mean the end of my career, but I gave up on that pretty quickly. What’s a career? I can come back to that later. And we’re going to have a little boy…or a little girl. A little creature, with arms and legs…”

  I listened to all her outpourings and realized that she was right about one thing—it meant the end. Yes, I’d thought she was my best option, and I wasn’t against having kids in general, but not right then. It’s neither the time nor the place. Although, men never think it’s the time or the place…

  “When?” I interrupted Vika, who was pontificating about how adorable everything was going to be, eyes shining.

  She stared at me. “When what?”

  “Well…” I faltered. “The little boy…or girl. Although, a boy would be better.”

  “Whenever you make one,” Vika laughed. “You haven’t been pushing for it too much, recently. If you want, we can get to work as soon as you’re back from talking with Zimin.”

  The Great Male Intuition was wrong?

  “I mean, so you aren’t…” I can’t stand the banal, but all those phrases men have used from the beginning of time are hardwired into our makeup.

  “No,” Vika replied, even a little indignantly. “What are you talking about? I’m thinking about the future. But let me tell you this much; it would be a good idea to make that future a reality. I want to be a young mother, not one of those forty-year-olds.”