The Way of the Clan 8

by Dem Mikhaylov

  “Stone hail!”

  The punishment fell from the sky— a double stone hail beat over the street, knocking over the roofs, through the ruins of the fortress, and along the backs of the lagoons.

  With a motion of my hand, I covered the area of the street next to us with poisonous thorny shrubs. It worked – the four furious ants flew into the thorns. The armored creatures were dealt little damage by my poisonous thorns, but this was not the main idea - the ants had slowed down, becoming lost in the poisonous jungle.

  “We continue moving. Go forward,” the leader gave the next order, and the detachment began to move across the intersection.

  Ten seconds later, we left the battlefield behind us. And the giant ants. We moved on, towards the new enemy. We moved to the center of Mirny, to the dead, giant citadel. In order to get me there as soon as possible, the paladin chose to avoid deadly, dangerous streets encounters. He decided to push on, straight to the goal.

  Spells were cast. The Lagras running after us were falling, one by one, and disappearing in a gray flash.

  “Attention!” The crossbowman shouted, this time his voice much more alarmed. “Aggrs to the right! Aggrs! I saw three of them, nicknames red as blood, but could not see the levels. This is a clan.”

  “Be more precise!” Malice straightened up. “Point in the direction.”

  “There!” He jabbed his finger to the right, directly towards a few buildings, which now seemed like a sandy labyrinth.

  "Did they spot us?"

  “Yes! And went immediately into one of the houses!”

  “Should I give over leadership?” Asked Ahn.

  "Continue to command. And lead us to the goal,” ordered Malice, taking out a few bottles from his richly decorated bag. “Do not forget about the magic shields! We did not activate them yet ...”

  "It is done!" – responded the girl.

  “Ahn,” Malice looked at the Paladin like a praying mantis at a fly. “We are going to the fortress - we have to pass them, without stopping. No delay.”

  "We will go like a hot knife through the butter!" Promised the paladin.

  “Right. Show me…”

  “Speed up movement doubly! We change the fighting order to nine! All dismount!”

  "Nine" was a strange construction in the form of a lopsided circle, and Malice and I were again in the center. I could not understand the benefit of such a fighting order - but I was sure that the paladin knew what he was doing. Another thing that was interesting — all players now were walking in pace. All except Malice and me. In the front was Ahn, with his menacing, stunning silver club. Behind our backs went the abandoned camels, roaring bitterly. One of the players waved his hand, and yelled something guttural. Ships of the desert ran from the intersection to the left, right through the melting ice field, past collapsed houses of Lagras, where under the wreckage was moving something very large.

  Now we could only hope. And we were going fast. We were almost running.

  "Three to the left! Mars! Nyusha in the center! Come on!”

  Aside from "Nyusha" I did not understand anything. So I looked on with great curiosity. The soldier on the right, Red Mars, was now ahead of us, had the pipe of the magical “bazooka” on his. A whistle filled the ears, and a narrow hole was formed in the center of the fortress. Fragments flew in all directions. The fortress swayed, but it stood firm.

  “Intact,” angrily barked Anh. “Two meters lower. Come on!”

  The warrior sent the bullet of Nyusha on the rocks lower. There was a whistle — a ringing in the ears — a sharp vibrating squeak. And then, the shaking fortress sank heavily down.

  "One meter to the left! Lika! Spot of Darkness! Into the hole! Three times! And immediately five more to the right! Come on!”

  Three strikes of branched lightning hit the through hole, the gray electrical discharges running along the stone. The house cracked further, and pieces of walls flew down.

  "Two land mines to the door! And immediately one more to the left! Ani! Use shine!”

  Massive boulders flew at the battered house. Scrolling through themselves again, the group once again put the paladin at the head. After a moment, we rushed into the door. Above us, a bright magical light lit up, revealing the giant ants. The soldiers used their weapons to strike the Lagras raging around them. I saw only flashes, and clawed feet flashing before my eyes. The yellow glow pulsing in the bellies of the frenzied monsters. Then, the ceiling crumbled. The floor under our feet crunched and broke apart— we were stepping on the eggs of the ants. Our legs were covered with a whitish-yellow liquid, and something tiny was writhing, with a shrill squeal, in the spreading puddles of mucus. We were in a horror film — and then back out again, into the sunny desert.

  “Ros! Thorn forest! Behind us!”

  Twisting around, I began to plant thorny plants. The Lagras literally howled with rage. Still – I understood. Imagine if a strange man would go and plant a ficus in the middle of your kitchen, for example. I would also be angry. And so, hoping that the creatures would not reach me, I continued to plant brambles. The fortress began to resemble the greenhouse of a madman.

  "Two land mines on the wall!"

  The magician was happy to come through, and the rear wall of the fortress was blasted. But it was not enough for Anh.

  “Stone hail! And put an ice field behind us! Ros! Thorn forest!

  We left bramble and chaos behind us. The street turned into a frozen jungle, and a merciless stone hail beat from above. The escaped Lagras rushed among all the magical horror, trying to save the eggs from the fortress.

  "Forward two hundred meters!" The crossbowman said, pointing forwards, diligently extinguishing the joyful note in his voice.

  “Get ready, Ros,” grumbled Malice, pronouncing his words between sips— the combat magician was drinking the contents of several bottles, pouring various suspicious liquids down his throat. “Remember! The black swirl! And don’t pay any attention to us.”

  “Got it,” I answered shortly, checking again my elixirs for mana and life. The crucial moment. I could not die.

  We crossed the two hundred meters before we knew it. And then we saw the quicksand— a sandy, two-colored field entirely covered with dozens of whirlpools. They were moving at various speeds — and here and there, stone islands were scattered, seeming to be the only solid ground.

  “Just like the swamp again,” I sighed, remembering vividly the Marsh of Ravendark. Looking back now, that swamp seemed to be a light Sunday stroll.

  “Ready?” Asked Malice impatiently.

  "Born ready!" I answered, and jumped a mile and a half, landing directly onto a doorframe, which was lying flat. I had to balance - my feet on either side of the door, and my heroic crotch above the doorway, skimming over the unsteady sand. And beneath it was a whirlpool - right now, this portal could send me to some other magical land of Wonders. Or perhaps, someone else could open the door and pull me in… in any case, I did not stop. I hurriedly jumped forth, this time ending up on the ledge of a small turret with a pointed roof drowned in the sand, a spire adorned with shabby scraps of a banner.

  An old copper bell swayed under the roof. Quite small, and brightly polished – this was logical, the sand here was a natural buffer. I could not resist, reached out my hand, and tugged at the bell. With a plaintive ringing, it broke off — and then I had it in my hands. The thing was no less than twenty pounds. Thanks to my greedy instincts ... throwing the object into the bag, I kept going. And just in time - the tower began to sink silently into the whirlpool, completely disappearing into the sand. As if the bell served as a floatation device and, as soon as I tore it off, the tower sank.

  Exclamations were heard behind me. Turning around, I saw a real nightmare on the street of the village - a wave of sand, interspersed with stones and Lagras, reaching a height of about five meters and swiftly moving towards all who stood in its way.

  I had made a mistake.

  After another jump towards another s
tone, half drowned in the sand, I turned again and saw the player whose class I could not determine at the beginning of the trip.

  The player with the nickname Ehos Reborn scooped up a handful of sand and let it go in the wind. The sand he tossed over his head became a swirling sand vortex. The player put up his hand, pointed at the sand-wave rolling towards him, made strange movement with his hands, as if scooping something from the air, and then I saw his fingers move as if he were making something from invisible clay.

  The sand tornado shuddered and heavily subsided, came to the side, closed up again, and unexpectedly took the form of a giant sand head. Shoulders appeared, and then a powerful torso. The player Ehos brought his hands together, bent like a rugby player, and leaned his shoulder and hands in an invisible barrier. This same pose was repeated by the giant golem, who was blinded by the sand. The magical creature rested its feet on the pavement, striking its shoulder into the fortress of the Lagras.

  Ehos swung his arm and pounded his fist in the air - the magically connected golem repeated the blow, and I opened my mouth in astonishment when I saw the stone structure sway, slamming its doors and narrow windows... several Lagras flew from the tower.

  Recovering, I looked up from the spectacle, shook my head.

  Another jump...

  I found myself on the shoulder of a stone statue of a knight with a spear proudly raised to the sky. The face of the warrior was hardly there - the sand had ruthlessly stolen his eyebrows, eyes, and nose. There was only the half-grin of the blinded knight ... what horror...

  I jumped on. Behind me, the giant sand monster began to hammer the walls of the houses with his fists. And he punched with the speed of an experienced boxer, something like stone "gloves" on his sandy arms. A yellowish acid jet shot from the houses, sparkling in the rays of the sun. A huge fireball flashed, enveloping the golem with flames. And then, an explosion...

  Jump. I found myself standing on a cracked "dead" rebirth location. Next to a tiny empty shop. A good place to sit, to watch a sandy field whirling around you in an endless dance ... But I did not have time to sit. I jumped on, not forgetting to look behind me. And with great dismay I saw that the golem was literally blown to dust - swirling clouds of sand were mixed with the smoke. And at the feet of Malice lay, without motion, Ehos. The rest of the fighters were throwing steel and magic attacks at the enemy. They were restraining the enemy against all odds.

  Jump…

  I was balancing on one leg, swearing at myself for such a stupid act – it was a miracle that I did not miss it. One wrong move and I would have fallen into quicksand. Looking around, I realized that I had almost reached the center of the former Mirny square. Many stone islands surrounded me and between them, whirlpools of bicolor sand were spinning.

  I saw the yellow funnels. And black and yellow ones, too. It was not that which caught my attention. I stared at the black whirlpools for a while. Some of them had yellow within them, as promised. Behind me, I heard the clanking of weapons. There were explosions, warning screams, the furious crackling and squealing of the lagans.

  I closed my eyes and lowered my eyes, waiting five seconds, counting the time to myself. Then I opened them and began to look, but then I froze in amazement - right at my feet was a small, black funnel of quicksand. I peered closely - but did not see a single yellow grain of sand. Could it be that my accidental jump onto the tiny hummock had brought me straight to the goal? That never happened to me. It was too easy. But there was no yellow sand! Not a grain! I must decide - either to skip and look further, or to make the jump...

  I did not hesitate for a long time. Not alerting anyone, not shouting anything. This was my decision. Exhaling deeply, I crossed my arms over my chest and stepped into the whirlpool.

  The black tornado happily took me into a disastrous embrace. My legs failed. My body sank slowly beneath my feet. And then it went a little slower when only my head showed above the sand - as if they were giving me the opportunity to enjoy the sunlight for the last time. And then, as if someone had pulled down my feet - I was swiftly pulled down, my face was covered with sand, and darkness closed around me...

  I panicked – it felt as if I were being buried alive. My body twitched like a puppet’s. I felt like a piece of corn dragged through twisting underground passages by some mole. I was pulled from side to side. I fell somewhere, and then rose again. And them, a red timer counting the amount of air I had left flickered before my eyes. It did not have time to reach zero. A final jerk and I was thrown onto some hard surface. Carefully opening my eyes, I realized that I was lying on an ancient stone floor, a mysterious purple glow spreading around me. The stalls were visible. The sand from my body was floating away from my body, and crawling back to the doorway, behind which a black sandy wall was rising up.

  Turning my head, I saw a niche in the wall and an ugly stone statue standing inside it.

  “So ...” I said. “It seems I have arrived ...”

  Chapter Five.

  Sanctuary. Do not drink the water – you could fly away…

  Standing up proudly, I looked carefully around. But really, there was no need to look around with suspicion - there are hardly any copies of a hidden sanctuary with a stone image carved from scarlet sandstone. I was definitely in the right place.

  Somewhere deep underground, although I could have been teleported to the top of a mountain. Rustling sand beyond the doorstep says nothing. This is Valdira. Here everything could be turned upside down. But it did not matter - I was not brought here not by the thirst of the researcher, but by the thirst for profit. I longed for an increase in mana as much as a drunkard, stricken by the morning's hangover, craved a sip of vodka.

  The figure of the statue was amazingly disproportionate. The legs were short. The hands were long, the palms too wide, actually resembling a ladle. The belly was stuck out, and a precious stone gleamed in the navel. I would not try to dig it out. I would not touch him, though it was tempting. Its loins chastely covered with a stone loincloth. Its ears were elongated and, amazingly, they were forked at the top, and the fleshy earlobes surpass all reasonable limits, from one lobe can beef broth for the whole family to cook. The nose was like a potato, the two nostrils were turned outward and each so large that you could thrust your index finger in search of "gold." By the way - the nose was partially hanging over the ladle of his hands.

  Lord! Do not think about snot in the palm of your hand… do not think about the snot in your hands, do not think about snot in your hands ... damn it! But he could have just sneezed in his hands…

  Do not think about sneezing into hands, do not think about sneezing into hands...

  Who invented a statue with such a nose and such a pose?

  Shaking my head, I shook the sand off my shoulders, and shook it from my sleeves - and the sand immediately crawled away to the doorway. Enough of stupid thoughts and unnecessary scrutiny. Let us begin. The water?

  One large step was enough. It brought me close enough that I saw a thick black liquid shimmering at the bottom of his palms. It splashed like oil, and it was a little thick, covered with a shiny film. In a word - in my right mind, I would not drink this. But I would drink. I took another decisive step, leaned over the hands, put my hands behind my back – as to not touch something unnecessary - closed my eyes so as not to see the color of the future "drink", extended my lips, touched my lips with black liquid and drank with all my heart. I sucked in precious liquid greedily. I take a sip at the mouth with a magic elixir. I had already made too many sips, but the liquid did not end. At last, my lips touched the moist stone. Before my closed eyelids flashed a crimson flash. Sharply opening my eyes, I looked into the hands and was dumbfounded - I was not slurping black liquid! Oh no! Now I was finishing something that most resembled hot liquid lava! Lava was splashing in the palms of the idol! I finished the remnants of the changed drink, raised my head, and heard a strange crunch.

  And I froze in a complete stupor...

  A star.


  A couple of centimeters from my head hung an ancient five-beam guard star. A soft pearly glow spread around us. One beam of the star glowed purple-red, and was directed straight at the hands of the statue. Therefore, the neck of the bottle was aimed at the bowl...

  Had the star dripped something in? Or had it irradiated my "milk" neutrons, and now hooves would grow on my back?

  Convulsively swallowing, I stroked my stomach with my palm. The incomprehensible drink splashed in my digital stomach.

  "I-I-I ..." I said cautiously, looking at the waiting star.

  And at that moment in my chest a scarlet glow appeared, quickly spreading in all directions. It was lit up and immediately extinguished. The frozen game system died out, and the lines of information flashed before my eyes. I did not have time to read anything - a black wave roared in the doorway and, with a mad rush, swept into the sanctuary like ocean water through a hole in the ship's hold. I was overwhelmed by the black wave, knocked off my feet, and sand began to cover over my head. A temporary timer flashed alarming red.

  There was a bright fiery flash, a blowing of the wind. The black sand literally swept out of the sanctuary, but instantly rushed back. Twisting around its axis, the ancient star struck a broad white beam upward, straight to the stone roof. The roar nearly deafened me. I was hoisted up. Writhing, I tried to figure out how to get out of the trap. There was another blow of light, and the tearing sand in the sanctuary. A sharp brightness, and then I again were knocked off my feet - this time by the guardian star, which literally rolled under me and picked me up. Then it lurched upwards sharply. We flew upwards. And beneath us, a raging black sand continued to roar in rage, seeking to catch up with us and swallow us up.

  “A-ah-ah-ah!” I yelled as the guard flew up. Everything was going too fast, everything was spinning before my eyes. But I had time to see how, from the center of the former Mirny square, a huge black tornado broke out. Swirling wildly, sucking in all that was around and getting bigger in every moment.

  There was another jerk, and my hands slipped. I fell, issuing a new wild cry, which abruptly breaks off when I stuck my head into a sandy slope. The height I fell was small, and so the flight was short-lived. For a second, I was like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand. Then I hastily corrected myself, tearing it out of the mound of sand.