The Way of the Clan 8

by Dem Mikhaylov

  Hmm ... but what about Bom? I was very interested in how things were going with him. I would drop by the bank, and then the hotel, and from there, onward to the real world. There I would go to my computer and figure out everything, including info about the bell.

  I could not resist — my lips stretched in an anticipating smile. My land adventures are over...

  Soon, very soon - the Great Sea Trek would begin.

  Tonight we go on the trip to the ancient lost mainland Zar'Graad!

  The end of the first part.

  Part two.

  Prologue.

  Silence awaited me at home. And emptiness. Empty rooms, and muffled light in the corridor.

  But this was not loneliness. No. This silence was cozy, the silence of a full house. Though it was quiet, it did not mean that no one was here.

  Looking into the bedroom, I found Kira asleep. Cozily curled up in bed, she was hugging the pillow, her head almost covered completely with a blanket. The sweet snoring of a brave paladin. Knowing her temper, I am sure that my father was already rescued from the digital prison, redeemed in the court, brought to the hotel and shown how to leave the world of Valdira.

  Alternatively — and it seems for me somehow more likely — the father is still wandering around the colorful magical world. And he looks not like being a severe, experienced sea wolf — instead, a young man with a mouth gaping in amazement.

  Valdira was so easy not to leave.

  Visit it only once and a part of your soul would remain there forever. And you will have to come back again and again, strive to stay there as long as possible - and all in order to feel yourself living life to the fullest, finding your friends and going on another incredible adventure ...

  Just as I would do. In two hours. And for now ... I would just sit on the edge of the bed, holding the hand of the sleeping girl and looking at the wall.

  I will sit before the journey.

  A good-luck ritual well known to many - before the big road, we sit for a minute, gather our thoughts, calm down ... and here, in the peaceful dusk of our bedroom, I was ready to sit for two whole hours. But was is better to close my eyes, to take a nap for an hour and a half. Necessary to defuse the brain. I had a hunch that the first part of the night, my first watch, would be difficult…

  Kira muttered something, and squeezed my hand tight. Was she being disturbed by virtual dreams sneaking into the real? What is she dreaming of? In recent days, she had somehow became quiet, had changed a little. And at times, on the contrary, she became incredibly happy. Was it exhaustion? Bending down, I listened to Kira's sleepy babble:

  “Mama Lena, do not kill him ... no, I do not want it ... if anything, we will name…”

  And again there was silence.

  Thoughtfully scratching my cheek, I pulled my fingers out of Kira's grasp reluctantly, cautiously stood up, and headed for the shower. I will shower, eat a couple of cans of canned fruit, and then I will get into bed as to embrace my trouble better. Take a good nap...

  Gold Colossus ...

  Oh, good golden fellow! Why did you destroy our ships? Why did you come to life as a golden rock, a crooked rock? You brought us to ruin ... Oh, do not distress, do not pull your hair from the top of your head, do not cry so bitterly, but do not beat your head with a stone on the shore...

  Indeed, some of these words were shouted by the members of the Salted Rigging clan in the moments when, among the ship's junction in the peaceful bay, a giant golden colossus rose from the bottom of the sea, and began to tear the warships to pieces. Of course, all the exclamations quoted were thoroughly edited by valiant journalists of the Bulletin of Valdira in order to omit bad words. Especially those of them which had to do with the precious relatives of the golden colossus...

  In essence - a real tragedy broke out in the peaceful bay! The raging monster destroyed many ships, left only the broken hopes of seafarers …

  However, we should pay tribute to the Salted Rigging clan - they reacted to the sudden aggression very quickly, starting to divert the surviving ships to the side, and attacking the golden colossus with all available weapons and magic. The giant monster was successfully destroyed, many ships were saved, and most of the precious cargo was taken from the water. Congrats to the heroes!

  Endless holiday...

  The bog creatures from the great lake of Naykal crossed all boundaries of permissible merriment. Both in scope and in time period. Their violent festival for the glory of the goddess of the Snessa has been going on for many days and does not look like it is going to end. The drunken revelry of the watery people was witnessed in many coastal villages, literally overwhelming them with a wave of alcohol and merriment. They are dancing everywhere, Braga flows like a river, and fishing boats are staying still, the empty network sway in the breeze…

  Let us hope that soon they will end their famous rendezvous and everything will return to normal. In the meantime, we do not advise residents of the Lake District to be surprised at the soaring prices for freshwater fish. There is nothing to catch ... everyone drinks and dances. And the editorial office of Valdira's Bulletin was forced to send a group to search for three missing journalists who decided to explore, at their own peril, the temples of the bog creatures. The group left three days ago and yesterday they broke off contact... The editorial office hopes for the best!

  Chapter Six.

  Again we sit...

  Today I slept twice. In two worlds.

  At the appointed time, I came to the right place and realized that I was not needed. Looking around, I shook my head in amazement, looking at the crowded restaurant halls. All the doors were wide open, so nothing prevented me from watching. Almost all of the players were Sleepless. There were important strangers, their ranks no less than the first advisers, military leaders, or chapters. Players scurried back and forth. In general, a few words described the bedlam - I was in an overloaded operational center. The BB herself was nowhere to be found. Alright, then.

  Having exchanged glances with Kira, I caught an eccentric looking kid in a black and gold robe and said that if I someone asked, then Rosgard was sleeping behind the curtain. And let him report it to someone who deals with organizational issues. The boy nodded and ran off. After glancing after him, I snorted doubtfully and wrote a short message from the BB. Just in case. So that I would not be missed.

  And then Kira and I climbed behind the curtain, dragging with us the discontentedly puffing black and white wolf and my sleeping daughter. Roska looked as displeased as the beast, but at least she could now sleep. It worked. Kira covered her with a cloak and tucked the edges, and then we lay down side by side, safely asleep, setting our internal alarms to seven in the morning. And why bother? If they needed me – they would wake me up.

  We woke up at the same time. The messengers shook us by the shoulders — we were needed. The clock showed four in the morning, and I felt well rested and glad.

  The instructions were given to us were very brief – we were to go down and go into the carriage standing at the back door. And we would be delivered directly to the right place. The road would take quite a bit of time. From there, we would move further. To where exactly - we would be informed later. Secrecy was necessary

  Shrugging, I obeyed. We headed for the stairs, following the nearly deserted restaurant halls. There was no trace left of the local flea market downstairs. Only sleepy “local” workers slowly putting the rooms in order. They paid no attention to us.

  Two hours later, at around 7 am, I slid off the back of a white whale and found myself on a snow-covered, icy shore.

  "Fuck!” I said, covering my eyes and gritting my teeth. How I hate fucking snow and ice!

  "Calm down," Kira whispered, passing me a large mug filled to the top with hot tea.

  “Don’t tell me to calm down," I snorted softly.

  Tyrant circled around in the snow. The girl sitting on his back squealed happily, trying to scoop up snow from the trees, enjoying herself in every possibl
e way. A little warm-up after before the long journey. Although, to be fair, Roska was not going to miss a single second of the trip. While we were boarding the carriage, my daughter managed to read an adventure story and tell us its contents. Then, when we went through a teleport that ran on divine power – there, Roska delayed, listening to something and nodding. Then she put her hands on a stone sticking out of the ground. Tyrant stood there, pressing his paw to the stone. For company. What was interesting — none of the Sleepless interfered with Roska. All patiently waited for the completion of some incomprehensible ritual. After the teleport, we went to the west of the city of Roghalrome, near the small fishing village of Old Stone. From there we moved to the back of a snow-white dragon and rushed north. Underneath us, the waves of the Cold Sea rolled, and beside us flew several other dragons, carrying riders and cargo. Lots of cargo.

  We did not have time to get used to the flight — the dragons dived onto a small islet decorated with a working beacon and a multitude of rocks sticking out of the water around it. Here was the transfer to the backs of the majestic white whales, very similar to submarines. It was on their backs that we crossed the last mile of the journey. And Roska instantly pulled a bunch of fishing stuff from her pockets, built something incomprehensible, and threw the whole thing into the water. Then she began to pull out one fish after another, one another larger, unusual and more frightening. Kira gasped admiringly, collected fish, at the same time picking fishing tackle for himself, and came unto fishing in the neighborhood Therefore, I was left the one to collect the fish. Soon the other passengers were looking at us with deep envy. I prayed only about one thing - that Roska did not take the whales for big tasty fish, and did not try to catch them. Would not it be fun if she hooked and pulled a whale from underneath us...? A joke, of course, but a little unfunny…

  And here we were.

  Fucking snow and ice all around. We were on a small and empty island. Around us was a forest — a fir grove. The green color of the needles was a comfort to me. Just as Tyrant and Kira and Roska. The wolf, in his native environment, with his native legendary outfit, looked stylish and menacing. I was in absolutely normal clothes - according to a message, Malice had already picked up equipment for me. Where would they deliver it? Under one of the Christmas trees? To the east, you could see an island of much larger dimensions. And when I looked over the shoulder of a person looking at a man, I quickly determined that we were going to the island town of Walrus Tusk next. A terrific name. One of the most unpopular places for players, I think. The landscape around was so monotonous that the eyes refused to serve you. Far to the south of us was the island of Al Dra Das, and then beyond it the town of Roghalrome and the volcanic plateau of Vale of Darkness, where the Sleepless were having it hard nowadays.

  “Dad, we will live here now?” The sonorous voice of the adolescent daughter tore me out of meditation, and I hastily shook my head:

  "No, no, daughter, here we are definitely not going to live."

  "Then can I fish for a while?"

  "Fish, fish, sweetheart."

  "Tyrant, come on! You will be my chair!”

  “Ruff!”

  The wolf strode after Roska, walking to the shore.

  "How long will we wait?" I asked the half orc standing next to me, obviously fulfilling the role of my guard.

  “Ships are on the way,” the player said. “The first fleet from the north is just about to approach.”

  “From North? There is nothing there but ice fields and icebergs ...”

  "Humm ..." the half-orc shrugged. "They told me so. Then another fleet from the south-west and south-east. The BB arrives in the fleet from the south — they are on the route. Would have come before, but there was a sea-war next to the Rag-Rog.”

  "What is this Rag-Rog?"

  "The small town to the south from here," answered the half-orc willingly, without trying to hide anything. "The Great Shipyards are there. There we were wait for. However, it will be no big delay. And nothing will be canceled. You have no idea how many clans were set into motion two hours ago ... how many ships lifted anchor ... And how many sea fights have already happened. Fires everywhere…”

  I looked at the player with some admiration. He was not stupid and was really happy of what was happening.

  “You are a fan,” I smiled.

  “Oh yeah! The Great Trip! The Lost Continent! I am already shaking! Glad you are with us!”

  I did not have anything to hide:

  "Believe me, I am much more shaken than you are."

  “Yes,” recognized the fanatic half-orc. “I cannot imagine that. I am a sailor. And you are a pilot. The navigator. Oh! This is unexpected!” Interrupting himself, the player looked intently at the sea, having managed to pull out a magic telescope.

  “Our people?” I asked, anxiously looking at my digital-and-real family standing at the water.

  “Our people,” breathed the orc with a sigh of relief, having seen a series of bright-multicolored flashes. “The Baroness has arrived. Look at them ... like as they slipped through the ice grater. Poor Glotter”.

  Here the player was not mistaken.

  The ship was going at full speed towards us looked as if it had passed through a big icy grater. Black and red sails were brutally torn in many places, the sides were broken in a dozen places, and part of the frame was broken and sticking out like broken ribs. Scraps of rigging hung from all sides. And everything was covered with ice. Ice everywhere - on the sides, on the deck, on the masts and on sails. A dense frosty vapor emanated from the ship. All seven masts were cracking with ice.

  The Black Baroness did not wait for the arrival of the boat. Five minutes later, she was next to me. The familiar virtual Baroness, tightly wrapped in black leather, a confident clan leader.

  “How are you, Ros?” Asked the head of the Sleepless.

  "I had a good sleep and ready for adventure," I answered cheerfully.

  “I envy you.”

  “That’s really something,” I said, gesturing at the ship. “Did you get into an ice typhoon? Or did the iceberg bite you?”

  "A god bit us," answered the BB. "Underwater. Flocks of icy flying fish. Ros, are you ready to accept our agreement?”

  “I thought I had already. And even signed it. In real life.”

  “I am not talking about that.”

  “Then what?”

  "I just made an official statement. And on your behalf, too. We are waiting for the other guests; they will be here any second now. Do not worry, just answer in essence.”

  "What other ..."

  The solemn ringing of the bells interrupted me. Clutching our heads, we saw three clumps of golden light. After a moment, they were on the icy land, raising a cloud of ice and soil around them. The golden glow was extinguished, we stared in awe at the guests - three angels, three Immortals. The music was cut off. Silence fell. The guests did not want to lose time. The central Immortal took a step forward, lit up us with a radiant smile, and immediately began:

  “Peace to you! Rosgard! Great Navigator! Are you ready to begin your journey to the unknown horizon?”

  "I am ready," I said shortly.

  “But your possibilities regarding the volume of mana...”

  "If I cannot cast the spell on my own, I will give it to one of the members of Sleepless," I answered in a quick voice. "The question was discussed."

  “Among the Sleepless clan there are those who have such a quantity of mana right now,” said the angel standing behind the left shoulder of the heavenly leader. “This is confirmed.”

  “Good. And the path you start with the fleet of the valiant clan of Sleepless? Do you confirm this?”

  “Exactly right.”

  “There are no other questions,” the Immortal bowed his head almost imperceptibly. “Great things await you, great accomplishments! A navigator can declare the beginning of the trek at any moment and the heavens will react to this with favor.”

  I smiled in silence, but I myse
lf waited – if there would be any surprise on the face of at least one of the demons. After all, they saw literally right through mw. And would not such effects as "The Living Blood of the Great" and "Immunity of the Greats" surprise them? I was keeping quiet about the new spell. However, the expression of angels' faces did not show that they saw something that surprised them.

  "May the luck be with you!" The Immortals said in unison, and at once ascended back into the gray cloudy skies.

  After waiting a while, I softly muttered:

  “So-so performance, probably C grade.”

  “Maybe a D,” corrected the guard.

  “A total fail were all their efforts!” Began the Baroness. “Like in kindergarten. At least they could have played the harp.”

  Oops…

  The world around us plunged into cold darkness. I barely managed to get through the icy free-flowing mass to right myself.

  A snowdrift. A large snowdrift that had appeared out of nowhere covered us. A mass of snow at once. At least three meters high. Five by width.

  Right — Immortals do not tolerate criticism. And always ready to dump a tub of cold water or a bucket of snow on the heads of insolent people.

  The Baroness did not comment on the heavenly gift, preferring to turn around proudly and look at the black waters and the cold sea. One after another, ships arrived. Large, medium, small. And some ships were just huge. Monstrously huge. I had seen, so far, only their noses. And masts, masts, masts. Now, for sure, I felt that I was in the woods - tall wooden masts from all sides.

  "I want reports!" Baroness shouted loudly. “And immediately!”

  Players hurried to the BB and began to give her information. She looked like a caramel thrown to the ground near an anthill, completely covered with ants. Like a horror film, honestly, - the impression was that ruthless monsters were attacking the unfortunate character, trying to tear her apart. From the crowd, the voice of the Baroness was heard and new players rushed in. Some bales and boxes were brought to her. And nearby, more warships appeared, menacing and beautiful at the same time...