Attention!
The protective barrier around the Shriek Citadel has been turned off. All the energy will be redirected to the restoration of the damaged Seals.
New quest available: Keymaster
Epic quest
Objective: Disable the Sphere of Styx.
Description: In order to disable the Sphere of Styx and avoid the destruction of Lunar Rainbow, it is necessary to re-synchronize the damaged Seals by calibrating them with the received Key.
Note: The higher the level of the Key holder is, the greater the chances of successfully completing the quest.
Reward: 100% of current level XP; 1 save
Attention!
[Wisecracker], the fate of this world now depends on you!
Chapter 58
Morning was near.
Cold breeze was blowing in my face, scratching my skin every now and again with an occasional snowflake. I was again on the cornice near the elevator, seated on a chair borrowed from the gatehouse, wearily observing the Plateau. Overhead, the clouds were thickening, gradually erasing from the skies the silhouettes of both moons that were peering out from behind the distant mountain peaks. Blurred, they now looked like clumsy drawings, painted by the inept hands of a child. And yet, the sky seemed lighter as it covered the Plateau in shadows.
The Citadel seemed distant and unapproachable from here, as well as undisturbed. The area around the mound still looked as if it had been torn out of a different reality. Soon, this idyll would disappear; the first serious snowfall would make the green indistinguishable from the rest of the valley. After all, the defensive barrier no longer existed, and the icy air was already celebrating its victory over the eternal summer, vengefully freezing everything it touched.
Stinger wasn’t around right now, so the second chair remained empty. I grew attached to him, so his grumpy, but energetic presence was missed. No wonder — with the Okhtans, who were now silently standing behind my back, you couldn’t communicate as easily as with humans.
A lot had happened during the last couple of hours and I still hadn’t digested it all. There was much to do and the next few days promised to be restless. Consequences of completing the epic had become visible, and the smell of forthcoming changes was in the air, mixed with the smell of anxiety, and hope.
Outcasts were now doing their thing on the territory of the Citadel. We ran into them as soon as we popped out of the tower. When Chzher sent search parties after me, he had his spies follow the Lowlings from afar. Mashta and Chula stumbling upon me didn’t go unnoticed. Because of the considerable distance, they arrived only after three hours, and by that time the Creepoars had left without a fight. For a few more hours, the outcasts waited near the perimeter, hoping that we would still get out of the lair, and be escorted back to the Fortress. But what happened next surpassed any of their expectations and even impressed them. The barrier fell and they freely climbed up to the tower for the first time in the history of Lunar Rainbow. The guards, placed along the entire path, stood silent, having been turned into soulless stone.
The Dalrokts were sure that the Demons, having left without a fight, would definitely return the following night with more fighters and greater forces. They would’ve done the same had they been in their place, since the barrier fell and there was no longer a player limit.
We only had a day to deal with the Seals, after that, things would get much more difficult.
The final quest was a solo one and it went to me. Because of that, Chzher put his guards on me, so that the newly appointed owner of the Citadel, the Keymaster responsible for restoring the damaged Seals, is never alone. Too much now depended on me. Chzher didn’t want to let me go anywhere even with bodyguards, considering my stay outside the Citadel to be risky. Alas, only I could activate the Seals, and it was impossible to pass this task on to someone else.
I chose Caraster’s four myself. Last time they saw me, they had a chance to put a dent in my hide, but they didn’t, so they deserved a bit of my favor. And, when they had even less reason to harm me, they could be trusted a bit more.
Stretched near my legs, Fury felt my ardent desire to get on the move as quickly as possible. Nervous, she twisted her head and purred deeply. If cats could curse, she would’ve done so. I soothingly patted the fur on her muscly neck, and grinned involuntarily, recalling the moment our party met up with the outcasts. The faces the Okhtans made when they saw Marana were priceless.
Their bewilderment lasted only for a few seconds and almost turned into an attack — the Okhtans were temperamental lads. Fortunately, the Dalrokts who led the group, Chzher and Initox, stopped them on time, and the situation was resolved peacefully. After the lengthy negotiations, during which they discussed future plans and determined who should do what next, I went to the elevator, and Mashta, Stinger and Marana remained in the Citadel to look after it as my first officers.
Also, at level 21 I felt like a completely different person. Significantly stronger and confident in my abilities. And at last, the Mark of the Apostate disappeared like a bad dream, ceasing to spread negativity to my friends. And for once, I was overjoyed.
Things were simple from then. I offered the outcasts to join my clan for the sake of a common goal, and, agreeing to my conditions, poured three dozen high-level fighters into the Hunters. The Dalrokts had no objections against my clan anymore, since circumstances had changed drastically. There were none among the “volunteers” who didn’t agree with this decision. The stronger I was, the more beneficial it was for everyone — a simple, unfortunate accident couldn’t send a strong player to the Cradle. Along the way, I discovered something else: the recruiter would receive XP for a novice only if the recruited player had not previously been in a clan. Otherwise, only the clan got XP, which is why it wasn’t possible to get XP for five out of thirty fighters.
Nevertheless, three quarters of a million XP were mine, and so I gained three levels at once, not counting the level I got for finishing the first stage of the epic. This led me to the following conclusion: in the current conditions, ordinary leveling wouldn’t do anything and would only be a waste of time. After all, to gain so much XP through simple recruitment, and have it multiplied by the bonus of At Home Among Strangers II was something so rare that it was close to a miracle. The massive influx of people into the clan allowed me level up faster than any farming session ever could. I had to strike while the iron was still hot.
My instinct told me that there would be no problems with accepting more strangers. Right now, it didn’t particular matter to me who got into the clan — I wasn’t going to forcibly retain those who wanted to leave after we got out of here. They are all free to leave once we’re done.
Our main objective was to get out of this hellhole.
Before returning to the elevator and getting ready to deal with the first damaged Seal, I sent Rawrk to his relatives to test the waters and see about accepting the Raksh into the clan. After that, I discussed several important conditions with Chzher and Initox. My first condition was that once the barrier is off, the outcasts would have to take care of protecting the Citadel from the Creepoars until everything’s done. The second one was that Chzher would take care of the resurrection of two dozen humans from the Mausoleum. And the third and final one was that Chula would also be resurrected. She deserved it, not to mention my promise to Mashta. The rest of the Lowlings would remain in the Fortress for the time being, as we also needed fighters to protect it. Enmity no longer made sense, but it was better to keep them away from myself for now, just in case. They can do whatever they want once we’re out of here, but for now I had enough worries even without them. Also, Chzher promised to select the best players in order to complete the Five out of Five clan quest, so everything was under control; clan bonuses would come in handy.
The Dalrokts refused the clan invitation, claiming that ancestral honor forbade them to join an outsider’s clan. I didn’t blame them, they had the right to refuse. All I needed them to do was
to keep others in check, which they did. The only fly in the ointment was the closed nature of Lunar Rainbow that didn’t allow the clan to rise above level 5, despite all the XP. But hey, level 5 was still good, right? Not to mention that I could finally spend at least some of the twenty-nine clan points, counting the five we got for the three new levels.
Aura of Maturity
Rank 3 (0/25)
Clan members gain 15% more combat XP.
Recalculation
Rank 3 (0/25)
15% of players’ XP is redistributed toward clan progress.
Voice chat
Rank 3 (0/25)
Clan chat that allows long distance communication.
Range: within a 6 miles radius
Good Luck
Rank 2 (0/5)
Chance to get loot from monsters is increased by 8%.
Bloodlust
Rank 2 (0/5)
Killing an enemy heals the player by 20% of their maximum HP for 10 seconds.
Cooldown: 1 hour.
Banner of Protection
Rank 2 (0/5)
Increases the party or raid members’ defense by 10% for 25 seconds.
Range: 16 feet radius from the activation point
Cost: 1 Essence Crystal
Cooldown: 1 hour
My assumptions about Voice Chat were confirmed: each new clan level, unrelated to the level of the skill itself, automatically increased the distance. Ranks also introduced their own coefficients, so three miles at rank 3 turned into six miles of communication without obstacles.
Finally, two new abilities got unlocked at level five.
Craftsman
Rank 1 (0/1)
5% chance to get double XP from crafting.
Clan Talisman
Rank 1 (0/1)
A pet selected as a clan talisman can enhance the clan’s power.
It wasn’t possible to invest points in both abilities, as they still couldn’t be upgraded. Restrictions were slowly getting under my skin. As for the talisman, Tinnie was unanimously appointed as one. And it manifested itself in a very peculiar way. First, a stylized Fairy icon appeared opposite the clan name. Secondly, it was reported that “in connection with appointing a Fairy as a clan talisman, the Altars created by her become clan property and can be used by any member of the clan with appropriate admission.”
We managed to make progress with Tinnie’s Mystic Lore as well. By level 18, she had enough points to unlock her third specialization, and immediately level it to rank 2. The spec was still mysterious, but seemed very intriguing.
Artificer (dimensions)
Rank 2 (0/25)
The pat can create consumables needed to manipulate isolated shards of reality.
Recipes available
· Dimensional Key
Consumable item
Ingredients: 1 Elite Essence Crystal grade 1-3; 5 Essence Crystals grade 1-3 Crafting time: 6 hours
· Dimensional Door
Consumable item
Ingredients: 3 Elite Essence Crystals grade 1-3; 3 Essence Crystals grade 1-3 Crafting time: 12 hours
Unfortunately, despite my status as the Keymaster and the general effort of the outcasts, I still couldn’t get into the left annex of the Citadel — the lock could be neither removed nor broken. It was as if some bungler didn’t code it right and the tower remained inaccessible. Or, in other words, enchanted. Sweeping the right tower brought us nothing of significance, as if the very same bungler was determined to leave us in the dust, literally. Low-grade rusty weapons, leather armor, books, and scrolls that were falling apart from old age, turning into handfuls of dust as soon as you touch them...
This location had probably already expired, and our very existence in it was a miracle by itself. In my opinion, it was all the more reason to get out of here as quickly as possible.
Chapter 59
The room above the library turned out to be an ordinary dwelling with simple contents: a narrow bed, a small table, and a wooden chest, in which, nestled among ancient rags, were several ritual daggers and different-sized rings inlaid with gems, none of which had any stat bonuses. Useless trash. But the room also had a Furnace, similar to the one in the gatehouse. As soon as Tinnie, to her delight, discovered this, she immediately went into action, forcing us to tear the gems out of the rings. So, in about four hours we would have a second Altar and I couldn’t wait to see what exactly Artificer (dimensions) was good for. Everything seemed to be set with Lunar Rainbow. After all, everything would end soon and it was worthwhile to take care of the future in advance.
Oh Alan...
Chzher was partly right when he suggested that my patron could be what tips the scales in our favor. Alan really helped. Thanks to him, we weren’t pulverized by that amber trap. And the balance of power in Lunar Rainbow finally changed, and the fate of this world was in the hands of the players themselves. This was probably for the best. Now, least for a little while, worrying about raising my reputation with my patron could be postponed. We’ll see how everything turns out once we’re out of here.
I had the idea to, in the absence of a more suitable object, devote the first Altar to Alan, but it had to be abandoned. We could easily screw up the Altar, and there were no other Furnaces anywhere nearby. Again, time was of the essence. Altars and consumables weren’t created by a wave of the hand, so we had no time to waste on fixing our mistakes. In addition, being an avatar of Jeeva and “light,” Tinnie could easily get offended if we were to devote her Altar to a “dark” deity. I had no idea what she, or the Altar itself, could do in such a scenario.
I heard hastily approaching steps behind me. Finally. Time to end this forced break. Still, one learns to appreciate brief moments of respite.
I stood up and turned around, knowing exactly what I would hear. The silent Okhtans parted, letting in a small, funny looking figure in a fur coat. The Kobi shyly glanced at me, nodded, and sniffed. After scratching itself in several places at once, it finally spoke.
“Done!”
“Thank you, Lail. Come, let’s see what happened.”
As soon as I stepped through the door, the strong smell of tanned hides reached my nostrils. While Stinger and I were absent, performing heroic feats, the situation in the gatehouse had changed drastically. Stinger’s information about a dozen or so Kobi has long been outdated, as their number increased by one and a half. Apparently, this was the limit. They were packed in the room like tuna in a can, but still managed to establish a camp and a workshop. But if one Kobi at work looked funny, then a dozen and a half of them were a real circus attraction. Three of them settled on the trestle bed, and the rest around the Altar, sitting and standing elbow to elbow. Whatever free space remained was littered with skins and tools. They made an awful lot of noise, and sounded like a bunch of pigeons talking into a microphone. They kept snuffling, sniffing, and scratching themselves every five minutes; they just couldn’t stay still.
However, as soon as I stepped inside, there was an instant silence. Fifteen heads rose and fifteen noses turned in my direction. I, once again, couldn’t take my eyes off the noses that obscured the rest of their faces; the fifteen pairs of eyes that were staring curiously at me over the said noses didn’t matter that much.
When I saw this “workshop” for the first time, I was left speechless. But now, I just went to the Altar; the Kobi that happened on my way hurriedly moved. My guards had to stay outside as they simply couldn’t fit in the room.
The Kobi had a very remarkable ability, which we discovered by chance. In their presence, any crafting process was accelerated. The more of them were in one place, the faster it went. Therefore, instead of 24 hours, it took only 12 to produce a Vial. Whatever one might say, these restless Kobi were a priceless addition to our group. If I could get them to join the clan, that’d be superb. But they didn’t accept the invitation. No one could explain why. Sometimes, their murmur was as difficult to understand as Rawrk’s talking. The pipe didn’t help the negotiations
either. The Kobi squinted at it in fright and didn’t touch it. Apparently, being admirers of Jeeva, they felt its darkness and shunned it.
After the crafting was complete, the six Crystals that were in the slots dissolved immediately, and in the center of the Altar a new hexagon appeared, glowing faintly. I cautiously picked it up and studied its properties.
Vial of Soul Exchange Sacrifice
Grade 2
Consumable item
Allows you to resurrect a player from the Vial’s creator’s List of the Dead.
For the resurrection to be successful, the following conditions must be met:
1. The level of the resurrected cannot exceed the grade of the Vial.
2. To use the Vial you need two participants: the initiator and the donor. The initiator must have at least three saves, the donor must be a volunteer.
Attention! Attempting to force the donor will destroy the item!
Attention! The process of resurrection is dangerous for the initiator’s mind and destructive for the donor!
Personal List of the Dead has been formed.
Players available for contact:
Player [Grant] — human; level 9
Player [Pops] — human; level 10
Player [Chula] — Lowling; level 23
Player [Tsang, Hasty Hoof] — Dionissite; level 17
The list was pretty much what I had expected. However, it looked rather short. It turned out that my List included only those who either died by my hand, or were next to me at the moment of their death and for whom independent resurrection didn’t come for some reason. It was like a simpler version of the Mausoleum list. Resurrecting Pops wasn’t an option. I let his fellow tribesmen deal with Tsang, who was, without a doubt, the guy who had been killed by the Okhtans in the hunting camp. Hasty Hoof was, indeed, too hasty. Chula was resurrected in the Fortress, as was the deal. But Grant... My dear friend Grant... A healer and a good man overall...
I kept tossing the almost weightless item in my hand, as I absent-mindedly stared in front of me, feeling very excited. It was so tempting to conduct the experiment immediately. But the conditions for it were unfavorable. Such experiments should be carried out in peace and quiet, without hurry, and only after one has thought of everything.
Keymaster Page 42
