The journey down was short-lived. Even too short-lived — at the twentieth second, I flopped into the water and immediately fell onto a rock. I grabbed onto a stone. The thunder of the surf here was deafening. Water flooded my face. Here stood a series of stone columns which looked like the dirty, angry grin of a giant monster. And I had sailed right into his mouth. Well— I can say I was used to it. But in this case, the columns and stone debris played the role of a barrier. All kinds of garbage was stuck in this sift.
Here was the trick— anyone who swam down here could four items. Only four. And even a piece of wood that fell under the arm would be counted one object. Gently stretching out a trembling hand, I deftly grabbed bottle. Unlabeled — but most likely, this was wine. And there was another bottle rushing to the stones with the courage of one doomed to death … but one must suffice …
Three minutes later I became the owner of three wine bottles and one square bottle. All the vessels were sealed — all were filled almost to the neck. Pulling myself up, I climbed up onto a “tooth” that had been filed almost to the ground, threw my legs up… and then I jumped off the stone like a scorched grasshopper. After the fraction of a moment, I heard a crunch behind my back — the stone mouth closed with the force of a hydraulic press, crushing absolutely everything that was inside. A hollow sound resembling a single blow on a huge drum came from under the water. I took it as my signal to exit. I yanked at the rope desperately, and flew out of the water and out of the well, feeling like superman. I put out my hand in front of me and soared up, ignoring the roaring water that came from below.
“We have to get out of here!” Those were my first words when I flopped at the feet of the quickly retreating mammoth.
“What’s there, boss?”
“Hold this!” I put one of the bottles in the hands of the healer. “Drink it at once, or Bom will take it!”
“Got it!”
“Orb. We need a way out.”
“There is a skeleton of a m-mermaid!” The bald elf tried to lure us — and Doc and I almost swallowed such a tempting bait. But I desperately waved my hand:
“We leave now.”
“M-magic?”
“Along the way out, right? And the ancient knowledge?”
“I l-learned it…”
“Oh, good. Well, congratulations … what magic?”
“Three hundred meters under the w-water … there was the third...”
“To hell with it. Let us inform the BB, let her dive down. Do you need a bottle with a mana additive?”
“N-no…”
“Alright. Take us away.”
And Orbit led the way …
It was possible to describe our broken path as “step- fight – step – step- fight – fight – step.” Afterwards, I was moving automatically, exhausted to my limit, fighting off the creatures. We were all tired.
Our heroic path took a little less than an hour. And the road drenched with blood of the enemies led us into an unremarkable impasse. There was not a single hint of life. No characters, no creatures. Nothing. Just a simple dead end.
“We are here”, I read the message.
“We are, too! We are ready! “.
“Then push. But I repeat — push up. Begin. “
“Pushing,” I shouted out loud, leaning my shoulder against the stone ledge. My friends also pushed, and the mammoth rested against the wall with his tusks. And on the other side of the wall, the Sleepless did the same thing. Another trick — to open the second entrance to the dungeon you need the joint efforts of people pushing up on each side. Or rather, not to push, but to raise — the thick stone door was disguised as an ordinary wall.
The wall shuddered, and a hail of stone fell on top of us. With a roar, the stone began to go up, and a thin strip of daylight fell at our feet, growing wider.
“G-gooo…” I wheezed, feeling the weight of the mountain on my shoulders.
With a loud double clang, two knights appeared in the crevices beneath the rock. Lying on their backs, they rested their hands on the lower edge of the door and began to straighten their elbows. And brisk shadows slipped below the door, disappearing behind our backs, scattering everywhere. Six huge crocodiles came running in, and immediately began to tear apart some crabs. The Sleepless had arrived in An Gdar. And they immediately began to establish their own rules.
“Go!” A familiar, black clad figure said from the darkness. “Leave nothing!”
“Ugh,” I breathed out, straightening up.“Here. There are about forty-five crystals of return to the entrance to the dungeon. All taken from the monsters. Here’s a dungeon map. The patron is still alive. We found two ancient magic scrolls. We have already studied and read them. Another spell lies somewhere at the very bottom of the dungeon. Here is a notebook with Doc’s records- he recorded everything he heard from Orbit. Everything about the dungeons. Be careful of black narrow crevices at the floor — there are monsters there and they attack faster than the cobra. Good luck.”
“Thanks, Ros! We will meet you a little further down. Run a kilometer or two down and there’s the harbor. There will be some tents there. Sit inside the green tent and rest. Do not go anywhere! I really want to look in your bags! If you do not let me, look and I will gladly buy the items. You really found something good, huh?”
“And you will find more of it,” I pointed out to the dark corridor. “We found some stuff… but there’s still more to find.”
“Ros! Well?!” Malice said.
I silently stretched out my hands to him. One bottle in each hand.
“Choose,” I suggested. ”I will be honest — in this bottle, there is an increase to mana. And I Do not know what’s in the other one.”
“Can I take both? Huh?” Hope danced in the eyes of the tutor.
“Take one,” I said. “And the other is for me.”
“Thank you! I won’t forget this! BB, I will incinerate everything alive and dead!”
“Great! And give the map to Rommal, let him copy.”
“Done…”
On this note, I left the dungeon. Orbit with Doc and Kolyvan had already left the musty dungeons. Coming out, I blinked in surprise — the light I saw came from a large magic lamp. And around it there was a black darkness — very similar to the aura of Anrull, only without green swirls.
I needed a minute to understand because of my exhaustion. The Sleepless had deliberately covered this part of the cliff with a man-made black cloud. And they had disappeared inside the smokescreen. Not all of them, of course — there were only a few. It was a shock raid detachment aimed at cleaning out the dungeon.
“Come on, guys. Let us make for the beach,” said the golden-haired girl. “There will also be five more mammoths loaded with logs and one bundle of logs for Kolyvan. You will soon get to the nest of archers woven from reeds on the back of the lizard. Go back to the ring through the teleport.”
“Clear.”
“Thank you! You guys were really something … good luck!”
“And you, too…”
Soon we were already running into the thick smoke, almost losing sight of each other. The hardest part was behind us. I wanted to rest … maybe I could sit with a fishing rod on the beach?
Chapter Twenty-Three.
The results of the gatherings and errands …
I could not find really high-quality fishing equipment anywhere. They were some things, but who would give them to me, or even sell them? It was vital for me to make my daughter happy and fulfill my promise to gift her fishing gear. So I took what I had, and went around all the shops that were available in the central square of the Ring. In each of them I bought the best of the available hooks, floats, scaffolds, weights and other things. But these things were ordinary. For daily fishing, and not for the sake of a special catch. Roska, though she would have accepted such a gift from her beloved father, would remain disappointed. I was ashamed …
I went to the nearest Sleepless expert “trader” and said quietly:
With an easy indulgence of a knowledgeable person, he answered:
“Well, you are right, Navy. Everyone already bought everything. And you just got here…”
“Do not say it,” I sighed bitterly, drawing a sphere with divine fury from my shoulder bag sadly. “But I must please my daughter. I will do what is necessary.
“Yes,” responded he, taking the sphere and covering it carefully with his cloak. ”Children should be happy.”
“What do you think? Does anyone have anything to offer me?”
” Hooks, you say? Floats? Come, let us go to that brigantine of ours.”
“To the brigantine? I asked, reluctantly striding forward. “But, I need a special product, my daughter will not be able to fish with just anything.”
Who was I kidding? Give Roska a rope and a rusty hook, and she will gladly throw it into the water. And will manage to catch something too.
“Of course! Special to the depths of the soul — for your daughter — the best! ...”
Very soon I sold the sphere with divine fury. In exchange I received a wooden box with many drawers filled with various of accessories for fishing. There was almost everything there. From microscopic hooks for catching predatory fry to hefty ones larger than the palm of your hand. Weights from various metals, floats which cut the eyes with their bright colors. A real super cool gift for a boy … or, for a girl. What a hobby I chose for her. There was also excellent bait here. Worms, shrimps and something completely incomprehensible, but looking evilly out from the jar.
So who’s the best dad in the world now? Hm?!
Roska’s cheerful squeal echoed for a couple of miles when she opened the drawer for the first time-by the way, a very beautiful drawer, carved with fish, varnished, with metal corners and a handle of the tanned leather of black octopus. A dream, not a box.
I handed my daughter a considerable sum of money. Both girls were shining — not because of the money and fishing gifts, but because they received considerable prizes and achievements in competitions of fishing. They had not missed a single competition, and had already become widely known among both players “locals.” The natives had begun to greet them both with exaggerated politeness, some even bowing slightly.
I was happy for this, both for my daughter and for myself. I did awaken the dark, ancient god. And since they kept quiet at the time when Anrull was still asleep on the bottom of the underwater abyss — this meant that the topic was a strict taboo. But now everything was good again, and the “locals” were very complacent. But I avoid contact with them whenever possible — I did not know why. Perhaps, I tried not to get involved. I was only helping my friends.
Oh … my friends … for them, a separate song.
For the first time in their lives, Orbit and Doc did the same thing — after the long adventure, they fell asleep in the green tent designated for us. And stayed for more than an hour in a digital dream, restoring my strength and relieving the accumulated fatigue. I set aside exactly one hour for dreams, and then got up and went shopping for fishing gear. And when I fulfilled the promise and went back to the piers — the tent was empty. The elf and the healer took their pets and disappeared. I only knew that they took Cray and Bom with them, and even the Whisper. They called me with them via messages, but I refused — I must urgently deal with accumulated errands. And then I could relax a bit with a fishing rod. It was necessary to unload a little, mentality.
My friends raced off into a new adventure. But they left something behind them. In the center of the tent was a large pile of all kinds of junk found we had found in the An Gdar dungeon. A short polished little table with a clay kettle and three cups stood a step away from the trophy pile. At the table sat the cross-legged Black Baroness, pensively reading a papyrus scroll and making notes with a simple goose quill. Dressed in a tropical getup — a short skirt and top. Her hair was gathered in a knot, and several strands fell on her shoulders. Cute…
A short distance away sat the broad-shouldered player “Bright Gloom. I was amazed at his obvious t-shirt with the large inscription on his chest: “You have a choice! Either sell or give it away.” Silly. Nothing to worry about — the atmosphere was a sort of oriental peaceful oasis involving good green tea. I was clearly going to plunder them, but instead of steel fists, they brought with them thick bundles of cash.
I already had some instructions on this account— I had spoken with the elf and Doc and asked them about their part of the trophies. Orbit said — I do not need them. Apparently, he had already taken all the interesting things for himself. Doc said he saved a couple of trophies for the future, and the rest of his share could be safely sold. And it would be better if the gold immediately went to his account in a bank — on the old continent. So much more secure. Not to carry a bag of gold with you.
We managed to collect many valuable things. If we were at home, I would immediately take them to the private room and leave them there until I figured out my intentions on their account. But now — I had nowhere to put them. I’d have to sell them. I did not have my own ship, I did not rent a cabin –- even if I agreed to store the booty on the ship, who would guarantee that the ship would not sink together with all the cargo? Or it would not explode? Sale was inevitable. And the Baroness understood this perfectly, because she sat with the smile of the Mona Lisa on her lips. But she also understood that friendship was friendship, and business was business — and I could easily my sell hot goods to some other clan. Therefore, we were in approximately equal standing. And behind my shoulder hung the huge ghost of Bom. I started the conversation with a neutral topic.
“How was An Gdar?”
“Good for us, terrible and dark for others,” the Baroness smiled, bringing a cup of tea to her lips. ”Thank you, Ros. It was a smart bonus. You have presented us with an almost uncharted dungeon laden with a lot of precious things.”
“Do not thank me — it was Orbit. It was he who read all the clues and held our flimsy group together, and through the passages. And the mammoth too. He did the impossible, in my opinion.”
“This is the norm of life for him,” the girl said. ”But your effort was there too. Like Doc’s. We owe you. I will provide a list of proposals in a short time. In the meantime, let us take care of this stuff,” the head of Sleepless pointed to the pile of trophies. ”I am on vacation. Let us barter a little.”
“Hmm,” I twisted my head, watching the guy sitting next to BB. ”I see, you are very serious ...”
“We are not going anywhere from the tent until we reach an agreement,” the girl gave me another smile, predatory and charming at the same time. ”I will not even move from the spot.”
A cold black-green flash appeared inside the tent. Appeared and disappeared, leaving behind a figure wrapped in a very familiar hood.
“Leave!” A hoarse voice followed the gesture of his hand.
The Black Baroness and her assistant got up and flew out of the tent, almost knocking the entire structure off. The swirling black aura swirled along the tent, gray frost appeared on the linen walls, steam burst from my mouth. He had very much diminished in size after our last meeting. Anrull turned to me.
“Rosgard … you woke me up. What do you want in repayment? Wealth? Power? Protection? Strength? Great weapons are hidden nearby. Mighty magic? There is also such — and the path to it was not far off. Speak … say your desire.”
How many visions wonderful in my brain flashed at once!
How much I was ready to wish for!
“Nothing,” I said, looking at the nightmarish undead hanging over me. ”I did not want to wake you; it was my friend. I just complied with his request. If you want to repay someone for your awakening, you need to see a tall and thin elf named Orbit Crystiliano at the edge of the underwater abyss that swallowed you. He read the signs, he led us to your tomb, he showed me a way to wake you up. Your liberation was only his merit.”
“Orbit Crystiliano,” repeated the deity, clapping his claws hands. “I will remember his name. And yours too, Rosgard. We will meet Again!”
The giant skeleton raised his hands to the ceiling of the tent, and a green arc of lightning shook between his hands. The frontal head, hidden by the hood, stared at me for the last time, and the bony figure became translucent. Anrull was about to leave … and again sharply showed up, regaining his materiality. Again he stepped toward me, and his voice took on an evil force:
“Living blood of the Great?! In you, the living blood of the Great! Where from?! I did not find any trace of it in this world!”
“Uh, er … it was an accident.”
“Where from?! You do not suffer now only because I am indebted to you. But Anrull’s patience is ice in a fiercely burning furnace. Answer me, Rosgard! Although, I can look myself ...” A hand rushed towards my chest. “I will try not to kill you...”
A flash … a strong push at the chest threw me back, but I hung in the air that had become viscous like molasses, looking with dilated eyes at the new guests. Three ancient guardian stars fenced me off from Anrull with their bodies, flashing bright fire, and a triple energy ray struck the god-skeleton, causing his figure to smoke. The black-green aura of God lit up like a cloud of methane and burned. A new ray burst into a gaping frenzied mouth, which made him choke. A thin, intermittent sound filled my ears, and made me wince — the ultrasound became thinner and stronger, and soon my head would burst like an overripe watermelon.
“I breathed through my clenched teeth.
“R-ra-ra-a!” Anrull’s leg kick caused a local earthquake, but I was not affected — I continued to hang in an air trap. And then the divine skeleton armed, with a single stroke of his arm, drove the two ancient guards into the ground at once.
“You are my servants! Anrull’s wild roar seemed to be the howling the supreme demon from the underworld.“Serve me! Or die!” His aura began to recover, again tightening the air with a gloomy cloud.
The Way of the Clan 9 Page 10
