by D. Rus
I slowly turned to the Fallen One’s Throne and looked at it with a hypnotizing gaze, mustering up the determination to commit a sacrilege. What was it Uri said? Find your own Place of Power? Well, where does a First Priest feel most powerful if not by the altar of his sovereign god?
But standing at the entrance like a beggar or sitting on cold steps was something I’ve been told not to do when I was little. Sitting on cold, hard surfaces is a sure way to get prostatitis or haemorrhoids. So I slowly walked up to the throne, brushed the dust off the always warm onyx, and resolutely sat down in the master’s chair.
I didn’t hear everyone’s simultaneous gasp of amazement and horror because I suddenly lost my sight and hearing; they just went out like a sky lantern connected straight to the circuit of a nuclear power plant.
Clap! Hello, true darkness and silence…
I was like an overclocked processor force-fed outrageous amounts of energy. My body temperature rapidly increased, threatening to fry my brains. Astral channels were ringing from the tension and twisted into incredible patterns like burning wood chips. Should I survive, then the intricate snowflake shape of my aura would be puzzling even to the gods.
My convulsing fingers settled into the ergonomic grooves left in the stone by the hands of the Fallen One. I was sure my skin was popping at that point and my clothes were starting to smoke. A little longer, and the smell of burning flesh would overpower the aromas of the sacrificial incenses.
But I did get something out of it. For a few secods, I had become equal to the Younger Gods. The world became an open book for me. The savage saw the meaning and universal wisdom in the pages between the tattered covers. I could see through mountains and make out ancient buried treasures and the carefully concealed ore veins. Complex quests revealed their secrets to me while the mighty beasts bowed their armored heads in obedience.
The power I felt was practically absolute. I swept aside temptation and listened in alarm to the growing attention concentrated on my person. Things weren’t so perfect on the summit of Olympus. All the spots had already been taken. The true gods and the unshakeable laws of the universe were avidly looking after the Balance. They would not allow this fragile canoe to be rocked even in a violent sea.
I cringed under the jealous and fearful gazes. I reached into the planet’s infofield, seeking the answer to a single question: where is the pool of unclaimed souls?
The world blinked and opened up obediently, sharing its knowledge with me. The great balance, the world karma, or simply the balance of the Game – everyone calls it by different names – gloomed in irritation. I was way out of line trying my luck like this, insolently venturing to access the inaccessible.
But I didn’t care. I reached for what was hidden on the other side of the world, greedily rummaging through its dearest and most safeguarded parts. I rudely probed whatever souls I could find, swiftly sorting everything I touched.
There were kings and warriors; sentient monsters and banished spirits; those who had passed and now awaited rebirth. Some still remembered certain things, others had already lost their identity and all looked alike like a myriad of freshly minted coins. You could scoop them out and use them without a second thought. No one could tell them apart anymore.
The universe screamed in perturbation and fear as if I fingered it underneath its skirt. Space gave a terrified howl as it got torn apart, yielding to the invisible hand raised high to deliver a blow of planetary proportions.
I squinted in fear, pulled my head in and raised my shoulders trying to shield my face. My hands were busy digging through the boundless field of souls, looking for what it had taken under its protection.
Not that one…No…Someone else’s…An empty one…Another empty one…Doesn’t remember its identity…Hates everything warm-blooded…Misses flights, but no other feelings left…Another empty one and not what I’m looking for…A tight group that sticks together: a warrior Drow…a female soldier… sergeant Estoc, I think I even remember him. Sorry…A nameless cleric...Corporal Mona Lisa…Gotcha!
Smack! The universe saved me with a heavy blow to the face, knocking me off the trone which I shouldn’t have sat on.
My armor was smoldering, my broken nose was bleeding and bent sideways, and there was a deep cut in my brow. My cheek hurt from the blow, my saliva was viscid and salty, and the teeth on the left side of my mouth were loose. That was one strong bitch slap.
The tiles by the First Temple were littered with ice; my clan mates remembered how I had helped the Fallen One increase his heat elimination and decided to use the same treatment on me.
Strange as it may seem, the dishevelled Kate was in charge. She fit in with the bustling crowd and ordered the goblins around in a voice that brooked no contradiction. Even the hardened Harlequin didn’t dare to object. He only nodded occassionally, confirming the strange girl’s orders.
Pushing away the arms of my clan mates, I got up on my own. I felt dizzy and saw specks of light around me, but other than that, I was fine.
The sounds of bells and the multiple green lights indicated that a healing spell had been cast. Waving away the last of these lights, I looked around, trying to find Lizzie among my officers. But the green lights began to spin around me again.
I was confused. What’s the point of casting a Great Healing two times in a row? The trumpets that sounded nearby and the angel wings that appeared for a moment meant that a paladin’s last appeal, Holy Hands, had been used. Who was so generous? This ability had a 24-hour rollback and was usually saved for the most hopeless situations.
"Enough!" I barked, raising my hand and putting an end to the bustling. "What’s with the hail of spells? Can’t you calm down? I’m still here!"
A hush fell upon the crowd. Then some girl held a silver mirror to my face. Whoa…There was a bulge on my nose where the bones were broken, and a fresh scar ran across my brow. The marks left by the universe could not be healed with simple everyday magic.
Dammit, I have the worst luck choosing enemies! I bore various scars from all sorts of encounters; gods, sun plasma, adamant, and now the Great Balance. It seemed like they all itched to kick my ass and leave permanent marks.
I wrinkled my nose and waved the girl away. "Screw it! It’ll heal before the wedding. The world will give in eventually, or else we’ll all be covered in scars from head to toe in a thousand years." I assumed a business-like tone. "What about Corporal Mona Lisa? Any news of her?"
The crowd fell silent again. They stared at me with pity and interest, but averted their gazes when I looked them in the eye.
"What?!" I cried, frowning. "Was it all in vain?! Do you even realize whom I have crossed while trying to get Lizzie back?!"
Being my close friend, Cryl stepped forward. He was glad to take a break from being the officer who was trying to win the whimsical Lena while also being in charge of one of the distant reconnaissance groups.
He put a hand on my shoulder and said soothingly, "It’s okay, Max, you pulled her out. She respawned a few minutes ago. It’s just that…"
Cryl faltered. I lost patience and snapped, scaring away the hounds who were sensitive to emotions: "Just that what?!"
I heard someone in high heels walkin up to me from behind. Then a lively female voice said: "Good day, sir! Reporting my arrival, returning from the Great Nothingness. Prepared to resume active duty!"
Lizzie…I turned around, looked into the Drow’s cheerful yet haughty eyes, and instantly understood everything. Uri was right. The girl drew strength from her feelings, used them to shield herself from the Sun God’s blow and lost them all to the high-purity plasma.
I could read many things in her eyes; her sense of duty, the happiness of getting a new life, a hint of scorn and irony. But it was devoid of love and adotarion.
Slowly raising my hand to my head, I saluted her. "Thank you for your service. Permission to resume active duty granted. Carry on."
The girl silently saluted me back. She liked saluting, e
specially in this new manner of hers which involved the bouncing of her messy bangs and a boisterous wink.
I followed Lizzie with my eyes, then turned back to Cryl who was acting all nervous. "Perhaps it’s for the best…And quit your pitiful sniffling! We’re not watching a soap opera here! This goes for everyone!"
I reprimanded the crowd with a stern look. My warriors instantly stood at attention, and I continued in a voice of steel: "Get me portalists for retrieval of coordinates and a covering party, now! Buff plan: Trip to the Unknown. Don’t forget to cast Levitation and Fish Lung. I’ll send the guys myself. After the portal is opened, dispatch the reconnaissance group. I’ll specify the target."
The crowd began bustling again. Portals popped open, warriors started running around. It wasn’t very noisy. Most of the loud orders and cussing could be heard over the local group and military unit chats.
Kate’s cat was terrified by the hounds. I sent her to the quartermasters and ordered them to give her a room and some clothing. My staff, psychologists and those who were just waiting to hear news from the real world were already lining up to talk to the new guest.
I shook my head wearily. Some talk they’re gonna have, I thought. The girl had the character of a young lioness who had never been thrashed. She probably believed that she could make the entire savanna shudder in fear by simply showing her claws.
In five minutes, it was time for me to go to the Ocean of the Seven Seas with four of my warriors. I was buffed up like I was going to fight yet another mad god. The guards from both my circles had concerned looks on their faces; I couldn’t bring everyone along as I could only transport four, one of them being the cabby wizard. He was more like a walking organizer than a warrior.
I put on the poker face of an imperturbable Native American. I had such control of my facial muscles that I could pass for a statue if I wanted. My people looked at me with admiration. Indeed, we are the greatest! Your leader has balls of mithril with adamant coating! I thought as I stood there, trying not to lose face and telling myself to keep my fists clenched, or else the others might see my fingers shaking.
The group gate softly took us to our destination, and we found ourselves chest deep in warm water after we fell in with a splash, spooking a group of tiny striped fish.
"Sumatra barb!" a stern-looking berserker orc said in astonishment and tried to dive into the wave.
But the levitation cast on us was not conducive to swimming. It slowly pulled us out of the sea and left us suspended a few inches above the water’s surface.
I spat in irritation. Who knew that one of the clan’s best damagers was actually a fervent aquarian?
"Get the coordinates! Cover the wiz! Open portal when ready!"
I wanted to leave, but I had to maintain my reputation. Levitating over the water, I waited as the wizard climbed to the top of a sand dune which was mostly submerged at this point.
He needed two minutes to readjust his mana to cast structured spells. Then a portal opened, and reconnaissance groups of five as well as my personal Drow guards joined us.
I decided not to stay too long on the Frontier. After a short mission briefing which involved sending a lot of screenshots and carefully planning the movements of every group, we all returned to the safety of the Super Nova.
Most importantly, I had to change my bind point. I almost cussed out loud when I entered my chambers; the indent of someone’s large head with gigantic ears was imprinted in my pillows. Was White Winnie at it again? But why was the indent in both pillows? Could it be that he had found himself a girlfriend? Oh, dear!
I made the sign of the Holy Circle on myself, then collapsed into an armchair and closed my eyes, trying to focus and analyze the current situation.
The spies would report their first findings in about fifteen minutes. We might have to conduct a military operation. I passed a clan-wide order: "To arms!"
The demons were becoming a problem. As I had no more use for them, I decided to slowly escort them out of our plane of reality.
I sent my allies a signal to get into formations while passing an order via my staff channel: "Hell creatures are not to be spared. Secretly use them as cannon fodder, then hide your own manpower and come to their aid just a moment too late like in the movie Chapaev."
I just didn’t like how Asmodeus had been looking at things with an appraising eye lately. And I was no match for him in terms of long-term planning and crafty designs. Next to the age-old archdemon, I was like a first grader counting on his fingers up against a math professor.
I mentally reached out to Lurch who shed tears of joy. The castle missed attention and personal contact. Simply peeping in on thousands of its inhabitants wasn’t enough. I wondered if I should build a female chapel next to the castle, then borrow the soul of a pretty witch from the Great Nothingess. Let the lovebirds chat away!
Rubbing my left cheek as I remembered what I just went through, I shook my head. Sorry guys, I could lose my head next time, and for a good reason.
I asked the castle to set a glade in the elven garden with some coffee and summon the senior officers there. Lurch was the ruler of the garden. It was his pride and joy. The spirit of the castle spent most of his pocket money on elven landscaping.
Lurch gladly arranged everything, personally sent the messengers, prepared the waitresses, and gave the chefs the works just in case. It was common knowledge that NPCs did a better job when they got orders directly from the castle. The food was better, the delivery men were faster, аnd the maids were less likely to turn a guy down.
The clanging of iron and the roaring of magic came from the portal square. After getting some sleep and rest, my clan mates were preparing for yet another battle.
Soon, I was sitting by the dastarkhan laid with food in the shade of singing elven trees, in the company of my closest officers. The introduction of watermelons into AlterWorld must have inspired the castle to study Central Asian culture.
The officers were savoring the melons’ juicy flesh, breaking off pieces of lavash and patting the large foreheads of the hounds who had settled in their laps. It turned out that the canines were great for relieving stress and fatigue by helping the exhausted warriors get rid of unwanted emotions. And all it took to make the hounds into the world’s most loyal creatures was two fluid ounces of coffee per head.
I glanced at Orcus. He was still holding two jobs; the leader of both domestic and foreign intelligence. Since our staff didn’t even add up to a thousand, we simply didn’t have the luxury of narrow specialization.
I had placed my hopes on the grandparents of the rescued kids. But the untimely rupture of the worlds brought a sad change; the clan had only gained fifty new members when it happened, and these new ones still had to go through the lengthy procedure of mind rejuvenation and leveling up.
"Any info from our stealthers?" I asked Orcus.
He shook his head. "The ones farthest out haven’t closed the file yet. They’ll close in on our target soon enough. There have been a few reports of some findings along the way, but nothing extraordinary."
The colonel was busy cutting a melon into small pieces and feeding it to the rainbow-colored dragon who was swallowing the pieces whole. Despite the huge number of frags the familiar had scored in battle, he hadn’t grown at all and was still the size of a parrot. The range of the dragon’s fiery breath had doubled though, and he could now deal almost as much total damage as the top raid bosses.
Treasure hunters had already thoroughly combed a few square miles of the desert, inspired by the ex-mercs’ accidental discovery. They did find eggs of all sorts, but none contained any rainbow-colored dragons.
A few prospectors got rich at auctions, others became the owners of pet birds and lizards, but most ended up breeding aggressive monsters with my help. But it was too early to give up. Digging through that desert would take centuries…
After rinsing my fingers in a bowl with pink water – merely for aesthetics purposes as we hand’t disc
overed germs yet – I asked again: "Any news from Dan?"
Cryl leaned forward and replied, "An officer from the Vets is currently in a Bulgarian micro-cluster. They say an oracle lives there now. His twin brother was left in the real world, and they seem to be communicating mentally. So everyone who has any unfinished business left on Earth is trying to get in to see him. Dan is a bit inadequate right now, so General Frag appointed one of his guys to look after him. You know, so that the oracle’s gang can’t get Dan to give them all of his money or any of the Alliance’s secret info."
I nodded. "Good. Now give me the general news, but briefly. We’re low on time…Oh, and find Camo. Yes, the one in the spotted négligé."
There were lots of updates, mostly bad ones. Durin and the Analyst were the first to start complaining in unison. One was protecting the clan’s treasury and armories, and the other was trying to stay on top of all the news.
Having acquired real laws of physics, AlterWorld could no longer be the embodiment of all the game designers’ fantasies. Some of the super-powerful or completely illogical objects couldn’t continue to exist, not even with the help of miracles and magic. Feathers weighing a ton all turned to dust. Several Rings of Omnipotence and Staffs of Absolute Submission lost their properties.
I could not alter these processes and simply ordered to get rid of all the ruined items at the auction by slowly lowering the prices and hoping to finally get a bid from an auto broker. We decided not to take any chances and simply account for all current losses. Easy come, easy go.
There were more bad news. Because of Yavanna’s blessing and the rupture of the worlds, the beasts of the Frontier began interbreeding and multiplying incredibly fast. The wild flora and fauna mutated and took the offensive. We had to close the Remote Post as it had been raided several times by packs of wild dogs, jackals, wolves and other mongrels.
Some NPC towns got wiped out while small cities had walls built around them to fence themselves off from the woods. The situation wasn’t critical, but nature was attacking, and the outlook was rather grim…
