“Nobody else wants to marry a vila. Experienced players steer clear of them, and noobs go check the forums when everyone starts calling them idiots. They figure out what’s going on and just start over with a new character. You’re the only one around here that’s currently planning on going through with it—and maybe the only one in the entire game.”
“What, there aren’t any vilas in this area?”
“No, vilas are only found in swamps. And, we may be jerks sometimes, but we aren’t bad enough to tempt you players with them all the time.”
I had my own opinion on that point, but I decided to keep it to myself.
“Okay, but I still don’t get the logic. I have Mesmerta’s mark, but why did it work in Vitar’s temple? Is there some kind of connection?”
Valyaev squinted at me and sighed.
“Kif, when are you going to finally read the materials available about the game? Who are Vitar and Mesmerta?”
“Departed Gods.” I shrugged.
“Husband and wife; one of three married pairs of Old Gods. They had the same institute of marriage.”
The answer to the riddle dawned on me. Well, of course, that makes perfect sense. Husband and wife. Husband and wife…a devilish alliance…
“Okay, I have another question then.” I decided to get as much as I could out of our conversation.
Valyaev nodded in acquiescence.
“How was their marriage? Was it like the Greek gods, full of arguing, scandal, and all that? Or did they love each other?”
“Do you ever do anything for yourself?” Valyaev was indignant. “Log out and do some reading.”
“I can’t. I need to make a decision, and if I log out, the quest offer will disappear. Incidentally, it’s driving me crazy—you might consider putting it off in the corner or something.”
“Yeah, right.” Valyaev snorted. “Then we’ll have players like you taking months to make decisions. No, thank you. This way is fine. And as far as Vitar and Mesmerta are concerned, they loved each other. In fact, they were actually pretty good gods. They didn’t get into fights, they didn’t demand blood sacrifice, and they didn’t go around starting intrigues just for fun. They were pretty decent, and definitely better than Tekhosh or Trayana the Faceless, for example. As gods go, of course.”
“So they compromised with each other, gave things up for each other?”
Valyaev looked at me in surprise. “Yes, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. They loved each other. They left this world holding hands. How’s that for romance, Kif?”
A first-rate love story. Walking off into the sunset hand in hand, cheek to cheek. Lovely.
“Oh, and one more question. Will Vitar be returning?”
Valyaev smirked. “No comment! And, anyway, I think we’re done here. You have enough to go on.”
“Okay, fine.” I answered in kind and pressed Accept.
You are now a servant of Vitar, the God of War
You receive:
Title: Servant of the God of War
The right to join the Legion of Vitar, the God of War
Active ability: Memory of the God
Gives you a 50% strength boost
Duration: 40 seconds
Activation cost: 45 mana
Recharge time: 1 minute
If Vitar, the God of War, returns to Fayroll, Memory of the God will be replaced with Power of the God.
So, Valyaev was right. I may have earned myself some problems in the far-off future, but for the present, I had a pretty decent ability. Then something else popped up.
You have been offered the chance to join the Legion of Vitar, the God of War. When Vitar was one of the Fayroll gods, he loathed servility, guile, flattery, subservience, and everything else practiced by most of the other gods’ followers.
He most valued courage, loyalty to one’s principles, and devotion to one’s comrades in arms. From among the best warriors in Fayroll—those who worshipped him—he formed the Legion of the God, and joining it was the dream of all men. The Legion served the powers of the Light, and its warriors carried the flame of the God in their hearts.
After the departure of the gods, the Legion disintegrated, and nobody in Fayroll even remembers it. Neither legend nor written record remains.
If you join the Legion of the God, you will receive:
Titles:
Legionnaire of Vitar
First in the Resurrected Legion
Passive ability: Belief in the Legion
Right when your heart is overcome by terror, the belief all of Vitar’s legionnaires have in the triumph of the Light will warm it and fill it with hope.
Gives +50% to mental resistance.
Activates automatically.
If the Legion is restored, you will become its legate, and if Vitar, the God of War, returns to Fayroll, you will be given the rank of aquilifer and a place in the Legion Council.
You may also receive other rewards if Vitar, the God of War, returns to Fayroll.
Accept?
I’d accepted the first offer, so there was no point declining the second. I was comforted by the fact that nobody in the Legion would be asking me to do anything. As of that moment, I was its sole member.
That done, I turned back to Valyaev.
“That’s strange. I’m a full-fledged servant of the God, and the only one he has right now. Shouldn’t I have gotten some buildings or powers?”
“Yeah, right. And maybe you’d like to be high priest, have the right to recruit people to your belief, and own a castle with towers and a trained dragon?” asked Valyaev sarcastically. “I’ve heard of that, but with us everything is simple. You worship the God, great. Go for it. And, that’s it. All right, then, you got your ability?”
“I did.”
“And the answers to your questions?”
“Yep.”
“You’re a legionnaire now?”
“I am.”
“Then get out of here. I have things to do, too. See you!”
Valyaev stood up and walked toward the wall with the intention of leaving the True Temple.
“Hold on!” I called after him.
He turned. “Something else?”
“Can you unfreeze my green friend?” I gestured toward Zorbofayl. “Oh, and one more thing…”
“Out with it!” said Valyaev shortly.
“I came here for a quest, and I was supposed to get something; that’s why a local dwarf gave me the key. We’re supposed to split the loot. But now…”
“Are you crazy, Nikiforov?” Valyaev circled his temple with his finger. “Would you like me to bring you a few sandwiches as well?”
“No, don’t worry about the sandwiches.” I wasn’t giving up. “But maybe I can finish off the last skeleton and at least get loot from them? The dwarf seems like a good guy; I feel bad…”
Valyaev groaned and stuck his head through the wall, where he was apparently talking with someone. Then he pulled it back out and, with a wave of his hand, unfroze Zorbofayl.
The latter twitched, noticed Valyaev, stared at him, and tried to come to attention. Apparently, he recognized a commander when he saw one.
“Okay, show this warrior the trophies you’ve built up over the years and share some with him,” Valyaev said to the ghost before doffing his beret and diving into the wall, this time completely and, presumably, for good.
“The warrior is now a servant of the God!” Zorbofayl happily exclaimed, flitting around me.
“Better,” I answered. “The warrior is now a legionnaire!”
The ghost’s opinion of me obviously skyrocketed, and he shot off and started digging around in a far corner.
“What are you doing?” I asked him.
“Following the order given by the demiurge,” he answered, moving a pile of goods to the center. My keen eyes immediately spotted quite a few things I could use. “These are the temple’s trophies. Many have left here with a reward; many others have laid down their lives and left with
them their armor and blades. I keep them here, in the temple of my God. They’re honorable trophies—I hope he likes them.”
“Why did you call that guy in the beret a demiurge?” I asked Zorbofayl casually.
He opened his mouth to answer, but Number Nineteen popped out of the wall and interrupted him.
“Hagen, you have ten seconds to collect your reward. When your time is up, I will port you out of the temple, as you have gotten everything you can here. Your time starts…now. Ten. Nine…”
I jumped over to the pile and started stuffing everything I could grab into my sack without even bothering to see what it all was. There will be time for that later.
Eight seconds later my eyes flashed, I blinked, and I found myself standing near the temple. Stars shone in the sky. The air, I noticed, was much fresher outside.
“You can’t do that!” I shook my fist at the sky. “You’re interfering with my game progress!”
Thunder shook the clear sky. The message couldn’t have been clearer: Go ahead. Write a complaint.
I took a deep breath and headed toward the city. There was a party I needed to visit, after all.
The half-elf and her friend were gone. They’d apparently finished their meal and gone on their way. Everything around me, in fact, was empty. The onset of night had seen to that. Even in town, I was surprised to find there was almost no one out on the streets. The only noise I heard was coming from the party at Locket’s house. I followed the light streaming out the windows, staggering and swearing as I went—just like I promised.
“What’s going on here?” I roared, having crashed through the short door. “You’re having your fun here, and you didn’t think to invite old Hendricks? You have drinks, and, oh baby…” I blew a kiss to one of the…What do you call them? Girl-pixies, I guess. Whatever she was called, she looked at me with revulsion.
I continued my drunken walk through the room and tapped around the center, stumbling over, rudely shoving the many guests as I went. Once I’d gotten to the girl-pixie I had my eye on, I plumped down onto one knee and started spouting off some obscenities.
Finally, Locket appeared in all his glory, most of which was a blue and red cloak.
“Hey, you lousy hulk, let’s take this out into the courtyard!”
“Oh, screw off!” I told him, puckering my lips and reaching for the girl-pixie in front of me.
“Get out of here, you scum!” Locket grabbed me by the sleeve.
“You know what? Fine. But you’ll be sorry!” I drunkenly gurgled before turning back to the girl-pixie, who was half-dead from disgust and terror. “I’ll be right back; don’t go anywhere! Ah, my little mermaid…”
In the courtyard, Locket gestured with his arms, doing his best impression of putting me in my place. What he was actually saying was somewhat different. “Fantastic! Did you see how she looked at me? I’m so cool! Ah, this will definitely be a good night.”
“You’re telling me,” I said, exhausted. “So are we good?”
“Completely,” answered Locket. He extended a finger, showing me where I was supposed to go.
You completed a quest: Brave Pixie
Reward:
300 experience
“Excellent,” I said. “Then hand over the 20 gold.”
“Stop by tomorrow,” the pixie said quickly. “Otherwise, it’ll look like I just paid you to leave!”
“We’ll see about that,” I answered, plastering a look of fear over my face and dashing away. “See you tomorrow.”
I found a corner several houses down from Locket’s party, decided to put off looking through what I’d grabbed at the temple, sat down next to a fence, and logged out of the game.
Chapter Fourteen
In which our hero wakes up twice.
I opened my eyes that morning—well, not exactly, more like that afternoon—regardless, I woke up and tried to piece my thoughts together. Everything was mixed up in my head—gods, pixies, Valyaev, the Legion… Too much information had been crammed into my brain over the last day, and it was trying to get its feet under it. I needed a break.
Groaning, I crawled out of bed and onto the balcony. Fall was starting to encroach on Moscow, though summer wasn’t giving up without a fight. The leaves were still green, if tinged with yellow, the sun was more tiredly dimmed than blindingly bright, and there was a faint autumn bitterness in the air. Children were running in the courtyard and making much more noise than they had been a couple weeks before that. The dacha season was over, and all the grandmothers had brought their grandchildren back from their panelboard-and-wood resorts in the villages to their blocky brick homes in the city.
I don’t like smoking on an empty stomach, but I needed a few drags to wake me up a little. Some people prefer coffee for their morning pick-me-up, others drink cocoa, and I smoke cigarettes. I know, I know, smoking on an empty stomach is bad for me—not to mention smoking in general.
My head was starting to clear, so I tossed the butt over the rail. (Yes, I’m a pig, but I can’t stand having those empty beer bottles full of cigarettes laying around. And, seriously, be honest. Who doesn’t do that every once in a while?) I went back inside to shave and have breakfast—or lunch, I guess. I decided not to take too much time, since I had quite a bit to do that day. I needed to go split my loot with the dwarf, grill him and Locket about the Departed Gods, and, while I was on the subject, do whatever else I could to learn more about them. I figured I could check the forums, but the lack of information there would probably push me toward some people outside the game. Then, I needed to head over to the office to check in on my team. We had our first issue coming up, and I couldn’t ignore them forever. That wouldn’t have been right on my part, but, more importantly, my head would be the one on the line if they screwed up. And, that would have just fed my colleagues’ schadenfreude. We were a close-knit group that always liked to see each other fail.
Once I had some food in me, I jumped straight into the capsule, and a minute later, stood up next to the fence I’d collapsed next to the day before. The irony was palpable; I had gold, my hotel room was paid for, and I spent the night next to a fence. The first legionnaire, a favorite of the gods, and even a favorite of the demiurges…
On the way to the market, I noticed that the city guard was darting in and out of all the different courtyards. One of them looked me over and even was about to ask me something, though he thought better of it and ran off. I shook my head, figuring that someone had stolen something or killed somebody, and kept going.
There were guards at the market, too, though they weren’t as active. And, compared to the day before, the place was deserted.
Trayn waved to me from his usual spot as soon as I caught his attention.
“Good afternoon, kind, sir,” I greeted him.
“And, a good afternoon to you, as well.” The dwarf shifted in his chair, obviously from impatience. “So, how did everything go in the temple? Out with it!”
“What do you think?” I answered with dignity. “I went to see it and walked away with some loot. I’m not sure what I got exactly, though, since I haven’t had the chance to look through it.”
You completed a quest: Temple Secrets
Reward:
700 experience
Half the items found in the temple.
“Then, what are we waiting for? Let’s check it out!” Even Trayn’s beard was quivering in anticipation.
I decided to stop tormenting the poor guy. After all, I was curious to see what I’d come away with, as well. There wasn’t anything big like spears or shields, I was sure, since I’d focused on little things, but I had no idea what I actually got.
Up went my bag and out poured all the odds and ends I’d collected, since there wasn’t anything there that I didn’t get from the temple. What I wasn’t using was in my room, and I was wearing what I was using. Except for my gold, of course, and there wasn’t a whole lot of that…
We looked down at the pile on the counter t
o see maybe fifteen rings, a few knives, poleyns,[13] a slightly bent tiara, a pair of amulets, a scimitar, a few small wands, a helmet, and, for some reason, a sack full of buttons.
Trayn’s eyes sparkled as he quickly dug through everything.
“My good man,” I said, my take on the situation swiftly turning sour, “let’s do this: we can look through everything one by one, putting what we’ve already checked out off to the side. Well, except for the buttons probably…”
“Agreed,” said the dwarf with a nod of his head. “What shall we begin with?”
“With the big things. The helmet, scimitar, poleyns,” I suggested. “And, then we can continue by size.”
The dwarf nodded, and we got down to business.
My haul, I should note, while it wasn’t terrible, wasn’t anything incredible or unbelievable. That made sense though. How would really good stuff have gotten into the temple? The quest was for lower-level players; it didn’t offer much by way of rewards, and most of the players who got in were probably similar to me.
I’m not trying to say that there wasn’t anything good, of course. The amulets were pretty nice, though they were for mages, and the helmet wasn’t bad. Not as good as mine though. The poleyns were decent, too, actually, better than decent.
Steppe Yak Leather Poleyns
Protection: 240
+9 to strength
+11 to stamina
+10% protection from ranged weapons
+4% movement speed
Durability: 143/230
Minimum level for use: 34
I was closing in on Level 34, so the fact that I couldn’t use them yet didn’t really bother me. On the other hand, judging by the sparkle in the dwarf’s eye, I was very afraid he’d take them.
The rings were nice, as well, if pretty ordinary. None of them was elite or legendary, though five or so were rare.
The tiara, judging by the description, used to belong to a mage girl and, I was surprised to see, had been crafted. It was just a shame it didn’t say what her name was—we could have returned it, as neither I nor the dwarf had any interest in it. I found the scimitar and the wands equally unimpressive, though they definitely caught the dwarf’s eye.
The Road East (Epic LitRPG Adventure - Book 2) (Fayroll) Page 17
