by Sergei Katz
— I have extra armor now! — I shocked the dumbfounded Orc.
All that Rarou was capable of at this moment was to scratch his unshaven chin.
— Wow! — The Orc broke into a grin. — At least there’s some benefit from your flower. I thought you treated it like a baby and let it consume your manna, but it was of little use.
— Uh-huh, — I agreed, jumping back up on my feet. — And I also have a new quest. — And I read it to him out loud:
Available hidden quest “Moonlight-III”. Find the perfect place for the moon power. Hurry up! The moon is one of the three true forces of magic, and its influence will have an impact on the world. Reward (variable).
— If that’s what you received for the second quest, then lord knows what you will receive for the third quest, — the Orc whistled enviously.
— Yeah, only now I have to run around the world to find the perfect place, — I sighed.
— Do not worry, the tribe will help, all of us will look for it. We will involve the merchants as well.
— Thank you! I hope we will make it on time, — I told him.
— Of course, we will definitely choose the right moon, but the moon flower will have its choice.
I couldn’t quite understand why the Orcs had to choose the moon, but while Rarou and I were chatting, a new message came through:
Thanks to you in the world there is a first Grand Master of Strategy! The world welcomes the Grand Master of Strategy!
— Wow! — The Orc roared in surprise. — That was quick. Only recently the Smithy became a Grand Master, and now there is a Strategist. Things are getting better by the day.
— Would you be very surprised if I told you that I am not only familiar and friendly with both, but also helped them to become the first ones of their kind? — I grinned.
Two of the Orc’s huge saucer-shaped eyes were looking at me on his face in complete surprise.
— You're lying! — The Orc could not restrain himself, but after seeing how serious I was, he sighed. — Well Alder, you never stop surprising me! As soon as I start to think that you have nothing more to tell me, you do it again and again. Well, come on, you can tell me more over dinner.
During the story, when I reached the oasis and the fact that the Satyr was free at this point, since only after leaving the oasis could the Satyr become a Grand Master so quickly. Rarou and the Shaman, who had only listened to half of my story, jumped up, exchanged glances and began to quickly issue loud commands. I hadn’t yet mastered the local language, but I more or less understood what was going on. All the warriors were urgently sent to search for the oasis. Literally a minute later the camp was empty, only a few remained to protect the women and children.
Rarou, roaring apologies, led the search, but promised to return in the morning regardless of the result.
— Forgive us, — the Shaman relaxed and flopped down beside me.
Nobody knew his name. After accepting the title of the chief Shaman of the tribe, the new Shaman no longer used his original name.
— What you just said is an ideal solution for the tribe, and for an oasis. It will no longer need to constantly look for new inhabitants, and we will have an ideally protected place, even with its own water source.
— But it is constantly on the move! — I was surprised. — How will those that leave know where to come back to?
— Ah, that, — the Shaman said dismissively, — it’s the easy part. I will use spirit magic to make amulets that point the way to the heartland.
— Okay, but what about the fact that it won’t let anyone out? — I insisted.
— No big deal, — the Shaman smirked. — A magical contract. In exchange for protection, we promise that there will always be someone left in the oasis. So, it's a win-win situation! The main thing is to find it first, — the Shaman sighed. — You have helped us a lot yet again, and thanks to you we have a huge opportunity! It is possible that the oasis has not yet jumped from the moment that the Satyr left it. Then we will find it quickly. Forgive me, Alder, but I will not be able to keep you company today because I have so much else to do.
— It's all right, — I nodded. — I’m going to rest now because I’ll be back on the road tomorrow.
Nobody woke me up in the morning, which was a bit unusual. Usually the warriors had argued over who would have the pleasure of waking me up. Well, what could I do if the Orcs got up at five in the morning while I was still dreaming?
I calmly gathered myself together and prepared food to eat for me and my pets. The village was very quiet, and at the very last moment, when I wanted to find the Shaman and say goodbye, a huge cloud of dust appeared on the horizon. The cloud flew at me at full speed, and when I was ready to jump out of the way, the dust settled, and in front of me stood a quartet of huge lizards. And on their backs were Rarou, two trained scouts and the most experienced warrior of the tribe after their leader, named Grykryk. He had been the third in line when the tribe offered me the choice for a fair fight. How long ago that had been, and how differently the Orcs were looking at me at this point!
— We got here in time! — Rarou growled joyfully. — I knew that you always sleep in, so I knew that we wouldn’t be late.
— How's the search going? — I ignored the sarcastic comments of my brother-Orc.
— We have narrowed the area down. Of course the Oasis can jump, but the Shaman will find it and track it down. The problem is that other Shamans will also follow us, and then it's a question of pure luck as to who will be the first, so it's better to find it before the jump.
Rarou jumped down from the monitor lizard and hugged me tightly:
— It's a pity to let you go so early, but I understand. Everyone has their own path to follow. Our paths will cross again one day. We will always be connected, so we will never be bored alone! — The Orc slammed his fist on his chest.
Rarou believed that communication went through the soul, and I didn’t want to change his mind.
— They will be your escorts. — The Orc nodded at the trio. — Climb on the lizard, otherwise you'll be out in the desert for a year, and then it's a fact that until you kill all the monsters, you won’t be able to leave. — The Orcs laughed at the chief's joke. I also smiled politely, but sometimes I found Orc humor leaving me cold.
The Orc patted the head of my Copper Wing, after which the Totem quickly took off, fearing the continuation of his patting, since the Orcs could be rather heavy handed. Little Morph also received his share of affection and was left to say goodbye to his sidekick Slasher. The pets had become very friendly together, and although they showed no mercy to each other on the battlefield, once the training ended, they were inseparable.
Along with the giggles of the Orcs, I struggled to climb on top of the huge lizard that Rarou had assigned to me and settled myself down more comfortably.
— Well, it's time to go, — my new brother said with sadness, and grinning, he slapped my lizard on the nose. The lizard jerked and I almost fell off. Grykryk, who was obviously waiting for just that, led his lizard into a gallop, followed by the rest, including mine. It was a miracle that I didn’t fall off.
We raced through the desert at an incredible speed. The Orcs drove the lizards on without sparing the whip. As it turned out, the Shaman and Rarou had announced a very tempting reward for those who would find the oasis first. The Orcs refused to say what the reward was going to be. Although the trio had volunteered to keep me safe, they were fighting for this privilege, but the reward for finding the oasis was much more valuable to them. So, by the evening, they made sure that I was safely in the forest, then they hugged me goodbye and left as soon as they could, dumping me in the woods. They had been ordered to make sure that I got out of the desert, and that’s what they did. As soon as both of my boots hit the floor, I turned around. On the spot where there recently were four lizards, there was only a pillar of dust.
— What have you been promised? Never mind, nothing else to do, so...
<
br /> I instructed Copper Wing to lead us to the tavern.
CHAPTER 29:
LIFE IS NEVER SIMPLE
After all this time, where there used to be a lonely tavern, there was a whole settlement. In addition to the building of the forge, I counted eleven new buildings, plus seven more at the construction stage. The noisiest building site was near the guesthouse itself. It looked like Martha had already saved up enough money for a new hotel. Actually, why should I have been surprised that there were a lot of people around? There were quickly erected temporary tents all around, from which the Tavern’s sign was hanging. Apparently, Martha had arranged a temporary accommodation for people and rented it out. I was impressed with this woman’s business acumen! I wonder if it's something that you could learn, or you just had to have brains.
Greeting us as friends in her home, Martha immediately freed up the best table for us. We had no time to get settled, as a happy dwarf burst into the tavern and plopped down on one of the chairs. Minutes later, the whole table was filled up with food and drink, after which the last chair was taken by the hostess of the hostelry.
— What about the other customers? — Terin grinned.
— What about them? — Martha didn’t seem to care. — Look how many helpers I have now. They'll sort it out. They know what they’re doing.
Indeed, four quick-witted waiters were running around the room: two Belp girls, one young half-elf and a young human looking man.
— So, tell us everything! — The dwarf impatiently poured a glass of beer for everyone. — This, by the way, is our recipe but based on your input, so tell me what you think of it.
The giantess and the dwarf stared at me, awaiting my verdict. I tried the drink. “Good Lord!”
— That‘s absolutely delicious, — I praised the brewers.
— Of course, — said Martha with a grin. — It only took a thousand attempts, and we were already prepared to dump the whole idea, but here it is. This, incidentally, is now the most popular drink in the tavern, and people come from far and wide to try it.
— By the way, one third of the profit for it is yours! — I was dumbfounded by the dwarf.
— You gave us the idea, — Martha nodded. — The money is in your room. I put it in the chest.
All this time the dwarf was pouring beer to my already drunken pet. I didn’t understand how, but these two actually could communicate with each other. It seemed that the dwarf knew exactly what Little Morph was telling him. Naturally, the Copper Wing was also given attention. The giantess absolutely loved the bird and fed the Totem with all sorts of goodies. If I wasn’t mistaken, my Copper Wing was even given chewing fruits.
Over dinner, I told my friends about our adventures. I thought that when they found out about Alex's fate, they would be upset, but it turned out otherwise.
— You're a fine chap for helping him, — the Dwarf sighed. — It was the only way for him.
— It's a pity, of course, but it is what it is and the safety of his soul is the most important thing, — the giantess supported the dwarf’s words.
We filled each other in on all the news. Little Morph and my Totem had been dozing for ages, and the tavern was empty. We kept talking and sharing ideas about the arrangement of a new town. With the light hand of these two I ended up being one of the founders of the village of Tavsmithy. Actually, there were long disputes over the name: the dwarf was offering complex and long words, as it was customary for dwarves. Meanwhile, Martha was proposing two or more poetic words as the name. Evaluating the situation, I realized that if I wanted to get some sleep that day, I had to offer my own version, which would satisfy both of my drinking companions. Although the Orcs and I had drunk a lot, the dwarf plied me with different gorgeous drinks, and by the end my head needed to hit the pillow.
Without thinking twice, I took the words “tavern” and “smithy” and combined them into the first thing that came into my mind. It seemed that Terin and Martha had spent ages trying to decide on a name, and they had become tired of it as well. Both of my companions were plastered on booze, so the odds were fifty-fifty. My proposal first aroused indignation, but, having thought it over, they both agreed that it all began with a smithy and a tavern. So, clinking our glasses together, we all approved the name of “Tavsmithy”.
You have achieved the status of “Godfather’". The popularity of the village of Tavsmithy is increased by 30%. A 15% chance that a major trader will lay his route through the city. A 5% chance that a specialist in rare works will decide to settle in the city.
— You are really something special! —The dwarf cried. — We need to have another drink to celebrate! — Then came the toasts for the future, for money, for glory...
I had no memory of how long I had been sat there, but I woke up the next morning with a terrible headache. A pack of lizards was running around inside my head, so I quickly took out the magic medicine from my collection of herbs and spices. A minute later I was back to normal. I swore to myself that I would never drink so much again. In the future I would choose one drink and stick with it. Mixing my drinks really screwed me up.
My room was on the second floor, and from the window I was able to see what was going on in the smithy from my window. The dwarf's affairs were going well. Terin had found himself a pair of apprentices: one of them was taking orders, and the second one was working with the bellows. The dwarf himself was busy forging, while telling something to Little Morph, who was terribly interested in all of this. I looked for my Copper Wing, and there he was. My Totem was flying above the construction site from high altitude, watching what was going on with curiosity.
Well, if everybody was already occupied, then I could finally get down to my own business. First, I checked the chest: “Unbelievable! Almost 700 gold coins, and this was just the beginning! It seemed like I was financially comfortable, at least for the immediate future, unless I decided to build a grand estate. Would it be a good idea to build my new home in the center of this newly growing town? — I decided to discuss this point with my fellow partners, but I didn’t expect there to be any objections.
I also took this opportunity to sort out the collection of items in my bag, as my pets were busy and I had a chance to get on with it. Said and done, so I dumped all the contents on the floor of the room and started sorting through them.
The first pile - all cheap metal, would go to Terin. He probably would be very happy to have more metal and could melt it. Everything that was worth more than a couple of copper coins, I shifted to a certain place in my bag, so that the next time I met with a trader, it wouldn’t take long to find them.
The second group of items was my ingredients. This was a little more complicated: what was of use for blacksmithing went to the heap alongside the metal. Almost anything that was of use for cooking and any rare or unusual ingredients I put back in my bag.
I tried to divide objects into logical groups and fill my collection of goods so that I could find what I needed quickly. I was so carried away that I stopped noticing what was going on around me. And then my intuition woke up: “Something's wrong!” I started to look around the room. My gaze slid smoothly over the objects, and my brain took it all in. Everything seemed to be as it had been before: a bed, a closet, a window, and a bunch of other things. Then my Copper Wing flew into the room, examining something on the floor with interest... My eyes had already seen what seemed to be the trouble, but my brain had not yet understood what the problem was.
Then everything happened incredibly quickly: I followed where my Totem was looking. I ran forward, at the same time as my Copper Wing, but the bird was closer. Time seemed to slow down. My Totem, with incredible speed for him, reached his target a fraction of a second ahead of my fingers and swallowed the Ruby Seed.
— What the BLEEP do you think you are doing?!
The last thing I saw on the bird's beak was an apologetic expression, after which the entire body of the Copper Wing got covered with a scarlet veil. The impression cr
eated was that it got encased in a shell. Small bright red lightning flashes were running throughout the surface of the coating. As they said, when the crap has already hit the fan, it’s time to deal with the consequences. After observing the shell enveloping the bird for a couple of minutes, I realized that nothing would happen in the near future, so I kept sorting through my stuff, occasionally looking out the corner of my eyes to see what was happening to the bird.
Guess what happened next! Literally fifteen minutes after the incident with my Copper Wing, some sort of a crazy commotion began outside the window. Some old man burst into the courtyard of the tavern and started calling for help. A crowd gathered around the old man, and, as if inspired by this fact, the panicked man began to shout even louder. It looked like I wasn’t going to get any peace today. I had already sorted out eighty percent of my inventory, so I decided to leave the rest lying on the floor. Without thinking, I threw a couple of items into my bag, and ran down to the courtyard to see what all the fuss was about.
As soon as I appeared on the first floor of the tavern, Martha ran up to me with a worried look on her face:
— If this old man is right, we have problems, — the giant's voice sounded panicky.
— Okay, what's the problem? I still don’t know what’s going on; I only heard screams in the courtyard and decided to check out what was happening.
— Oh, I'm sorry, — the tavern mistress blushed slightly. — Someone has captured the Forest Guardian, and if the Guardian is not released quickly, the forest will begin to die.
— So? What’s the problem? There are lots of people here, and most of them are armed, so we will just go into the forest and bring him back.
— That’s not going to happen, —Martha sighed. — These people are mostly traders and artisans. There are no more than five capable fighters, excluding you and Terin. They have formed a group together and have already left, but the forest is big, and nobody knows where the kidnappers are. I know that you have just returned and haven’t had any time to rest, but you have a flying Totem and it will be easier for him to find the kidnappers.
