The Way of the Clan 4 (World of Valdira)

by Dem Mikhaylov

  - What? – I wasn’t slow to inquire.

  - Judging by your quest, the Krabbers are here on tour. And it is necessary to destroy the whole party. And this means, that the creatures do not respawn. If only we knew their total.

  - At least a dozen— I sighed— And this is the most optimistic forecast. I think there are many more. Warriors, mages…

  The rest watched us with uncomprehending faces. All but Orbit— he played with Nathan.

  - Explain it to them— I asked Kira.

  The paladin beamed happily and began to expound of what we were talking about. Such knowledge was useful. All listened, spiritually preparing for future horrors.

  All is simple.

  A crab is a crab after all. Normal marine crabs. Just so huge that they resemble horses. A Krabber – sounds menacing. Three claws for the two of them, a weapon or magic. Plus, thick bony armor— or both. They are fast, and can walk on any open area. Downright horsemen of the apocalypse.

  The fish collective— they support the Krabbers during underwater expeditions. I personally have never seen this herd because they do not depart from the ocean bottom. But much is heard about them. It is a tremendous hodgepodge of different fishes which perform different functions. Exploration, aiding attacks, and a cover during retreat. And these fish do a lot more for their damned owners. Including acting as a live food stock on a rainy day.

  - And most importantly— said Kirea the Protectress— This is the commander of the detachment! They have a leader for sure and certainly, this is not a simple Krabber.

  - What one then? Which one? – Doc asked.

  - A horrible one! Very bad! Think of him as a mini boss and you can’t go wrong— the paladin sighed heavily.

  - But we have to kill him— I said slowly – The squad must be destroyed completely.

  - We’re done! We’re all going to die here! – foolishly began Doc, clutching my head in both his hands— This is the end! Even the most brilliant doctoring will not be able to save all at once…

  - I’m more and more interested, Ros— mused Kaylen— where did you manage to find such quests? Wherever I go it’s the same— a mouse I the kitchen, bats in the attic. My biggest quest— take a walk in the forest and kill a gray wolf. And then you! Kobolds, Krabbers, werewolves, bog creatures! How do you do it?

  - I have no idea— I shrugged, seeing that everyone was now staring at me— Most of them are purely chance. Don’t worry— sooner or later you, too, will be so “lucky.”

  - And not only quests! Equipment and what’s more, a pet… -- Kira said— Where do you even get those?

  Kira could have kept quiet! Eh… a walking disaster! She had clearly developed lots of questions.

  “If you only knew about the evil intended to me by the goddess Snessa and the future goddess sleeping sweetly in my private room… But I will not tell about this…”

  I had grown over with secrets as though a spy. But I still didn’t want to reveal anything.

  - Can we move on? – I suggested.

  - Let’s move! – growled the militant half-orc— The bag is still empty! Interesting, do players ever even come here? Corridors forever… you can go mad like this.

  - Hm… -- Kira said, obviously remembering something— Who knows. Probably. Okay! Moving on! But first let’s check one small thing…

  In another ten minutes we moved forwards again. But this time at the head of the group rustled Nathan, in the company of a spirit which looked most like a pregnant, hairy caterpillar. This was our avant-garde, designed to take the first blow. If, of course, Krabbers do react to ghostly beings. In principle, they should— Krabbers are extremely aggressive to all but their relatives. And in any case we will soon find out, if they react or not.

  The next attack wasn’t from a Krabber, but It was no less aggressive and unexpected. In the middle of the corridor there was a kind of cross of gutters filled with running waters. No more than half a step in width, the flow hardly noticeable. The ghost Nathaniel cheerfully jumped over it and he was thrown up, from which he was sent almost all the way to the ceiling in a blinding white light. To put it plainly— Nathan practically saddled lightening. But he survived by the skin of his teeth— Nathan’s body was nearly dispelled, the misty cloud of his body hardly visible.

  A spear was plunged into the river by our sure-handed paladin. And again. And again! Only on the third plunge Kira stopped, continuing to hold the spear at the ready, peering into the water.

  - What is it?

  - Sea eel! – she replied— Electric.

  - Righto! We already know that! – panted Cray— Not only electric… It’s a damned lightening eel!

  - Cross one by one! – commanded Kirea the Protectress, not taking her eyes off the water— Where there’s one, there may be another.

  - A gift from the Krabbers— I muttered, nervously stepping over the chute. I didn’t want to get a lightning bolt between the legs.

  - Security barrier— nodded Kira— So we’re on the right track.

  - Skin and meat— sighed the half orc, stopping at the trough and scooping up his prey— Oh… electric iron… we’ll need it. The skin will do well for a belt! Who knows how to sew straps?

  - Heh… -- I sighed after a long pause— I guess there are no craftsmen among us. We aren’t workers, we are white meat poured with blue blood…

  - Ew – Kira winced, stepping over the gutter last— You aren’t to be a romantic poet… Next!

  And once again we moved on.

  One featureless corridor after another. Stairs, hills, grilles and doors, and… and doors…

  I was starting not to like this monotony and inability to see more than a few meters ahead of me. My eyes were constantly in front of another moldy, mossy wall with wet streaks. And I wanted space to fly… and I… I want to fly… I want to fly… and then instead of flight we had to get down on all fours and move forwards in this inelegant position.

  We passed at least six doors. Very different ones. From rotten wood to fully metallic, complexly figured, with keyholes and without. Bom almost died of a broken heart. Because if a simple door could be burned or simply knocked over, the metal doors were too tough. The half orc howled, his ears twitched, he gritted his teeth and stamped his feet. He demanded to address the problem of “how do we open this damn door?!” and offered to call third party experts, but his pleas were ignored coolly. If we had been in a different situation, I would have had a great desire to know what was behind the iron doors. There must be something, after all.

  The doors we had been able to open with kicks or fire were small cubicles in which there was some kind of reward. Mixed trash. Barrels, broken boxes, rags, empty bags and so on. But there was some interesting stuff— for example, in one of them were several unopened bottles of wine, and a few elixirs. All of this Bom immediately hid into his backpack, not really allowing us to see any of the trophies. But I didn’t protest such quickness— judging by the calm expressions of the rest of the group, Bom did business honestly, and didn’t deprive anyone of “snacks” and money. And this is most important.

  In addition to the doors we were faced by a growing number of gifts left by the Krabbers. A few sea snakes writhing at the bottom of various pits filled with water in the gutters, even very small pools. There were strange creatures— tangles similar to brown algae and spitting venom, sea urchins with long needles, a couple of small stingrays and jellyfish which could paralyze at a single touch. How the marine animals survived in fresh water I had no idea. I knew there was an explanation— this was very strict in Valdira. That means, something was added to the water— maybe a bag of sea salt or maybe some special potion.

  We escaped from all of these, beating them with minimal damage. One of Orbit’s spirits was killed, I was shocked on my hand, which paralyzed my arm to the shoulder, and Orbit was fascinated by an iridescent rainbow jellyfish, so much that we barely snapped him out of his state. Otherwise he would have just carried on sitting there. We did this simply�
�� we simply killed the jellyfish, ridding him of the object of his fascination. This isn’t an aquarium.

  What alarmed me— we still hadn’t seen the Krabbers. And this greatly saddened me.

  I would much have preferred to meet these monsters on their lonesome. And now everything we were experiencing assured me that we would soon run into a whole troop of them. We barely got one, and if they attacked by the dozen… We would not stand up to even five marine aggressors. And if the boss is with them…

  Going ahead, Kira raised her clenched fist, and we dutifully froze. The bog creature was about to say something but his lips closed like an iron glove, sealing his slobbering mouth.

  Kira was clearly not joking. Another gesture, palm down, a few quiet words and we quietly took a knee, extinguishing our fireflies. For a few seconds we were in darkness.

  I got to the girl and looked forward. Ten meters from us the corridor ended abruptly, and then there was some kind of cave with a rock floor covered in puddles. Even further down I could see a few fires, flowing with blue light— which were, apparently, under the water. And there flashed grotesque shadows, twisting around the light. To our ears carried some kind of strange clicking, grinding, nasty crunching, and strange and melodic whistling.

  Everything was so natural that in the “full immersion” one experienced an indescribable mix of sensations. It seemed that we were truly at the mouth of the cave, where prehistoric monsters danced around the marsh fires. Something wild, frightening and fascinating all at once. In the real world one couldn’t see this any longer. A dull grey metropolis— that was our destiny. For more vivid impressions— Welcome to Valdira. Here, they are guaranteed.

  - What are we going to do? – muttered Doc into my ear— What’s the plan boss?

  - Some kind of — I muttered a response— Oh who the hell knows! I can’t see anything but dancing shadows.

  - But I see— hoarsely said Cray.

  - And what do you see?

  - Two Krabbers sitting around a blue campfire. And a whole bunch of strange creatures, most of which look like a sick nightmare! Guys, are dolphins able to leap from puddle to puddle on their fins, whistling as they do it? Hell of a surprise…

  - And?— Kira started on the gnome— What else do you see? No other Krabbers for sure?

  - I only see two— Cray shook his head— Only if they’re under the water. I see a gigantic octopus. Eating something. Flying fish… I mean from puddle to puddle. Worms or snakes of some kind. Total darkness in short. And are we going to attack this mess?

  - No, damn it! – I grumbled— Just take a look and go away!

  -Me too… how are we going to attack? They all have different levels. All different bodies! Some crawl, some jump, some fly! My eyes will scatter!

  - Scatter? – I chuckled.

  - Cray, you obviously haven’t lived in Valdira for long— chuckled Kira.

  - I do not live here. I play here— retorted the dwarf.

  - That’s what I’m saying— agreed she— You haven’t been here long. Remember the main rule of attacking dens like this.

  - Hmm?

  - Hrm?

  - Only weight opposes weight— said the girl, an apparently meaningless phrase to the uninitiated listeners.

  - What? Huh! You’re talking about…

  - Exactly— nodded Kira— About massive battle spells. To clear the cluster by the mass— a sweet deal. To cut them down one by one is impossible.

  - But we don’t have these yet— I sighed bitterly— At least, I don’t.

  - Anything will do— said Kira, reaching into her waist bag— Who has what? Damnit… Ros, next time explain the quest in more detail!

  - How did I know? – I tried to defend myself, but then quieted and searched in my knapsack.

  I cannot make excuses. I’m the leader. But I’m a leader low on resources! I don’t want to beg for scrolls and finances from clans. Whatever we have thrown into the common fund, that’s how we live! The bald elf put in some colored glass and even threw in a dog collar! Ugh… though in general, it’s time to create a space in my personal room for items for all occasions. If only to find the money for such kits…

  The search took a total of three minutes. All threw their scrolls at me and I grabbed them quickly, surprised at my agility. In the “real” world I would have dropped at least half.

  And in the end we were the proud owners of a wide variety of scrolls, which I began to view— at the same time saying the name of each scroll aloud, so all would know the magnitude of our potential arsenal.

  - Tsk… Fireball, two pieces. Unstable fireball one piece… a joke! Eh, too bad that we have so few! Stone rain one piece. Poisonous wave one piece… first time I hear of this but… sounds interesting.

  - Keep reading— said Kira, cheering with each title.

  - Reading… -- I said— The string of fate… what does that mean? Like in rock music? Or…

  - Yes— said Kaylen— This is my scroll. I received it as a reward for a quest. One of these is “string of fire” and this the one that’s left. It’s the highest form of the “fire stream.” If you activate it at floor level I think it can get many of them…

  - Interesting— I chuckled, bringing my eyes to the following scroll--- So… lilac… let’s see… “I am a slave— you’re the boss”, a two hour passphrase activation: Ahi-sigh, tiki-tricky… what the hell… what kind of spell is this?! And what’s that? “Demoness for an hour”… you’ll feel yourself horned… what the actual hell is this? What kind of magic is it?

  - Oh! – said Doc— This is mine! Sorry, I mistakenly gave it… this is personal!

  - O-o-oh…-- I mused— Personal, well… here… Horned one.

  - I’m not a goat! It’s just… well you know, guys, eh? You understand right…

  - Nah— Cray shook his head— This number doesn’t fly. Kaylen, move away from his, sweetheart.

  - And this man heals us— Kira sighed, struggling not to laugh— Don’t even think about whipping me any more… doctor.

  - And me! – assented Kaylen.

  - How much can you sell them for? – growled Bom, eagerly dancing at the purple scrolls— You can’t keep it, you have to drive it! For good money! Give it here! Damn… but with what kind of face am I going to sell this? Fuck it! I do not care! Come on, I’m selling them!

  - No! I told you— it’s private! Guys, don’t think anything like that! – wailed Doc— I’m normal! I just wanted something you know… ethereal…

  - Venereal? – I blurted out.

  - Ethereal! And everything is fine! It’s not demon for an hour after all, it’s demoness… Oh…

  Our doctor’s hands were shaking so much that even in the game, that he managed to drop one of the scrolls. It floated gently down. Three people rushed for the spinning paper, but the first one to it was the bald elf who picked it up and joyfully muttered

  - “Difilotus pohabus”! Appear!

  And there it appeared…

  I’ll rip your ears off, damn balding elf! And as though on purpose, he read it all clearly and never stuttered!

  In the dark corridor was an incredibly saturated bright pink flash, and there was a woman’s moan of strictly erotic orientation, and when we blinked, we saw a demoness In front of us. Meaning— a woman. Almost naked. A few patches of black shiny leather in casual places revealed huge lush breasts, legs, capricious lips, sharp teeth and a pair of small horns barely visible among the black and scarlet hair.. And a long whip in her hand, wriggling predatorily and on its own.

  The erotic pull is so powerful that her aura probably covered more than half of the water drainage system. Certainly the population of monsters sharply increased.

  Fuck!

  - Hi!— smiled the demon happily— And what are you doing here… dressed. Undress!

  - Ros, don’t look! – Kira growled, her palm covering my bulging eyes and pushing them back into the eye sockets— And don’t you dare undress!

  - I wasn’t going to!<
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  - Interest-ting— Orbit mused.

  - Damn – Bom and Cray said in chorus.

  - Interested, Kray? – Kaylen murmured angrily.

  - No! Interesting in general! – briskly said the dwarf, coming to his senses.

  - Ba-a-aldy— the demon cooed, stepping with swaying hips to the elf.

  - Baldy’s me! – barked Doc— Me!

  - Leave us, nasty one— waved the demon.

  Well… the scroll was activated by the elf and the succubus immediately got to action. The demoness didn’t care about Doc.

  - Orbit! – I hissed.

  - A?

  - Send her!

  - Where?

  - Wherever!

  - Okay! – sang the bald elf— Go!

  - Where?

  - Wherever!

  - Where’d you say, Baldy?

  - To wherever!

  - Oh that’s what you call it, eh? – voluptuously drawled the demon.

  - Point with your hand, genius! – I almost cried— Your hand!

  - Look out! – Kira shouted, turning sharply— They’re coming! A whole mass of them!

  Looking towards the Krabbers, I heavily swore— we were being approached by a dark rippling wave. Monster upon monster, chased by a monster… in the midst of the wave we could see two grim silhouettes. The enemy was coming, and we were dawdling foolishly! The enemies are coming, and one of the party members is about to get laid, and the doctor is drooling with envy…

  - Wherever is there! – the elf waved in the direction from whence we came— Go! There!

  - I will wait for you! – promised the demoness.

  - She’s going to leave! – yelled Doc, tearing at his hair.

  - Hi-i-i-it! – I howled, shoving a few scrolls to whoever I could reach— Poisonous wave!

  Whoo-oo-oo-oo-sh-hh-hh…

  The corridor before me was filled with green liquid moving forwards, covering the advancing enemies.

  - String of fate! – Kaylen supported me, having fallen to her knees, holding the spell just above the floor.

  Only the namesake remained of the spell. I would call it something more of a laser razor— something very bright and flat raced off with mind boggling speed in the direction of the enemy. It sped off so quickly that it was ahead of the “poisonous wave.” In the next moment, many of the enemy troop simply disappeared, and lines about increased experience danced before my eyes. I think it wasn’t only me— Bom enthusiastically cursed at full volume. The vibrant “poisonous wave” covered the ocean monsters and we heard a belated squealing, squeaking and furious cracking.