Fayroll [04] Gong and Chalice

by Andrey Vasilyev

  You completed a quest: Princess Anna

  This is the second in the All Hail the King! series of hidden quests.

  Reward:

  2000 experience

  Right then, something dinged.

  You unlocked Level 59!

  Points ready to be distributed: 5

  “You convinced me, Thane Hagen,” the princess said, sitting down in a chair.

  “Laird,” I replied shortly.

  “If we do what we’re planning on Monday, then you’ll be a thane. What else do you need from the Western crown?”

  “I need an item from the treasury, an old brass chalice that was sent there from the Academy of Wisdom. Inventory number—”

  “You’ll have your chalice,” the princess interrupted me. “It’s a small loss for the treasury. Why did you bring those two with you, by the way?”

  “What else could I do?” I replied with a shrug. “Your son is going to get involved one way or another, and I’d rather have someone there with him to watch his back. They really are all friends there. Well, almost all of them.” I couldn’t help but think of Yasmuga and his pipe. “They also have another hundred people, and you can send them back into the jungle when we’re done. Or you can have them executed, whatever you think is best.”

  “Agreed. Okay, Thane Hagen, do you know what you’re supposed to tell Brother Yur?”

  “Of course. Expect me here the day after tomorrow at a quarter to midnight.”

  You unlocked Go-Between

  This is the third in the All Hail the King! series of hidden quests.

  Task: Pass on to Brother Yur what Princess Anna told you.

  Reward:

  500 experience

  Ability to unlock the next quest in the series

  “Good luck.”

  “And to you, fair lady. I’m going to say goodbye to everyone before I head over to see Brother Yur.”

  “In that case, Thane, would you mind asking that fidgety girl up here? What’s her name?” The princess snapped her fingers.

  “Xantria,” I replied as I walked out of the office.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  In which the hero wraps up preparations for what should be an interesting night.

  The gazebo was completely quiet. The three brave warriors fighting to see equal rights for the peoples and races of Fayroll sat around the table like mice stuffed to the gills, and none of them were really looking at each other. I wasn’t sure why that was, though I didn’t really care; I had enough of my own problems.

  Things had dragged on quite a while in the game, and I had a lot to do both there and in real life. I was expecting the email with the dacha descriptions, and I needed to go through it before Vika saw anything so I could find a good reason not to go visit them all. Women are always like that; they can’t calm down until they’ve seen everything. Only then, do they say something like, “You know, that first one really was the best, don’t you think?” And nobody cares that you’ve been saying that from the beginning…

  “Xantria, the princess is expecting you in her office,” I said to the girl as I walked into the gazebo. “Into the house, up the stairs, and it’s on the left.”

  “What does she need me for?” She looked at me with hostility in her eyes.

  “How should I know?” I replied with a shrug. “If she asked for you, she needs something. Go ahead, get up there.”

  “Xant, I’ll come with you,” said Vaylerius, getting up. “It’s time we told her…”

  “No, you sit there,” Xantria replied. “This is a conversation we need to have woman to woman.”

  She gracefully descended into the garden and headed along the path to the house.

  “Ah,” the mage sighed. “She doesn’t know my mother.”

  “Oh, right, thanks for reminding me. Speaking of your mother,” I said, sitting down, “there’s something afoot that you, my trouble-making friends, will appreciate. The monarchy in a certain country will probably be overthrown.”

  “What do you mean?” Danoot started, staring at me interestedly.

  “Exactly what it sounds like.” I poured myself some water from the decanter on the table. “In a couple days, we’re going to be wiping out the ruling family of the Western Mark. Some people think Federik has sat on the throne long enough.”

  “It’s finally my mom’s turn,” Vaylerius replied. “I hope she’s planning to rule herself. She doesn’t want me to do it, does she?”

  “Don’t worry, she’s going to do it herself,” I assured him.

  “Wait, wait, wait.” Danoot waved his arms at us. “So we’re going to take down one leader just for another to crawl up and take his place? What’s the point?”

  “First of all,” I said, waving a finger under his nose, “it’s not going to be just anyone; it’ll be your friend’s mother. That means you’ll have a ruler loyal to your dubious little band. Third, it’s experience, my dear Marat. Experience.”

  “My name is Danoot,” he replied with a frown.

  “I’m aware. It’s a common name, and there was this one guy named that who knew all about eradicating class differences. Let’s say, for example, that you want to get rid of the ruler in the East… Well, now you know how to do that. Sound good?”

  “I guess so,” Danoot said, doubt still in his voice. “But what do you need from us?”

  “What do we need?” I scratched the back of my neck. “Here, take this scroll and go to Aegan when it gets dark. Find the Tearful Goddess Order mission and ask to talk to Brother Yur—he’ll give you instructions. Got it?”

  “Got it.” He nodded. “But what about that Marat? He sounds like an interesting guy.”

  You completed a quest: Military Aid

  Reward:

  2000 experience

  “I’ll tell you another time; there isn’t any right now,” I assured the young man.

  I was only too happy that I’d finished the quest and swelled our numbers. They may have been an unorganized mob but you do what you can. If they got out of hand, I knew, the princess could… Ah, not the princess anymore. The queen! The queen could have them all buried quietly behind the castle if they made too much of a racket or got in the way. If I were in her shoes, I knew I’d at least knock off the one with the pipe. He was an unpleasant fellow, even totalitarian. Anyway, it wasn’t my problem. I just needed to get her to the throne and have her keep her promise, and then she could rule however and execute whoever she wanted.

  Having parted ways with the indomitable rebels, I ported to Aegan, where I needed to report back to Brother Yur. He, I had no problem admitting, was heading up the operation. And what was wrong with that? If someone knows how to do the job better than you, and the issue is as important as putting together a plot and engineering a coup, let him take charge. And seeing as how he was in charge, I needed to let him know what I’d done, pass on the information from the princess, and wrap up the quest. Oh, and I need to check my mail. Actually…I think I’ll do that right now. I had no idea what would be happening later.

  Good afternoon, my friend.

  I’d like to apologize to you for being a bit aloof during our last meeting. My clan and I had a lot dumped on our plate all at once. We were able to take care of some problems, and, while others remain, things aren’t nearly as critical.

  Anyway, I don’t think any of that really matters to you. Why should you care about the headaches a clan you don’t belong to is going through, after all?

  The main reason why I’m writing is to compensate you for the losses you suffered at the hands of some former Hounds of Death. I imagine it would be fair to do so in full, and so I’m sending you three runes. They aren’t the ones you had stolen but they’re good ones in their own right and perfect for your class. I’m including a tablet, without which you can’t get hidden bonuses for rune fusion.

  A small bit of advice: don’t use the manual that comes with the tablet unless you want to go crazy. Just experiment with it yourself—it’s simp
ler and faster that way.

  Sincerely, your friend, the Gray Witch

  P.S. Radius said to say hi and recommended that you not be afraid to spend portal scrolls. He thinks you should keep your movements as random and unpredictable as possible.

  That was a surprise, and I was thrilled to get new runes. I pulled them and a small, oblong box out of the mailbox.

  Hagalaz Rune

  One of a set of runes the gods are said to have created in ancient times.

  As long as the rune is in the player’s inventory, the player gains +5% attack strength when playing alone as well as +13% chance of doing critical damage when playing in a group.

  Check the appropriate table to see the bonuses this rune gives when combined with other runes.

  Class limitation: warrior

  Minimum level for use: 45

  Dagaz Rune

  One of a set of runes the gods are said to have created in ancient times.

  As long as the rune is in the player’s inventory, the player collects +7% gold from dead opponents and gets a 5% boost to their chance of getting items.

  Check the appropriate table to see the bonuses this rune gives when combined with other runes.

  Class limitation: warrior

  Minimum level for use: 45

  Veird Runa

  One of a set of runes the gods are said to have created in ancient times.

  As long as the rune is in the player’s inventory, the player enjoys +7% protection from mental effects.

  Check the appropriate table to see the bonuses this rune gives when combined with other runes.

  Class limitation: warrior

  Minimum level for use: 45

  I really needed to see more than six runes before I could tell how good those three were, though I was certainly happy to get them. More than happy!

  Everyone has something in their game that they love collecting most of all. Some people are big into daggers, while others like coins, but there’s something for everybody. Runes were my weakness. I even thought about stopping by the auction to see if I could get lucky. Anyway, the box, which looked something like a pencil case, was presumably the tablet the Gray Witch had mentioned.

  Medium tablet for fusing runes

  Rare handmade object created by Master Drok

  Capacity: five runes

  Unlimited use

  Does not disappear from your inventory when you die, and includes a 50% chance that the runes will remain safely inside.

  Fusion description:

  If fusion is successful, there will be a gold cloud.

  If fusion is unsuccessful, there will be a “psh” sound.

  It sure didn’t sound like just anyone could get their hand on a tablet. Rare, handmade, makes a “psh” sound. Cool!

  I dropped all three runes in the box and slid the cover closed. It made a “psh” sound that was so loud a girl player walking by wrinkled her nose and looked at me.

  “Eww!”

  Well, yeah, sounds the same. Still…fantastic!

  Then I left just Veird and Dagaz in the tablet, again shutting the lid. A small gold cloud puffed out of the box.

  Notice.

  Because you were able to successfully fuse Veird and Dagaz, you get an additional bonus: +4% chance of getting items that wield mental effects from dead opponents.

  Well, look at that! I decided to do a little more experimenting later, but that wasn’t bad for just three runes. What if I could get ten of them? Or maybe even all thirty or so?

  I pulled open the rune instructions in the interface and quickly closed them. The Witch had been right; you had to be a very mathematically inclined person to dig through all the probability theory involved, and that was not me in the least. When I had the time, I figured, I could just poke around and see what I found. Or I could read the forums.

  ***

  Back at the order mission, I couldn’t help but be surprised. The ruddy-cheeked young knight gazing longingly at the girls walking by had been replaced by two steel-encased giants. They held two-handed swords at the ready, the points resting on the porch floor.

  “Oh, wow,” I said, looking them over.

  “Who are you? Where are you going? Who do you need to see?” boomed one of them, his voice sounding as if it was echoing around a barrel or pitcher.

  “Hagen; inside; Brother Yur,” I replied timidly and honestly, seeing as how I was not about to joke around with those metal beasts.

  “You are permitted inside the building, though you’ll have to wait for Brother Mikhael. He will take you in,” the steel giant replied as he slammed his fist against the door. It shook under the force of the blow.

  A minute later a fairly tall person walked out dressed in the same type of robe as Brother Yur. A hood covered his face.

  “What happened?” he asked the iron titans quietly.

  “Someone named Hagen, he’s on the list for entrance into the mission, and he’s here to see Brother Yur. Our instructions were to wait for you before letting him in.”

  “You’re Hagen?” asked the robed man, who I assumed was Brother Mikhael.

  “The one and only,” I replied, shocked nearly out of my mind. What kind of organizational might does the order have if they can completely remake an out-of-the-way mission into a citadel of order in a few hours? Poor Adalard won’t be drinking anymore wine…

  “I’m Brother Mikhael, one of Brother Yur’s trusted assistants. I’ll be taking you to see him. He instructed me to take you in whenever you show up, although he is in the middle of a meeting with an old friend of his…”

  “It’s not Vitold, by any chance?” I asked carelessly.

  “Yes, that’s him,” Mikhael replied. “Do you know him?”

  “Yes, we did some business,” I said, still carelessly, before adding meaningfully, “you know…”

  Mikhael nodded, and at that moment, he caught the metal base of the stairs with his hip. I heard the clang of metal on metal, his robe was nearly pulled completely open, and I caught a clear glimpse of steel armor beneath it. He’s definitely from the military side of the order, I thought to myself. Brother Yur has some good friends.

  Brother Yur was sitting in the same chair I’d left him in, there were papers covering the table, and Vitold was drinking wine out of a goblet across from him. The two fell silent when the door opened, and they both nodded when they saw me.

  “Well, is sh-she in?” Brother Yur asked, jumping right in. “Although, that’s a d-dumb question; I’d never believe that Anna w-would t-turn down what’s she’s been working t-toward for so long, even if she m-might get drowned in a gold-threaded bag for h-her trouble.”

  “Why gold-threaded?” I asked.

  “You and I-I will get drowned in normal bags, but sh-she belongs to a royal house, and you c-can’t drown people like her in normal b-bags. It’s t-tradition!” explained Brother Yur.

  “They’ll probably just drown him. I’ll make sure they don’t get their hands on you,” Vitold said as he threw back some more wine. “We have too much unfinished business.”

  “Thanks a lot,” I said, a bit hurt. “Isn’t that always the way it is? The people in the trenches get drowned, and the organizers walk away dry and unscathed.”

  “No point taking offense, young man. You should have weighed your chances of success before getting involved with a palace coup like this one. We aren’t playing games here,” Vitold remarked.

  “E-exactly right,” Yur responded with a nod. “Never do a-anything without weighing the r-risks ahead of time. You didn’t do that when w-we were talking, even despite my hints th-that you should.”

  “I had you two,” I replied to the two sly foxes. “You wouldn’t have gotten involved if you didn’t think we were going to pull it off.”

  “Nicely d-done.” A half-smile appeared on Brother Yur’s face. “You have a p-point there. There’s hope f-for you yet, not like most of these knights. All they c-care about is feats and other n-nonsense l-like non-existent d
ragons.”

  “Put it this way: humanity’s most unpleasant element just so happens to be the brave, honest, and noble heroes who are fearless and above reproach,” Vitold said with a grimace. “They’re always out there crisscrossing the earth in search of the truth, always looking for heroic achievements, always trying to figure out who’s at fault and who they should be protecting. They want to know what actually happened, and they never stop harping on and on about the tears of children and protecting their honor. It sickens me. And they don’t actually do anything, and normal people can’t get any work done with them in the way. How have you not gone crazy after all these years, Yur?”

  “They’re afraid of me, so th-they don’t get underfoot,” Brother Yur replied laconically. “So wh-what about Anna?”

  I gave them a brief summary of my conversation with her, explaining that I’d be back with her before midnight on the day of the coup, and telling them about the young ruffians who’d be stopping by for instructions. Vitold and Brother Yur exchanged glances before nodding at the same time.

  “Well done,” Vitold replied, taking another sip of wine.

  “All w-we have to do is wait then. The factors h-have all be t-taken into account, the l-levers have all been pressed,” Brother Yur added.

  You completed a quest: Go-Between

  Reward:

  500 experience

  “So what am I supposed to do now?” I asked.

  “You need to b-bring the princess here—y-you know when,” Brother Yur replied, looking at me. “And b-be careful. I don’t think C-count Gaynor, Federik’s h-head of security, is as much a simpleton as the k-king is. I should s-say, I know h-he is not.”

  “Maybe it would be better to send one of your accountants or one of my clerks instead of this adventure-seeker?” Vitold asked with a squint.