The Quest (Dark Paladin Book #2) LitRPG Series

by Vasily Mahanenko

  “Druid, Daro set, ten visible amulets, twelve gems, three enhancing engravings, emblem on the left shoulder indicates vassalage to Gerhard van Brast, chosen artifact is breastplate. Extremely dangerous opponent.”

  “Good day to you, too, oh most steady of players,” I smiled so hard my lips started hurting. It was by now impossible to imagine us meeting without parrying words. “I need to introduce you to everyone, not least out of mercy to those poor creatures who could, due to their lack of knowledge, decide to have any dealings with you. So please meet druid Dolgunata: headhunter, student of Archibald, vassal of Gerhard van Brast and generally the kindest soul, as you have just had a chance to see. Alard. Mizardine. So what ill wind blew you here? Your inner woman awakened and decided she wanted a pendant?”

  I projected friendliness and joy as if I had actually come across an old friend; this noticeably puzzled the druid.

  “Don’t overact. My quest is to send you to respawn.” Finally, the cat got tired of playing with the mouse and decided to astonish it. Me, that is. But the druid really overestimated herself, or, most likely, underestimated me. Our expressive meeting was starting to attract attention of others, which displeased Dolgunata. I, however, used the opportunity to tease her.

  “Oh, I knew you would not miss this chance to meet me. You’ve been looking for excuses. Admit it, you just don’t know how to confess your feelings toward me‒ that’s why you stalk me.” I pulled together all my acting skills so as not to laugh, looking at the druid. “Let’s end this once and for all! Tonight it will be my pleasure to give you a chance to let your dream come true. Do you agree?”

  Dolgunata rushed forward so fast that I thought she was going to fight me right then and there. However, she came up very close and, looking into my face, barely able to contain her feelings, said:

  “I agree! Tonight! You and me! Dreams do come true! Do you confirm?”

  The last phrase made me tense. But it was too late:

  “I confirm. Your place or mine? I warn you, I’ll have witnesses,” I egged the druid on.

  “Great! Witnesses don’t scare me.”

  “Aren’t you kinky!” I grinned, and the crowd laughed after me.

  “Of course,” Dolgunata joined the general mirth. “The more the merrier. It would create… such an atmosphere! As for the place… Let’s say at the entrance to the estate would be just right!”

  “Just right for what?” I stopped smiling.

  “To fulfill my dreams, you silly,” the druid sang in a sweet voice. “I’ve been dreaming of kicking your ass for some time! So don’t be late, we’ll meet at eight at the gate. One on one! Or have you changed your mind?”

  “You are offering me a fight?” I knew the clarification was redundant and must have looked like an attempt to buy some time, but a fight with Dolgunata was really not what I needed. Even though it did not frighten me.

  “I am kindly proposing to you a duel! Appreciate how noble I am and remember that! See how many are witnessing it. You have a couple of minutes to decide what you will be betting.”

  “In accordance with the dueling code each party must state the reward for winning or losing the fight. The rewards must not be identical. If the opponents are satisfied with the rewards, offered by the other party, the duel is then considered official. A special feature of such a fight is that the Game monitors the players fighting properly and follow through with their promises afterwards.”

  “So be it – a duel then. If I lose I give you two level 10 enhancement gems,” I considered there would be nothing untoward in fighting the druid. The only constraint that I imposed on myself was that that I would risk only things that I had earned myself, and not ones I received from Bernard. Two gems would be quite a worthy reward if I were to lose. “As for the prize for winning, we will go back to where we started. If I win, you fulfill all my sexual desires for this night.”

  The crowd buzzed. They liked the demand I voiced. Meanwhile I bent to the druid’s ear and added for her ears only:

  “Not like I am particularly attracted to you. But your constant barbs aimed at my Doll make me think that this is what you are really missing. I am willing to help you.”

  “Fine!” the girl’s reaction to me was suspiciously good-natured; the crowd roared, excited even more. “I accept your demands. If I lose, you will receive an attribute stone. If I win, you will give me that Diary that you dragged out of the Academy. Duel?”

  Dolgunata extended her hand, offering to seal the deal. I lingered, as I had not expected such a reaction to those demands. I had not known that the catorian wanted to take the Diary. Before, he had not made such attempts… Or was it not him? Maybe the Keymaster wanted to play her own game?”

  “Analysis of Dolgunata’s fight records leads to an estimate of your chances of winning as 26%.” Steve was firm. “It is recommended that you give up the duel and pay the fine: two gems identified as the reward.”

  “Two stones,” the assistant’s forecast was bleak, and I stood still. The druid was already drawing a chestful of air to accuse me of cowardice. “Two gems from my side, and from yours, two stones. That would be fair.”

  “Fine!” Nata’s determination was alarming. “Shall we duel?”

  “We shall!” We sealed our agreement with a handshake. The girl, not bothering to hide the joy on her face, turned around and quickly went outside.

  “Granis on the druid!” The crowd immediately came up with a new entertainment.

  “Counter bet! Granis on the Paladin!”

  “Two gems of level 3 enhancement! On the druid winning!”

  “Amulet +10 to defense! On the Pal!”

  Herald Sleevan was acting as an auctioneer, taking bets with such Olympic calm that it seemed he had been doing it all his life.

  “Serious opponent,” Alard looked after the retreating Dolgunata. “A victory over one like that is a great honor.”

  “Pointless and silly, though.” I was dissatisfied with the results of yet another encounter with the druid. What honor was there in that? Dolgunata knew very well why she needed that duel. It would be hard to invent a more sure way to grab the Diary. So then I need to do everything possible to make sure she does not get it.

  “Honor cannot be pointless or silly,” Alard disagreed. “It’s either there or it is not. I believe in your victory, brother.”

  “Dolgunata is half Paladin,” I grinned. “Gerhard van Brast, her suzerain, is the Head of the Paladins of Earth. Her teacher, Archibald, is also a Paladin. So she is a druid only by birth. Technically, she is our sister.”

  “In this case there is nothing dishonorable in betting on a contest between a brother and sister!” Alard rejoiced. “I believe in you, brother!”

  Orc took off, taking the silent hunter with him. I had no idea about what to do with Mizardine. I had no intention to involve him in looking for the pendant.

  “Sleevan!” Because of my strategic location next to the entrance, I was able to call the herald, who was in a hurry to get somewhere. “I need to talk to you about the pendant. Now!”

  I added the last sentence, since the herald was not even thinking of stopping.

  “As you wish, Milord,” Sleevan slowed down reluctantly, and, without hiding his displeasure, approached me. He was quite an odd herald. “What did you want to know?”

  “Herald Sleevan is not violating Game rules or laws. Guests have no right to direct or order the servants of their hosts,” Steve hastened to clarify the situation quickly to prevent the possibility of me initiating a case. By the way, I did not view the behavior of NPCs as a Judge anymore.

  “I need information about the pendant.” I ignored Sleevan’s displeasure. “What it looks like, where it was stored, who saw it last, and generally everything that has to do with this case. Right now.

  “As you prefer,” herald bowed respectfully. “I will immediately make arrangements for all the necessary information to be provided to…”

  “Sleevan!” A loud tipsy
roar boomed through the monotonous humming of the people in the hall. The herald paled but stayed in place. He lifted his head and slowly turned towards the man, who was as enormous as a mountain. Sleevan looked like a convict dragging his feet to mount the scaffold. The huge thug was making way directly towards us across the hall. His glassy stare clearly indicated that more than one bottle of strong spirits was already sloshing around in that ample belly.

  “Where’s my brandy?” He roared like an angry bear at Sleevan. “Why are you still here?!

  “Forgive me, Milord, it’s my fault,” Sleevan was answering quietly, without lifting his eyes so as not to provoke the drunk. “I will do everything imme…”

  “Silence!” “Milord” roared again, sending the herald flying with one flick of his hand. Knocking down the players, he flew across several yards and crashed into the wall. My host was unbelievably strong. “Ten lashes will teach you to respect your master! Guards! Flog him!”

  “Darling! Not in front of the guests!” Sophie latched herself to the man’s arm. He was her husband?!

  “Get lost!” He jerked his arm away and growled, staring at the gathering guests: “I tolerate this riff-raff in my house, but I shall not have disobedience from my servants! Ten lashes! Now!”

  “Sleevan was delayed because of me,” I interjected. The information that the herald could provide was more valuable than good relations with the owner.

  “Like I care!” His bloodshot eyes shifted to me. “Guards! Some lashes for this twit as well!”

  “Darling, he is Bernard’s subject,” Sophie whispered, hanging on her husband’s arm again.

  “Hellnard’s!” the drunk raged. “I am so sick of those blasted ‘subjects’! Next time he’ll know better than to meddle in our family affairs! It’s my house and I am within my rights here! Guards! Why has he not been punished yet?!”

  Just a few seconds and the guards neatly grabbed me, twisted my arms behind my back and handcuffed me. Without trying to protest, I was thinking of my advanced protection with disappointment. As it turned out, I had nothing that could oppose raw physical strength. Only my own strength, or rather whatever I had instead of it. The only advantage was the force shield which would make it impossible to touch my body directly. Actually, the handcuffs were restraining me, but did not touch my wrists. Deciding, reasonably, to not exacerbate the situation by resisting, I let Sophie resolve this conflict. Later, I would demand preferences from the hostess as the injured party.

  “Throw them into the basement!” The thug apparently changed his mind, as the sight of the beaten Sleevan and my restrained self calmed him somewhat. “Let them sit there till tomorrow and think about life. Bring me more brandy!”

  Without much ceremony I was quickly dragged off into a damp and dark room. I remembered the way easily: my head seemed to have counted every door and frame on which my guards kept “carelessly” hitting me. A shower of stars from my eyes reinforced my decision once again: as soon as I had a chance I needed to install an inertia neutralizer on my armor: I was fed up counting the stars already! In the basement, the handcuffs were replaced with shackles solidly attached to the wall. I pulled on them a couple of times to make sure, but realized that I was chained good and strong.

  “Thank you, Milord!” I heard Sleevan’s voice from the right. I turned towards the voice and saw that my “comrade in need” was calmly adjusting his shackles so that they would not rub his wrists too much. He was not protected by a force shield against such trouble. “Shackles are better than lashes, don’t you find?”

  “It’s a dubious advantage, in my view,” I disagreed. “I would have rather avoided this choice altogether.”

  “You are right. However, don’t worry. It will barely take an hour, and we’ll be free. Lady Sophie will take care of everything.”

  “Madame Sophie? I doubt that she is able to make any decisions here. Or else we would not be sitting here now.”

  “It is not quite so,” Sleevan defended her. “The head of the Lecleur family is Lady Elizabeth, Milady’s mother; however, after the pendant disappeared she does not receive guests. Lady Sophie began caring for the estate. But she is just a woman. And now she is acting as a wife. You have to admit that this would not be the best moment to argue with Milord Ervan. He suffers from an unpleasant phobia: he is afraid of groups of people. An influx of guests has unsettled him, so the master has started to drink. As soon as the pendant is found, everything will be back to normal.”

  “Are you trying to trying to make the consequences of my stay here easier on your mistress?”

  The herald shrugged his shoulders noncommittally, as if to say you can take it in whatever way you want.

  “Why does Elizabeth not receive anyone? Has the loss of some bauble undermined her health so much? “

  “Milady does not feel well. As to whether this is related to the pendant or not is outside of my competence.” The herald pursed his lips.

  “Come on! ‘Outside of your competence!’ You could share the information out of gratitude – I saved you from a lashing!”

  “For fairness’ sake it is useful to note that had it not been for you, the master would have received his brandy promptly, and we would not have been sitting here,” Sleevan quipped.

  “You are right, I smiled placatingly, but the herald showed no desire to talk any more. I tried to bring this up from a different angle. “But still, why is the pendant so dear to Lady Elizabeth?”

  “Because the pendant is part of a set received as a gift from a person close to her. Milady wore it all the time and never came out without it,” the herald explained dryly.

  “And?” I prompted him.

  “And that’s it. You would do better to review the report on its loss, like the other players.” Sleevan was being stubborn. I was losing my patience. It was bad enough that I was stuck in the basement for who knows how long, but now this bullhead refuses to share information.

  “Sleevan, I wanted to have a talk in a nice way‒ not officially. But I could do it another way.”

  “Whatever way Milord prefers,” snorted the herald.

  “In the name of justice I demand that you speak the truth and nothing but the truth! You are summoned as a witness in the case ‘Stolen Pendant’. For the duration of your testimony you are released from all physical, moral, mental and emotional binds.” Sleevan’s eyes became round when the information message appeared in front of him. He was not an NPC, so he did not turn glassy-eyed; yet he was not a player. A minion. He was forced to answer with the truth and only the truth, otherwise the Game would turn him into dust.

  “Let’s start over. Tell me the history of the pendant.”

  “It was received as part of a set from the person whose minion Lady Elizabeth was for a long time. The set includes the pendant, earrings and a ring. The earrings have been lost for thirty years; the ring is stored in the safe of the estate.”

  Now that was better.

  “Did Elizabeth become a player?”

  “Yes. Lady Sophie, Milord Ervan, chief doctor of the estate, and I are her minions.”

  “Fine, this is clear. Under what circumstances did it disappear? Which residents of the estate were already questioned as witnesses, and who visited the estate?”

  “It was stolen a week ago. All the personnel at the estate, including myself, as well as Milord and Milady, were checked at once, and confirmed that they were not involved. During the last month four players visited the estate, and only one of them was here when the item disappeared. That was an old friend of our family: Mister Devir. But he also passed the test administered by the Game. Four weeks before that there were his Excellency Milord Sirtal, a priest; his Excellency Milord Iven, a Paladin, and his Excellency Milord Dorian, a cleric. All three players are Lady Elizabeth’s spiritual advisors.”

  “A spiritual advisor is an experienced player who voluntarily assumes the functions of advisor to another player due to the final death of this player’s initial teacher.” Steve wa
s prompt as always.

  “Is that not too many spiritual advisors for one player?” I asked in surprise. What player class does Lady Elizabeth belong to?”

  “Lady Elizabeth is the same class as her first teacher. She is a Paladin. She has twelve spiritual advisors.”

  I was surprised by so large a number of spiritual advisors, but I decided to concentrate on the pendant for now:

  “Why do you consider that the pendant is still at the estate?” If Devir were actually involved in this he would definitely not have hidden it here.

  “If the pendant had left the estate, Lady Elizabeth would already have been dead.”

  “But she is a player.” I did not really understand what the herald meant. “She would have just respawned, would she not?”

  “Lady Elizabeth is not an initiated player. She has not completed the Academy, yet she was acknowledged by the Game.”

  “How is that possible?” I immediately asked my virtual bud. Steve thought for several seconds before shaking his head negatively.

  “There is no information. If one assumes that what Sleevan is saying is true, the maximum level Lady Elizabeth could have is three. The experience she receives would increase her global level without upgrading the current one; theoretically, over a thousand years, the mistress of the estate could have accumulated a nearly infinite number of experience points. Several respawns would make her die the final death, as it would be impossible for her to attain a new level. But that does not explain the connection with the pendant, nor the need for the pendant to remain within the estate.”

  Summing up my subsequent questioning of the herald I came to the following conclusions.

  Elizabeth turned out to be a level zero player; her life was tied to the pendant and its location. In effect it was a spirit, a non-material entity locked in a physical shell. How it had been possible to convince the Game not to kill off the old lady, Sleevan did not know. Therefore it was possible to assume as a given that Elizabeth was sort of dead on her feet‒ forever tied to her estate. There was also an answer concerning the number of Elizabeth’s spiritual advisors. Twelve spiritual advisors renewed the energy of the pendant monthly, each during their assigned month. Sort of high-born Twelve Months Brothers taking care of a non-initiated player voluntarily. The Lecleur family did not pay them anything. The position was considered prestigious, and many players waited for a chance to attain it for several dozens or sometimes even hundreds of years. But even with the “witness” status I was not able to find out who was Elizabeth’s first teacher. Sleevan managed somehow to resist the Game.