What a surprise. Even though the poor woman’s motives were not hard to understand. I mean her desire to divorce, not her intent to use to use me to achieve her goals. Even though that was also fairly clear. A mutually beneficial relationship. It was strange that Sleevan talked about it so calmly. I was thinking of the ways I could use this new information. Sophie kept hiccupping, which irritated my already high-strung nerves. I had always hated women’s hysterics.
“Sleevan, please give Lady Sophie some more water already!”
The Herald grinned and sighed.
“It won’t help. Sonia always hiccups when she is scared. She’ll calm down presently, and will be able to cast a spell. That’s the only thing that can stop the hiccups. She’s been like that ever since she was a child. We were playing with her in the attic when I decided to scare her by saying there were ghosts living in our mother’s old chest. She could not talk for three days after that and just hiccupped. Mother spanked me very hard that time.” Sleevan smiled at his memories, and looked at Lady Elizabeth with affection.
Mother?!
“Mother?” I repeated aloud, astonished. “But you are not a Lecleur?!”
The Herald shrugged:
“Sometimes this happens. I don’t know my actual father. Monsieur Lecleur was kind to me, and kept me on the estate close to my mom. But, of course, no one knew about that. To everyone else Madame Lecleur was caring for a little orphan.”
The Herald turned to Sophie:
“Are you all right now?”
Sophie nodded and said:
“Hiccup, hiccup, go away, go to Cora for a day; then to Iven far away, then to Raven and there stay!”
The little familiar nursery rhyme dispelled the tension. Sophie stopped hiccupping, and Sleevan even clarified it to me:
“Cora was our nanny. She was really mean. Been dead about ten years by now. So for the next half an hour our grandfather will be fighting the hiccups to no avail.”
I laughed and said:
“Would do him good, too. And who is Raven and what has he done?”
Sleevan shrugged:
“No one knows that except Sophie.” He turned towards his sister, whose cheeks immediately flushed.
I said placatingly:
“Whoever he is, if he is on that scary list I am sure he deserves it.”
Sophie smiled gratefully:
“Monsieur Yaropolk, I apologize for the recent scene – please understand me! Since the pendant was stolen, so much has been weighing me down. The burden must have been too heavy. I am incredibly tired of the guests and of Ervan’s antics, and I am tired of pretending. Ervan was never sweet of character, but mom ruled him with an iron fist. Only when we were alone did he show his true self. Our children have long grown, I don’t owe him anything and I certainly do not wish for him to order me around here. Ours was an arranged marriage, and his family was not nearly as rich as ours. I think I have paid my dues to my family, and now can live the rest of my life for myself. My grandfather did not support me in this; moreover, he expressly forbade me to even think about it. But Sleevan convinced me to try my luck with monsieur Bernard. My brother and I were hoping to relocate to a different world after the divorce.”
Lady Lecleur fell silent, and I was in no hurry to answer. I was contemplating whether I would be able to convince Bernard to grant Sophie’s petition despite Iven’s wishes. Everything depended on my suzerain’s plans. Probably he would want to hide Sophie and her brother on some world, and then, when a proper opportunity presented itself, sell this information to the fighter for a pretty penny of some sort. It was worth a try:
“I will do everything I can to convince my suzerain to help you! However, I cannot guarantee a positive result. I am just a vassal.” I spread my hands, “You must understand this.”
Sophie and Sleevan nodded, and I continued:
“In exchange, I would like to have your complete cooperation in the case of the stolen pendant. You are interested in making sure your mother stays in good health for as long as possible?”
Again, a joint nod of agreement, even though not a very enthusiastic one.
“Unfortunately, monsieur Yaropolk, we cannot help much. The pendant simply disappeared. Both the players and we have searched the estate from the cellar to the roof.
“You looked in the secret passages as well?” I was trying to fish for information, almost holding my breath.
“The estate has no secret passages.” Sleevan spoke with certainty. “It’s a classic structure, the walls are not more than a meter thick, and the non-load-bearing walls are even thinner. There is no space for secret passages there.”
“Sophie?” I continued obstinately, still blindly hoping for some luck. “Have you confirmed that the estate does not have any secret passages or something similar? Bear in mind that a lot hangs on your answer.”
If the family heir also were to confirm that there were no passages or space pockets in the estate, all that would be left for me would be to pack and get out of here. But Iven’s strange denial indicated differently. He wasn’t just doing that to be mean to me, right?
“We have already told you that…”
“Be quiet, brother.” Sophie sighed heavily and, closing her eyes, announced: “Promise you will do everything you can! And keep Sleevan’s secret!”
“I call the Game to witness that I will appeal to my suzerain for the success of your petition for divorce and relocation to a different world, secretly from Sir Iven, and that I shall not disclose the secret of Sleevan’s origin!”
There was another flash of white light around me, and then Sophie continued:
“This secret is only known to the acknowledged heirs. Grandfather expressly prohibited us from disclosing it, even on pain of death. The estate actually does not have secret passages,” Sophie was speaking slowly, as if she had still not fully decided whether to risk it or not. Finally, courage gained the upper hand: “The Lecleur estate has the Reverse.”
Steve was only able to spread his hands helplessly. We were not familiar with this term.
“How do I enter it?” I decided against betraying my ignorance.
“Monsieur Yaropolk, I rely only on your honesty and decency. Do not let this information leave this room. The entrance to the Reverse is located in the treasury.” Having made her final decision, Sophie did not withhold information. “The head of the family has the key to the treasury.”
“He is the only one? How do you access it then?” I asked in surprise.
“We don’t. There is no need. Milord Iven provides the funds to run the estate. His steward runs all the money matters. We are far from being poor, as you noticed. Mother does not want much. Several times she asked to be allowed into the treasury, but every time her requests were denied. And I don’t need it. Even the guards at the treasury are his.”
“Guards?!” That caught my attention at once.
“Yes, there is a fighting unit of three Paladins. You know that my grandfather is the Head of the Battle Wing, so he uses this for training his fighters. At this stage there are skirmishes with the guests several times every day. There is always someone who wants to get into the hosts’ treasury. So he sent his Paladins here to have some fun.”
“Why does the report I received not mention anything about guards?”
“But why should it? It was definitely not the Paladins that stole the pendant. They appeared at the estate after it disappeared. That’s number one. Number two is that they are not allowed to leave their posts or talk to the guests or household members. They even have their own food they bring.”
“Fine, so Paladins could not have stolen the pendant, but how do we know it’s not in the treasury? It seems as though no one looked there!” I was thinking up a very neat version of events now.
“That’s impossible! Grandfather looked everywhere before bringing in the guards. Nor is it possible to bribe or switch the Paladins. The guards change once every day and come to the estate via a portal whic
h is in grandfather’s private office.” Sleevan joined the conversation.
Like hell Iven doesn’t know who stole the pendant! With all these facts fitting into a single picture, not a single Judge would dare accuse me of being partial to Milord Iven. Now I needed to check the reaction of the Lecleur heir to the idea.
“Sophie, I feel very awkward telling you about this.” I paused, watching her expression carefully.”I apologize in advance should I offend your feelings for the family. Have you thought that your grandfather may be involved in the theft? I am not stating that he did it himself, but perhaps he abetted it?”
Sophie did not look surprised. The thoughts I was trying to instill in her flickered across her pretty face. It was apparent that the heir did not have any warm feelings towards her grandfather, and her doubts caught on.
“Monsieur, I am just a woman. Men’s games are not for a woman’s mind. Forgive me, but I cannot confirm or refute your suppositions.” I silently bowed my head to Sophie's acknowledgement of her right to stay out of it.
“Lady Sophie, I would like to explore the Reverse and check my suppositions. May I count on your help?”
“I have told you so much, monsieur, that it does not make any sense to deny you your request. Here. Take this.” Sophie took from her neck a pendant with a golden key and handed it to me. As soon as the key touched my hand, the countdown timer appeared in front of me. Twelve hours till the key must return to the head of the family. “It will open the way for you; without it it’s impossible to enter the Reverse or continue to be there. But I have to warn you! Only four sentient beings can be present within the Reverse concurrently, and one is already there. I don’t know who that is.”
“Sophie, you astonish me!” Sleevan whispered in amazement. “You never… you never even hinted…”
“Sorry. It’s all our grandfather’s doing!” Sophie explained. “The key has to be linked to a living soul, it cannot be taken from the estate or hidden in a cache, or else the Reverse will collide with this plane. It used to be linked to mom. Immediately after the theft occurred, grandfather rushed to my room, handed me the key, explained its meaning in a couple of sentences and told me to keep quiet. Said that if a single soul finds out about it, he would personally make sure that I never left the Earth. Monsieur Yaropolk, I have told you everything I know about the Reverse and the key!”
I was looking in contemplation at the dozing old lady, my thoughts far from the room. So it would seem that if the pendant actually were in the Reverse, then Iven must have stolen it himself, rendering his daughter incapable. What for?
“The set includes three pieces. The pendant, the ring and the earrings. What would happen if all were gathered together?” I decided I would do well to clarify that while I had a chance, but Sophie disappointed me.
“Nobody knows. Mother never wore the whole set. The ring was always in the treasury. The earrings would come and go at times. Right now they are gone again.
“So in order to enter the Reverse one has to enter the treasury?” I asked the last question thinking of a plan that was emerging in my head.
“Yes. But that does not mean that once you beat the Paladins you would be able to freely enter the treasury.” The herald confirmed once again that it would not be easy. “It’s impossible to break down the door. In order for the security system to let you through, you need the access code. There is only one. How you get that from our grandfather, we do not need to know. This is all we can do to help you.”
“Last question: I need to have free passage to and from the estate. Can this be arranged? I will have to leave the estate now and then; therefore, Lady Lecleur, it would make sense for you to keep the key for now.”
Sophie took the key and replaced it in its location.
“Call me.” Sleevan told me his comm number. “I will meet you and bring you in. The only condition is, you will have to wear your invisibility. I’ll take care of the security cameras.”
“Thank you! I need a teleport scroll to the Sanctuary and a map of the estate. Could you mark on it where the treasury is located?”
While we were having a productive conversation in Elizabeth’s room, Ervan had completely forgotten about his wife's tarnished honor and the promised granis. Having reached his daily limit for alcohol consumption, the aspiring estate owner was snuffling peacefully, his head on the table next to a plate of broccoli. Of course, it’s quite a perversion to use that disgusting stuff as an appetizer, but there is no accounting for taste. Meanwhile all players, having tried their hands at searching for the lost necklace, switched to a more available target: a free granis for catching me. While I was walking, under the cover of invisibility, towards the treasury, I encountered several drunken groups, and each one sported a captured “Paladin Yaropolk”. Some denied it and were ignored. Some thumped themselves on the chest and yelled for all to hear that they were the very same escaped “Don Juan”. Some were simply tied up and gagged to prevent them from spoiling the moment of triumph. False Yaropolks were springing up everywhere like mushrooms in the fall.
Having reached the treasury enabled me to verify that it did in fact exist, and to evaluate the guards. Everything was the way Sophie had described with one minor detail: the three Paladins were wearing Daro armor. The Paladins perked up as soon as I turned the corner. Even despite the invisibility the fighters felt that they were not alone. My suspicion that the treasury did in fact hold something important intensified: it was guarded at too high a level to be accounted for simply by a caution in case some newbies were to rush it. I stepped back and quietly took off for my room. I needed to work on the orc in preparation for the task we had to perform.
But as soon as I turned into the hallway, I ran straight into Dolgunata.
“Nice sight, isn’t it? I would even say, telling!” Dolgunata was standing not too far from my door studying a tapestry adorned with a scene of a jester being executed by some nobles. Whatever their quibble with him was, hell knows. But the hint was clear.
Five players ran by us, and I whispered:
“Let’s step aside.” As I had supposed, my invisibility was child’s play for the druid. “It’s crowded here.”
“Who do you think I am?!” Dolgunata responded in an indignant whisper. “I don’t take any side trips anywhere with men! Only to my room! Come!”
We passed unhindered through all the havoc wreaked by the guests of the estate all the way to Nata’s room, which was in another wing. The girl closed the door, activated a crystal, and a force field dome opened around us.
“Go on.”The druid settled on a chair. “And take off that stupid masquerade of yours. In infrared vision you look like a sack of rutabagas with feet. That’s fine, it suits you, but if I have to listen to a talking sack it’s not going to be conducive to a productive dialogue.”
“Nata, do you happen to know that insults are a resort of the weak?” I pretended to parry her new barb. She raised an eyebrow in an exaggerated gesture and hemmed skeptically. “I agree. It’s not very original. But right now I am wittily daft. Call Archibald. I do have something to tell him.”
It was a rare occasion when I was able to render Archibald silent so that he would not put in snide remarks, but today I succeeded. They listened to me in silence without interrupting once. The current situation seemed so incredible that I decided not to hold anything back, telling them about the Reverse, about Iven, about the treasury guards and even about the strange attack from the necromancers. Well, actually, I did hold back one thing: I did not tell them about Devir’s present. That was personal.
“What is going on in this estate?” Archibald was trying to assimilate the new information.
“You may be proud of your student, teacher. The whole estate is in an uproar – all because of him. The owner promised a granis for Yari’s hide,” Dolgunata smirked. “All because Yari seduced his wife and found out all the estate's secrets. I’d take offense too.”
“You would do well to work harder rather than t
aking offense! Yari has a result to show‒ that’s what you should think about, not about his moral character.” Did I really just hear him praise me?! I had always thought that from Archibald it would sound like: “He is a stupid but kind Paladin!”
Having scolded his negligent student, Archibald switched to me:
“So then, there is a grain of sense in your suggestion. Send me an invitation to do the work and I will do you a favor and help you. Without me you’d either mess this up beyond all recognition or it would take you forever to figure anything out. And don’t you dare say later, Yari, that I never helped!” Archibald was so forceful that it became clear why he was all oh so generous all of a sudden.
“Actually, I have not proposed anything,” I said, slowly but clearly. “I just shared some information. And supposed that in order to complete the case it would be necessary to find the key granting access to the treasury, which is kept by Milord Iven. However, I do not know how to do that. I don’t have the slightest clue: may the Game be my witness!”
For a better effect I even made my eyes bug out. Like: what do you want from me? I am dumb. I was not going to play Archibald’s own games with him. It was obvious that he was looking for a client who would order the operation. So as to pass on all the responsibility to him if something were to go awry. It’s one thing when you try to hack the estate of the chief fighter Paladin on your own accord; if you are just a contractor it’s quite a different matter.
“You think you are smart, eh?” I did not even need to see the catorian’s face to imagine him grimacing. “Dolgunata, call your brother. We’ll make him the customer.”
“Just a moment.” Since she had been talking to Archibald using her own comm, the druid stepped out from under the dome and took out a simple cell phone. I shook my head, displeased: for some reason this small trick had not occurred to me. Cell phones were only guaranteed to work in our game world; their use in other worlds was not known; so everyone used the special Game comms. However, Helen, for example, did not have one and was unlikely to ever obtain one, but why should this prevent me from talking to her? It would be stupid and naïve to consider that. I needed to obtain a cell phone as soon as possible.
The Quest (Dark Paladin Book #2) LitRPG Series Page 22
