"Okay," she heaved a sigh, apparently realizing she couldn't outtalk me on this one.
"Arwan and Highr, full combat alert," I began issuing orders via the castle network. "Davre, Enea is on her way to you. Until I'm back, she's your responsibility."
The orc growled his understanding.
The two Guards of Gloom happily vacated their post. It was no fun guarding the portal knowing that the Castle defenses deflected all the incoming teleports anyway. Their standard NPC characters seemed to be growing more complex. It was as if they had developed a different worldview after the neurogram incident.
The kobold and the Elf came in running in full combat gear. Ten seconds — excellent result!
The kobold looked at me unblinkingly. He appeared perfectly calm.
Arwan squinted at me, "How many?"
"Ten, probably more. I only have a tiny bit of the map available, just the area by the teleport."
"Are they strong?"
"No idea," I admitted. "We'll have to go and see for ourselves. Come on now! On the double!"
* * *
THE TELEPORT disgorged us onto a quiet dirty side lane under a cold drizzling rain.
A scruffy cat darted away from us. The nearby gardens erupted in fierce barking. A gust of wind swayed a still-burning streetlamp, rattling a faded Tavern sign.
The number of the red dots had grown. So many! Thirty at least!
A bowstring snapped. A body thumped to the dirty ground.
"Robbers," Arwan explained, loosing off another arrow. "All clear!"
"Stay put," I glanced at the map. The red dots kept changing positions quickly. Mounted riders, most likely. "Highr, you too! Don't let them near the tavern!"
With a decisive nod, the kobold took a better grip of his halberd. The Elf had already disappeared in the wet thicket of a nearby hedge.
I bared my sword and stepped toward the tavern. The two robbers were lying on the ground by the porch with arrows in their throats.
They were NPCs. An illegal local gang courtesy of some idle hacker with too much time on his hands.
I kicked the door open and walked in.
The tavern was empty. All the tables and benches lay in disorderly heaps along the walls, swept away in the heat of the fight. The place looked like it had been hit by a tornado.
A portal's iridescent entryway shimmered at the center of the room. Archibald's marker hovered directly over it.
The floor around the portal was littered with the robbers' bodies. Archibald had done a good job.
Kray leaped over an upended table and landed on top of someone.
A robber. The fight had left him much the worse for wear. His life was barely glowing.
I peered at his stats. Level 30. Gang member. Gang leader: Mossy Yorm.
Never heard of him. A portal set up inside a tavern wasn't normal, either. Its mouth breathed cold.
Quest Alert: Old Friend!
Quest type: Unique
You must find out what happened to Archibald
Reward: varies
New quest available: A Helping Hand!
Quest type: Regular
Mossy Yorm's gang terrorizes local villages. You must eliminate it.
Reward: 1,000 gold from the city treasury
Your Reputation with the denizens of Agrion and nearby villages will improve considerably.
I turned to the captured robber. "Who's Mossy Yorm?"
He grinned. "You really wanna know? Take the portal, then."
The kobold's growl reached us from the outside, followed by the neighing of a scared horse and a series of high-pitched screams of pain.
Of course. They couldn't close the portal before they transported all the loot they'd collected from the nearby villages. The gang's lair had to be far enough from here — most likely, in the mountains. Still, somehow the gangsters seemed to always know the location of the guard patrols which allowed them to sneak out before the city guards could join forces and repel an attack.
I had no idea where the portal might take us. We had to do it in two stages. First we'd complete the Helping Hand quest and only then hurry to save my old friend.
I opened the battle chat. "Enea? Change of plans. I need all the orcs and the Elves. I need you to arrange their transfer to the public portal located in the village of Idyll." I forwarded her the data.
"Got it. Sciatant and I are coming too."
"Ah, so you two are buddies now?"
No matter how worried I was about her, it wouldn't be a good idea to chaperone her around too much, denying her all the best (and most dangerous) adventures and basically ruining the game for her. She wouldn't understand. She might even take offence.
"We seem to have some mutual interests," she replied. "Mossy Yorm and his men have been terrorizing the area for over six months now. The Daily News offer a live broadcast of the event, provided we can hold the portal and teleport to Mossy Yorm's lair. Even the Ravens couldn't do that."
"Did they fail the quest?"
"They did. A few members of their assault group did make it to the other side. No one has ever heard from them since."
"Were they players?"
"Yes. Sciatant thinks the admins must have deleted their accounts for some reason."
"I don't think so. If they suspected foul play, they would have deleted the quest and disbanded the NPC gang. What worries me is the illegal communication jammer."
Enea paused. "We'll be with you in ten minutes," she finally reported.
"Why so long?"
"I've called Raoul, Platinus and Togien. Lethmiel is busy working on the clan's logo. We need to send in a combat group of players. No NPCs. Talking of which... Take a look at Arwan, Highr, Davre and the Guards of Gloom. Can you explain why they're not marked as NPCs anymore?"
"You don't mean it!"
"Didn't you notice?"
"No I didn't. But I think I know the answer. Can Sciatant hear us?"
"No. I've blocked his access for the time being."
"Excellent. For all it may concern, they're not NPCs. They're fellow players and legitimate clan members. That's all for now. Hurry up!"
"Lethmiel is asking if he can come too."
"Tell him to forget it. Who's gonna guard the castle — his kitchen boys?"
"He says he might be able to keep the portal open with the help of a few Snow Obsidians provided you have them. He can set the Cargonite Golem to wall-guarding mode."
I had to think fast. "Okay. Tell him he can come."
"Shall I bring Iskandar and Rodrigo?"
"Please. Provided they too wear the clan logo. Hurry up. I'm going in. Time to pay those robbing bastards a visit."
"Alex, don't!"
"Why not?"
"The moment you go in, the portal will close. Just stay put until we arrive."
"Very well. Will do. Hurry!"
Chapter Eight
The Crystal Sphere
The village of Idyll in the vicinity of Agrion
EVENTS SEEMED to have taken a fast and unexpected turn.
I left the Guards of Gloom by the mysterious portal and walked outside.
The rain kept drizzling. Three more bodies lay in the dirt: the gangsters' patrol.
"Did you catch the horses?"
Arwan nodded. A born hunter and warrior, he definitely knew what he was doing. He wasn't the kind of guy to make mistakes or overlook things. Had he not tethered the horses, they could have returned to the gangsters without their riders, alarming them to our presence.
I turned to the kobold. "Highr, what're you doing in the middle of the street?"
He promptly dove into the nearest hedge.
The public portal sprang to life, disgorging Iskandar and Rodrigo.
"Come over here!"
They ran up to me. I took a moment to clue them in. "Consider this a one-off job. We can discuss the terms later. Now I want you to set up some protection so that no one can see the portal work."
Iskandar looked intri
gued. "Thanks for thinking about us. You can find trouble anywhere, can't you?" he added, grinning, while Rodrigo got busy casting a magic veil on the crossroads. Now no one could see us deploy our assault group.
"This is a city quest. You can't ignore it. They might cut down your Reputation."
"Is that it?"
"I was looking for a friend. They've kidnapped him. Ever heard of a Mossy Yorm?"
"Who hasn't? No one has ever seen the man though. From what I heard, he's a player gone nuts. A complete scumbag. His character is a troll. How low can you sink to play as an ogre?"
"I see. That's why no one has seen him. I remember reading that the Crystal Sphere welcomes all the mythologies, even the most ancient ones."
"What's that got to do with it?"
"What, the Norse myths? Don't you remember that a troll turns to stone when exposed to sunlight? Which means he can only rob people at nighttime and leaves his gangsters to do the job during daylight hours."
"Yeah right," Iskandar sounded skeptical. "I also heard that trolls are stupid. But this one was smart enough to cast a portal! And not just any old portal! From what I heard, using it strips you of your levels."
"Temporarily? Or permanently?"
He shrugged. "No idea. There's no one to ask. No one has been back to tell the tale."
"That's weird," I replied, watching the road. "Players can't die. You can't even keep them in captivity for longer than twenty-four hours."
"Listen, Alexatis. After I saw that arch demon screw up Virgil and Tylor's chars, I'm not sure of anything anymore. But you're right: the legend of a hardcore nutcase player can't be just a groundless rumor. I think someone must have lost their char and decided to make a fresh start. Just a theory."
The arrival of my clan's assault group interrupted our discourse.
* * *
THE CRYSTAL SPHERE is a young world. Here, a thirty-strong squad is a power to be reckoned with. Especially when all of its warriors and archers are clad in cargonite. The unique armor doesn't hinder your movements; it's light so it can be used by a variety of classes. I could see that even our cleric hadn't refused the additional protection of a gorgeous set of armor.
Enea and I had our scaly armor on. Sciatant immediately got to work. Admittedly, he knew what he was doing, using short-range teleports to find the best camera angles for his live broadcast.
The clapping of hooves and the neighing of horses sounded at a distance.
Arwan promptly deployed the archers to their positions. The first quest wasn't a problem. Even a less numerous group of players could have tackled it.
The kobold returned from a recon mission, reporting a group of about twenty riders moving toward us. They were those who'd been left behind to guard the cart piled up with all the loot. In an agricultural backwater a good day's hike away from the nearest city, they definitely felt strong enough to harass helpless villagers. You could tell this wasn't their first time. Their behavior betrayed considerable experience.
Sciatant got restless. Without knowing my plan, he couldn't choose the best camera angle. Finally, he gave up and scurried toward me.
"Could you please give me a hint of what to expect?""
"Nothing really," I replied. "My archers will kill the riders. That's the extent of it."
"That's not good enough!" Sciatant protested. "Can't you punish them using some uncategorized magic? Just think how awesome it's gonna look!"
"Ridiculous, more like."
"Excuse me?"
"It's ridiculous. It's like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. I haven't come here to show off. But you can go with us through that portal if you wish. That's going to be an exclusive to end 'em all! Provided Mossy Yorm does exist, of course."
He gulped. Blood drained from his face. "I'm coming," he managed. "Yes, absolutely."
* * *
THE GANG WAS a piece of cake. Predictably, Sciatant cringed: our brief melee definitely wasn't headline material. Our twenty Elven archers made quick work of the robbers, leaving nothing to do for the orcs.
Farmers who'd been cowering in their cottages poured out into the street, showering us with gratitude. This was a typical end to a run-of-the-mill quest for an average group of five to seven players.
"Now!" I said. "The Elves are porting back to the castle. Davre, same applies to your orcs — but you're staying."
We had to act fast before the portal closed. I called up Lethmiel and handed him two fragments of dark matter. I had no Snow Obsidian left. "Will this do?"
"Yes, I think so. With this I might last about five minutes."
"We don't need so much. The moment we cross, you can let the portal close. We have scrolls with Rion Castle's coordinates when we need to port back."
"Alexatis, wait," Sciatant came running. "I understand you can't let me go first. That's normal. But could you please turn the camera on and stream the video to me?"
"Absolutely."
He beamed. "I love your confidence!"
I kept forgetting about this "live coverage" thing. And what if we failed?
We walked back into the tavern. Lethmiel was already sitting on the floor cross-legged, his arms spread wide, clutching a fragment of transformed matter in each hand.
I peered at the portal.
A new system message popped up,
Warning! You're about to enter an advanced-level location.
Please think again. If you're not sure you can do it please turn back.
Warning! The Crystal Sphere administration can't guarantee your character's safety should you decide to enter the portal.
I chuckled. This Mossy Yorm wasn't stupid, whoever he was. Was he trying to scare everyone away — or did he mean to lure them in?
Archibald's marker was still hovering over the portal. My old friend was on the other side — and he seemed to be okay for the time being: the green color of the marker meant he was still alive.
"Kray, Ikhtar, you go in first. Davre, Togien and Highr, you follow. Enea, Arwan and myself after you. Iskandar, Rodrigo, Raoul and Sciatant in the rear."
My decision was based on my group's combat potential. We had no idea where the portal would take us. It could be some cliffbound canyon in which case the two Guards of Gloom could use their Combat Trance ability to mop up any enemy force, clearing a landing zone for the rest of us.
"Cameras on?" Sciatant reminded.
I didn't bother to reply. The battle chat was on, streaming pictures from Kray and Ikhtar's eyeshots directly to me.
In the meantime, Raoul and the wizards had finished casting raid buffs on us. We were ready.
"In we go!"
The two Guards of Gloom disappeared within the portal's iridescent glow.
I had no visuals from them! The portal blocked all communications!
"This is outrageous!" Sciatant exclaimed.
The portal flashed again, swallowing the three warriors. Concerned, I turned to Lethmiel. Still maintaining the portal, he was mouthing something, staring unblinkingly at Enea.
A whirl of autumnal leaves rose in her wake, then disappeared, absorbed by her avatar. A new buff — Forest Nymph — added to her stats.
We stepped in. Cold flames enveloped us momentarily, followed by the sound of molten ice drops and the pitter-patter of pebbles showering to the ground.
We stood in a narrow snowed-in mountain gorge.
The zigzagging strip of the sky was barely seen high overhead. The surrounding cliffs oozed water which froze in mid-flow, forming ice clusters which resembled solidified waterfalls.
At a distance, a barely discernible arch marked the entrance to some ancient structure.
Our levels remained intact. The reports of the portal's magic power must have been greatly exaggerated.
We hurried to regroup. Togien raised his shield in front of himself and stepped forward. His battle hammer festooned with lightning made threatening crackling sounds.
Sciatant exited the portal last. Contrary to our expectations, th
e portal didn't shut down. Apparently, Lethmiel wasn't the only person maintaining it.
The Curse of Rion Castle (The Neuro Book #2) LitRPG Series Page 21
