On the Lost Continent

by Andrew Novak

  Jack did not say anything. What was there to say? Everything was clear. He, as the owner of the insanely expensive little thing, came himself to push the item to the client.

  Tevis motioned with his hand. His warriors who were still standing next to him and watching the guests, bowed and stepped aside. Their master wanted to discuss business without witnesses.

  “Must be an interesting place, Gaerthon,” the Khan continued. “I’m not interested in ships and the sea, otherwise I would try to find the lost continent. If I might come across such artifacts there, it would be worthwhile to look for a way across the ocean.”

  “I dare say, great Khan, but a second such relic does not exist,” remarked Egghead. “The legend says that only one War Hound has survived to this day. And now, therefore, there are none left, so this Fiery Heart is one of a kind and unique. It grants its owner an incredible ability. To become a War Hound himself.”

  “You need to squeeze the Fiery Heart tight and you’ll become an invincible winged monster with an amazing interface,” Jack said. “It has new abilities, like flying or a fire attack. Overall, it’s an incredible thing. You have to experience it yourself though because I don’t even know how to describe it. The way your life bar grows… Your defense… The damage I received was marked in fractional numbers.”

  Egghead elbowed Jack. He meant that Jack needed to avoid technical terms and expressions that a player would use. No bars or fractional numbers.

  But his precaution was unnecessary here. Tevis was very interested.

  “Fractional?’ the Khan repeated, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “That’s certainly interesting.”

  “Very interesting,” said Egghead. “I dare repeat, the Heart is unique! It is only for this reason that I set a considerable price. To ask less for this one-of-a-kind item, well, it would be like laughing at the order of things. Fifteen thousand gold, that’s my offer,” he followed these words with that sweet, little smile of his.

  “All the same, fifteen thousand gold… it is too much, my dear friend Egghead,” countered Tevis, continuing to eyeball Jack. Maybe he was hoping that the “wipe” would end soon. “I agree to eleven. It’s a fair price for such a unique trinket. I think Gaerthon is chock-full of all kinds of interesting relics. If you come across something like the Fiery Heart, you’ll let me know, will you? Before you turn to other buyers, I mean?”

  “Of course, oh great Khan,” Egghead smiled. “And who knows, perhaps I could have found someone who would give me more coins than your grace? However, the pleasure to serve the great Khan is, for me, more valuable than gold.”

  “Yes, Gaerthon is full of wonders,” Jack butted in. “But there’re plenty of enemies back at Stoglav, aren’t there? And what does a warrior need to be happy? Worthy enemies, that’s what he needs. I wouldn’t turn down the chance to see just how the great Tevis Khan will test the Fiery Heart. For this we can concede a little in the price, don’t you think, Egghead?”

  Tevis pondered over it, keeping his gaze on Jack. They both addressed Egghead when they spoke, but in reality, the real bargaining was happening between these two.

  “Those were the words of a valiant warrior. Indeed, the artifact needs to be tested,” the Khan said.

  “What kind of test would that be? How about storming Castle Odon?” Jack came to the point. “I would gladly watch such a spectacle. Better yet, I ‘d participate.”

  He thought for a moment and added, “For this great honor to fight alongside Tevis Khan, I could certainly relinquish several thousand gold!”

  “Why not?” the khan spoke cautiously. “I could test the Heart in Castle Odon, I suppose. The owner of this castle has long been a nuisance to me. But we haven’t yet finished our haggling. I don’t have the Fiery Heart just yet, so I have nothing to test.”

  “Then let’s not delay the deal,” said Jack. “May I humbly ask of you one more thing?”

  The duration of the “wipe” was coming to an end, and he didn’t want to prolong the conversation.

  Tevis nodded.

  “Travel to Gaerthon is time-consuming, and I don’t often find myself here, in Stoglav. Moreover, this region is far from my Castle. Coming here takes time. If I could count on the great Khan to strike Castle Odon at precisely the time of my next visit… and I don’t know yet when it will happen. Perhaps in a day or two. If the noble Khan agrees to my request, then we’ll sign the agreement immediately. And the price, of course, will be fair.”

  “As you like,” said Tevis. “Let’s exchange contact information? And you’ll let me know in advance when to prepare for our raid on Castle Odon.”

  “I will inform you through Egghead. Why should the Great Khan remember the details of so many insignificant outlanders?” Jack gave a wry smile. Ha! He wasn’t giving his “details” to the Khan because that meant giving him his name. “Egghead, take the payment. Eleven thousand gold. That’s the fair price we’ve agreed on, right?”

  On the way back, Egghead was silent for a long time. Then he spoke softly:

  “You didn’t speak with him quite right. Too direct. I’m not sure if Tevis was pleased. He likes transactions to occur with all the necessary linguistic fanfare. He wants everything to look lofty, if I may say so. Diplomatic. And you all but said that you would reduce the price if he becomes your mercenary. You just hired an alpha for four thousand game gold!”

  “But still I wasn’t that straightforward, right? What’s even more, he agreed. Let him be disappointed with my behavior as long as he’s content with the price and doesn’t let me down when it’s time to raid Odon.”

  “Yes, and the price was too low. I understand, of course! You’re in a rush.”

  “I am. This is about my life and my revenge. I value those more. You take your commission as if the price had been fifteen thousand. I want you to be happy, too.”

  “I’m fine,” Egghead replied rather sourly. “No, really, I understand. If you’re going to sell all your things and cure yourself, then there will be many more relics and a lot of profit. Taking less money now is like an investment.”

  Admittedly, Egghead wasn’t too happy. He always got upset when money slipped out of his hands. Even though this time it wasn’t his money but Jack’s. But still it was unpleasant. He’d have to find comfort in the fact that it was an investment.

  “I do need something else,” Jack added. “Can you please send someone — either Juan or the other guy — to White Street. Have them walk around a little and wait until Goodwin shows up. I need a knife at least as good as the one Juan gave me last time. That and some supplies to last me and the old man for a couple of days.”

  “For a couple of days?”

  “All this is unlikely to last more than two days. I already feel like shit and if I wait too long, I simply won’t have the strength to travel to New Atrium.”

  “Okay, I’ll send them. Although Juan won’t be happy about the knife. Jack, where should I drop you off? At the same crossroads in the woods?”

  “No, in the settlement nearest to it. I need to buy a sheep or some other animal for sacrifice. From there, I can get to the crossroads myself.”

  Now it was all set, Jack thought. Sartorius alone was left to take care of. When he finally worked our Jack’s way over the Barrier, then it would all begin. That’s when Romeo would prove useful as he couldn’t wait for the chance to chase Brandt from his territory and do it in a way that wouldn’t start a war between the Clusters. Ditto for Tevis Khan who wanted the War Hound Heart at a discount and also hated Brandt because Brandt’s castle stood on the road the Lahitte used to drive their herds to market.

  And then there was Shifty Peter, who longed for the infragun which was still lying in its rabbit hole where Jack had hidden it. Peter needed the lethal little gizmo so badly that he was willing to pay for it with Brandt’s life. Or was he glad for the opportunity to get rid of a competitor who also claimed the title of insurgent leader?

  That last bit didn’t matter. Let them work
it out among themselves. The important thing was that all these people, the gang leaders and the alpha to boot, were waiting for Jack’s signal to start the game.

  Everyone was waiting for the indecisive alpha citizen Sartorius to come to the only right decision. Jack would have to show him something particularly impressive at Gaerthon. Something that would spur his imagination. This night would be crucial. Tonight he would get either a yes or a no.

  An hour later, pulling a sheep along by its rope, Jack came to the chapel outside of Narim, the exit point from the game, where he and Sartorius had parted yesterday. He wondered if the alpha would log into the game in the evening as usual. Or would his impatience make him hurry back?

  As if answering his question, Sartorius stepped out of the chapel. There was so much anticipation in his eyes that Jack realized that he could now count on the alpha’s help. As long as Gaerthon could deliver the kind of miracles that would ultimately convince Sartorius. Something special needed to happen today.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Demise of a Continent

  WHEN THE ROTATION of the dark crimson spots of the necroportal faded, leaving Jack and Sartorius standing in the sunlight on the shore, they both turned their heads, looking around.

  The sea was choppy. Waves rushed up onto the beach with a crash, specked with caps of dazzling white foam. The sea raged, its greenish waves trailing in all directions and colliding like squadrons of warriors, the heavy cascades of spray shattering like broken weapons.

  On the horizon where the waves originated and their watery troops formed, a dense haze hung over the sea. The sky, however, was cloudless and the sun shone brightly. Jack barely felt the breeze.

  The travelers headed down the mountainside to the coastline where the waves fell against the black demon ship.

  Today wasn’t a day for fishing. The locals stood on the beach, watching the murky clouds billow over the horizon.

  “What’s that, Kaled?” Jack shouted while he ran, spotting the elder among the Lahitte villagers.

  “The destruction of Gaerthon continues!” the old man shouted back. “Our land is doomed, wanderer. If the Gods do not return, Gaerthon will vanish!”

  Jack and Sartorius rushed into the waves, covering their faces from the bagfuls of foam flying at them. Before they made it to the Dead Wind, Jack had twice received messages telling him that he had taken damage and lost a unit of health to the strength with which the waves were thrashing them. Finally, he and Sartorius climbed onto the deck.

  Jack pulled Theokrist’s Compass from his inventory. The tiny figurine was pointing directly to where the swirling haze was especially dense.

  “Wind, set a course to over there! Do you see the Compass in my hands? Follow it.”

  “Yes, Master,” the ship crooned. “As you wish!”

  “What’s happening?” Sartorius asked. “What did the NPC on the shore say?”

  “Gaerthon is about to collapse, you heard him. Those islands where we completed the first steps of our quest were once part of the mainland. I think developers deliberately mapped the continent so that we could find the first two temples near the shore and pass these steps quickly. From here, we have to follow Theokrist’s Compass. We’ll have to look in the heart of the mainland to find the third temple. Which is breaking up. The devs probably created some very picturesque artwork of the fall of Gaerthon for us. So, watch and enjoy.”

  The Dead Wind spread its sails and surged into the mist. The turbid veil was not at all like the mist formed by the spell Great Misty Veil. This mist didn’t restrict their movement.

  When the schooner entered the haze, it became evident that the fog was being generated by the spray hanging high above the ravaging sea. And yet, it was also a mixture of steam and smoke.

  To his right, Jack saw a glowing patch of maroon light breaking through the fog. It looked like an erupting volcano, only smaller. An island topped with a fiery peak was slowly sinking into the ocean.

  The waves kept beating against the stone cliffs of the sinking island until they finally reached its erupting peak, instantly evaporating into clouds of steam. Several boulders exploded as if blown up. The island vanished in the heavy waves where hot lava had glowed only a few seconds before.

  “Well, that explains why the sea is so rough,” Sartorius murmured. “Look, there’s another island! And another!”

  The Dead Wind slipped through the clammy haze. Now they could see cliffs sticking out here and there in the waves. The sea around them raged, causing rocks to roll down the slopes. The islands were sinking, gradually crumbling into pieces.

  A couple of peaks were smoking. One cliff trembled, crumbling into the water. Its peak split open like a flower, revealing a crimson glow inside and showering the water with red-hot rock debris.

  Sartorius gasped. The glowing droplets of molten rock were alive. They twitched their limbs as they fell. Steam billowed where they struck the water.

  One of them began swimming toward the Dead Wind. The water around the creature hissed, turning into steam. The sizzling beast moved quickly; within a minute, it had drawn close enough to read its stats:

  Burning Pangolin

  Health: 400

  Agro zone: 30

  Jack bent over the side, pulling out his sword. Sartorius aimed his staff at the swimming creature.

  “Don’t bother,” Jack said. “Fire won’t hurt it. On the contrary, you’ll only make it stronger. The Pangolin is cooling, don’t feed it more fire.”

  The longer the Pangolin swam in the sea water, the duller its sides shone. It had almost reached the schooner, tensed, sharply wagged his long tail and made a stunning leap over the waves.

  The jump should have ended on the deck, but Jack had met the Pangolin with Shadow of the King. The black blade sliced through its muzzle. Where the steel and the hide of the monster came in contact, cracks ran all over its body.

  The Pangolin disintegrated in midair. The petrified parts of its body showered the waves except for a small fragment that dropped onto the deck. Sartorius picked it up.

  Burning Pangolin Claw

  “It cooled in the water and turned to stone which made it fragile, so it just fell apart,” Jack explained.

  Sartorius offered him the Claw but Jack shook his head, “Keep it.”

  “It’s your loot,” the alpha objected.

  “Let’s just say it’s ours,” Jack tried to smile. “I don’t need anything. I hardly have time to even find out its purpose. Take it as a souvenir. You’d better look over there!”

  The outline of a large piece of land bled through the fog. Its shore stretched out along the entire horizon, rising sharply to form mountain peaks in some places, gently sloping to the sea in others.

  The Dead Wind sped toward the land. Little by little, new details began to emerge from the fog. The players could see the shore crumbling away and rocks crashing into the sea, giving rise to another series of swells which hurried to take part in the battle of the waves.

  The beach rumbled and split. A crack ran completely across it. A huge chunk of land began to detach from the mainland, gradually disintegrating. The fissure was glowing, spilling red-hot lava into the sea. The runaway fragment slid a little further away… then stopped. A new island was formed.

  The Dead Wind changed course and continued parallel to the shore. Jack and Sartorius watched in fascination as they sailed past its cliffs, its fresh-water streams running into the sea, its plains and its woods.

  When the mouth of a river appeared ahead, the schooner turned toward it. Jack brought up his map of Gaerthon. On the edge of a uniformly gray picture, a narrow strip of the shore steadily opened as they sailed. The river on the map looked wide enough to sail in and reach the interior of the land. Shame Jack couldn’t see how far it flowed. Theokrist’s Compass pointed toward the land, but it was unclear how far they could travel along the river and where they needed to go ashore.

  “Let’s go further upstream,” said Jack. “Until we find
the next temple. Eh, I wish we could go faster. Otherwise I won’t be able to light the all fires. My time is running out.”

  Pretending to look straight ahead, he cast an inconspicuous glance at his companion. The alpha bit his lip and frowned. Jack hoped it was out of concern for him, and most importantly, for the escaping opportunity to continue the quest.

  The sea in the river delta was turbulent. There were a lot of rocky islets which allowed the current to pick up speed.

  The Dead Wind negotiated the dangerous rocks beautifully. It executed several precise maneuvers and entered the river. Even though it was now sailing against the current, it quickly cleared the coastal rocks, reaching the calmer waters of the river further on. The black schooner glided with a favorable wind. The river bank, overgrown with wood, sailed by. In some places, Jack could see the ruins of old stone walls. They passed a small abandoned town, almost completely destroyed.

  “You see, Sartorius,” Jack pointed at the remains of the city, “there must be something there. We have something to keep us busy, right? But first, we’ll find the temple and revive the fire. I hope I still have time.”

  He looked at the Compass. Hey, they were going the wrong way! The tiny bronze figure was pointing in a slightly different direction than where the river was running.

  “Wind, we’ve strayed from our course!”

  “The river will turn, sir,” the ship sang confidently.

  “Jack, look! There’s smoke rising!” Sartorius shouted excitedly.

  He pointed upstream. A ridge of hills had appeared ahead. It seemed that just behind them, there should be the bend where the Dead Wind would return to the correct course.

  Pillars of smoke rose beyond the hills. It couldn’t be a campfire. Clearly, something substantial was burning. Jack even thought that he could hear screams in the wind.

  Yep, it looked like a battle was going on! And the black schooner was about to reach its very epicenter.