She seemed to say that last part as a joke, but I could tell it wasn’t as simple as that. Avelia might have been casting out a line, trying to check my reaction to the possibility of her joining us. Or maybe she was just teasing me.
I wanted to say something approving, because Avelia had soured completely, but then I saw Varya rushing back toward us with my cat on her shoulder. The Engineer’s daughter skidded Irosaurus Regina to a sharp halt beside Atlas.
“Sergeant, your Whis… I mean… I just remembered seeing a nursing mother animal! A big Chimeric Cougar in the Snowy Pass! And I even know where its lair is!”
Chapter 12 [Kitten]
Hundred Skull City: Entrance
VARYA AND I WERE the first to arrive at the destination. We watched from the bank as the raft, bristling with countless sharpened wooden stakes and gleaming metal spikes like a porcupine, turned away from the center of the river and unhurriedly meandered toward the ancient ruined harbor at Hundred Skull City. Edward Samarsky, bare to his waist, was the first to jump out onto the bank with mooring lines in hand. He pulled the raft closer and deftly tied the rope to the huge bronze ring on the jetty floor as if he’d been a sailor all his life. I noted that our Mechanic had already reached level fifteen, and he looked more confident, self-assured. The former momma’s boy was flourishing in the new world, gaining strength and independence. I couldn’t help but notice Varya’s interested glances at the tanned boy. Scrawny he may be, but he was also agile and had a lust for life. I have to admit, I even felt a little jealous — I’d hoped that Varya would wait for her feline friend to learn to transform into a human.
“Wonderful!” the Philosopher said, stepping onto the jetty. He took out a sheet of paper and started to peer at the ancient city spread over the hill. He seemed to be comparing it to a drawing he made earlier, from another vantage point. “While we wait for Sergeant to get here, let’s decide — who wants to go to Hundred Skull City?”
What did he mean “who wants to go”? I couldn’t believe anyone would miss the chance to see an ancient city full of treasure and mystery. But the Philosopher knew what people are like. Apart from him, nobody wanted to go into the dangerous city and risk their lives. Varya, Julie, Edward and Max Dubovitsky with the baby in his arms just lowered their eyes, shook their heads. The winged veyer didn’t understand the question. He just looked at the other group members, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Meow!” I jumped from the Scout’s shoulder to the Philosopher’s, showing my willingness to go.
“I see…” It seemed his companions’ decision upset the Philosopher. “Well, friends, I’m going anyway. With Sergeant or even alone, but I have to go. This place interests me greatly. The rest of you can await our return here on the bank.”
Avir Tan-Hoshi had been looking at the ancient ruins of the city sprawling over the slopes of the nearby hill. He spread his wings and took off, apparently wanting to see it from above, but a sharp shout from the Philosopher stopped him:
“Back, veyer! I saw birds struck by lightning as they flew above the ruins! You can’t fly over the city!”
The veyer didn’t understand the explanations, but he got the idea from the human’s tone and landed. Since our group leader seemed to be running late, everyone started to get on with the jobs of the day. Varya fed little Hope. Julie let the Marsh Mistress off the raft onto the bank, called over the creeping crocodiles and tended to them. The Engineer and the Mechanic were inspecting the right side of the raft. There was something they didn’t like the look of. Maybe some rocks did some damage on the way here.
I ordered the rock lizard Snowflake to stop sniffing around the bank and follow me. I wanted to take her hunting. I’d discovered the ability only recently — like any full-fledged player, I could now give commands to pets belonging to members of my group. I didn’t know if I’d always had the ability and never known, or if it had only unlocked as my Translator skill leveled up, but animals understood my simple commands and even obeyed them. Although not always. Apparently, in their eyes, a cat still didn’t have enough authority to count as a full-fledged master. That meant the Marsh Mistress ignored me completely. So did the megasaurus. Katy and Tick-Tock obeyed sometimes. As for Snowflake, she was always willing to follow me anywhere.
Radar Ear skill increased to level twenty-five!
A level twenty-five black snake rustled in the bushes as it crawled toward me. Wow. It was hunting me! Six and a half feet long, equal to my level, fast and probably venomous. But that didn’t matter — I had magic and I was hungry. That snake was about to be lunch! Stoneskin on myself and Snowflake! Slow on the enemy! Slow! Slow! Weaken! Get ‘er, Snowflake! The lizard grabbed the listless and curse-stricken snake right beneath its head, around its throat. Yes! Strangle it! A few seconds of battle and the snake’s body uncoiled, limp.
Elemental Magic skill increased to level seventeen!
Snowflake, now level twenty, moved aside to let me approach our slain prey. Great. Lunchtime for me and Snowflake!
* * *
Sergeant arrived half an hour late. His giga-komodo couldn’t keep up with Varya’s long-legged and fast megasaurus. But it surprised me to see my master supporting the sherkh Swordmaiden with one hand as she snoozed on his shoulder. Wow… Sure, Avelia had hardly slept last night as she roamed through the huge area of land she was responsible for, from one meeting place to another, leaving wooden tablet instructions for her squad. But the fact that the always on-guard Swordmaiden was relaxed enough to sleep in the presence of a human meant that the sherkh girl trusted Sergeant completely.
The Beast Catcher gently shook Avelia awake. She raised her head and gasped in fear when she saw the humans all around her.
My master looked over the crowd, coughed. “Allow me to introduce Avelia Un Ponar, skilled Swordmaiden and daughter of a sherkh guildmaster. She has kindly agreed to accompany us through Hundred Skull City.”
Everyone peered at the long-eared girl with great interest and took turns to greet her politely. Avelia Un Ponar was clearly shy of all the attention from another race, but she didn’t disappear into stealth. The Philosopher walked over and hurried to speak:
“It looks like it’s just you and me, Sergeant. Or you, me and this beautiful white-haired lady. The others have declined to accompany us to Hundred Skull City.”
The Beast Catcher looked surprise, but the little Veterinarian answered for the crowd:
“Brother, Hundred Skull City is a really dangerous place. No loot can be worth spending any of our few lives on it. At least, that’s how I see it…”
Sergeant shrugged.
“Well, I won’t force anyone. Wait here on the bank, then. But please, Edward and Max, could you make two solid spears? Better yet, three. As soon as we get back, we’re going to catch an animal that lives in the snowy pass. It’s a deadly predator, but also the nursing mother we need so bad. Julie and Varya, you prepare plenty of meat and fish — it might come in handy for the taming.”
I meowed approvingly. Yes, I was the one who told the others, through Varya, who could understand me, about the Chimeric Cougar I’d met — a deadly man-eating predator of the type one wished never to run into. But only if you didn’t know about it and were suddenly attacked. If, on the other hand, one was to approach the situation wisely, prepare sufficiently, then I saw no particular danger — the beast could be seen from afar through the IR goggles, slowed and weakened, and then the Chimeric Cougar would be no great threat.
I jumped into the Swordmaiden’s arms and, alongside the Philosopher and the Beast Catcher, we headed for the ancient ruins. It was strange, but even at noon and without a cloud in the sky, Hundred Skull City was immersed in semi-gloom. I saw static charges firing between the buildings, along with clouds of something like smoke or some magical mist. It looked sinister, but for some reason I felt drawn to the mysterious and no doubt dangerous city. Sergeant and the Philosopher shared my urges and burned with impatience.
Before we
’d gone even fifty paces, the winged veyer landed beside us. The boy pointed at the dangerous ruins ahead, then pressed a fist to his chest and dropped to one knee before Sergeant.
“A mi vigo! Tori pa Sergeant!”
It seemed the boy planned to go with us and was trying to tell us we could rely on him. Well, an experienced Thief sure might come in handy on this venture. He could find traps, open locks and doors, and just keep an eye on the city from above. Sergeant seemed to think along the same lines. My master gave Avir Tan-Hoshi an encouraging slap on the shoulder, then gestured for him to join the group alongside the Philosopher and the Swordmaiden.
* * *
We stood right outside the city wall, in no rush to walk through the hospitably wide open gates. The Philosopher hurried to fill the others in on his thought process:
“This location is, of course, a kind of challenge, and we can take all kinds of paths to the center depending on the strengths of our characters. We can force our way through by defeating the guardians of the ancient ruins. When I examined the city from the top of that hill, I saw some fast creatures shrouded in clouds of mist. If we can dispatch them, then we can go directly to the very center of the ancient city. Or we can rely on agility and try to climb up walls and across roofs. We can try to navigate the labyrinth of narrow alleyways. There are no creatures there, but there are a lot of traps. I went in from the opposite side. There are several primitive bait traps there by the destroyed gates. They were no trouble. Then there was a simple logic puzzle. Then I had to choose the correct door, with clues on the wall beside. I got through the outer wall, got past the first row of buildings, but then I got impatient… or I missed something. A flame burst hit me in the legs.”
“Only just behind the outer wall?” the Swordmaiden snorted derisively. “That’s only the start of the journey! I entered twice from the west, where the wall is collapsed. I solved almost all the puzzles and avoided the traps. I got two thirds of the way there, but I got stuck in the inner courtyard both times. If you can solve the secret of that place, old man, then we’ll be almost there! Let’s take the path I know!”
Everyone looked at Sergeant. He nodded his agreement. It made sense — why get bumps and bruises figuring out a new path if we could walk one we already knew? Staying at a safe distance just in case, we turned left and walked around the city. Fifteen minutes later, we stood by the entrance Avelia mentioned, with a breach in the wall.
“Mara!” the Thief shouted in alarm, pointing at something.
I couldn’t see anything suspicious, but the Swordmaiden nodded agreement.
“Yes, a trap. Don’t step on those stones. Keep to the right side of the alleyway.”
Neither Sergeant nor the Philosopher could see any danger in the pile of rocks she pointed out. Nonetheless, they heeded the warnings from their more experienced allies. We walked around twenty yards, then the veyer suddenly announced ‘mara’ again and raised a taloned hand in warning. We stopped. The veyer dropped to his stomach, crawled forward. In around five yards, he stopped, look around, pressed on a seemingly ordinary brick in the wall. With an earsplitting screech of metal, a long rusty blade shot out from the wall, stopping roughly at chest height. My master gulped nervously and turned to Avelia, who was white-faced. She shrugged guiltily.
“I didn’t know about that trap. But I still had a bad feeling about that part of the alley anyway. Those blood-darkened walls,” the Swordmaiden pointed at dark patches on the old brickwork. “And those old bones there. So I climbed up onto the wall here both times, and went along the roof to the end of the building.”
We ducked under the rusty blade and continued on, delving deeper into the maze of narrow alleyways. At some point, Avelia told everyone to get down on their hands and knees and crawl after her. Neither the Thief, nor anyone else could see a trap, but the humans and the veyer still followed the Swordmaiden’s advice. We walked through the broken doors of a stone house, then, still on all fours, we crept over to some stairs leading upwards.
“Mara! Un deko babakh!” Avir Tan-Hoshi piped up again, pointing at the old worn steps and something only he could see on the ceiling.
Translator skill increased to level fourteen!
“We don’t need to go upstairs,” Avelia said, making calming gestures. “I climbed through the window.”
We did the same. And a minute later, we were standing in the inner courtyard of a large mansion. The entire courtyard was laid with square stone tiles, some of them pressed into the ground slightly by heavy stones lying atop them. A few more boulders lay on the ground nearby. To the right and left were smooth, high walls. No way to get up without a grappling hook. There were sharp spikes at the top of the wall anyway, and smoke wafted into the air from the other side as if to hint that this way was the wrong one. The only path left open to us was straight ahead, toward the huge locked metal door in the distance.
“This is where I got carried away both times,” Avelia gestured at the whole yard, spreading her arm. “You can walk on the tiles, no problem. Nothing happens. But if you step on that tile lying separately just in front of the door, a powerful fire spell activates. It kills instantly.”
“Were the stones already on the tiles like this?” the Philosopher asked, examining the first puzzle Hundred Skull City had to offer him with rapt interest.
“Some were. Some I put there myself. There’s some kind of hint written on the wall in a room behind us. It shows this courtyard, and some of the tiles are marked. I tried to put stones on the marked tiles, but the trap at the far door still activated.”
“Well, well, let’s see…” the Philosopher murmured thoughtfully and wandered off to acquaint himself with the hint.
I tried walking along the tiles in the courtyard. Even under my light weight, the tiles sank down, then rose up again once I stepped off them. Sergeant wandered the courtyard too, then put on the infrared goggles.
“Woah! Look at that smoke above the wall! When the wind carries it over to our side, the IR goggles let me see some beams that are invisible to the naked eye! I think if we interrupt the beams, it’ll activate some trap. Take a look!” The Beast Catcher offered the nightvision goggles to the sherkh Swordmaiden.
Avelia looked at the trap Sergeant had pointed out for some time, then took off the IR goggles and started to examine them.
“Night glasses. Where did you get these?”
“Your brother had them in his bag, along with an army radio. I wouldn’t mind asking Arvedo Un Ponar where he got those things. They were made in the human world. Rare items like that don’t grow on trees.”
Avelia said nothing, just returned the IR goggles to Sergeant. But I was watching the girl carefully. I could tell that the sherkh Swordmaiden knew the answer, she just didn’t want to share it. It seemed some humans must have made a quiet agreement with the sherkhs to smuggle valuable items to them, although officially, the invisible people traded with no other races. Since time was passing, and something seemed to be holding up the Philosopher, I began to study the courtyard’s strange puzzle myself.
A square ten-by-ten grid. A hundred plates that could be depressed. Some of them were held down by stones. And a lot of the stones were at the very start of the courtyard. There, in the first row, there were three tiles at once held down, including the cornermost tile. Then an empty tile, then another with a stone, empty, stone, then three empty tiles. Did there have to be some kind of symmetry? Bare tiles and tiles with stones mirroring each other? No. There was nothing like that in the second or third rows.
Hmm… What could the pattern be? In the first row, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10 were empty. Both odd and even numbers. No pattern. What if you read them in reverse, from right to left instead of left to right? Then the stones marked out 1, 2, 3, 5, 7. Wait! That sequence felt familiar… It couldn’t be! Could it really be that easy? Gotta check the second row to confirm… Yeah, it was right! Only now I had to read the sequence from left to right, meaning I had to alternate the sides I started fro
m. Then the stones marked the tiles 11, 13, 17 and 19. It all fit!
Intellect increased to 25.
They were prime numbers! Numbers that can only be divided by one and themselves without a remainder! Now that I knew the numbers we needed and the side to start a new row from, I could easily place the missing stones correctly on the tiles!
I was so proud of myself! I didn’t know if I’d have figured out the solution if I hadn’t put both my free points from hitting level twenty-five into my cat’s Intellect stat. I think I still would have gotten it, it just would have taken more time. Now I needed to think of a way to convey that knowledge to the big oafs surrounding me. Jump around and scream, drawing the attention of the group members to the right tiles to put the stones on?
There was no need. The Philosopher ran out of the room with a drawing of the clue, spent a moment looking at the courtyard tiles, compared it to his sketch of the clue, then shouted at the top of his lungs:
“Eureka! I figured it out! We need to put stones on the prime number tiles!”
After those words, the Philosopher’s character level went up to seventeen. Apparently, our ‘Diogenes,’ as he was sometimes fondly called, had gotten experience for successfully solving the puzzle, or had leveled up some special skills of his class. Not fair. The game system hadn’t given me any experience, even though I solved it first, and without using the clue.
A minute later, all the correct tiles were covered with boulders. There was only one stone left unused. It all looked right. One hundred and one is a prime number too, so the tile by the door needed a stone too. But the big oafs were hesitating for some reason. They seemed to be remembering the sherkh Swordmaiden saying that she’d died twice when she stepped on that very tile. Nobody wanted to follow in her footsteps if the Philosopher had made a mistake.
In Service of the Pharaoh (League of Losers Book #2) Page 11
