The Wastes

by Alexey Osadchuk

  Done. The only one left was the big talker at the gates. And by the way, he was noticeably on edge. He was probably wondering why his partners hadn’t gotten to work yet.

  Finally, the farmsteaders moved from words to action. Arrows rained down on the loudmouth one after the other. And he, ducking behind his shield and spraying profanity, stumbled back right up against the forest edge.

  Breathing heavily, the man ran into some shrubbery, which just so happened to put him in range of my Ram. A second later, Gorgie jumped out of the bushes with all his considerable heft and fell down hard on the big man’s chest. Okay, he’s done too.

  Two or three arrows flew in our direction from beyond the stockade. One whizzed dangerously close to my cheek. With a gasp of fear, I fell onto my stomach. Whew... Just two fingers to the right and my eye would have gained a nasty little ornament.

  When the farmstead defenders stopped shooting, the harn slowly dragged the bodies of the downed men under the trees for cover. Unlike the cartmen, these three were carrying bags full of esses. No tablets though. They must have been using everything they earned on themselves right away. Beyond that, I found myself another couple dozen silver and copper coins richer. I didn’t take the heavy weapons or any equipment — I’d never get far dragging all that stuff. Not with my characteristics.

  I listened to my feelings again. As I rifled through the pockets of my downed enemies, I wasn’t feeling the least bit squeamish. Happy was right. These items belonged to me by right now because I defeated these horrid men.

  We quietly walked around the farmstead. Gorgie told me the defenders had split up. The woman was still at the gates, while the man had walked to the wall opposite. They must have been putting some diversion into action. Honestly, they’d have been too late. If we hadn’t intervened when we did, the thin man would have already been stabbing them in the back.

  An unfortunate raider’s body was lying near the stockade. He was no more than three feet from his target when Gorgie caught him.

  I breathed a heavy sigh. We’d have to leave that one. The farmer must have noticed the dead man and thus taken out his bow.

  “That’s all, buddy,” I whispered. “Let’s go. We have nothing else to do here.”

  * * *

  — You have acquired Dry Gorse.

  — Congratulations! You receive:

  — Experience essence (5).

  — Clay tablet “Herbalism.”

  — Clay tablet of Agility.

  — Clay tablet of Observation.

  — Clay tablet “Knife Proficiency.”

  I came upon the small unremarkable plant by complete coincidence while resting. Gorgie and I had been drawn to a small low-profile hill. It was densely overgrown with dry grass and bushes, and among the vegetation I discovered some dry gorse — a zero grass with extremely low value.

  Unlike the gray moss, which grew in large sheets, I had to hunt for the gorse. After watching me eagerly crawl around on the ground for a bit, digging through dried grass, the harn himself got carried away hunting for more.

  — You have acquired Dry Gorse.

  — Congratulations! You receive:

  — Experience essence (5).

  — Clay tablet “Herbalism.”

  — Clay tablet of Agility.

  — Clay tablet of Observation.

  — Clay tablet “Knife Proficiency.”

  “Found another,” I muttered under my breath in a satisfied voice.

  A mocking man’s voice behind me made me shudder.

  “How’s the hunting?”

  I feel a chill run down my spine. Slowly, not making any sudden moves, I turn.

  Literally two steps from me there were three men standing stock still. I looked at their levels and went dismal. The lowest among them is twenty-two. The highest — twenty-seven. He looks to be in charge.

  Tossing a quick gaze over their excellent equipment, I fell into a deeper state of gloom. The strangers are dressed like scouts. As for weaponry — short blades and compound bows. Each of them with ten or so amulets around their neck. Seemingly, I’d fallen into the hands of a group of forest rangers. To these warriors, I was no more than some farcical magician.

  “Well, spill it,” the twenty-seven turned calmly to me. The look in his ice-gray eyes pierced me straight through. On his sunburned bearded face, there’s a crooked scar running from his left brow to the lobe of his right ear.

  Meanwhile, the lowest-level of the three stepped forward and took the knapsack off my shoulder. Deftly undoing the draw strings, he dug into my belongings.

  “Trash,” he commented and flung the bag at my feet.

  Despite the fear clenching my heart, I found the strength inside to mentally chuckle. You’ll never get to the ephemeral backpack... Only over my dead body.

  “You were asked a question, scamp,” the third ranger furrowed his thick brow. Level twenty-four. Broken nose. Full lips. Big protruding ears. He looks somewhat like my old neighbor, who worked his whole life as a stevedore at the Orchus river port. They used to say he loved fist fighting for cash.

  “W-what do you w-want to know?” I asked, hiccupping and screwing up my face into the most authentic expression of fear I could muster.

  “Who are you? Where are you from? What are you doing here?” the head honcho interrogated in clipped phrases.

  “Eric... Eric Bergman... A peon of Mister Bardan... I’m on my way to Orchus...”

  I decided to speak the truth. I was sure these warriors had sky-high Lie Detection scores.

  “He’s telling the truth,” came the big-eared one.

  The head honcho nodded in silence as if to say he also thought so.

  I looked at the men and tried to figure out who they served — Corwin or Berence?

  Unexpectedly, the head honcho raised his right hand in a precautionary gesture.

  “The beast is near,” he said mutedly.

  “Finally,” the young one smiled in satisfaction.

  I already knew what beast they were talking about. Gorgie was back from his hunt, and hadn’t yet caught these hunters’ scent. If I hadn’t warned him, he’d have walked right into the line of fire of these rangers’ arrows.

  All the hair on my body stood on end when I started imagining what might happen to my friend.

  “Strange,” the head honcho frowned, pulling his bowstring taut. “The thing picked up our scent.”

  “How is that possible?” the big-eared one asked. “It’ll be level seven or eight at most...”

  It took me a lot of effort not to shudder at the highly accurate guess. A harn figurine appeared imperceptibly in my hand.

  — Would you like to recall your pet?

  Yes! Now! Then I set the amulet back in my backpack.

  “It’s gone,” the head honcho said immediately, looking around perplexed.

  This time I couldn’t resist and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Oh abyss!” the big-eared one barked out angrily. “This is about to turn into another wild goose chase!”

  The head honcho looked at me suspiciously.

  “Well maybe it won’t have to,” he said and turned to me: “Get up! You’re coming with us!”

  * * *

  If I had any remaining hope I’d been captured by rangers serving my Baron, they fell into oblivion as soon as we left the forest.

  On a wide clearing at the foot of the rocky ridge, there was a military encampment. A few dozen tents of various sizes were surrounded by a wall of wagons, carts and carriages lined with armed sentries. And no matter where I looked, I saw the image of a black raven.

  The neighing of horses, mooing of cows, bleating of sheep, barking of dogs, squealing of pigs, screaming of people — it all mixed together into one solid drone.

  I walked through the camp with my jaw hanging down in surprise. Everywhere I looked — at bonfires and tents, under awnings and open sky — there were soldiers sitting, standing and just lying around. And they were all doing their own thin
g. Some were cleaning their weapons or mending clothes; some were playing dice or cards. And some were just snoring under the open sky.

  There were also many women in revealing outfits with bright cosmetics on their face. Based on their wanton mannerisms, nobody was forcing these ladies to be there.

  Walking past one such woman, the big-eared one immediately launched a greasy little joke in her direction. And much to my surprise the woman not only didn’t get offended, she shot back a an equally indecent retort. And she accompanied her words with inappropriate gestures and shameless winking.

  What I saw and heard made my face burn. I felt like I’d been dunked into boiling water...

  Finally, we walked up to a large multi-colored hut with two sentries standing guard at the entrance. Both their levels are beyond twenty. They look like two solid steel boulders. Gorgie and I would barely be a mouthful to them.

  “Is he in?” the head ranger asked calmly.

  “He’s waiting for you,” one of the sentries boomed out in a deep bass.

  The ranger nodded and, pushing me forward, threw out to his subordinates without turning:

  “You’ve got one hour.”

  “Thank you, captain!” I heard the big-eared one say joyfully.

  When we got inside the fairly cavernous yurt, I shuddered in fear. And there was good reason!

  On a wide thick carpet running straight across the middle of the tent, there was a white viper curled up in a few rings! It was hard for me to hold back and not bash the snake with a Ram.

  But the subterranean creep didn’t react to our arrival in any way. Though I was certain that it was ready to attack at any moment.

  Abyss! Where did I land myself?!

  “Captain Morten! Finally! I’ve been waiting for you!”

  When I heard the pleasant soothing baritone, I immediately turned my head to the right. The strong voice belonged to a middle-aged man. Tall with thick black hair, he had a short trimmed beard and a lithe figure concealed by expensive clothing and footwear. It was immediately apparent that this tent’s occupant was very conscious of his appearance. A white-toothed smile played on his sophisticated pale face.

  When I saw his narrow dark-blue eyes and level forty-five, my heart was ready to jump out of my chest. I’m really in trouble now...

  “Greetings Master Chi!” the captain gave a short bow.

  “Morten, have you captured the beast like I asked?” the man asked hurriedly, ignoring the greeting.

  “Alas, sir, I have not,” the captain shook his head. “We almost had the thing, but it suddenly caught our scent.”

  “How is that possible?” Master Chi asked in surprise. “You’re wearing an amulet of stealth! I created it with my own two hands! Even a level-thirty creature wouldn’t have been able to detect you!”

  “That’s true, sir,” the captain answered. “But somehow this level-seven or -eight beast picked up our scent and disappeared without a trace.”

  “Curious...” the master muttered.

  “And here’s the really strange part,” the commander of the forest rangers continued. “All that time this kid, who looks absolutely harmless on first glance, was right next to us.”

  After the captain said that, the mage started staring at me stubbornly.

  “Furthermore, when we followed the beast’s tracks a bit, we found a set of smaller footprints next to them.”

  Smiling, the master lowered his gaze to my threadbare boots.

  “Curious... Let’s quick check something then.”

  When he said that, the mage quickly turned and hurriedly headed toward a wide table covered with items and scrolls.

  Lowering his hand into a round box, he pulled out a small square mirror. When he came back, he pointed it at me while staring at his own reflection for some reason.

  A few seconds later, his brows climbed upward in surprise while his thin lips spread into a predatory smile.

  “Captain,” Master Chi said happily. “I can say with absolute certainty that your mission to capture the dangerous beast has been completed. You can leave the kid here.”

  “As you say,” the ranger nodded.

  “I consider your contract complete!” the mage declared. “Excellent work, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you! You can go to my assistant for payment.”

  “Thank you, Master Chi!” a smile appeared on the captain’s fearsome face for the first time.

  With a bow, the man quickly left. And we were all alone.

  “So then, you used a summoning amulet?” Chi chuckled understandingly.

  A lump rose up my throat. How did he know?!

  “At times, fate is not just,” he said suddenly. “If not for my passion for unusual beasties, you probably would have made it past all of Vestar the dunderhead’s sentries. But to your misfortune, I had my best trackers on your trail... And today my collection has gained two interesting new specimens.”

  Chapter 3

  “I SEE YOU ARE bound by several oaths?” the mage asked, intrigued. “How’d you get those at your tender age?”

  “Family debt,” I answered shortly. My mouth went dry...

  “I see,” the man muttered. “And the others?”

  “Oaths of silence.”

  “Well, those are no impediment to us, but the monetary ones may cause certain discomfort. Let’s just get that sorted.”

  Master Chi gave a creepy chuckle and made a lightning-fast swipe.

  — Attention! You have been subjected to mental magic!

  I didn’t even have time to make a peep before I heard his commanding voice:

  “Listen and do not move! From this moment forward, I am your master. You must obey all my orders. And here is your first and most important one — from now on, you may not do me any harm. That’s all. Now get lost!”

  I took a deep loud breath, filling my lungs with air. Using nothing but words, this creep had just rendered me motionless! I couldn’t even breathe! Oh gods! Why is this happening to me again?!

  “No need to worry about your obligations for now. My spell has temporarily suppressed them.”

  Temporarily? Does that mean I’ll be free again if I kill this scumbag? That’s how it worked with the vampire.

  As if reading my thoughts, the mage chuckled and said:

  “You’re probably feeling sorry that you didn’t try and attack Captain Morten and his underlings back in the forest, right? Let me assure you — you did everything right. I just read the description of your spells... Yes, yes... Stop staring at me like that. This Amulet of Reveal Essence allows me to see everything about you...”

  After saying that, Master Chi gave the small mirror a shake.

  “So, what was I talking about? Oh yeah! It never would have worked. The captain and his warriors are well equipped and protected by magical amulets. Although I must admit that lightning of yours is quite promising. It ignores all kinds of defense and immobilizes... Up against someone without high level resistance to all kinds of stunning and numbing effects, that spell would be truly amazing!”

  At that moment, I was plagued by a few feelings. Hatred and disgust for the man intertwined with rage directed at myself. Worthless idiot! To be caught so easily!

  But there was also another feeling... I was perplexed — the mage had simply and casually mentioned things he was never supposed to reveal.

  “Alright,” came Master Chi, still carried away with his discussion. “Let’s say you activated your lightning and immobilized the captain and another person. And sure, let’s not be petty — we can imagine all three of them ended up stunned. What next? Your beast would come and finish them off? Answer.”

  “Yes,” I said, despite not wanting to speak.

  “Well nuts to you! You and your beast!” the mage shouted joyously and gave me the middle finger. “Those fifteen seconds would not be enough for either you or your beast to get through the magical shields my amulets confer. You don’t have deep enough supplies to fight opponents such as them. Ah
em... I’m afraid to even imagine the rage in the rangers’ attacks after a three ring circus like that.”

  The mage was speaking with such confidence in his voice that it was hard not to believe him.