The Cursed Princedom (Realm of Arkon #2)
Page 38
"I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, Max," said Rexar. "If this bozo fails to turn up, there's no way we can leave—we'd have to opt for his first option."
"Stop pestering me, will you?" Max snapped at the ranger, his face suddenly grave. "Silence in the channel!" he hissed, raising his left arm, and stood like that for twenty seconds or so, as if trying to discern a barely audible sound. Turning to the archers while unsheathing his sword for some reason, he bellowed, "Don't shoot!"
The ensuing developments exploded at a frenetic pace. Three figures in blue cloaks, their nicknames floating above their heads in red, emerged from the mist about a hundred yards away, barely within visibility range, and darted for the islet.
"Bastards! They have absorbing shields," whispered the huntress in a voice filled with hatred.
Suddenly the air before the Ravens running in their direction erupted in a flurry of blades. Two of the three mages were instantly sucked in the morass up to their throat. The third jumped forward and started to swim for the islet, making broad strokes with his arms. Donut, having regained visibility for a split second, faded into shadows again, and desperate wailing filled the air above the swamp. A moment later, the heads of the first two mages disappeared underwater, and a stream of choice curses erupted from the other shore.
"Luffy, Masyanya, shoot at the bastard as soon as he's in range," Max commanded briskly, pointing at the level 147 mage nicknamed Anubis swimming in their direction. The archers nocked their bows, but at that very moment the water under the swimmer started to churn. Large jaws flashed, resembling a crocodile's, as a yell of sheer terror rang out over the water, and the unidentified monster disappeared with its quarry, flashing its sides, brown with yellow fragments that looked like scales. A red blob remained on the surface of the water, slowly spreading...
"Fatality! Sub Zero wins!" Donut appeared out of thin air next to them, breathing heavily. "I had no idea they were that stupid."
"What?" Max asked absently, still overwhelmed by what he had just witnessed.
"Never mind!" the assassin lifted his hood and yelled, using his hands as a mouthpiece. "Hey! Losers! Didn't your mom tell you that an assassin's fan ignores shields? No? Go on, send more! There's a level 200 saurian swimming around, and the poor thing's hungry—says three numbskulls ain't enough..." he cracked a wide smile at the barrage of curses in response.
"Donut!" Masyanya turned to the assassin. "Listen... I still think you're a douchebag, and I'll never forget that cow, but... Well, sorry for having doubted you."
"Whoa, dudes, I got three levels for those goons," said a surprised Rexar, frowning from all the expletives flying around.
"Me too!" exclaimed Alyona happily.
"And how long do you plan to hide out there?" a mocking voice came from across the water. "We're not done with you yet, sweet piggies. Tell your women to put their makeup on..."
"Better make sure you have enough lube yourself, you nincompoop!" yelled a happy Donut, winking to Masyanya. "The Blades will be here any moment now, and they'll sure perform a colonoscopy on each of you."
"Bullshit! Where would they come from?" came a somewhat uncertain voice from the other shore.
"Your mages are noobs. They set their traps on the ground without raising their heads once—a level 30 rogue passed by them like he was strolling down an avenue. That was two hours ago, which means they'll be here any minute now!" He turned to the warrior, and continued in a low whisper. "We're real lucky they didn't have any level 150 water mages. Those could freeze water in front of them. But then, I wouldn't have offered this option if they had one."
"Thanks, bro," Max clapped a smiling Donut on the shoulder. "If it weren't for you—"
"It isn't over yet," sighed the assassin. "But they'll beat it, I think."
"Bro?" Masyanya gave Max a long look. "Whatever does that mean?"
"It's a derivative of the word 'brother,' as it turns out," the warrior chortled.
"My name's Grath!" the man from the other shore introduced himself. "Consider this your lucky day, girls."
"The one with a thousand gold coinss on his head courtesy of Vagabond?!" Donut shouted back. "Now why don't you wait a bit? I could really use—"
"You can bleat whatever you like," Grath continued. "But I promise all of you that we'll meet again. Say hi to your redhead for me," he guffawed. "She's just my type."
"Now listen here, dickhead!" Max couldn't control himself. But then, realizing there was nothing else to say, he waved his hand in frustration and fell silent.
"Do you think they'll leave?" asked Rexar, his eyes boring the surface of the water.
"They will, for the time being—they have no water mages left, and I haven't seen a single shaman or assassin, meaning they have no attackers left," Donut shrugged. "But things will be a lot more complicated for all of us from now on."
"All of us?" Masyanya recoiled, giving him a searching look.
"Well, it appears that I'm one of you now," the rogue turned toward Max. "Will you take me?"
"Do you even have to ask?" Max chuckled. "Tell me, is Vagabond the Night Blades' clan leader?"
"Yup, and he's one serious customer," nodded Donut. "A former hedge fund manager from Moscow. He transferred all his funds into cyberspace, built a castle in the Wilderness, and got everyone organized. The Blades used to be seventh in the dark elf clan rankings. I don't know what happened to the rankings since, though..."
"Why didn't you join them?" Masyanya squinted suspiciously. "You have a friend there, after all, and you're pretty skilled—much better than us noobs."
"They have crazy discipline there, like a proper army," the assassin snorted. "I'll have none of that—I'm a free spirit. I also have some differences with their leadership. Besides, Masyanya isn't with them... Incidentally, am I forgiven?"
"I'll think about it," smiled the elven maiden. "But another prank like that, and—"
"I'll behave," Donut made puppy dog eyes. "By the way, didn't you mention a sword of some kind?"
Judging by the hilt, the sword had been there for many years. The leather braiding had rotted through and fallen apart long ago, and the enormous green stone in the pommel had tarnished. Yet, the visible part of the blade, made of an unknown dark metal, had not a trace of rust upon it.
"Geez louise!" whispered a flabbergasted Donut, squatting next to the sword in the ground. "Noobs and fools are indeed lucky!"
"What is it?" Max frowned, bending over the hilt as well. "Is anything wrong?"
"Do you have any idea what this is?" the assassin pointed his finger at the black metal of the blade, and eyed the fighters gathered around him.
"Get on with it already!" Masyanya expressed what everybody felt, shuffling from foot to foot in anticipation. "Tell us."
"It's the legendary black iron! The metal of the gods! Only maybe fifty players have seen it in four years. It can hide its true nature and take on the semblance of simple steel, but here..."
"So what do we do with it?" Max asked of the assassin.
"Pull it out," Donut rose from the ground and stepped away from the protruding sword, gesturing to the warrior to go ahead. "You're the only one here who fights with a two-hander," he noted with a heavy sigh.
With a shrug, Max bent over the hilt, got a good grip on it, and gave it a sharp tug. A deafening crack was heard above their heads, and nine pairs of eyes gazed at the two-foot fragment of a gigantic black sword. The system log displayed the following information:
You've accessed the quest: Restoring the Shrine.
Quest type: hidden, chain.
Restore the shrine of Kirana, Goddess of Vengeance, destroyed by the disavowed.
Reward: experience, increased reputation with the dark elves, unknown.
You've accessed the quest: Restoring the Shrine I.
Quest type: hidden, chain.
Walk the phantom path and place the fragment of Inexorable on the altar of the destroyed shrine.
Reward: experience, incre
ased reputation with the dark elves, unknown.
Attention! The time for completing this quest is limited. The phantom path will disappear in 12 hours.
11:59:59... 11:59:58...11:59:57...
"Bingo!" yelloed Donut, taking Masyanya in his arms and spinning her around a few times. "What a lucky son of a gun you are, Max! A hidden quest for the entire party in their thirties! I've never heard of anything like it." Putting the screaming girl back on the ground, the assassin looked about himself, and stuck a finger toward the southern end of the islet. "There's the path!"
"Donut, who's Kirana?" Alyona looked at the assassin inquisitively. "I didn't see this goddess on the list."
"Who cares if she's on the list or not?! What count is that we got a quest—we'll find out the details along the way."
"Bah, and I was just priming for a nap," Bonbon covered his yawn with a hand. "But this looks important..."
"Napping is for losers!" the assassin grunted, and gave Max, still holding on to the sword fragment in bewilderment, a tap on the shoulder. "Give your orders, captain—the countdown has begun!"
In less than two minutes, the party took their first step on the phantom path, glowing blue in the twilight that fell over the swamp, leading deep into the mist. Their spirits were high.
May-July, 2014
Moscow
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[1] Masyanya (Мася́ня) is a popular Russian adult online cartoon. The title character is a woman in her twenties who lives in an apartment in St. Petersburg. Masyanya has an oval-shaped head and always wears a miniskirt and a shirt with a bare midriff.