Alright then.
I automatically began to bend my fingers, counting the party members.
Myself, Kira, Cray, Kaylen, Orbit, Bom. Six scouts in place.
The fate of Doc remained unknown, but I wasn’t particularly worried, because I had seen a pterodactyl had drag him to a safe landing zone.
“Guys!”
And there he is. Snorting and tearing algae off his shoulders, Doc hurried towards us.
Around the neck of the doctor was wrapped the snake, which had markedly increased in size since it was blessed by the goddess.
By the time he got to us he had already turned on his aura, healing us and increasing our mana regeneration rates. The Kolyvan gratefully shook his head and smacked the doctor on the back with his trunk. Doc drifted a step forwards, but didn’t take offense at such gratitude.
“We’re all here,” I concluded. “And more or less in one piece, it seems. Our pets…” We looked around. “Also good. Well, should we take a walk?”
“Wa-a-ait, Ros,” quietly said Orbit, stopping me with a timid gesture.
“What is it?” I said, stopping in place.
“Right now, we n-need to st-tep aside. Th-there,” said the skinny elf, pointing his finger at the earthen cell in the distance, where none of the arrived now stood. “Away from the l-line of f-fire.”
“Away from the line of fire?” Said the bewildered Cray, standing next to the sorceress, who looked equally surprised.
“A showdown?” I asked briskly.
“Oh ye-e-s…”
“Right, guys, take Kolyvan by the trunk and move exactly where indicated by our bald friend,” I ordered— and, without waiting for the response, set the example, already setting off. “Orbit, you think, they’ll engage?”
“Probably-y-y,… R-right now they’re p-probably counting their l-losses… est-timating… and once th-they do… there is no ress-surrection points. Just perfect for a sk-kirmish. N-none of the defeated players will be able t-to return to fight. Only the survivors will st-tay. Given the difference in our l-levels… joining the brawl is not ne-cessa-ry. No point… l-lots of problems.”
“Move quietly,” added Kira, striding beside me. “Be inconspicuous. Do not stare, do not laugh. It’ll only take a small discharge of mass magic to wipe us clean off of the map…”
We didn’t move too far away, stopping about fourty meters into the adjacent cell, but we were far enough from the two stronger clan units. The total confusion and rescuing was almost over. Now everything was becoming clearer. On either side of the empty gap, as if by chance, characters were beginning to gather, the military classes forming the first row. Damn it… Orbit was not mistaken. Some kind of battle was about to take place before our eyes. But that’s so stupid… at this time and place. A time when it was necessary to forget the past and join forces in order to achieve a common goal, and the Sleepless and Architects were going to knock each other out of breath. Damn it! Above our heads, a huge shadow flashed. Two figures jumped off of the dragon’s back— a knight in golden armor and a stocky dwarf. With a shrill grinding sound, the legendary worm emerged from the ground and curled into a tight helix around its master. There remained a crevice in the stone from which the monster had emerged.
“Oz!” Smiled the gilded knight of the Architects.
The master of the stone worm said nothing, and nodded silently.
“I understand about him,” I looked at Murohrom. “But you? The great warrior of the Architects clan? What are you doing on the sidelines?”
“I’m here for the legendary equipment, nothing more,” said Florian. “What happens between the clans here is not for me to get involved in. To lose the chance to attain a legendary piece of equipment for some showdown between clans? Yeah right! And Murohrom agrees. And you, it seems like, were thinking along the same lines.”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “I’m here for the legendary items.”
Florian was clearly not lying. To lose a chance to obtain such items in a spat… such a thing would certainly be stupidity in the first degree. And Florian was certainly not a fool. A trickster— yes. Well-spoken— of course. Vengeful— possibly. But a fool— not at all.
In addition to this, the legendary dragon itself already meant a lot to the Architects. And a legendary dragon with specialized equipment, … that was something else…
“And what if the Sleepless win?” Asked Doc. “Then what?”
“I have the Baroness’ word,” the knight shook his head. “And she keeps her word. I told you— I made it clear from the beginning that I only want the legendary items for my pet. And it is useless to others.”
“But it can be hidden in a clan’s storage and sold on the market,” Bom shrugged widely. “I would have done that.”
“I have the Baroness’ word,” repeated Florian. “Besides, I still hope that the dust will settle. We are as much friends as the dog and the cat, but here in the Outland there is simply no room for long-standing grievances. It’s stupid!”
“But int-teresting,” said Orbit.
“I won’t do it! I don’t care how interesting it is!” Muttered Florian.
I pulled out my telescope from my bag and looked towards the two clans. One didn’t need to look too closely to see what was already starting to happen. But through the telescope, I could see everything in extreme detail.
The head of the Architects had not arrived. But the Black Baroness was there. And now, she stood with her hands behind her back, looking fearlessly up at a huge half-orc of the Architects as he loomed over her, apparently the leader of his party. Two armies preparing for war, and the leaders were discussing something— and the outcome depended completely on what was being said. War or peace? Or war and peace? Damn clans…
The half-orc looked like a mutilated Italian— he waved his hands, gesticulating wildly, stamped his feet, and expressed many volumes of emotion as the Black Baroness remained impassive, calling to mind a graceful statue. Perhaps, she was saying something too— but, because of her mask, I couldn’t tell what it was. However, I could see the Scarlet Baron behind her, holding two bright red glass orbs— probably an extremely powerful explosive mixture.
The half-orc roared furiously— it the literal sense, as though he were a mythical creature and not a player. He roared so loudly that even we heard him, standing so far away. Then, two players emerged from the Architects group— a human mage and an archer elf, overcoming the distance separating two clans in a few steps. Another moment, and they had joined the ranks of the Sleepless, abruptly turning around and standing shoulder to shoulder with their prior enemies.
What the hell…
The orc choked out an angry scream, his eyes bulging in disbelief at the betrayal.
“What the hell is…” I voiced my thoughts vaguely.
“Cobalt? Isles?” Said Florian, equally startled. “It cannot be…”
“Moles!” Snapped Kirea. “Spies for the Sleepless! What a twist…”
“Damn it!” Said Florian in disbelief. “They’ve been with us for a whole year already! They passed the tests! No, it cannot be!”
“Of course, it can,” I muttered. “Don’t you see? There goes Isles, if you’re talking about your archer, already aiming his bow at his colleagues.”
“That’s it,” breathed Kira, reassured. “There will be no fight. No use in it now, when the enemy has your battle mage and archer, and you’ve already lost that many warriors.”
I couldn’t agree more with this forecast. The half-orc had wilted away, drilling his eyes into the traitors. The Baroness had expressed no emotion whatsoever, though I could have sworn that it was due to some imperceptible command of hers that the moles had dropped their masks and joined her.
The leaders continued to talk, but it seemed that the Baroness was now doing most of the talking. The tense atmosphere was slowly discharging.
“We can prepare for travel,” I said, handing the telescope to Kira. “The only thing I don’t understand is how we
’re going to travel— together or separately?”
“I think it’s going to be separately,” shrugged Kira.
“Not toge-e-ether,” drawled the bald elf. “Two exe-e-ecutive orders… p-parallel…”
“Eh, who cares! Enough already!” Bom muttered, looking thoughtfully at a purple flower he had recently plucked. “Who knows what flower this is? Only question marks, no name! How much is it translated into gold?”
“Ask the experts,” I shrugged. I was totally unfamiliar with the flower.
“What specialists?” Said Bom, dissatisfied.
The poor orc was in a quandary— there were no less than fifty of those flowers around us. There were more beyond. And so it turned out that we were either in a goldmine, or simply surrounded by useless weeds. How can we know?
“Specialists…” Repeated Bom, and suddenly livened up, giving a broad fanged smile. “I know one of those! I’ll call the hotline of Brave the Alchemist. Maybe he’ll know.”
“Uh-huh,” I agreed, indifferent— my attention still on the two clans as the voltage between them died.
The groups were beginning to diverge. Quarreling occurred on occasion but none of it resulted in physical altercations. No one wanted to “fly” home prematurely. Everyone wanted to stay at the location a little while longer.
Exhaling with relief, I immediately tensed again when I heard the moaning of the bald elf:
“Not int-terest-ting! Oh! Come on-n-n! Prepare for arms!”
Noticing our scathing looks, Orbit quieted down and, sadly sniffing, looked ahead towards the waterfall in the distance. Snorting through his thick trunk, the mammoth turned the same direction, also engaged in contemplation of the waterfall. Kolyvan was clearly on the side of the elf.
“Like a nuclear missile with a broken timer,” I sighed, looking at the restless player, who obviously hated boredom. “Bom, and what do you think you’re doing?”
The half orc turned, his arms full of purple flowers he had harvested.
“What, you can’t tell?” Bom growled, crouching on all fours. “Help me instead of judging me! They’re not even flowers, but diamonds just growing out of the ground!”
“Purple diamonds?” I chuckled. “Probably, a very valuable thing.”
However, despite my sarcasm, I knelt down and tore some of the purple flowers from the ground and threw them into my backpack. The rest of the group were already collecting the crops with much greater zeal. And I understand why very well— plants of this type are not found anywhere else. If it was true that these were valuable to alchemists— that would mean that the legendary Outland was as valuable a place as the mythical city of El Dorado. And the money lay right under our feet. We only had to bend down and pick it up. Soon I noticed that I had collected no less than a couple of dozen flowers. Like that’s what we were here for— flower picking. Or perhaps mushroom picking?! Damn it!
There was a plus side. As the likes of us collected vegetation, the clans acted. Clearly and coherently. The Sleepless were already lined up. Freight animals were at the center, and combat pets and soldiers were on both sides, going in a certain order. Behind the mammoth tank, who was mounted by four riders, came archer animals. At the head of the mammoth was a helmet, and the trunk now had grown long, sharp thorns— if one were hit with such a trunk it would be very painful. Other smaller animals were also armored. Above the group hung a multi-colored veil— most likely a protective aura. It seemed as though they were moving in a tremendous, iridescent soap bubble. Over it, circled a few pterodactyls, and a few other birds of prey. A raiding squad, ready for combat. Not very large, of course, but still formidable. And this is exactly what was at hand: a raid. You couldn’t call it by any other name.
Somewhere nearby moved a similar bubble— the Architects Clan. The potential enemy and at the same time a potential ally. The orange and white dragon waved his enormous wings behind us and easily lifted into the air, taking Florian with him. The Gilded Knight had clearly received orders to relocate. But the dwarf Murohrom was in no special hurry, waiting together with us for the approaching Sleepless squad.
A silent and very mysterious character. Yet it seemed that he had made some kind of decision and chosen to remain here instead of going with the Architects.
As soon as the multi-colored dome reached us, an offer to join the raid appeared on our screens. And there was the other proof.
The size of the battle group is set at ninety-six players. But there is one very important limitation— raid groups cannot be created in just any location. Only in locations which are extremely hostile to players.
I accepted the invitation from the leader of the raid— none other than the Baroness herself. Before my eyes flickered a long list of other group members and quickly ended, shrank, and retracted into the left corner of the virtual screen. Following this there appeared a long list of active auras with protective and reinforcing properties.
Then I let the Kolyvan catch me with his trunk and move me to his broad back. There sat the sorceress Kaylen and the bald elf Orbit, who was sitting at the mammoth’s head, clearly unwilling to give up his spot. Doc joined us soon after, sitting next to me— and the rest of my battle group stayed on the ground. That was good. It was necessary to protect the health of flimsy characters like us. The warriors were on the ground, protected my armor and wielding a solid amount of life points and brawn. They could withstand a sudden attack from an enemy. Just behind Orbit sat another player with the nickname Ultima Forever. A short wave of his hand, and two crossbows appeared before him, on the back of the mammoth.
Judging by the smooth contours of the weapons, the medieval tools had been worked on by a true master of his craft. The crossbows were also enchanted, adding to their recharge speed and accuracy.
“Do you know how to use one of these?” Asked Ultima, or Ul, as I had dubbed him in my mind.
“I had to once before,” I nodded. “But not particularly.”
“No one knows, particularly,” sighed Ul, installing the crossbows into the harnesses of the Kolyvan. “Our shooter didn’t get into the teleport. So you’re the new one. Do I need to explain how to reload it?”
“No,” I shook my head, taking the crossbow and aiming it. “Cool! What kind of ammo is it?”
“Standard. Green tipped— hit and poison. Red— hit, and fire. Black— hit for an explosion. Very wide ranging, so careful where you aim. Use general caution with the red! If you hit any of ours, there will be hell to pay. Got it?”
“Yeah. And what’s this?” I said, looking at the cargo bags. “Blue is freezing, that’s obvious. But what is this blue and white spiral one?”
“Twister,” said Ul.
“Blue with white lightening— electricity?”
“Right. Electricity upon striking. Oh! I forgot! Ros, see this one tipped with orange?”
“Yeah?”
“Only shoot that one up! Anti-aircraft missile. A voluminous explosion with smoke. Great stuff!”
We exchanged a few more words. During this time, the mammoth took its place in the squad. Shortly, I commanded Tyrant to stay close and not to get involved. The black and white wolf trotted obediently at the left of the Kolyvan. Behind the mammoth was Kira, perched on her brontosaur battleship, and behind the wolf was Kaylen’s gracefully treading deer.
“Now, everybody listen up,” said Ultima loudly. “Everyone!”
Making sure that everyone’s attention was on him, he briefly explained:
“There are a few tactics for engaging. But only one order concerns you— “all in.” Until you hear that order, sit back and enjoy the view. Until then, don’t even think of engaging with an enemy! Even if the enemy is already gnawing at the leg of the mammoth! Don’t try to be a hero! Just sit! All clear?”
All members of the group nodded in agreement— all except for Orbit and myself. The bald elf apparently didn’t care— he was busy with the mammoth Kolyvan— and I understood that, because I was seated at the crossbow, slightly diff
erent instructions applied to me.
“Our order is “archers!” Ul turned to me. “Also listen for the arrow types required. Doc is at your disposal. He will give you the arrows you ask for. I have Kaylen. We shoot only when our order is heard. If you just hear the order, don’t just shoot— wait for a target, whether it is voiced or pointed out to you in the form of a red arrow on your screen. But you already know,” he said, picking up on my expression, and added: “Your personal order— “Ros.” This is if a separate shot is required of you, for any purpose. That’s all. Damn it… no one raised the shields!”
“Damn!” I said, and groped in my bag. I searched inside, and… shrugged apologetically. The shields were so heavy that I couldn’t get them out.
“Fun, isn’t it?” Snorted Ul, who also didn’t belong to an athletic class. “Roni! Can you install our shields?”
Roni was up on the back of the mammoth with a single leap, putting his sword away mid-flight. Mumbling something under his breath, Roni pulled out the shields and installed them into their mounts, and then promptly left us. And then our stronghold was complete. The shields surrounding us and the crossbows. On the inside shone a strengthening rune. Handing Kaylen two glass orbs filled with a milky white liquid, Ul said:
“If I shout “now!”— activate them immediately.”
“Yes, sergeant!” Bravely squeaked the sorceress.
“But when you activate it, don’t throw it at the enemy!” Muttered Ultima grumpily. “There was already an incident, once… It’s not a grenade, damn it! Well then… seems like we’re ready, huh? Soon we’ll be staring death in the eyes! But no, really… I think we’re off to a good start!”
Swaying on the back of the Kolyvan, I sat in silent envy.
Maybe harmless envy, but still strong as hell.
The Way of the Clan 6: World of Valdira Page 2
