The Red Baron looked at Tyrant with respect and ran towards the Black Baroness.
To her, who stood next to a twitching stone bulge, like a huge stone… head?...
“It’s a head!” I breathed. “Like the head of a buried soldier… what…”
And then it roared furiously. The portal on top of the head flickered. To get into the portal now one would have to be a professional basketball player.
“There’s no way,” I swore, clutching to the wolf’s neck and looking at the giant’s head.
A third roar! And a crack ran along the earth as it seemed to bulge underneath us. Stones flew up into the sky and hung over our heads… ominous harbingers of a deadly rain.
Hit! Cobblestones flew sideways, and the ugly head went sharply down, as if someone had hit it with a hammer. And why? To put the giant back into the ground together with our portal?
But on the other hand, I was happy that the giant wasn’t trying to climb out and fight us. On the contrary— he was trying to hide. That was good!
The main thing now was not to anger the giant. And then everything would be ok.
“Ra-a-a-agh!” Maliciously growled the monstrous giant, and as his mouth opened, I saw a gray figure in tight black leather dart into his mouth.
“The Baroness has been eaten!” Cray shouted, holding the shield in front of him. “Rather, she let herself be eaten!”
“Sis-ter-r-r-r!” Howled Orbit, pulling his ears.
“Rr-r-rah,” the head continued to roar— and then to cough.
There was another flicker of black and gray. And the Black Baroness emerged, holding a great round stone with both hands. Another jump, and she was only five feet away from me.
Looking at the trophy she extracted from the giant’s mouth, I understood that it wasn’t a stone. No. It was more like a dinosaur egg, or the egg of a giant bird. A black egg with gray and white stripes. Tearing her mask off in one motion, the Baroness leaned her cheek against the top of the egg and purred:
“Well, hello, my precious!”
She was smiling in pure delight. What is it that she pulled out of the mouth of the giant?
“A-a-a-a-a-ah!”
A hit! A powerful earthquake shook the whole area. The wolf stood on all fours but growled with displeasure.
When I fell to the ground, Tyrant jumped towards me and began to carefully lick my face. My life slowly crept up.
But I wasn’t paying attention to that— I looked at the thick stone arm that had escaped the ground and was now grasping to the stele. And in the steel, the ancient guard flashed furiously. The giant was no longer hiding. He had decided to fight. Not good…
“Lord,” groaned Kaylen, running a hand through her tousled hair. “He’s holding the stele like a staff! And the ancient guard is glowing… oh, they’re gonna get us!”
“Intere-e-e-esting!” Said Orbit, and danced happily on the head of the mammoth, who was already accustomed to such behavior.
Orbit was certainly contagious!
But right now, I paid him no attention. I absolutely did not want to die.
“Kira!” I called.
“Leave!” The warrior rushed towards me, her eyes burning with passion. “Hold this. And this. And this.”
Different bottles with colored liquids, roots, leaves, flowers and stones were added to my inventory. Everything Kira managed to collect during our raid.
“I’ll stay!” Breathed Kira. “It’s a Mega! A Mega monster!”
“Damn you!” I muttered, leaned forward, kissed the paladin on the nose and ran to the Red Baron. “I demand evacuation!”
I raced past the Baroness, who was still holding the black shell. Forgetting about the roaring monster, I stopped and watched her, Tyrant almost running into me from behind. The Baroness’ fingers changed a couple of strips, as though the egg was customizeable— this made in decrease dramatically in size. The Baroness changed the positioning of three more stripes, slightly modifying the pattern. Then she gently squeezed the shell of the egg with both hands.
Crunch! Fine cracks appeared in the egg, glowing with green light.
What was in there?
Rather, who was in there?
No doubt, it was some kind of animal or pet. Judging by the place it was found— easily legendary.
Ba-a-a-am!
The purple glowing star guard emitted a scarlet beam of pulsating energy, hitting no one by a miracle. But it created a wide furrow in the floor. From the gaping wound in the earth instantly burst the sizzling blood— a red hot flow of lava engulfing the square and slowly beginning to spread. The giant head was shaking with rage. On top of it, the portal was surrounded by a spinning whirlwind of rock. How could we get through?
“How do we get through?” I shouted at the Red Baron.
“We’ll help you,” grinned the Baron without hesitation. “You just relax.”
“Listen, Baron, of course I cannot compare with you in experience— but I’m not a noob myself. You tell me to relax, but you’re standing there without your legendary scarlet outfit. If you die— there will be nothing to worry about. But if I die, or my wolf, the equipment will remain here.”
“You know how much my legendary equipment costs? Only two clans in Valdira can produce it. And we’re not one of them. Money can buy everything.”
“It’s not about the money. Right now we’re here talking and fifty feet away the earth has regurgitated a nightmare, holding a club the size of a building. More importantly— the Baroness, instead of commanding, is sitting on a rock and whispering something to a fossil…”
“Hm…” Smiled the Red Baron.
With a shrug and a nod to the Baroness sitting a distance away from us, I continued:
“My friends are here for the sake of interest. Kaylen is an extreme sports journalist. A maniac. And Cray… well, he just got unlucky. He’s in love with the maniac. And Kira… she’s just here to get experience. You know…”
A deafening roar interrupted me. The Baron, Tyrant and I looked up and the giant hanging over us, who was already the size of a four-story building— and he was only out to his chest. The ancient guard shot another beam of energy, and the careless stroke hit a cliff, destroying it and melting it into lava. It was true horror… and we were sitting here and chatting.
“You were saying?” The Baron reminded me, starting to take a few different bottles and jars out of his bag and waist pockets.
“I was saying… what, you want to drink some cocoa or something?”
“Hah, no,” grinned the Baron. “Don’t worry. You are the priority. It’s just too early now. But when the giant decides to tilt his head to the ground, we will resume the operation. And he will… we will help him. Everything is going according to plan. Have you heard the joke about the porkeypines?”
“Porcupines?”
“Well, no. The porkypines. So, there is this bar, and… wait a second… there should be an explosion now…”
There was a “boom,” a moment later, so strong that it would have been enough to collapse a building. A flash, an explosion, stone shrapnel, and the giant’s fingers unclenched the stele. The star guard fell to the ground with a heavy crash. The enraged monster tried to pull his other hand out of the ground and then punched the earth with his first arm, bowing his head, his dark gaze fixed on the fallen stele.
“You see,” sighed the Baron. “And you were worried. Running away is not killing, it is always easier, though not always successful. Stay close, Ros. Tell the wolf that I’m a friend. After this, we’ll embrace him. And don’t let him out until the end. Come on! Ari, make sure Ros has all the auras on him.
“I’m Malice!” Came a yell from far away, from next to the empty orange tower. “Done!”
“I’m starting,” a very young looking, freckled boy informed me. “It won’t hurt.”
I didn’t know where the boy came from, but I could tell he was a very powerful healer.
The Sleepless were spread out over the entire a
rea, and were clearly not going to retreat— in fact, they seemed very interested in this giant monster.
I began to experience the effects of the protective auras— namely, a large increase in mana and life, as well as regeneration. I thanked him, but the healed did not pay attention— completely focused on monitoring the battlefield. Another fan of conflict… a veteran war-doctor.
An unexpectedly cold gust of wind swept over the area. And then, a massive column of white light appeared from above. The monster appeared in the center of the column, and frosty patches began to spread over the stone.
“Will he be frozen?” I asked. “And what were you saying about those porkypines?”
“Not frozen. But a little slowed. The stone nimbus above his head will slow a little too. And about the porkypines… well, two porkypines are sitting on the shore of a lake oasis and eating taftaligs. And the taftaligs scream, of course, they fight as hard as they can— and the porkypines don’t care, they keep chewing slowly. Then out of the lake a blue eyed Renmei emerges and says: “Why, you beasts! They’re …” Oh!” Exclaimed the Baron, grabbing something that looked like a large gray rag. “Stand still!”
“Standing still. But it’s…”
“Yes, a snow migra. You’re make it in. Come on…”
I remember well what a snow migra is— a kind of migration tool used by the hill tribes in Valdira— but now is not the time for memories.
Soon the wolf and I were inside the rag, which immediately began to harden into a kind of cocoon. That is, Tyrant and I were inside a huge billiard or cannon ball, decorated with a variety of transparent windows. The Red Baron ducked under the ball and we were lifted easily into the air.
“Damn it…” I croaked. “It can’t get any better than this, can it. Hold on, Tyrant.”
“Oof!”
“Wow!”
I saw it by accident— I turned my head and incidentally caught it in the corner of my eye. The egg was falling apart in the hands of the Baroness. I saw that she held a small black ball, which unraveled into a tiny graceful animal with black brilliant fur, and a clever and cunning muzzle. The abdomen was white, the tail was black— the tail and the ears tipped with gray. I was certainly no expert— but I had seen this kind of creature at least once.
Lusk.
A tricolored predatory weasel had been born from the black egg.
And she had found it in the legendary Outland… what does that mean?
Could it be that she had scored a legendary beast?
Sh-h-h-hah!
The scene flashed before my eyes.
Whirling in a steep arc, the ball spun through the air and into the glowing teleport. There was another electric flash, and everything darkened… a star field rushed towards us. Then we were on the other side, plopping down into the water and rushing downstream. A river… but we were going too fast. I couldn’t identify it. What was the use? One thing was clear— this wasn’t the Outland.
It was over…
Goodbye, Outland. Hello mainland. How I’ve missed you!
There was someone running along the riverbank, but I didn’t know who it was. I considered stopping to investigate, but then thought twice, feeling the heavy bag of stuff on my back. I wasn’t going to risk it.
“Alfalfa hill,” I whispered softly, still hugging Tyrant’s neck and fishing out a teleport scroll with difficulty.
One more flash, and we found ourselves in a small green square surrounded with trees and lawns. Behind me was a rocking bench, where I sat down without a second thought.
“We’re ho-o-ome…”
“Oo-oo-ooh…” Whined the legendary wolf.
“Let’s see your new outfit,” I suggested— and Tyrant grinned toothily. He agreed, but looked hungry… it would be time to feed him soon.
“Soon, soon… but first,” I opened the virtual window with the contact’s name and wrote a message:
“Hi. I’m on Alfalfa Hill. Have a lot of goodies, perhaps rare, and others perishable. All from a legendary location. Care to have a look?”
The response came instantly:
“I’ll be there! Already on my way! Give me the exact coordinates.”
“That’s good,” I sighed wearily, sending the location. “Let’s wait for the alchemist. I wonder, is Kira still alive? Oh… and I suppose I should write to the others. Bom, Doc… but I’m so lazy… but… I have to… what a crazy day…”
Having overcome the attack of laziness, I wrote a few messages to my team. I gave them my coordinates and told them of the imminent arrival of Brave.
Leaning back on the warm bench, I began to lazily inspect the peaceful public garden. Buttercups, flowers…
I wonder who will get here first?
Brave, or Doc?
Were my other comrades still watching the battle between the Sleepless and the giant?
I made a mistake. I didn’t have any time to guess who happened to visit me first.
He just appeared.
No visual effects— only silence, and an instantaneous appearance.
And I was frozen on the bench like the stone monument of a “Weary Traveler.” Tyrant, sitting next to me, wasn’t petrified— but his fangs were bared, and a dull growl in the back of his throat clearly showed his attitude towards the visitor.
Guardian of the Ancients.
The Guardian visited me— same as the one which the immortals could hardly take out in Algora.
Above the bench hung a giant five pointed star. Its rays a lifeless gray color, and the center flashing with rainbow colors, throwing bundles of light onto my stunned face. I heard a strange crackling and humming emanating from the deadly star— something like the hum of a high voltage generator, and the tail of a rattlesnake.
For a moment, I wanted to laugh out loud— I was sure that Decay was beginning, and that I was seeing a hallucination. But a local, who saw the same mirage as me, quickly began to run in the opposite direction. Looking over his shoulder, the citizen stumbled and rolled head over heels down the steep hill to the street. Poor guy…
The guard was real. He was here before me.
“Tyrant, stand still,” I said, barely moving the corner of my mouth. “Freeze!”
This is no longer a pug and an elephant.
This is an ant and an elephant.
Battling it is out of the question. And so is running. Yelling for help would be meaningless. But I turned on the camera, and stared at the guardian with a doomed curiosity.
What the hell is it there for?
About six seconds passed, maybe eight— and the star jerked up like a rocket, instantly disappearing from sight.
I thought once again of Mama Lena. The feelings were the same— as well as the pressure exerted on the psyche.
“Life is grand, eh, Tyrant?” I coughed in relief.
“Urf,” said the wolf, nervously licking his nose. “R-ruf!”
“I know it’s scary,” I admitted.
“What’s scary? The spoilt tomatoes?” Yelled brave, cheerfully arriving in the square, dressed in a new outfit— a speckled suit, light orange in color with red polka dots.
“Nice suit,” I snorted, forcibly pushing away thoughts of the encounter. “A new fashion?”
“Well, no. Vice versa. A work uniform, actually. Blends in to the terrain. Better do dodge the swarms of frenzied gulpovs than fight them. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes,” I said. “Hey, how are you with money?”
The player frowned, and opened his mouth to speak, but I raised my hand and began to explain:
“We just returned from a closed location. They had CAPS. We were there all day, killing and collecting everything in sight. They collected several bags on nonsense— expensive nonsense, of course. So, not necessarily anything rare here, but it could be…”
“I could take a look…”
“You will look,” I promised. “But I just want to say— in this case, there will be no discounts, Brave. And not because I’ve been overcome with
greed. But because my friends, who spent all day collecting these items, fighting poisonous slugs and cockroaches with weeping human faces, would simply not understand if I just gave them away for cheap.”
“If there’s something very serious and rare… hm… well, I’ll be able to pay enough,” said Brave, violently ruffling his hair. “With the money that I have. I’ll run to my private room and rake out everything. Plus, I have my checkbook for the remaining balance. But if I understand correctly, you found absolutely rare items, right? Meaning, they’ll dry up all my savings in one go…”
“I already told you,” I said, and couldn’t help chuckling as I gave him the bag. “And you decide for yourself.”
“Shit!” The eyes of the alchemist locked onto a box with the sluggish, white larvae. “God damn! My checkbook is your checkbook. I’m going to try to lend some money. I have two golden certificates under a mattress equal to two thousand gold coins each. But… Ros, no matter how much I try, I won’t be able to give you enough. The only people who will be able to buy such things are powerful clans with shopping bags of money on their shoulders.”
“I didn’t expect otherwise,” I nodded quietly. “And I know that every ingredient will be sold, one way or another. But I wanted to give you the opportunity to rise even further with your elixir making skills. And if I ever end up a beggar in tattered rags, I hope you will repay the debt and help me.”
“Believe me. For you— always,” said Brave, pulling a few sky-blue sheets from his bag. “Time to freeze it up. Soon, a few things will begin to deteriorate. And you know, Ros, with these kinds of items you could strike up a friendship with any alchemical master. Any. Even those whose portraits hang in taverns and hotels. You could walk into the emerald castle of Don Ing Ultra and pinch the host on the cheeks, and he would still smile and reach to shake your hand!”
“Don Ing Ultra? I heard that name. But…” I raised an eyebrow. “I thought that was just a gaming legend.”
“As you are,” snorted Brave, activating one of the scrolls. “But you’re real, aren’t you? Don Ing is definitely real. I saw him in person. He is in the Guild of Architects committee, evaluating applicants trying to pass on to the next level. I have his autograph— rather, an elixir brewed by him, with his signature on the label.”
The Way of the Clan 6: World of Valdira Page 15
