When the discussion was coming to an end, Barsina proposed something else that could gain us additional profit. Why waste resources by throwing them away when you can invite high-level gatherers and allow them to graze on the glade for a certain percentage of the profit? Both they and the clan will benefit. So, looks like fresh blood was good for the clan. Well done, Barsa. She thinks like a true mercenary: how to spot a cash cow and milk it for all it’s worth. We could use pragmatic thinkers like that in the clan.
"Speaking!" Anastaria's cool voice came from the amulet. How had she managed to get upset with me? Doesn't seem like her.
"Hi, this is Mahan ..."
"We're not ready yet, we need more time. Call back in three hours."
"This is about something else. Do you have a couple of high-level gatherers of herbs, ore and wood to hand? The glade will soon disappear and it seems stupid and wrong to lose a chance for profit because of excessive greed."
"Then why didn't you invite people in the first place?" Anastaria briefly raised her voice, but immediately calmed down. "The Guardian's resources appear only for a day and we've already wasted so much time. My people are ready and await your signal. The Mages will make a portal – you just have to give the coordinates. You can look them up if you ..."
"I know how to look up coordinates. I'm sending you an agreement, stating that aside from the gatherers not a single Phoenix member will show up in this territory without my permission in the next 5 hours. I'm sorry, but I don't want to be trampled over by your Fighters until we settle things properly. Finally, I want half of everything you gather."
"Ten percent maximum," the girl immediately replied. "I realize that you're on a roll now, but even 10% is too much for a beginner clan, if you consider that you will be profiting without lifting a finger."
"Forty percent, but that's only out of respect for you," I parried. "Stacey, there's little sense for me in sharing my location for just ten percent. Nothing would be better than such a pittance. Forty! I'm giving you too much as it is!"
"All right, twenty. Think about it: consider the labor of my Fighters and the fact that for you herbs will be little more than something to hang from the ceiling – something that you wouldn't have any idea what to do with. A fifth of what's been gathered is a reasonable price for access to the plot. Just think of the expense we'll incur by opening a portal to you. We have to recoup it somehow."
"Thirty, and that's final. The portal will cost you nothing, in total. You just said yourself that your players will be opening it. So what if your Mages will be without mana for a day or two – it will do them good. They'll level up their Intellect."
"Agreed," came the reply from the amulet after a little while. "Thirty percent of what's gathered will go to Seathistles. Send your agreement."
"The Dark Forest ...," she said in a thoughtful voice after the agreement had been signed and I gave her our coordinates, "I wouldn't have thought."
"And also ..." I managed to remember an important point for the clan before the girl turned off the amulet.
"What now? I agreed to your conditions! Everything's been signed!"
"It's not a condition, but a request. While here in the zone I leveled up my Jewelcraft to fifty, but I have no recipes with which to continue leveling up. Can you ask someone from the clan to send me some of the recipes sold by the profession trainer specifically for this level?"
"All right, they'll send it to you with the bill and you can just pay them back later."
"Then, since my foot is off the brake, I might as well try my luck further: can you do the same for Smithing, Wood Carving and Alchemy? In the case of Alchemy I need non-herb ingredients. And the recipes need to be from level one to a hundred inclusive, for all four professions. I'll repay the money, with commission on top, if needed, and I'll owe you a cookie for your help."
"You're one brazen Shaman, I can tell you that. Bork here heard you. He'll get everything done before the end of the day and send all the required recipes and ingredients in a letter. And don't forget about the cookie; I'm only helping you because you promised me one. Right, we'll be with you in a couple of minutes."
"We? Whatever; we'll figure it out. I need to make another call now."
"What?" You couldn't mistake Plinto's rough voice for anyone else.
"Greetings to the self-styled Robin Hood," I said, "the rescuer of the poor and needy. It's Mahan bothering you, if you didn't catch on yet."
"Where'd you get my amulet? Ah! I was the one that handed it to you ... Mahan, put the amulet on a stone and smash it hard with a hammer. If I catch you, I'll send you to a respawn point and keep you there until the Heralds intervene."
"While you're trying to think of more original ways to kill me, take a look in your Mailbox. I've sent you the description of one little quest, which I reckon will pique your interest."
"Did ya bang yer head real bad today? Get your ass to Anhurs in an hour and I'll show you just ..." Plinto suddenly fell silent. He had probably read my letter.
"Yes, exactly." When the silence from the amulet became worrying (what if Plinto was so overjoyed he had had a heart-attack?), I decided to give the Rogue a nudge back towards the conversation.
"Who else will be there?"
"I don't know. I offered it to Anastaria and suggested that she gather all the top players. Let's talk again in a few hours and discuss terms."
"I can't afford it," he said and I noted that when the need arose Plinto could speak without playing the 'demon on a rampage' just fine. "I don't have that much cash since I got thrown out, nor do I have any gear that would suit you."
"What has money got to do with it? You helped me and I'll help you. And then we can go back to hating each other and killing each other at every meeting. Or, rather, you'll do the killing and I'll do the running away."
"So what do I have to do to get to you?"
"We're quite far away at the moment, so please contact Anastaria and tell her that I have personally requested that you take part."
"You do of course realize that I'll owe you for these ten levels?"
"Exactly. Having the third-highest level player in my debt is a very nice and useful thing."
"I'll get in touch with the b*tch," Plinto assured me and put down the amulet. So who's going to tell me what the heck that was about? Why did we have one Plinto before he read up on the quest and a completely different one after? Is everything he does purely for the benefit of an audience? It's like he's created an image and is following it to the letter. So why was he kicked out of the Dark Legion? Perhaps ... what if he simply didn't want to move to Kartoss? I'll have to try to talk to him later.
I put aside Plinto's amulet and waited for the Phoenix team to show up, but I was feeling uneasy. There was something I hadn't done ... something I hadn't thought of ... if that crowd turns up here now as it is, no matter how big or small, we won't complete the quest ...
"Hello Antsinthepantsa! This is Mahan. We showed off our totems to each other in the Library. I urgently need your help – your help as a Shaman. I'm attaching the description of a quest. I have no idea what link it might have with Shamans, but my gut tells me that if you're not with us, we will fail. I can't explain it. If you're interested, please contact Anastaria, the head of Phoenix, right now and say that it is my personal request to add you to the team."
As soon as I sent the letter, I breathed a sigh of relief. I couldn't explain why, but without a High Shaman – one who was doing everything possible to become a Harbinger – there was no completing this quest. And Antsinthepantsa is the only Shaman of the right rank that I knew.
"I'll be there. You owe me a training session between Draco and Bussy."
"Hello everyone!" Five minutes later a portal appeared next to the Oak, out of which stepped Anastaria. "Guardian." The girl bowed respectfully to the tree and to my great surprise the branches began to move, touching Stacey's head, and a green sphere immediately began to shine around her. The Oak put some kind of a buff
on Anastaria! So why didn't it do anything like that to us, its creators? Heartless piece of timber! That's what you get if you've leveled up in Reputation with everything and anything! "Two on the ore, two on the trees and Rick and myself will take the herbs. Off we go!"
Well, well! Aside from being a favorite of various Guardians, she also happens to be a high-level gatherer! I was really itching to access her properties and have a good dig through everything in there!
"Mahan," Anastaria paused from picking some kind of a shiny herb, "I've handed over the amulet to Ehkiller; he's now the one gathering people at our castle. Plinto and someone named Antsinthepantsa will also be there. By the way, why them?"
"I owe Plinto so it's time I paid him back and we won't get anywhere without Antsinthepantsa." My answer should have made Anastaria very thoughtful. Let her wrack her brains about how on earth I picked up such a debt and what this lady Shaman could have that Anastaria herself does not, and without which the quest is doomed to failure.
"Are you sure about Antsinthepantsa?" Stacey's voice sounded clearly interested now. "The quest description that you sent me made no reference to Shamans. Or did you just neglect to send me the full description?"
"No, that was the full version. Since you're here already, there's little point concealing it." I sent Anastaria the full link to the Guardian's quest. "And why aren't you working? Want to leave my clan without its due income?"
Anastaria gave a hearty laugh and returned to resource gathering. I spent some time watching various herbs being picked by a girl who was exceptionally splendid in every respect. It never occurred to me before why gathering herbs took such a long time. I'd thought that all you had to do was walk over, pick one and move on to the next. But things were not quite so simple. In order to gather herbs fit for use, and not end up with trash that even traders wouldn't accept, you had to diligently measure the height and width of the stalk, then figure out their ratio and times that by the herb type, measure the resulting distance from the ground and thus find the only point at which the herb could be cut. This wasn't resource gathering, but an exercise in mathematics. It was so much easier being a Lumberjack or a Miner – you just stand there and swing an axe or a pick, without a second thought. Although ... I recalled how my pick ricocheted during my initial training at Pryke ... in the end every trade came with its own difficulties ...
I got infected by the Phoenix fighter-gatherers' industriousness and brought my Jewelcraft up to 55 (going any further would've just been a waste of resources) and then moved on to conquer the Iron and then Gold Ore Veins. I wasn't about to miss out on earning my own share of the loot.
"'Killer says that everyone's gathered now”, said Anastaria four hours later. "He's ready for your call."
I took a few deep breaths – preparing for strenuous negotiations between a small fry and a bunch of hungry sharks – and made the call. Previously, the guys and I had decided that we could begin negotiations at one million per participant, gradually lowering it to six hundred thousand.
At the same time, I set the maximum number of players to thirty. I had little desire to make this into a free-for-all and eighteen million gold would give the Seathistles clan a good start, even with player salaries taken into account.
"Hello, Mahan. This is Ehkiller." Our conversation began in an official tone, putting everyone in a businesslike mood. "As you requested, I've gathered thirty-two players of level three hundred or above. This includes players who expressed an interest and were currently in the Game and also the two players who say that you personally requested their participation in this venture. Please confirm this. Everyone has seen the quest description that you gave us; now, over to you."
"Good day everyone." You had to admit that taking part in negotiations at this level over a communicator was somewhat easier that face-to-face. You didn't have to worry about watching the finer points of your own body language. Although ... I did have Anastaria sitting right next to me; having by now completely abandoned herb gathering she had, like the rest of my team, begun to carefully listen to the conversation. "No point beating about the bush, so I'll get right to business. I confirm that Plinto and Antsinthepantsa must take part in this quest. Their terms have already been agreed. As for the others, according to my modest estimates, for a 300+ level player gaining an extra 10 levels are priceless, so I’ve valued them at a million and a half per player. It's not like I'm forcing anyone to take part," I added when I heard outraged exclamations from the other end of the line.
"We'll call you back in five minutes. We have to discuss your conditions," said Ehkiller, turning off the amulet.
"Not forcing anyone?" Why is it that every time we speak, Anastaria looks more pleased than the cat that got the cream? What's so funny that each time she speaks with me she chuckles so much? "After all, I already know the location and have seen the quest description, so I could just step out and return with around four hundred thousand players. Then we'd see how you are 'not forcing anyone'."
"You have leveled up your Reputation with me to the required level, so you won't be doing anything of the sort," I replied in a similar tone, not wishing to show her that I wasn't in the mood for jokes at the moment. "And you also hinted that you will be joining my clan once you’re thrown out of Phoenix, so it's not like you would want to upset your future employers. So be it, I'll take you without putting you through any trials. You've convinced me."
"Thank you, oh benefactor! What would I do without you?"
"Exactly! Who are you in Phoenix? You're just Anastaria, the head of this clan and just coincidentally officially the most beautiful girl for the past few years," I ventured, not wishing for Anastaria to have the last word.
"Absolutely. There's no way could I miss the opportunity to become the most important and powerful first deputy leader of the great Seathistles clan, which has managed to scale the great heights of level one. That really is food for thought."
"Just think faster" – man, she sure has a sharp tongue: she can twist those words so well that you'd spend half an eternity trying to catch up – "or Ehkiller will call now and start demanding that discount. You don't know everything yet, my beauty. Prince! What are you planning to do at night if you spend all day asleep?" I shouted into the tent.
"I'm not asleep." Slate's head emerged from the tent. "It's just that this wonderful dwelling can, among other things, keep out all unwanted noise. I've had quite enough of the sound of mining picks back in Beatwick, so I decided to hide for a bit. Bah, they're still at it!" Slate made a face as if suddenly beset with toothache. "Right, I'm going back in."
Slate dove back into the tent and I turned again to Stacey.
"You see, there's still much you don't know … " We had discussed this point with the entire group, so I wasn't winging it. Whichever way you look at it, going up against the Vampires would be very difficult, the Sergeant's squad was proof of that. If we come across a Lieutenant, we're dead meat. We needed additional muscle, so why not Stacey?"
"The future Prince of Malabar, right? The fiancé of the new Princess?"
"Yup."
"And he's in your tent miles away from Anhurs."
"Yup."
"Where he's hiding from the noise ... because he's had enough of the sound of striking picks ..."
"Yup."
"Quit it with the 'yups’! I'm trying to figure out how you got him to come with you and why the Princess would let him go, and you're just throwing yups at me. Spill the beans already!"
"I know some more words, as it happens: in your dreams!"
"You have another quest!" Anastaria lit up and her changeless smile spread across her face. "It's not like you were naive enough to hand over another quest to the top players! And here's poor me all ready to lament the fact that the promise of money had suddenly made a normal player out of you – that you've suddenly acquired a brain! You gave me quite a fright there, Mahan! You owe me a cookie for the recipes, but please answer me just this one question: do you have an
other quest connected to the Prince or to the Dark Forest? I'm not even asking what it is, just tell me whether you have one or not."
"No, I do not have one more quest." I gave the girl a completely honest answer. And why not? It's not like I lied in the slightest. "I don't have ONE more quest." As the glint of excitement started to die away in her eyes and she was already beginning to turn into a Snow Queen again, I added: "I have TWO!"
Chapter Six. The First Battle of the Dark Forest
"Mahan, it’s Ehkiller." The vibrating amulet saved me from Anastaria, who had already taken a deep breath and was ready to tell me what a bastard I was. Putting my finger on my lips, I indicated that exploding in indignation right this minute could seriously jeopardize her 'Snow Queen' reputation and breathed a sigh of relief. I managed to avoid the most dangerous first flash of anger – in a moment Stacey would regain self-control and be thinking of how to use the situation for her own profit. I just had to make sure some of that profit went my way as well.
"You have my undivided attention!"
"You must realize that a million and a half per player is too much. We've gathered around fifty potential participants, some of them couldn't make it to the meeting at such short notice, but indicated that they want in. To be more exact, we've got fifty-three players, excluding Plinto and Antsinthepantsa."
"Then it should be fifty-two – we've already come to a separate arrangement with Anastaria." I looked at the girl who had raised her eyebrow in surprise. To be fair, aside from her, my entire team were sporting rather surprised expressions: this was not something we had previously discussed. Leite, who was still drafting the Agreement, looked up at me, emphatically shaking his head, and said, "I'll include that too. I'll be including every little thing" before re-immersing himself in correcting the text. Some people really don't need all that much to keep them happy. ...
The Secret of the Dark Forest ( (The Way of the Shaman: Book #3) Page 17
