The Phantom Castle (The Way of the Shaman: Book #4) LitRPG series

by Vasily Mahanenko

  “Begging your pardon, my dear sir!” The gnome shook his head, while the Imitator generated the conversation options. “All of my suits are made bespoke and…”

  “Honorable Reander,” I said, digging the hole in my pocket a little further. What I was about to do was madness—an utter waste of money—yet I refused to lose the esteem of my Jewelcraft trainer. Maybe it was just a matter of premonition, but I was morally ripe for a sizeable expenditure. “I beg your pardon, but I only have ten minutes. I understand very well that suits are made to order and that you may not have any ready ones, but I simply must try anyway. You see, I need to get into an event under way in the palace in order to save the good reputation of a Jewelcraft master, which I myself have imperiled!”

  “You can rush the order for 40,000 gold,” replied the gnome after a little thought. “The dinner jacket will be 200,000, the shoes another forty, and the cane ten. That will come out to a total of 300,000 gold. If it is a matter of expedience and necessity for the sake of one of the craftsmen, I am willing to oblige!”

  “Forgive me, but the items and prices you mentioned only amount to 290,000!”

  “How could I forget?” Reander smiled. “The bow tie! A suit requires a bow tie! And it happens to cost 10,000.”

  “How long will it take you to make the suit?” I asked, trying to conceal my feelings. Three hundred thousand gold for a piece of software code that my mind would perceive as pretty clothes! Three hundred thousand sacrificed for the sake of my own premonitions. If I am wrong and get nothing in return, I will have to re-examine my attitude towards my feelings!

  “Two minutes. Do you agree?” A window asking me to approve the transaction appeared before my eyes. Hesitating a moment, I pushed the ‘Yes’ button. “In that case, I will now leave you. Have a seat. I will return shortly…”

  * * *

  “Mahan, you continue to amaze me!” said Anastaria when I reached the palace. To give Reander his due, in addition to rushing the clothes, he ordered me a carriage that took me to my desired destination. I owe him thanks for that at least! “I won’t even ask how much you just spent. I have a general idea of Reander’s prices. Shall we go in?”

  “Let’s do it,” I said, releasing the carriage. “Stacey, I need to see Tavia.”

  “Who?”

  “The bride. And I need to see her before the ceremony.”

  “That’s impossible. She might not even be in the palace for all we know.”

  “It’s incredibly important, Stacey. Please help me!”

  The girl sighed heavily, exhaling loudly. Shutting her eyes, she thought for a little and then asked:

  “How important is it?”

  There wasn’t any point in keeping the truth from her, so I told her about the Jeweller’s quest, the opals and my failing the quest. Stacey looked at the four Opal Tears, clucked with astonishment at their beauty, mumbled something to the effect of “no one ever made anything like this for me,” and finally said:

  “Mahan, Mahan…what is your obsession with wriggling your way into situations that all other reasonable people prefer to avoid? Let’s make a deal—I will help you under one condition: You will show me your properties, quests, bag…anything I want to see! I’m tired of having to guess what you have and what you don’t. I’d like to know for sure.”

  “You got it. And my only condition is that you respond in kind. My properties and bag are too private to reveal just like that. I’d like to see who I’m dealing with too.”

  “You miser.” The girl smiled and offered me her hand. “Deal?”

  “Deal,” I replied, shaking her hand.

  You have shared your properties with player Anastaria.

  You may access the properties of player Anastaria.

  “What are these markings on your map?” the girl asked almost immediately. “One is from Ishni, I remember that. What about the other two?”

  “Let’s talk about that later. You promised to help me. The ceremony is in an hour,” I reminded Stacey, who was engrossed in studying my virtual innards.

  “What a bore you are! Taking away such a treat. Okay. I call upon a Herald! I require your assistance.”

  “You called me and I came.” A portal opened beside us, disgorging an envoy of the Emperor who immediately launched into his customary warning: “If your summons was a false one, you shall be punished.”

  “I am aware of the rules, Herald! By the right granted to me by the Emperor, I request an urgent meeting with his Excellence. The honor of the empire is at stake!”

  “Please enter the portal,” replied the Herald without even bothering to inquire what the matter was. I’ll have to ask Stacey how she managed to acquire this power—it seems useful! “The Emperor is ready to receive you.”

  “Let’s go,” Anastaria said dogmatically. “I’m doing you a favour—don’t bungle it.”

  “Are you the Jeweler who made this monstrosity?” asked the young woman, looking at me with disgust. The Emperor was extremely surprised by my request to meet with Tavia, but once I had told him my tale, he agreed to give me a chance to fix the tiara—and only the tiara, since Tavia, according to the Emperor, was a lost cause. She had been brought to the palace under escort by the Heralds. The girl flat out refused to get married. In her words, she would have rather jumped off a cliff than wear the monstrosity her mother had brought her. Currently, as one of the girl’s Herald guards obligingly disclosed to me, the tiara was buried under a pile of clothes in the corner of the room.

  “Esteemed Duchess, you are right to consider this unfinished item ugly,” I addressed the girl, bowing my head, “but if you give me the chance, I can prove that…”

  “Prove what?” the girl cut me off. “Prove that I simply must become a slave? That my mother has conspired with the Emperor and that they have agreed to sacrifice me?”

  “A slave?” I asked surprised. My surprise must have been so evident that the girl deigned to answer me:

  “Yes—a slave! I am being treated like an object! No one has even once inquired whether I wish to get married or whether I need to. They never even let me see what Trediol looks like. Under the laws of Kartoss, arranged marriages prohibit the bride and groom from seeing each other before the ceremony! What if he is a wrinkled old monster with whom I’ll have to spend the rest of my life? Is that not slavery? That’s not the destiny I imagined for myself, dreaming of a prince on a white steed. But if they insist on deciding for me…there will be no wedding! I cooked up this excuse with the tiara in the hopes of delaying the ceremony and coming up with something else—but alas nothing came to mind! The Heralds followed my every step. I had no chance of escaping! I hate them! I hate them all so much!”

  “Forgive me, but…” I began but cut myself off. What could one say in the situation that Tavia had found herself in? Offer support? At the moment, she needed that like a dog needs a fifth leg. Compassion? Should I explain to her that she has to suppress her emotions for the sake of the Empire? Uh-huh, and I suppose the best way to begin is by saying, ‘After all, you are just a piece of software. If the script has you getting marry, what are you going to do? Go against your function? You better watch out—they can always delete you!’

  “Get out!” said the girl. “The ceremony will begin any moment now. If I am destined to be a slave, then I’d prefer to spend the last minutes of my freedom in solitude.”

  Talk about a game with a social aspect…

  “Tavia, I…” Despite the Duchess’s direct request, I did not want to leave her. Furthermore, I realized that I couldn’t. The developers had conceived a scenario that unified the two Empires by morally sacrificing two young people. Or rather, two young programs, which made it easier to accept. Later on, Tavia would of course come to understand the happiness that she had been granted and would become happy and content. All the channels would broadcast this story, fostering in the players their long-forgotten desire to improve themselves and develop. But all of that was still to come, while at the
moment, the girl was faced with having to throw herself onto the sword.

  Like hell!

  “Duchess, I cannot rescue you from your fate—the Herald will come in an hour to lead you to the ceremony. You will become the wife of Trediol, and there’s no way to change that. However, I could…” I stuttered, not really knowing exactly what I wanted to do, but then composed myself and went on confidently, “I could arrange for you two to meet. The customs of Kartoss do not apply to me, after all.”

  “Meet him?” the girl perked up, forgetting her wish to be left alone. “But how? They won’t let me out of this room and I have no idea where they’re keeping him. Mahan…your offer is surprising but impossible…I admit I’d be willing…Oh, why hide it any longer—I have obtained a dagger and I was planning on killing myself before the ceremony, since that would be my last opportunity. I can’t bear to live my life with a person who will make me nauseous and unless I see him before the ceremony, I won’t know whether I will be able to bear him. This is so important for me and…” tears ran down the girl’s cheeks as, in a whisper, she added, “but it’s impossible.”

  “On the one hand, yes, it’s quite impossible,” I agreed, smiling at the girl. “But no one promised anything ordinary. The time has come for fairy tales! Though, I will need you to trust me if we are to pull this off.”

  “What must I do?” the girl asked decisively after a moment of contemplation.

  “Close your eyes and give me your hand. I will do the rest…”

  ‘Astral Plane’—how these two words resonate in the heart of a Shaman! They may not be as florid or flowing as a phrase of Shakespeare’s, but at the moment only these words would enable me to do what I intended. If no one was allowed to leave their room, then no one would bar the prisoners’ spirits from meeting in the Astral Plane. I only hoped that Trediol would meet us halfway and accept my invitation.

  “Our greetings to you, brother!” the Supreme Spirits of the Higher and Lower Worlds addressed me with the gloom overhead and the light underfoot. Unlike their incarnations in ‘our’ world, the Spirits preferred to use their regular voices when they were at home. In other words, they did not seek to terrify or impress anyone. “As the High Shaman, you have the right to enter the Astral Plane. To grasp the peak of Shamanism and the deeps of summoning the Spirits, to soak up our injunctions—such is the function of the Astral Plane! BUT NO ONE MAY BRING GUESTS HERE! ESPECIALLY GUESTS WHO ARE NOT SHAMANS THEMSELVES!”

  “I bow my head before the grandeur of my Lords,” I said respectfully. “I am prepared to suffer any punishment for my temerity. I only request that you hear my reason for undertaking such a drastic step. The thing is that today this girl here is to be married,” I indicated Tavia, who was huddled behind my back like a terrified mouse, “and…”

  As I turned to the girl, I froze and lost my train of thought. A player enters the Astral Plane in the same guise as he has in the normal world—at any rate, that’s what had happened to me and Antsinthepantsa. I had not had the opportunity to discover what would happen to an NPC…until now, that is.

  Standing beside me was a pillar of pure, white flame. It was so clean, sincere and radiant that I instantly realized that this person’s Spirit was singular. Her Spirit was pure! Unwittingly, I stepped up to and touched this wondrous flame. A gentle, almost impalpable warmth enwrapped my hand. My instinct told me that the girl had simply grabbed me in search of support and perhaps the hope that, in doing so, she could leave this place. However, my eyes told me that my hand had been swallowed by this white, shimmering mirage.

  “I am in need of your aid, oh my Lords!” It was only at this point that I understood what I had to do! While the Spirits listened to me, allowing me to remain with my guest in the Astral Plane, I told them everything from the very beginning. I started with the crafting of the tiara and ended with my wish to introduce the couple to each other before their marriage. For, I pointed out, it is unjust to be forced to bind your life to that of another person whom you do not know, nor have ever seen. Especially so considering that in doing so, you destroy the stranger’s fate along with your own. Even if it’s for the good of two Empires, it’s still unjust! It just isn’t a shamanic thing to do—not one bit shamanic!

  “WE HAVE HEARD YOUR WORDS, CHIEF SHAMAN! AWAIT NOW OUR DECISION!”

  “Mahan, maybe this is a bad idea?” Tavia asked quietly, still holding on to my hand. In all honesty, I felt a twinge of desire to have some fun with the girl, to embrace her and feel her pleasant warmth with my entire body, not just my hand, but I controlled myself—there were better things to do at the moment. When I next make it to the Dating House, I will have the Imitator dig around in his sensations and recreate this moment. I’ve heard that they can do that sort of thing there.

  “I will not forgive myself, Duchess, if I haven’t made some effort to assist you,” I replied a bit dramatically—and yet the two points Attractiveness that I was counting on, rolled in my favor. A little more and I would reach 35! And that’s a milestone—a third of the way there!

  “WE HAVE MADE OUR DECISION!” the Spirits returned. “SACRIFICING ONE’S FATE FOR THE SAKE OF ONE’S COUNTRY IS THE TRUE CALLING OF A PATRIOT! WE SHALL NOT OPPOSE THIS MARRIAGE! HOWEVER, YOU HAVE BROUGHT THE BRIDE TO THE ASTRAL PLANE SO THAT SHE MAY MEET HER FUTURE HUSBAND! WE HAVE NO REASON TO OBJECT TO THIS!” Addressing the girl, the Spirits switched to the regular voices: “Tavia, you will have only a minute to understand the Spirit of Trediol. We shall summon him!”

  The white flame grew brighter, reflecting the emotions of its owner—an entire minute to…

  “MAHAN!” It seems the Spirits were not too happy with me, since they switched to their typical bombast again. “YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE LAWS OF THE ASTRAL PLANE AND YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED! WE SHALL DETERMINE THE PENALTY LATER—FOR NOW, PREPARE TO MEET YOUR GUEST!”

  I just knew that they would make an example of me either way. If don’t help, it’s bad. If I do help, it’s even worse! How am I supposed to play this game with that kind of attitude?

  Another Spirit appeared several steps away from us. If I understood correctly, this was Trediol—the true son of Kartoss—for this Spirit was wholly black.

  “What is this? Another of my father’s ploys to persuade me to marry?” came a pleasant male voice. “Now they’ve decided to scare me with the Astral Plane and…”

  It seems that at this point, he noticed Tavia and me.

  I haven’t the words to describe what took place at this point. Turning on my camera (otherwise, my clan would have killed me), I witnessed the two flaming pillars stop across from each other and then blend together, forming a single whole. The ensuing blaze glittered with the entire color palette. There was an explosion and I was left alone in the Astral Plane. Tavia and Trediol had vanished.

  “TWO HALVES HAVE BECOME ONE!” the Spirits proclaimed triumphantly. “HIGH SHAMAN MAHAN! WE HAVE ENACTED YOUR PUNISHMENT! YOU MUST TAKE THIS NEWBORN STONE WITH YOU FROM THE ASTRAL PLANE! YOU MAY NOT SELL IT, EXCHANGE IT, GIFT IT, OR DISCARD IT. YING-YANG WILL BE WITH YOU EITHER UNTIL YOUR LAST DAY OR UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MUST DO WITH IT! THAT IS ALL!”

  Ying-Yang?

  Carefully examining the place where the explosion had happened, I saw a smallish two-colored stone lying on the ground. My heart skipped a beat. This was the Ying-Yang, the stone that had no analogues in reality and—as the manual informed me—the stone that the Emperor’s scepter was fashioned from, as well as a part of the Dark Lord’s crown, some difficult-to-pronounce item of the High Priestess Eluna, and the main altar of our goddess. Place of creation unknown, method of crafting unknown, users also unknown. Basically, besides its name and the places it had been used, there was no information about the stone at all—except that it was unbelievably beautiful. I don’t know how the developers achieved this effect, nor more importantly why it had to be achieved in the first place, but I had to hand it to them—everyone found the stone amazing. There was nothing extraordinary about it—a
typical rock with two colors that were constantly moving like clouds of fog in a bottle, without, however, mixing with one another. The spectacle of a line transforming into a spot and then into a blot and so on was so mesmerizing that it took me several minutes to look away. Until then, I had no idea that a player could acquire the Ying-Yang. It was astonishing that there was something in Barliona—a game that sought to strategically get as much money as possible from the players—that could not be bought. And yet this is exactly what the Ying-Yang was. One could not buy it!

  * * *

  “Thank you, Mahan!” came a joyful cry and Tavia embraced my neck. Here’s that embrace I wanted after all. It’s too bad that we weren’t in the Astral Plane any longer—hardly had I picked up the stone, when the Spirits cast me right out, like some naughty cat. A kind bunch, they. “Now I am absolutely certain that Trediol is my destined love! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” The girl pulled away and kissed my cheek. “Remember: If you ever need something that I can help with, make sure to let me know! I will never forget my friends!”

  Achievement earned! “Someone likes me”: You have gained +100 Attractiveness with this NPC. All bartering with Tavia will cost you 2x less.

  +100 Attractiveness! Who could have thought! If I didn’t know for certain that Tavia and Trediol are a single unity, then I could start kissing the girl right here on the spot, and receive the same in kind. This way, however, I guess the Duchess loves me like…I don’t know…like a brother. Stop! What’s got into me! The wedding’s about to take place and there are still problems of appearances to consider.

  “It’s too bad about the tiara,” said Tavia, as if reading my thoughts and letting go of me. “I’m really looking forward to the ceremony, but I’d rather not wear that monstrosity that your trainer created…Wait! You told me that you came to fix something!”