“Mister, you don’t have a book about Castle Urusai perchance, do you?” I asked the gnome librarian as soon as I’d finished reading the book about the Thricinians. Anastaria had told me that there is no mention whatsoever of a castle called Urusai, as if the developers had created it from scratch for my clan. But considering the presence of the monster, I had trouble believing such generosity.
“Urusai?” the librarian asked with surprise. “That’s the second time I hear this name mentioned today, and I assure you that I have never heard of it before!”
“The second time?”
“One of your clan members, the Great Anastaria, stopped by early this morning and riffled through all the entries about castles. I had to help her familiarize herself with all the multitude properties and domains of our world, and I can with confidence assert that Castle Urusai simply does not exist!”
“Okay,” I said, surprised with Stacey’s perseverance. Considering that she woke me up at seven in the morning, when did she manage to stop by the library? “Is there a list of castles located in the vicinity of Narlak?”
“That is a question I can answer: There are altogether four castles around Narlak, one of which is almost entirely destroyed. None of them, however, are named anything remotely like ‘Urusai.’ Anastaria asked the same question, and we ended up carefully examining all the nearby lands.”
“Tell me, can castles be renamed?” I cast the final line I had at the moment. If Stacey had been here and as the librarian claimed, failed to find anything, what could a simple Shaman like me achieve?
“It happens but extremely rarely,” came the surprising response. “In the entire history of Malabar, this has happened maybe 20 times. We considered this possibility as well. Not one of the castles that were renamed were ever called Urusai.”
Just great! So my castle is like some anti-mirage—no one can see it, yet it exists! The idea that the Emperor had granted me a nonexistent property…Wait!
“Okay, tell me please, is there a Castle Drangor?”
“It seems to me that you and Anastaria are very similar people,” smiled the librarian. “She asked the same question as she was about to leave—and we were forced to begin our research all over again. Yes, such a castle does exist. It is located near Sintana, the dwarven capital. It is a Level 1 Castle that currently belongs to the Empire. However, a resolution has been passed to transfer it to the Free People. As I understand it, you may become its future owner?”
“That is correct, but I am above all interested in Urusai. Let’s assume that the castle has been renamed. How many Level 1 Castles contain monsters?”
“There are none like that in Malabar,” the NPC replied with a sincere smile. “But trust me, we examined this possibility as well—and thoroughly! You would be advised to speak with your clan members first before tearing me away from vital business.”
A miss, another miss, and a third. Why did I even doubt Stacey to begin with? The likelihood that she had already turned the librarian inside out was almost 100%, and yet here I am wasting my time with futile inquiries as if I’m some master sleuth.
“And there is no Castle Urusai in Kartoss either? Because maybe…” I began and trailed off upon encountering the unhappy look on the librarian’s face, now radiating clear displeasure.
“Young sir!” the librarian said, adjusting his glasses, “I have extremely little time for indulging your ‘find a castle’ game.’ I reiterate—there is no Castle Urusai in Malabar! Now, if you please excuse me, I have business to attend to. If further questions regarding this property occur to you, feel free to ask your fellow clan member! She knows much more about it than I do. Until we meet again.”
The librarian jumped up from his desk, grabbed an armful of books and headed off into the depths of the library with an assured stride. An assistant instantly appeared and took over his position—a player who had decided to study one of the game world’s languages. A player wishing to learn and practice anything other than the common tongue must spend a month working in the library where he does things like replace the NPC at the research desk, return books to their shelves and retrieve them for visitors. Considering the number of NPCs as well as players who visited the library every day, there was plenty of work to do. Now was no different. Casually flipping open the visitors’ register, the player looked at me inquisitively in expectation of some requested tome. A Level 75 Mage from the Lions of Normandy clan. Shaking my head negatively to indicate that I didn’t need anything, I headed for the exit. I had not managed to learn anything about Urusai at the library. That’s okay—I know another place that I could try!
“How may I help you?” Hardly had I entered the palace, when the NPC steward, decked out in a festive and colorful outfit, materialized beside me. Making sure, just in case, that I have access to the Emperor’s office, even if no one would let me in there, since the doors would be locked, I bowed respectfully and said,
“I would like to speak with the Princess in order to express my gratitude for her assistance.”
“Do you have a scheduled appointment?”
“No, but…” I was taken aback that meeting with Tisha required the same procedure as meeting the Emperor himself. Had the drop in my Attractiveness with her played such a decisive role? A pity.
“In that case, I am afraid I cannot help you. The Princess is occupied at the moment. Given your current reputation with her, the next possible appointment may be scheduled at four in the evening, nine days from now. Do you wish to schedule this appointment?”
“Will you please simply tell her that Mahan wishes to see her?” I tried again, trying to conceal my emotions. “I am certain that she will be happy to hear I’ve stopped by!”
“Understood. No appointment will be scheduled. I am sorry—I cannot help you in the matter. The Princess is occupied. Do you wish to see the garden?” the steward asked just in case, perfectly understanding the level of access I had to the palace grounds. Having 54% access to the open areas, I could at my leisure stroll and loiter wherever I felt like. The important thing was that these areas were open and I wouldn’t have to pass through the prohibited areas to get to them. For example, one of the first areas that players gained access to was the throne room, located deep inside the palace. In order to reach it, you would have to go through the audience hall, the administrative room, the waiting hall and several other mysterious rooms that you gained access to only towards the very end. Players were free to wander around the palace garden and enjoy its beauty, and they could visit the imperial museum which exhibited wonders from all over Malabar, but only a select few of them could stroll around the palace like their own home.
“I think I’ll take a walk,” I took up the steward’s invitation, clutching it like the only straw I had. It was very rare, but certainly possible, for the palace residents to take strolls around the garden. You could meet Heralds, Advisers and even the Emperor himself there. The latter did not hesitate to enjoy his own garden and would frequently speak to players he encountered. I’m sure that Tisha too liked that corner of the palace, considering she had been raised in a village. Who knows, maybe I’d luck out.
* * *
“Earl,” said a senior NPC, and it took me a moment that I was the one being addressed. “May I join you?”
I had already spent three hours in the garden without seeing the Princess. I was beginning to think that I simply wasn’t fated to learn anything about my castle before I saw it for the first time myself. To my surprise, the garden was almost empty today, as if both the NPCs and the players had decided to take a break from the verdant pleasures of the palace. The older man who now addressed me was in effect the only other garden visitor besides me.
“Have a seat,” I pointed to the unoccupied portion of my bench. “Please forgive me, I am not used to being addressed by my title and therefore request that you call me simply Mahan.”
“In that case, please call me Krantius,” my new companion either smiled or grimaced as h
e took a seat beside me. Understanding that an NPC wasn’t exactly going to offer me a long monolog, I instantly delved into his properties. It’s nice to know who you’re dealing with.
Krantius Urvalix, Duke of Kartoss, Level 420. Attractiveness: 22.
For a second, I swallowed my tongue. This was Trediol’s father in the flesh!
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” said Krantius, definitely smiling now and offering me a pause to collect myself.
“I have not often had the pleasure of chatting with a Duke of Kartoss,” I replied sincerely. “To be more precise, you are the first.”
“One must begin somewhere. I have heard rumors of the true reasons for why my son suddenly changed his mind about starting a family, and I wish to express a father’s gratitude to you. The Emperor…hmm…I like that expression you just used—‘to be more precise.’ So, to be more precise, the Emperor, the source of these rumors, told me that you have received a true Imperial reward for your efforts. I don’t see a point in offering you anything extra. However, as one aristocrat to another, tell me, what does this ‘imperial’ reward entail? As I recall, even back when he was Master of Kartoss, Naahti was very…mmm…let’s say he was not a ‘generous’ administrator. I realize that my question may seem tactless and therefore will accept your silence. And still, I am curious.”
Bingo, another bingo, a triple backwards somersault and another bingo! I’m not sure how I managed to keep myself from falling all over Krantius with the questions that now flooded my mind. If an NPC of this high a level strikes up a conversation about a reward, then there’s no doubt at all that he is merely curious—no, either he has information for me, which I love, or he has a quest for me, which I love, and I can’t say which I love more. However, it seemed that I hadn’t managed my emotions very well because Krantius, misreading my reaction, stood up and said:
“Earl, please forgive me! My request was inappropriate and I am prepared to extend my formal apologies. Allow me to take my leave. If your honor was somehow impinged…”
Like hell! This guy isn’t going anywhere!
“My dear Duke,” I hopped up and took Krantius by the elbow, interrupting his apologies. “What apologies? What forgiveness? It is I who beg your forgiveness for my tumultuous reaction. Believe me, it has no bearing on our conversation. There is no mystery about the reward whatsoever. To the opposite, it is the reward that gives rise to the mystery.”
“Pardon me,” Krantius frowned, without however leaving. “I am not sure I understand your last sentence. How can a reward give rise to a mystery if there is no mystery about the reward?”
“Well, I didn’t express myself very accurately, but please try to understand, I was trying to keep you from leaving. Have a seat,” I indicated the bench that we had just jumped up from, “I will do my best to explain it to you.”
“I cannot say you do not intrigue me, Earl,” the Duke’s frown dissipated as he retook his seat. “I am already much more curious about the reward than I was only several minutes earlier.”
“Excellent,” I said, retaking my seat as well. “The fact is that the Emperor granted me a castle and the title of Earl, so, as you see, there is no mystery here at all. However, the castle itself does give rise to a riddle so nebulous that I can’t even imagine how I could solve it.”
I told the Duke everything I had managed to learn about Castle Urusai up until that point. More precisely, I told him that I had not managed to learn anything at all—no references to it, nor mention of it. It was as though the castle had never existed before.
“When did the barbarians first attack the dwarven lands?” Krantius asked to my great surprise. What did that matter?
“I received the quest to uncover the reason for their raids a month ago. I figure the dwarves had held out an additional month, hoping to handle the problem on their own before asking for assistance.”
“And the scouts sent to the castle have not returned, correct?” the Duke went on with his line of questioning as if slowly realizing something. Had I really stumbled on a thread that would help me unravel the spool of mysteries surrounding Castle Urusai?
“That is correct. The Emperor told me that thirty scouts did not return.”
“It’s all clear to me,” the Duke’s face transformed into a tranquil and detached mask. Peering into the distance and obviously speaking to someone else, he intoned, “Honored Heralds! I request an audience with the Emperor! The matter is grave. The honor of Kartoss is at stake!”
“You are exaggerating, Krantius,” replied the painfully familiar voice not a moment later. Naahti, the Emperor of Malabar, former Master of Kartoss, had honored us with his presence. “The honor of Kartoss is untouchable. The Dark Lord supported me back in the Dark Forest.”
“Your Excellence understands perfectly well that no one can ever sit on the throne of Altameda!” the Duke went on undaunted, fixing the smirking Emperor with a steady gaze. From my vantage point, the entire scene was so amusing that I couldn’t help but crack a smile. To my enormous regret, it did not go unnoticed.
“Mahan, I am grateful to you for your deeds, so allow me to dispel your hopes. You have no reason to smile or be happy. The Emperor’s reward is a monstrous one!”
“Krantius!” came another exclamation from a familiar voice. The Dark Lord!
“I don’t know why they decided to rename the castle to ‘Urusai.’ The rest of the world knows it as ‘Altameda,’—the Phantom Castle, the Curse of Kartoss! Many millennia ago, the lord of the castle betrayed his ruler and was cursed. The Dark Lord of that era was a very severe overlord who despised traitors in particular, so the castle was subjected to a terrible curse: All of its residents were turned into phantoms, while the castle itself lost its right not just to exist in Kartossian lands but in any one place whatsoever! This terrible damnation meant that Altameda would change its location once every six months, making it impossible for the castle residents to live their lives in peace—for, it is well known that it takes a ghost an entire year to attach itself to the place it haunts. And this is the Altameda that has been granted to you! A castle full of phantoms! So yes, I consider this present a monstrous one, and moreover I think it unfair of the Emperor to conceal the whole truth of it from you.”
“The Duke, unfortunately, has always loved the truth and, to our misfortune, is also one of the few sentients familiar with the history of Altameda,” the Dark Lord said ruefully. “Mahan, Krantius is correct. The Emperor invented the name Urusai, since ‘Altameda’ in Kartossian literally means ‘Phantom Castle.’ A nameless castle. A castle that has lost its name. For three millennia, it has cast about the depths of the Free Lands. Then, suddenly and we know not why, it appeared in Malabar, displacing the barbarians. We can of course look the other way, and in three months, Altameda will vanish to a different location. But I wish to give the phantoms a chance. A chance of resurrection. Krantius did not tell you everything. Only its true owner may enter the castle. This is why we bestowed upon you the title of Earl. To anyone else, the castle will remain off limits. Besides, the castle has never before displaced the people living near it. This can only mean one thing—in addition to the ghosts, there is something else living in it. Something so strong that it has managed to overpower the castle’s curse. We do not know what it is. The events in the Dark Forest have proved to my father and me that you are capable of thinking outside of the box, so we decided to give you a chance. A chance to discover the truth of Altameda and rescue my former subjects from this curse. They have long since paid for their sins.”
“But why couldn’t you tell me all this right away?” I blurted out after managing my initial shock. “Why invent the name ‘Urusai?’”
“Because this is not the entire truth,” the Emperor said grimly. “I am perfectly familiar with the history of Altameda, so there is no reason to assume that I would send good scouts to a certain death. As I told you, the situation is more complicated than it seems at first glance. The phantom castle did no
t simply appear in my lands. It appeared right on top of Glarnis, one of the castles of Narlak, and crushed it beneath itself. With everyone in it. Only three wounded, condemned, partially mutilated peasants who had been outside of Glarnis at the time, managed to reach a patrol. Before dying, they chanted a single word, as if in prayer: Urusai. Then, their bodies dissolved right there as if overtaken by some black rot. It was then that we decided that Altameda, having swallowed our castle, had taken on a new name—Urusai. You are a free citizen who has managed to return from the Gray Lands without the Mark of Death. Your clan includes the two greatest warriors of the continent—Plinto and Anastaria. They will protect you from the phantoms outside of the castle, but you will have to enter Altameda itself on your own. Such are the laws of the Phantom Castle and we cannot change that. Now you know everything.”
The Emperor fell silent and I suddenly felt three pairs of eyes fixed questioningly upon me. Naahti, the Dark Lord and the Duke were expecting something from me. I had no idea what until a notification appeared before me:
The Phantom Castle (The Way of the Shaman: Book #4) LitRPG series Page 9
