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

by Vasily Mahanenko

  “Considering that you are here and not in Altameda, I assume you have declined my offer?” Undigit offered in passing and did not as much as pause to hear my reply. Here, I really lost my nerve—I simply had no right to believe that Undigit was a myopic person who couldn’t see past his own nose—he had Donotpunnik after all. Therefore, everything that was going on was advantageous to the Azure Dragons, regardless of however the present scenario could turn out. It was time to give up my belief in baddies that would risk their lives and funds over a vague goal and start treating what was happening with the caution it deserved: The Azures knew something I did not, and were therefore confident, even despite the Guardian. At the same time, Undigit was an experienced old wolf who had managed to become the leader of the third, and now after the split, the second most powerful clan in Malabar. Thus it followed that all my options for altering the situation had long since been calculated, evaluated and sorted in their proper pigeonholes.

  Damn, Stacey, how much longer before you return?

  Chapter 9. Clan Maneuvers

  “Earl, please have a seat,” said the butler and pointed to a vacant seat—not that there were any other chairs at all…

  I had been ushered into a fairly interesting place: a hall built in the form of an arena, only instead of rows of seats, the arena was rimmed with loges filled with plush pillows and cushions. In the center of this comfy amphitheater stood an even, rectangular dais about two meters by two meters in area and also brimming with soft upholstery. This place was less of an audience hall and more of a shrink’s fantasy office. The chair that had been so politely reserved for me by my hosts stood on the dais. Okay, it was more than a mere chair—it was a fairly luxurious settee, but in any case, all the other participants were located somehow above me and, what’s more, were all semi-reclined. And it’s worth noting that these participants also deserved some consideration: There were ten of them—not counting Undigit and Donotpunnik—and they were all outfitted in sumptuous clothing that was embroidered with gold and embossed with jewels. Rings bespattered the fingers of my audience, chains hung from their necks, and bracelets clustered along their arms. Even their feet sparkled with adornments…and yet their faces remained concealed behind childish animal masks—a bunny, a fox, a bear cub and so on. The circus had moved on, leaving behind the clown brigade to govern the city.

  “You called an assembly of the Council of the Nameless!” said the ‘bear cub’ closest to me, and I instantly recognized the voice of the Mayor’s registrar. “We are prepared to grant you audience!”

  Wow! They’re even prepared to grant me audience! A warm beginning, what can I say? All right, let’s sally forth then!

  “I’m not sure I understand you, oh registration clerk!” They can go to hell with their secrets! Let’s see how well the city adheres to its own laws. “I requested the Council to assemble with a single purpose in mind: I wish to know on what grounds the Council has ordered the city guard to arrest the Legends of Barliona. What law have we violated? What are we suspected of? Why wasn’t I, the clan leader, duly notified? And another thing—I demanded the Council to assemble, and yet I see here among those present two Free Citizens. Are they members of the City Council? If not, I request that they be removed from this chamber!”

  “My vaunted Earl,” said the ‘mouse,’ “perhaps somewhere in Farstead, or in your beloved Beatwick, your words may be treated as the speech of an aristocrat, but this is no village, so please try and be mindful of what you say! Before demanding anything at all, it would behoove you to read the City Charter, which clearly stipulates that city patrons are permitted to take part in sessions like this one. One is well advised to prepare oneself before arriving to a Council session, dear Earl!”

  It took a single glance at the utterly placid faces of Undigit and Donotpunnik to realize that they were relishing what was happening! The leaders of the Azure Dragons were deriving true pleasure from the current situation, while the video icons over their heads let me know very clearly that everything that would happen here today would be published for the entire world to see. No matter—I too know how to record what is happening!

  “You did not answer all my questions, oh registrar!” I went on plying my line.

  “You are under suspicion of aiding and abetting the pirates,” the ‘fox’ answered instead of the registrar. His harsh voice, leathery from drink and smoke, matched his children’s mask quite well. “We have evidence that after destroying several Free Citizens, Anastaria received the killer’s mark and the lot of you fled seaward. It is supposed that you decided to wait out the mark in a pirate cove!”

  A sly move, what can I say! Not only did the Azures slip them the Beatwick story, but also passed on their own ambush of us—recast in the best light possible! 1–0 to the Council and the true conversation hadn’t even begun. What a start.

  “Your information is uncorroborated!” As little as I wanted to do it, at the moment it looked like explaining myself would be best course of action. “I propose we summon a Herald and have him attest my…”

  “Heralds have no authority here, Earl!” the bear cub cut me off. “We are well aware that they would do their utmost to protect a member of their Empire! We will conduct our own investigation and determine the truth!”

  “Hey Dan! Where are you?” To my immense relief, Anastaria’s thought popped into my mind. Finally!

  “What’s up! The short of it is…” As quickly as I could, while my Energy held out, I began to explain the current situation.

  Energy level: 30. Stop, you angry Shaman!

  “Enough! I’ll be there in ten minutes!” Stacey wrote in the chat, realizing why I had fallen silent so abruptly.

  “No! It looks like we’re going to have trouble with Narlak. You shouldn’t come here”

  “Earl! Ignoring us to communicate with your subjects, is not very proper of as noble an aristocrat as yourself.” The registrar-mouse yanked me back to proceedings at hand. Indicating me to one of his servants and nodding, he said with condescension in his voice: “I understand that you became Earl only quite recently, and therefore perhaps you don’t yet know all the finer points of your new position. So I will be so bold as to offer you a humble tome of rules and obligations that members of the aristocracy are subject to. This way, you will have something to read during your incarceration.”

  A servant appeared beside me, offering me an enormous book in his outstretched hands. Two thousand pages, no less! How entertaining this was all turning out! I’m being leveled to the ground without being offered a chance to object. And all of it without any insults, rights’ violations or lack of accusations—everything is by the book, noble and to the point!

  “Due to this false convocation of the City Council, the Legends of Barliona should be fined, no?” the bear cub went on as soon as I slipped the book into my bag, reckoning that even this would come in handy. “I propose a vote!”

  “I object!” I cried out, understanding that a vote would not improve my position in the least. The grounds for calling the Council session are legitimate and approved by the Guardian himself! No one may accuse an aristocrat without furnishing some kind of proof. That’s the first point! The second is that I give you my word that I shall not leave the boundaries of Altameda until the investigation is complete. I will be very easy to locate. Third—as owner of the castle, I demand that I be allowed to exercise my rights regarding who is and who is not allowed to be on my premises. As the owner of Altameda, I deny the Azure Dragons access to my property!”

  “Okay,” the bear cub reclined on his cushion and glanced, somewhat terrifyingly, over the other members. “Let us examine your demands in turn. Who told you that evidence is required to accuse a member of the aristocracy? The Barliona legal code, with all the relevant deviations for Malabar and Kartoss, is readily available to you—go ahead and find even a single mention of the law you cite, and the Council will immediately will issue you a formal apology. You see, Earl—in drawing up our de
cree, we made sure to peruse the relevant laws as carefully as we could. I repeat—the legal code is readily available to you. Second—concerning your word…Forgive us, but who are you? Even a few months ago, absolutely no one knew a single thing about you—and now you wish us to rely on your word? Forgive us, but as I remember it, the Emperor himself placed a bounty on your head! Forty thousand Free Citizens were sent to the Dark Forest to stop you, and you are trying to assure us that you won’t flee the castle’s premises? I’m afraid that if we release you, then we won’t ever see you again—this simply is not in our interests. Third—yes, for the next three months, you shall be the rightful and legal owner of the castle. No one is contesting this—indeed, you are wholly in your right to determine who is in or near your castle. However, there is one problem! Your Altameda—or Urusai—has no standing to us, since it is located on the site of Glarnis, which itself falls under the jurisdiction of the Narlak Council. And it is we who determine who may or may not be on those premises, and we, to answer your question, hereby proclaim that the Azure Dragons are wholly permitted to approach Glarnis! If you wish to forbid them from approaching your walls, go right ahead! But don’t even dare set foot on our meadow!”

  What a lovely and legally accurate twist! If I dispute this issue further, they’ll read me a lecture about ‘whose castle was here first,’ and then I’ll lose hands down. Why, they could even go so far as to claim the damages that Altameda caused by falling on their castle! I wouldn’t put it past them!

  “In that case, I hereby give notice to the Council that my soldiers will appear beside my castle tomorrow!” I didn’t bother to mention the minor detail that the majority of these soldiers would come from Kartoss—let them assume that I mean my raiding party.

  “Near Altameda, be our guest, that’s your castle. But no one shall approach Glarnis!” the bear mask said in a sing-song voice, suggesting he was reveling in his triumph. “And now that we have ascertained that the reason for convening the Council was insufficient, I again propose we commence a vote on a penalty for this sentient!”

  “Oh no,” I smirked. “Even if a vote is held, you won’t be taking part in it! I proclaim that this Nameless councilman is none other than the Mayor’s registrar! And I am prepared to attest my words by summoning the Guardian! I demand he be removed from his position as city councilman and…”

  “Sorry, but what exactly are you getting at here anyway?” the fox mask interrupted me quietly. “Okay, so you know who one of us is—and what?”

  “According to the city laws…” I began, but the fox didn’t back down:

  “So you are prepared to summon the Guardian to confirm your grave accusation? While referencing the laws of Narlak?”

  Beep! Beep! Beep! A red lamp began to blink in my head, casting a nasty noise over its surroundings. Either a siren or an alarm. In any case, it became clear that this was a trap. I was being led like a lamb to the slaughter with the full understanding that I wouldn’t resist.

  “Is the Guardian’s summons really necessary to confirm my words?” I asked in turn, trying to figure out what was happening. My premonition was screaming that I had put my foot in it—all the way up to my hip.

  “No, unfortunately,” replied the fox and even through the mask I could sense his disappointment. “The word of the Council suffices…and that word says that there is no such law in Narlak!”

  “I beg your pardon, Mr. Mayor,” said Undigit, suddenly rising from his seat and approaching the councilman in the bunny mask. “I must admit that I did not believe that Mahan would be so naïve as to take your bait. Here are your winnings!” The clan leader offered the bunny a wallet of money and the hall filled with the coarse laughter of a dozen people. The bear standing before me took off his mask and I beheld the prominent whiskers of the registrar.

  “It’s too bad. It would have been quite a sight to see the Guardian punish this smart aleck,” he hissed. “Thank you for coming up with the fairy tale about the Nameless Council. I must admit I refused to believe that Mahan wouldn’t read the City Charter. It’s all in there, after all!”

  Turning, I met the eyes of the Mayor—the same military posture, but now the NPC’s eyes bore not even a drop of kindness—only haughtiness multiplied by vanity. And in the midst of this freak show—the two smiling faces of the Azure Dragons…

  Harsh…what a bind to end up in!

  “Mahan! As head of the city, I place you under guard for seven days! You shall be committed to a cell that, just as this room, blocks the use of teleports! The Legends of Barliona clan is proclaimed unwelcome in Narlak and all territories subject to it. The sentence comes into force immediately!”

  “I object! The Guardian granted me the right to call the Council to session!”

  “You may take this issue up with the Guardian on your own, as soon as you serve the time of your detention! Guards! Take the prisoner to his cell!”

  -1000 Reputation with Narlak. Current level: Mistrust. To Suspicion: 3000

  You have been declared guilty and placed under guard for seven days. This is a game process and does not block your control over your avatar. This confinement does not constitute a violation for provisionally Free Citizens.

  Goddamn! Forgive my crass language—but goddamn it all squared! They’re about to place me under guard? Not on my watch!

  “Stacey, yank me over to you!”

  “Shoot me your coordinates, I’ll cast a portal.”

  “A portal won’t work for another week! Yank me over with our Ying-Yang ability!”

  “You’ve talked your way into some trouble again? Oh why couldn’t you just relax somewhere for a few hours? Okay, I’m doing it now…”

  Your other half wishes to summon you to her location. Do you accept?

  My other half? So we’re that official then, huh? Half and half: Accept!

  “Stop…! But where…? How…?” I managed to hear the registrar exclaim as a new notification appeared before my eyes:

  Clan achievement gained: “Bad Guys”—your clan’s Reputation with either a Province or an independent city has reached Hatred status. All enemies of this Province or city are henceforth your friends.

  Quest available “Pirate Fraternity. Step 1: Getting acquainted.” Description: Having become an enemy of Narlak, you have acquired a powerful friend. The doom of the seas, the terror and nightmare of merchants—the Pirate Grygz the Bloody Hoof. He has been notified of your achievement and will receive any member of your clan as his guest. Quest type: Unique clan sequence. Reward/Penalty: Variable. Restrictions: Only the leader of the clan may accept the quest. Only one clan per empire may pursue the quest at a time.

  “Mahan and Anastaria! You are under arrest!” yelled the nearby guards and rushed towards us as soon as I appeared beside Altameda. Here it is then—the fruits of having a Hatred reputation. As soon as the guards of some location see a player that is hated by that location, they immediately drop everything they’re doing and do their utmost to send the outlaw to jail for an hour. After that, the player is escorted out of the territory in question and, if he shows up again, the whole thing repeats, only with two hours confinement. After that, the detention grows exponentially. But I didn’t want to spend even an hour in prison—I had had quite enough of that!

  “Stacey, we need to get out of here! Cut them all down—you can ignore our reputation!” I yelled, transforming into a Dragon and pushing the ‘Accept’ button. I may not be able to hurt anyone, but saving my tail is still a cinch. Grabbing Anastaria in my paws, I soared high into the sky, hoping that Undigit hadn’t yet managed to set his people after us. Geyra—forgive me. I don’t know how my reputation affects my mercenaries, but I don’t have the time to think about you right now…

  “Dan, let me down. I can walk on my own two feet,” said Anastaria after ten minutes’ flight. “Tell me, my dear, what do we owe our Hatred with Narlak to? As well as our new quest with the pirates?”

  “I’ll send you the video,” I smirked, flap
ping my wings several more times and gliding to the ground. As soon as we landed, I added: “I recorded what happened on the hunch that you’d enjoy watching it.”

  “Whoa! Where’d they get such buildings from?” Stacey couldn’t keep from exclaiming as she began to watch the video. “Hmm…Undigit and Donotpunnik? Where’d they…Dan?! Who talks that way? No way! Did you really believe that fairy tale about the Council of the Nameless?! Okay…Hang on a minute,” Anastaria’s eyes glassed over in a sign that she had logged out to reality. I guess she’d gone to check out the Azure Dragons’ forums.

  “I warned Plinto. He’ll go invisible as soon as he jumps back in. It’s strange, but there’s not one mention of you bungling that meeting, either on the Azures’ site or on their forums.”

  “Why ‘bungle’?”

  “Why because! If you had even once bothered to open the City Charter, you’d be pleasantly surprised to discover that any sentient, be he NPC or player, may call the Council to convene. All he has to do is go to the Mayor and say ‘Good morning!’ And there’d be absolutely no penalty for it! But since you agreed to their demands…Why, they were only bluffing you! Where’s an answer to your natural question of ‘Why are you arresting me?’ Watch your own video carefully—there’s not a single mention in there of why they’re putting you away for 7 days, and you up and ran off! They didn’t even have the authority to remove you from that hall—the Guardian would’ve intervened! How many times do I have to use the word ‘would’ with you! But now, you’ve broken the law—you ran off from a Council you yourself convened…and didn’t even leave the game in doing so. The Charter does have several items about that…Damn! Narlak was the only point of access with Astrum that didn’t cost crazy amounts of money to use…”