The Citadel (Mirror World Book #2)

by Alexey Osadchuk

  The next morning after our conversation, I'd been working in the wizard's courtyard when Liz walked in. She was beaming. Holding a small knife shaped like a sickle, she cast me a cheerful smile and began cleaning one of the flowerbeds. My plan had worked. She'd done it.

  The same night in the tavern, she'd told me and Uncle Vanya about it. The next thing, Varn joined us and offered me a deal. In exchange for information on how to get one of the wizard's quests, he provided me with a lifelong VIP pass with the Guiding Eyes. Judging by the way Uncle Vanya grinned, he must have had something to do with it. I agreed. Why not? It was an excellent deal: a lifelong free ride and a good relationship with the caravanners. And as for my secret... I was pretty sure that the players would very soon have worked it out anyway. All they had to do was track my first day in the Citadel. So basically, it had all turned out for the best.

  Uncle Vanya's voice echoed through the empty tavern, bringing me back to reality.

  "Right, golem slayer! Are you ready?"

  I turned. So! What the hell had happened to the wagon driver in his standard-issue green clothes? The dwarf stood confidently with his hands on his hips, enjoying the sight of my drooping jaw.

  "How do you like it?" he asked with a self-satisfied smirk.

  "Man, what can I say? You're full of surprises!"

  Uncle Vanya chuckled. "You're not the only one."

  I had to agree. Instead of the humble caravanner I was looking at a Dwarf tank clad in a complete Purple Set. The precious suit of armor made him look twice as large and ten times more powerful: a super warrior directly from heaven.

  I couldn't help smiling. "You've come prepared, haven't you?"

  "You bet," he grinned. "I'll hack them to bits before you even notice. Ah, there's my niece coming!"

  The tavern door swung open, revealing our archer girl. Did I say the day was rich in surprises? Her gear was not a patch on her uncle's but still quite impressive. Her Blue Set was infinitely better than the one she'd been wearing back at the Swamp.

  "Hi," she sat at our table. "You ready?"

  "Sure," Uncle Vanya replied. "A quick coffee, then we'll be off. We should be able to make it back by dinner time. Your auntie wants me to go with her to our country cottage."

  "Give her my love."

  "Can't you do it yourself?" Uncle Vanya grumbled at her. "Wouldn't you like to go with us to the country? I could get a BBQ going. What would you say to that?"

  "Sorry," Liz shook her head. "I have too many things to do."

  "Which are what? Things to do! You've become completely nuts with this game!"

  Liz shook her head and stared out the window.

  Uncle Vanya glanced at me, seeking support. "You tell me, Olgerd. Are you happy here?"

  "Am I supposed to give you an honest answer? Had you asked me twenty years ago... but you want me to be objective, don't you?"

  Liz perked up. "Do you want to say that had you been twenty years old, you'd have spent all your waking time in the game?"

  "Can't see why not," I replied. "On one condition.'

  "Which is what?"

  "I wouldn't ignore my loved ones."

  With a sigh, she turned back to the window. Uncle Vanya winked me his appreciation.

  "Your coffee," Talina appeared by our table, deftly setting down the cups.

  I took a sip. "You know, Liz... my Christina would have loved it here. And my wife. I'd love them to be able to come here one day and see for themselves."

  "I don't think you're going to take them to Drammen. Nor the Citadel," Uncle Vanya chuckled.

  I nodded. "Christina would have loved to meet your Kosma."

  He puffed out his chest with pride. "I bet! Sure she would!"

  "But you're probably right," I said. "It wouldn't be a good idea to take them to aggressive locations. Now Mellenville's different. There they might appreciate the whole beauty of Mirror World."

  "Lots of nice locations around," Liz said. "There're some really cool ones in the South. And in the East."

  "There are," Uncle Vanya agreed. "Mirror World is immense. Right! Time to do some golem slaying! I just hope it won't take us long."

  * * *

  The trip to the Blue Hills was quite quick. Three portal jumps from Drammen to a one-horse-town called Toug took only fifteen minutes, followed by a hike along the wide Inunda River: forty minutes in total. Not bad at all. I was more than happy.

  As we walked, we came across a lot of people. Surprisingly, the place was literally swarming with zero-level players: mainly herbalists and fishermen. Then again, why was I surprised? This was a river. A perfect location for either profession.

  Watching the fishermen was funny. Some were angling off the bank. Others used small boats. To our right, I noticed several teams of five players casting nets into the water. This was probably how you fished in a group.

  As we walked through a small forest, we saw lots of hunters, woodcutters and bee keepers.

  "This place is a farming heaven," I commented.

  "Sure," Uncle Vanya said. "A very good location."

  "Aren't they afraid?"

  "What's there to be afraid of? As long as you avoid mobs' aggro zones, you can farm all you want."

  "Plus the place is chock full of combat players," Liz added. "They smoke the mobs faster than they can respawn."

  Uncle Vanya nodded. "The local beasties make up part of quite a few quests. This was one of Mirror World's first locations ever. That's why there's such a disparity in levels."

  "I see," I muttered.

  'Wait till we come to the Blue Hills," Uncle Vanya grinned. "That's a totally different picture over there!"

  "Sure," Liz said. "The Golems aren't very popular, I tell you. Not as quest mobs, anyway. To do a bit of farming, maybe."

  After another ten minutes, we finally left the forest. I walked around one last tree and found myself standing on a wide flat river bank. This was some beach, I tell you. Completely deserted, too.

  "Slow down, Olgerd," Uncle Vanya warned me. "Better safe than sorry."

  As if in confirmation, a system message popped up,

  Warning! This location is not recommended for players under level 80.

  "Keep next to me," Liz reached behind her back for her longbow. "Uncle Vanya, it's time to create a group."

  He sent us invitations to join, then pointed at the beach in front of him, "See that sand? Notice anything different about it?"

  "Just sand," I peered at it, trying to make out any peculiarities. "It's very yellow, if that's what you mean."

  He shook his head. "You're not looking at the right thing. Look how uneven it is. See those craters?"

  I took a better look. "Yes! I see! They're slightly darker than the rest of it."

  "They're golems' lairs," Liz said. "Don't go anywhere near them. If he injures you, we'll have to buy a potion for you or go look for a healer. They're all levels 90-95, that's a 20-hour injury. At least."

  "I see," I nodded my understanding. "So where do you want me to be?"

  "Just here next to the forest," Uncle Vanya pointed. "That's it. Enough lazing around. Lizzie, are you ready?" he waited for her to nod, then added, "I'll go bring the first one, then."

  He set off, holding a broad full-height shield in one hand and a battle axe in the other. Despite his seemingly cumbersome armor, Uncle Vanya moved with the flowing grace of an animal.

  Reaching for an arrow behind her back, Liz gave me a wink. "He's awesome, isn't he?"

  "He's too good," I answered, admiring him.

  The girl heaved a sigh. "Such a waste! If he decided to level up Valor, his char would cost a ton of money."

  "What do you mean?"

  "What do you think? Have you never heard of people selling their chars?"

  I shook my head.

  'I see," she said. "Never mind. We'll talk about it later. We have a job to do. Look, he's aggroing one already."

  Indeed, Uncle Vanya was already about five paces away from one
of the craters. The sand around it exploded, letting out the first monster. Jeez, it was fast! For some reason, I'd always believed golems to be slow giants barely moving their massive feet as they stomped along. But the sight of this first Blue Hills golem had busted my ideas of them.

  It was short: five foot at the most. It had two arms, two legs and a small head. It moved unbelievably fast, rolling around like a large oily shadow.

  Uncle Vanya didn't seem to be nonplussed by its maneuvers in the slightest. Having parried the first blow with his shield, he almost effortlessly twitched his axe, chopping off his opponent's leg and stripping him of 80% Life. Liz's bowstring snapped.

  Congratulations!

  You've slain a Sand Golem!

  Phew. We could go and collect the onyx now.

  "We can do it later," Liz said, taking aim again. "Let's mop up this part of the beach first."

  I shrugged. If it went like this, we'd be done before midday. Uncle Vanya seemed to be in form, his every swing resulting in a crit. He finished off two more golems without any help from his archer. His level spoke for itself. It was true that we weren't getting any loot or XP for doing this but that wasn't what we'd come here for. We were only interested in the quest resource.

  Uncle Vanya had finished off his thirtieth golem — or was it twenty-ninth? — and waved to us.

  "Now we can go and collect the onyx," Liz told me.

  Softly she moved along the sand. Each mob had given us two or three crystals. Excellent. Another hour, and we could start moving toward the Misty Mountains.

  * * *

  An hour and a half later, the system told me that my bag was now full. After twenty more minutes, Liz let us know that hers was, too.

  "Oh," Uncle Vanya said. "Just when I was getting a taste for it."

  Liz rolled her eyes dreamily. "Shame we're not getting any XP or loot. Would be good, wouldn't it?"

  "It's a good job we aren't!" the dwarf snorted. "You'd have run me into the ground then. Olgerd, you ready? Show us the way."

  I opened the Der Swyor Clan's Trade Routes map. My bot promptly laid a new route and we set off.

  "So what is it you need to find there?" Uncle Vanya wondered, walking next to me.

  "There's a Nest of Rocks I need to check."

  He looked at me in surprise. "You realize how many there are?"

  "I do. But I have the exact coordinates of that one."

  "I see. What kind of quest is it? Please don't get me wrong. It's just that I've never seen a zero level performing complex quests like these before."

  "I understand. Unfortunately, all I can tell you is that I got it in Mellenville."

  I'd rather not tell him the whole truth. Everyone has the right to secrets.

  "I see," he said. "Big city dwellers and their secrets. I used to level up Reputation too. Then I got fed up."

  "Why?"

  He shrugged. "Just a shift in priorities. I got myself Kosma, and a pet like this takes up a lot of time. I couldn't run all those stupid errands anymore. And once Kosma grew up a bit, we started working. And why do you need Rep for?"

  "I need a loan from the Reflex Bank," I replied in all honesty.

  He nodded. "I see. Well, good luck."

  "Is it really possible?" Liz asked us from behind. "To get a loan, I mean?"

  "It is," Uncle Vanya said firmly. "I know a lot of guys who've done it. They said it worked out fine."

  "That brings hope," I sighed. "Very much so."

  "How much money do you need?"

  "A lot."

  "I see. All I know is that the more Reputation you have, the higher your chances are of getting a big loan. Heh! Now I understand why you came here to the Citadel."

  I shrugged. "You'd better tell me why you don't wear your gorgeous gear every day."

  They exchanged glances, smiling. "How can I say," the dwarf began. "These kits aren't to be worn every day. You need to save them. Their Durability doesn't last forever, and repairs are costly."

  "Also, if you flash your expensive kit every day, you're sure to attract some robbing scumbag," Liz added.

  "Isn't it non-transferrable?" I peered at their armor's stats. "What's the point?"

  Uncle Vanya grinned. "You've no idea how many shitheads there are in Mirror World. They just don't care."

  "For some PKs, smoking a high-level char in elite gear is something to be proud of," Liz added.

  I remembered the Spider Grotto. A shiver ran down my spine. "You don't need to tell me. But what's a PK?"

  "It's short for a Player Killer," Uncle Vanya said.

  "You can tell them by their tags: they have a red skull next to their nickname," Liz explained.

  "They love using zero-level players to level up Fury," the dwarf added.

  "Scumbags," Liz mumbled. "My blood boils every time I remember."

  "It's okay, Liz," her uncle said soothingly. "They already got their comeuppance. My guys still smoke them every time they see them."

  Seeing my quizzical stare, he explained, "Liz had some very unpleasant experiences with PKs. She had it really bad then."

  She clenched her fists. "If only they crossed my path now!"

  The dwarf shook his head. "It's been a while but she still can't let it go."

  By then, we'd crossed the river bank and entered a small copse of trees. I could feel the path underfoot go slightly uphill. I glimpsed the first snow peaks above the far-off tree tops. Still distant, they gave you the impression of hanging over you.

  Humidity was high here. Uncle Vanya's armor was covered in condensation. Did he use elemental protection? I was about to ask him when he beat me to it,

  "We're in the mountains!"

  Indeed, the path rose steeply, threading around some of the sharper and nastier-looking boulders.

  A system message promptly popped up,

  Warning! You're entering one of the most dangerous locations in the Lands of Light! Watch your back for aggressive creatures trespassing from No-Man's Lands!

  I already knew about this, as did my friends.

  "So how far is your mountain?" Liz asked, admiring the view.

  "Less than a mile, according to my satnav," I said.

  Uncle Vanya nodded. "It's all right. Come on, then. The place seems quiet today."

  "Too quiet," Liz whispered, casting anxious looks around. "I can't see anyone. The Blue Hills I can understand. Golems are boring. But here? Players seem to like it here, normally. They can smoke all sorts of cool mobs."

  Uncle Vanya scratched his beard. "I'm afraid you're right. It is weird. Never mind. If push comes to shove, we can always use a scroll to port outta here."

  "A scroll?" I asked.

  "Yes, a portal scroll. It costs a fortune. But it'll jump us directly back to Drammen."

  "How much does it cost?"

  "Two grand. But you can forget it. Zero levels can't buy them."

  "Portal scrolls are only available for players level 70 and above," Liz added.

  I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "How interesting. How do you use it?"

  "Easy," Uncle Vanya said. "First you activate it. Then you choose a location from the list and press Apply."

  "How big is the location list?"

  "You're thinking in the right direction. To put it short, the entire Lands of Light are divided into four sectors: red, blue, yellow and green. We're currently in the green sector. I'm forwarding you the link to the scroll's description. And here's its page on the info portal. You read up on it later. It's quite a clever system. Can you see that my scroll is green?"

  I nodded. "I see. You can only use it to travel around the green sector."

  "Or to the capital," he added. "You can jump to Mellenville from any sector."

  "If I understand you correctly, does that mean there are more expensive scrolls around? For more advanced players, maybe?"

  He nodded. "You're right. You'll have to look them up yourself. I don't know much about them."

  I grinned. "Thanks for the tip
. I'll buy you a beer."

  My bot kicked in, telling me that we'd arrived at our destination.

  "Here," I nodded at a towering cliff ahead. "I'd love to know how I'm supposed to climb it, though. As far as I understand, the nest is right at the top."

  "That's not a problem," Uncle Vanya tilted his head upward, shielding his eyes with his wide hand. "There must be steps here somewhere."

  Seeing me perplexed, he grinned. "Does that sound strange to you? They're nests, yes. Still, to get to each of them you need to use a staircase cut into the rock. They're actually very well-made. Whoever made them wanted them to last centuries."

  "How many nests are there?" I asked.

  He shrugged. "Never thought about it. At least a hundred. Each with its own staircase."

  "Listen, you two," Liz shuffled her feet nervously, listening in to something, "I understand you can discuss this for hours but don't you think it's time we move it?" she cast a wary glance around and added softly, "I don't like it here today."

  Uncle Vanya looked around. "I think she's right. Okay, man, you climb up and do whatever you're supposed to do, then come right back. Go ahead now, chop chop! We'll keep an eye on the area."

  They didn't need to ask. I activated the bot to make sure I didn't lose my way and darted off.

  I skirted the rock. Indeed, Uncle Vanya had been right. There were some steps going up the cliff, nice and stable, spiraling around it like a giant snake.

  The location lived up to its name. The higher I climbed, the thicker the mist was. Sometimes I had to bend down and peer down to see where I was going.

  Yet another step unexpectedly proved to be the last. I walked out onto a wide round platform. According to my bot, it was mob-free, but the sheer amount of bones, skulls, scraps of old clothing and rusted pieces of armor put one in a totally different mood.

  This was indeed a nest. Made of rocks. What kind of bird was it that had built a nest the size of my old apartment? Judging by the number of skeletons, this monster was hardly herbivorous.