I cast another look around. So what was I supposed to find here? I opened the quest. What did we have there?
You must find the Nest of Rocks and inspect the remains of the last wearer of the Royal Charm. Then come back to Master Adkhur and tell him everything you've seen.
And where was I supposed to find him, this wearer of theirs? The nest was an absolute mess of old bones, bits of rags and chunks of steel. Having said that... What was it Adkhur had told me about the Der Swyor Clan's coat of arms? Could it have been the prompt I needed?
Gingerly I began trawling through the junk. Yuk! Those game designers had some sick imaginations! The charm's last wearer, where are you?
A message from Uncle Vanya popped up in my mental view,
Olgerd, come down quick! We've got problems! Come down now!
Shit. Just what I didn't need. What was I supposed to do? I might never get another chance to come back here!
Olgerd come down now!!!
Dammit! Whatever could have happened there? I swung my head around desperately, searching. Wait a sec! What was that?
OLGERD COME NOW!!!!
A few paces away from me, a skeleton slumped back as if resting after a hard day's work. Bits of rotting disintegrated clothing still clung to its bones. But the belt still seemed to be in one piece — or rather, the steel buckles that used to decorate it. The leather parts had long gone, either rotted away or consumed by small rodents.
It had been one of those buckles that had caught my eye. It didn't look rusty at all. It was shiny, if anything. Let's have a look...
I reached out my hand. Got it! It was engraved with a triangular shield supported by two Black Grisons, the ancestors of my little Prankster.
I turned to the skeleton. It was frozen in a sitting position, its head slightly skewed to the side, its hands resting in its lap palms up. What could it have been that killed you, buddy?
But what was that? A fluffy ball lay in the skeleton's lap. The man must have held it in his hands when he died. And later, when the flesh of his hands had rotted away, the ball must have dropped into his lap.
It was about the size of an orange, soft and strangely warm. It actually resembled a ball of gray wool. The moment I touched it, a new system message popped up,
Quest alert! Congratulations! You've just completed the first part of the quest: Journey to the Misty Mountains!
New objective: Return to Master Adkhur and tell him about what you've found.
New items received:
A Belt Buckle, 1
An unknown item, 1
I opened my inventory. That's right. Both the buckle and the fluff ball were already in my bag. I heaved a sigh of relief and darted for the stairs.
Chapter Eleven
I found both Uncle Vanya and Liz hiding behind one of the larger rocks. They huddled together, tense as if waiting for a bomb to drop. On seeing me, the dwarf motioned me to duck, then pressed his finger to his lips.
Got it. I crouched and lay low, casting wary looks around. Whatever had alerted them so? The place seemed to be perfectly quiet.
Uncle Vanya peeked from behind their boulder, peering at the nearest thicket of trees about a hundred and fifty feet away. He then turned to me and waved an all-clear.
I darted toward them and ducked behind their boulder.
"What's up?" I asked, half-whispering.
"We're deep in shit, Sir Olgerd, that's what's up," he grumbled.
"A Darkies' raid," Liz said.
"A what?"
"Apparently, the Rhynn Castle has fallen," Uncle Vanya pointed to the north. "The bulk of the Darkies must still be engaged there. But the first small groups have already infiltrated here."
"They've come looking for scalps," the girl added.
"Liz, you're something," I shook my head in amazement. "Your instincts are unbelievable. Respect!"
"She did good," the dwarf gave her a wink. "The moment she noticed the Dark scout, we both ducked behind this rock. I don't think they noticed us."
"How many can there be?" I asked.
"Not the slightest idea. Could be six — but that's unlikely, — or it could be fifty. A raid is a serious business."
"They're probably all levels 200+, no?"
He shrugged. "Not necessarily. They use low-level players too. Those around here are small fry. All the top raid members must be busy now fighting for the castle while all the low-level vultures are on the prowl looking for easy prey."
"How long is it gonna last?"
"Not long," he said. "Soon all the warriors of Light will be here. Everyone can use a bit of Valor leveling."
"So what are we going to do?"
"Stay put and keep our eyes peeled. We can always port out of here if we want to. Still, it would be nice not to use the scroll. It costs two grand, you know. It would be such a shame to waste it."
I sighed. Talk about bad timing. Wretched Darkies and their raids!
We sat there for about quarter of an hour, keeping a low profile. The dwarf tapped away in his chat — probably explaining the situation to his comrades.
Personally, I hadn't noticed anyone. But in cases like these it was probably a good idea to trust the more experienced higher-level players. Hadn't I said I was going to "cower behind some rock"? So there I was, doing exactly that.
Uncle Vanya was done with his chatting. He leaned wearily back against the cliff.
"That's it," he smiled to us. "Soon this place will be absolutely packed."
I glanced doubtfully at the forest where our enemies were supposed to be lurking. "It's been almost an hour but I haven't seen a single Darkie yet."
Liz chuckled. "Consider yourself lucky. And pray that they don't see you."
"Sir Olgerd doesn't believe us," the dwarf winked at her. "You see," he turned to me, "in this game, every race has its own classes. Lots of them. You can look it all up in the Wiki later if you want. But some of those classes have access to the Invisibility skill."
"D'you mean-"
He nodded. "Exactly. They're about a hundred feet directly in front of us, just where the forest ends. At least two or three of them."
Liz grinned. "Four, to be precise."
Uncle Vanya nodded. "You see, Olgerd? Liz has been leveling up Perception. That's her class ability. No wonder she can see and feel much more than you and I can."
"Hush," she brought a finger to her lips. Her pointy ears twitched in a most funny way like two radars.
"They're coming," she whispered. "From the north. They're moving openly."
"Either our guys have won the castle back," Uncle Vanya said, "in which case they're going to mop up all the locations. Alternatively, the Darkies might have broken through. Which doesn't look good."
If I had any hopes for a quick end to our excursion, Liz had now dashed them. "Darkies," she whispered, pressing her back into the rock.
Very soon I got the chance to see for myself. I found a tiny crack in the rocks which allowed me to watch a small area about fifty feet away from us.
There were indeed ten of them: a few warriors, an archer and a wizard, judging by his robes. Actually, no. Not ten. Fourteen. Just as Liz had said. Four more players appeared out of thin air, like the monster in that good old movie, Predator.
One of them was a crossbowman, the remaining three also archers. They were saying something to a burly warrior in dark armor. I couldn't hear the words, but judging by their body language, they were reporting to him.
Invisibility, she'd said? What a useful skill. I really had to look into it.
I'd thought their levels would be higher but no, they were all below 180. Uncle Vanya had been right. They'd come here searching for easy prey.
"That's it," Uncle Vanya suddenly said in his normal voice. "Enough hiding. Come on, get out."
"Why?" I whispered. "They're gonna hear you!"
He beamed and stood up, reaching for the battle axe behind his back. "Let them hear! Why not?"
He walked out from behin
d the boulder and headed calmly toward the Darkies.
I watched him, unblinking. Whatever had come over him? One moment he'd been sitting there quiet as a mouse hushing everyone up, and now he was walking toward them? They'd noticed him, too! What were we supposed to do?
A tap on my shoulder distracted me from the scene. I turned round.
Liz behind me was grinning. "Come with me. It's gonna be hot here in a moment. Not a good place to be for the likes of us."
"Sorry, I don't understand. Can you explain?"
She opened her mouth when a loud popping sound assaulted our eardrums. I squeezed my eyes shut. When I reopened them, a portal already gaped open not fifty feet away, disgorging high-level players with weapons at the ready and happy smiles on their faces. There were at least thirty of them. I saw Varn and a few other Guiding Eyes. So!
Liz gave me a smile. "Do you see now?"
"Yeah... sort of... I think..." I managed, admiring the soldiers of Light.
"What Uncle Vanya did, he forwarded our coordinates to Varn who threw a group together. They're about to make mincemeat out of the Darkies. Come on now, it's not a healthy place for you and me. If you get grazed by a spell, you'll spend the next few days healing. Same for me. I'm not tough enough to join this kind of fray. I'm still kinda small for this sort of battle. Let's go."
* * *
"You! I thought you'd forgotten all about the old man, dammit!"
The face of Master Adkhur lit up with a happy smile. I looked around, taking in the fresh air. This place just felt so good. Nothing had changed since my first visit: the same hut clinging to the base of a gigantic tree, the same walls overgrown with yellow moss, the tiny window...
Master Adkhur hadn't changed, either: a long gray beard full of twigs, pine needles and bits of dried leaves; the wide-brimmed straw hat and the green robe — he looked just like a big fat mushroom.
That day, Liz had taken me to the nearest portal station as promised. We'd bidden our goodbyes, then I hurried to the Woods of Lirtia hoping to solve yet another one of Pierrot's mysteries.
Unwilling to arrive empty-handed, I'd stopped at a shop to buy two flasks of wine and lots of various treats, including some for the spotted kitty.
It felt so good walking through a warm, sunlit forest: a welcome change from the drizzly Drammen and the Citadel.
"I've brought you some gifts," I smiled to the old man. "I haven't forgotten anyone, I think," I gave a meaningful nod at the lynx who rewarded me with her signature yellow stare. "Does she like fish?"
"Does she ever! Are you going to lure her away too?" his voice rang with mocking anger. "You must have sold the Grison already, dammit!" his cunning eyes squinted at me.
"Of course I didn't. How could I? I'd feel so lonely without Prankster."
I meant it. The little black joker was the best medicine against any gloomy thoughts.
I activated the charm. Prankster appeared in the blink of an eye as usual. It took him a split second to take in his surroundings. His black shadow flashed through the air as, squeaking victoriously, he darted for the hut and climbed the roof.
"That's it," Master Adkhur sighed. "The roof is finished now."
"Pranky!" I said. "Behave yourself."
The Grison twitched his rounded ears as in, 'yeah, I heard you,' and continued inspecting the straw and moss of the roof.
"No way!" the old Ennan exclaimed. "Lita, did you see that? He listens to our Olgerd!"
The lynx lazily turned her head in the hut's direction, then continued staring at me.
Oh, look! Her name had appeared in a frame above her head. Lita, a Spotted Lynx! I froze, stupefied, as I peered at her stats.
Jesus Christ. Level four hundred freakin' fifty? Pierrot played it big and proper. Not every clan could afford a pet like this. You'd need to call up a raid to smoke one of these. And I didn't even know Master Adkhur's level, either. If the truth were known, I hadn't even thought about it.
Secondly, her combat stats. Loads of different kinds of protection from all sorts of magic as well as physical damage. Her attacking skills didn't leave much to be desired, either. Little as I knew about this stuff, I got the impression that this small spotted kitty was a veritable killing machine.
"Ah, so you've already met each other," Master Adkhur hid a smile in his gray beard. "Come in, don't stand outside. I can see you're going to treat the old man to all sorts of fancy goodies."
While I emptied my bag, Adkhur produced some clay cups and plates from a small cupboard. Finally, we sat down at the table. Adkhur uncorked the flask, sniffed first the cork and then the flask itself.
"Excellent," he said. "You seem to know your wines."
He filled the tall narrow glasses with the grenadine-color liquid.
"So, Sir Olgerd? Here's to the future of the Der Swyor Clan!"
"To its power!" I joined.
We clinked our glasses and turned our attention to the food.
"I can see the Grison has accepted you," Master Adkhur took another sip of his wine.
I shrugged. "Not a problem. He's a very good boy."
"A word of warning: don't miss the moment when he begins to grow. They can get quite uncontrollable."
"Thanks for the tip."
"You're welcome," he stuffed a large salad leaf into his mouth. "That's what we can do. When he grows up a little, come back here, both of you."
A new system message came as a surprise,
New Quest alert: Grow Big and Strong
Once your pet reaches level 1, show him to Master Adkhur.
Reward: a choice of two starting skills for your pet
Accept: Yes/No
I clicked Yes. But what was the point? My Grison was doomed to forever remain zero-level just as I was.
"Agreed," I said. "What would I do without you, Master?"
"Excellent," his voice rang with approval. "These days young people do things their own way. And once they screw everything up, they come running to the old and wise like guilty puppies."
The wine seemed to affect him just like it had the last time. I'd better close the quest before he falls asleep again. I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it,
"I completely forgot, dammit! Didn't you show me one of Brolgerd's shticks last time? Have you managed to find out anything?"
My hands shook with excitement as I produced the feather from my bag. "Here, Master. I've checked the Nest of Rocks as you told me. I found a skeleton... er... actually, the place was chock full of bones. But that particular skeleton had this buckle on."
He frowned shortsightedly. "Oh. I see. It's one of those buckles our riders used to wear. Useful item. You keep it. You never know, you might need it."
Congratulations! You've received an item: a Buckle from a Combat Belt from the legendary Wings of Death armor set.
I stared at its stats, flabbergasted.
Name: A Wings of Death Belt Buckle
Effect: +150 to Strength
Effect: +100 to Protection
Effect: +250 to Endurance
Effect: +150 to Stamina
Restrictions: Only Ennan race
Level: 50
Warning! This item is non-transferrable!
Shit. So much for that, then. Just when I held my breath. If only I could auction something like this! Or at least try it out in the mines.
Once in my inventory, the buckle began to glow a soft ruby color. It must have been very, very valuable. What a shame. Then again, who said it was going to be easy? Judging by Pierrot's sick tricks, he wasn't finished with me yet.
Wait a sec... Why wasn't the quest closed? I'd completed it in full, hadn't I?
Unaware of my inner struggle, old Master Adkhur kept helping himself to more food. He didn't ignore the wine, either.
"Have you found anything else?" he asked complacently. "You said there were lots of skeletons there."
I slapped my forehead and reached into my bag. "There were! I also found this ball of wool. No idea why I took i
t. Waste not, want not, I suppose."
I lay the gray fluff ball onto the table. How strange. It was warm again – warmer than before.
I watched the old man's reaction. His eyes began opening wide – wide, wider, until they were literally the size of two saucers. Not normal. Master Adkhur exploded in a bout of coughing, probably having choked on the chunk of ham he'd been attacking for the last few minutes.
The lynx's head appeared behind the window, staring anxiously in at him. The creature shifted her gaze to the ball. Oh wow. I'd never seen her in this state. Her feline pupils expanded. Her fur stood on end. Her ears were pressed closely against her head. I could hear her hiss threateningly behind the window pane.
Holy mama mia, what was it I'd just brought them?
Master Adkhur overcame his bout of coughing in record time. "Quiet, you stupid puss!" he shouted at her. "Calm down!"
The lynx's large head disappeared behind the window. Paying no heed to me, Adkhur walked over to the table. His hand shaking, he reached for the wine flask and brought it to his mouth.
After several seconds, I heard a hearty burp followed by a sigh.
"You're something, Olgerd, you really are," he said in a weary voice. "You have any idea what you've brought to my place? Then again, why would you..."
He peered at the ball. I thought I saw some semblance of fear in his eyes. How strange. No, not fear: apprehension. In any case, he kept a safe distance from the thing.
"Is it warm or cold?" he suddenly asked.
"Warm," I said, surprised. "It's even warmer now than it was when I picked it up back at the Nest."
"Aha," he said. "How interesting. Mind picking it up again for me, please?"
I obeyed.
"Is it still warm?"
"It is. It's even warmer."
"I see. Take a seat. I'll be right back."
Mumbling something, he disappeared from the room. A couple of minutes later he returned, holding a large thick book.
The Citadel (Mirror World Book #2) Page 14
