“Altameda’s in the Free Lands,” I offered. “I’ll provide a portal for anyone who wants to come.”
“Accepted,” Ehkiller echoed. “How’s that cost analysis?”
“According to the input values, the cost of holding a tournament is assessed at between 300 and 420 million gold. Prizes and rewards are not included in the cost analysis.”
“What would we have to do to submit a request to hold a tournament like this?” The calm voice of Phoenix’s leader did not suggest that he would regret parting with such an astronomical amount.
“The request has been drafted. Please confirm it.”
“So what’s next?” Making several passes with his hands, Ehkiller first looked at me, then at Anastaria, who had arranged herself in her chair to more comfortably observe this expenditure of crazy sums of money. Stacey barely managed to shrug her shoulders before a shimmering portal appeared beside us. Even hobgoblins couldn’t restrict a Herald from doing his job.
“The Emperor wishes to see you!”
Chapter Two. Unforeseen Difficulties
Residents of Kalragon! In three weeks’ time, the Phoenix and Legends of Barliona clans shall hold a tournament to determine the best players of our continent. This tournament’s winners shall defend the honor of Kalragon at the global inter-clan competitions. During the preparatory period for the tournament — and until its conclusion — Free Citizens shall no longer be permitted to kill other Free Citizens! The tournament shall be held in the Free Lands. Free tele-transportation shall be provided by the sponsoring clans: Phoenix and the Legends of Barliona. Become the best! Enter the tournament and show your worth! Information about the various contests and categories will be posted to the official Barliona site in four days. Make sure to check the news!
The enormous system notification blotted out everything in sight, including Ehkiller’s pensive face.
“I’m assuming it’s too late to back out of this?” he asked the Emperor who was looking majestically down on us from his throne. Once every blue moon, the audience seems to take place in the palace’s throne room instead of the typical round table of the Emperor’s study. I’m not even sure if I should consider this an honor or not. As soon as we appeared before the Emperor, he asked us if we were sure about our decision and, receiving our affirmation, sent the above message to the entire continent. And yet, he’d never said anything about blocking PvP mode, and this condition came as a sudden and very unpleasant surprise to us.
“You can always back out,” Naahti replied. “Even despite the fact that the continent’s residents have already been notified of the upcoming event. Judging by your shocked faces, you have some doubts. What are they?”
“The Tomb of the Creator,” Anastaria replied cautiously, carefully choosing her words. “There are other players from the other continents sailing in our direction. Their objective is straightforward — they want to take away our right to be the first to complete the Tomb and solve the mystery of the Ergreis. Now, with this condition you’ve set, we’ve effectively lost our ability to defend the Tomb from the other Free Citizens, which was why Ehkiller inquired about the possibility of calling off the tournament. We weren’t ready for this.”
“I have spoken my word and my word is not subject to revision,” the Emperor clattered off implacably. “All duels between the Free Citizens have been blocked until the culmination of the tournament. Sooner or later, the mystery of the Ergreis will be solved and it doesn’t matter who’ll do it — you or the newcomers. The power of the Ergreis is so great that we cannot afford to send favorites or unworthy sentients to face it. Only the truly mighty Free Citizens will be able to deal with the secret of the crystal — anyone else will be annihilated, along with all of Barliona and all its continents. I can still cancel the tournament — you only need to request it. Do you truly wish this?”
Ehkiller and Naahti locked eyes and froze in place. The air between the clan leader and the Emperor seemed so charged that if any sentient stumbled between them, I imagine it would be sent to respawn immediately regardless of whether it was player or NPC. The heavy gazes of the two self-assured administrators would have destroyed it in a blink of an eye.
“We would be happy to arrange the tournament!” Ehkiller gave up after an eternity that lasted an entire minute. The icy glow vanished from the Emperor’s eyes and the head of Malabar added:
“I knew that I could count on you. As for the Tomb, consider how you can safeguard it without resorting to force. It’s not up to me to tell you that any problem could be solved in a number of ways and the forceful approach is not always the best way out of a difficult situation. The prohibition against combat will cover all the Free Citizens, regardless of their territorial origin. But enough about the Tomb. Since we’ve decided that the tournament will go on, I’d like to discuss the concessions that the Phoenix clan expects to receive for rendering such an enormous service to the Empire.”
“Not just Phoenix,” Ehkiller corrected the Emperor. “There are two clans organizing this tournament…”
After thirty minutes of negotiations, I understood only that I had ceased to understand anything at all. Ehkiller bartered and haggled with the Emperor like a cook at a market, and Naahti for his part didn’t budge an inch, wringing his hands and complaining that Phoenix was trying to bankrupt his Empire. Literally a few minutes ago, they were ready to incinerate each other with their eyes, playing the parts of spoiled princesses who look down proudly on this poor world, but as soon as it came to eking out an extra gold piece, it was like Ehkiller and Naahti had been replaced by two strangers.
“I have an idea,” Ehkiller said suddenly, smirking at my bored face. What else could I do? I simply wasn’t very interested in what province could help us with what resources, in what amounts, how the logistics would be arranged, what bonuses were best exacted from Kartoss, what villages and even towns would be handed over to our control, what percentages from the selling of attributes would trickle to our treasury…This just wasn’t in my wheelhouse! “In order to make our discussion more productive, I suggest we invite Serart — the treasurer of the Legends of Barliona — as well as someone from Kartoss. I’m sure that the Dark Lord’s representatives, or perhaps he himself, would be happy to discuss how to organize the tournament. As for Anastaria and Mahan…I suggest we let them go. Negotiations aren’t really their cup of tea.”
“Agreed,” the Emperor said, and several moments later the Heralds had delivered Mr. Kristowski to the main hall, while a Magister of Kartoss emerged triumphantly from his portal. The preparations for the tournament began to burble with renewed force.
“What’ll we do about the Tomb?” Anastaria asked pensively as soon as the Herald had delivered us to Phoenix’s castle. “Surely we’re not going to defend it using NPCs? Suggestions?”
“Well,” I muttered, “unfortunately nothing’s coming to me except for the most obvious and simplest option.”
“What’s that?”
“Since PvP is blocked for everyone, then no player will be able to squeeze through a tight wall of other players. It’s one of those situations where a crowd of newbies can stop a crowd of Level 400s. The important thing is to hold the line and block any flying. The entrance to the Tomb is pretty small, so we can hire some minnows, arrange them in several chains and make them work in shifts. The downside is we’ll have to arrange a round the clock watch. And plus we’ll need some device that jams flying…which they could break, so we’ll also need…”
“Daniel, you’re a genius!” Anastaria interrupted me happily. She jumped up and began to pace back and forth with undisguised impatience. “I’ll work out the details and we’ll find the right people either in our clan or from dad’s, I’ll talk to Serart this very day. Damn it! This really is the simplest option and, what’s stranger, the most obvious one! Even the Emperor was hinting at it! This is what happens when you get used to playing at the higher levels. All right, we’ve settled this issue then. I’ll set up the guar
ds this very day. Send me an invite to the Legends. It’s no good when the husband and wife are in different clans.”
Player Anastaria has joined the Legends of Barliona. Current rank: Deputy Head.
“Congratulations on your return, ” Plinto instantly wrote in the clan chat. “Are you going to be here for a while, or are you just stopping by for another fling?”
“Baby, I’m planning on going to see my trainers and teachers, and then I have to go see Nashlazar,” Anastaria went on, leaving the Rogue’s quip without a reply. Adjusting her already perfectly-arranged hair, Stacey embraced me, placed her head on my chest, shut her eyes in pleasure and forced me to embrace her.
“What do you think — can the teachers wait a half hour?” I asked her in a hushed voice. Despite the time we had spent together in the game as well as in reality, when Stacey was so close to me, my breathing locked up treacherously, my head filled with noise, and a warmth spilled out in my chest, filling my whole being.
Quest completed: ‘Tight-knit family. Step 1.’ Speak to the High Priestess of Eluna to receive your reward and the next step in the quest chain.
“How about later tonight, Dan?” Stacey gave me a cunning glance and slipping playfully from my embrace. “I just knew that there’s no reason to wait all thirty days! It’s enough to prove that we’re together again. Shall we go see Elsa tonight?”
“So that was all for the quest?” I almost choked from outrage, but Anastaria instantly reappeared in my embrace, her hazel eyes shining in triumph from yet another victory.
“I love you too, my darling,” she meowed in my ear, giving it a nibble in the process. “Will you drop me off at the Paladin’s training grounds? In the evening I promise to suffer my deserved punishment!”
Grudgingly fulfilling Stacey’s wish and still upset by her trick, I decided to busy myself with chores. Since I’d been so suddenly promoted in levels, it makes sense to find out what this gives me. The time had come to become a real Shaman.
“Hi, Fleita! What’re you up to?” I began by contacting my student to determine her progress. Something told me that if I show up in front of Kornik or Prontho without this quest, I’ll get an earful.
You cannot communicate with your student telepathically without first establishing a private bond.
WHAT?! I sent the request to Fleita again and again, but received the same answer over and over again — our telepathy was blocked. The system didn’t tell me that my student wasn’t in the game — it told me that I wasn’t allowed to speak with her without an amulet! How was this possible? Coming to grips with the futility of making further attempts to contact the Shaman, I decided to ask Kornik to explain what was going on…
You cannot communicate with your teacher telepathically without first establishing a private bond.
It’s a good thing that this here wall is right here so I can lean against it in my shock. I’m sure that the spectacle of a Shaman Harbinger collapsing to the ground with his face contorted in amazement would make the rounds on the Barliona forums. My telepathy had been blocked!
“Stacey?!” Panicking, I sent a thought to Anastaria.
“What happened?” came Stacey’s immediate reply and I relaxed a little. Only now did I notice that I had tensed up like a coiled spring in expectation of the answer. Even though everything had worked fine just that morning, the Corporation could easily put an end to something like telepathy whenever it felt like it.
“Hmm…Never mind, I thought the Corp had blocked my Shamanic powers…!”
“Not all of them. I get the impression that all the undocumented features that we’ve been using before the update have been disabled now. For instance, I can’t speak with Eluna without first getting permission from the Priests or simply asking them to do it for me. Despite the status, a warrior of the goddess isn’t supposed to speak to her directly. I’m sitting here trying to figure it out as we speak. What about you?”
“So far all I’ve discovered is that I can’t speak with my student or my teacher. I’ll start testing everything else.”
“Let me know what you find tonight ,” said Anastaria and disconnected. Here I discovered that even the act of disconnection was now so palpable that I had even gritted my teeth: Before the update, Anastaria’s thoughts would appear in my mind suddenly and leave it just as unexpectedly, but now it seemed like everything was happening according to strict protocol: ‘Do you wish to speak with your second half?’ ‘Your second half has terminated your conversation. Please rate your telepathic exchange…’ What’s that Corporation up to with this update?
I made my way to the shamanic training ground and opened the Spirit summoning interface. My heart skipped a beat. The panel was empty. Entirely empty. All eight quick slots were utterly bare, as if I’d never used them before! The spellbook icon was blinking conspicuously, drawing my attention. A bad premonition — I opened the spellbook and cursed one more time. At the moment, I could only summon two Minor Spirits — of healing and of lightning. And that’s it! Even though I was still learning an enormous number of summons, the spellbook contained nothing at all.
“Our failing apprentice has decided to honor our humble abode?” Kornik’s wry voice sounded beside me, forcing me to look up from the book. “What doth his Harbingerness require of us?”
“Teacher,” I bowed my head deferentially, slipping on the mask of the student. “Please explain to me what has happened with my powers?”
“What about them?” the goblin asked with mock surprise. It was obvious that he knew what was going on.
“I can’t get in touch with my student, I can’t get in touch with you, I don’t have any…” Patiently and methodically, I began to itemize all the ‘bugs’ I had encountered up till now. Perhaps they were ‘features,’ if you looked at them in the right light.
“Of course you can’t get in touch with us,” smirked Kornik. “Have you established a private bond with me or your student? Nope. Did you inscribe the Spirits you were taught into your spellbook? Nope. Did you do any of what every other ordinary Shaman does at all? I’ll give you one chance to guess the answer. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have no idea what your student is doing at this very moment. ‘Oh woe is me! I can’t reach her telepathically!’ How about just calling her on the old amulet? And you call yourself a teacher..! Be thankful that you still have the power to jump all over Kalragon like some interdimensional flea. I’d take that away from you too, were it up to me. How can you summon Spirits if you give no thought to your elemental? The Supreme Spirit of Water doesn’t even remember you anymore. No — things can’t go on like this. You, my remedial student, will have to learn how to be a true Shaman instead of the strange paradox you were before the Cataclysm. It doesn’t do after all to go about summoning Rank 50 Spirits while still at Rank 1.”
“If I had done everything like an ordinary Shaman, I would’ve never become Harbinger.” I wasn’t about to let this NPC berate me unanswered. “According to you I’m not acting like an ordinary Shaman? So what? Every Shaman has his own Way, and I have traveled mine to its end. According to you, the Supreme Water Spirit’s forgotten about me? Do the Shamans have rules that they must follow in their practice of shamanism? Or is there some ideal Shaman out there somewhere that I have to compare myself to? The Shaman I was before the Cataclysm is a very real Shaman! If someone wants to destroy him in some manner, then I’d prefer to hear the truth, so do me a favor and quit telling me this nonsense. I’ve heard plenty of that over the last few months.”
“Oh, oh, you’re scaring me!” Kornik continued to mock me. “He doesn’t like nonsense, he’s so no nonsense — no sir, no nonsense for him! You’re my student! If I tell you that you need to relearn something, then that’s what you have to do. It doesn’t make sense to do whatever you like and then later scour the Free Lands in search of a problem you should’ve solved months ago. You have to be like everyone else and follow the rules!”
“Geranika offered a deal,” sounded Prontho’s vo
ice behind my back. I turned and bowed my head respectfully before the head of the Shaman Council. I guess it’s some holiday today because it’s not every day that you see the head of the Council outside of his office. “He agreed to destroy the Heart of Chaos if Eluna and Tartarus adjusted the abilities of all Free Citizens to conform with the standards of their chosen classes — that is, to the main class template. The Battle of Armard demonstrated to Geranika how unpredictable the Free Citizens could be, so he decided to do this.”
“And the gods agreed to this?” I asked surprised. As I recall it, Renox was supposed to sacrifice himself in order to destroy the Heart of Chaos. Did the Corporation really revise this scenario? What did they not like about nonstandard players? The entire game was built on our shoulders after all! The most interesting part of Barliona was the option to improvise some unexpected power or solution. Maybe the Corp had gotten tired of constantly correcting the scenarios to account for all the things we came up with?
“Don’t you see the consequences?” Prontho raised an eyebrow inquisitively, managing thereby to demonstrate his immense dissatisfaction with my all too obvious question.
“But why?” I sighed, trying to ignore the orc’s reaction. “Why do the gods want the Free Citizens to be…average?”
Prontho didn’t bother to give me an answer. Turning triumphantly and losing all interest in me, the head of the Shaman Council headed toward the only building on the training ground. Our audience had ended.
“Kornik?” Realizing that I shouldn’t expect anything more from the orc, I turned on the goblin.
Clans War Page 4
