The Kartoss Gambit (The Way of the Shaman: Book #2)

by Vasily Mahanenko

  "Enter into the temple, my son. This isn't the place to talk of such things."

  There was nothing interesting inside the temple. There was the altar with the depiction of a rather chubby Vlast, whose bleary-eyes gaze stared into empty space, and a couple of benches. That's it. The place was totally Spartan. The priest went behind the altar, took two cups from somewhere and handed me one of them.

  "Vlasts' commandments do not permit one to start a conversation without wine passing one's lips first," the priest said in lofty tones. "I see that there's a reason that you asked me about the night monster," he began as soon as we had drunk a couple of draughts. It was ordinary wine and did not give any stat bonuses — just a 'slightly tipsy' debuff after drinking it. "I can see that this trouble has not passed you by. Yes, there is trouble in our land. People don't like talking about it and everyone's pretending that nothing's happened. You've seen the claw marks on the gates, yes? The Headman had to make up a story, saying that he was the one that scratched them on — just to calm the villagers down. But every seven days the claw marks appear again. It's just as well that the local kids got it into their heads that they are the ones getting up to this, so people stopped worrying. And the fact that every seventh night either a cow or a sheep disappears from the common herd — everyone blames the wolves for that. But no-one gives a thought about how wolves would get through closed gates. The whole village is surrounded by a solid stockade, which not even a mouse would squeeze through. Only the Headman and his sons know the truth, since they spend nights trying to catch the elusive beast. It's been evading them for two years now and they've only glimpsed the monster's red eyes a couple of times. From afar. Your help would be invaluable. Would you take this on? If you could at least find out what beast it is that roams Beatwick, you would receive an ample reward.

  Quest available: 'Night terror of the village'

  Description: Once every seven days a monster roams Beatwick, which brings trouble and destruction to the residents. Find out who is the night terror of the village. Quest type: Rare. Reward: +400 to Reputation with the Krong Province, +500 Experience, +80 Silver coins, a Rare item from Headman's Stores. Penalty for failing/refusing the quest: -400 to Reputation with the Krong Province.

  "I'll take it. I'll find out who is hiding under the guise of the beast," I accepted. Now it all became clear. The beast's properties could not be seen, because that was the nature of the quest. So it looks like I'll have to find out about it the normal way and not the one that only players could use. All right, I'll postpone this matter for a week, when it is time for the hunt once again. Our first meeting with the beast ended with its complete victory, but we'll see how things go from here.

  "Thank you, Mahan! If you need help, you can ask for it straight away," the priest thanked me and I headed for the village. It was now time to collect my dropped cash and go wolf hunting. There was levelling up to be done.

  Chapter Two

  Wolves and Other Things

  "When did you manage to get out?" asked Elizabeth as soon as I stepped into the courtyard. "I thought you were having a lie-in until noon, but it looks like you're quite an early bird."

  "I thought I'd take a walk," I said, side-stepping the question, reluctant to bring up the monster. "I decided not to wake anyone, climbed over the fence and went to check out the local surroundings."

  "How did you avoid getting mauled by Tiny Tim?" she asked in surprise.

  "Tiny Tim?"

  "Our dog. We let him out into the courtyard every evening. He's been taught not to jump over the fence, but he won't let any strangers into the courtyard either. That's him sitting over there, see?" Elizabeth pointed to the far end of the courtyard, where Tiny Tim was living inside an enclosure, the meter-high wolfhound that he was. He was growling quietly and giving me a decidedly unfriendly look. Where were you, my friend, when I was being sent for the respawn? Probably sitting in your little hole and sniggering at my expense. I suddenly had a feeling that I really had to 'have a chat' with Tiny Tim. It was silly, of course, but since my initiation as a Shaman I have made a habit of trusting any sudden hunches.

  "Can I get to know him a little better?" I looked questioningly at my landlady.

  "Of course, just don't tease him. It would take him just a couple of bites to rip through the wire, I don't want any trouble. Our Tiny Tim is well-trained and shouldn't attack without good reason, but it's best not to tempt fate."

  I assured Elizabeth that I wouldn't do anything to the dog and walked up to his enclosure. Looking around to make sure we wouldn't be disturbed, I squatted and looked straight into the wolfhound's eyes. I couldn't explain why I did this, but felt that this was the right thing to do. Giving off a quiet growl, Tiny Tim came right up to the wire. I was hit by a pungent animal smell. We stared into each other's eyes for a couple of seconds and then suddenly...

  The rest of the world went grey, became covered with a mist and a ringing silence surrounded me. It was as if someone turned off all sound with a wave of the hand. A shadow separated itself from Tiny Tim and walked right through the wire as if it wasn't there. The dog's shadow walked at a relaxed pace around the courtyard, like it owned the place. I looked at the real Tiny Tim. He looked at himself, eyes wide, mouth open and tongue hanging out. He was the embodiment of doggy surprise. At this moment the dog phantom took a couple of steps and then suddenly cowered to the ground, tail between his legs, and began to backtrack. I never thought that dogs could backtrack, especially with their stomach to the ground. I could be mistaken, but weren't they not supposed be able to do that? All right, we'll write it off as the whim of the developers. The phantom crawled through the closed door of the enclosure, made his way to the dog-house and when his back was against it seemed to try to dig himself into the ground.

  "Did something frighten you?" I asked quietly. My voice sounded like a thunder clap. What could have made such an enormous dog run away in fear and try to dig itself into a hole?

  Something mist-covered and formless appeared next to the dog. For a couple of moments it loomed over him and then suddenly this silent drama was broken by the squealing of the real Tiny Tim. The wolfhound fell to the ground, tail between his legs, covered his face with his paws, made a puddle and generally looked so scared that I involuntarily drew back, stumbled and fell on my backside. The darkness around us dissipated and the dog's squealing was joined by the noises of the surrounding world.

  Update of the 'Night Terror of the Village' quest.

  The monster that roams Beatwick by night terrifies even the largest and most vicious dogs. Keep this in mind during your search.

  "What are you doing to Tiny Tim?" Clouter appeared next to me. "He's scared of you! Go away! Mr. Slate was right — you're a warlock! Don't be afraid Tiny Tim, I won't let him hurt you," Clouter put himself between me and the enclosure and looked ready to fight for his dog.

  I had little desire to explain anything to this small NPC, so I got up and went to the summer house. As I guessed, my gold was behind the bed. I automatically threw it into my bag and lay down on the bed. The wolves won't be going anywhere and now I really had to give the forum and the manual a thorough read. The place where I ended up was becoming very interesting and I had no intention of playing the hero and trying to find out the monster's secret all by myself.

  Let's think. What does a search for 'Beatwick' give us?

  Let's look in the manual first. It's a village on the border of the Empire, Krong Province. I already know that. Number of residents, livestock and other NPC statistics do not interest me, next. Yes, there we go. The Headman died recently in Beatwick. Cause of death remains unknown. He was replaced by the Farstead industrial association representative. There are no quests linked to Beatwick residents.

  The last sentence left me dumbfounded. According to the manual there were no quests in the village. As it stands, I had already collected two: 'Night Terror of the Village' and 'The Hunt for Grey Death'. Something wasn't tallying here.

&n
bsp; I made a search for the quest titles. Right, such quests do exist. However, their description made me think: 'Variable quest, not linked to a particular location.' So, there are no quests, and yet they do exist. That's just stupid. To the manual again. Search: 'Variable quest.' Description: a quest given out by an NPC depending on your progress within the scenario.

  Now I became totally confused. What scenario? Why would there be a playable scenario in Beatwick, a village in the middle of nowhere? There aren't even any players around here to do that.

  Right, moving on to the forum. What can we find out about 'Beatwick'? The forum also offered little comfort. My search came up with only one message that was over a year old:

  'Stupid village! In the middle of nowhere, gryphons don't fly there, the portal to the nearest town costs a grand in gold! The devs have gone batshit crazy setting such prices! In Farstead I got a quest to deliver a package to the Headman. I spent two days on a cart, that's just nuts! I even logged out for that time. Right, so I got there and delivered it. I decided to have a look around at night, and it was bad enough that you can put your eye out it's so dark here, the village is being roamed by a Vagren. A level hundred one! And I'm only at thirty! I couldn't even hit him. He dodged all my attacks, the bastard! My advice to you: it's a waste of time. I had a look around the village by day and there wasn't one quest to be had! What's the point of villages like that if there's nothing to do here for real players? One good thing is that I've done the quest and got some rep with the Province.

  BTW, the Headman has a cute daughter! But she won't fall for flowers or presents. Daft NPC!"

  A new search, this time in the manual:

  Vagren. A type of Werewolf that keeps its consciousness after a shape-change. A Vagren can change his appearance any time at will, independent of the phases of the Moon. It is one of the few races that cannot be chosen by players. Race characteristics: faster movement when in Vagren form, ability to cause fits of panic in dogs, + (Level) to armour due to thick hide. The appearance of a Vagren is provided in the illustration.

  I was looking at a tall humanoid dog, or rather, a wolf. The paw-like hands ended in four great claws that looked the same as those I saw last night. So there's a Vagren roaming Beatwick, is there? Then Tiny Tim's reaction was understandable. A panic attack is no laughing matter, especially if you're looking at a hundred-level werebeast. It's a pity that I can't go straight to the priest and share the information I just obtained. He would simply be unable to hear me, even if I was shouting in his ear: the quest hasn't been completed, so you can't hand it in. Never mind. I have a week to think of some way to catch this fleabag. My revenge for the respawn will be terrible.

  As I left the house I glanced at Tiny Tim. He had now recovered and was rampaging around with Clouter. Having allowed himself to be mounted, Tiny Tim ran around the enclosure like a veteran racing horse and Clouter was laughing at the top of his lungs, grabbing his ears like reigns.

  "What to do with him!" a stout woman that came out of the house threw her hands up in resignation. Judging by the kitchen apron she was the local cook. "He's making a horse out of the dog again! Marianna! Go calm your brother down, before he breaks his neck," she shouted inside the house. I didn't stay to see how it all ended and quickly headed out of the village.

  If I understood the Headman correctly, the wolves appeared in the forest not far from the grazing herds. That's where I needed to go.

  My initial wolf-hunting impulse petered out after about three hours. I haven't come across a single wolf, even of the mangy, sickly kind. Finding nothing better to do I started killing anything that moved. A level two grasshopper? A Lightning Spirit on you! A three-level toad? Got one for you as well! There was no experience at all or even loot to be had from this and these animals didn't even count towards the 'Bane of the Animal World' achievement. But to stave off boredom I continued to repeatedly terrorise the surrounding insects. Oh, there's a mouse running there. Just hold on, I'll get you now!

  Damage taken. Hit Points reduced by 220: 450 (Arrow hit) — 230 (Physical defence). Total Hit Points: 420 of 680.

  Despite the excruciating pain in my shoulder, I dropped to the ground and rolled sideways. The place where I initially fell was immediately hit by another arrow. What the hell?

  I kept tumbling, without even looking where I headed, and hit a small tree. Ignoring the fact that I lost some Hit Points from the collision, I rolled behind the tree and caught my breath. Phew! Now I could breathe and look about. Nice wolves roam around Beatwick — ones with an arrow-shooting habit. I had no time or inclination to look through the logs (it would become clear who was attacking me soon enough), so I took out my Tambourine and summoned a Healing Spirit, replenishing my Hit Points. Now I was ready for a fight.

  A minute went by that seemed like eternity, but no more arrows came. Could this be it? I lifted myself over the grass and had a look around. Silence, not a soul to be seen. So where did this strange shooter come from? And, most importantly, who was it?

  The reply came in the form of an arrow that hit me right in the chest. What the ...!

  Critical damage sustained. Hit Points reduced by 670: 900 (Critical Arrow Hit) — 230 (Physical defence). Total Hit Points: 10 of 680.

  I fell to the ground like a sack and fitfully gasped for breath. That hurt a lot! If I get hold of the bastard, I'll tear him limb from limb! At least I didn't have to take the arrow out: it had already vanished from this world, leaving only a memory in the form of pain behind. I summoned two Healing Spirits, getting myself back to full Hit Points, and stayed quiet. This clearly wasn't a player attacking me, since no message appeared telling me that I was being attacked by a PK-er. So it looked like some mob was out looking for fun. Well, we'll see who has a latent death wish in Barliona. A mob can't sit long on one spot; it really must go and see the result of its shots. Imitators, what do you expect? Stupid and predictable. The main thing was to lay low until that time. Although, truth be told, he's a good shot, the bastard. Nearly killed me! I even had my Endurance go up to level 11. So much for my worries about levelling up. Yeah right. All I had to do was wander some distance away from the village: I'd be hit by more than my fill of levelling up.

  I didn't have to wait for long. Five minutes later I heard soft steps, sliding quietly over the grass. Well, well, you wannabe-Legolas. Just wander over for a chat. I was lying with my face to the ground, afraid to stir. The main thing was to get the mob to come as close to me as possible and then we'd see if this archer was much of a warrior. An NPC wouldn't fire a finishing shot at me, the scripts wouldn't allow it, and he wouldn't be able to use his bow up close. I learned all this very well when I was playing my Hunter. If this stranger had all his stat points in Agility, judging by how he managed to critical me, he shouldn't be much of a close combat fighter. And I'll use that against him...

  The footsteps stopped right by my head. That's it, whatever it is — it's here. I was about to jump, when I was checked by the painfully familiar 'aroma' coming from my opponent. It smelled of sweat, dung and some sort of musk. A dark goblin! Any player who had ever made a raid into Kartoss would never forget this pungent smell of the main fighting troops of the Dark Lord. But what was one of them doing in Krong? He'd have to walk almost the entire Empire to get here!

  The goblin standing next to me muttered something in his 'dark' language, sounding annoyed and clearly surprised that no pile of money was lying next to me. He grumbled thus for a little while and turned around to walk away! It's time! I jumped to my feet, selected the surprised-looking red-eyed minion in front of me and summoned a Lightning Spirit. Take that, you green-mugged bastard!

  Damage inflicted. 209: 555 (Lightning Spirit Damage) /2.14 (Opponent Level /Character Level) — 50 (Inner resistance to Spirits)

  So this green piece of slime is level thirty, too! Never mind, we've beaten bigger goons than you into a pulp — the main thing was not to let him get away far enough to shoot. As if hearing my thoughts the goblin gave a sh
out and started to make tracks fast. Where do you think you're going? Getting a better grip on my Tambourine, I went after the dark minion — like in the good old times, when I tried to make it into Kartoss by myself. Although that time I was the one running, with the Wild Pack at my heels — the main fighting force of the Dark Empire pitted against the players. They did get me in the end. I just couldn't run and at the same time take aim and shoot at three-hundred level-mobs. Now, however, I had one big advantage in that I could summon Lightning Spirits as I ran. The main thing is to keep an eye on Energy, while I'm singing them songs.

  The Goblin went into the forest, trying to choose hard-to-reach places. Being small, he slid under the branches very easily, which was no simple task for me. The tree branches would not just knock the breath out of me, taking off my Energy, but hit me in the face, competing with the goblin in reducing my Hit Points. Before he reached the trees I managed to get that pointy-eared menace almost down to zero, but his life bar, though flashing red, refused to disappear. I saw that I would never catch up with the goblin inside such a forest and stood every chance to lose him, so I stopped and started to summon a Lightning Spirit. I needed just three seconds to...

  The arrival of an arrow again took 220 Hit Points off me. Oh no, you're not getting away with it this time, you bastard! Take that! The last words of the song about the Shaman flew off my lips, the goblin yelped and his frame went grey. At last!

  Experience gained: +200 Experience, points remaining until next level: 1001.

  Skill increase:

  +5% to Intellect. Total: 23%.

  Achievement earned!

  The Defender of the Empire level 1 (19 Kartoss minion kills until the next level).