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

by Vasily Mahanenko

  "My first question..." the woodwothe began, but I brazenly interrupted it. I've had it with all their riddles!

  The Shaman has three hands...

  That's for the mosquitoes. They could have eaten me alive!

  "Stop, Shaman! What are you doing?" the woodwothe began to wail, dropping its question.

  ... and behind his back a wing...

  That's for the leeches. It was bad enough that it forced me to dive into the green sludge, but it decided to sprinkle some leeches on top. What if I had a phobia?

  "This is against the rules!" Yeah, yeah, scream all you like. Boil over in indignation. I could use those extra couple of seconds.

  ... from the heat upon his breath...

  How about them crocodiles? They may not have given me all that much trouble, but that's only because I switched on my brain and thought better of jumping in the water. I dread to think what would have happened if I failed to listen to my inner voice.

  "Let's strike a deal!" Ah, so the woodwothe likes to bargain, eh?"

  ... shining candle-fire springs.

  And that's for the 'ninja turtle'. One Spirit won't do for that one, I think three would be just about right.

  "Mercy! I'll offer you a ransom for my life," the wothe's voice was getting hoarse now. And little wonder — it only had ten Hit Points left. I'd be able to finish it off with my Mallet, if need be. It had no business springing itself on an angry Shaman. It's a sure way to get itself swatted. Wanted me to answer riddles, eh? A couple of Lightning Spirits and all the riddles solve themselves.

  "Do you swear that you wouldn't do me any harm in either thought or deed?" I asked the wothe, kneeling down. The strangest thing, I still had forty points of Energy left, but I felt the entire weight of the world on my shoulders. "Well?" I growled, seeing the wothe go quiet. It won't do to go into shut-down without finishing it off. "If the answer's 'no', your fate is your own choice. The Shaman has three..."

  "I swear!" shouted the hairy something and, a moment before losing consciousness, I felt the heaviness leave me. But I didn't care anymore. I was tired and had to rest...

  I came to myself, judging by the timer, only ten hours later. The peacefully sleeping mountain that was the Turtle, disappeared. It probably doesn't like sleeping in the open air. I turned around and under the lone tree saw the round hairy something, which put me to sleep for so long. It had no feet or head or eyes. It was a practically round fur-ball.

  "Awake now?" like a balloon the wothe was gently floating above the ground.

  "Awake." I confirmed sullenly. "What did you hit me with?"

  "The spell of forgetfulness. I didn't think that you would attack straight away. I thought you'd first try to solve the riddle, give yours brains a good run-around, but that's not the way things ended up. I turned out to be unprepared. What did you come here for? There's nothing here except me and the mosquitoes."

  "Well, I haven't dropped in for tea, exactly. I was told that Swiftbel buried his treasure here. That's what I came for. No point it going to waste."

  "Aahhhh! You're a seeker! I nearly thought you were some villain up to no good. I guess the sisters sent you here. What on earth did you do to them to get sent to a sure death?"

  "Death?"

  "Of course. You don't think I'll just hand the treasure over to you? I haven't been guarding it all these years to give it up to random strangers. And don't look at me like that. You should have killed me right away, when you had the chance. Now I prepared myself. You can, try, of course, but in that case my oath not to do you any harm will become void."

  "I see. So there's no chance for me to make it out of here alive?"

  "What the heck do I need you for? You can go as you please. You may even stay here, you're not in my way. You wouldn't find the treasure anyway, nor would you get the better of me."

  "Hang on. You said that you were prepared to bargain for your life. Did you not?" I waited for the wothe to give a snort of agreement and then continued, "then I would trade your life for the treasure."

  "You think you're so damn clever? It won't work. Swiftbel put me under a ward. I cannot hand over the treasure even on the pain of death. I can only give it to him or to his friend. As far as the bargain goes, in place of death I grant you the opportunity to speak to me. I would even answer your questions. Not all of them, of course, but some.

  "Well, I am the friend," if the ransom idea didn't work, I will try to get it out of the wothe by other means.

  "You can't be the friend. Swiftbel hid the treasure forty years ago, when you weren't even a twinkle in your parent's eyes," you could feel it smile, pleased at its own joke. Does this mean that the treasure was hidden even before Barliona was launched? This is a sign that this is a quest prepared in advance, rather than being a randomly generated one based on the player's actions. That's good to know. Such quests bring 'tastier' rewards. All that's left now is to get my hands on these 'tasties'. Perhaps I should take the risk and try fighting it again? I just have to summon five Lightning Spirits... Will there be time?

  "Besides, I remember Swiftbel's friend very well," continued the wothe. "You don't look anything like him."

  Didn't work. Fine, we'll try a different approach.

  "Tell me honestly, haven't you got tired of sitting here? After all, you're a wothe of the wood, not the bog. To be stuck for forty years all alone, guarding the treasure that you've never even seen... Isn't all this rather silly?"

  "What do you mean — not seen the treasure? I look at it every day," asked the wothe in surprise, but something in its voice seemed off. I had to dig deeper.

  "And what do you see? A closed chest? Are you even sure there's treasure in it? Maybe the only treasure is the chest itself! Did you even once look inside? I can bet that you haven't."

  "But... Swiftbel said that..." said the wothe, now sounding not so certain. I had to finish it off, for sure. I just wanted a glimpse at what I came here for — if it's worth it, I may even attack the wothe for it.

  "You believed a merchant? It's practically in his job description: deceive everyone to get more profit. How did he persuade you to guard the treasure?"

  "He didn't. It was his friend, whom I just could not refuse. Few could have refused that one," the wothe hesitated a few moments and then asked: "Are you sure there is no treasure there?"

  "Of course! Do people visit you often? If the treasure was real, the bog would have been overrun by other free citizens. Do you see many of those?"

  "You're the first. Usually some common folk turned up. One time Mabel sent her husband, she probably got tired of living with him."

  "By the way, how do you know the old ladies? They don't seem to be the type to make friends with a woodwothe," I just couldn't see how this local wonder became acquainted with template-NPC old ladies from Farstead. They are so ordinary that were even made from the same prototype. Or is there something more behind their resemblance? Could the conditions of the quest really state that Mabel and Patricia must send players to the wothe for certain death? You could say that they formed a criminal association with the local evil entity! It just doesn't seem like them at all.

  "I know this through Swiftbel. They are his sisters."

  So that's how the old women knew about the treasure! And I almost began to think badly of them.

  "You're really getting me confused here," the wothe finally decided. "What if I really am guarding an empty chest? That would be scandalous! I'll become the laughing stock of the wothian assembly!"

  "Then let's have a look at what's in the chest. Maybe there isn't much sense of being stuck here anymore. It's not like I want to waste my time on an empty chest — they can find another fool for that."

  Skill increase:

  +20% to Charisma. Total: 60%.

  The wothe disappeared for a few seconds and then re-appeared, saying in a pleased tone:

  "How could I doubt a man like Swiftbel? Way to go with egging me on! The treasure does exist, how could it not? Its value i
s such that crowds of knights would risk their heads just for a chance to get it."

  "What is it, then?" I wasn't counting on this when I was trying to get the wothe to peek inside the chest. I thought it would get the chest out, open the lid and we'll both look inside. Now it seems I was the one that got fooled.

  "It's a treasure! As to what it is, that's none of your business," the wothe made a show of floating around me and then drifted off to the tree. "If you're done, I'll get some sleep now. Got tired faffing around with you here. If you decide to attack, don't bother waking me."

  Now it's mocking me. Going for a nap! Damn, can't even think of anything to ask it. Although...

  "By the way, why a bog? Could the treasure not have been hidden closer at hand? It seems stupid to drag a great chest all the way into the wilderness."

  "Swiftbel didn't drag it, as it happens. His friend brought the chest on him," replied the wothe, yawning.

  On him?

  "What do you mean 'on him'? Swiftbel's friend is a horse?"

  "Why does it have to be a horse..." the wothe floated up to me again. "Swiftbel's friend is no horse. He's a dragon! Just an ordinary dragon. For him flying over the bog is child's play."

  A dragon? From where? Few of these have been seen in the entire history of Barliona! For instance, I've never heard of a player who has or read any mention of this on the forums. And here you have some merchant flying around on a dragon!

  "How did Swiftbel end up with a dragon for a friend?" I asked, genuinely surprised.

  "This I don't know. Perhaps the sisters could give you a clue, they were very close with Swiftbel," the wothe yawned once again. "Come on, decide already. I want to sleep and you just can't make up your mind whether to attack me or not. The sooner we settle this, the sooner I'll get some sleep."

  Changes to the 'Searching for your Totem' quest. You managed to find out that Barliona's dragons are real and not a myth. Merchant Swiftbel had one of them as a friend. Find out from the merchant's sisters how he got a friend like that. If you fail to find this out, speak to the Shaman trainer.

  "Hold on. Does this mean that you have to hand the chest over either to Swiftbel or to a dragon? Either one or the other?"

  "All the dragons are one family. I could give the treasure to any of them. But not one of them has been seen in forty years."

  "Would you give it to him?" almost too anxious to breathe, I asked the woodwothe, and then said in my head:

  "Draco, hello. Would you like to play?"

  “To pway? I wike to pway. Do you pwomise that we pway? We didn't pway wast time."

  "We will, for sure. Come now."

  "To whom, 'him'?" chuckled the wothe, "It's not like you have a friend who's a Dra..." it didn't manage to finish, as a projection of a little dragon appeared next to me.

  The world froze. It was like someone flicked a switch and turned off all the bog sounds at once.

  "Hewwo. I came to your call," the high-pitched child's voice put an end to the silence that surrounded us.

  "My Lord!" I could be wrong, but judging by the wothe's look, it fell to its knees. If it had any.

  "Who's this? What's he doin'?" Draco looked at it in surprise.

  "He's just fooling around. Just imagine — before we could play hide and seek, we need to get hold of a chest. The wothe — that thing lying over there — has one, but doesn't want to give it up. It says it would only give it if a Dragon asks it. So, do you want to play hide-and-seek?"

  "Hide and feek! I wike hide and feek!" Draco even started spinning around me in anticipation of the fun. "Am I Dlagon?"

  "Yes, a Dragon."

  "Give me the chest," Draco looked at the wothe. And then added, "Pweese."

  "Yes, Lord," immediately a small — about knee-high — chest appeared next to the wothe. So that's what all the fuss is about! Could it contain a Legendary or an Epic item? That would be great!

  "And now we pway. Wothe, you with us?"

  "If you command, my Lord," the wothe showed no sign of getting up from the ground.

  "I command it. Pway with us. I'll be 'it'..."

  The hide-and-seek took us about two hours. The island turned out to have an abundance of hiding places — so much for me thinking of the tree as the only place to hide. Small hollows, stones, and even a burrow where the wothe lived — all could be used for hiding. I never touched the chest and Draco didn't ask why we weren't using it. He even tried it out as a hiding place, but the see-through tail always let me know that my Totem was behind the chest. At last Draco started to yawn and asked if he could go now. I had to promise that soon I would call him once again and we would continue the game.

  You have summoned your Totem: Because your Totem is still disembodied, the next summoning can only happen in 7 days' time.

  Ehh... And I was all set on continuing to play with Draco later today. But never mind. In seven days' time I'd be sure to summon him again.

  "So you have a dragon as a Totem," said the wothe when Draco disappeared. "It's been a long time since I've seen one of them. I even forgot what it feels like — when a Dragon is looking at you."

  "That's right. So can I take the treasure then?" I glanced at the chest that was still standing by the tree.

  "Yes, you can. My service had come to an end. I'll go back to the woods and seek out a dryad. Or a couple..." the wothe fell silent and, before disappearing, uttered: "The little turtle will wake up in a minute. I'm not controlling it any more. Good luck to you."

  In a minute? The teleportation scroll takes thirty seconds to activate. I had no idea how long it would take for the Turtle to get to the island (what if it decides to nibble on me some more), but I'd venture a guess that it's not long at all. This means...

  I ran to the chest and lifted the lid. So, where's my Legendary or Epic Item?

  Leara's Ball Gown. Description: "The world-famous beauty Leara took great pride in her wardrobe. The star of the collection was a special dress, the likes of which has not been seen in Barliona. A girl wearing this dress would become the owner of a truly unique object and would gladly fall into the arms of him who presented her this gift." Durability: unbreakable. If the item is presented to a female NPC: +100 to Attractiveness with that NPC. Item class: Unique, nothing like it exists in Barliona. Level requirements: none.

  'Don't wake the wothe in its snoose' Quest completed.

  I automatically threw the dress into my bag, took out a scroll of teleportation to Beatwick and activated it. While the portal was being formed, I had time to think that it's been a long while wince anyone had fooled me so beautifully.

  Chapter Five

  The Hunt for the Vagren

  The next day I bought some food from the trader and headed out for my work team. I have to supply them with rations for the next couple of days and should take some ore off them as well. By now they should have something to show for all that pick-swinging. Then I would drop by the Smithy and will start to level up in Smithing, what if a gem....

  "Hey Mahan," my thoughts were interrupted by a low and self-assured voice. "What are you doing here?"

  I looked around and saw no-one. What the...? Am I starting to hallucinate now?

  "Look up," said a breathtakingly beautiful female voice. I looked up and saw two griffins, silently flapping their wings above my head. Well I'll be... It took a lot of willpower to stay upright, as my legs became like rubber and I sincerely hoped that I didn't actually start to drool. Anastaria! And Hellfire with her! Both leaders of the Phoenix clan in person!

  "I'm in exile here," I somehow managed to get a grip on the awe that overwhelmed me and respond. "People, if it's not too much trouble, would you mind coming down? Looking up at you like this is doing my neck in."

  "Hel, this boy's cheeky," chuckled Anastaria.

  "Or maybe he has no idea who we are." "Let's land," Hellfire barely moved his hand and his griffin began to descend.

  I stood there, trying to suppress the shakes. Two top players of our continent wit
hin Barliona. Hellfire had a 340-level dwarf warrior and Anastaria, a 330-level human paladin. What on earth did they want with a 20-level player? They shouldn't even take any notice of someone like me...

  "Don't fret, we're not PK-ers," the paladin beauty's voice was simply divine! "If I understand correctly, you are one of the five prisoners that were the first to complete the Mushu Dungeon, correct?" with some effort, I forced myself to nod, following which Anastaria continued: "I'm Anastaria, this here is Hellfire. We represent the Phoenix clan, have you heard of it?"

  I took several deep breaths, gathered my thoughts and was finally able to come out with something other than groaning:

  "I know full well what Phoenix is and who Hellfire and Anastaria are: the two most levelled-up players from our continent, leaders of the most successful clan, winners of the intercontinental clan tournaments and holders of a mindboggling number of First Kills. If you took me for a complete noob, without any real interest in the game, you were mistaken."

  "Great! Then we can go straight to business," Hellfire stopped examining the scenery and turned to me. "You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here? What does this 'exile' mean? Since when do 'red riding hoods' get exiled?"

  I briefly told them the main points of the law, which required the first six months of the sentence to be served either at a mine or in a settlement."

  "So you've managed to earn Respect with the guards in less than six months?" Anastaria's somewhat distracted demeanour changed to visible interest. "How did you manage that?"

  Damn... Should I tell them about Jewelcrafting or not? If yes, they would probably ask me to show them and then simply to hand over the chess pieces. Then I would never solve the riddle contained within them.