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

by Vasily Mahanenko

  "You know the Emperor?" that wasn't the question that I expected from Beth once she had come round.

  "No. The Herald handed that to me," there was little sense in deceiving the lady.

  "A Herald cannot increase favour with the Emperor without his knowledge, you can trust me on this one. It's not for nothing that I was.... that I am a priestess of Eluna."

  Your reputation with priestesses of Goddess Eluna has increased by 1000 points. Current level: Neutral. You are 995 points away from the status of Friendly.

  "Forgive me. We really should have spoken right at the start. Then we might have prevented all of this from happening. Come, we shouldn't repeat past mistakes. And, Mahan," the priestess turned towards me, "keep calling me Beth. I like that."

  "It all started ten years ago," began the lady when we settled down in her house. "My husband was one of the assistants to Advisor Brast, and I, as you already know, was the High Priestess of Eluna. My husband stumbled upon information about a Kartoss plan for the takeover of Malabar. First we thought it was some bad joke, but gradually we became convinced of the truth of this intelligence. We informed Brast of this, but were only laughed at and called panic-mongers. None of the Advisers that we approached in a vain attempt to get through took us seriously. Then we approached the Emperor directly, bypassing the Heralds and the Advisers. The Emperor heard us out and then..." Beth sighed bitterly, "we were banished as panic spreaders and a threat for the integrity of the Empire. My husband was appointed as the Headman in Beatwick and I was stripped of my rank. We had governed this village for eight years, until my husband disappeared. That's the end of our story. I already told you about the curse: two years ago I noticed that our lands — and, as I started to travel between villages looking for a new place to live, the lands of the neighbouring villages too — began to be darkened. Someone was putting a curse on them. I appealed to the Headman, but there was nothing he could do for me — magic was beyond his understanding. His main concern was that the people and the cows were safe. I didn't even bother approaching the Priest. He wasn't interested in anything except wine. I wrote letters to my former sisters asking for help, only to be rebuked for thinking up non-existent problems. I considered talking with the village residents, but then thought — to what end? They have nowhere else to go and they wouldn't even bother hearing me out. Then I decided to try and protect Beatwick all by myself. Every seven days I put Eluna's blessing on the villagers. A few months later the mist monster turned up, who tried to break my concentration. One of the villagers was summoning him. This could mean only one thing: we had a traitor in our midst, someone who wanted to plunge our region into the abyss of darkness. There was no-one I could trust. So when you turned up and started running around in search of the monster... I thought all of this was arranged for your benefit. I was even glad that the Headman put you to live with me. I thought it would be easier to keep an eye on you. How wrong I was..."

  "And I first thought that you actually were the mist monster and then that you were a demonologist who summoned it," I said, somewhat lost. That's just crazy: I had the High Priestess of Eluna — allbeit a former one — sitting right in front of me. "So I decided to catch you to stop you summoning the mist beast. Very 'smart' of me too — I could've just had a chat with you..."

  "I'm no demonologist!"

  "Yea, I got that already. We're as good as each other though... What are we going to do now?"

  "I don't know. I plan to perform the blessing again today, since without it many have begun to succumb."

  "Can you really have the entire village under suspicion?"

  "Why everyone? I tried to catch the mist beast, as you call him, together with the Headman and his family several times, but we've failed each time. You know that they're...." Beth fell silent, looking at me in question.

  "Vagrens? Yes, I know. We've tried working together twice before, but the first time I followed you and the second time I was hunting you."

  "You followed me?!"

  "How else did I find out where you were doing your sorcery?"

  "I don't do sorcery! I bless!"

  "Yes, my mistake. By the way, why in the cemetery?"

  "The cemetery is the only area that remains untainted. The temple protects it."

  "By the way, what did you mean by saying your husband disappeared?"

  "Exactly that. One day he went out of the house and never came back. The border with the Free Lands is a very dangerous place, frequently roamed by monsters. We had waited for a very long time before reporting what happened to Farstead. I tried summoning him with magic, but without the High Priestess's amulet I can only bless. And, as it turned out, change the attitude of other sisters. So I know nothing of my husband's fate," said Beth sadly. "I've come to terms with it by now. It's been two years, after all. Avtondil is growing and I'm trying to teach him everything that I know. He has no aptitude for magic, but warrior skills he would excel at. And good manners would come in useful too. When he grows up he would leave for the big world. Only I am barred from returning there, the banishment has not been imposed on the children."

  "Were you banished forever? Or for a certain time?"

  "Forever. We would only be able to come back in one case: if the Emperor would acknowledge that we were acting on his instructions. And he would never do that. Who am I that he should concern himself with me? So now I'll have to live here for the rest of my life."

  I took a certain interesting ring out of the bag and looked at its properties: The person presenting this ring is acting on my instructions and for the good of Malabar.

  A moment of truth.

  On one hand, I had about a million gold on my hands. That is approximately the price for which you could sell the ring to someone who was forbidden to enter the Emperor's palace. In effect — a complete 'free pass'. A correction of a mistake. On the other hand, in front of me I had a woman, even if she was just an NPC, who was in need of help, who had already given up on ever getting it and who was a High Priestess of Eluna. If she returns to Anhurs, she is bound to assume that position once again. What's better — a million gold or a High Priestess of the high goddess in your debt? A good question, to which I had no answer. I had to think this over."

  "Mahan, has something happened?" asked Beth, concerned. "Did I upset you in some way?"

  "No, not at all. I was just lost in thought," I put the ring back in the bag. This wasn't the time for it. "I propose that we try to catch the mist beast together in six day's time. We'll invite Tisha to come with us. We will come from one end of the village and the Headman and his sons from the other. This time we'll catch it for sure. What do you say?"

  "You know, let's do it. I'll put up the blessing today, which should last seven days, so I should be free on the night that the mist beast will appear. It's good that you thought of Tisha. It would be easier with a Vagren. Will you speak to the Headman or shall I?"

  "I'll go. So, then, can I continue to live here?"

  Beth only smiled in reply. But her smile and eyes were so full of promise that I couldn't help swallowing, which provoked a rolling laugh from the pretty woman...

  Next morning I decided to busy myself with the most important task for any player: levelling up. My plan was simple: if there were no mobs in the area, I would have to create them. And I was able to create a mob only from one being in the game — Draco. There was no ban on duelling between two sentients. My Totem was a sentient, so I could probably fight him. No reason why he can't do it. In any case, I had to have a proper look at his settings: what if there's something interesting there? After I made the arrangements with the Headman about the large-scale hunt for the mist beast, I headed for the forest. Aside from Beth's family, no-one knew about the Dragon, so I didn't want to show him in the open unnecessarily. He was still small.

  After making sure that I was alone, I summoned my Totem and immediately went into his settings:

  Not all that many settings, in the end. By level thirty six, Draco gather
ed 72 free stat points: this came to 2 per level. No a lot. Playing with Clouter had only increased his Agility and Stamina. With me he levelled up in Intellect. What a 'Coefficient' was and why there were six of them — I had no idea. The same went for 'Direction'. In the hope of looking up the properties of the latter, I pressed that slot and a window popped up with the following list: Fire, Water, Air and Earth. Ah! What's this? An opportunity to choose the direction of the Totem's development. If I'm a 'water expert', then...

  The chosen direction of the Totem's development: Water. Attention, Totem modification has commenced.

  Draco stopped flying around in circles and began to curiously examine the shield that had begun to surround him.

  "What is this?" the Totem asked in slightly scared voice.

  "Don't worry, it'll be fine. This will hurt a little, you'll just have to hang in there," I remembered my own modification, so I thought to warn the Dragon.

  "All right, I wouldn't..." I had no time to hear what the Totem 'wouldn't', because the dome covered him on all sides.

  The shape that formed rose about a meter above the ground and then turned bright red, with flashes of fire spreading across it. A couple of seconds later a burning two-meter sphere was hanging in the air. I had little time to soak up the rays of Barliona's second sun before a terrible roar of the Dragon had shaken the surrounding land. The roar was so piercing, crushing and oppressive that my feet gave way and I fell to the ground. A steady stream of messages flashed before my eyes, telling me that I was landed with various unpleasant properties. Upon glancing at the list of debuffs I was blown away. Did my Totem really do this?

  Stun. Duration: 60 seconds. Does not affect the owner or a friendly group of players.

  Dumbness... Fear... Armor reduction...

  In total, I managed to count over twenty negative effects that Draco saddled me with before they vanished. Impressive! I should use this when levelling up through hunting mobs.

  After some time the Dragon's roar died out and the fire sphere began to fade. First the flames disappeared, with the surface becoming bright yellow and then just yellow, later transforming into blue with streams of water coursing through it. The sphere turned into an enormous water droplet, with water rushing all around it. Another couple of minutes went by, this time without the Dragon's wild roar, and the droplet descended to earth, crumpling and tearing up the grass. There was a subdued clap and everything vanished, leaving only my Totem on the ground, who, breathing heavily, lifted himself on his front paws and started to look himself over. If before the modification the Dragon was completely black, now I had a bright dark-blue Totem sitting before me. I breathed in deeply. It turned out that all this time I was standing there literally holding my breath — even the 'No Air' bar had almost filled to the maximum...

  "If this is 'a little' what's simply 'painful' in your view?" I heard my Totem's hoarse voice.

  "If I told you that it would hurt a lot, would it have made things better?"

  "No, but..."

  "Then let's forget it. Now you're a Black Water Dragon. Sit still, I'll have a look where you can be improved.

  I allocated all the free points equally between all the four stats. Draco had to be developed in every direction. One thing made me especially happy was the presence of a '+Items' column. This meant that I could find gear for my Totem and improve his stats. I took one of the neck-chains out of the bag and tried to put it on Draco, but got a message that the item wasn't suitable for this creature. Damn. What do Dragons wear if no-one believes in them? Where could I find armor for him?

  "An interesting feeling," said my flying pet. He grew some more during the modification and now a meter-and-a-half-long serpent was flying around me. "I feel as if waster is flowing through me."

  "What did you have before?"

  "Fire. I'm a fire Dragon," Draco stopped and became thoughtful. "I think..."

  "It doesn't matter who you were, it matters who you've become," I noted, philosophically. "All right, let's not lose any time. Shall we try to duel each other?"

  "All right, brother. Let's go."

  "What did you call me?" I stopped and stared at the Dragon. Could his memory be coming back to him?

  "Well... you've been calling me this and that as well," if the Dragon wasn't so dark, I would've thought he was blushing. "You don't like it?"

  "No, not at all. It's just unexpected," I looked at the still embarrassed Dragon and continued: "Why are we still standing here? It's duel time!"

  Damage taken...

  Draco didn't wait around and attacked straight away. A sea of fire formed around me, which slowly but surely started to diminish my Hit Points. What pleased me the most (and what I secretly hoped for when starting a duel with my Totem) was the complete absence of pain. Yes, there was fire roaring all around me, my Hit Points were sliding, but the curse of the prisoner capsule failed to strike: a Totem couldn't cause pain to his owner. Great!

  Draco began with a weak wall of fire (though I couldn't help wondering if it was normal for a Water Dragon to have fire damage), not to give me too much of a shock. I understood this when he finally deployed his claws, teeth, roar and some strange ability spouting jets of flaming water in my direction. Draco stepped up his attack, showing everything he was capable of. As long as the inflicted damage was small, I wasn't too concerned about the outcome of the fight, but as soon as critical hits dealing 400 damage started to land on me every other second, I began to worry. It was time I fought back.

  In the end... I lost the first fight. As soon as I entered the Spirit summoning mode to heal myself, the Totem started to hurl attacks at me that dealt 600 damage per second. If you take into account my resistances, Endurance and gear, this was a truly enormous figure. I managed to summon only one Healing Spirit, before one more of Draco's 'presents' landed on me — worth 1200 damage this time! My Hit Points fell to 1 and a message appeared before my eyes.

  You lost the duel.

  It was now time to do some thinking.

  The Totem's base damage was 210 points. Part of this damage was blocked, part of it hit me. This was the case at the start of the fight. Then something incomprehensible happened: the damage inflicted by the Dragon began to grow almost geometrically. Why? Appealing to the manual and the forum was quite useless: as per usual.

  "Listen," I decided to ask my Totem. Can you explain to me what just happened? Why at the start of the duel you fought like a little kid, and at the end of it hit so hard that I folded right away? This just isn't normal."

  "You were just standing there not doing anything. I thought that I wasn't getting anywhere, so I intensified."

  "Let's go over this bit again," I interrupted. "What's this 'intensification'?"

  "It's a property of Dragons. I just found out about it myself, when we started to fight. I didn't have it before. It turns out that I have six levels of intensification — I reached only the fourth one when you lost. At the first level I can intensify myself by 100%. The intensification lasts only five minutes, after which I'll have to wait an hour until it is restored. When the first intensification is active, you can activate the second level: this would bring +300% to damage for four minutes. Each intensification has an independent recovery timer: for example, the second one takes two hours to recharge. It's the same with the other levels. But my head aches something terrible afterwards... And my paws are sore ... And my tail feels like it's going to fall off..."

  When I opened the Totem's properties, I noticed that his level of Intellect increased by 30% and the incomprehensible lines titled 'Acceleration coefficient' (the first four, at any rate) increased by one thousandth in value. These lines came without a description, but now I could guess that these coefficients affect the time it took for the Dragon intensifications to recharge.

  The four hours I spent duelling with Draco only brought him up by one level, and the first and second level coefficients increased by another 0.001. After each intensification the Totem wrinkled in pain, but gri
tted his teeth and toughed it out. I could imagine how hard it was going to be for him at level 6: +1100% to damage demands a sizeable sacrifice. As for me — my Intellect hadn't increased by even one percent, despite the fact that Draco was a much higher-level opponent than me.