The Kartoss Gambit (The Way of the Shaman: Book #2) (19 page)

“They’re here?! Dronn, call in reinforcements!”

“Plinto, we can’t. Remember the conditions of the quest? Only two clan representatives on this territory. Any more would mean a fail. We’ve already found two groups out of nine. Those bastards got at least one. Who the heck knows how many duos are still flying about in the Free Lands?”

“Then get mercenaries! I need twenty level-200 mercenaries. They have to slow Phoenix down. We could use an extra twelve hours. We'll be first!” Plinto looked at me: “Where did you see them last?”

“Not far from there, they flew off that way,” I waved in the direction the killers of my work team had departed.

“Quick, let’s follow them! Here, take this for the info,” Plinto opened a trade window and threw me seven hundred gold. “If you see them again, give me a call,” a communication amulet landed on me after the money. There was a slight breeze and both players were quickly out of sight.
Let’s see. What’s going on here? What kind of a quest would be limited to only two clan members? And we're talking about the most powerful clans too. I remembered the Mayor’s words:
"The search for the remaining eight squads is being carried out by eight heroes that had been hired by the Heralds."
So this means that four more must be flying around here somewhere. Plus the ziggurat. Plus the coordinator. Right, stop. This has nothing to do with me. I got a better grip on the pick and continued to smash the Tin Vein. My task is simple – live a quiet life and don’t bother anyone. I had little desire to get involved in clan disputes.

Attention! The ‘Last Hope’ quest chain has been blocked due to the destruction of Grey Death and her pack. Pack respawn time: 4 months.

I blinked in surprise at the message that popped up. The wolves have been killed… I had high hopes of getting a nice bonus at the end of this rare quest chain… But then these high-level players flew in and destroyed everything… I threw myself at the Tin Vein in powerless rage. Why am I so unlucky of late?

Experience gained: +10 Experience; points remaining until next level: 8145.

Skill increase:

+40% to Mining. Total: 101%. Mining increased by 13.

+2% to Stamina. Total: 60%.

+2% to Strength. Total: 67%.

I looked at the results of my work: Seven pieces of Tin Ore. Maybe I really should forget everything and just keep levelling up in the mining profession? You don’t have to think or make any decisions. Just swing the pick without a care in the world. I picked up the ore and walked over to the next vein. I had twenty hours before I had to return to Beatwick, veins respawn every day, and there was plenty of food. I’ll just stay here and work.

By the end of the day I'd smashed six more veins and raised my Mining profession to level 14, made small gains in Experience, Stamina and Strength, and also got forty pieces of Tin Ore. Working in the advancing twilight was awkward, so I trudged off to the village. When you knew the way, it took just two hours of unhurried walking. Right next door, you could say.

In about thirty minutes I came out of the forest and saw a site of battle. Not as much of battle as the immediate death of the wolf pack. The bodies of the wolves, the leader and Grey Death were strewn about twenty meters away from an enormous black crater. Strange that the wolves didn't disappear as soon as they were killed. Dead mobs do not despawn only in one case – if they are still part of a quest. Like the wolves whose tails I collected the other day. Ah! Should I take the tail off Grey Death as well? That way I’d at least complete the Village Headman’s assignment…

The tail of the she-wolf practically fell into may hands of its own accord, after which the entire pack faded away. That’s it. They’ve served their purpose.

Quest 'The Hunt for Grey Death' completed. Speak to the Beatwick Headman.

I continued on my way, but then a small speck caught my eye.
I came closer. It was a piece of paper, held down by a rock. Who would be littering the expanses of Barliona with something that doesn't exactly cost a pittance? I kicked away the rock, picked up the paper and read the text, written in neat handwriting:

“Hello again, Mahan. I decided not to bring up Jewelcrafting in Anastaria’s presence, but this topic is of great interest to me. In his report Eric pointed out that you have three levels in Crafting. He mentioned your rings separately, as well as how you brought down Rats with your Spirits. I know full well how Crafting is gained and how you level up in it. In my clan only twenty people have this stat, and only four of them have it at a higher level than you.

Now, to business. I weighed up all the pros and cons, and am now quite sure that you are none other than the Jeweller who crafted the Orc Warriors from the Kardamont chess set. We’ll talk about them separately, it’s not like you actually need them. But now is not the time for that conversation. Anastaria’s birthday is a month away and she is crazy about chess. According to the rules, Dwarf Warriors are the next part of the set to be crafted. These are what I need. Everyone knows about the orcs (there are hundreds of fakes on the Anhurs market now), but no-one has the dwarves. Go to the Bank, use password ‘Hellfire-Lapis Lazuli-dwarves’, and you’ll receive the materials needed to make them. Because of the limitations imposed by the assignment Anastaria and I are doing and your compulsory presence in Beatwck, I cannot recruit you into the clan at this time, but you should know that you will become a Master in Phoenix as soon as our search is finished. In a couple of weeks I will drop by for the results, wait for me in Beatwick.

P.S. Sorry about the wolves. Judging by the fact that they have not despawned, these were quest-related mobs. Since you’re the only player I met in this location, these were probably your wolves. I will leave the letter for you here – you’re sure to come across the wolves tomorrow if not today.

P.P.S. Don’t let me down. If Anastaria fails to get her present, I will be very upset…

Hellfire, head of the Phoenix clan.”

So, looks like Eric and Co. have sold me out completely. I'd been very naïve and revealed all my cards to them with the Crafting skill, but those gits went and changed all their plans the moment they were offered a place in a leading clan. And really, who the heck am I? Just some prisoner, whom they've only known for just a couple of weeks. What have I got to offer them in the game? Nothing. But in Phoenix they would be protected from ninety percent of other players. Except for the Dark Legion, no-one wants to get on Phoenix’s bad side. Good call, guys, covered your asses well and good! And Hellfire, he's a piece of work... Decided to make a present. Via an offer you can't refuse. Killed my wolves too! Who the hell does he think he is?

If any player crossed my path at that moment, I would have attacked him without a second thought. If you're surrounded only by schmucks, it’s easier to serve the rest of the sentence at the mine — just mining the ore every day and making rings, without a worry about the future.

By the time I was approaching Beatwick, my conscience got the better of me. To hell with Hellfire, I don’t care about him, but Anastaria… She never did anything bad to me and even protected me after a fashion from the dwarf. And I sent Plinto in her direction. Just doesn’t seem right. Taking out her one-way communication amulet, I squeezed it and called up Anastaria.

“Yes,” sounded the paladin's divine voice. “Who is this?”

“Hi, Anastaria. This is Mahan, we met this morning…”

“Mahan! Where are you now? What quest are you on?” Anastaria’s anxious voice interrupted me.

“What do you mean, ‘where’? I’m walking up to my place of exile. Beatwick. What happened?”

“All right, we’ll get to that. What do you need me for? Did you come across another goblin squad?” I may have been imagining this, but was Anastaria either catching her breath or trying to quickly come to a decision?

“It might as well have been goblins. At the mine where you killed my work team I ran across Plinto. He’s also looking for the goblin squads. To top it off, I overheard his conversation with his deputy. They found three squads and there are four more players flying around this area. That’s it from me, I think. I wanted to warn you about Plinto and pass on the information about the goblins.”

“Thanks for the Plinto warning, but the goblin info’s already out of date. The algorithm for finding the squads was elementary – it was either mines or logger's cabins. Hel and I found four squads, which means that two more were found by the other groups. Two hours ago, when we destroyed the last squad, a Herald appeared, accepted the completed assignment and told us that not a single clan member was to be found on the territory of the Krong province in the next couple of months, on the pain of failing the scenario. The Herald promised to be on a particular look-out for any free players of groups that may hinder a certain player from completing his part of the scenario. You know, you don’t have to be a genius to figure out who that player is. It’s you! You are the one who found the first squad, so it was you who was given an assignment with a set time limit. Hel has flown into a rage and I simply don’t understand anything. What’s going on?”

“You flew away?”

“Yes, the Herald sent us to Anhurs. Mahan, can you tell me your quest? Can I help in any way? Please understand, this scenario is very important for our clan. If you need anything, just say — whether it's money, gear or scrolls. Anything you ask for would be sent straight to the Bank with your name on it. Don’t hurry, have a think about it.”

“There isn't that much thinking to be done. I need a full set of level 21 gear, with bonuses to Intellect. Getting equipped around here is a big pain.” I wasn’t going to pass up on a gear freebie. “I have no need of money, but scrolls… Anything with AoE damage would be great. As for the quest – I told you everything at our meeting. There is nothing more to add. I have no idea why no-one from your clan is permitted to show up here. May I ask a question, by the way?”

“Sure. The gear will be sent today. As for scrolls, I think we can put something together for your level. Would a hundred do?”

“Yeah, that’s plenty. So, Have Eric, Leite and Clutzer really been accepted into Phoenix?” I still had trouble believing that they ditched me. They just couldn’t have, whatever Hellfire may say.

“Yes, but not all. A few days ago we were approached by several beginner-level players who had First Kill. This really piqued my interest, so I personally oversaw their testing.”

“Testing? What’s that?”

“Identification of their abilities. Eric turned out to be an excellent tank and he’s already been sent for a levelling boost. Clutzer’s a decent DD. But Leite didn’t pass the trial. He makes a pretty average DD and we decided not to take him. Now we’re looking for Karachun to assess his abilities”

“So how come you let Leite go? After all, we all got a scaling item for taking the second place in Malachite gathering. Letting a player with such pauldrons go is somewhat careless,” I noted in surprise.

“An item doesn’t make the person. If you have clumsy hands, no amount of gear will help. We gave Leite a chance, but he didn’t take it.”

“Fine, another question. What is a Phoenix Master?” I asked nonchalantly. You can relax, Oh Gorgeous One. This just made for another point against joining Phoenix. So I am supposed to think that Eric and Clutzer are now in the clan and even came out with a full report… Yeah, right, they just ran in and typed it all up, especially about the non-existent second place and Leite’s pauldrons. So, it looks like Karachun was the one you spoke to… But he doesn’t know about the fifth place or Leite’s sword.

For a while there was a silence and I even started to think that we lost connection when Anastaria spoke again:

“So that’s how it is! Now I know how you got Crafting. Did you already solve the riddle? You wouldn’t share the formula with me, would you?”

Oops. I’m treading on very thin ice here. Anastaria knows about Crafting? How? After all, Karachun only saw the rings and heard that I was able to change stats…

“I don’t quite get what you’re on about,” damn, what a clumsy evasion. Totally childish.

“All right, it doesn’t matter. Just in case, remember – my analytical department is one of the most powerful in the game. We don’t just sit there making strategies for going through Dungeons, we know how to use our heads too. If you need any help – just say. As for the Master… All together there are several ranks in Phoenix. Right at the top there are two people – the clan leaders. Hellfire and myself. The second tier down there are Treasurers, two, in our case, and five Castle Owners. The third rank in our hierarchy is held by the Masters. We currently have eight of those. Masters are the most valuable players for the clan. They are even paid a salary from the clan treasury. For example, one of the Masters is a player with level 20 in Crafting. As far as I know, this is the maximum level of Crafting in Barliona. On the fourth tier are the Specialists. We greatly value people who bring money into the clan and so create very favourable conditions for them to develop. The clan accepts any players with over 200 levels in any profession, irrespective of the results they get during testing. Fifth are Raiders. As you can see, they rank lower than Specialists. Sixth are Fighters. These are our potential Raiders. And seventh are Recruits. These are simply hired players who've expressed a desire to join the clan. Eric and Clutzer were immediately given the rank of Fighters, bypassing the Recruit stage. Their test results were just too good. As for their low level – with time that can change easily enough. Did I answer your question, future Phoenix Master?”