The Secret of the Dark Forest ( (The Way of the Shaman: Book #3) (2 page)

I'm not sure if it was something I said, but the surrounding world exploded for the second time in the past hour. Many of the players were speaking to each other or shouting things, while others stood there with glassy eyes – probably typing up forum messages, after hopping back into reality. A minute later the buzz had somewhat died down and Evolett smiled once again.

"It seems that you are not too familiar with what being put on the official blacklist actually means, so allow me to enlighten you. Each clan has two blacklists: a general one and an official one. The general one contains players who've been making trouble for the clan, for example, Anastaria, Hellfire, and so on. When a player from our clan runs across a player from the general list, they get a message that there is an enemy nearby and they should take heed. It's quite easy to end up on the main list, since any player with the relevant level of authorization can add you. But then there is the second list, the official one, where for each player the clan pays a tax to the Empire and sacrifices its reputation. For example, you will be costing us five thousand Gold a day, as well as daily Reputation reduction with all the factions listed by the Herald. The Reputation of each clan member that signed under the list will fall. On the first day it will fall by 1 point, on the second by 2, the third – by 4, the fourth by 8 and so on. All this irrespective of whether the player on the blacklist is inside the game or has logged out. The timer is ticking in any case. Thus, in just three weeks' time any Reputation, whatever its initial level, will tumble down to Hatred. This will be true for all those who signed under it. Putting a player on the official list requires at least five hundred signatures and the paper that I just handed the Herald contains just over four thousand.

“Now we come to the main point of putting someone on this blacklist. As soon as someone from the clan runs across the player on this official list, they must do all they can to send that player for respawn. They would not be penalized with a PK mark and would be able to do this even inside a town. Members of other clans or unaffiliated players will receive a message that the Dark Legion clan will pay them 5000 Gold for killing you. The Heralds are responsible for ensuring that clan members comply with the compulsory attack policy. They will also count the number of times you're killed by other players. Even the safe zones are ineffective against the official list. This blacklist is very popular with those who wish to punish some particular person. It is expensive, of course, but sometimes it's worth it. There are around forty thousand players in my clan, with an average level of 137. You have a day to run and hide. In the following two weeks our people will be looking for you very thoroughly. As soon as the Reputation of each person that signed under the list gets reduced to Hatred, you will be removed from the blacklist automatically, if I do not do so earlier. But that's never going to happen." Evolett looked like the cat that got the cream; "That's all from me."

"Evolett, what are you up to?" came Anastaria's subdued whisper. So that's that. She was no longer interested in Mahan-the-Dragon; she had to get to the bottom of whatever plot the leader of Number Twos had concocted.

"You'll find out soon enough, my dear." Evolett gave another radiant smile. "Mahan, you're really quite a find! You've gained positive Reputation with so few Malabar factions – and all of them exactly the ones I was after!"

"Mahan, the Emperor wishes to speak with you." With all this talk I hadn't even noticed that a Herald had appeared next to me.

"Yes, of course," I mumbled, but before I could step into the portal, I was stopped by a gentle touch from Mirida. Everyone seemed to have completely forgotten about her.

"Wait – " Mirida bit her lip, as if trying to come to a hard but necessary decision. She finally breathed out, leant over to me and quickly blurted out, "I want to tell you why I came to Beatwick. It doesn't matter what you'll think of me, but you ought to know the truth. My name is Marina. Yes, that very same," she said when she saw my reaction. "I'm marking a spot on the map, let's meet up when there's a chance. Please come. There is a lot I must tell you." A message flashed before my eyes; a location somewhere near Anhurs had been marked on my map. "If you don’t turn up, I'll understand, but give me a chance to explain, please!" Marina let go of my hand and stepped aside. It was just as well that I was already pumped full of emotions by this point, so I took the news that I was looking at the cause of my eight-year prison sentence calmly enough.

"A day, Mahan, you have a day," repeated Evolett, "then the hunt will begin!" It came out rather overplayed and over the top, like a villain in an old film giving his final speech. I don't know why, but it made me smile. Bearing in mind that all of this was being recorded on video and would be uploaded for public viewing, I knew the Dark Legion clan would be looking forward to some dark times. A bit of a tautology there. Putting a low-level player on an official blacklist just for successfully directing an inter-clan raid looked stupid and cast the clan in an extremely unfavorable light. But Evolett didn't look like a stupid man and he had probably thought this through in advance.

"Please wait here." As soon as I stepped out of the portal, the Herald gave me a few minutes to look around and enjoy the view of the Palace after its 'rearrangement' by Geranika. Even in this sorry state, the Malabar Emperor's residence was magnificent: the stones, the dust, the pockmarked walls and broken statues scattered around the territory – all this destruction only underlined the excellence of the spectacle. You got the feeling that it took several teams of designers to achieve the proper 'ruined palace' look.

"I even somewhat regret that I didn't see all this splendor in its better days," came the words of the former Beatwick Headman, the ex-Master of the Empire of Kartoss and the current Emperor of Malabar as he walked up to me. "You have to give it to the previous Emperor , he had taste. Come, it's time to reward our hero."

I don't know what it was: the destroyed palace or the moon being in Aquarius, but as I walked behind the Emperor, I totally failed to experience any excitement over the anticipated bonuses. I had a feeling that my inner zoo was immediately disheartened and succumbed to apathy. The Hoarding Hamster was an especially sorry sight: under normal circumstances he should have been flying after the Emperor, trying to get his paws on all possible bonuses and stuffing them in his pockets. Far from it! He was sitting and gazing sadly at the downcast Greed Toad, barely holding back his tears. I opened my quest log and scanned through its contents to stave off the infectious melancholy:

'Night Terror of the Village.' Rare. Completed. Reward: +400 Reputation with the Krong Province, +500 Experience, +80 Silver Coins, a Rare Item from Headman's Stores.

'Search for the Dark Coordinator.' Unique. Completed. Reward: +4000 Reputation with the Malabar Empire, +4000 Experience, +10,000 Gold Coins, a Scaling Item from the Emperor's stores.

'The Last Hope. Step 3.' Rare. (Time until the wolves respawn: 2 months, 21 days.)

'The Eye of the Dark Widow.' The Quest will become available at level 100. Legendary.

'The Way of the Shaman: Step 3: Completion of the trial to become a Great Shaman'. Class-based.

'Restoration of Justice.' Class-based. Unique.

I was about to remove the Wolf Quest, but something within me objected. You don't just ditch quest chains. It's not like I have to feed it or as if there's a limit on the number of quests. At the same time, it would be very interesting to see what crazy things the developers cooked up with this quest chain. Pulling out those arrows was something else! Just remembering it made me shudder. In all likelihood it comes with a pleasant reward at the end, even if it's a low-level one. The happy squeak of the Hamster, who caught a whiff of a bonus, was barely audible. My brain gears seemed totally out of whack!

'Restoration of Justice' is a good quest, but to complete it, I would have to hike all the way to Serrest Province, where my Reputation is at Hatred, thanks to its Governor. I wondered if my Reputation with the Governor could be higher than with that of the Province itself. Would they kick me out straight away or would I actually have a chance to speak to Prontho? I guess I'll find out when I get there.

It will still be a while until I'm able to do the 'Eye of the Dark Widow' quest. Two quests are completed, so it looks like I have nothing left aside from the 'Path of the Shaman' and 'Restoration of Justice'. According to the timer, the trial for becoming the Great Shaman was still 2 months away. Even that made me a bit sad. In Beatwick I started to feel like a protagonist in global game events, but as soon as it was all over, I immediately turned back into a standard ordinary player, of which there's a multitude in Barliona. Once again, I became one of the many.

Other than access to the palaces, there are no benefits aside from the positive regard of the Emperor and the Dark Lord. With my level of Reputation I could only walk around the Palace, watch it being restored and regain its former brilliance, and watch covetously as Anastaria and Hellfire receive unique and rewarding quests. There was little doubt that the entire Phoenix leadership had gained Esteem with the Emperor.

The Emperor took me to a small room lit by a couple of torches. Aside from a hint of daylight from a narrow window, the place was submerged in gloom. A small wooden table on curved legs was the only object that interrupted the surrounding emptiness. I would never have thought that such rooms could exist in the palace ...

"From what I've come to know of you, you have no special need of elaborate rewards." The Emperor smiled and picked up a scroll from the table: "You are being given this item for completing the 'Night Terror of the Village' assignment. I no longer hold the position of the Headman, but I can't fail to reward the man who found my Sklic. You did a good job." With these words Naahti handed me the scroll.

Reward for the 'Night Terror of the Village' Quest: +400 Reputation with the Krong Province, +500 Experience, +80 Silver Coins, Jewelcraft Recipe 'Malachite Jewelry Box with Lapis Inlays.'

I quickly learned the recipe, opened the recipe book and looked at its description:

Malachite Jewelry Box with Lapis Inlays.

Description: A neat and sturdy box for jewelry. Can carry 10 items. Crafting stat bonus: the box can carry an additional (Crafting) number of items. Item class: Rare. Minimum level: 50.

Crafting requirements: minimum Jewelcraft level 40.

Ingredients: 2 pieces of Malachite, 2 pieces of Lapis Lazuli, 4 Bronze Wires.

Instruments: Jeweler's tools.

Well ... that'll do, I guess. On the one hand, it's a new recipe, on the other ... a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping for more. The expression on my face made the Emperor laugh:

"You definitely need to work on controlling your emotions better. You look like someone just offered you something disagreeable. Bear in mind that the assignment to find the Sklic could have been removed altogether as soon as the battle started in Beatwick, but I decided to leave it in place. Now let's move on to a reward that should be more to your liking: the search for the former me.

Reward for 'The Search for the Dark Coordinator' Quest. +4000 Reputation with the Malabar Empire, +4000 Experience, +10,000 Gold Coins, a Scaling Item from the Emperor's stores (the choice of the item is up to you).

I noticed that exactly 10,000 Gold coins fell into my purse. It turned out that this amount was already free of the usual Imperial tax. I quickly tried to calculate what it should have been in the first place, but couldn't come up with a round number, only fractions. Never mind.

"There are five items on the table that would suit you," continued the Emperor. "You can choose one of them. You wouldn't be able to buy these items from Thricinians even if your reputation with them was Exulted. You will be able to see the properties of the items only after you make your choice, so choose carefully."

No looking at their properties? How the heck am I supposed to make a choice like this? Five items were lying on the table in a neat row: a Shaman's Hat with horns, like the one Almis had; a feathered Cloak, almost identical to the one I was wearing; Boots; Pants; and Bracers. Disbelieving the Emperor, I checked the properties of each item, but they really were hidden. How to make a choice? My spirits sunk even further. How long can I keep playing these guessing games? Bah! They can go to hell with their rewards!!

"I respectfully decline your gift," I said, firmly returning the Emperor's gaze. "I refuse to make an uninformed decision. It's better to refuse everything than forever regret picking the worst out of the lot. I would like to thank the Emperor for this opportunity, but no – I will not choose."

"Your choice has been made," the Emperor replied calmly and immediately the table with all the items disappeared. "The Heralds will see you out."

My Hoarding Hamster lifted his head, looked me in the eye and then let it drop again. He had no fight left in him.

"Mahan! You're here!" As soon as we left the room, Tisha suddenly appeared next to us. "Father, have you thought of a reward for him?"

"He refused it," the Emperor replied just as calmly. "Mahan thinks that the Emperor is unworthy of granting him a reward."

"Mahan," Tisha froze next to me, astonished, "is this true?"