That’s why the elders acquired a special role among the people. They were the only ones who had retained a high level of intelligence and some skills to protect their people. Roval, if the other person agreed, could see through the eyes of other Bargolas and hear through their ears. That’s how he learned about us. Nai-Grom was once a first-class warrior, possessing translucent armor with which he could cover not only himself but also those around him. Woof still had his ability to control animals, which he had long ago used to clear out mobs’ lairs and nests. Krul-Son had a couple of minor fire skills that were much less effective than Willow’s Phoenix.
In general, the Bargolas were close to complete degradation and possibly even destruction.
***
Their story was quite interesting but it was difficult to comprehend all the details, even for Amoeba, a man of science, a professor, an academic, and so on and so forth...
There were a lot of thoughts buzzing about my head: did the elders have a soul in the conventional sense of the word? Could they exit the Game? Did the Bargolas, like us, need to get out of here as well?
So many questions and no answers.
It wasn’t entirely clear why the elders told us the story of their people. I doubted that they wanted us to spread their story. So why did the barely moving Nai-Grom, using perhaps all of his remaining strength, get up to his feet to talk to a group of strangers?
And what about the fragment? It was right there, in the corner where Woof was. He hadn’t said a word since we came, only twitched once during the entire story. His condition raised a lot of questions: was Woof still alive, and if he was, just how alive was he? He was a living corpse, shriveled-up, with rigor-mortis long settled in.
“Roval,” Amoeba asked the suddenly silent elder. “How can we help you?”
“In another hundred or two hundred years, our people will turn into beasts, running around the forest in search of food. Woof, Nai-Grom, and I may not live to see it... But Krul-Son... will probably witness the fall of his people. All our attempts, and the attempts of our predecessors to overcome this have... Ah... To put it bluntly... We failed. Artificially curbing degradation is simply impossible. The only way out is to get rid of the local flora’s influence and get out of here.”
“Portals?” Spider suggested.
“Not an option. None of us possess enough magic... We’re barely on the first rank...”
“Portals?” I pondered. It seemed like a good option to me. In addition to the “cursed” portal, there was at least one more through which we had arrived. I was willing to bet that there were at least a dozen of them scattered about.
However, on closer inspection, Spider’s suggestion turned out to be impossible. Even I, with third-rank magic, couldn’t transport all of the Bargolas through a portal. As long as all the players and pets that came with me didn’t return back, the counter wouldn’t reset and I wouldn’t be able to transport anyone else. I told this to the rest of the group via Mental Transmission, warning them not to attempt to offer the elders to guide them through the portals.
“Then what?” Valkyrie asked in response to my explanation.
Roval, thinking that the question was addressed to him, replied:
“There’s another option... You didn’t come here to sight-see, did you? Armed to the teeth and clad in very odd armor... You clearly came here with a goal in mind.”
Ivan glanced at me. I tried to feign indifference.
Without waiting for an answer, Roval continued:
“I know you need the fragment... That chunk of metal, whatever it is... I know you need it. One of the former elders once told us a stranger akin to the First Ones will come to visit us, and that we’ll know them by their silver robes. That they’ll possess the power of heavenly thunder and that they’ll open the way to freedom... The prediction was taken seriously. From then on, every elder was required to learn the Linguistics skill in order to communicate with the strangers if they came. It’s been centuries... But... Here you are. Has the prediction come true? It could be... Nai-Grom and I have been living here for years...” Roval said and Nai-Grom nodded in confirmation. “We’ll leave the fairy tales of knights in shining armor to the young so that they fall asleep thinking that all is not lost yet. No one helps each other just like that! Especially... When what you need is right in front of your nose... Isn’t that right... Loki? But the elders were right about one thing: there’s at least one mage among you, clad in shining armor, who stuck the hog with lighting — the power of heavenly thunder.”
Roval looked at me. I shifted uncomfortably.
“How did you—”
“—know? Lorkal’s party followed right behind the hogs and saw what you did to one of them... And I saw it all through his eyes. I was impressed! But also worried...” He pointed at the guards standing behind us. “Which is why I invited the warriors to be witnesses to this conversation. No offense... But it’s better to be safe than sorry... Loki, tell me, do you have rank-two magic skills?”
“Perhaps...” I said after a moment’s thought, trying to guess what Roval was getting at.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Now... The gorge in the very north of this location could be our way out of here... Apparently, it runs through the entire mountain range.”
“What makes you think that the System’s rules will be different outside?” Spider inquired. “What if you get out and you end up in an even worse situation?”
It was clear that the question interested the elder as much as it did the surgeon. He had been thinking about it for a very long time. Despite the fact that it was getting harder for Roval to speak, he still replied.
“Our world is an exception to the rule. Tell me, does the nature of your location differ from our Nature?” There was a note of fear in the elder’s voice. He was afraid that his theory wouldn’t be confirmed, which would mean the end of everything. “Yes? Ah! Glory to the goddess Aal! There’s hope then... The path to the gorge is obstructed by the White Monolith. I know what you’re going to suggest: no, we can’t break it even if we wanted to. As you may have noticed, our people consider it sacred... Don’t argue... It was those stones that saved us from our enemy. In addition, it seems that it’s physically impossible to break them... One day, by accident, I dropped one of them from a height... The stone didn’t chip. There were no cracks.”
Amoeba’s voice came over the comm channel.
“Apparently, the Monolith to them is what the cromlech is to Kay-Si. It’s impossible to break those stones... He and I tried to remove one of them to no avail...”
Roval seemed really tired. He was already barely able to maintain a half-sitting position and coughed every minute, so he was replaced by Krul-Son.
“To pass, you need to summon the entity that lives in the Monolith. Whatever it takes, we’ll do it, but we must pass.”
“And who lives in the Monolith?” Amoeba asked.
“Who? The good God who once helped the First Ones and the Bargolas escape the wrath of the evil God. He settled here to guard us afterward... But now the pursuit has stopped and we are trapped.”
Amoeba and I exchanged glances but we didn’t dare voice our doubts.
“The gorge was discovered too late. There wasn’t a single light mage left in the faction that was strong enough to talk to the God.”
I was slowly starting to understand what they were getting at. They wanted me to contact this God of theirs. I was willing to bet that this deity was similar to Graybeard. And that was precisely where the problem lay: I couldn’t summon light beings. I mean, I could, but it’d immediately pounce on me, a black mage. Negotiating with it was out of the question.
“Though... I could use the evo points I got for reaching level one hundred and seven and cheat the System a little... Again.”
“You can summon the deity, yes?” Krul-Son asked, seeing our confusion.
“Yes,” I replied instead of Amoeba who looked at me in surprise but said nothing. “Should I persuade
them to clear the passage?”
“Yes. In exchange, you’ll get the fragment you’re looking for. Don’t think that we’re trying to use you... Our sacrifice is great, much greater than yours. The artifact was found several centuries ago and its magical aura is what’s keeping the respected Woof alive. Giving it to you means killing him...” At the mention of Woof, Krul-Son’s voice became firmer and filled with respect, as if the elder could hear him. “It’s embedded into his crown, giving him life, and us his blessing.”
Krul-Son was a bigger believer in the magic of stones, Woof’s importance, and the power of their deity than Roval was. The latter, desperate to get out, began to look for a way to get rid of the Monolith, which, no doubt, would be seen as blasphemy in the eyes of the rest of the tribe. Krul-Son wasn’t like him. He really thought that he was making a big sacrifice by giving us the fragment. Arguing with fanatics was pointless. Especially when the said fanatics were being supported by dozens of burly warriors armed with very pointy spears.
And of course, at such a crucial moment, Fang, who was known for his sarcastic character and weird sense of humor, decided to open his big mouth.
“What difference does it make? Woof hasn’t moved for forty years!” he exclaimed, for which he immediately got a smack on the head from me.
Krul-Son’s face showed anger; the rest of the elders frowned (though for show more than because they were really angry). The warriors behind us tensed, ready to attack at any moment. Luckily, me punishing Fang calmed them all down a little.
In any other situation, I would’ve reacted differently. I trusted Fang and supported his status as the Goblin leader, but it was important to show that no one else shared his opinion. Speaking out against Krul-Son’s beliefs would be equal to suicide. Right behind us were ten strong guards, armed with spears, and outside were about fifty more. Our blood and guts would decorate the walls of the Meeting House before we could even say a word in our defense.
“Please, forgive him,” I said, bowing my head. “Fang, if you’d be so kind... Get the fuck out, you fucking idiot!”
While the Goblin, looking around resentfully and pushing aside the guards, left, the gloomy Krul-Son continued his story with displeasure.
“If you agree to help, Lorkal and a few other warriors will guide you to your destination. If you manage to open the path, you’ll receive the artifact. You have my word as an elder!” he exclaimed and placed three hands on the center of his chest and made circles in the air with the other two.
“Is this some special oath of theirs...?”
“You have my word as an elder,” said the exhausted Roval, putting his only movable hand to his chest.
“You have my word as an elder,” Nai-Grom whispered.
Woof wheezed; he knew that one day, he’d have to make this sacrifice.
Chapter 16
SCAR
We came to an agreement with the elders. I really hoped that they wouldn’t try to deceive or simply use us for their own goals. The rest of the group believed Nai-Grom, except for the offended Fang, who stood at the door and glared at the backs of the guards that blocked his view of what was happening in the Meeting House.
The elders, and their words, evoked confidence: wise old men, ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of saving their people — you couldn’t help but respect such individuals. And that oath of theirs... It could be that they made it up on the spot and, just barely suppressing a laugh, swore that they’d fulfill their part of the deal. However, it looked sincere to me.
“Why didn’t they demand that we swear an oath?” Ivan asked over the comm channel, walking out of the Meeting House and stretching his arms.
“Should they have?” Spider replied. “They are in the position of power here. They have the knowledge of the terrain, a dozen thugs armed with spears, and Roval that can shift into the mind of any Bargola whenever he pleases. Not to mention that there’s a whole village full of them! I’ve counted about three hundred. Even if we killed the guards and the elders, the villagers would know. I’m more than sure that Roval is in the head of one of these thugs and watching closely.”
It was hard to disagree with him. The real question was whether we’d have to take the fragment by force or not. The more time I spent here the less real the possibility of just stealing the artifact seemed.
Sure, I had the Pied-Piper skill in my reserve. One word and dozens of zombified Bargolas would run into the Meeting House to feast on their elders’ entrails and retrieve the fragment from the half-dead Woof. But this was to be our last resort. I didn’t even know if I’d be able to control being as intelligent as the Bargolas. They weren’t Black Pilgrims but remnants of a civilization that had once wielded plasma weapons.
***
Rat was waiting for us near the exit. Looking around and munching loudly, he was eating nuts he found piled up in front of a small house with a thatched roof. The owner of the house was nearby — a young Bargola cautiously tried to pet the rodent’s shaggy neck. Rat snapped at him, showing his teeth, but that didn’t discourage the youth from trying again. Fascinated by the pet, he drew closer and closer until Rat grew tired of being poked and nudged the poor Bargola with his powerful body. The latter flew aside but instead of calling for help, he just smiled and tried to approach Rat again.
I whistled to get the Rat’s attention; he hurriedly swallowed his snack and ran after us. The youth looked after us in bewilderment, then at the half-eaten supply of nuts, and mumbled something to himself. He didn’t seem angry, rather, he seemed fascinated, carefully examining the Rat and his twitching tentacles.
“Who was that?” I asked Nie-Grom who was seeing us off.
“Ulter-To? A fool. About a month and a half ago, he disappeared during a hunting trip. Eyewitnesses later said that he was attacked by some dark entity. Some even claimed that he voluntarily went after it. Witness accounts differ. No, it’s not the evil God he went after. Of course not. Something much more powerful. Whatever it was, it didn’t want to kill the hunters; it only took Ulter. I don’t know what happened to him while he was away... The others tried to help him but the Boars, under the control of the darkness, pushed them back. Three weeks later, he reappeared in the village. He didn’t remember anything nor did he behave like himself... I don’t know what happened to him, but the weirdest thing was... once he returned he learned how to influence animals. Whether it was from Nature, the goddess Aal, or maybe this dark entity gave him this gift, I don’t know... We noticed it by accident. Without our knowledge, he went after Lorkal’s group one day... And speaking of which, there he is. Lorkal!”
The spear-armed hunter bowed respectfully to the elder and waved to me, pointing to the group of Bargolas already gathering at the gate. They were the ones who were supposed to lead us to the Monolith.
But Ulter... I turned once more and looked at the young Bargola, who was fixing the collapsed pile of nuts. Looking back, I suddenly asked:
“Can he come with us?”
Nai-Grom’s wrinkled face showed surprise.
“Of course... But why? He can stop animals from attacking for a couple of seconds... But that’s about all he can do. Nature didn’t give him physical strength and took what little wits he had about him. All in all...” He cracked his aching back and sighed. “He’s an idiot.”
“Still, I’d like him to come with us.”
The elder shrugged, saying that I ought to do what I ought to do but that he didn’t see the point in all this.
After saying goodbye to us, he went to the campfires to eat. In the center of the village, children scurried about, apparently playing hunt (one of them grunted and tried to shake off the “hunters,” then ran away), and adults gathered with strange horn-like items. Apparently, some sort of a celebration was about to happen, and Nai-Grom, the only elder capable of moving about, had to attend.
***
Surprised, Ulter ran to the gathering group of guards at the western exit.
“Ulter var-kr
with us?” Lorkal asked. I nodded.
He gave the young Bargola a short spear, shushed the rest of the hunters, who laughed at the sight of the new member of their group, and gave the sign to move out. The small gate opened and we came out into a forest.
In all honesty, I don’t know why I decided to take Ulter with us. I just felt like I had to. Perhaps it was because of what Nai-Grom had said about him, or perhaps it was because of the way the young Bargola interacted with Rat. Anyone else wouldn’t have dared to mess with such a dangerous creature, and he was trying to pet it. One thing was for sure — Ulter wasn’t an idiot or a fool. But before I sat down with him to see what his abilities were all about, I decided to figure out how I’d communicate with this “God.” With the things being the way they were now, I’d be instantly attacked. Though, I’ve had an idea floating around my head since I first learned about what I’d have to do.
The Mental Mask.
It had helped me deceive the System before by making it believe that the revived Kay-Si was a “ferret parasite.” And since I had leveled up by killing the Boar and was now level hundred and seven, I had more skill points. There was also my rank three magic, which significantly raised my magical abilities.
“System, put all points into Mental Mask,” I said, raising the skill to level twenty-nine.
For comparison, the basic skill, Extrasensory Control, which I’ve been actively using since the very beginning of the Game, was only level twenty-two. But Mental Mask needed to be tested further.
An unexpected message flashed before my eyes.
Congratulations! You have unlocked the Mentality section in the Modification Lab.
“System?”
My consciousness was immediately pulled out of the forest and transported into the familiar room with translucent walls. Fortunately, I had been sitting on Rat so there was no fear that I’d fall to the ground and break my head open.
Reborn: Evolution: A LitRPG Series (Warlock Chronicles Book 3) Page 18