Web of Worlds

by Michael Atamanov

  Hrm... Tamara was so confident that she was right. That and the unusual girl’s unbending will were enough to defeat any challenger. I just couldn’t disagree with her. It was not a magical or psionic effect, this was something of a different nature entirely, but just as crushing. It took me a lot of effort not to bend under the weight and to maintain my own personal but different opinion. I didn’t know how right she was in her fanatic conviction, but bringing the Paladin to these negotiations with the Dark Faction would mean dooming them from the get-go.

  But it wasn’t only today’s meeting with Gerd Tamara that had me upset and afraid. I couldn’t ignore something else she said when we were lying in my bed and resting after our first very stormy encounter.

  “Kirill, I have to tell you something. I’m a monster!”

  Strange words for a pretty girl whose naked body I was stroking. What was she talking about? I tried to turn it into a joke, but Tamara was deadly serious:

  “I was not made for love. My lot is to fight mages. That was the only reason fate gave me a second chance after so much time helpless in the dark. And the only thing people need me for is to fight the mages. If the war with the mages ends, I’ll become obsolete! I am WAR itself. Living in peace will kill me. Even the soldiers of my own Legion, who now treat me like a goddess, will kill me as soon as there is peace with the mages. They will be unbearably ashamed and pained that they, a bunch of big strong guys, blindly obeyed a little girl. They’ll dig up old offences, remember my strictness and uncompromising attitude. And they’ll kill me. I know it!”

  When Alexander Antipov came into my room that time, I was thinking tensely over these words. And I was holding them in my head now as I watched a Dark Faction antigrav come in for a bold landing. A peace treaty would kill her. For some reason, I had no doubt of that. How hard it was to go off and negotiate for peace with such a splinter in my brain!

  * * *

  “Unloading!” Despite the apprehensions of the fussy Miyelonian Medic, I set an example for the rest of our group, taking a big heavy bag of picnic supplies out of the aircraft.

  After that, no one, not even the noble Princess dared to shirk her duties, and we were unloaded in thirty seconds. I took a look around. It was a small flat field overgrown with grass. To the south there was a steep descent to an angry sea, breaking on the stones in loud waves just fifty feet below. On all the other sides, the flat was surrounded by thick shrubbery, which gave way to a tropical forest with palm trees and vines. In the nearby forest there were people. I detected them with a scan. Lots of people. They formed a thick circle around us with a fifty-foot radius and were clearly supposed to protect the negotiation area from outsiders or any other unexpected hiccups.

  Over the forest I could see craggy mountains. I even saw a few structures. A big locator. AA installments. Some kind of hangars... I zoomed in my map. Seemingly this was the same place we’d turned to ash from orbit two days earlier.

  Cartography skill increased to level sixty-four!

  Yes, I was not wrong. And there by the way was the delegation sent to meet us: from the forest another Sio-Mi-Dori antigrav came in for a landing. Its pilot set the aircraft down next to ours with virtuosic grace and the first person to hop out after the hatch opened was a man in an unusual matte-black armor suit, somewhere between a high-tech space suit and armor from ancient times. I was especially impressed by the gold stripes on the black armored sleeves and the luxurious gold flange of the helmet just like an ancient Spartan warrior. And sure it looked somewhat strange but there was no denying it made an impression.

  The giant took a look around, slid an ambivalent gaze over the flying drone then saw me and gave a laugh that boomed off his helmet:

  “I guessed wrong with my form of dress once again! Last time, Leng Gnat, you were in a fabulous suit of armor. I had all the faction’s Engineers and Mechanics on their tippy toes working so I wouldn’t fall face first in the mud again. And now, as it turns out, the dress code was beach attire. Well alright...”

  A moment later, the fearsome Gerd Ui-Taka was out of his luxuriant armor and into some leather shorts and sandals. I squeezed his huge calloused outstretched hand.

  “First of all, let me apologize to you, Leng Gnat La-Fin. When I sent you to the citadel after the captive girl, I had no idea that mages from the other faction were on their way there. It’s a shame how it turned out. But now I’ve got a present for you!” the General waved his hand, calling someone from the antigrav.

  A young dark-haired man in the traditional wizard’s robe of a ruling house walked out of the flying assault vehicle and greeted everyone with a deep bow. The man was very tall, far over six and a half feet, thin as a matchstick and had big prominent ears. And although his eyes were the blue “magical” color, they didn’t glow. Was he a mage? Was he just very weak?

  Mark-Fes La-Pirez. Human. La-Fin Faction. Level-67 Psionic Mage.

  Nevertheless, it wasn’t his anatomical features or even his membership in the La-Pirez dynasty that drew everyone’s attention but the ghastly object the young mage was carrying. It was the decapitated head of a gray-haired old man:

  Head of Gerd Avir-Syn La-Pirez, level-109 Psionic Mage (trophy).

  “My lord! I have carried out your order and killed the traitor! Grandpa tried to escape into the game but landed on a spear where my assistants got this trophy from,” with these words the new leader of the La-Pirez dynasty laid the head of his insidious forebearer at my feet. “After that, I found the criminal in the real world next to his virt pod and defeated him in an honest one-on-one duel!”

  An honest one-on-one duel? This snot-nose managed to take down a very strong psionic who was too strong even for my taste? Somehow I had a really hard time believing that. Either I was seriously underestimating Mark-Fes’s magical abilities or this was a song and dance.

  “Look me in the eyes!” I demanded, removing my sunglasses.

  The man met gazes with me without reservation and I drowned in his thoughts and feelings.

  Timidity. But no fear. Mark definitely didn’t see any reason for guilt. His emotional state was more like relief that he was able to do this inside the assigned timeframe. And he was also extremely proud of the fact that he managed to do it faster than his five brothers, who were much more capable mages. But then I dug deep enough to find the facts on the real-world hunt:

  “Greasy hooker’s ass!!! You barely made it! The old man knew about the reward on his head in advance and managed to slam shut the lid of his virt pod. He fled into the game! No matter, if Malio-An my sister isn’t lying, Avir-Syn won’t be there for long. Now the most important thing is not to forget to switch your assault rifle over to constant beam. A lone laser pulse might not take down the old man right away. And that would be the end of me. Grandpa could kill me easily with his ghoulish magical abilities! He spent years leading Archmage Thumor-Anhu La-Fin around by the nose. The coruler never realized right up until he died but the man he entrusted his life and that of his granddaughter to was no friend, but a most hateful enemy. What? Is it just me or did the virt pod lid just rustle? Yes, exactly! Open fire!!! Cut the thin plastic with the laser! Yes! The scream of a dying traitor is music to my ears! I am the new head of the La-Pirez dynasty!!!”

  As I suspected, there was no magical duel. The heir shot his grandfather with an assault rifle before he could get out of his virt pod. Nevertheless, it didn’t violate my conditions, so it was all well within the rules of the game. That’s how you treat a dirty traitor! I had everything I needed and broke the mental contact.

  Mental Fortitude skill increased to level eighty-two!

  Psionic skill increased to level eighty-five!

  “Mark-Fes, by my authority as head of the First Directory, I hereby confirm you as the new head of the ancient house of La-Pirez! Congratulations! And let me personally express a hope that the new head of the dynasty will show better sense than to start making back-room deals with other corulers behind the back of the La-Fins.”r />
  “Yes, my lord! You need not doubt my loyalty!” the newly promoted mage fell to his knees and kissed my hand.

  All that sounded and looked just too ostentatious, but I must have done everything right because I got a system message saying my Authority had gone up:

  Authority increased to 60!

  Minn-O La-Fin walked up and warmly greeted her second cousin, then with an air of disgust flipped the head on the ground. I told my wife about her grandfather’s death not only in the game but in the real world as well. I was worried the Princess would be upset or even fall into hysterics, but Minn-O had a completely different reaction:

  “He tried to kill me two times! And once he actually succeeded. I feel no sympathy for his death! And you did the right thing my husband: traitors must be executed post haste! I suspect that Avir-Syn is only the first in a long line of enemies who tried to take a bite at the riches of the La-Fin Dynasty. As its head, you are obliged to punish that!”

  Chapter Nineteen. Future Plans

  THE GIANT level-104 Shocktroop Gerd T’yu-Pan came. There was also level-102 Machinegunner Gerd Lang-Yu — a very young big-eared boy with an open and honest face. Surprisingly, he was commander of the most successful Dark Faction landing battalion. It was his soldiers who took the Rainforest node and, after forcing the Second Legion into that trap, just about took them out for good. Another was Gerd Alex-Bobl, a level-92 Drafter, the inventory of all Dark Faction armored vehicles, including the Sio-Mi-Dori antigravs and the Sio-Ku-Tati heavy tanks. There was also a young woman named Anni-Ir, a level-96 Agrarian whose job it was to keep her faction’s many thousands of players supplied with food. And Gerd Mihoya-U, basically still a girl, this was the level-104 Dark Faction Scout, whose small squadron remained undetected in our lands for several months. In that time they crisscrossed the Human-3 Faction’s whole territory, gathering data about troop movement and the coordinates of artillery batteries and strategically important facilities.

  That whole group of celebrated players, all of whom had a hand in the Dark Faction’s brilliant success and lightning-fast growth, supported me as the new leader of the La-Fin Dynasty. That was good. There was just the disconcerting fact that not a single one of them was a mage. After all, I knew perfectly well that the previous Dark Faction Leng, Thumor-Anhu La-Fin had a large group of mages of all kinds of specializations around him and many of them were Gerd status and past level 100. One of them, Psionic Mage Gerd Avir-Syn La-Pirez I had executed recently. But where were the others?

  I was not feeling decisive enough to ask that question with everyone around. So I waited for a good opportunity when the high-profile players who had come to meet me went out to help put up canopies and set tables. Then I asked the General.

  “One mage will be here soon. Gerd Mac-Peu Un-Roi is on his way here via Geckho ferry. He had some problems in the real world, and some technical issues with his virt pod...” the huge Strategist took a deep sigh. Then he made up his mind and laid it all out: “After the negotiations in the space port when the young mage got out of hand, old Avir-Syn ordered the guards of the digital facility to find and kill the Mage Diviner at once. But it’s not for nothing Mac-Peu Un-Roi is considered one of the best seers in our world. He saw the danger in advance and managed to escape the well-guarded facility, then hunkered down in a safe refuge. After Avir-Syn himself was declared a criminal, the young mage came out of hiding. But they had to change his virt pod. The old one was crammed full of spikes on an order from Avir-Syn. All the complex mechanisms were wrecked.”

  Well, well! That explained a lot really. I suspected that after everything that happened, the talented Mage Diviner was experiencing no warm emotions for the executed Avir-Syn and his associates, so I could count on his loyalty to me.

  Successful Perception check.

  “Get out of here! That is not for eating!” I gave a flawlessly accurate bop on the nose to the invisible Shadow Panther, who was sniffing Avir-Syn’s head on the ground curiously. The creature gave a loud exhale and trampled grass flew into the air.

  Little Sister appeared and, jerking her tail in offense, went off to complain to her master. The huge Strategist took a step back in fear when the creature went visible, a laser pistol instantly appearing in his hands. That told me he was very nervous although he was trying not to show it. And with surprise I also discovered that this muscular giant was afraid of me for some reason! Very strange. I reassured him explaining the panther and pointing to its master, the extraterrestrial lady Valeri. And she was tenderly stroking the glamorous if terrible predator staring at me with her huge eyes and shaking her head in dismay:

  “Don’t be mean to her, Gnat! Little Sister is still young and curious. She just wanted to investigate an unusual object, not eat it. Not at all. Little Sister keeps trying to steal up to you too to get to know you better, but you’re always chasing her off!”

  Psionic skill increased to level eighty-six!

  I didn’t see anything good in the fact that a deadly predator was sneaking up on me from behind “to get to know me better.” If the panther wanted to be friends, she could come up in visible form, not keep testing my ability to detect her. Nevertheless, I didn’t mentally answer Valeri and returned to my talk with the General, asking a question that had me very intrigued:

  “As for Mac-Peu Un-Roi I understand. He’ll be here soon. But what about the other high-profile mages from Thumor-Anhu La-Fin’s circle? And really what is the situation with the faction’s mages?”

  Before Gerd Ui-Taka started answering, the way his countenance sharply grew sad clued me in to the fact that his answer was going to upset me. And I wasn’t wrong:

  “Not that long ago there were nine high-profile mages in the La-Fin Faction including Leng Thumor-Anhu La-Fin. After recent events, seven remain. I’m afraid, Leng Gnat, that only one of them is on your side: Gerd Mac-Peu Un-Roi the Mage Diviner. The other six mage rulers fled the First Directory and I seriously suspect that, in a few days, we’ll be hearing about them in the La-Varrez or La-Shin factions, maybe even some smaller ones. And all players who have magical abilities are in approximately the same boat. Of one hundred seventy-two mages, forty-three died in the terror attack at Coruler Thumor-Anhu’s funeral, and the majority of survivors went to join your competitors. Leng Gnat La-Fin, there are just eighteen wizards left on your side.”

  “I’ve also got Minn-O La-Fin. She’s a high-profile mage even though she has almost no experience,” I said, trying to perk myself up even though the picture being painted was not a happy one. Rats were fleeing my ship, which meant they had no faith in my ability to keep the situation under control. But one fleeting aspect in the general’s words caught my attention:

  “Hold up, what does that mean? Only the strongest mages from Thumor-Anhu La-Fin’s retinue survived the terrible explosion at his funeral?”

  The general just shrugged his shoulders indefinitely:

  “Maybe power mages have a more developed sense of intuition and luck. Although I agree, it is a strange fact. It’s almost like they were warned.”

  That was most likely the case. But I didn’t discuss that with the enemy leader now. It was too unclear and slippery, so I changed the topic. I brought up the Human-3 Faction prisoners who were still stewing away in their dungeons. Fourteen soldiers. What would it take to get them set free?

  “Ransom?” by the looks of things, the question surprised him. “Just take them! It’s such a small thing that it’s a shame to even waste time discussing it. I thought we came here to resolve truly serious issues. First and foremost, a peace treaty and its conditions. I don’t think there will be any problems with that. We’ll come to an agreement quickly. Second, plans for the future. Now that really is important, and was the main reason I came here myself.”

  I stared at the giant, my eyebrows raised in surprise. I basically thought we were here only to settle a peace treaty and that we had a long way before we got there. The idea that it there wouldn’t be any problems with
that seemed unimaginable. But the Strategist gave a happy laugh and answered my obvious surprise:

  “Leng Gnat, you’re new head of the La-Fin Dynasty and leader of the First Directory. The players of the La-Fin Faction will obey you and only you. You’re also the main Human-3 Faction negotiator. So technically, you’re negotiating on behalf of both sides. So I bet you’ll be able to reach an agreement with yourself. I’m just a temporary placeholder. My mission was to make sure the La-Fin Faction and my world get a fair shake in the peace treaty. What conditions do you have to offer, Leng Gnat?”

  Unexpected! No really, I never would have thought that one day the responsibility to decide for both worlds would fall on my shoulders. This was like playing chess against myself. So then, if I thought about it, what conditions were fair? I was in no rush, gradually squeezing out phrase after phrase:

  “The La-Fin Faction shall receive a Geckho guarantee for their capital hexagon and retain the captured Tropics node. There they may build a distant outpost and a seaport but only on the condition that they do not obstruct movement of goods between the H3 and H6 factions on the coastal rode. Also, their further expansion south shall be delimited by a node which shall belong to no one. La-Fin troops shall be withdrawn from Karelia and the faction shall renounce all claims both to that node and the one on the opposite shore of the bay. On the other side, the Human-3 Faction shall receive a Geckho guarantee on their Capital node and renounce all claims to the Harpy Cliffs. Again this will be on the condition that the road remains open for trade with the Geckho spaceport.”

  I fell silent, expecting commentary or arguments, but General Ui-Taka kept silent, listening carefully and allowed me to continue:

  “The H3 Faction will remain under control of Ivan Lozovsky. And I transfer leadership over the La-Fin Faction to my legal wife Princess Minn-O La-Fin. I still haven’t talked with her about it, but she is a mage and represents the ancient La-Fin Dynasty so our subjects should not have any objections. As for the island we are now on...” I gathered some air because the next demand was just pure impudence. “This island shall become my personal territory! My personal faction will be located here, composed of volunteers from both of the parallel worlds, as well as members of other space races. This island shall also be untouchable, as guaranteed by humanity’s Geckho suzerains!”