I had to assume that he was either a very stupid or a very strong wizard to have reacted that way to a description of someone as having two swords. Which one is he?
***
Pulling the curtain aside, I stepped into the spacious and brightly lit room. We were really high up. The enormous windows opened out onto a fantastic view of Selgar, and we could see the whole thing. Some of the desert even fit into the picture.
“My regards to the great Bakhramius,” I said with a bow to the frail old man in the brocaded robe. He was holding a bowl, and he nodded graciously, his wet, wedge-shaped beard fluffing amusingly.
“Speak,” he replied, waving his free hand and letting the diamond rings it was loaded with sparkle in the sunlight.
I pointed at Kro and Nazir behind me. “We’re wandering warriors, and fighting is what we do. When there’s no fighting to be done, we accept jobs from a variety of rich people. Some need something found, others something delivered—”
“Or something killed,” Bakhramius broke in with a yawn. “So, you’re here for my head? That’s funny. Anyway, you’re just in time; I’ve been wanting to try out a new spell. Okay, everyone stand close together!”
“No, no, no,” I said hurriedly, waving my arms. “How could we? No, nobody sent us!”
“Really?” the old man replied disappointedly. “That’s a shame. I wanted to turn you into… Oh, well.”
“It’s just that we happened to find ourselves in an unpleasant place recently. You’ve probably heard of it—the Al Albain oasis.”
“We were all there together?” Kro asked in surprise. “Really?”
“Yup,” I replied. “Anyway, as we were going through the loot, we found several…umm…body parts that we thought you might be interested in.”
“In other words, you got your hands on the skulls of Ffarg the Wicked’s servants,” Bakhramius said. “Selim, you’re forgiven, head downstairs. I’m not going to punish you; these are useful visitors.”
The beanpole brightened up, bowed low to the wizard, and left the room.
“A complete idiot,” the wizard said, “though he’s absolutely loyal to me. Where are my skulls?”
“Here you go.” I handed them to the wizard. “I’m glad we could be of service.”
You completed a quest: Five Skulls.
Reward:
4000 experience
1500 gold
“I’m a fair man, which is a rare quality in a wizard,” Bakhramius said to me. “Gold is too small a reward for what you’ve done, so take this, as well. It’s a rare item, and I’m the only one who can make things like it these days. Well, there’s Wayland the Blacksmith up in the North, too. On the other hand, his work just looks rough.”
I held a small gold item in my hands.
Jewel setting
Accessory for creating magic items
Made by Bakhramius the wizard.
Has the unique ability to triple all the attributes of the stone set in it.
Additional:
+1.5 gold from opponents
+5% experience for crafting (only for jewelers)
Note! This setting can only be used once.
Be smart about what you use it for.
Note! Any player can set a stone in this setting. No particular skills are required.
It was a nice little toy. Needless to say, I wasn’t going to use it myself, but I figured I could sell it for a pretty chunk of change. It wasn’t any good for the clan, either.
“There’s another thing, by the way.” Bakhramius settled in among the cushions his sickly body was lying on. “I have a job you could probably take care of pretty easily. I need—”
“My dear Bakhramius, sadly, I have to decline,” I replied, throwing up my hands. “The problem is that we have war in the Borderlands, and I need to hurry back there. My services have already been paid, and I’m very scrupulous when it comes to these things. However, my apprentice might be able to help you.”
Seeing that I was pointing at her, Krolina looked at me indignantly.
“Excuse me?”
Without taking the smile off my face, I kicked her lightly.
“I get it, I get it,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m not an idiot. You be careful, though!”
The wizard nodded and smiled happily. It didn’t look like he cared who he gave the quest to—the skulls had opened the way into his heart for all of us.
Kro clearly picked up some kind of quest. At least, her face beamed with satisfaction. That made sense, given that he was an unusual character, and his quests probably weren’t for five turtle shells. The reward would have been in kind.
“Thanks for coming,” he said. “If you happen to be in our great city again, stop by.”
Nazir waved, Kro curtseyed, and I held out my hand. Why not?
The old man chuckled, looked down at my palm, and suddenly turned serious.
“Your friends can wait for you by the carpet,” he said shortly. “You stay here a minute.”
“Go ahead,” I said to the pair. “I’ll be right there.”
When the curtain closed behind Kro and Nazir, the old man gestured me to a pillow next to him.
“Why didn’t you tell me you serve him?” Bakhramius asked, shaking his head reproachfully. “Any confidant of his is a welcome guest in my home.”
He pressed my palm, and I felt a flame lick through it.
Oh, God, I have the worst luck. The old man was apparently a friend of Wanderer’s, and he was about to give me up to whoever was on the other side of the monitors. I am so tired of everyone watching me!
“I didn’t know you were one of us,” I muttered. “It’s a pleasure to meet a brother in the faith in these troubling days.”
If anyone asked any questions, I was going to pawn it all off on Tekhosh. Or maybe, Tiamat. They weren’t going to check, so long as the old man didn’t say too much.
“Yes, everything is coming to a conclusion.” Bakhramius stroked his beard. “What’s your name, warrior?”
I placed my hand over my heart. “Hagen.”
“From now on, my home is your home,” the wizard said solemnly. “You will always find help, support, and protection here, I swear it.”
Your reputation with Bakhramius increased by 50.
Note! You can get several hidden quests from him.
I certainly didn’t need any quests; finishing the ones I already had in time was hard enough.
“I can see that you’re in a hurry,” Bakhramius nodded understandingly. “You don’t want to give your friends reason to gossip. That’s smart. If you ever want to visit me, just show this to Selibob.”
He pulled a ring off his finger and held it out to me.
“Thanks,” I replied, a bit taken aback.
“Go ahead, go ahead, I understand.” He gave me a light shove.
On the way, I took a look at what he’d given me; I couldn’t resist.
Sun of the South Ring
Jewelry made by Bakhramius the wizard.
Remember that items made by Bakhramius are highly valued in Rattermark. People in the know pay good money to possess them.
+50 to wisdom
+39 to stamina
+28 to agility
+10% protection from mental effects
+9% spell reading speed
+9% magical energy restoration speed in battle
Cannot be sold.
Durability: 781/ 800
Class restriction: mages
Minimum level for use: 110
Halfway to the exit, I turned around. A good idea had popped into my head, one that could save me time and money. “Master?”
The wizard raised his head and looked at me inquiringly.
“Do you know what this coin is?” I handed him the gold sovereign I’d found in Ort’s cave.
“Where did you find that abomination?” Bakhramius asked, his tone dripping with disgust. “What terrible, dirty work.”
The item was identified. Stu
dy it to find out what its attributes are.
“I just happened across it. That bad, huh?”
“Terrible.” Bakhramius handed me the coin, wiped his hand with a silk handkerchief, and incinerated the handkerchief. “Get rid of it, or maybe, send it to your worst enemy.”
Gold sovereign from the time of King Edward IV, the insidious.
Cursed item
A fish trader once received this coin in payment, having slandered a good family by telling the authorities that they were dabbling in witchcraft.
The family was burned, and the informant was cursed forever.
Attributes:
Whoever calls this coin their own receives the following debuffs:
-25% overall life energy
-15% wisdom
-12% attack strength
-8% life energy restoration speed
-7% interest from the opposite gender
These debuffs are permanent until the coin is claimed by another owner.
Note! This coin cannot be used to pay for goods or services. It cannot be claimed by an NPC, as it is only for players.
Note! The holder of this coin, unless they claim it as their own, will not be assessed any debuffs.
Huh. So, I had a mini Hiroshima in my pocket. I wasn’t going to throw it away; it could come in handy. What if I find a good enemy to pawn it off on?
After bowing to the wizard, I returned to my friends. Selim was nearby, having somehow found out that it was time for us to go.
“What did you talk about?” Kro asked immediately.
“Oh, this and that—taxes, the problems with the climate, how dangerous the world is getting.”
“Fine, then, I’m not going to tell you about my quest,” Kro shot back with a pout. Oh, no, anything but that!
Really, I was too busy thinking about something else. I was in shock, to be accurate. Stavros must have done so much work if even situations like these are tied into the Great Dragon quest! Some things could have been written officially or planned out in advance, but the wizard, for example, was definitely not under the admin’s control.
I would have bet my life that he wasn’t alone. One person just couldn’t have done everything. Somebody was helping, or most likely, managing him. There were the finances, too.
“Okay, where next?” Krolina asked.
“To the inquisitors. Where else?” I replied, surprised. “We already talked about this.”
“So, back to the castle?” Her tone was packed with sarcasm.
I clapped myself on the forehead. Why couldn’t we go see Martin first? Kro had just recently told me that Lossarnakh had gotten them all settled in the west wing of the castle. That’s not even funny…
“You’re mean, Kro,” I said, giving her a reproachful kick.
“I’m unquestioning in my obedience. You’re our commander, you’re in charge, and I follow you as your faithful assistant. Everybody’s happy, everybody has their guarantee of peace and comfort.”
“If I only told you what the guarantee really is,” I grunted. “I wouldn’t do that; you’re basically a girl.”
“What do you mean, basically?” Kro’s indignation wasn’t feigned that time. “You don’t get any more of a girl than me. My name’s Julia, by the way. You could’ve asked me that a long time ago.”
“Why?”
“Because.” She pulled a portal scroll out. “We’re in this together, and we don’t know anything about each other. That’s no good. The clans who do it right know everything about each other, even exchange phone numbers just in case. We don’t have anything like that.”
“Right again,” I had to say. “Fine, I swear, we’ll take care of that after New Year’s.”
“And not here, either,” Krolina replied, tapping her foot. “Are you from Moscow?”
“Yes…”
“Okay, then invite me out for a cup of coffee…and a pastry…with custard.”
“Ooph,” I exhaled. “Sure, I guess I can do that.”
“In that case, make it happen.” Kro assumed a pose of proud expectation, her face beautiful, if masked by indifference and arrogance.
“Hey, are you sure you want that? What if I’m old and ugly?”
“I’m not planning on doing anything like that with you,” she replied, surprised. “And I don’t care about that, anyway. It’s just easier to discuss a lot of things in real life. I’d make Dorn come, too, but he’s from Kursk.”
I sighed. “Fine, what about the second? I have plans for the first.”
“I remember,” Kro nodded. “Could we do the fourth? No? All right, then, the second.”
At least, she didn’t ask for my name. Why didn’t my old man name me Lesha? Or Petya? Even Edward would have been fine—it was still an odd one, but it was way better than Harriton.
My holiday calendar was filling up, too. I had New Year’s Eve on the first floor, coffee with Kro, the trip to Kasimov… It was more an execution than a vacation. Maybe, I should spend them drunk. A lot of people spend the New Year’s holiday drunk, and they say they have a great time.
***
The portal flashed, and we were back outside the castle.
“Okay, let’s go see Martin,” Kro said as she set off confidently toward the castle entrance. “Keep up; I wouldn’t want you to get lost!”
“Too late for that,” I muttered as I set off after her.
Chapter Nine
In which the hero comes to an agreement and lays out some plans.
As I followed Krolina—who looked as comfortable navigating the castle as though she’d been walking its halls for a hundred years—it hit me that there was no holiday spirit in the Borderlands. That’s no good. Where were the unkempt gelts cursing as they set up a Christmas tree out in the castle courtyard? Where was the half-drunk skald singing happy songs to cheer up the people? Where were the holiday decorations? Sure, we were at war, but we still needed to lift the players’ spirits.
“Hey, what did you have to agree to with that unpleasant character?” Kro asked, pulling me away from my seditious thoughts about the corporation.
“Which? I don’t spend much time with pleasant characters, so that describes most of the people I talk to.”
“The one in the tent. I don’t imagine he helped you out of the goodness of his heart.”
“No, he didn’t. He isn’t the freebie type. I had to swear that I’ll bring the axe straight to him if I get it, even before taking it to the king.”
“And you agreed?” Kro stopped suddenly, and I ran smack into her.
“Of course,” I replied with a sunny smile. “Why not? Honestly, I really didn’t feel like getting into an argument with him. We didn’t have time, and he’s just the kind of nasty guy you can’t really dicker with.”
“What kind of idiot are you? Even crazy Tren would have known that he wanted to grab hold of the axe himself. You won’t see it again.”
“Of course!” I was the picture of agreeability that day. “I don’t doubt that for a second. He’s a pretty dubious guy, that godi, living off by himself with his own personal guards. I have a feeling he doesn’t care a whit about the fate of the Borderlands; he’s after the axe for his own reasons.”
“He has good warriors for guards,” Nazir said suddenly. “Strong and quick.”
“So, you had a reason for picking a fight with that guy?” I asked, turning to look at him. “You wanted to see what he was made of?”
The sparkle in Nazir’s eye was the only answer I got. Right on the money.
“That makes what you did even worse,” Kro frowned. “This could go really badly for the clan.”
“Not at all, it’ll be fine. He won’t see the axe any more than he can see his own ears.”
“What do you mean?” Kro was starting to look like a miniature thundercloud—dark and threatening lightning at any moment.
“What did I tell him?” I asked, taking a couple steps backward. “If I get the axe, I’ll take it to him. But I don’t plan
on getting the axe.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, God.” I leaned against the wall. “I’m not going to get the axe; you are. Well, you or someone else from the clan. I understand me getting the axe to mean being the first one to pick it up or get it out of the chest it’s in. Maybe, strip a dead body of it. I won’t even be the leader of the group once we get to the last quest in the series. I’m not going to do anything, including picking it up, being in charge of the process, or even, maybe, being there. That godi isn’t the one who decides if I’m an oath-breaker; it’s the system.”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” Krolina giggled. “You’re a weasel, you know that? You’ve been pulling tricks, telling white lies, keeping things to yourself, and swindling people ever since I’ve known you.”
“All for the clan.” I could imagine what she would have said if she knew just how much I’d kept from her. “I want to make sure things are good for everyone.”
“Not a bad plan,” Kro said, scratching her head and ruffling her hair in the process. “Although, what if the system looks at what you do throughout the whole process, and not just for the last quest? I mean, what if it’s your overall contribution?”
“Hmm, I didn’t think about that. Okay, we’ll come back to that later; see what the forums have to say.”
I wanted to check with a certain someone, too; Kostya probably knew much more than the forums.
“In general, I think that will work, though,” Kro said as she started forward again. “I’ll finish the quest.”
“By all means. Happy wife, happy life.”
***
The inquisitors had settled in well. Their wing of the castle was off to itself, connected to the main section by one long passageway. There were a few tough-looking guys blocking the way.
“Mistress Krolina,” said one of them, who looked to be older than the rest, as he bowed to my deputy. His face was hidden by a hood attached to a long, gray cloak. “The head of the college will be happy to see you, even if you don’t have an appointment. Who are your companions?”
The Right to Choose Page 15