“I could log in right away, and I’ll be in Selene. It’s a village near...”
“We’ll find you,” Gosha interrupted me. He pondered it for a while, making snuffling noises, and then said, “Be in Waldyra in some twenty or thirty minutes, and wait right next to the respawn location. I’ll organize things in a moment and send a free fellow clan member over with your, uh, investment package.”
“Thanks, Gosha!” My joy was pure and unfeigned.
“You’re welcome. We’re in this together,” Gosha said gruffly. “But I advise you to speed up. In case you realize you can’t manage it, let me know. I’ll get you to a clan-owned location to level up.”
“Got it.”
“Right on, Ros. Gotta run and take care of your affairs.”
“Run? Aren’t you, like, still in the hospital bed?”
“I am. I was speaking metaphorically.”
“Cool. Thanks again, and get well soon.”
“Sure. Bye.”
There was a dry click in the receiver as Gosha dialed off.
I decided against waiting for another half hour — the headache would have done me in otherwise. I finished my coffee, scalding my lips, then took care of my hydration, made a quick visit to the bathroom, and crawled inside the cocoon.
And so, there I was in a state of bliss, sitting on a wooden bench underneath a mighty oak, my eye wandering toward the stone disc of the respawn location set in the ground.
I instantly recognized the “investor” I’d been waiting for, and so did the entire village. No wonder — this backwater hardly ever saw Level 214 titans, and this one looked every bit the part — a true Amazon, riding an enormous black bull and dressed very scantily — nothing but a few strips of spotted pelt covering what one usually keeps covered, and a bunch of jewelry. I didn’t notice any weapons.
The girl parked her pet right next to the bench, hopped off in a single swift motion, scrutinized me and nodded, apparently satisfied.
“Hey there, Rosgard! Been waiting for me?”
“I guess so,” I nodded uncertainly. “Are you the free fellow clan member that Gosha had mentioned?”
“Free, my ass! I’m anything but! They sent me here right from the Misty Jungle; I’m keeping watch over the lumberjacks there. Here’s your stuff, and I’m off before all the workers get devoured by beasts. Trade.”
I barely managed to activate the item transfer window, the Amazon (whose name was Dazzling Dawn, by the way) started to urge me on impatiently.
“Come on, agree to it already.”
“I have,” I replied, pushing the confirmation sound. There was a clinking noise, and I became the rightful owner of something (I haven’t managed to identify any of my new possessions since everything just happened too fast).
“All right, little Rossie, good luck!” The Amazon waved her hand and hopped easily onto the black beast’s back.
“All the best to you, too, Auntie Dawn,” I shouted as the bull galloped away like a live and horned torpedo — I dreaded the thought of ending up in the beast’s way.
“Auntie?” a Level 19 girl sitting on the bench next to mine squeaked, her jaw dropping to the ground.
“Well, definitely not an uncle,” I shrugged and went on my way. I needed to leave the park and find a more private location.
“Halt, Rosgard the stranger!”
I turned around to stare at a village guard, who’d just arrived, in surprise. Two more were chasing the Amazon, running as fast as they could.
“Do you know her? Is she a friend of yours?” The guard pointed toward the cloud of dust that was rapidly disappearing into the distance. It may have been a bull, but it could accelerate better than any sports car.
“Never seen her before,” I said with indignation, squared my shoulders and went off. I really doubted that the guards could ever catch up with the mounted disturber of the peace. Apart from that, she was merely playing chase with the guards. She’d use a teleportation scroll once she’d get tired — Misty Jungle was a long way off, and she definitely wouldn’t ride all the way there.
As I got to a sufficiently empty side-street, I opened my pack impatiently, and gave an astonished whistle.
There were fifteen transportation scrolls with an empty destination section. One could fill in the blank with the name of any location and get there instantly.
Five hundred gold coins, no less. I double-checked, just to make sure, and there was no mistake — I was exactly five hundred heavy golden discs richer.
There were five scrolls with the Fireball spell that I had already studied at Tier 1 as Burning Ember.
Two top-tier Diamond Spikes scrolls.
Three top-tier Swamp of Rot scrolls.
One top-tier Hailing Rocks scroll.
I say...
“But what about the equipment? Have you forgotten the equipment?!” The hoarder in me started to shriek discontentedly. “Too mean for it, eh? Well, you’ll see...”
“Shut up!” I hissed at him voicelessly.
Before I could ponder it, there were chimes, and the notification about a new message from Dazzling Dawn popped up.
“Sorry, kid! There was no equipment for your level in the clan’s Lesser Vault, and I had no time for shopping. Take care of it yourself — I’ve given you some money and a few scrolls to boot. You’ll figure things out.”
“No equipment in the lesser vault?” The hoarder raised his voice again. “But what about the greater vault? Could I see the entire list?”
However, my reply was in a wholly different vein:
“Reading you loud and clear, Dawn. Thanks once again. Good luck in the Misty Jungle.”
Without further ado, I fished a teleportation scroll out of my pack, ran my finger along the empty destination space, and whispered,
“Algora.”
I shut my eyes before I’d see more flashes and iridescence. Once I opened them again, I was already in the middle of a busy city street.
“Hello again, Algora. I’m back at your feast of life,” I thought to myself.
I didn’t have much time for sightseeing. I set my pack on my shoulder, got my bearings quickly, and cheerfully turned into a narrow side street connecting two parallel lanes. It would take me about ten minutes on foot to reach the Mages’ Guild. It was high time to level up my spells, and there might be other bonuses in stock for me as well.
I barely managed to walk thirty paces when I heard a muffled voice,
“Hey... Rosgard, hold on a second.”
I stopped instantly and started to look around me, seeing nothing but stone walls. Was I hearing things? Had the hangover reached me in Waldyra, causing an aural hallucination to boot?
“Down here... Look below you.”
I looked down to discover I was standing on a metal drain grate, having almost stepped on somebody’s dirty fingers clinging to the rusty bars.
“Yikes,” I sad as I jumped backward. “What the...”
“Rosgard, please, don’t walk away! Help me! Please!”
“Who are you?” I inquired from a safe distance. “A local?”
“What exactly do you mean? My class? A Thief... well, I intend to become one.”
“So, a player, after all,” I sighed with relief, taking a step forward, having just imagined a gruesome scenario where a werewolf crawls out of the sewer.
I leaned over the grill to take a closer look at the owner of the dirty fingers, half obscured by the dark, and read his stats. Definitely a player. Level 16, the nickname Scuttlesniff pulsating quietly in green lettering. What was he all about, I wondered?
“Scuttlesniff?” I said in an uncertain voice.
“Yup! I’m a thief, see. Always scuttling back and forth, sniffing out stuff, hence the name,” the mucky fellow boasted, pulling himself up higher. “I’ve been hanging here like this for over an hour. No one ever comes this way. Well, some player did pass by, and I even shouted and waved my fingers at him, but he ran away, for some reason.”
&nb
sp; “Heh, I can understand him. Well, now...”
“Hey, give me a hand here, will you?”
“How?”
“I need to move this grill aside! I’m pushing from below, but I’m not strong enough. There’s a sewage well under the grill. I barely managed to make it up here. The walls are so slimy I slipped about four times before I reached the grill. I’ve been hanging here ever since.”
I studied the grill carefully, and made a helpless gesture.
“Sorry, mate. We wouldn’t even be able to move it together.”
“Why is that?”
“The grill’s built right into the paving,” I explained. “Immured. There’s no exit here. How did you end up down there in the first place?”
“I fell through... A few days ago, like,” Scuttlesniff said gruffly.
“A couple of days? You’ve been down in the sewers for a couple of days?!”
“Sure... Damn! Damn and double-damn! Snake eyes! Shit luck! Whew... Easy, Sniff, easy, brother, don’t start sniveling... Hey! Rosgard! Listen up! How about you kill me, then? I’m right close to the surface, so I’ll respawn in the city! One death, and I’m free!”
“It’s a peaceful area. Players can’t fight each other. I wouldn’t even be able to take a few hit points off you, and an attempt to attack will paint me red. And it’s not like you’re even a target, you’ve only got three fingers sticking out. Sorry, I really am. A newbie, aren’t you?”
“Yeah...”
“Try to find another exit, bro,” I said, really feeling for the guy. “The sewers go on forever and there are many exits. Just make sure you don’t go too far down. They say there’s a lot of real nasty stuff crawling around down there.”
“I know already! The stuff I’ve seen... Damn!”
“Study the map at the forum. Ask someone for help or information. Someone will help you get out of there.”
Something made a gurgling sound... Or a gargling sound... I have no idea how to describe it. I cut my lecture short and asked, astonished,
“Hey, what's the matter with you?!”
“It wasn’t me. It’s Crawler making a ruckus again. Hungry again. Shush, Crawler! OK, thanks, Rosgard. If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be trying to move that grate. I had no idea it was immured! I should run along. Oh, hey, listen! Have you got any food? And a flask, perhaps? I’m not asking for handouts, I’d buy them off you. Found a few dozen coppers here. Some shoes wouldn’t hurt, either — mine are done for. Some of the pools you tread in are just like acid.”
“Give me a sec,” I said, inspecting my pack. “Right... Not much in the way of grub, but I’ll give you whatever I have. I hope it works through the grill — your fingers are sticking out, after all. Open the trade window. Keep the money.”
Having checked my supplies, I dumped all the healing potions I’d had on me into the trade window, as well as a few pieces of meat that were already beginning to spoil. I took off my slightly worn shoes and added them, too. After a moment’s reflection I decided I wouldn’t miss the camp cooking set or the flask, either. I had money, after all, so I could always buy the stuff I’d need.
“Here you go!”
There was a clinking sound. Scuttlesniff’s overjoyed voice confirmed that the trade had gone through successfully.
“It worked! Tha-a-a-a-a-a-anks!” The dirty fingers clinging to the crate let go, and the player dropped down into the darkness with a long yell.
“Good luck!” I shouted into the sewage well, and continued on my way along the paved side street barefoot.
It was always something...
I could, of course, have given him a teleportation scroll, but I had a hunch he’d manage it without something as fancy in a few hours. Those things were just too expensive to give to anyone you’d meet. Not that he’d asked for one, either.
Scuttlesniff... Yeah, someone like him would definitely make it, no worries there.
* * *
The mage behind the green door did not look impressed by my appearance.
He look at my bare feet pointedly, opened an enormous volume on the necessary page without a mistake, and instructed me curtly,
“Touch the edge of the page.”
As soon as I did as I was told, the old man stuck his nose into the book, and chuckled in a satisfied manner once he’d mulled over the new runic inscriptions.
“Not bad, young man,” he said. Then he spoiled the effect from the compliment by saying, “But you certainly could have done better. You have studied Summon an Adder enough for Tier 2, but your Hedge of Thorns and Sticky Vine are nothing to write home about so far, I’m afraid. Would you like to raise your summoning skill to Tier 2?
“I would, o master,” I hastened to reply.
“That’ll cost you five gold coins.”
“Please accept them with my thanks, o master.”
“Touch the edge of the page again.”
The spell icon with a tiny snake on it blinked and shifted its shape slowly. The new snake was much larger and a lot brawnier. Goodbye, little beady-eyed snake; hello, garter snake.
Achievement unlocked!
You have received an achievement: Nature Mage, Tier 3.
You can see the table of achievements in your character's menu.
Your reward: +0.6% to the power and the duration of the effect of spells from this class.
Current level of the bonus: +1% .
“You have mastered two Tier 2 Nature Magic spells and are now one step closer to becoming a master mage, young man,” the old man said amiably in his creaky voice as he looked at the greenish page of the tome and the new line of runes that had just appeared there. “This gives you the ability to learn a useful skill. Those available are Power of Nature, Tier 2, Understanding Nature, or Merging with Nature.”
“What does Merging with Nature do, master?”
“This skill will give you a better chance of casting a Nature Magic spell on any terrain and will give you a certain deal of resistance to this magic if it is ever used against you. You will also be more likely to spot medicinal herbs.”
“In that case, I choose Power of Nature, Tier 2.”
“An excellent choice, young man. Any good mage wishes for the power of his spells to be devastating... And yet, one needs to think of one’s defense, too.”
I had no idea whether that was a commendation or a criticism.
“Upgrading Power of Nature will cost you ten gold pieces.”
“Why, certainly.”
Having paid, I touched the page once again, and was overjoyed to see the system message:
You have successfully learned the following Tier 2 spell: The Power of Nature.
Damage from Nature Magic spells is up by 4% (7% total).
The duration of Nature Magic spells is up by 4% (4% total).
I appear to have gotten all the perks I could here, so it was time for my bare feet to take me elsewhere.
Having visited the elemental mage, I upgraded two more spells to Tier 2. Fire Ember became Blazing Ember with higher damage and a small chance of setting the opponent on fire. Ice Needle turned into Ice Shard.
I instantly got two achievements at once:
Achievement unlocked!
You have received an achievement: Elemental Mage, Tier 2.
You can see the table of achievements in your character's menu.
Your reward: +0.3% to the power and the duration of the effect of spells from this class.
Current level of the bonus: +0.4% .
And...
Achievement unlocked!
You have received an achievement: Elemental Mage, Tier 3.
You can see the table of achievements in your character's menu.
Your reward: +0.6% to the power and the duration of the effect of spells from this class.
Current level of the bonus: +1% .
Correspondingly, the mage offered me to choose between several skills that had become available, and I chose Elemental Power, upgrading it to Tier 2
at once. The skill was similar to The Power of Nature — it boosted the effect and the duration of elemental spells.
Much to my chagrin, I hadn’t been offered any skills of the “general” sort that would make me spend less mana or boost my mana potential, and that was the end of my magical self-improvement session.
Clan Dominance - the Sleepless Ones 2 Page 22