I had for a moment the desire to stand up proudly and stick out my chest, put my hand on the hilt of my sword, smooth out a long, curved mustache, and then say something seaworthy.
But the urge subsided. And I remained sitting on the bench, but briefly outlined my location and approximate time of arrival. After that, the correspondence ended. Swift went forwards on a straight wave, ramming into the serpentine body of a monster.
In the moment when the flagship flew downwards, into the underwater abyss, I saw a lot of blazing lights at the bottom - both burning smoothly and flashing, becoming miniature supernovas and sharply dimming. Up to the surface of the water rose a strange reverse rain. Spots of something oily, various wooden chips, parts of the floating equipment, floundering monsters, players, and even dead fish, and the twitching limbs unknown monsters. There, at the bottom, right below us, was a battle no less fierce. I did not know which side was winning.
But over the water - then the result was obvious. We had won.
With plaintive groans of pierced hulls and crashing masts, more and more ships were overturned. Some completely lost their masts ... and began to sink. Less of our ships had drowned. It was due to our superior numbers and our improved stats, due to having the Navigator aboard. We had better maneuverability, durability, better slaughter, and better speed recovery - all this, along with other factors, gave us a huge advantage.
The ship straightened, and with an effort went, made its way into the trench. Along the way, the flagship carelessly smashed several pieces of accumulated debris, to which clung sailors and achilots. I had noticed that the survivors were not just waiting for salvation - they were still fighting and killed each other mercilessly.
Sh-h-H-H-HAH!
I stared in shock at the thick black spear the size of a pine mast. The spear had missed the flagship by two meters, no more. What the hell was that!? A real rocket launcher aimed at us or what ?!
SH-H-H-HAH! Sh-h-h-H-HAH! SH-H-H-H-HAH!
Exactly ... a rocket launcher. And multiple rockets!
Swift moved steeply to the side. One of the rockets tore off some wood on the right side near the nose. Another gigantic bullet went right through a smaller boat.
I vividly imagined the achilots entrenched at the bottom, closely watching the surface of the water for the flagship. And I desperately hoped that the next round would not penetrate the ship's wood directly beneath me and get me in the ass. I would not want to die in the manner of "navigator planted on a stake and flying to the horizon of knowledge."
And then everything ended abruptly ....
No other black harpoon went out of the water. Had someone crushed the shooters? Maybe. Or they had run out of ammunition. They had destroyed three ships and damaged about a dozen. Apt scum, very apt. However, they were definitely no longer firing…
“Ready!” Reported Ocean to the Baroness. “We are above Kvanton!”
Abruptly turning to him, the head of the Sleepless commanded:
“Let’s get him! If he is sitting in Kvanton— I want him to start to boil! Begin right away!”
“Done!”
The orc ran, barked a few commands, promising nothing good for the deep ocean dwellers of Valdira.
“Malice!”
“Yes?!”
“I want the Union! Use a whirlpool! And its crater depth should be no less than three hundred meters! So that he sucks everything in and delivers it even deeper! Begin right away! Support mages— give Malice everything he needs. The same goes for other mages! Union!”
Interesting….
Swift went slowly forwards— at the stern stood Malice and behind him stood a semicircle of five support mages. Malice was like an athlete on steroids. Around them erupted a magical dome decorated with stars, diamonds, and other luminous figures, including some mysterious signs and runes.
They were all powerful battle mages. And all six - including Malice - were preparing to cast a single spell - the whirlpool. The usual maelstrom of the higher rank. One that could sink a large ship and drag it to the bottom. The curse of seafarers .... only now the whirlpool would be pronounced within the famous ritual of unity, and will join the forces of six professional battlemages...
I was dying of anticipation. I gritted my teeth so hard that I would have needed a chisel and a hammer if I ever wanted to say anything else again .... Jumping up, I clung on to the railing, and stood next to the Baroness, who did not take her eyes off of the dark ocean.
Nothing….
Nothing….
Anger threw up his hands and began to pronounce the spell. Indescribable…
Nothing…
Nothing….
Then the dome shone around mages in a stronger, blinding flash.
Nothing…
Nothing…
There!
Ocean currents began to disappear! The water around us was covered with very finely trembling ripples ....
R-R-R-R-A-A-A-AM-M-M-M-M !!!
The monstrous sound was heard for kilometers around. A portion of the ocean began to twist. Ships around us began to separate. The colossal vortex spun faster and faster, and began to swallow everything in a row. The surface of the water was immediately cleaned from fragments of vessels and from burning, sinking ships. All went into the funnel beginning a deadly dance like a catapult sending everything deep down to the bottom - down towards Kvanton. The whirlpool was the most powerful, but it did not reach the bottom of the abyss. However, it was strong enough to send us on our way.
Lord ....
The Black Baroness just ....
She has created a magic gun to send a huge number of bullets at Digratsy! My heart was about to jump out of my chest…
But for the Baroness this was not enough.
“Add to the whirlpool! All fire! Fire!”
I obeyed.
I held up both hands in front of me and pointed to the gigantic water roaring funnel, sending fireballs into its heart. Not only me - dozens of mages did the same thing! Arrows after burning arrows. Alchemists created boilers filled with magical termites and the sailors picked them up and threw it in.
The fire could not survive at the very bottom of the abyss. But it was not required - it was enough to heat the water in the swirling funnel. And Digratsy will hate it… and he will descend lower…
Three minutes….
We are the sending everything burning into the whirlpool.
Four minutes ...
We are running out of bombs… our supplies are not limitless.
Five minutes….
Out of the water, with a long groan appears the very long neck of a dinosaur. Atop its head stands an achilot girl and screams:
“HE’S COMING! HE’S COMING!”
B-A-A-A-AA-A-A-A-AH!
The painful and mad fury of the god confirmed her words ....
Digratsy went up ... he moved directly towards us ....
We had burned the God ....
Scalded his divine side ....
And now the immortal monster crab wanted to get to us…
Or not… we jerked to the left. We were already so debilitated. A team of workers were hammering like mad, closing up the worst holes in the lining temporarily.
We were not the only ones leaving- all the allied ships began to withdraw.
Sitting down on the bench, the Black Baroness wearily smiled at me, patting the bench next to her, gesturing for me to sit down. Interested, I sat down, looked around the mutilated unfortunately mutilated ocean. Somewhere there was smoke, somewhere an oil spill. Even the maelstrom failed to clean everything. Noticing nothing interesting — except perhaps a grinning Malice putting his arm around the waists of the two female support mages— I looked at the Baroness.
“It is rarely possible to simply enjoy the spectacle, to be an audience,” gasped the girl, massaging her temples.
“Hmm .... An evil god is climbing to us,” I reminded her. “Are we not relaxing too early?”
“Not God. Just a crazed
evil creature who does not understand anything, and only seeks the cold and grub. This is not a god. It is a living insult to gods who consider themselves intellectuals of the highest standard. They do not like being compared to animals,” the Baroness corrected me.
“But all the same - is it not too early? Especially when Digratsy hates the Sleepless, and you personally?”
“Everything has been accounted for— hours ago. Now you will see the CLOUDs of the clans Proud Narwhal and Trident of Atlantis. Then we will enjoy a hell of a phenomenon. Oh ... and here he is .... Digratsy .... You still have wine?”
“There’s a whole bottle, but it is not that great.”
“It'll do. Look, the narwhals are almost ready,” she pointed to a small cluster of battered ships under white flags with the image of a Golden Horn. Around the ships some milk-white clouds thickened, and mingled with the rising ocean ... and a golden haze.
Sitting side by side with the Baroness, we poured the wine into our glasses. Just as I poured some wine to the Baroness, the maelstrom turned inside out— it simply turned its funnel in the opposite direction, and foamy, dirty water flew forty meters up into the sky. Inside the murky gray water and dirt, I saw, with horror, a familiar and terrible outline .... Well, hello….
The first horrible hit came from the Narwhals, as soon as the giant crab collapsed back into the water. And then came the CLOUD- a huge golden trident emerged from the sea and took aim at the poor creature.
“Their CLOUD has a long way to go,” said the Baroness. “It's a young clan. But it will do for now.”
I listened to her, watching Digratsy flailing his paws. It seemed that he had broken a few limbs and a claw .... the Narwhals climbed out from their ships and went for the throat of the krabber. A god was being killed before us.... Well, almost. After all, it was immortal.
What followed next was a blow from above. The clans worked well together, posing as champions at tennis where Digratsy acted as the tennis ball. The Narwhals parried to players in the Trident Clan - an actual racket, woven out of the water, lightning, and air, made a trident that immediately disappeared upon a successful hit. The crab was thrown back- the poor guy whistled through the air like a cannonball, struck the water like a stone and bounced on its surface, destroying a whole ship in the process.
Then he was attacked with constant blows, from everyone, from all sides. He struggled, tried to escape into the depths, but he could not. Forgetting the wine, I was frozen in shock, staring at the swirling huge ball of fire, poison, lightning, and explosions. It is the quintessence of horror- concrete damage.
Ten seconds .... Twenty .... Thirty ....
One of the claws, of course, flew off. The howl of Digratsy reached its limit, and my eardrums threatened to burst.
A Krabber soldier who managed to get aboard forgot about fighting: he crouched down onto his hands and knees, and cried to the dying God:
“Au au akarto! Au akarto! Liema dirhama! Au akarto!”
His was finished off by the Red Baron.
Where the crab was furiously fighting, his paws still twitching, appeared two majestic figures ...
An unearthly, beautiful girl with long green hair and a fish tail. In her hands was an ornate harp.
A strange long-necked beast with huge violet eyes, and flippers instead of paws. His skin was white as snow, and on his back was a golden ridge.
The gods were paying homage to their unfortunate fallen kin. They raised their hands and fins over the howling Digratsy, bowed their heads sadly ... and over the air was heard tragic, soul wrenching string music- I heard it through the roaring of the raging ocean.
Hit! Hit! Hit! Hit!
Holy hell...
The blackened skies opened and an arterial scarlet bolt of lightning thrust itself into the body of the steaming crab god. The electric discharge was powerful.
Hit! Hit! Hit! ...
Oh, come on... I have already started to feel sorry for him.
Hit!
The limp body of the colossal crab began to rise up into a translucent bluish haze. And at the same time, over the rippling waves, a teleport began to open- a huge silvery five-pointed star of astounding brightness appeared, and slowly began to consume his fallen body.
The golden flash hurts my eyes, and the ship shuddered as the shock of the event passed over the waves. When I began to be able to see through the scattered sunbeams, I understood that it was all over.
“When my daughter becomes a goddess, I will kill anyone who tries to overthrow her,” I said calmly, looking around at the aftermath.
“I understand,” the Baroness nodded wearily, stretching her whole body. “Well, here is the starting milestone in a long marathon of misfortunes for the Sleepless Clan.”
“What do you mean?”
“Baroness! An explosion at our warehouses in the foothills of the Fisher-King!” Blurted out Angry Ocean. “There's a hell of a fire! Motherfuckers! It's definitely not an accident - it's a fucking diversion!”
“Strengthen the protection of all of our facilities threefold,” said the Baroness, standing up. “We are now at war. He will not forgive us our intervention. The most valuable things - to Barat -Gadur! And the very citadel - up the protection tenfold!”
“An attack on Barat-Gadur?” The Red Baron asked in surprise - “Why?”
“Because of the fact that it has never been overtaken,” said the Baroness “And all of Valdira knows how proud we are of that. Ros.”
“Hm?”
“I am going to the real world. In an hour, I will be at the airport. Let’s have lunch together?”
“Of course,” I nodded. “Lunch.”
“Good. Send me your contact phone number. Ocean, we retreat. Return the surviving remaining ships to the Bloody Reefs. Call for a total regrouping. Then lead the whole fleet back to our main flagship. Good luck to all!”
“Good luck, Baroness!” Adoringly said the Sleepless in chorus, watching the graceful female figure teleport.
“Good luck!” I muttered, pulling out a scroll.
“Get outta here already!”
“You little....!” I squeezed out, but the then the activated scroll carried me away.
The hotel. My personal room.
My daughter was back - Roska was asleep, clinging to the side of the shaggy, legendary black-and-white wolf. Kneeling down, I hugged my daughter, and whispered:
“I will kill anyone who thinks of hurting you, honey. Sweet dreams.”
My daughter sighed and smiled. Covering her with my jacket, I walked over to the wall and sat down, opening the menu. Sighing wearily, I pressed the button:
"Exit".
Hello, rainbow ... Take me with you ....
I will trade you Valdira’s wonderful oblivion
For a dose of the real world...
I removed the cover of the cocoon. Tearing the helmet off, I got up, and stood still on my shaky legs. I was unaccustomed to the unpleasant dullness of the real world ....
Should I go back? Maybe it is better to sleep in Valdira?
But from the living room came the voice of Kira:
“What? He was often bullied in kindergarten? Poor ....”
My father’s voice responded with something in the affirmative, but also added something like a hoarse reproach of me.
“Hey!” I declared, already taking my first steps away from the cocoon. “I am back!”
“Ros!” Joyfully responded Trouble. “Faster! The oatmeal is almost gone! And without oatmeal you cannot become a good navigator!”
“And you cannot get your education!” Added my father. “But it's not too late! Crawl out to the galley, sailor! Show yourself in all your glory ....”
“I am home, for sure,” I sighed and walked on towards the soft light and the sound of voices.
Afterwords …
The Great Hall of the Hradalrome underground library was filled with the light rustle of turning pages. Sitting at the tables were dozens of readers who, even at thi
s late hour of the night, were eager to partake in the world of knowledge.
Behind the counter of polished malachite sat the self important dwarf with a very complex hairdo. She would take a book or give one to a reader, and then purse her lips, making it clear that she would not tolerate the mistreatment of books, or any visitor who was too loud or too busy.
The gnome smiled only once - when she was quietly approached by a man of medium height, with short, reddish hair, dressed in a dark blue robe and a long gray cloak with the image of a winding, broken line with a red cross at the end. As if his cloak was a map with the path leading to the treasure ....yet he was not a "local". He was a real stranger. Over his head any of player could see the green nickname Lazarus Blau. He was wearing square green glasses which obscured his eyes. There were rings on his long, thin fingers.
“Always glad to see you, Master Lazarus. Always.”
“Likewise, dear Tuvalla,” the man ceremoniously bowed his head.
A helper passing by the library nearly tripped when he saw her smile. Inconceivable! And she smiled at some stranger in strange glasses - at a human! Then the dwarf fixed her icy gaze on the assistant, and be, startled, ran on, hold a very tall pile of books in his arms.”
“Is there something.... New today?” Asked hopefully mysterious visitor.
“To my deepest regret, no,” the dwarf sighed, and took a look at the wall opposite her, which was devoid of any books- the map of Hradalrome. Every detail of the map was amazingly accurate and detailed. It was made by a real master - but the truth was, it was far from complete, and teeming with white spots ....
“Nothing new in the world of maps or books about new and uncharted lands. Sorry. Although…”
“Although?”
“Recently, there was a rich foreigner who came here and spent a large amount of gold, without hesitation, on a secluded office, extra light, and the most comprehensive book available on the City of the Dead.
The Way of the Clan 7 Page 31