“I know this isn’t anything new for you, but your life would be a lot easier if you joined my clan,” the Witch said lazily, knowing that I was waiting for her to say exactly that.
“Agreed, it would be. You wouldn’t make me do anything I don’t want to do. And thank you for the offer,” I nodded. “But I think I’m going to stay away from clans for the time being. I need a break, somewhere on the sand or in the North, preferably where there aren’t many players.”
“Not a smart idea,” Radius jumped in. “The Thunderbirds will be afraid to do anything to you openly, but they could find someone to do their dirty work for them. That would keep their hands clean and make your life miserable.”
“What do you mean, they could? Give it a couple weeks, and they definitely will,” the Witch assured him. “They don’t have the guts to do anything right now, and we’re on our guard, but in a couple weeks… Things we’ll be quieter, we’ll be busy; that’s when they’ll make their move.”
“Still, I’m good for now,” I sighed. “But thank you again. For the support, of course, but mostly for just being great about all this. There aren’t enough good people in the game, which is why I spend so much time with NPCs. They’re honest, at least.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to find that,” the Witch replied. “Okay, get out of here. The sun’s coming up, and we do all need to get to work.”
Nox bellowed something from the bushes, someone else cursed, and Hopkins dashed up to us, his eyes wide.
“Grab him!” Milly yelled, though Hopkins opened a portal and dove into it before anyone could react.
“He’s been following you,” the Witch said to me. “He picked you up in Aegan, tailed you to the Tearful Goddess Order, saw something going on there, and reported back to Elina. She sent her spies there and told me about the whole thing. It was simple from there. I added some of ours, and they led us here. The dome popped up when we were all gathering—Elina nearly jumped out of her skin she was so angry. And then you came out. By the way, I was impressed by what they told me about the fight in the palace. Horrible, but intriguing. Can you tell us what happened later?”
Of course, nobody does anything just out of the goodness of his heart.
“Certainly,” I promised. “With all the juicy details.”
“Excellent. Oh, open your exchange.”
I followed her instructions and listened as…all three of my runes tumbled in. All three!
“So Miurat showed up after all?” I asked nervously.
“I can go further than that; he was right here,” the Witch said with a sly smile. “Over there, where his cocoon lies next to the cocoons of his ten friends from the Double Shields. We aren’t vultures, so we left everyone’s things there except Miurat’s. They were waiting for you, too, only they were trying to be quieter about it.”
“I wonder how they found out about me,” I grunted.
“Definitely not from us.” The Witch looked me in the eye.
I realized what she was getting at, though I didn’t say it out loud. Oh, Elina, you’re too smart for your own good…
“You didn’t think about grabbing him and making him talk?” I asked.
“How?” the Witch replied with a shrug. “If this were the real world, sure, I’d have had him singing a very merry tune. But here… He could have just logged out.”
“I don’t think he wanted to kill you,” Radius chimed in. “He needs you for something—remember that. He’s going to play with you, and he has lots of tricks up his sleeve, from money to terror. Watch out for that guy. Watch out for him here, but on the other side of the monitor, too.”
“Neural bath,” the Witch said, correcting him.
“I’ll never get used to that.” The halfling waved his hand.
The Witch got up from her log. “He’s right. Watch out for him, and watch out for the people in charge of him especially.”
“Who’s in charge of him?” I asked, forcing a smile.
“If only I knew. But the war is only just getting started, so I imagine I’ll find out. Okay, stay in touch. Milly, let’s get going.”
Radius walked over to me. “The smartest thing you could do, young man, is to join us. I’m not after something; I’m just telling you the way it is. These days, you can’t be a lone wolf out there with your own secrets. You’re already caught between several different forces, so give that some thought.”
A few minutes later, they all disappeared into a portal. Milly was last, and she blew me a kiss as she went.
I looked around the now-empty field to see a few cocoons by the trees but I decided to leave them alone. There would be an accounting later, and I wouldn’t be able to prove anything. Miurat was a sly dog, and he could feasibly have had a scout in the bushes filming me. Besides, greed can lead you down rabbit holes that aren’t worth the trip.
It was funny, my whole adventure ended right where it began. And a new one started from the exact same place.
The sun was peeking up over the horizon to bathe the plain in a golden glow. Birds chirped in the trees—it was a perfect morning.
I turned my back to the grove and set off along a route I knew well, making my way toward the distant castle ruins belonging to the brave, deceased landlord who, once upon a time, blew up both himself and all the undead trying to get in. The sun was up by the time I got there, quiet reigned in the graveyard, and I wasn’t far from the village…What was it called? Whatever the case, it wasn’t a long walk. And it wasn’t even a big deal if I made it there or not. I was just tired of portals, and all I wanted was a stroll through the grass on a sunny morning. As a very smart person once said, walking is an excellent use of your time—it calms you down and clears your brain. I had a good hour and a half in front of me, and there was certainly no shortage of things to think about…
End of book four
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Book recommendations:
Thank you for reading Fayroll! The saga is far from over, but there are other great stories I wanted to tell you about! Do yourself a favor and check out The Trapped Mind Project by Michael Chatfield. Find it here.
I also want to recommend Realm of Arkon, a great series written by a friend of mine: G. Akella (Georgy Smorodinsky). He is one of the most popular and best-selling LitRPG authors in Russia. Book one is currently available for free on Amazon.
What do a famous Swedish gamer, a half-woman half-dragon, a Japanese youth with ties to the Yakuza and a despicable goblin have in common? Find out in this new LitRPG fantasy series! Find it here.
I would also like to recommend D.Rus who is another of the best-selling LitRPG Fantasy authors in Russia. His work is fantastic and very well received in Russia. You can find his work on Amazon.
Also don’t forget to look at my publisher’s website http://www.litworld.info for all the latest information and to find other great authors I work with.
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Fayroll 5
Can’t get enough of Fayroll?
Then go to this link for a sample of Fayroll Book 5.
Join Kif on his new adventure to bring the gods back to Fayroll and his attempt to further his career with a newly expanded team of troublesome workers and a corporate spy.
* * *
[1] Timur Kizyakov: A TV host who visits the homes of Russian celebrities.
[2] Chebureki: Deep-fried turnovers with a filling of ground or minced meat and onions.
[3] "We're in a famous TV show": A reference to a French T
V show called Fort Boyard.
[4] Balakirev the Buffoon: A historical figure who was Peter the Great's jester.
[5] Dick Sand is a character from a Jules Verne novel.
[6] This is a name which means Great Snake.
[7] Pushkin (the specific instance referenced): The story of a sleeping princess, analogous to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
[8] Gaidar: A Soviet author of children's books.
Fayroll [04] Gong and Chalice Page 38