“How nice of you,” I grinned. “Are you sharing with Claude? Will I have to pay him separately, or will half a granis cover all the expenses?”
“It’s a pleasure when your vis-à-vis understands you so well. Another half a granis will be Claude’s compensation, as he’ll have to stay at work late. If you don’t have this sum, we could make an agreement.”
“Guarantees.” I cut off the eloquent bard. He was quite a sweet talker. A plan was gradually taking shape in my mind.
“Is my word not enough?” Lefer’s indignation was quite sincere. "Have we not become friends during the time that we have known each other? Why would I deceive a friend? Well, it was unfortunate that I forgot about the time of the appointment. But this kind of slip could happen to anyone. I am willing to extend a helping hand. Lefer never abandons his friends! Just half a granis and I will solve the problem!”
“A granis,” I clarified. “You seem to be continuously forgetting Claude’s share.”
“Really, it is so fortunate that your memory is so powerful,” Lefer regained his cheerful mood. “You are right‒ it will be a granis altogether. I understand; to a beginner player this amount may be excessive, so we could make an agreement to complete the Dungeon. Take us along! This will be enough to cover all our obligations under the agreement.”
Now I understood the true purpose of the affair. In effect, those conmen were not running any risk. Attacking players in the Sanctuary was prohibited, so there was no danger of physical damage. Then, not all newbies knew that it was possible to initiate a case for extortion, besides which, they would be unlikely to want to spend their time dealing with it; Lefer must not really hope for granises, because normally a new player would be a poor player. So here’s the conclusion: either a player would just quietly wait it out and register a couple of days later, or take this whole bunch along to the Dungeon. The part that was not clear was why were they were all so eager to go through the Dungeons with the newbies.
“I want to talk to Claude first.” I decided to pretend that I was ready to agree, but still had some doubts. The Game had not yet offered to open a case, but I was certain that it would do so at any moment now. These conmen were quite unlucky to try and snag a Judge. “If he confirms that he is ready to help me register today rather than wait for two days, then we’ll talk about agreements.”
“That’s reasonable. Would you perhaps like to have a seat?” Lefer pointed at the nearest bench. An enamored NPC couple suddenly jumped up, yielding their seats to me. I looked at the bard with a different eye: he was obviously using a will suppressor.
Five minutes later Lefer returned from the Town Hall and happily informed me that all the formalities had been settled and Claude had kindly agreed to see me even though he had been working with another visitor at the time. Of course he would, when the prey was practically begging to be skinned.
This time the guards paid zero attention to me and Lefer, and I freely ascended to the second floor, into the realm of bureaucracy. Clerks were running to and fro everywhere, pitiful in their attempts to look important by looking grim and wearing dark blue business suits. It’s funny, but the lower a clerk’s position is on the career totem pole, the more effort he puts into pretending he is exceedingly busy, checking his watch every minute or continuously pressing buttons on his smart phone. And you will never guess that he is checking his watch not because he is hurrying along with his important clerk business, but because it’s time to set his slaves to work in yet another computer game, or he is already expected at an online casino; and he is fiddling with his phone because you are distracting him, and he is having a hard time aiming his angry bird at the target. While if you see grey people, listlessly leafing through never-ending piles of paper, you may count on that being someone who will definitely help you. Because he is wearing grey not because that’s the color he prefers, but because he long since lost his taste for life, having to work hard to cover for all those nincompoops. But those true slaves of the office are few and far between.
“This is outrageous!” The hunter I had seen previously was yelling when Lefer and I opened the door to office twenty-three. He was hanging over the desk and screaming at the gnome, who was impassively looking at the player over his glasses. “I will complain!”
“It’s up to you, random assignment is not subject to control.” The gnome shut his notebook and turned to us. “Lefer, is everything all right?”
“You could say so,” the bard nodded, pushing me into the office and shutting the door. “Yaropolk wanted to talk about the details in person before entering into the agreement.”
“Just a moment; I’ll just finish with this,” the gnome said, and returned his attention to the previous visitor. He rose slightly from his chair and leaned towards the hunter, who had been taken aback by us barging in. “Please leave my office! Your registration is complete! Continue on to the assigner! Office number thirty-one!”
I smiled bitterly: bureaucracy! Bureaucracy everywhere! One registers, the second assigns, certainly the third does the paperwork and the fourth signs and approves! No‒ it should be the fifth who approves! I seem to confer too much responsibility on the fourth one.
“I did not…,” the hunter started, but was cut off immediately:
“Shall I call security?!” The gnome was getting really worked up. Another moment and he’d start spitting fire! “Get out of my office!”
The hapless visitor, as he was leaving, took his irritation out on the door, just as I had a few minutes earlier. Immediately making a friendly face, the gnome, smiling as if nothing happened, offered me the armchair:
“What is it that you want to discuss?”
“Is it possible for me to choose the location where I am registered?”
“Well…,” the gnome hesitated but his furtive eyes and quick exchange of glances with Lefer told me that it was possible, even though not included in the original price.
“Lefer will get his share,” I promised, and the registrar smiled with obvious relief and leaned back in his chair. He didn’t want to share with his accomplice. “But I need guarantees. Just your word is not enough. I don’t know you.”
“Neither do we know you,” the gnome immediately quipped.
“That’s right. My conditions are as follows: you register me today to California, assign me to two of the most interesting Dungeons, send me to a Judge, provide me a communication device, since I have my mentor’s permission already, and give me extra complex class quests, the quests to explore something interesting… and for this each of you will receive…” I fell silent, and looked at Claude questioningly.
“You take us along to both Dungeons,” the registrar named his price.
“And for this you will receive one Dungeon and a granis each,” I responded in kind, outlining my conditions. “And you will receive them now, without any extraneous loan agreements or other delays. One granis to each. Here and now. Agreed?”
“One and a half,” Lefer came to the pensive registrar’s aid. “A granis and a half each, but after we complete the Dungeon. You don’t have to do it now, we’ll wait.”
“One and a half,” I agreed easily, noting the unexpected comment. “Or do you prefer three hundred kilos of gold each?”
“No! We want it in granises!” the gnome said worriedly. “We don’t need gold. Only granises! And only after the completion of the Dungeon!”
I was starting to like the Game more and more. A Judge calmly bargaining about the amount of the bribe – that’s the way it was; that’s what I was used to.
“Agreed. So then I look forward to receiving the agreement from you stating all that we have just specified. May I wait here?”
Case initiated: Zurich Conmen (Slots available for: 8 more cases)
Description: You believe the actions of the bard Lefer de la Gant to be unlawful; there is clear evidence of criminal conspiracy between him and registrar of players
Task: Investigate this ca
se and deliver a verdict
Case investigation: Not applicable; the case was initiated by the Judge himself
Period of limitation of action: None
The information on initiating the case appeared at the moment when the agreement was handed to me. Actually, I had expected the case would appear much earlier, but apparently my subconscious waited for us to proceed from discussion to action. As they say, you can’t put the words into a case. A quick glance at the agreement confirmed that I received guaranteed assistance in selecting registration location in case of voluntary contribution to provide aid to the poor and starving Lefer and Claude amounting to three granises, to be paid following our joint completion of the Dungeon. The document was already signed by the other party, and I rubbed my hands in anticipation. It’s time to show these jerks who is the hand of justice here!
“For abuse of official capacity and extortion, I sentence Lefer de la Gant to stripping of his 'guide' status, to prohibition from occupying such a position in the future, and impose on him a fine, to be paid to the Game, in the amount of ten granises; Claude de Leur shall be stripped of his position of registrar and prohibited from occupying any administrative position within the Game in the future; I also impose on him a fine to be paid to the Game in the amount of ten granises. The verdict is final and not subject to appeal!”
Verdict is confirmed
Verdict is deemed optimal
The case “Zurich Conmen” has been closed. Sentence has been executed by the Game
Award for correct verdict: basic Energy level increased by 100
Oh, this scene was worth all the trouble and nerve-wracking. I enjoyed the moment of triumph without even trying to conceal my broad smile. The gnome kept gulping air, trying to say something, unsuccessfully. Lefer was outwardly calm at hearing my verdict; in any case, only his twitching right moustache betrayed his state outwardly. But I could not care less about their feelings. In addition to my satisfaction from the righteous revenge, I felt internal satisfaction with myself at a professionally investigated case. At least so it seemed to me.
A portal suddenly opened in the room, and a sleepy leprechaun wearing flower-patterned pajamas fell out of it. Blinking to clear his vision, he was looking around, trying to assess the lay of the land. Seeing the pantomime “two in a state of shock”, he hemmed, looked at me, hemmed again, then sat down at the desk and pushed the intercom button. A secretary ran in at once.
“Two cups of coffee, please.” The leprechaun’s voice was high and light. “I need to wake up.”
The new owner of the office turned out to be active and down-to-business. Presenting me with one cup of coffee, he asked me to wait while he dealt with urgent matters: procedure for being confirmed at the new position, preparing an inquiry for a list of all the players registered by the previous occupant, clarification of the rules and specifics of registration. Finally, having donned a classic dark blue suit that concealed information on class, the leprechaun proceeded to deal with me.
“I don’t even know where to start. Thank you, first of all... I applied for an administrative position several decades ago and it has only been granted now. Even though it’s in such a second-rate game world. Earth… What a weird name… So, let’s start. I know your preferences, but I cannot help you: registration and assignment are performed by the Game. It is the only one who knows where you can best use your skills and abilities. You are assigned to Moscow. You have been allocated a studio apartment at the address… 16 Nth Street, Apartment 48. You are assigned to complete level 2 Dungeon ‘Alveona’. The keys to the apartment and access keys for the Dungeon will be issued to you by the assigner. Then, in the Sanctuary you should see Judge Redel to receive initial Judge quests, Paladin Grizdan to receive initial class quests and archivist Taleem at the Sanctuary library to receive initial explorer’s quests. That’s about it. Oh, no, not quite – you should also visit office thirty-one. More coffee?”
Chapter Two. Preparation
I LEFT THE TOWN HALL building a couple of hours later! It took me two hours to complete all the procedures before the Game informed me that I was officially registered in the game world “Earth”. Those clerks had run me ragged, and I craved just one thing: a soft and warm bed. The Book of Knowledge got its bearings instantly and a green arrow appeared I front of me, pointing to the nearest hotel.
Zurich met me with cold evening air. Six o’clock!
“Young man wants to enjoy himself?”
It was not immediately obvious to me that this hoarse smoker’s voice was addressing me. Pulling my tired eyes away from the blinking pointer, I concentrated on a bedraggled plump woman way over forty. I grimaced involuntarily: checkered tights, short leather skirt, red blouse with only one button closed and bright makeup clearly indicated this NPC’s occupation.
I stopped, taken aback. The woman interpreted my stopping as being interested; she hastily exhaled a stream of cigarette smoke and continued with her lively invitation:
“Girls and boys of all colors and ages will fulfill your every whim!”
This bedraggled peddler of sex stared at me unblinkingly, like a fish. It made me sick to my stomach. It was not as though I really hated people of her profession, but I was always overcome with disgust when I encountered such characters. I did not bother them, they did not bother me, and everyone was happy with that. But now, looking at this forward pimp, I wished like never before to make sure that this filth would never exist anywhere again.
Case initiated: Moral Degradation (Slots available for: 8 more cases)
Description: You consider it is not acceptable to engage in prostitution and provide sex services in the Sanctuary
Task: Investigate this case and deliver a verdict
Puzzled, I read the message at least three times. What did that mean? The Judge was supposed to judge players and minions. The Game took care of NPCs on its own. So what was I supposed to do now? I thought for a minute, decided that at that point I had no choice anyway, and stifling my disgust, started the investigation. The best place to start would be to interrogate her:
“In the name of justice I demand that you speak the truth and nothing but the truth! You are being detained as a suspect in the case “Moral degradation”. For the duration of your testimony you are released from all physical, moral and emotional bonds. Anything you say can be used against you when producing the verdict.”
The NPC’s eyes glazed.
“I acknowledge your right to administer justice,” the woman drawled in an emotionless voice, and stilled, waiting for the next question.
“Name?” I gingerly started with the simplest part. NPC tourists passing by pretended that we did not exist and only a few players stopped nearby, intrigued by the show. Who cares! First I needed to deal with the pimp.
“Samantha Durs. Also known as Firefly.”
“Age?”
“Twenty-seven.”
I hemmed: the young woman looked so old and bedraggled, even though her life had been so short.
“How long have you been working as a prostitute?”
“Since I was fourteen. For the past two years I’ve been working as a pimp.”
“Why did you become a prostitute?”
“I was thrown out of my home. First my stepfather raped me. I told my mother, but she didn’t care about me, all she cared about was downing another glass. She screamed like crazy that it was my own fault, that I seduced her dear hubby so that I could have him all to myself. Then they threw me out into the street like a dog. Then Rick found me there, had fun with me and then gave me to his friends; then he took me to the brothel to work for him. They always like young girls there.”
“Why did you not go to the police?”
“Never had a chance. First Rick locked me up, beat me up and had me gang-raped to make me more agreeable. When I gave up, he sent me out to work the street. I was sixteen, and that was all the life I knew. Who would need me here? I had no education, no money, no connections. There was no
reason for me to go to the police, so I stayed with the ‘Lush Garden’. Now I am fine here.”
“So you would not want to leave the streets?”
“Not really. I am fine with what I do. I don’t get gang-raped or beat up any more, now I can arrange that for the young new ones. I like to whack the new kids. I like smoking grass with Rick and I sniff coke. I like feeling important. In a different life I wouldn’t have any of this.”
I grimaced in disgust and practically forced myself to say:
“I don’t have any more questions for you. In the name of justice I release you from the obligation to speak the truth and nothing but the truth.” Samantha’s eyes cleared. But there was no erstwhile indifference in them. Her eyes, faded from long use of drugs, were full of fear. The NPC was so afraid of me that her knees were shaking; she seemed completely unconcerned by a trickle of wetness that started down her stockings.
“Samantha Durs! I pronounce you guilty of engaging in prostitution and violence towards minors, and sentence you to death! This verdict is final and not subject to appeal!”
Initially I had planned to fine the woman, or sentence her to community work, or devise whatever other punishment, but Samantha’s statements had sealed her fate. There was no place for her in the world into which I came!
“I beg you, don’t!” Samantha barely had enough strength to crumble down to her knees. She had no doubts of my right to sentence her to death; she just vainly hoped to receive mercy by begging. “Don’t! I beg you, take this, that’s all I have!” “The woman quickly took something off her neck and pushed it into my hands. “Just don’t…”
The Quest (Dark Paladin Book #2) LitRPG Series Page 4