“Why you are just a…” Fleita couldn’t come up with the right word. She sat down before the ghost and healed him in several seconds by again mixing some earth with her Spirits.
“Are you alive?” I asked the goblin who had finally stopped whimpering and was slowly edging his way to his fellows while casting glances at me from the corner of his eyes. Prudently storing the amulet in my bag and deciding that I knew now how to kill the Gray Death, I approached the goblins. The poor darlings pressed their ears to their heads like scolded cats, but didn’t try to run—I was the bossa and could do whatever I wanted. Even if it was burning them alive in holy water…
“Y-yes, bossa… It doesn’t hurt anymore…”
“Go on with your work,” I finally decided the goblins’ fate. “I will return tomorrow and we’ll see what we can do to release you. Fleita, we’re going back to Altameda…Leite,” I instantly called my treasurer in the castle on the amulet, “tell Viltrius to summon us. I need to mull things over…”
The first thing I did upon returning to the castle was call my majordomo and hand him an amulet. I was sick of asking people to ask him to summon me every time, so from now on I would communicate with Viltrius directly. After that, I sat down in my rocking chair and sank deep in thought—what could I do about the goblins?
The only thought that came to mind was to surround the Transformer with Stones of Light, the same way as had been done with Geranika’s Dagger. The holy stones should be powerful enough to neutralize the Kartossian Transformer without doing any harm to the ghosts in the process. No, I could of course also hand the Stone to the ghost and watch on as he burned, but I have no way to be certain that the goblins wouldn’t simply respawn later. After all, they had returned after being killed by Hellfire. And anyway, if I do that, Fleita will leave me and I’ll have to take on some NPC as a student…So all in all I’ll need to obtain the Stones—which belong to a single sentient in Malabar—the High Priestess of Eluna.
But will she give them to me? That is the question…
“Fleita, I’m leaving you in charge,” I said, deciding to pay Elizabeth a visit. It didn’t seem very appropriate to take the Zombie with me to the High Priestess. “Viltrius, I need a portal to the Anhurs Central Square.”
The girl tried to object that she needed to be with me the entire time, but I didn’t listen to her—a new idea was slowly forming in my mind.
“Hey Svard!” Prior to teleporting to the capital, I called one of my craftsman acquaintances. Since the thought occurred to me, I should take it to its logical conclusion—otherwise I’ll hurt its feelings and it’ll refuse to occur to me anymore. “You asked me to get in touch with you the next time I had a crazy idea…I just had one that isn’t simply crazy, but straight out unbelievable! What would you say to crafting a Stone of Light? Oh, you don’t know what that is? Then you should look it up. I’ll be waiting for you in ten minutes at the High Priestess’s place. Tell the doorman that you’re expected…”
“But that’s not possible!” Elizabeth continued to insist. Long ago, the Priests lost their recipe for the Stones of Light and now that I had proposed to craft one, Elsa refused to show me the research her Priests had done on this question. According to the High Priestess, the very thought that a Free Citizen could create it was heresy. All that was left were several bas reliefs that depicted the process of crafting the Stone, but they depicted not only Priests conducting the ritual, but also Paladins as warriors of Eluna.
“It’ll be difficult,” agreed Svard, who had by now managed to read up on the topic. To my surprise, he was well acquainted with the High Priestess and she knew him as well, so our conversation resembled that of partners if not outright friends.
“Elsa, I understand that my proposal seems very…how do I say this…strange. But I believe that if you show me the research you have done, we will be able to come up with the recipe. I can’t explain this with anything other than my premonition…As you see, I even invited Svard to our meeting, since I understand that I won’t be able to do this on my own. Now at least I know that to create a Stone we’ll need two circles—Paladins and Priests. Accordingly we’ll need you to put out a call to your highest-ranked Free Citizen Priests. We’ll form one circle with them. We’ll have lots to do, including meeting with the Emperor to get the Sphere of Abnegation to form the unity. But Elsa—you simply have to trust me.”
“I wouldn’t even bother listening to anyone else. I’d have them escorted straight out of the temple,” the High Priestess replied slowly, as if having trouble believing her own words. “Mahan, I am ready to trust you, but I warn you—no one, I repeat, no one can know how we lost the recipe and what has been accomplished to restore it. If information about this leaks to the world, the doors to the temple will be shut to you forever. Do you accept this condition?”
“Yes,” I didn’t look away, despite the immense drama of Elsa’s speech. ‘Only you,’ ‘doors will be shut’…in my view, this is all a bit over the top.
But I was mistaken for thinking so.
The recipe for the Stone of Light was invented by a Necromancer named Carliori many millennia ago. Despite the fact that, in effect, the Stone was the distillation of Light, it had been invented by a sentient who had dedicated his life to pain and suffering—and not his own pain and suffering at that…
Carliori was mad and used his madness to create. It turned out that each Stone of Light consisted of hundreds of lost and ended lives. One day Carliori was conducting a ritual sacrifice, while distilling the souls that were ‘released’ in a particular way. When the concentration of souls became critical, Eluna descended from the heavens and did something to it—forming a small statue. That was how the first Stone of Light was born. Carliori was surprised and repeated this procedure thirty more times, obtaining each time one more Stone. Since he couldn’t find a use for these Stones in his tortures, the Necromancer gave them to the Priests. Of the thirty-three initial Stones, the Priests had seventeen remaining. The rest had been lost in the millennia past.
And now the most interesting part…
The Priests tried, are trying and will keep trying to make the Stones on their own. According to Elsa, every year one attempt is made to create a Stone, but the very fact that the Priests of Light—the followers and adherents of Eluna are conducting dark sacrifices…
“What does the bas relief show then?” I asked Elsa in shock and received the reply that it was merely an uninformed artist’s view of the Stones’ creation. After all, if the public discovered what the Priests were really up to, Eluna would quickly lose her followers.
“Now do you understand why no one can know about this?” the High Priestess asked.
“I understand now. What did you manage to learn during your attempts?”
“We are having trouble concentrating the souls. That’s the most important step in creating the Stone, and it’s been thousands of years now but we just can’t get past it. Carliori was insane, but he was also a true genius…Unfortunately, he left no notes, and when we ask Eluna for help, she just shakes her head and begs us tearfully to stop our experiments.”
“Eluna is okay with her priests taking hundreds of lives every year?” My shock was starting to resemble a stupor.
“Of course! The mother is burdened by her divine obligations and cannot manage the process directly, but she accepts all the souls we release into her embrace…I’m afraid I have nothing to help you with, Shaman. I can give you a Stone to free your ghosts, but I cannot permit you to take a hundred lives. We already made one unsuccessful attempt this year.”
“I understand you, but…Look, Elsa, giving up at the very beginning after learning some shocking information isn’t how I like to play this game. That’s exactly how I beat Geranika…Assemble your Free Citizens of High Priest level or greater…We’ll craft the Stone!”
“I believe you, Great Shaman,” Eluna’s High Priestess addressed me in a formal tone. “What further assistance will you require of me?�
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“I need Paladins as well. Rank Lieutenant or higher…Will you be able to speak to their leadership?”
“Yes. What else?”
“The most interesting bit—I need the whole lot of them brought to my castle. We’ll travel to Beatwick from there…”
“Beatwick?” A crack showed in the High Priestess’s mask.
“Uh-huh. You have two days. I want everyone ready to go the day after tomorrow at 9 in the morning. Can you do it?”
“I will do everything in my power to make sure you get what you need. If there won’t be enough Priests, I’ll go myself! I beg you, however, don’t follow in the steps of Carliori…”
“Dan, is this your doing?” As soon as I emerged from the temple, Anastaria’s thought popped into my head. “You’ve reached the point of issuing quests to other players?”
“Huh? What happened?”
“All the Paladins of Rank Lieutenant or higher are being asked to report to Eluna’s temple tomorrow in order to travel to Altameda—the castle of the Great Shaman—and to Beatwick from there. Supposedly this quest is highly important for our order and all that…Dan, have you lost your mind?”
“Excuse me?”
“There are about twenty thousand players who are Lieutenant Paladins or higher! They’re all going to visit our castle! Are you trying to cause another siege of Altameda? The Azures and the Heirs are still waiting for their chance to get revenge. We’re still at Level 24 exclusively thanks to the castle teleporting to a location they don’t know. Dan! This is a disaster! Activate the teleport protection!”
Blast! Why hadn’t I thought about this earlier?
“Yes, Master,” the majordomo answered my call.
“Viltrius, in two days, several thousand Free Citizens will begin streaming into the castle and taking the teleport from there to Beatwick. Tell me—can we do something to ensure that they don’t learn the coordinates of the castle?”
“We can activate the castle security function that will block the coordinates’ reading inside Altameda. This function costs a hundred thousand a month. Shall I activate it?”
“Do it,” I agreed and, deciding that I should pay for my mistake, added: “Withdraw the money for this expenditure from my personal account.”
“That’s it, I’ve activated the security system,” I assured Stacey. “What’re you up to? I really need you here in Anhurs. I need to speak with the Emperor…”
“Are you having a laugh?” Anastaria scoffed. “I’ll see you in the Central Square in five minutes…”
“Am I correct in assuming that I shouldn’t ask you about what the High Priestess told you?” Svard approached me.
“Uh-huh…Listen, I have a favor to ask of you too—I need every craftsman who can enter into a unity. And I mean every single one—not just one or two…I need like a hundred or two hundred…Sorry that I’m asking you to do this. I don’t know the community myself…”
Ding! You have received a message from your private circle. Do you wish to read it?
“Svard, forgive me, I need to check my mail…” I apologized again before the pensive Mage and retrieved my mailbox. The letter was from my private whitelist—in other words, someone I’d written to before and not someone from my clan. My own people would simply call me…
In Private Confidence—To the Head of the Legends of Barliona from the Head of the Nav Clan. Hi! Looks like you’ve had time to reconsider your initial response…I’m writing to remind you of the list of reagents that you forgot about. But there’s no rush there. Besides the list, I’ll need two pieces of Epherite and a group of players of Level 300+: Two tanks, at least three healers and as many long-range fighters as you can muster. Can you do it? Technically, I can get by without the players, but the result won’t be the same…
“Is there something funny in there?” inquired Svard, when I began to giggle at Gnum’s letter. Not only had he nothing to show, but my new partner now also wanted a group of Level 300 players! I think the boy has lost the plot in his attempt to con me.
“This guy is asking me for two pieces of Epherite, whatever that is. And he wants me to provide him with a high-level raid party,” I replied after I finished laughing. It’s not enough that I already gave him three stacks of Imperial Steel—he wants to milk me for more! Where do people learn such temerity?!
“Epherite?” Svard echoed in surprise. “Who would need that?”
“You know what that is?” It was my turn to be surprised.
“Yes, it’s incredibly rare and seldom used. Out of all the craftsmen I know, only perhaps Gnum could use it…”
“Spiteful Gnum?” I asked.
“You know him?”
“Well, the letter is from him. There’s nothing particularly confidential in it so—here…”
“You sent him three stacks of Imperial Steel just like that?!” Svard exclaimed after reading our exchange. “I mean—I know Alex—he’s a man of his word, but you! Do you really trust people that much?”
“War is easy, logistics is hard,” I replied philosophically and shrugged my shoulders. “Tell me, would it be a bad idea to send him everything he’s asking for? Your Alex, he won’t run off with it, will he?”
“Oh no,” smiled Svard. “Out of everyone I know, Gnum is the oddest person by far. He’s weirder than you. But the one thing you can’t accuse him of is not keeping his word. He’s got like some principle about that or something. So, if you’re ready to risk it—go right ahead and send him whatever he needs. You’ll get the result, don’t worry.”
“Thanks. By the way, do you happen to know how he’s able to work with Imperial Steel? Don’t you need an incredibly high profession rank to do that?”
“Tell me about it. He’s such a good Architect that Chirona herself is dead jealous of him. And he’s a good Tailor. The clothes he sews will make you swoon. Why do you think my outfit looks the way it does? Because Gnum, in his immense generosity, made me a present of a cape with +20 to Enchantment.”
“Uh-huh…” I remarked thoughtfully and instantly sent Leite a letter asking him to find the things Gnum required. And in threes—I had sent three times as many ingots than he asked for, so I’d need to send him the same amount of ingredients. You really do come across all kinds of players in Barliona. “Don’t forget to invite him to the unity.”
“He won’t come, I won’t even bother asking him. Gnum is a terrible misanthrope. It’s his thing. He’d never let anyone enter his mind. However, I can promise you a group of about fifty craftsmen the day after tomorrow.”
“Nine in the morning,” I clarified just in case. “The day after tomorrow is a bit too indefinite.”
“Mahan, Svard,” Anastaria greeted us. “Do you want me to guess what you two are up to? Another unity!”
“You have to think bigger,” I replied. “We are planning a large-scale event, in which you are destined to play a pivotal role.”
“What’s that?”
“You will need to coordinate two defensive circles—of Priests and Paladins—while the craftsmen engage in a unity.”
“How many players will it be all together?”
“Svard says about fifty, so I’ll have a favor to ask of you—go through your channels and tap anyone who has Craftsmanship. We need any profession we can get.”
“Okay, but what are you trying to create?”
“A Stone of Light,” I blurted out.
“You…Dan…But that’s…” Anastaria froze, staring at me wide-eyed. It was unbelievable! I had managed to astonish the unshakable Anastaria! Surely I deserve an Achievement? And, what I liked most of all was that Anastaria knew how the Stones were made—there was no other way to explain her reaction.
“I just got out of a meeting with the High Priestess. She told me everything,” I answered her unasked question. “I see no reason I shouldn’t try to do what the bas relief depicts. Who knows? Maybe he who created it was a genius…”
“I understand…hmm…but why Beatwick?”<
br />
“Because the Transformer I want to experiment on is located there. My wolves are there—as are the ghosts of the goblins you killed.”
“They can’t leave?” Anastaria started catching on. “Have you tried ordinary amulets?”
“Like you need to ask! I almost burned one alive—err, dead—err, well, mostly ghostly.”
“I assume then that you want the Emperor to give you the Sphere? For personal use for two days?”
“Uh-huh…”
“It’s unrealistic, but I’ll help you see him…Mahan—I’m with you!”
As I reckoned, we had no trouble gaining an audience with the Emperor with Anastaria’s pass. Svard refused to go with us, explaining that he had to corral his craftsmen colleagues for the ritual. His only request was that I warn him in advance if we didn’t manage to obtain the Sphere.
“The Sphere of Abnegation,” Naahti said pensively when I explained the reason for my visit. “Judging by the high-level Paladins and Priests already gathering across Malabar, you are confident that I will give you the Sphere. What is the reason for such confidence?”
“The battle against Geranika is imminent,” was my simple reply. “Whether the Free Citizens manage to win the Heart of Chaos or not, Geranika will remain and he will be as powerful as before. If our plan succeeds, the Empire will acquire one more weapon against the Lord of Shadow. If not, we will simply waste our time and return the Sphere to you. The Empire has nothing to lose and everything to gain…”
“Throughout the entire history of Anhurs, the Sphere of Abnegation has never once left the confines of the palace,” the Emperor said, but I had an answer ready. I knew what Naahti was going to say!
“Throughout the entire history of Anhurs, never once has a Master of Kartoss become the Emperor of Malabar. Everything flows with time, everything changes.”
The Emperor fell silent in thought. Judging by the way his eyes had fogged over, the Imitator was currently updating as fast as possible, while the developers in charge of game scenarios and items were cursing me with their worst expletives and preparing the ritual for creating the Stones. I hadn’t any doubts left about what this ritual entailed, but I did wonder what I needed the Paladins for.
The Karmadont Chess Set (The Way of the Shaman: Book #5) LitRPG series Page 15