“That’s not true. I didn’t faint right away,” Fleita protested from the couch. “First I said what you were up to and only after…”
“Good morning, student,” I grinned.
“So you forgave me after all?”
“We’ll see about that. So you summoned the Spirit?”
“Well…when I found out about the Incubus, I knew I had to tell you right away, since you went off to deal with this issue with the granny…I became very worried that you’ll kill her and…I don’t even really know how I managed to do it. I simply wanted to very badly, so I recited my poem and…”
“Poem?”
“Kornik taught me,” Fleita’s already pallid face grew even whiter. “One, two, three, Shaman flee—to your feelings and be free!”
“E-ehh…”
“Well it helps me, all right? If I recite it like a mantra, I can work with the Spirits…So that’s what I…Oh damn! Say, does it always hurt this bad?”
I had already opened my mouth to reply when another thought occurred to me and refused to leave.
“Kornik, my dear teacher, why didn’t you, oh most honored one, tell me that thirty percent of the pain I’ve been feeling was being channeled to you?”
“How many times do I have to tell your dimwit self that you can’t get in touch with me! You don’t have your Shamanic powers! And anyway, were that not the case, do you think I’d humor and tell you?”
“No, but…”
“So forget about it! And remember—you don’t have your powers so stop screwing around!”
“Are you even listening to me, Mahan?” Fleita flared up again. “I’m telling him about how much I’m hurting and he just stands there with his eyes all glassy and stares into nowhere! That’s not fair!”
“Just hold on a second please, Fleita,” I replied and reached out to Anastaria in my mind:
“Stacey, what’s going on with Agrippina?”
“Nothing. She’s been living here about fifty years and she’s already grown accustomed to the Ratherds that have been hunting her for the past ten years or so. Unlike Slate, whom the Emperor has cursed to respawn once every six months, Agrippina has been cursed by Eluna herself. She was the High Priestess after all. This is why she gets reborn once a week. Initially she tried to deal with the rats on her own—then she gave up and started hiring Free Citizens to do it. The sisters that live here are her adherents, who followed their High Priestess into exile. What about you? What do you have?”
“I have a hunch that we should invite Agrippina over to the Milkman’s house…There’s something she’d want to know over here…”
“…And that’s the way things stand,” I came to the end of my tale and reclined in my chair. The idea of having Amir meet with Agrippina came to me spontaneously, so I trusted my premonition and arranged for a grand meeting where I told the full story of what was going on. About the Magister and about the High Priestess and about the state of humanity. “I’ll point out right off that the Empires are at peace right now, so there’s no point in maintaining hostilities or seeking vengeance against each other. Let’s just chat…”
“And there I was trying to guess why his cows keep running off to the forest…I thought that something was summoning them. I even tried to go looking for them myself, but this…” the former High Priestess said pensively, avoiding her neighbor’s eyes.
“And I kept wondering at your ability to return from the dead,” added Amir, studiously examining the tablecloth of his table as if he’d never seen it before.
“Dan, I have a suspicion that you found another launch point for Kartoss. The High Priestess, Kartoss, the attempts on her life…I’m starting to wonder if there are some Transformers nearby? We’ll have to take a look…”
“All right guys,” I made my decision when it became clear that the NPCs weren’t going to keep talking. “Mark our quests completed and let’s get on with life. You can figure out the problem between you without our help. Amir, just stop sending your Ratherds. Aren’t you sorry for them? They keep getting killed…Stacey, Fleita, let’s go…There’s nothing more for us to do here…”
Leaving Amir and Agrippina on their own, we stepped out on the street.
“You know, Mahan, when that video of you painted green shows up, I’ll be sure to save it for posterity,” smiled Anastaria. “When I saw you, I almost lost my ability to speak—particularly once your right boob slipped down to your belly. Maybe warn me the next time you decide to cross-dress. Where are you off to now?”
“To Altameda. We only have a week before we have to meet Kreel. I want to craft some more rings so that Clutzer and Magdey will leave me alone.”
“I heard that you gave Barsina money to take classes?”
“She’s done a lot for the clan. I mean, she effectively made the clan what it is, so it was the least I could do to thank her. Fleita,” I looked over at my student, “are you with me?”
“Yes,” the girl nodded immediately. “I’m definitely not leaving you now. The way you handled those two quests was so cool…”
“In that case, let’s make an agreement,” I grinned. “Either it’s time we introduce some punishment for bad behavior…”
“Keep in mind,” Stacey butted in telepathically, “that tonight I will come visit you and I demand you punish me, ‘cause I’ve been behaving very badly…”
* * *
“Say, Viltrius,” I said to my majordomo the morning after our return. “Can Altameda teleport anywhere on the continent?”
“Since the castle originally belonged to the Free Lands, yes. The castle may teleport anywhere in Kartoss, Malabar as well as the Free Lands. However, the appearance of the Shadow Empire changed this. We have nothing to do with it, so we can’t open a teleport to a location within its boundaries. And yet we can still summon any sentient from any point on the continent—excluding from prison.”
“Why?” I asked surprised.
“Because special spells are employed when prisons are built that block teleportation. Are you planning on going somewhere, Master?”
“Not really, but…Tell me—could you send me to the following coordinates?” I dictated the coordinates of the buildings in Narlak that belonged to Astrum. As I was going through my mail today, I stumbled across Kalatea’s explanation for how teleportation across the continents worked:
Hey Mahan! A mere thank you wouldn’t really do justice to your discovery. You’re right—the building on your continent at the coordinates you sent really is Astrum territory and as a Harbinger I can teleport there without any problem. This really grants me new options for travel. I won’t be able to meet you personally to give you my present, and I won’t send it by post either. But I’d like to see your face when I hand it to you, so I asked the residents of one of those houses to confirm their receipt of the package and send me a recording of you opening it. Accordingly, you should check out the house at the coordinates you sent. I’m sure you’ll like my present. Good luck! Kalatea, Harbinger of Astrum.
“Pardon me, Master, for reasons unknown to me, I cannot open a portal to that location.”
“Then cast one to a nearby point and be prepared to haul me out at a moment’s notice. Draco—do you feel like dropping in on Narlak and causing a little ruckus there?”
“Like you need to ask!”
“Fleita?” I smiled at the pouting girl. A single signed document and I was now facing the perfect student—no arguments, no cursing, no yelling. Sheer constructive criticism and positivity. It’s too bad it was temporary, since soon enough she’d forget all about our contract…that’s the kind of person she was.
“If his majesty deigns to bring along unworthy old me, then of course I want to go! Is there a reason for causing a ruckus there?”
“Sure—Mahan is at Hatred status with that city,” Draco showed off his erudition. “As soon as he shows up, he and everyone with him will be arrested and taken to prison. And later kicked out of town…”
“Hatred
? Is that even…Well, whatever, I want to go! Big deal—prison!”
“Viltrius, cast the portal…”
The door with the four-leaf clover against the background of a yellow sun had not changed one bit since I’d seen it last. I entered the portal last, so as to immediately dash into the Astrum house and ask to be let in—but my precaution wasn’t warranted: Our appearance in Narlak went entirely unnoticed. There were no guard patrols nearby, so I calmly approached the door and knocked.
“Who’s there?” came the question from behind the door.
“Shaman Mahan with two companions. I was told that you have a present for me.”
“Please enter,” the door opened to reveal a woman who resembled an Indian, ushering us inside. To create the impression of a foreign environment, the woman spoke with a heavy accent, as if she’d never become fluent in Malabarian. “Beg your pardon—not everyone has woken up yet, so I will take you to the living room and call our chief.”
“Of course, we’ll be happy to wait,” I assured her, taking my seat on the indicated couch.
“Mahan—why are we here?” Fleita sat down beside me and began to question everything. “Keep in mind that I don’t have a lot of time today. I promised mom to go to the store with her after lunch.”
“It won’t take long. They’ll give me the prize and we’ll be on our way.”
“Prize? Cool! For who? And from whom?”
“Yes, a prize. For me from a Harbinger. You owe me three hundred gold.”
“Huh?” Fleita paled.
“How many times have I told you to stop asking me questions about every little step I take? Remember the demon who tried to get you to pay? Well, I’ve decided to follow his example and make some profit from your incessant inquiries.”
“That’s not fair! I’m simply curious. How am I supposed to find out without asking you?”
“You could always eavesdrop,” replied a tall, old man who had entered the living room. “Or you could interrogate, steal or blackmail to get the information you want. Really there are many options for obtaining information, my dear guest. Allow me to introduce myself—I am the Astrum envoy to Narlak, General Cortes.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, General,” I stood up from my couch and warmly squeezed the man’s hand.
“I am a plainspoken man,” Cortes went on, once we’d sat back down, “so allow me to get right to the business at hand. I don’t like to beat around the bush much.”
“I am fully in agreement there,” I replied with relief. “We are of one mind when it comes to this…”
“In that case, let me warn you ahead of time that Kalatea asked that our conversation be recorded onto a crystal. The Harbinger wished to see your reaction to her present. If you have objections to this, it would be better if you stated them now.”
“Kalatea warned me about this, so everything is all right.”
“Well…Since we have dispensed with the formalities, please accept the present that our Harbinger prepared for you. I very much hope that you it shall please you.”
Cortes produced a small case from among the folds of his uniform and offered it to me. I’ll admit that I was counting on some unique Shamanic item, so I opened the case with a little puzzlement and stared dumbly at the document inside.
Hello again, Mahan. Don’t even ask how I managed to do this—there definitely won’t be a second opportunity like this. Enjoy! Kalatea, Harbinger of Astrum.
Why is it that girls always like to make such a hubbub about presents, drop all kinds of hints and enigmatic allusions—to hand you a gift certificate for a pair of socks? And then they tap their toes in expectation of your oaths of love and devotion…What could be so unique and amazing about a piece of paper?
Mahan! I invite you and your spouse to take part in the celebrations of the thousand-year anniversary of my reign. The event will be held in two months at the Astrum palace. My Mages will arrange for a portal for you. Almazitor, Ruler of Astrum.
The system informed me that the two tickets I had received were for admission to the celebration at the Astrum palace, but I was in such a state of shock that I paid this no attention. To visit the palace of the Emperor—or Ruler, to be more precise—which was located on the neighboring continent, is an insanely expensive gift from Kalatea. I can’t even imagine what I’d have to do to receive something like this from my own Emperor.
“This was the very reaction that Kalatea warned me about,” smiled Cortes, recalling me back to my senses. Draco and Fleita were impatiently waiting to see the gift that had turned their Shaman into a statue, so I made the invitation’s properties available to them and placed the document back in its case.
“Whoa! Will you summon me, brother?” Draco instantly asked.
“The letter doesn’t say that I can’t summon my Totem.”
“But it does say that you can only be accompanied by one person,” Fleita muttered, crestfallen. “I’ve never visited the Dark Lord, nor even the Emperor of…”
“Gentlemen, I must request you leave this house now. The Guardian has informed the Council of your arrival in the city and the town guards have already been waiting for a minute for my permission to enter this house and arrest you. Pursuant to the laws in force, I am allowed to bar them for no longer than two minutes—after which the guards are free to enter whatever they wish.”
“Viltrius,” I called my majordomo, “summon us back! We’re done here…”
“Please forgive me, Master, but that is not possible…”
“Viltrius?”
“If understand our demon correctly, you are not technically located on our continent. The demon we are employing is not capable of summoning you from a different continent…I can try and find a more powerful demon, but I will need several minutes to do so and our costs will grow by twofold. Shall I find a different demon?”
“It’s not necessary,” I barked and hung up. It took me just a few moments to make my decision: “General, do you have a rear exit?”
“I’m sorry, but there are no exits that you could use to escape. The house is fully surrounded by the guards, who will enter in twenty seconds…”
“Fleita, just don’t start hollering—you’re about to ride on a Dragon. Draco, get ready—as soon as we step out, we’re taking off. Let’s go! General, thank you for your hospitality and please forgive the inconvenience.”
“I understand. It happens.” Cortes shrugged his shoulders, yet I couldn’t even see him. I couldn’t turn into my Dragon Form inside the house—I might get stuck, so…
“Mahan! You and your companions are under arrest!” As soon as I opened the door, three spear tips pointed at my throat, while the system notified me that all spells—including portals—were blocked in a ten meter radius around me. I hadn’t even managed to turn into my Dragon Form! As far as I’m concerned, respawning isn’t such a big deal—however, if they kill Draco, he’ll lose ten levels, and I really don’t want that…
“We give up,” I agreed, wishing to keep my Totem safe. Trying not to provoke the guards, I turned my head and saw them cast several metallic nets over Draco, wrapping them from nose to tail and likewise brandishing spears at him. I wasn’t sure what had become of Fleita because she was behind my back.
“You shall be incarcerated in Narlak prison for 24 hours, after which you will be escorted from the city’s territory. If you are seen in this city again, you shall be detained for another 48 hours. You must answer for your trespass!”
There was no trial as such—with a Reputation like mine, there wouldn’t be one anyway, so hardly several minutes passed before the heavy iron doors clanged shut, cutting me from the game for 24 hours. It’s a good thing at least that this is a game world imprisonment because otherwise I’d be back in Pryke Mine right now back at square one.
All three of us had been placed in different cells. Fleita was sent to a special women’s cell and only received a sentence of two hours—for being in my company. Draco and I, however, were iss
ued the full sentence.
“Stacey, hi! What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to complete another of Nashlazar’s trials. What about you?”
The Karmadont Chess Set (The Way of the Shaman: Book #5) LitRPG series Page 24