(World of Valdira 01) The Way of the Clan

by Dem Mikhaylov

  She was shooting on the run being afraid that I could escape. And she had some reasons – I was running into the direction opposite from the city approaching the forest that was becoming closer and closer with each step. In front of the forest trees there were exuberant raspberry bushes suitable for hiding. I broke into the bushes with a crack, got deeper into it and fell on all my fours to crawl forward tying to turn aside at the same time and make as little noise as possible. I stopped only when I saw the long-expected system signal.

  Disguise +10

  That’s not enough…

  I grabbed some handfuls of wet soil and dusted myself from top to toes properly blackening my clothes and skin and keeping in mind controlling the voices approaching me fast like hell.

  Disguise +5

  Much better… faster… faster… the voices are closer.

  I tore the sack off my back, left it on the ground and crawled a few steps away to hide under stems with bright red berries that were inclining to the ground. I pressed on of my sides to the ground, raked up some withered leaves and other plant waste together with soil on my body.

  Disguise +10

  Now put the staff aside, tore off the dagger from the belt and calmed down still. Ready.

  Disguise +5

  Damn, that’s a pity that my clothes are so light! Don’t worry, they are not professional pathfinders with the appropriate skills advanced to the maximum level. They are beginners just like me, but to my advantage I’ve got the gaming experience as a lone ranger. I turned into a stone, trying not to move a finger, my ears were catching every single sound.

  - Where is he?! Where has he gone?!

  - Hush! – that’s Dort Viderrr’s voice, damn him – Shut up and listen! Sh-h-h…

  It was silent for a minute. I could hear the sound of branches being moved apart. The she-elf was the first to break the silence.

  - He isn’t here! We’re wasting time! Dort!

  - Hush! – the jedi invisible for me snarled angily – He is here, hiding somewhere, crum. Ro-o-sgard! Come out, little coward! We’re not going to live in peace! Do you remember I’ve promised to make hell for you? It’s just the beginning! Ary, Cron! Dismiss and move forward slowly. He must be here! Check every bush!

  - I’m not Ary! My name is Ariella the Fern!

  - Fid him – the jedi ignored the she-elf’s words giving orders in ravishment – Ary, go left, and you Cron, check the right side.

  - Dort, is it a good idea to diband? – it was the first time when the half-orc opened his mouth, he turned out to have a deep roar.

  - Are you afraid of him? Do you remember how fast he has been scramming?

  - Not him, Dort, we are in the wood. Who knows what monsters live here.

  - We are the monsters here! Find him! I’m not going to leave without this bastard’s head!

  - I remember him! He won the Cradle tournament yesterday! And his girl-friend broke my bow!

  - Really? – Dort laughed out, the sound of his steps was shifting to the right of my bed.

  - Obviously nobody likes you, right, Rosgard? Be brave, say something! Guys! Don’t forget about his sack, there must be loads of delicacies inside. Soho! Soho! Shout loudly as soon as you see him!

  Raspberry bushes rustled thrice more loudly when the aggrs dashed searching me. But I was still pressing into the ground, my eyes were moving alone inspecting the surroundings. The green wall was drawn apart with a crackle and I saw the slim shape of the she-elf moving forward slowly. Oh dear, such a wood’s kid! Stomping through raspberry bushes like a bear!

  Ariella-Ariella… how fast you switched the yesterday image of a crybaby to a today one of a furious aggr! Her nickname was flaring troublesome red. Actually she had the same weapon – the bow with a stretched arrow was sneaking from one side to another, targeting a dried log or a mossy stone or just raspberry stems. Her face was tense. She was moving crab-like with her legs half-bended. Bah… she got into the character of a head-huntress, stop showing off, babe! Her leg in a leather high boot landed next to my face but I stayed calm although she almost pinched my nose. I was waiting for the right moment when the sharp-eared finally… a deafly heard scream flew from the girl’s lips as soon as she saw my sack lying on the ground. So and now the crucial moment whether she would announce other noisily or check the sack by herself first.

  The elf-girl lived up to my expectations. She even overdid as she didn’t pick up the sack from the ground but fell to her knees instead and put her greedy hand inside.

  ‘Why didn’t she pick up it? Is it due to a female instinct not to carry heavy things?’ – it occurred to me while I was slowly standing up. I didn’t make a step towards the enemy sitting with her back turned to me. I leaped instead to reduce three-step distance between us keeping my eye on the elf’s neck. That was the spot that my dagger pierced, its hit strength was multiplied by numerous small but essential factors. A hit from back, an enemy who doesn’t expect an attack, my strength and agility points, a vulnerable unshielded spot, total number of the enemy’s lives…

  A crit!

  The girl screamed too naturally – it even gave me the creeps – then started and turned her head making one more mistake, actually the last one. Her life indicator was flickering red and she should have turned a somersault forward to take out a healing potion by another hand instead of staring at me. Another hit! Again on the same point, squeezing the dagger by both hands. That’s all. The ‘dead’ body fell down turning into a clot of silver mist on its way to the ground. I rushed to follow it and to dig my hands into the mist waving away the popped-up message:

  Achievement!

  You’ve got a first rank achievement – ‘Law and Order’!

  You can see your achievements in your character’s settings.

  Your award for the achievement:

  +1% to hitting gamers with a ‘criminal’ status.

  +1% to the protection against gamers with a ‘criminal’ status attacks.

  Current bonus: +1 to the protection and hitting in fights against gamers with a ‘criminal’ status.

  Don’t look, take everything including the last copper, put into the sack and slung it over the shoulder!

  I heard Dort Viderrr’s voice raised to a shout on my left:

  - Ary is killed! Cron! Ary’s dead! – I crashed down flat on my face and started crawling towards the jedi’s voice.

  - What?! – the half-orc’s deep muffled voice was coming from the right. He was rather far, about ten or fifteen steps away. That’s very good.

  - Are you deaf, retard?! She’s killed! Her status is zero! What’ the hell?

  Leaning on my elbows I crawled forward hastily listening to the screaming jedi. Since he can see statuses, he’s the party leader. I’ve made a mistake thinking it’s the half-orc.

  - Mind your words! Got it? I’ve told you not to horn in here! There are cool mobs here! Let’s run away!

  Actions speak louder than words. So the gamer dashed into the raspberry bushes in a hurry to leave that deathtrap.

  - Hey, Cron, halt! Come back! It’s not the monsters’ deed, I can swear! He killed her! It’s Rosgard!

  ‘What a quick-witted boy! Or is it the she-elf who PMed you about the reason of her timeless death?’

  - Cron, come back!

  The half-orc didn’t reply, the crackle of branches could be heard instead.

  - Cron! Don’t be such a retard! Help me catch this bastard! Cron! If you leave, I’ll add you to my black list.

  - Bite the ice! I’m leaving the party! – the half-orc uttered a scornful roar and went away.

  - Cron!!!

  Cry, baby, cry… drown my steps. You like to cast knives and peddles so I need to come closer to you, bastard.

  - Cron!!! – my personal enemy was screaming like hell standing still that made my task even easier.

  I halted for a while, tucked my dagger behind the belt and took the staff. I’m not going fight with daggers or light sabers against this jedi. But I c
an hit him on his head by such a stick, it’s easy-peasy. Moreover Dort shut up and hurried to catch up with the half-orc who had left him alone. He was stomping right to me, rubbing along the raspberry with a crackle and taking short breaks to look around. Are you frightened, dark jedi? The chance to stay unnoticed was tending to zero, but I didn’t have time to change position. I swore soundlessly, took out the tournament champion’s cloak from the sack and put it on the shoulders hastily. Additional bonus to speed and hit would be very useful. Damn… I wish I could put on Grim’s bracelet, but it was in the private room.

  - 20 disguise

  The grey cloak flew to the ground and I drew myself straight to emerge suddenly in front of Dort Viderrr like jack-in-the-box. Without a pause, I hit him by the ash staff aiming the center of his forehead. But Dort managed to dodge and the hit landed on his shoulder. Anyway a part of his health flew away. The enemy leaped back stretching his hands in front of him and started speaking swallowing words:

  - Wait, Rosgard! Hey, put away this stick, let’s talk, ok?

  - Elaborate, you vile fiend! – I uttered SpongeBob’s phase in a sonorous manner and made a step forward carefully controlling Dort’s hands.

  - Let’s get dismissed in peace, no complaints – Dort suggested and without waiting for my reply raised his hands to cast two throwing-knives. He would have hit me, if he hadn’t aimed my head. But I just fell on my knee to let the knives fly high over my head with a whistle without any harm and get lost in branches. You should aim the center of the body, you retard! A short staff hit landed on Dort’s stomach to deprive a few life points from him. In a moment the jedi started running away… but fell down on the ground got stuck in a thornbush studded with funny nice white flowers. I decided not to wait until he stood up and moved my right hand short four times. Thorny bushes emerged from the ground one by one to embrace the body of the defeated enemy by their bines. Dort screamed like hell something indistinct and started jerking to escape the thorny hugs of the magic blackthorn. He even managed to stand up. But his life scale had been already flickering red. And another thornbush grew around him turned out to be the last.

  - Yooooouuuu are! Shi... – his furious yell cut off

  A body made from silver mist fell on the ground and froze still.

  - You are also shi… - I nodded kneeling down near the body and dipped my hands into the mist. – Oh! Gold?!

  I decided to examine the loot later and stuffed everything into my bulged sack, then rushed to leave that place giving up the throwing knives lost in bushes. It would take too much time to find them… The weight of the loot obtained was so big that I had to leave the bright tournament cloak on my shoulders. Without its bonuses to strength I wouldn’t be able to drag away my sack that became incredibly heavy.

  In about one-hour walk from here there must be a watchtower at the road. I’m not interested in the protection building rather in a small trading station located near it. Guards wandering around will provide me protection against aggrs striving for revenge while I will be making a thoughtful full inventory of my sack content, selling unnecessary and buying what I needed.

  Heh… what a pity that the half-orc retreated. Actually I could catch him – sure, he stayed in the same location and must be hitting woodchucks now, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t carry additional loot on my humpback. He’d better walk, put on some fat, maybe we’ll meet again one day.

  Two more names were added to the list of my enemies…

  I arrived at the trading station with great difficulty. It was a tiny wooden house with stone foundation and several household buildings. There was a watchtower providing a good view over the surroundings just in twenty or thirty steps from the station. Such a relatively safe area where you could not be afraid of aggr-gamers and aggressive mobs. Since guards could run up quickly and cut a hell-raiser into small pieces with the help of their halberds. It suited me. And not only me. There were lots of gamers. I made a lap of honor round the building to find out that at least two dozens of gamers gathered there. They were having rest from feats of arms, getting rid of excessive loot and simply chattering. So you can make friends in the game. I was unpleasantly surprised to meet some gamers over level ten. Moreover one of them looked familiar – we might have met a couple of times in the Cradle. While I was screwing around , the guy was developing and here’s the result he grew me over by several levels.

  I also didn’t like two characters sitting together. Humans, dressed in good leather clothes. Both were level twelve. Looked like warriors and could handle magic. But I got nervous because of another fact. Their glances were too attentive crawling from one gamer to another, examining pieces of gear and rucksacks. I didn’t become an exception. They examined me, smelled over and almost palpated. They could be another gang of aggrs choosing potential victims. I’d better keep aloof from such guys. Having made a special blaze in my mind I dragged my sack to a small building that looked like a cabin and talked to a skinny tall bloke – one of ‘locals’. The bloke turned out to be the son of the trading station owner. He was screwing around the building for a reason –hiking stuff so necessary for every traveler was sold there. Just what the doctor ordered. I came down with two silver coins and purchased a mess tin with a small footman, a dozen of iron rod-skewers and a roaster for convenient for cooking port steaks on it. How lucky I am that it’s possible to put a solid footman in your rucksack easily in Valdira. If I were in the real world now, I would look like an endorsed donkey. I was going to devote the next hour to cooking and at the moment it was time to sort the loot obtained in severe battles. Having bought a bundle of wood from a talkative trader, I dragged my sack to the nearest fire-pit and flopped down on the ground nearby with incredible relief.

  Soon the meat threaded on skewers was sizzling seductively over the fire while I was digging in my sack business-like separating the wheat from the chaff and avoiding taking anything out. There were too many curious eyes around me. First I counted my cash. I turned out to be a lucky owner of two gold, seventeen silver and twenty-seven copper coins. A hamster living inside me certainly didn’t jump with delight but still his face usually looking hurt by everything around became quite happier.

  The pork became golden brown and made me satisfied with another achievement:

  You’ve got a first rank achievement – ‘Cook’!

  You can see your achievements in your character’s settings.

  Your award for the achievement:

  +1% to the speed of cooking simple dishes.

  Current bonus: +1%

  I just sniffed, put the cooked meat into the sack and threaded the next potion. Roasted meat is a good and rather fast thing to recover life level. Cheap but good. I was going to devote the rest of the day and a part of the coming night to rooting out the local fauna. To have such a ‘first-aid kit’ at your hand is a good idea. And I definitely must level up the sooner the better.

  To my great disappointment there was nothing unique in the killed aggrs’ stuff. Dort Viderrr presented me a bulk of eight throwing knives, one dagger rather worn-out, linen clothes and ordinary shoes like clogs. Oh, and I almost forgot there was a pile of usual peddles that I threw away at once. It’s impossible to sell ordinary peddles to any trader. So I carried them o my humpback in vain. The rest of the loot from his sack didn’t surprise me. A typical set: hides, meat and badger claws.

  Ariella the Fern pleased me almost the similar list. Usual for basic levels gear just instead of throwing knives there was a hunting bow and an impressing kit of arrows. But actually I hadn’t expected to discover three healing potions among her personal belongings. Moreover all those potions were kept in special pockets of a decent textile belt with agility bonus. I could be fine but the belt was of funny bright green color with plenty of pretty scarlet hearts embroidered on it. Considering all pros and cons I decided not to put on the belt. I would be mocked at. That went for sale. The stuff I obtained was so heavy mostly due to mob loot. But it was a pleasant surprise. I could
sell everything here and make my sack much lighter.

  So I was sitting at the fire-pit, feeding it with wood from time to time and turning meat threaded on skewers. Besides I looked rather laid-back to make everyone believe that I had nowhere to hurry and would stay here for a very long time. When the number of meat portions amounted for thirty, I became an owner of a second rank achievement ‘Cook’.

  You’ve got a second rank achievement – ‘Cook’!

  You can see your achievements in your character’s settings.

  Your award for the achievement: +1% to the speed of cooking simple dishes.

  Current bonus: +2%

  I had enough roasted meat so far but I didn’t give it up until I cooked all the meat including the last piece. I didn’t care much about achievement but I did care about the spread between selling raw meat and cooked on. Raw pork cost two coppers while roasted was more expensive by one copper coin. Net profit!

  As soon as I finished my cookery I picked up my stuff and directed to the door of the hospitable trading station opened wide. It was a proper moment since gamers rested and sold everything started to leave; two suspicious blokes disappeared as well they might have hung bumbling behind the selected victim. That was good for me.

  A hefty man with a beard didn’t manage to blink when I discharged a big pile of stuff on his counter. Staying cold-headed he immediately sorted everything out, threw my stuff to different corners and poured a bulk of silver and copper coins. Good. Plus nineteen silver coins and fourteen coppers merrily joined my cash in the sack. But I stayed totally disarmed as I had sold my entire weapon too. There were hiking devices, healing potions, a dozen of pork pieces and the tournament champion’s cloak in my inventory. The trader was keeping silence; he definitely didn’t fancy talking to me. That didn’t worry me much though. I took a stroll along the walls and chose fast the minimum I needed. A rather decent dagger from bronze better than my previous dagger by hit and durability. A cedar traveler’s staff with more impressing hit and durability characteristics. I stayed with my old clothes so far but couldn’t resist buying a leather vest with ‘+4’ protection bonus that could be worn over a shirt. I also purchased a leather hat of a strange shape adding one point to intelligence and protection each. There was nothing more interesting at the trading station. I had to pay the entire gold coin and twelve silver ones for the chosen range of goods. So after all my trading operations I was in the red, but it didn’t bother me.