The Secret of the Dark Forest ( (The Way of the Shaman: Book #3)

by Vasily Mahanenko

  "And now tell us what went down," as soon as the three former red-head-banders got their breath back, they crowded around me. "How did you manage to get Plinto and Anastaria into the clan and what was the real reason Elenium, Sushiho and Dooki left...?"

  I would have never thought that a tale retold by yours truly could come out so colorful and rich in events and drama – with villains and heroes, betrayal and friendship, feelings and ice-cold logic. I didn't conceal the truth from my Fighters, honestly admitting that Anastaria was with us for only three months and Plinto for a year (and for a payment at that), but the way I relayed all this was really something! Mihail Demov, a skilled spinner of tails, would surely see a worthy colleague in me.

  "Peace to you, brave storyteller and his listeners," said a heavy deep voice barely a moment after I finished. It was night in Barliona by this time and just a few meters away from the Guardian's glade two red dots were shining in the darkness. A hostile mob! A level-200 Vampire with red eyes, indicating that he presented a danger to us! "Permit me to enter the Guardian's circle!"

  Eric and I looked at each other. He understood as well as I did what the Vampire's red eyes meant and what would be the result of his entering the glade: respawn for us and inglorious death for Slate.

  "No thank you, we're kinda fond of staying alive," was my strained reply. "To what do we owe the honor?"

  "I cannot harm those who have become objects of interest to the Patriarch," uttered our night guest, compelling me take a closer look in his properties. Level 203, a Vampire-scout, Hit Points ... and not a single word that the NPC standing before us was cursed. However, his red eyes indicated the opposite. "My Lord wishes to speak with one of you. He would like to know the aim of your visit to his forest."

  "His forest?" I couldn't help myself at this point. "This forest has been flooded by the Fallen and their leader, while your Patriarch has barricaded himself up in his castle, or wherever it is. And yet he continues to call this Cursed Forest his own. We came to destroy the taint, a quest that was given to us by the Guardian. You can go and tell the Patriarch this." I was probably taking a risk in being openly rude to the messenger, but I’d run out of niceties for the day. I was too tired. I knew that NPCs had to be buttered up, but not today.

  "My Lord has ordered that one of you be delivered to him and I will do this," said the Vampire, unperturbed. "The Guardian's glade is not out of bounds to me. Only respect for those who have managed to turn the eyes of the Fallen away from our castle and onto themselves – giving us the first respite in ten years – has stopped me from going any further." With these words the Vampire did something completely unexpected: he entered the glade and nothing happened to him. He didn't start writhing in agony, no pillar of fire appeared around him and even the Guardian continued to doze, as if nothing had happened. But the red eyes of a hostile mob ...

  "I will meet the Patriarch." I finally found my bearings, realizing that if the Vampire didn't attack, despite being fully capable of entering the Guardian's glade, we had nothing to fear. At least for the moment: later we'll figure out who was indebted to whom and by how much. ... Except that Stacey, the moment she's back in the game, will kill me as sure as day. ...

  "Touch my hand," the Vampire appeared next to me in one imperceptible movement. He's so damn fast! "I am linked to the castle with a transfer portal. You will be taken there in the same manner."

  The Vampire forced me to look at him from a different perspective! Well, I'll be! So it looks like mobs around here aren't as simple as they may seem at a first glance. Ordinary messengers are supplied with anchored portals, which usually cost crazy money. It's a convenient thing to be sure, but you'd have to dump so much gold on the anchor and the summoning scrolls ... yet here we have simple scouts running around with anchored portals like this was the norm. They are probably used as a security measure. If the Fallen were to catch such a Vampire, he'd just fly off in a flash. Nice fail-safe, for sure. Realizing that I didn't have much choice in this, I touched the Vamp's hand and the world around me blinked, indicating the transfer to a different location. When my vision was no longer blurry, I beheld a monumental structure in all its glory: the inner court of the Vampire Patriarch's castle.

  What immediately struck me was the total absence of the mist, otherwise ubiquitous throughout the Dark Forest. There was a cobbled square, which contained a massive stone castle-palace, and several small buildings, which were probably there purely for decoration. In any case, no-one lived in them, because great piles of various weapons and armor blocked all the entrances.

  "Our spoils of war," explained my guide after noticing my gaze. "First they filled up the entire armory, then the barracks, and then we just started to pile them up outside. We cannot leave the weapons on the battlefield, as they will return to the Fallen, nor can we use any of them ourselves since they're cursed. So that's why they're gathered here in these useless piles."

  "Can I have a look?"

  "That will depend on the result of your meeting with the Patriarch. Perhaps I won't even have to take you back. Free Citizens know how to return from the Grey Lands, so you could be returning to the Guardian's glade on your own. Whatever the Master commands. Follow me."

  My guide headed inside the castle and I, trying to keep up, continued to take in my surroundings. High stone walls around the castle perimeter, reaching up to ... whatever their actual height, you couldn't see the trees beyond them. I might give them six or seven meters, but there's no way to be sure. There was nothing else. The castle covered about the same area as the Guardian's glade, but contained nothing except the four buildings. It looks like this was home to the wrong type of Vampires – a bit too ascetic, as it were. If you’d seen any antique films, you’d think these guys love luxury, since they lived a very long time. But here they were being downright Spartan. Vampires stood along the entire wall perimeter and kept sending arrows somewhere outside. Then the question occurred to me: where do the local Fighters get their weapons and food? There was no sign of a smithy or trees from which to make arrows, for starters. Did the developers depart from the game logic in this and permit the NPCs' weapons to renew themselves and for the arrows to just 'pop out' of the quivers? And the replenishing of the ranks of the original Vampires was also begging for an explanation. They should've all been killed off in the last ten years: where could they be born around here? So, all in all, I had many questions, which, in all probability would never get answered. It's a scenario, that's all there is to it. ...

  "Greetings, traveler. What brings you to my forest?" The Patriarch of the Vampires had a surprisingly beautiful voice. It was so ... I don't even know how to describe it. Confident and kind, it made you feel that you could trust and rely on it, that all your problems had been long-solved, leaving you without a care in the world. The local boss, dressed in a bright red mantle that covered him from head to foot, was sitting on a throne made of skulls and watching me, like all other Vampires I encountered here, with red eyes. His throne was truly 'cosmopolitan': heads of humans, orcs, horned kobolds (if I wasn't mistaken) ... almost all the races of Barliona were represented in this frightening creation by the developers.

  "We are on a quest from the Guardian of the Dark Forest to cleanse the forest of the taint," I replied to the elderly Lord of the castle. His snow-white hair and pale skin made such a strong contrast with the bright red eyes that surrounded the Patriarch that a few times I caught myself in the process of averting my eyes. Damn! There were no buffs or debuffs, but the NPC's influence could be felt very clearly. Was it Charisma? Or did he have something more interesting about him? I had to get to the bottom of this. "I would also like to find out what happened to the Great Priest Midial and his group" – I made sure I didn't forget the second quest too – "and who destroyed him."

  "Destroyed him?" smiled the Patriarch. "I would have given much to destroy the sentient you just called the Great Priest Midial. After all, the Lord of the Fallen and Midial are one and the same. ..."
<
br />   * * *

  "Faster!" Midial was increasingly impatient, as he tried to hurry his team ahead. "We have to get to Ishni before nightfall! Only she can tell us where to find the Tear of Eluna! Onwards, brothers!"

  "Don't run your people into the ground, Priest." A blindingly bright light chased away the deepening shadows of the Dark Forest as the Unicorn stepped out of the trees. It was the heart of the Dark Forest – Ishni. The expedition sent by the High Priestess froze, gazing in wonder at the flawless white skin, the resplendent horn and huge eyes full of unearthly wisdom. "I will give you the Tear of Eluna, I have no more need of it. Take it and carry the Light with honor!"

  The Unicorn lowered her head and the group saw that a small chain with a drop-shaped pendant was hanging from the tip of her horn, the lost amulet of the High Priestess. Everyone sighed in relief; the expedition had ended in success and a great reward awaited everyone upon their return. The group relaxed, many started to smile and Midial bent to his knees and said: "You have my thanks, o great Ishni, for helping us find the lost relic. We will be able to achieve much with its help ..."

  "Much? Priest, it seems you do not know that the Tear of Eluna is incapable of bringing Light. How can the Goddess's grief, her pain and loss carry Light? For centuries the High Priestesses guarded the peoples of Barliona from the effect of this amulet and the time has now come for the new Priestess to take this burden upon herself. The Tear cannot be used, it can only be guarded."

  "I beg your pardon, o great one, I misspoke. I will not use the Tear: it is beyond my power. My innermost desire is to deliver the relic to the right place."

  Midial rose up, walked over to the Unicorn, and took the pendant from her. He looked at the amulet for a few moments and then a malicious smile spread across his face: "And isn't it just my luck that the right place is right here? Geranika!" The Priest suddenly shouted into empty air, "I obtained the prize that you sought! The Dark Forest is ready to fall at your feet!" After uttering these words Midial tore the Tear off the chain and stuck it into the ground.

  "Stop, you madman!" Ishni managed to utter before the world came to a halt. The priests who sprang up to stop their leader, the Unicorn, who lowered her head to run at the enemy and even the wind, which previously had been hardly noticeable in the Dark Forest, froze in an elaborate swirl. Everything paused.

  "You did it!" said a man, dressed in a tailored suit, who appeared next to Midial. "I have to admit, my apprentice, I started to doubt you, but you managed to live up to my hopes. From now on I name you the Lord of the Dark Forest. Very soon it will become Cursed and you will supply me with a ..."

  "Who dares intrude into and desecrate the Dark Forest!" Although time had stopped, the projection of the Oak appeared not far from Geranika and Midial. The Guardian had come to defend its forest.

  "You still haven't dealt with this problem?" Geranika looked at Midial in surprise. "Apprentice, you begin to disappoint me. How did you manage to do such a good job on the one hand and botch it on the other so spectacularly? Prepare to be punished."

  "You will be destroyed," the Guardian continued with his denunciation, "nothing will save you and ..."

  "Silence!" A tambourine appeared in Geranika's hand, the Shaman closed his eyes and the surrounding world was shaken by several resounding bangs.

  "You dare tell me ... . What?! What is happening?" shouted the Guardian, as dark mist started to swirl around him. Its touch first wilted leaves, then branches began to fall off and just a few moments later the Oak vanished, having disintegrated into dust.

  "Apprentice, this is your punishment: until you destroy the Patriarch of the Vampires who lives in this forest you shall have no place at my side. That is all." Geranika looked at the bowed head of the Priest, walked up to the Unicorn, broke off its horn and, after a pleased chuckle, vanished.

  The surrounding world moved once more, but now Midial was its Master. He lifted up his hands and, as with Geranika earlier, dark smoke started to stream out of them. In a snake-like movement it twisted around all those still alive in the glade, including the Unicorn, and lifted them above the ground.

  "I appoint you Sergeant," said Midial to one of the priests. "You the Lieutenant and you the General of the Fallen. The rest will come in handy for the initiation. As for you," the Priest turned to Ishni, "I have great plans for you. ... Argh! The damn thing burns so much!" Midial took a small frog statuette from somewhere inside his robes and threw it to the ground. "Useless trinket!"

  * * *

  "As you can see," said the Patriarch, "for ten years now Midial has been trying to return to his teacher, but without success. The Reardalox clan will never capitulate before the invaders."

  While I was recovering from what I'd just been shown, a string of messages flashed before my eyes:

  Quest 'Restoration of a Holy Relic, Step 2: The Search for the Stone of Light' completed. Reward: +35000 Experience, +500 to Reputation with the Priestesses of Eluna, +100 to Reputation with the Goddess Eluna.

  Level gained!

  Quest available: Quest 'Restoration of a Holy Relic, Step 3: Return of the Stone of Light.'

  Step 3 description: The lost Stone of Light was dropped somewhere in the Dark Forest. With time, an oasis of goodness and peace has formed around it. Return the Stone of Light to the High Priestess.

  Requirements: Reputation with Goddess Eluna: greater than 0; Reputation with the Priestesses of Goddess Eluna: Friendly or above; combined group level: 600.

  Quest chain class: Rare.

  Reward for completing Step 3: +1 Level, +500 to Reputation with the Priestesses of Eluna, +100 to Reputation with Goddess Eluna.

  Reward for the quest chain: Hidden.

  Penalty for failing/refusing the quest: none.

  The quest chain will be updated for all the members of the group.

  Update to the 'Cleansing of the Dark Forest' quest. Source of the taint: the Tear of Eluna planted into the ground.

  "I can see that my words have shocked you," the old Vampire returned me back to the game. "I understand that it's hard to accept betrayal, especially from a Priest, but that is the story of my forest. You will now be taken back. I’ve found out all that I wanted to know: I have no interest in helping you, but my warriors will not hinder you either. You will be allowed to pass through our lands unimpeded and take the Tear of Eluna out of the ground yourselves.

  "Then why ..." I started, but then fell silent. At first I wanted to know why the Patriarch's Vampires wouldn't pull out the amulet themselves, but why ask a question to which I already knew the answer? The Tear was probably stuck in the ground at the place where the Priests were initiated into being Cursed Ones. This means that's where the Lord of the Fallen, who is Geranika's apprentice, will also be located. But then another question immediately arose: how could a Shaman teach a Priest? Formally they deal with different entities ... although ... if I remembered the words of the Supreme Spirits of both worlds, Geranika hasn't been using Spirits for a long time now: ten years or more. And yet he used his tambourine when destroying the Guardian ... I urgently needed Antsinthepantsa. ...

  "Thank you for your help, we will walk this path to the end. I have a request and a question. The question is simple. So that we don't spend ages roaming the Dark Forest, can you please tell us where Midial stuck the Tear into the ground? The request is a bit more complicated. You have a lot of Cursed Weapons lying around your square. I am a Blessed Artificer and have the ability to change Cursed weapons into Blessed ones." I may have been slightly economical with the truth here, since I'd never actually done this, but I had to give it a go! What if it worked? At the very least I could always take them to Beth and she could help me remake them. "Can I take a few of these items, since you aren't using them?"

  For a few moments the Patriarch was lost in thought – probably his Imitator was calculating possibilities and analyzing the piles of metal for anything useful – and then he answered:

  "I will not mark the spot where my enemy is
located. The fight between us is an internal Dark Forest matter, not something free citizens should concern themselves with. If you want to get involved it's your business; my Fighters will not stand in your way. But don't expect any help from them either; you have to solve your own problems yourself. As for the weapons and armor ... yes, we really don't have anywhere to put it, but I cannot just hand it over without knowing for sure what you will do with it. Prove to me that you are indeed a Blessed Artificer. You will be brought a sample: change it. If you succeed, I will allow you to select around ten objects. This will be my personal gift to you. If you fail ... you will have to make your way back to the Guardian's glade via the Grey Lands. Do you agree to my conditions?"

  So that's how it is! That's some twist Mr. Head Vampirello put on things! And in general, our meeting didn't seem to have come out quite right. Firstly, the Patriarch didn't appear in the list of encountered factions, so leveling up with him in Reputation was a separate story. Secondly, he had no intention of helping us and there was nothing to be done about that. Thirdly, he was about to send me for respawn, because I was no Priest when it came to switching polarities. And I couldn't decline either; my Reputation with the Patriarch could easily plummet, which was the last thing I needed. What to do?

  "I agree," I answered the impossible question, mentally preparing myself for a 12-hour rest, although for me it would rush past in the blink of an eye, and at least my body would get a break from Barliona.

  "You will be brought one of the simple objects suitable for your profession," said the Patriarch, snapping me out of self-castigation mode. “Suitable for my profession” meant that I would have to work either with a ring or a neck-chain, in other words with a piece of jewelry. All I needed was an hour of time and ...