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

by Vasily Mahanenko

"Let me be the judge of what is and isn't within my power. Girls, you need a special invitation? Don't just stand there!"

  "Mahan!" came Plinto's happy shout. "We've downed twenty Vampires and it looks like they're blocking the entrance. We can't get out of here! Told ya the Lieutenant was a trifle. This is where things really get started!"

  "So," I began to think out loud, "we have: a Unicorn's horn – one unit. A Unicorn, without her horn – also one unit. The task in hand is to combine the horn and the Unicorn into one whole. Potential restriction: the combination is only possible with the aid of the Goddess. Experiment number one ..."

  I crouched by Ishni and pressed the horn to the wound. The Unicorn winced with pain, but patiently awaited the result: total failure. As soon as I let go, the horn fell off. It didn't work.

  "Why don't you use some glue," came some 'sound advice' from Clutzer. By the looks of it, the entire clan had gathered round, watching my attempted 'repair'.

  "Does anyone have anything suitable?" I looked at the other players.

  "Here's some healing salve." Anastaria handed me a small jar containing a green substance. "It won't do any harm, and you may try using it as a glue."

  "Thanks! Experiment number two," I said, knowing full well that the editor of the video for whom I was now making these comments would most likely consign them to the cutting-room floor. "Using a green healing salve as an adhesive."

  The horn managed to stay in place for the grand total of five seconds, until the Unicorn shook her head, making the horn drop and roll onto the floor. That didn't work. ...

  "We should put a wire around it," came yet another 'genius' piece of advice from Clutzer.

  "I am grateful to you, Shaman-Dragon, but it is beyond your power to put things back the way they were. Just let me go, you already gave the Dark Forest a priceless gift: a chance at survival. Don't forget me, weep over my fate ... this is the best you can do now. Only Eluna ..."

  Ishni continued to reiterate the impossibility of her being healed, but the light bulb that had lit inside my head took my thoughts elsewhere. Weep ... Eluna ... Tear of Eluna, the stone lying in my inventory ... wasn't it essentially a part of the Goddess? This meant that I could try at least. ...

  I took the Tear out of the bag and looked at it carefully. It appeared to be an ordinary stone of silvery hue, with a strange description, demanding an appeal to the Goddess ... to hell with it all!

  The design mode greeted me with a reassuring blackness. It'd been a while since I’d entered it – since the moment I crafted the pine cones. An entire two days ... it seemed a hell of a lot longer than that. ...

  The horn and the Tear of Eluna appeared in the design mode almost the instant I pictured them: the snow-white, spiraling horn and the silvery droplet of divine sorrow. Clutzer was right, even if he didn't understand it himself: the Unicorn's horn had to be attached with a wire. And it couldn't be tied down with just one, but rather attached with the help of the Tear – a part of Eluna. Perhaps after that the Unicorn would be able to last until we took her to the temple, because at the moment she’d decided to kick the proverbial bucket. With every hoof it had. ... Like hell it would! Not on my watch!

  On the hundredth ring that fell apart with a clank, I realized that ordinary Copper or Steel wire, Copper, Tin, Bronze, Silver and Iron rings (or even a few Rare ones from the recipes that Evolett sent me) wouldn't do. They didn't want to join the horn and the Tear together, hard as I tried to impose the essence of a link on them. ... It seemed that they were too low-level for this task. Stop! Low level!

  The image of the Holy Ring of Dreall was lying on the shelf of Unique and Unrepeatable items, so I didn't have to create it anew. I placed all three items before my eyes and for a while couldn't work up the courage to attempt to combine them. I was afraid to think what Anastaria would say if the ring, which I was sure she had already set her sights on, broke in front of her eyes. Although ... ‘nothing ventured nothing gained’. ... With this thought the three items moved toward each other. I wondered if Rick's belt, which I’d equipped, would be of any help.

  "Yeah ...," said Anastaria slowly, when I finally opened my eyes, "so that's how legends are born ... impressive ..."

  The bright light that had shone from my body gradually faded, returning the torture room back into dark gloom and giving way to a torrent of announcements.

  Item created: Unicorn Horn of Eluna’s Blessing.

  Description: by combining un-combinable items you have created the unreal and attained the incredible.

  The conditions of the 'Creation of a Holy Artifact' quest have been met. Take Unicorn Horn of Eluna’s Blessing to the Emperor of Malabar to receive your reward.

  Skill increase:

  +1 to Crafting. Total: 7.

  +3 to primary profession of Jewelcrafting. Total: 105.

  + 1 to the Blessed Artificer achievement. Total: 4.

  "You won't be able to run around using Stealth with a sign like that above you," said Plinto slowly. "Getting to the Emperor will take some thinking."

  I wanted to ask him what he was on about when Eric caught my eye. A bright icon showing the Emperor's coat of arms with the sign 'Rescuer of the Throne' was hanging above the dwarf's head.

  "You said something about a wish before," I said slyly, looking at Anastaria, "does your promise still hold?"

  "You know, I never know what to expect with you," smiled the girl. "I keep my promises. Make a wish."

  "Here's my wish then! Take this horn," there was no stopping me now, "put it next to Ishni's wound and call upon Eluna as her Paladin-General. Get her to give us a hand."

  "Firstly, I am the Goddess's warrior, not her Priest. There is no precedent in the history of Barliona for the Goddess answering the call of a warrior. Secondly, you do understand that if a miracle does take place, and the Goddess appears, the horn will disappear? We will fail to save the Emperor."

  "Are you refusing to carry out my wish?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Stacey, the camera is still recording. Can you imagine what people will say about you? The Great Anastaria herself is going back on her word ... 'Disgraceful behavior, shame on her!'." With these last words I couldn't help but laugh. Try as I might to keep my composure, the girl's befuddled expression was so hilarious that it was more than I could do to restrain myself.

  Silently taking the restored horn, Anastaria sat next to Ishni, put the artifact that I’d created next to the wound, bowed her head and ... sung. The meaning of the song remained obscure, as the words were certainly not in common language, but the singing itself ... it drew you in, brought tears to your eyes, made you want to laugh, to rejoice and be sad all at once. Together with the divine voice of the girl, the melodious and slightly sorrowful song shocked and shook the listener, who was left wanting to do only one thing – bow his head to the singer, close his eyes and enjoy each moment of life. ... I was exceptionally grateful to Anastaria for asking me to record it all on video. Now it would've been fitting to shout, like they did back when the first video cameras appeared: "I filmed this! Oh God! I filmed this!!!"

  "Stand up, warrior." The sound of a woman's voice brought me back to reality. I lifted up my head and my eyes met those of a woman floating in the air. If before this moment I believed Anastaria was the most beautiful woman in the world – to have the most amazing voice and to embody the ideal of beauty – I now realized how wrong I was. ... The Goddess was ... divine, despite the obvious tautology. "My warrior, you have managed to overcome yourself and summoned me with a pure heart. I can see very well how difficult a decision it was for you to begin the summons, how difficult it was to give up on the chance of saving the Emperor and becoming his close advisor ... you are a Siren of your word and I am proud that there are such beings among my warriors. From now on I name you Lieutenant of the Paladins! Wear this title with honor!"

  The air was filled with the sound of solemn music and Anastaria was caught in a whirlwind of transformations. The girl rose a few centimeters into th
e air, twisted – as if struck by an electric charge, her mouth opening in a silent scream – and then was gently placed back on the ground. The changes to her character were complete. Anastaria didn't look different in any way, except ... hmmm ... was it normal that her Life Bar now sported Eluna's icon next to it?

  There was a slight movement of the air and the Goddess was now next to the Unicorn. Ishni struggled to lift up her head and the horn that Anastaria had placed on her fell off once again. A smile lit up Eluna's face, she made a slight movement and the horn rose into the air.

  "You did everything right," said the Goddess, "Now we just have to wait for the Tear to be washed in the blood of an innocent and dissolve, manifesting the miracle of healing. Let's speed up this process." The horn returned to its original place on Ishni's forehead, after which the Unicorn vanished. "I healed Ishni and sent her back to the Guardian. No-one in Barliona could take better care of her than him. As for you," Eluna appeared in front of Eric, Plinto, Clutzer, Leite and Barsina, leant over and kissed their foreheads. An icon of Eluna, somewhat smaller than Anastaria's, immediately appeared next to each player marked by the Goddess. Then Eluna finally stood opposite me.

  "An uninitiated Dragon," she said thoughtfully, "a killer who doomed the Princess of Malabar to four months of solitude ... one who risked everything and ... I will meet you later, after you clean up the mess that is plaguing the Dark Forest. We shall meet again soon, Shaman!"

  "A killer?" asked Anastaria when the Goddess had disappeared. "Mahan, how could you have killed Slate if we left him back in the tent?"

  "Stacey, I'm as shocked as you are," I gave the girl my honest answer. "Damn! He had again dropped out of the group! I had no idea how I managed to kill him! When I was rubbing out the players, I'm certain that Slate wasn't among them ... damn! Now I get it why the announcement came up saying that I would be taken back to Pryke after the completion of the scenario."

  "WHAT?!" I was deafened by the simultaneous shout of my entire clan.

  "No need to look at me like that! I thought that was because of the other players. ... I guess that's what’s behind it ... but when did I kill Slate off? Plinto! I have a separate task for you. I could be taken at any moment and right now I can't guarantee that I’ll be able to defend myself and avoid getting stuck in the mines for eight and a half years. Your task is to do your best to drag out time before the Legendary items have to be returned. They certainly can't be given back for free, so try to drive a hard bargain. But before you start haggling, try not to give anything back for as long as possible. And no use looking at me like that, Stacey! Those guys had a choice either to go after me or to wait. They decided to take a swipe at the Seathistles clan. Tough luck!"

  "So you're asking me to become an enemy to a whole load of people? As well as the clans to which they belong?" asked Plinto, just to be clear.

  "Yes."

  "Consider it done, boss," a nasty smile spread across Plinto's face. "Now they won't have any choice but to come looking for me. Excellent! Thanks Mahan, that's a real bonus!"

  "Talk about putting a fox in the hen house," muttered Anastaria, watching the overjoyed Plinto, Then she re-composed herself and continued to issue orders: "Our task is to make it back to the surface and leave the Castle alive. Suggestions?"

  "Stacey, aren't you a Paladin-General, like Kornik said?" I couldn't help asking, all suggestions aside. "Eluna has appointed you a Lieutenant. Doesn’t that mean you were just demoted?"

  "Yeah, right to the bottom of the career ladder," replied the girl with a smile. "It's such a catastrophic setback that I don't even know how to keep going after this."

  "And if you were to speak seriously?"

  "Paladin-General is a title given within the Class, like 'Great' or 'High' Shaman. A Lieutenant of Paladins ... this is a spiritual rank, bestowed by Eluna herself. And don't ask me what it brings; there is no information about it anywhere and I'm speaking as someone who knows my own Class like the back of my hand. I will have to test everything thoroughly, read and experiment. ... Very many possibilities have opened up now, so I'll probably get in touch with Alviona and get her to tell me what she's been cooking up."

  "Alviona?"

  "The Paladins' Kalatea. Is that clearer? Plinto! What's with the door?"

  "Blocked tight! By a pile of sleeping Vampires on our side and from the Castle side ... I can't say, really. Maybe they’ve dumped an elephant on it. It's not budging at all. We'll end up living here like gophers: you can't see us, but we exist!"

  "I always thought that Vampires sleep either in coffins or don't sleep at all," said Clutzer quietly, once the rest of the clan got lost in thought. We had to find a way out of the torture room, but no options presented themselves other than sitting here for a few days pressing the 'Character stuck' button and hoping to be teleported to the nearest respawn point. "I wonder, will they behave themselves after waking up or will they have to be given another lesson in manners? Plinto, why don't you put them through training, as you did with us? We already have one exclusive video with the Goddess, so we can make another: ‘Plinto, setting the Vampires on the right path’. And then we'll invite them into our clan!"

  "My fighters will be just fine back once back in the clan from which they were taken." The painfully familiar voice of the Patriarch sounded from a far corner. "I won't allow them to be 'set', as you put it, on any 'right path'. Siren?" Great surprise showed through the Patriarch's voice. "What are you doing in the company of the owner of the Enemy?"

  "And what are YOU doing here?" I managed to ask before Anastaria could reply.

  "The Castle's defenses have weakened, so I risked checking if I could aid my warriors. You said that you came to the Dark Forest to destroy the taint, so I activated my fear and began to follow it. That's what led me here. Siren, you haven't answered me. What are you doing associating with the owner of the Enemy?" the Patriarch repeated his question insistently, stepping away out of the corner and closer to the center of the torture room.

  "You are mistaken, Patriarch," replied the girl with a bow. "I am not in the company of the owner of the Enemy. I am in the company of the uninitiated Enemy himself. He hasn't yet become aware of his strength, but I'm sure that soon a real Dragon will emerge in Barliona!"

  "YOU LIE!" The Lieutenant, the General ... it turned out that they were mere kids when it came to slapping various negative buffs on you! I was thrown to the floor and pressed into it with such force that my breath was knocked right out of me – my head felt like an anvil upon which the entire workforce of the Undermountain kingdom was trying to create its next masterpiece. Realizing that I had zero strength left for lifting up my head to check the condition of the others, I called up the frames of the group before my eyes: everyone had only 10% of Hit Points left and had acquired a 10-minute Petrification status, while their stats were reduced by 40%. ... All in all, the list of debuffs was quite something. "THE ENEMY HAS DEPARTED FROM THIS WORLD!"

  "I am telling the truth," said Anastaria hoarsely, half-choked into silence.

  "You can't get rid of her that easily," Plinto's pointed remark sounded like a gong. He could speak? "I can lend you a noose – you should slip it around her neck and give it a good pull."

  "WHAT?!" Another wave of debuffs hit the players. "YOU HAVE ESCAPED MY WRATH?!"

  "As my boss likes to say: yup! Listen, mister, I realize you're unbelievably tough and all, but how about you stop destroying these guys, eh? I don't care about the Siren, even if she can sing better than anyone, but why drag the others into it? I mean, we've been trying to free your fighters, by the by, and you've up and decided to rub us out."

  "This is impossible!" said the Patriarch in a normal voice now. "Only one thing in all of Barliona would enable you to withstand my voice ... is it with you?" the Vampire exclaimed after some time.

  "If you mean the Fang of the Patriarch," grinned Plinto, "yes, it's hanging around my neck, like any self-respecting fang should."

  "Plinto?" his name
flew off my lips the moment I was able to speak again.

  "Have a look at my amulet, I've opened its properties. I think that should answer all your questions."

  Altameda with the Fang of the Patriarch of the Vampires.

  Description: The energy of hundreds of thousands of sentients who’ve had their lives ended by this fang filled it with incredible power. Now not a single sentient will be able to block your character for more than a second.

  Item class: Legendary.

  Limitations: none.

  "Yes, this is it," said the Patriarch, looking at Plinto thoughtfully. "My Fang could only have been obtained by someone acting on their own, after overcoming the guards, but I received no news that the wardens fell. Who are you?"

  "Just a Master-Rogue." When needed, Plinto was quite capable of making a polite bow. "One who has dedicated his life to perfecting Stealth."

  "A master of Stealth?" the Vampire's eyebrows flew up, "Now I understand why the guards are still alive: they are guarding an empty box ... if you were a Vampire, our race would be proud of you ..."

  "Let's talk about that later." Plinto, closed access to his amulet's properties and looked at the Patriarch. "Why don't you release the others? It just so happens that our clan has both a Siren and a Dragon ... and Stacey, why is Mahan still uninitiated? Didn't eat his porridge?"

  "Initiation starts at level 100," the girl immediately replied. "Mahan is at 82 at the moment, a little more and he'll start to get seriously warped. I know, since I've been there myself."

  "And when did you manage to change? Was it when you unlocked the ..."

  "Dragon," ignoring Plinto and Anastaria's conversation, the Patriarch appeared next to me. "It looks like you're not just the Master of the Enemy, but the Enemy himself! That is why from you I sense ... fear ... despair, the futility of resistance and ... awe. Siren," the Patriarch once again addressed Anastaria, "can you explain to me why you are with the Enemy?"

  "The time of enmity ended long ago," came the girl's immediate reply. "Only one Siren and one Dragon are left in Barliona. What sense is there in destroying each other, if that would never bring back the former greatness of our races? On the contrary, we must unite, because now there are too many hunters intent on hanging our heads as trophies on their walls. The Dragon is young and inexperienced; the hunters will kill him. My task is to teach him to defend himself. Only later, when the danger is behind us, will we be able to settle scores originating in our ancient enmity, but not now. For the time being we have to work together."