‘Well, my friends and I went fishing in a small team at the bank of the Elyrna. The seine was so big that four boats hardly controlled it, and the current was very fast, the water was cloudy... and there were loads of sunken snags on the bottom ... But the catch was worth it! During one month I managed fill my purse with silver and copper coins! Well, and my friends made much money! Rest in peace, dear friends… All of them passed away many years ago. Maybe I’ll meet them soon... But it's not about that! Listen, Rosgard, my benefactor! Once, late in the evening, we pulled the net to shore, and found much garbage apart from fish as usual. And at the very bottom edge of the net that always drew over the bottom and collected all the garbage, we found three strange things plastered with mud. Guess what?’
‘Was it?..’
'Exactly! We have cleared them from the mud in the river water, rinsed thoroughly and got numb. ‘It was silver! Yes, and not simple one! With all sorts of patterns and with incomprehensible lettering. But those things didn’t look like armor, I’m sorry.’
'And what was it like?’
Scratching the top of his head by his fingers, the ghost began enumerating, 'A wide bracelet, a silver belt and some incomprehensible and extremely curved thing with straps. That kind of catch... Did you ask about them?’
'Yup! About them!’ I said confidently, stepping towards the ghost, and lifted up the sleeve of my shirt. Have a look, Jogly, did you see this kind of bracelet?’
After examining my forearm carefully, the ghost nodded confidently, 'Exactly! Exactly the same. And the patterns are the same. Oh, it means that your veela wasn’t wrong... her gift is great.’
'Dear Jogly, and what did you do with the catch?’
'We sold everything,’ the old man said casually, ‘in the village where we lived. There was one trader called Kumovan, so we sold it to him. He bought it as soon as he saw the goods, we got eight full-length gold coins, two coins each. So I became rich overnight. But I don’t know what happened to those things after that, I'm sorry. You'll have to visit Kumovan and ask him properly. Hence, it is not so far away from here. The trader lives In the coastal village at the Elyrna called Selen. It won’t take you much time to get there.
‘A village called Selen, near the river Elyrna, the trader’s name is Kumovan,’ I repeated. ‘Is the trader ‘local’? Or not?’
'I'm telling you - he lives there,’ the ghost said with puzzlement.
'I see, but he... uh-uh... is he a local or a foreigner like me?’ I twisted.
'Local!’ Jogly replied confidently. ‘I can recognize strangers at once, I have seen a lot of them. Well, did I help you?’
'Yes, you did!’ I said gratefully, frantically entering the information into the built-in interface diary.
The thread of information that I received from the veela wasn’t broken. And I should thank all the gods for that fact. So the shopkeeper bought the things but I was almost sure that he got rid of the "hot" goods many years ago making big money on the deal. But... still it was a kind of a guiding thread that was leading me.
‘Noble man... you’re going to keep your promise, aren’t you?’
‘I’ll do it today,’ I said shortly. ‘Today I will convict Phelagea the poisoner. Thanks god all the villagers gathered at your funeral dinner. So we had both a crowd of people and the appropriate moment. Besides, there is the elder. So I have to hurry up, sir.
‘Did they make a good funeral dinner?’ Jogly wondered. ‘What are they saying? Is my foolish son treating them well? Is there enough beer? Are the girls squealing? Are the old women howling? And are they howling devotedly?’
‘They are saying a lot of good things about you. There is much food and beer. They are howling loudly and emotionally,’ I snorted. ‘I must run, until the funeral dinner is over.’
'Don’t worry,’ the ghost shook his head. ‘ There is a tradition in our village to celebrate until the morning! But you’d better hurry up! And when you finish with it, ask my family to visit my grave from time to time!
‘I’ll tell them!’ I replied on the run. ‘Don’t worry!’
'And ask them to raise more mugs for my blissful rest! The old man couldn’t stop instructing me.
'I will!’
‘And never reject an award, fool!’
'Ok, sir!’
'And tell my son not to hurt Alishana!’
'I will tell him! Stop yelling over the whole cemetery!’
'Gooooood luck!’
Waving goodbye, I left the cemetery and rushed to the village. It's time to emerge at the funeral dinner.
Judging by the wafting melancholy songs coming from the village, the locals didn’t feel like finishing the fun. Well... it’s good news for me.
Hold on to your skirts, Phelagea, I’m going for your soul.
Chapter 3
Funeral Dinner Mayhem. Justice of Heaven. Intruder’s Ban Fails. Lagenbrock.
As soon as I went through the gate with no trouble, I experienced a kind of déjà vu – the same man who was hardly keeping balance of his body met me at the entrance holding a full mug. He passed it to me and said shortly, ‘Cheers!’
‘Cheers!’ I agreed the same way as the previous time and drank up the mug.
The guy nodded at me friendly and after taking the mug back approached the barrel. Does he know only this way?
I headed for Stathan who was sitting on the same spot. The feeling of déjà vu became stronger. I shook my head to get rid of the feel that I was jammed like an old scratched record, that I was going the same path again and again. Can it be caused by fatigue?
‘Have you come back?’ Stathan was glad to see me. He patted my shoulder. ‘Then cheers!’
‘Damn it… I remember it, it’s just the same,’ I murmured taking a huge mug. ‘Guys, you’re repeating yourselves. Or is it just a bad scenario…’
‘Rosgard, what are you talking about? What’s wrong? Are you alright? Did you drink too much?’
‘Pardon?’ I woke from a stupor. ‘I’m fine, sir. I was just thinking. Sorry, Stathan! Can you tell me if Thelagea, late Jogly’s neighbor is here? Her daughter is marriageable.
‘Thelagea? She’s over there!’ the shopkeeper pointed out at the junior Jogly. ‘Her daughter, Fetissa is on Jogly’s right and Thelagea is the woman sitting next to her.’
I wasn’t surprised to see the direction of Stathan’s finger. Let the déjà vu go on. I looked at them to make sure that nothing had changed while I was away. The disposition was the same. Jogly’s son who was struck with grief was sitting at the top of the table. Alishana was always at his right side.
There was a red-faced fat gal. After watching her for a couple of minutes I noticed that she was Alishana’s reflection. A ridiculously grotesque and ugly reflection of a false mirror. She didn’t look like a woman rather Quasimodo dressed like a girl. Extremly overweight, an absolutely indifferent face. Her eyes were sparkling excitedly. Thick upper lip hair. And to crown it all, a thin hawkish nose…
But I was more impressed by her strange behavior than her appearance. She was trying to copy Alishana’s actions properly. All her actions. When the young wife put a chicken leg on her husband’s plate, Thelagea’s daughter did absolutely the same immediately! Alishana touched the right shoulder of her husband to reassure. And Fetissa also put her big hand on his left shoulder without any embarrassment. But there was a certain difference between them. Alishana looked really sad and depressed while a masked smile appeared on Fetissa’s face from time to time. Well…
I saw enough while sipping my beer slowly. Then I moved my glance from the strange trio to Thelagea who was controlling her daughter’s behavior, nodding her head for a rare approval and whispering something into her ear. Mentoring. And everybody could see it. Well, I know it’s just a game not real life. Everything is more obvious here, more vivid to make even the most stupid gamer see cues and understand any local character’s mood. But still I was frustrated as if it was happening in real life. It was miserable. Ok, it’s a fictional worl
d but almost everything here copied real facts and events. This kind of situations is quite common for real life.
In fact, you could have a look at the mother to realize how Fetissa would look like when she was old. The daughter and the mother were as like as two peas. The same constitution, the same face. Generally, the daughter was like Quasimodo while her mom reminded me overweight and dressed up the witch Baba Yaga. A hawknose over tightly pressed lips was customized by a big wart. Well, the suspects’ appearances were quite appropriate. If Thelagea was a friendly skinny old lady, probably I would doubt late Jogly’s words. To crown it all, that cynical seduction of another woman’s husband at the funeral dinner suit the whole scenario of the crime. They were performing according to the saying ‘make hay while the sun shines’.
After finishing my beer, I put the mug on the table but Stathan took it at once and directed the beer stream from the jar into it. In three seconds the full mug was again in my hand.
‘This beer is really good,’ the shop-keeper told me with a wink, ‘I can’t help drinking it. But be careful, it can go to head, don’t drink too much.’
‘Yeah, nice beer,’ I agreed and automatically took a sip.
‘Have you been to the cemetery?’
‘Yes, I have.’
‘And...’ curious Stathan leaned closer to me. ‘How was it?’
‘It’s fine. Still there,’ I shrugged my shoulders. I was watching the main suspect and thinking ‘to be or not to be’. I mean ‘to blame or to keep silence’.
While I was running from the cemetery and finding my place at the table, I lost the drive to right a wrong and at the moment I doubted it lot. You know wart on a nose is not evidence. What about Thelagea being not guilty? And I would take her to justice of heaven. It would be a disaster…
So I got the information from Jogly, as for the troubles in the tiny village… Why should I worry about the missing unieye (the beast I had killed), if Thelagea manages to let her malicious plan of local scope come true? It’s not my deal. The award is not very valuable but I’m risking getting God curse…shit!
‘I know it’s still there!’ Stathan got offended. ‘I’m asking you about old Jogly! Have you seen him? Have you found out anything about his damned daughter-in-law?’
‘What? Jogly?!’ a drunk freckled guy was baffled, ‘is he alive? Isn’t it his funeral finner?’
‘Certainly his, he’s dead, don’t worry,’ said the shop-keeper annoyingly. ‘Mind your own business and drink your beer! So, Rosgard, any news?’
‘Yup,’ I sighed and stood up, ‘some news.’
I took a serious decision and hated myself for it.
‘What news?’
‘You’ll know right now,’ I promised him and stood up with hands on my hips. ‘Right now. Attention, please! Ladies and gentlemen! Attention, please!’
Nobody seemed to notice me. Except for Stathan who was looking at me bottom-up in amazement. Other villagers continued their own deals as if I wasn’t even trying to talk to them. Ok…
Inhaling as much air as I could, I suddenly roared:
‘Hey, guys! Look at me!’ It worked. The noise over the tables died out and dozens of surprised eyes looked at me.
‘Dear inhabitants of Mossy Hills! Today I, a stranger called Rosgard, have brought you some important news!’
‘Oh, Rosgard!’ the elder jumped up from the bench, ‘Have you found our unieye, our averter? Have you found the apple of our eye?’
‘What?! No way, can you wait a bit with your averter, sir?’ I said roughly. ‘I’ve got news about old Jogly, the man whose death we are mourning about today. And the news is very sad. It’s about the circumstances of his death.’
Pronouncing these words I fixed my eyes on Thelagea and could hardly resist sighing with relief as she got nervous. In fact soon she calmed down, a friendly smile appeared on her face again and she glanced shortly and I dare say gloatingly at Alishana.
Tight silence was in the air. Ironically, most of people were looking at beautiful Alishana shifting their glances to me.
‘What a shit!’ I was baffled. ‘All of them are sure that Jogly’s daughter-in-law is guilty in his death.’
Who can be trusted? The victim who doesn’t know anything? Or the majority of people who are sure about the circumstances of this death?
‘What do you want to say, stranger? The elder asked me baffled by my pause. After coughing I looked straight at Thelagea and continued.
‘The respected shop-keeper Stathan assigned me to a very important task – to find out if Jogly died a natural death if he didn’t to find out the guilty. That night I went to the cemetery to meet Jogly’s ghost and to find ou everything. And I wanna say it! Old Jogly didn’t die a natural death! He was killed! Alishana sitting next to her husband shrank looking at me in fear and squeezing the edge of the clay bowl by her fingers… No way, you are wrong…
‘Well,’ the shop-keeper drank up and grunted in satisfaction.
I continued ignoring him.
‘I know the murderer’s name!’
The people sitting at the table gasped all together and stared at me.
Making sure that I reached the needed effect I turned around and pointed out at Thelagea who started.
‘It’s you! I blame you for killing old Jogly, Thelagea poisoner! You’re a murderer!’
‘Oh my God…’ the shop-keeper blurted, he choked over his beer. ‘You shouldn’t have drunk the last mug, Rosgard! Oh, you shouldn’t!
‘It doesn’t matter!’ I dismissed his words listening to the increasing noise of the crowd and staring at pale Thelagea. Oh, you didn’t expect it… you didn’t expect it at all.
Not to give the villagers a chance to regain self control, I crashed my fist against the table so hard that the plates trembled.
‘I’m not going to talk in vain,’ I roared, ‘I can say again old Jogly was killed by his neighbor Thelagea! He was killed cold-bloodedly and artfully! By poisonous mushrooms. At the sunrise I’m asking you, Thelagea, to come to the justice of heaven! At the temple in front of the image of white-stone goddess Heliona I’ll repeat my words standing opposite to you and let the goddess pass a fair sentence. I’ll be waiting for you at the temple at the dawn! If Thelagea is innocent and my words are false, then she has nothing to be afraid of and I’ll resist the wrath of gods! That’s all I wanted to say! Now you can go on commemorating old Jogly!
I took the whole fried chicken from the plate and saying good-bye turned around and left for the village inn.
I passed the gate and made a dozen of steps when I heard a sharp yell soaring up into the night sky.
‘I’m not guilty!’
‘Right,’ I agreed, ‘he came to me.’
Yup, and he asked for poisonous mushrooms himself.
‘Alishana is snake in the grass. She is guilty of his death! She is guilty not me!’
‘Tomorrow we’ll know the truth,’ I murmured indistinctly listening to desperate yells of Thelagea who realized her miserable state.
Getting to the inn, I greeted the bored girl at the reception and even had a small talk with her. To entertain her a bit as it was obviously boring to work in such an empty hall. Then I entered my private room and flopped on the floor. That will do for today! It’s high time to come back to the real world and sleep for at least two hours. And then return to Valdira to attend the court of the gods. But first of all… I pulled the sack closer to me and took out Squeaky’s stuff out. Looking at something that you got for free is the best way to improve your mood and to forget about your fatigue. I screwed up my face while examining the clothes. Well, the gear was not bad but the bonuses it provided were absolutely useless for me. The jacket, pants and even the boots were for agility. So how did Squeaky distribute other characteristics I wonder? He didn’t seem to contribute many points into his body constitution as it wasn’t difficult to win him. Then he emphasized strength and agility. Pure damage and enemies’ physical attacks escape. Effective and rather comm
on leveling strategy. But it’s effective against other gamers specializing in physical damage but not against mages… that’s why Squeaky yelled ‘You’re a mage!’ Obviously he wasn’t happy about that fact. His tactics was simple as well – first to damage using a crossbow, then to close up and kill the enemy by several short attacks. By the way, as for the crossbow… I took the mini crossbow from the sack and looked at it closer. Rather a good damage for such a low level and with such agility bonus. And interestingly, the crossbow was created by a master-gamer. Well, the gear, outfit and the level of the character – Squeaky wasn’t a beginner, that’s for sure, he knew exactly what to do. A fencer-dancer! He escaped his enemies’ hits easily. He followed the famous credo of the legendary boxer – ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’. A risky style but it’s effective if you are an expert in it. The only thing that puzzled me is where Squeaky got so much money. He could have bought all that stuff at the auction, then he had to contribute a huge amount of ‘real’ money, or he has a rich mentor who is generous about cues and investment. Maybe… I looked at close-in weapon fast, shook my head while thinking and hid the loot in the sack. I decided to sell everything except the crossbow. I was going to keep it as well as a dozen of armor-piercing bolts. I could sell it at any moment. Leaning against the wall I stared at the opposite wall thinking over my accusatory speech against posoiner Thelagea. I supposed I did it properly. I disclosed the criminal’s name and gave myself a chance to prove if my accusation was correct. The white-stone goddess is situated in front of the temple that is on the high hill. Tomorrow I can come to the hill beforehand and hide in ambush and will be watching ‘locals’ from there. If Thelagea is guilty, she will never come to the temple. All ‘locals’ have well-developed – or I’d better say coded by the developers – self-preservation. And it’s very helpful. If Thelagea escapes from the village or doesn’t come to the justice of heaven, it will prove her guilt. In this case I’ll be able to complete the quest and get the decent award and then I’ll go away while villagers will be waving me good-bye. At the same time I’ll be able to increase the level of friendliness towards me in Mossy Hills.
The Way of the Clan 2 (World of Valdira) Page 9