But otherwise if while sitting in ambush I see Thelagea overwhelming with righteous anger and coming up the hill… I’ll have to escape as fast as possible. I have already received the required information. And I don’t fancy having the divine curse. In fact they say that there is no way to escape the gods’ wrath but I’m not going to the court. I’ll just run away. Where nothing is to be had, the king must lose his right. The villagers will wait for me for about one hour and then will go away to do what they have to do. In such a case the most unfriendly terms with this village are guaranteed. They will never help me and give any quest, never sell anything or buy anything. Moreover, gossips will reach other villages.
I feel sorry for Alishana… She will be bullied. But it’s not a human, it’s just a number of digits. Well… I entered the interface menu and commanded the ‘cocoon’ to alarm one hour before the dawn. One hour is enough to get to the destination and to settle down in ambush. There is no use to exit Valdira – there is little time left before the dawn. I can’t see the reason to do it. The only bed in my flat was occupied. Anyway I would have to sleep inside the cocoon, my temporal body has already been there while my eternal soul is hovering in heaven… I wanted to say in the game. Although the game developers don’t recommend to sleep in the game because it’s not the real sleep just an artificial substitute, I don’t have an alternative.
‘Exactly,’ I agreed with myself. ‘I have no alternative. In real life I will oversleep, for sure, and no alarm-clock will be able to wake me. I’m too tired.’
In the game I will certainly wake up.
I stretched my legs to feel comfortable, crossed my arms over the chest, lowered the chin on the chest and closed my eyes.
It’s time to sleep. Too many events for one day. Time to sleep…
System Request
Would you like to drown yourself in sleep?
Yes, I would…
The administration of Valdira recommends not to overuse this opportunity and warns that sleeping in the game can’t replace the true relax offline.
The administration advises you to exit the game and…
‘Stop buzzing…’ I thought and immediately fell into pitch-black darkness.
A slight jingle sounded to make me open my eyes. I woke up but I didn’t feel I was full of energy. And actually I didn’t sleep. Just crossed out some hours from my life.
I stood up easily and went out into the hallway covered with carpets and walked to the exit while checking my gear and spells kept in my hands. The cracked staff was banging on the floor with every step I made. And I thought sadly it was time to change the weapon. Its durability exhausted. But I could do it later. I’d better hurry up. Villagers get up very early.
Moving the legs mechanically I was trying to identify the most convenient place for an ambush and decided immediately that I couldn’t find anything better than the cornfield I had seen before. The field where I had been waiting for Squeaky yesterday. The dense impenetrable bushes higher than me seemed to be the perfect hideaway. Moreover, the field was not far from the hill crowned by the temple.
But you know they say that a human proposes and God disposes.
As soon as I went down to the ground floor of the village tavern I got frozen staring at a group of people standing at the entrance. Four men, I knew two of them – shop-keeper Stathan and the local elder. There were two stout men dressed in plain white shirts behind them. And all four of them were completely serious and grim.
‘Good morning, sir!’ the elder was the first to greet me.
‘Good morning, everybody,’ I nodded in reply. I felt embarrassed staring at a so-called delegation. Definitely they were waiting for me.
‘And we’ve been waiting for you for a long time,’ Stathan sighed, confirming my thoughts. ‘almost the rest of the night. We would like to talk to you, Rosgard. Please, sit down! Oh, have a look the host did his best, he laid the table!’
Looking in that direction, I really saw a table covered with a white cloth with embroidered flowers in the corner. There was a dozen of bowls on it. I felt baffled staring at the main zest of the table - whole roasted suckling pig with a hefty red apple in its mouth. I felt I couldn’t realize what's happening anymore…
‘I'm not hungry,’ I blurted indefinitely, frantically trying to figure out what's going on ‘Besides, we must hurry up. The sun will rise soon...’
‘That’s what we would like to talk to you about,’ the elder said, ‘please, sit down, don’t be hurt.’
‘Okay,’ I nodded cautiously and then made a few steps towards the table to sit down on the bench.
As soon as my hands were hidden under the table top, I shuffled the spells quickly and after calling the grass snake, let it into the sleeve of my jacket. Certainly it consumes mana excessively, but it’s better literally to have a trump card up my sleeve. But actually if my tiny snake could be called a trump card, it would not be the ace of trumps, maximum the six of trumps. I can’t say that I was waiting for an attack ... well, just in case.
The four men sat down on one bench opposite me and stared at me over the dishes. They were not eager to start talking. I was keeping silence as well. The men sitting in front of me sighed, they were fingering their beards, scraping their heads by the fingernails and strained their nozzles. Nobody knew what to start with.
Stathan was the first he couldn’t stand it anymore. He crashed his fist against the table and muttered, ‘Damn my tongue when I asked you to do this thing. It’s my fault ... But who knew ...’
‘What should we have known?’ I asked with a poker face.
‘That Thelagea is a killer!’ blurted Stathan. ‘I have thought, never guessed!
‘So, do you mean she...’ I let it slip my tongue against my will.
‘Yeah,’ the shop-keeper sighed, ‘she confessed her sin, such a damned fool! When you left the funeral dinner after your speech, maybe in one hour, she confessed in front of all the honest people of our village. She told how she had made her daughter go picking up amanita and toadstools in the forest and how she had treated old Jogly. So you did the work you promised. So it goes, Rosgard... here is your money, ten coins.’
‘What? Thelagea admitted?!
Congratulations!
You have completed quest "????!
Award: ten gold coins!
You’ve got a new level!
Contribution points: 15
I have reached the nineteenth level. Moreover, suddenly my quest turned out to be completed.
‘Ten?’ I was surprised, looking at two piles of gold coins in front of me, ‘We agreed on two coins, Stathan. And the court of the gods ... but, once Thelagea admitted...
‘Ten coins,’ the elder replied firmly, ‘you deserved it. You saved the innocent and pointed out at the guilty. As for the court of the gods... ahem ahem..
Puzzled I looked at the elder who suddenly burst out coughed, then at the shop-keeper. He was much more decisive and immediately blurted out, ‘Forget about it. Forget about the court of the gods. I can just confirm the elder’s words - it's done, we know the killer, and then we can sort it out ourselves. What do you think about it, Rosgard?’
‘What do I think?’ I asked. ‘I would say that I do not understand a damn thing! Do you want to justify the murderer?’
‘No way!’ the elder I snapped suddenly stopping coughing. ‘We’ll punish her! But the court of the gods... do you know, what the punishment of the gods is?
‘Death,’ I shrugged my shoulders, ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. So what? But... listen, to be honest, I don’t give a shit’
‘Pardon?’
‘I do not care!’ I said again. ‘I’ve done what you asked me to do, got the award. If you want to sort out this situation with the criminal yourselves, it’s your choice.’
‘Sounds nice,’ the relieved elder leaned back. ‘Don’t worry! We’ll punish this old sly so that ahem...’
‘We’ll punish her properly,’ the shop-keeper helped t
he elder. ‘So, thank you, Rosgard!’ he kowtowed, ‘and as for the court of the gods, please, forget about it! It’s not a good idea to bother holy gods with such trifles. We’ll punish her our own way! First with the rod in front of all the villagers, then we’ll send her to the faraway countryside together with her daughter, let her plant there radishes there until the end of her days! Maybe,a forest devil will marry her daughter…’
‘Yeah,’ I nodded, ‘no use to trouble the gods. Let it be so. Then I have nothing else to do in your village, it’s time to say good-bye!.. oh yeah... I have to find the missing unieye! I completely forgot about it. Well, if we are having an honest talk I must say what happened to your one-eyed amulet...
‘Amulet you mean?’ the elder startled and waved his hands, ‘it came back! Don’t worry! Tonight! Looks like it was tomcatting. And whenit had enough of it came back! Such a rascal! So don’t worry, good man! We found it! Here are two gold coins for your efforts, and a week's supply of provisions! You won’t feel hunger on your way! Now you can set off! We’ll show you out of the village!
‘So it came back…’ I said slowly while watching the elder putting two heavy golden coins on the table. ‘I see...’
I had an almost irresistible desire to look into the backpack and make sure the remains of the killed unieye were still inside. Maybe, while I was sleeping, it got out of the sack, self-reconstructed and as one-eyed Frankenstein returned to its native yard. Yeah ... the elder is lying through his teeth. Or maybe I killed another unieye? Who knows...
The men sitting on the opposite ends of the bench put a heavy rag and a small barrel on the table with a bang. Food and home brew.
‘Alright,’ I nodded, leaning forward and raking coins by my hands. ‘It’s a deal.’
A blink, and one more message flashed in front of my eyes:
Congratulations!
You’ve completed the quest ‘Find the unieye!’
Award: two gold coins, a week's supply of provisions and a barrel of home brew.
Moreover, I have added some experience points. Quite a few, but still it was nice. I completed one more quest sitting at the table. And for every task I've got a far greater reward than promised. Miracles do happen! Spinning my head in amazement, I grabbed the rest of the money and hid it in the bag. Accept when you are given, run when you are beaten.
A silly question was on the tip of my tongue. ‘Guys, what the hell is going on here?! It’s so strange!’
But I decided not to ask any questions. Just look at the elder and said slowly, ‘I have one final wish. Alishana... do not hurt her anymore. Actually do not understand you, men. You bully the innocent, then try to justify the guilty. So do not touch her!’
‘Don’t worry!’ Stathan grunted, the elder nodded without saying a word. ‘Nobody will hurt her anymore. It's just... you know she’s a stranger for us... As for Thelagea… she remembers me running around as a small kid. She is also those guys’ relative.’ The shop-keeper nodded at the downcast men, ‘and not only to them. But don’t worry, nobody will hurt Alishana.’
‘A small kid?.. You must be kidding, Stathan...Valdir was created a few years ago! Besides, you’re a part of software! What the hell…’
Never mind. Actually, I give it a hit!
‘All right,’ I sighed and stood up. ‘Then it's time to say good-bye and set off. Stathan, I’d like to drop in your shop, I need to buy something. And then I’ll leave the village.’
‘So let's go right now!’ Stathan hurried to offer. ‘I am not going to keep such a respected man waiting! So... it’s agreed, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, it is,’ I muttered irritatingly. ‘I have already told you it’s a deal. I don’t care about it. It’s your own business!’
After listening to me the guys nodded simultaneously, stood up, turned to me and bowed deeply.
Congratulations!
+ 10 goodwill to the relationship with the Mossy Hills villagers!
I hiccupped nervously, I picked up my dropped jaw and bowed in response.
Ten out of fifteen... I’ve just earned ten levels of goodwill out of fifteen available.
Now I am always a welcome guest in this village. I can sleep in any house, buy things much cheaper in contrast to regular prices, leave my pet in the stable for free... and so on. Fuck ... that's really what I didn’t expect. But it’s supposed to be so. There is some reason why they are trying to get rid of me as soon as possible… But I think it is only now, while they have not hid Thelagea far away. When everybody forgets about this story, they will be happy to see me here again...
‘Let's go,’ the shining shop-keeper beckoned me. ‘I can open the shop even the middle of the night, not that early in the morning for such a respected person! And I hope you will like the special prices!’
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Let's go!’
My head was slightly buzzing due to the surplus of emotions, but overall I was as happy as a pig that suddenly found loads of transparent apples. In a few minutes I’ve passed two completed quests, got precious experience points and managed to improve relations with the villagers. I had nothing to do to get such results. However, if I were another character and the situation were different, I would stay here longer. There are too many strange things in this friendly village. But not today. I have to move on.
Encouraged by these thoughts, I was obediently followed Stathan and when he suddenly stopped, I didn’t have time to react and hit him in the back. Cursing, I stepped back and got frozen dumbfounded. Five feet away, just the middle of the dusty village street there was a lone female figure. Alishana... a black-haired beauty. Her hands resting on the chiseled sides, the lips compressed into a thin line, and a storm raging in her eastern eyes.
The tense silence, light wind rustling above our heads and an absolutely empty pre-dawn street. For a moment it seemed to me that I was in the Wild West and that Alishana was going to snatch two huge guns and start firing to fill us with hot lead. I have no idea what Stathan was thinking about but the shop-keeper choked, coughed and took one step back.
‘Hey, stranger,’ Alishana said slowly ignoring the shop-keeper.
I shook my head from side to side, hoping to find another gamer, and finally, said reluctantly, ‘I’m listening to you!’
‘The hill with the white-stone goddess of justice is the other way,’ the beauty murmured and her voice made me shiver.
Damn ... well, a country girl cannot talk like this!
‘I know,’ I shrugged my shoulders and glanced at the hill towering above the village.
‘Alishan! Don’t go into it!’ the shop-keeper who gained control muttered gloomily. ‘We’ll sort it out!
‘Sort out?’ Alishana repeated slowly shifting her heavy glance to him. ‘So is it your father who was poisoned so meanly? So is it you who is an orphan now?’
‘Hmm ... So he wasn’t your father!’ Stathan suddenly hoarsened.
‘You have no right to decide it!’ Alishan shouted loudly and I shivered again shrugging my shoulders. I stepped aside to hide behind the shop-keeper’s broad back. Because the girl shook hands as if she was shaking throwing knives out of the spacious rustic sleeveless dress, or… preparing spells for a battle.
‘Jogly is my father! And that you mustn’t stick your nose in other family! My precious husband is kind and gentle and sometimes too malleable! Why is my father buried in the damp earth now, and his murderer is alive and unpunished? Stranger! Did you succumb to the sweet false words, and bow to accept their gifts?
‘Well... ahem...’ I blurted. ‘Yes, I did. I accepted them.’
‘If it happened in my country, he person who dared to hurt my relatives would be already dead. As well as those who dared to defend him against the deserved punishment!’ The beauty’s enormous eyes flashed with fire, and in another moment a narrow blade sparkled in her graceful palm.
‘Alishana!’ - Stathan breathed out backing away. ‘Have a heart! What are you doing?’
‘But you have the other cus
toms,’ the girl continued ignoring the shop-keeper. ‘Such laws are not acceptable here.’
‘Yes, you are right!’ the shop-keeper was shaking his head, ‘such laws are not acceptable here! Not acceptable!’
Not only the shop-keeper was backing away. So was I. And much faster than him. Because I felt that I couldn’t defeat that fragile girl who looked harmless. And not just me. I doubted that even Gosha with his leveled character could win in such a battle.
Alishana was standing in classical fighting stance, which I had seen while being Crashshot and traveling over hot sands of a desert far from here. There was a large and extremely warlike folk, wielding weapons and magic skillfully. And obviously this fighting stance was their heritage. The left foot is slightly ahead, the knife as is clamped in the left hand and the right hand is hidden behind the back, and there is some killing spell being prepared in it. In a moment we’ll be smeared like pancakes so thin that there is no need to scour. Just cover the street with sand and that’s all...
Was it the same fragile girl who was sitting peacefully near the village musclehead yesterday and putting the best tidbits on his plate?
‘But I'm not talking to you,’ the girl shook her hair and took a cool look at me. ‘Stranger...’
The shop-keeper relieved with a hoarse and made a few missteps aside, leaned his shoulder against the wooden fence groaning under his weight. And I was left alone standing in front of the enraged fury. The eastern beauty could hit me with the magic and then only charred boots would remain.
‘I’m here to listen to you,’ I repeated gloomily squinting at the entrance to the village tavern so close and so far away from me at the same time.
‘You promised,’ the girl repeated briefly.
‘I promised,’ I nodded straightening my back, ‘and I kept my promise.’
‘The murderer of my father is still alive!’ at this time the girl looked at the ground in front of her fingering nervously the hilt of the knife.
‘Alive,’ I nodded again, ‘but this is your father’s will. He wanted an absolutely different thing.
The Way of the Clan 2 (World of Valdira) Page 10