The Way of the Clan 2 (World of Valdira)

by Dem Mikhaylov

  ‘I'll explain later,’ I sighed again and nodded goodbye, Vlas and Keira finally left taking.

  A shadow flashed in the peephole on the opposite door. Varvara Pavlovna is alert and, obviously, she captured every word of our conversation in her retentive memory. Or am I already hallucinating?

  Carefully closing the door I stood motionless for a few minutes, staring blindly at nothing and thinking hard. Oh my gosh... However, there is no use crying over spilt milk.

  Returning to the kitchen, I was horrified to find out that Keira’s plate was absolutely empty and there was a miserable piece of fried eggs left on my plate… without the yolk. When did she have time for that?! Sure, in those seconds when I went out to open the door and Vlas beat me in the face of? Well, Keira ... well, just you wait!’

  Glancing at the clock, I swallowed the remnants of the cold scrambled eggs fast, threw the fossil cookies in my mouth, poured everything by cold coffee and rushed into the room. The injured jaw loudly protested against that neglect, but I was not up to it. It is high time to return to Valdira and get down to business.

  Entrance.

  Flash.

  The injured jaw did not hurt at all. That’s great! I got to the town with some German name Lagenbrok without any incidents. Lagenbrok resembled patriarchal German cities of the Middle Ages. The artists usually depicted them that way - neat stone houses with tiled roofs, colorful weathervanes, smooth and clean cobblestone streets, townspeople strolling sedately and never hurrying anywhere, decorous procession of guards in polished cuirasses and peaked helmets.

  I was not going to spend time on local tours. First I came to the pillars at the entrance gate with a bunch of assorted pointers showing different directions. It turned out that there were four magic shops, but I instantly rejected three of them - judging by the purple fringe around the names they belonged to gamers. In principle, such private shops often offer big discounts on goods and you can find quite a rare thing and spell scrolls there, but I needed to identify Alishana’s strange gift and to do it confidentially. That's why I chose the "local" trader, thanks god his shop was just a few steps away from the stable, where I left Help.

  The owner of the shop was an old lean man with a neatly trimmed gray beard, gray curls, and the dimly gleaming monocle in his left eye. The shop itself also differed from conventional stores. A small square room was almost empty, the walls were lined with wood panels, oily gleaming parquet floor was without a single speck of dust and scratches. A single glazed counter was coming across the room dividing it into two unequal parts. There were flat and neat rows of deployed scrolls, rings, amulets and other stuff under the glass.

  ‘Welcome,’ the old man nodded stiffly, no muscle flinched on his face.

  ‘Good afternoon, sir,’ I smiled and immediately went to the point. ‘I have two questions to you. I need a teleport scroll to move one man and one horse to the village called Selen at the Elyrna river. I also need to identify a ring. Is it possible? And how much does it cost?’

  ‘It’s possible. The price of the identification is two gold coins and the cost of the teleport scroll depends on the radius of the spread, if you know what I mean.’

  It’s expensive. The old man takes too much for identification.

  ‘I understand,’ I nodded. ‘The radius of three leagues from the village center. It is close enough to your great city.’

  Movement or teleport scrolls had a different degree of "precision". The most expensive scroll guaranteed one hundred percent hit on any free point within the village or urban district. The cheapest scroll could throw the gamer to any free random point located in a circle within the radius of ten leagues. At the same time, I might be sent either to the village itself or ten leagues away from it. A random number generator. Rich gamers didn’t spare the gold and bought the most expensive scrolls, the rest had to choose cheap stuff, or to teach and develop self-teleportation spell that was an extremely tedious and time consuming task.

  Checking with the map hanging on the wall and the surrounding area several times by clicking the bones of the abacus lying on the counter, the shop-keeper concluded, ‘Twelve gold and four silver coins in total. You have to pay in advance.’

  ‘Here you are,’ I carefully laid out two columns of coins on the counter next to Alishana’s ring.

  Taking coins and a ring by a habitual gesture, the old man casually put rolled into a tube scroll in front of me and said, ‘Teleport scroll with the radius of three leagues from the center of Selen village. I must warn you – prudence is a good habit, but in this case it can play a bad joke with you.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because Selen is on the shore of the Elyrna,’ the old man explained kindly, and I grimaced in annoyance. Exactly. The spell doesn’t care and it can throw me to the middle of the deep river with complete indifference. That would be fun.

  ‘Thank you for warning,’ I sighed. ‘Is it possible to make any changes in the scroll, so that I will find myself on land not in the water and?’

  ‘Sure. Pay extra six silver coins and four coppers.

  Heck. Does he imagine prices at once?

  ‘Here you are,’ I sighed and take another gold coin out of my scarce savings and immediately received the change. The monocle gleamed when the old man took the scroll, unrolled it, and drew a short line on the parchment by his fingernail, and handed it back to me.

  ‘Take it. And the ring.’

  ‘Ready?’

  ‘Of course. Do you want to buy anything else?’ the shop-keeper asked me with an obvious hint, and I nodded quickly, ‘Yes, probably. Just a moment!’

  The old man was speaking, as if there was a crowd of clients with heavy bags of gold in his shop.’

  I raised the ring closer to my eyes, I looked into it and saw the previously hidden information:

  Type: jewelry.

  Name: Sign of the Dead Sands Clan.

  Description: a plain ring, carved from the bone of an unknown animal and covered with mysterious symbols.

  Item Class: rare!

  Durability: cannot be destroyed!

  Extra info: impossible to steal loot to sell.

  Hmm ...

  After examining the ring for a long time, I chuckled with disappointment, thought for a moment, and then put the ring on the finger of my right hand. A useless bauble with great words in the description. Just a memorable gift from the grateful "local". Bonus for the successfully completed quest. Well, even though I hoped for something more useful, but I will not grieve too much. A ring will serve as a constant reminder that one day I should return to Mossy Hills and sort out all the weird things that are happening there.

  ‘So can I help you, sir?’ the shopkeeper repeated his question.

  ‘Yes. Do you have any elemental magic spells? Maybe with fire element reference?’

  Thoughtfully looking me up, the shop-keeper thought for a few moments and finally said, ‘To study or to use directly?’

  ‘To study.’

  ‘Hmm... then taking into account your skills I can’t offer you much. Among fire element spells there is "glowing coal" and "burning palms." Six gold coins each.’

  ‘Just a second,’ I said and thought hard.

  "Glowing coal" works just like "ice pins." A far-ranged elemental power spell. Gradually it develops from nondescript little spark into deadly magic. The limit is an exploding fireball, causing large damage with a chance to ignite the enemy.

  "Burning palms" is a melee combat magic that forces to use the style of fight that I always try to avoid. Only a gamer with leveled-up endurance can afford to move closer to the opponent. I do not know about the further stages of the spell because I have never bought a similar magic. I’ve decided to walk along an already-tested path so far. I’m going to collect a spell for each element, and if possible try to level them up. Some gamers choose a narrow specialization and learn only one, maximum two elements, but they grow in parties while I play alone and I have great goals...

 
‘I'll take the "glowing coal’, I made a difficult decision, and gave the shop-keeper the money by trembling hands.

  What a shit. As soon as I get some money, it immediately leaks through my fingers. Thanks all the gods of the game I still have enough food for Help, but soon I’ll have to change my outfit completely and then I’ll have some difficulty. I’d better change my clothes now, but I don’t have extra cash left. Actually Gosha promised to provide me with first-class clothes and footwear, but he didn’t say when...

  ‘Here you are,’ another sheet of parchment appeared in front of me.

  Raising it up to my eyes, I replied positively to the request of the system and an informational message flashed in the air:

  You have successfully learnt the first rank spell "glowing coal"!

  The spell rank list:

  “Glowing coal", "flaming coal", "a handful of coal", "fire-ball", "unstable fire-ball".

  Type: elemental magic ...

  Another spell in my bank and another headache - now I have to test it thoroughly and as quickly as possible to come to the second rank "flaming coal" that causes not a bigger damage, but it gives you a chance to burn the enemy.

  Saying goodbye to the old man, I left the magic shop and went to the stables briskly like a busy man, where took Help and left the town for Lagenbrok on horseback. After driving for a few meters, I stopped the horse, fished out the scroll from the bag and stared at the lines of runes.

  Do you really want to use the teleport scroll?

  Yes, I do.

  A rainbow flash glared, and when the light disappeared, I found myself on a completely unfamiliar territory many leagues away from the place where I read the scroll. The horses' hooves sank into the fine sand, an earthen mound stuck up slightly aside with the long-dried tree on its top, and the blue water was stretching behind it. Obviously we "landed" right on the river bank just ten steps away from the water.

  I patted the horse's neck and said, ‘You see how much I care about you? Otherwise you would have to get tired!’

  The horse snorted, then glancing to the right and snorted again.

  Glancing in the same direction, I goggled in amazement - just one step away from me lazy waves were rolling and rustling. I do not understand... rising on the stirrups, I looked around and realized with horror that all I could see around me was water.

  ‘No... I can’t believe it,’ I muttered, jumping from the horse back on the sand. ‘I can’t believe it! Well...’

  Stuck in the sand, I found myself a few steps away from the low earthen mound and climbed on the top of it. Embracing the dry tree, I spun my head around and finally realized that I was not dreaming. I was on a tiny island in the middle of the deep river. The piece of land with a single dead tree sticking out of the earthen mound was rising over the water. I could see some tiny little houses on the far shore, lazy streams of smoke were rising into the sky. And here is the old village settlement called Selen... the old shop-keeper told the truth. I really teleported on terra firma not in the water. After checking the map, I saw my position one quarter of the league away from my destination in the middle of the blue thread of Elyrna. Oh my gosh...

  Now, I will have to swim to get to the village holding the reins in my teeth and fighting against the current. The big question is where exactly I will be thrown to the shore. And I hope there are no starving monsters in the depths of the river.

  Well, the old man... well ... just you wait!..

  Looking up at the mocking heavens, I yelled in fury, ‘Ooooold maaaan! What a shit...’

  Chapter 4

  Wealthy collectors. Evil aggrs on the road! Death is not the end. I wish I'd never left Valdira...

  The water was warm, but when it gushed over my head, pleasure I didn’t enjoy it much. However, there were reasons for joy ‘I'm not dragging the horse behind me, and it is dragging me. It turned out that Help was an excellent swimmer and it was directing to the shore smoothly and powerfully like a bulldozer, highly raising its head above water. At the same time, it was dragging me and the only thing I had to care about was to hold the reins in the hand. However, we were drifted downstream, but it didn’t matter much as the teleport scroll had the radius of three leagues. In five minutes Help escaped to the river bank and powerfully shook, it was done so natural that I could tell it was a real live horse.

  ‘Well done!’ I praised the horse, turning my head from side to side.

  The map says that we are one league away from our destination. But I’d better trust my eyes and I realize that we are in the middle of the thick reed beds, and I can see nothing apart from yellow swaying stalks.

  Having defined the location, I checked a bunch of spells in my hands. I had the standard "ice pin" and "thorny obstacle." There was a brand new staff in my hands purchased from the shopkeeper Stathan at a very low price, There were well-shaped moccasins made of buckskin, providing a bonus of two points to protection and the same amount to agility. And there was a cocked crossbow in the bag. Sure, it is odd to carry a ready to fight crossbow in the backpack, but it is not against the game rules. It wouldn’t work out with a bow but it’s normal for a crossbow. If you look at the issue more widely, it is one of those little details that allow veterans of Valdira to always be "cooler" than newcomers. Not only due to good equipment and levels, but also due to their experience and expertise.

  Taking a course away from the river, I got out of the thicket soon and found myself in woodlands.

  The map was blinking at me by soothing green color and it was nice as I hate staying in an unfamiliar area without knowing anything about mobs living there. Recently it has always turned into some trouble and risk. The first time it was a muddy wild boar – a powerful beast of the seventieth level plastered with a thick layer of mud petrified in the sun that my arrows couldn’t penetrate. Its tiny eyes and palate were the only weak points and it was extremely hard to hit them as the boar was spanning like a living torpedo. Moreover, I ran out of scrolls with combat magic spells. Then I managed to defeat it, but it got on my nerves like hell.

  The second time I ran into a "crafty" monster that was dwelling in the sea. Its name seems to be unpretentious and uncomplicated – a brown eater. And its appearance matched the name properly: a sort of upside down soup plate studded with long spikes moving quickly on the set of short legs. Arrows didn’t take it, the knife didn’t leave even a scratch, the casted "fireball" was simply ignored. No matter how severely I struggled and tried to slip away, the brown eater proved its nickname and quickly took over me with a joyful grunting me. Later, I immersed into the game forum and was terrified to find out that brown eaters are favorites of the gamers of the fortieth and fiftieth level to get advanced solo because it’s incredibly easy to kill them. The secret was very simple – to turn the eater upside down with the help of any suitable stick or a sword, and it would become completely helpless. It will shriek spanning its legs in the air, opening defenseless soft belly. Earth mages are the luckiest. All they need is to choose the right moment and make a stone thorn or something like that grow out of the ground under the monster. Its shell is a virtually indestructible armor if attacked by conventional weapons and it is a valuable trophy easily sold to any master-armorer. Hmm... in the same post it was mentioned that only a complete noob can die from the eater. But it was strongly advised not to fight against purple eaters alone as their spines are extremely poisonous, moreover they are great leapers.

  In general, for these very reasons I always tried to gather maximum information before going to an unknown location. I disregarded my rule that time because mobs under the thirtieth level generally differ only by appearance and can be easily killed by any type of weapon, say a rough stick, a sharpened sword or combat magic.

  But still I tried to be alert, and therefore, when I heard a strange noise and mumbling straight ahead I immediately stopped the horse. Tilting my head I listened carefully. What I heard made me increasingly baffled. It was something like strained wheezing and groaning, c
od and crunch of broken branches and at the same time dull murmur of discordant becoming clearer every second, but I did not understand what it was.

  ‘Hold the rope!’

  ‘I’m holding it!’

  ‘Lana, heal me, otherwise, I can kick the bucket!’

  ‘I can’t do it. Mana is over, shit. I told you not to touch it and that it is too big! But you both are greedy. Nick, that happened because of you!’

  ‘Do you know what reward we’ll get for that kind? I read the conditions ‘the reward is proportional!’

  ‘Hey, heal me! My life level will expire at first thorny bush!’

  ‘I'm telling you ‘no mana’. Wait until it regenerates.’

  ‘Are you calling yourself a healer? You never have mana!’

  ‘I have already healed you about forty times! You should not have lassoed such a huge one! I am also badly injured!’

  ‘Hold it tight! And damn, it’s heading to thorns again!’

  ‘ I’m dying! A twig hitting my nose will kill me!’

  ‘Stand up Virgs! Stand up!’

  ‘It doesn’t make any difference what side it will drag me through the thorns! Lana, heal me! Ah-ah-ah...’ a wild cry almost blocked the crunch of crushing bushes, I involuntarily shuddered with horror.

  What is happening there?!

  ‘Why are you yelling? You’re alive, aren’t you!’

  ‘Only ten life hits left! Don’t breathe on me like that!’

  ‘Detach then! Detach, Virgs! There is a couple of minutes left before mana regeneration. You can hook again after it.

  ‘It will accelerate! And recover its power. And then what? Shall we start it again? Lana, begin regenerating your mana! No time to waste!’

  ‘Don’t panic! It’ll be out of breath soon!’

  ‘You’ve been telling it for an hour, but it’s tripping the same way as before!’

  The thickets got separated heard in hand and something… something huge fell out into the open space.

  It looked like a huge and shapeless lump of gray woolen with the ring of a thick rope at the waist, the other end of which was trembling with tension and ending somewhere in the bush. Not paying me the slightest attention, the unknown beast pulled its socks up and took another leap forward, dragging the rope.