With great doubt, I looked at the alchemist, who just could not stay on his feet. It was a massive effort for him to even sit, but still I told him about the new poison I'd created, Gift to the First Lady in Waiting, and its effect. My story made the alchemist laugh. He even fell onto the floor guffawing, where he immediately fell asleep. Fortunately, the quest managed to finish nonetheless:
Mission completed: Recognition of the Alchemists' Guild (1/10)
Experience received: 80 Exp.
Alchemy Skill increased to level 22
Considering the state the quest giver was in, I had no cause to hope I might quickly continue this mission chain. But where was the reward for completing the optional condition, even if it was variable?! After all, I honestly did test the effect of the elixir on the Dryad Dancer and described the effect! Then, I noticed a thickened vial of bluish transparent liquid roll out of the unbuttoned belt bag of the dwarven alchemist sleeping at my feet.
Insufficient Intelligence to identify object
Requisite Intelligence: 90
The game system gave me no warnings about the object belonging to someone else, though. So, with a clean conscience, I picked up the vial, considering it likely my reward. The mavka read the information with ease — it was an Ice Bomb, which made a hail of ice chunks and caused a deep freeze effect. A useful item. I put it in my bag.
Then the master of the house reappeared. This time, he came to present me his honored neighbor, head of the local branch of the Subterranean Bank of Thorin the Ninth. The silver-haired dwarf banker was wearing a luxurious crimson velvet suit and, in contrast to all the other dwarves, was completely sober. As, it should be noted, were his two vigilant armor-suited bodyguards, who had yet to take their hands off the handles of their sheathed blades. I extended the dwarf banker two letters that looked like parchment scrolls. He took out an old-fashioned pince-nez and read the contents.
"Everything is in order, Captain Amra. The summoning scroll and your gold will be brought to this location post haste. Is there any chance that a client as important as yourself would be interested in any other services of our bank? Converting notes into hard gold? Perhaps you’d let us keep your savings. Or maybe you'd like to invest in goods or stocks of subterranean companies?"
I didn't manage to answer — a young beardless dwarf, who'd been sent out for wine, ran into the yard panting. He threw a quick gaze over the crowd of guests, saw me, ran up and, blurted out:
"There are many undying near the old market! They look like big-time gangsters. All are armed. They're behaving rudely, utterly boorish. They're asking the locals if anyone's seen a goblin by the name of Amra. They asked me too, and I sent them to the District of Smithies in the opposite direction. But, I'm afraid I might not have managed to trick them for long."
Ugh, I guess I never should have showed my face in the big city! And I really shouldn't have stayed in one place this long. It seemed searching with magical messengers had shown the pursuers to Dotur-Khawe, and one of them had found a portal scroll to the dwarven capital. I had to get out right away.
"We can protect our valuable guest!" Vanessa's father shouted menacingly, and the drunken crowd took up that cry.
But I shook my head in doubt. A group of high-level undying would sweep away any number of local NPC craftsmen without even noting particular resistance. Although... In any large city in Boundless Realm, there had to be areas where players could feel safe, under the protection of NPC guards. I asked Vanessa if there were such areas in Dotur-Khawe.
"Of course. In the Central District, the District of Guilds, and in the New District, the streets are patrolled by the subterranean guard of our king. In fact, my brother serves in the king's guard. They're all very capable soldiers, who can take down even the undying!" the bearded girl assured me.
ATTENTION!
The forbidden spell Astral Explosion has just been cast in the city of Dotur-Khawe!
The criminal has been apprehended and transferred to municipal prison
For the next 12 hours, portals, summoning magic and teleportation scrolls will be impossible to use in all areas of the city
An unexpected twist — our enemies had pushed the limit, cutting the dwarven city off from the rest of Boundless Realm. Now, you couldn't jump here, nor leave the city via portal. Most likely, our pursuers were now sure that Amra was hidden somewhere in Dotur-Khawe, and they'd decided to kill two birds with one stone — not let their victim flee from the hunt, and not allow other competing clans near their valuable prey. I could read obvious panic in the wood nymph’s eyes.
"They're blocking the ability to leave the city by magical means! There are probably undying watching over every way out of Dotur-Khawe now, too. Amra, you need to exit Boundless Realm right away!!!"
"No, Val. That's not up for discussion! First, I haven't completed my eight daily hours. Second, the pursuers will just find the place where I exited from and, there, they'll just wait for Amra to appear in Boundless Realm again. What we need to do is leave Dotur-Khawe. The city of dwarves is lousy with underground passages. They can't possibly cover them all! There are probably some unused abandoned corridors that go to the surface somewhere."
Just then, one of the banker's bodyguards walked up to me — he handed me a scroll, and a heavy bag of coins. After hearing my words about abandoned corridors, the armor-bound dwarf burst out in inspiration:
"I know one such passage! The boarded-up shaft next to the old fountain. It leads to long-ago mined-out copper pits on the surface. Humans used to have a prison there, where the inmates mined copper veins on the edge of the Great Desert."
"But it's dangerous!" Vanessa shouted out in fear. "I've heard of that place. The catacombs there are full of arachnids, spinners, scorpions and all kinds of many-armed ghastly beasts. That passage was boarded up ages ago, and for good reason. Six miners were eaten, from what I've heard..."
"It's nothing, we'll make it through!" I announced decisively. "The most important thing for us is to get far enough away from Dotur-Khawe, so I can summon a division of strong soldiers."
* * *
Our crew ran to the old fountain. For speed's sake, Darius and Darina were told to turn into wargs. I even used Darius as a mount. Valerianna Quickfoot rode her Pirate. Taisha rode Blanca. And Irek and Yunna rode Lobo and White Fang respectively. Vanessa was opposed to riding a wolf for a long time, and did her best running on foot. Only when it became clear she’d be left behind with her parents did the girl resolve to hop up on Akella's back. He was the strongest of my pack, and none of the others could have possibly supported the weight of the thick-set Dwarf Mechanic.
We managed to pass the District of Merchants unnoticed — there was a huge room lit brightly with tall powerful columns. It was so impressive, I just couldn't bring myself to call it a cave. Our division was already getting near the old fountain when Valerianna shouted suddenly in fear and demanded we stop at once. My sister said that she saw lots of undying markers on the minimap, and that they were gold, meaning they were participating in the great wyvern hunt.
"Let's turn back!" I ordered, but my sister said in a drooping voice that there was no point now, because we'd already been spotted.
"Then, screw that. Let's ride forward! We should be obnoxiously calm and even rude. This is a big city and a protected area, where we are under the protection of NPC guards. Any undying who tries to attack us will quickly be killed by the guard of the subterranean king. Vanessa, that massive construction over there is the barracks, right?"
The Dwarf Mechanic confirmed that it really was the guard's barracks. What was more, among the soldiers responsible for maintaining order on the square, Vanessa had seen her brother, and pointed me to him.
Level-200 Dwarf Elite Warrior
He was a severe bearded soldier bound in gilded plate armor and holding a large rectangular shield with an ax in his strong hands. To me, all the dwarves of the king's guard looked identical, as if they had been made by carbon copy, but
I trusted Vanessa's words that she recognized her brother. I could only whistle in surprise after seeing the strength of the local guard — they were all level two hundred! And the officers were all the way up at two hundred fifty! And most interestingly to me, they were all shown on the minimap as green triangle markers, or friendly NPC's!
"We ride to the guards. The undying are to be ignored. Do not engage them in conversation. And I warn you in advance — don't give into their jabs and provocations! You are not to attack first under any circumstances — that's exactly what our opponents want. And now, let’s ride!"
I counted fifteen undying. They all surpassed me by more than fifty levels. The enemies were heading in our direction unhurriedly, renewing defense spells on themselves and calling their pets back to them. It was barely possible to make out the player name or clan tag but, when I did, I strained to hold back a groan. Goons! Worst-case scenario — I'd never manage to agree to peace with these guys. What was more, the threat of being punished for killing a character in a safe zone would not stop them.
Before the group of enemies on a huge shaggy snow-white dog was riding a pretty elf girl with skin the color of ivory and bluish-black hair that came down to her very heels. As soon as she gave the sign, all the other Goons stopped behind her.
Mariam Standing_Right_Behind_You [GOONS]
Level-198 Moon Elf Assassin
Well, well! The leader of the clan in the flesh! Her outfit was really incredible — overflowing with different colored flickers, her armor was made of the pelt of an emerald dragon. All her items without exception were from a single set. It seemed she had the full Kingslayer collection. Even the throwing knives. And what a pretty mount she had!
Fimbulthul Élivágar Guardian
Level-57 Mythical Hound (unique creature)
A private message came in from Valerianna Quickfoot:
"Look at that dog! What a beaut! See if your artifact of Fenrir can lure that handsome boy over to our side."
I opened the Gray Pack control settings. Six of the seven available slots were filled with my wolves and wargs, one was still empty. I selected that field to see the possible options:
Fimbulthul, Level-57 Mythical Hound (inactive)
Pirate, Level-31 Seasoned Wolf (inactive)
From what I could remember, only after the victorious battle with Belle Sweetypie had I received the option to take her pets. So, I formulated my mission clearly in my head: I had to outlive Mariam Standing_Right_Behind_You in the upcoming battle by some means. But I didn't really know how. She was way too tough for me. But in any case, I didn't minimize the Gray Pack control window.
"You've put me through a lot of trouble, little goblin," the moon elf chuckled when the distance between us was just seven meters. "But now, it seems, the hunt is finished! You have no chance of escape, and the generous offering I brought to the temple of the gods of Boundless Realm raised the drop chance in the upcoming battle to 97%, so you’re sure to lose the amulet. This has come at great cost to me. Actually, the whole hunt ran me quite a bit. I put all the clan's coffers and all my reputation on the line just for this encounter. And I never bet wrong!"
"Is pretty, this white doggy of you," I blurted, utterly out of turn.
"Amra, speak normally. You can do it. I've seen it!" flared the leader of the Goons. But, despite the bad timing, she didn't lose the chance to brag about her animal. "The mythical hound? Yes, he is my pride and joy. A week ago, I got the coordinates of an underwater location with a unique quest from a noob who wanted to join the clan. His name was Trong Diver, a naiad by race. I think you may have even met him. I saw him in one of your videos. The boy was entirely out of control, and a drug user at that. I kicked him out of the clan on day two — he was a complete imbecile who played Boundless Realm high as hell, having no idea whatsoever of where he was, or who. Even the Goons don't need people like that. But I passed that quest, and without any help from my support. There were certain difficulties in working under the ice of a frozen river, but none of that matters now. The important thing is that I got this beauty!"
"He really is an excellent beast," I agreed, now in normal language, not warping my words. "And now, I have no idea why you need another mount. After all, you already have one unique one!"
"What do you mean why? Because I can take it. That's reason enough."
"Oh yeah? But the amulet that controls the wyvern will go only to the person who makes the final blow," I laughed as jeeringly as possible, pointing with my hand at the many guardsmen of the subterranean King. "It seems you'll have quite the challenge ahead of you!"
"Do you seriously not think I considered that? Amra, I played for a year in the Suicidals clan. They specialize in murders in cities for the sake of a valuable drop. And you can believe me that the game mechanics for getting the criminal status in locations under guard are something I've studied in the greatest detail, so I won't slip up!"
The elf girl called all her soldiers closer with a gesture. It seemed the conversation with Mariam was coming to an end, and they were preparing to kill me. But then the wood nymph standing next to me said some incomprehensible phrase. I didn't catch even one word. But Vanessa, it seemed, understood perfectly. The Dwarf Mechanic squealed as if she was being stabbed, and started shouting hysterically, pointing her finger at the approaching Goons. She was screaming in her dwarven language, and I didn't understand a word until she said a sentence in the common tongue: "Help, I'm being attacked!"
From all ends of the square, NPC guardsmen ran in our direction, getting out their weapons as they ran. It looked impressive, of course, but I still didn't understand Valerianna's point — calling the guard was, after all, too little. We had to force the guardsmen to act somehow. But there was a problem with that — the NPC guard wasn't going to intervene simply on the basis of an unfounded accusation, especially such an obviously false one. They'd have to see a real crime.
At one time, in Kingdoms of Sword and Magic, my sister and I had also occupied ourselves with helping rich losers part with their money using PvP in defended zones, so we knew this stuff well. Not every gamer's nerves can hold out when a wild barbarian runs at them hollering and waving a huge gnarled club over his head. Some inexperienced players would yield to such a provocation and try to strike the "attacker" first, automatically becoming criminals, who could then be killed unpunished with the help of the city's NPC guards. Now, the city guard was playing the role of aggressively attacking barbarian, but it wasn't likely that the highly-experienced Mariam Standing_Right_Behind_You would submit to such provocation.
And she didn't. However, not all the Goons in her division were so cold-blooded. Right away, two or three soldiers shot at the approaching dwarves with their crossbows, while a fire mage cast a ball of flame, hitting not only the guards, but also killing one of the peaceful citydwellers. He should not have done that... Now, the NPC guard could distinctly classify the Goons as criminals and enemies of the city, and not just those who'd directly attacked the city guard, but all those standing in the group.
"What have you done? Idiots..." Mariam groaned and, with a decisive shake of her head, commanded in a sharply changed powerful tone: "All pets hold back the guards! Tanks in a line, hold back the nearest dwarves for at least ten seconds! Healers, get to work! Everyone else, cover me!"
Realizing at the very beginning of Mariam's phrase that I should not keep standing here, I turned around and spurred Darius on, trying to add more distance and make some time while the high-level NPC guardsmen rounded up or destroyed the enemies. But I didn't manage... The warg below me gave a short squeal and collapsed. The icon for Darius in my pet list went gray and disappeared. My big-eared Amra rolled headlong over the stones of the square.
Successful Agility check
Experience received: 80 Exp.
Acrobatics skill increased to level 17!
I don't know if it was from the mayhem of the critical moment, or if Taisha started lagging again, but the world turned into a ser
ies of slides that flowed one into the next. As if in a slow cinema, I saw my Amra trying to get to his feet and turn toward the enemies unimaginably slowly. I noticed a throwing knife flying at me, leaving a purple trail behind it in the air. But it was already too late for me to turn away from the flying death...
But what followed forced me to think for a long time afterward. In the path of the flying knife, I unexpectedly saw the Dwarf Mechanic. I still don't know if Vanessa did it on purpose, or just fell clumsily off Akella, who was jumping away in fear, but the curved, razor-sharp knife plunged into the dwarven woman's left side all the way up to the hilt.
She thudded heavily on the stones a meter from me. The eyes of the NPC were looking thoughtlessly past me at something, then glazed over. Vanessa's life was in the red, and was falling fast — she was just gushing blood. More blood was pumping from the fearsome wound with every heartbeat.
At that moment, I really didn't think that the person before me was an NPC — a soulless piece of programming code that a living player had no business caring for. No! Before me was a brave dying lady, who had sacrificed herself to save my life. And I couldn't abandon her, saving myself by fleeing and taking the valuable amulet away. A moment later, I had a bottle of Middling Elixir of Life in my hands. But how could I get it down Vanessa's throat? She was lying unconscious, and her jaws were clenched tight so she was in no way planning on taking the healing potion.
I had to act quickly and coarsely — I yanked the bloodied knife from the dwarf's side (it was from the Kingslayer set) and then I applied the knife like a crowbar and unclenched Vanessa's teeth. It seems I accidentally broke a couple of the woman's teeth, but that was unimportant. The NPC's life bar jumped slightly upward, but immediately rolled back down.
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