Patch 17 (Realm of Arkon)

by G. Akella

  "Indeed?" A shadow of surprise crossed Phylatrim's face. "Are you trying to say you consider it normal to save your enemies' lives?"

  "She is no enemy of mine," Max nodded toward the girl, "and neither are you. I have no idea what causes you may have to regard us as enemies."

  "But you're a dark elf," the werepanther spat out the last two words.

  "So? You don't look like an orc to me, either."

  "Our clan is part of the Nightcrawlers—the Fifteenth High House, one of the strongest before the War of the Great Rift. Nakilon, the so-called druid king, the swine who would later start the war, banished us to the southern part of the Great Forest, and also the wildest. No one can withstand the onslaught of four High Houses waging war against you—if the Great Forest hadn't stood in the invaders' way..."

  "So that's why you slew everyone at the outpost," the warrior gestured behind him.

  "Do you think it's pleasant to be hunted by scum such as these, as well as the likes of you—'just passing by,' eh? A few days ago we felt as though scales fell from our eyes, and we remembered who we really were. The ones out there," Phylatrim pointed towards Yltarin, "killed two of our kin with these foul traps," the werepanther pointed at the dried-out gray tentacle. So we came to take revenge. It was a fair fight—we lost five, but Kirana must be pleased with us."

  The whole thing felt surreal to max. He looked at Luffy for support and realized his friend was a goner—the mage couldn't take his eyes off the dark-haired girl, completely ignoring everything that transpired around him.

  "You do realize the locals will want to take revenge, don't you? In about twenty four hours there'll be at least fifty rangers here," Max noticed how Phylatrim and his three companions suddenly grew tense.

  "How do you know that?"

  "We were tasked with delivering a letter to the outpost commander. If we don't come back in twelve hours, they'll send a party of soldiers that I fear will be too large for you to handle."

  "Well," Phylatrim sighed heavily, "the news is even worse than what had saddened me in the first place—learning that my daughter mixed her blood with that of an elven mage." He sighed again, threw a sideways glance at the girl, then looked at Luffy, and uttered: "Go."

  The young woman stepped out from behind the backs of her escort, and then approached the petrified mage, her chin held high. She looked him right in the eye, and then licked off the blood that was still dripping from the wound on his cheek. Then she stepped back slowly. Max was flabbergasted by this turn of events, but he noticed there wasn't a hint of unease in her eyes.

  "I... er..." Luffy gave his friend a look that made Max worry that the mage was in danger of losing his marbles right there and then. "What was that?"

  "It appears that you're as good as married, brother."

  "But how..."

  "You do not consider my daughter worthy of yourself?"

  "Perish the thought, of course I do! But she... it was an accident... you see..." the young man grew red as a beet, and looked down bashfully.

  "Nothing happens by accident in this world," Phylatrim said in a low voice, adjusting the handle of one of the swords on his belt. Your blood mixed the very moment you saved her life. And Lata must have considered the price acceptable. Or do you think it's easy to mix your blood with a woman of our kind? You can lap up all of her blood and force your own down her throat, but it still wouldn't happen." The werepanther made a dismissive gesture with a frustrated look on his face. "What do elves know, anyway..."

  "Lata? The Goddess of Love, Lata? But..." Luffy came to life all of a sudden. "What are you going to do next? You can't stay here!"

  "We'll try to launch a breakthrough at the Origin Gates. Many will perish, but some are bound to survive and be able to reach the Wild Wood."

  "That plan stinks!"

  "You have a better idea?"

  "I do! We'll make you members of our group," he turned toward Max, as if calling him to witness. "A group's reputation in a raid is measured by that of its leader, and our relations with them are neutral. For as long as Armilan receives no word of what happened here, it should work." He looked at the four elves and explained: "The guards won't attack if the leader of the party that passes through the Origin Gates is someone like myself, for example. At least, that should work until they find out about Yltarin."

  "A mage cannot command a party of fifty warriors," Phylatrim shook his head.

  "How about a warrior?" Max gave him a long look.

  "Are you ready to share our Blood?"

  "I don't have to marry anyone, do I? I have nothing against your women, but I already have—"

  The werepanther smiled for the first time.

  "No, you don't." He looked back at his daughter once again, sighing, and she responded with a firm and stubborn stare.

  "In that case, I agree."

  "Karten," Phylartim turned to one of his taciturn companions. "Gather the rest, we must make haste."

  Having waited for his companions to vanish in the woods, the werepanther unsheathed his dagger, thrust his left hand before him with the palm facing upwards, and slowly sliced his wrist with the blade. He passed the dagger to Max and then produced a small white chalice, using it to catch the blood trickling down his wrist. Max took the dagger without any hesitation, did the same thing as Phylatrim, and then handed it back. Phylatrim nodded approvingly, sheathed the dagger, took the chalice in both hands and drank about half of it.

  Attention! Lord Phylatrim, also known as Instant Death, invites you to join the Night Hunters clan.

  We would like to remind you that being a member of an NPC clan, you can still join any other clan founded by the players. You can also be a member of several NPC clans at the same time.

  Attention! Once you go through with the ritual of joining the Night Hunters clan, you will learn extra skills and gain passive abilities which will remain with you forever.

  We would also like to remind you that if your affiliation with the Night Hunters clan becomes known to the representatives of other communities within the game, their relations with you will be determined by their relations with the High House of Nightcrawlers.

  Please remember that only a few high-level characters have the ability to identify you as a member of the Night Hunters clan.

  Accept invitation? Yes/No.

  Max took the chalice from the werepanther and slowly drank the rest of the salty liquid. His head suddenly swam and he was overcome by unbearable heat. His vision blurred as if what he had drunk wasn't a few ounces of blood but rather half a gallon of brandy on an empty stomach. It took Max all his willpower to stay on his feet.

  Congratulations! You are now a member of the Night Hunters clan.

  Your reputation has increased. The High House of Nightcrawlers is now neutral to you.

  Your reputation has decreased. Dark elves are now unfriendly to you.

  Your reputation has increased. Light elves are now unfriendly to you.

  "You're a strong one all right," Phylatrim chuckled approvingly as he took the empty chalice from the warrior. "Welcome to the clan, brother."

  "Welcome to the clan, brother." The dark-haired beauty repeated the ritual formula.

  "Hey, what about me? I want in, too!" Luffy looked like a child who had been denied a treat.

  "You'll be one of us once you take part in the Rite of the Scarlet Moon," the werepanther smiled. "You should have joined up first and started hitting on my daughter later."

  "Have some patience, my dear," Tasha approached the mage with a gracious gate, hugged him by the waist, and rested her head on his shoulder. "We only need to wait a tiny bit more..."

  "Sure thing," the young man replied in a voice that was suddenly hoarse with tension. "Whatever you say."

  In the meantime, werepanthers started to emerge from the trees. Max had never seen so many large felines before. He counted about forty panthers all in all—some were followed by tiny cubs. Am I going to become like them now? he thought, knowing perf
ectly well he could no longer change anything. Still, he wasn't going to regret it—it makes no sense to regret your actions, after all. You couldn't make things the way they were before anyway, so let someone else waste their time on worries and regrets. The werepanthers seemed to be good folks, and he really wished none of them would die during their exodus through the Gates. You couldn't bring the dead elves back to life at any rate, and he really needed allies in this world. As well as a place to call his own...

  You have earned a new title, Night Shadow. Now you can command groups of sentient NPCs affiliated with the Great House of Nightcrawlers of up to 50 members. You and the warriors under your command receive 10% to your Disguise skill, 10% to movement speed on woody terrain, 3% increase to physical and magic damage, 3% to armor class and all resistances, and 3% to the effectiveness of healing spells.

  Attention! All the above buffs only apply to soldiers affiliated with the High House of Nightcrawlers.

  You've learned Advanced Disguise, a passive skill. Now you can become invisible when you use the Disguise skill next to objects whose size compares to that of your body. If you stay invisible for over three minutes, the intensity of smells coming from your body and equipment decreases by a factor of five.

  You've learned Forest Dweller, a passive skill. Your movement speed on woody terrain is increased by 50%.

  "Well then," the werepanther lord's voice interrupted his reverie. "Time is short—accept your fighters."

  You've accessed the quest: Saving the Clan.

  Quest type: unique.

  Take the Night Hunters clan through the Origin Gates.

  Reward: experience, increased reputation; unknown.

  Attention! The time for completing this quest is limited: 11.59.59... 11.59.58... 11.59.57

  The rest was like a bizarre dream. The clan was forty-seven members strong. They moved quickly, detouring the villages that lay on the route to the Origin Gates, never stopping to rest. The only thing that stuck in Max's memory was the slack-jawed expression of shock on the faces of the few players they encountered on their way.

  They reached the Origin Gates—a long and narrow passage in a rocky formation guarded by three dozen level 250 dark elves, by the evening. When one of the guards cast a scornful glance at their group, turned away, and walked on by without saying a word, Max realized that they made it. The group passed the actual Gates in a few minutes' time. Emerging from the tunnel near Ellorian, the group instantly left the road and entered the forest. They kept moving south for two more hours until Phylatrim finally gestured them to stop.

  "You know, mage," the werepanther took his measure of Luffy, smiled and slapped him on the shoulder. "Now I think the goddess had a reason for pointing you out to my daughter. "Here, take this," he gave Max a leather scroll, yellowed with age. "I don't know what's written here—I received it from my father. It's unlikely that anyone will be able to read it where we're going, but you may have better luck..."

  You've completed the quest: Saving the Clan.

  You have gained a level! Current level: 14.

  You have 1 talent point to allocate.

  Racial bonus: +1% to resistance to earth magic.

  Class bonus: +1 to constitution, +1 to strength.

  You have 3 stat points to allocate.

  You received: Scroll with Mysterious Lettering.

  You have gained a level! Current level: 15.

  You have 2 talent points to allocate.

  Racial bonus: +1% to resistance to earth magic.

  Class bonus: +1 to constitution, +1 to strength.

  You have 6 stat points to allocate.

  Your reputation has increased. Lord Phylatrim, also known as Instant Death, considers you a friend.

  Your reputation has increased. The High House of Nightcrawlers relates to you with respect.

  You've accessed the quest: Mysteries of History.

  Quest type: unique.

  Find someone who can read the cryptic scroll and find out what it says.

  Reward: experience, unknown.

  "Phylatrim, you do realize you shouldn't leave the group until you reach a safe place, right?"

  "I know, brother," the werepanther nodded. "Thank you!" He gave Max a firm handshake and slapped Luffy on the shoulder. "Don't forget who you are—and remember that you have family in the south of the Great Forest. Say your goodbyes," he nodded to his daughter. Then he turned around and shouted to the others, "We're leaving!"

  Tasha's face looked pale and mysterious in the twilight that fell on the forest. She looked at her chosen one silently for a while, then quickly approached him, hugged his neck and kissed him firmly on the lips.

  "I will find you when the time comes, mage," she whispered, then took a step back and looked at Max. "See you later, brother, and good hunting to both of you."

  The girl transformed into a panther right before their eyes, and disappeared in the forest a moment later.

  "Got a smoke?" Luffy sat on the grass, took a flask of wine out of his inventory, and made a few large gulps.

  "But you kept telling me you were a non-smoker," Max chuckled as he gave the mage a rolled cigarette.

  "I did, giggling like a complete moron," Luffy chuckled back. "Do you think she'll come?"

  "I'm sure she will! But you're a goner now, brother... Barely a day has gone by, and here you are, hooking up with a new babe! Just to think of all the drama you gave me..."

  "Keep your judgments to yourself," the mage shook his head. "Do you realize what we have gotten into? This thing is forever."

  "Is there anything you object to?"

  "Not really—it's just that everything was so unexpected and surreal, like in a dream. I'd hate to find myself waking up out there," he pointed towards the starlit sky, "in the game capsule..."

  "I'm afraid we'll never wake up there anymore," Max sighed heavily. "You know, I reckon we shouldn't tell anyone what just happened to us here."

  "I agree," the mage nodded, saluting with his flask of wine. "So, shall we drank to our new life?"

  "Aye aye," Max smiled. "I'll drink to that..."

  To be continued