Clans War

by Mahanenko, Vasily

  “Who’s the Vicegerent? ” Anastaria immediately inquired, so I had to waste several moments to tell her about my accidental venture into the Leprosarium, the Astral Plane for Shadow Shamans.

  “Is the work progressing as planned?” Stacey continued interrogating the demons.

  “The Breach is ready,” the demon with the colorful band across his torso answered in an ordinary voice. He seemed to be the leader of this trio. “Everyone awaits the Keymaster. When will he appear?”

  “Soon,” Stacey knew how to bluff much better than I did. “At the moment we need to distract the sentient forces to defend their cities. And not only of this continent,” Stacey nodded over her shoulder in the direction of Kalragon. “All of them.”

  “The Annihilator won’t handle such a load,” the demon frowned.

  “Why, we don’t care one bit whether it’ll handle the load or not,” Stacey shrugged. “I have been issued an order and I intend on performing it. You’ll be the ones who’ll have to explain to the Vicegerent why the plan fell through. We’re just doing our jobs.”

  “I don’t sense any sacrifices on this ship,” the demon sniffed the air with his nose and pointed at Gnum: “He alone won’t suffice to charge the Annihilator.”

  “The Keymaster sent us in a hurry, so the sacrifices will have to be found on location,” I interrupted. “How many of you are there here anyway?”

  “WHAT?!” The demon started back from us like from holy water. By the way, does that even have an effect on them? “YOU WISH TO SACRIFICE US?!”

  “Who else? What do you propose?” I hiked an eyebrow expressively. “Where else are we going to find the energy to charge the Annihilator? You were sent to this world with a single goal — to prepare the invasion. The goal has been completed, now everything depends on the Keymaster. You need to serve the Vicegerent one more time. Surrender your essence to him!”

  “We shall do the Vicegerent’s bidding,” The demons bowed their heads obediently as if they were…

  Oh hell!

  Scenario updated: ‘Burden of the Creator.’ You may join the side of Char. The scenario objective will be changed as follows: ‘Prepare the invasion.’ The current objective will be changed as follows: ‘Deliver the Alabaster Throne to the Breach.’ Do you wish to join Char? (Time remaining to make your decision: 7 days.)

  “Stacey, do you understand what the hell is going on here? ” I asked in shock, swiping away the system notification.

  “There’s nothing to understand — the Corporation has decided to roll out a new expansion. An invasion by creatures from a different world! Danny, I knew that I couldn’t let you go on your own! How else could I find myself in this kind of thing? Are you going to switch sides?”

  “NO!”

  “That’s what I figured. Let’s wait to make our choice. Right now we need to pretend like we’re basically ready but that we still have doubts. The more information we get right now, the better it’ll be later.”

  “So the Tomb is the Breach point then? ” I guessed. “That’s why the other continents’ players showed up! The prophecies! As soon as I created the full Chess Set, the system issued a quest to keep me from the Tomb!”

  “I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” Stacey shook her head.

  “We’re here. We need to descend!” The demon interrupted our telepathic exchange. “The Annihilator is under water.”

  “I’ll breathe for the two of us,” Stacey assured me, interpreting my agitation accurately. I wasn’t much of a swimmer. “I’m a Siren after all.”

  Gnum brought the airship down to the surface. Despite the blizzard, the sea was as placid as a mirror. There wasn’t a single wave, to say nothing of a storm. Another infraction of the laws of physics? Or was this the effect of an anomaly? As in, check it out — there’s something amiss here. Make sure to study it!

  The dive took us a long time. The demons did not seem uncomfortable, swimming alongside us like they were dolphins or something. Stacey also felt completely in her element. Turning into her Siren Form, she moved through the water with the same agility as the demons. I, on the other hand, did not feel so comfortable. If the first ten meters had posed no difficulty to me, then further on, Barliona’s physics kicked in. Stacey would swim over to me and kiss me to supply the oxygen I needed, resetting the ‘Submerged’ timer, but I would immediately start to rise. At one point, everyone got fed up with my struggling. The demons latched onto my feet and began to pull me down. Hello pressure and the ‘Stun’ debuff. It was only thanks to Stacey that I didn’t drown: Even in her Siren Form she managed to send a Healing Shadow into me at the critical moment. Ultimately, though, the downside of the rapid descent became that I came to my senses in an underwater grotto without the slightest idea of how I’d gotten there. It was a good thing that Stacey was beside me, since I definitely had to remember this place.

  “Armageddon would come in useful here ,” Stacey’s thought sounded in my head and I had to agree with it entirely.

  First of all — this cave was enormous. Even though there was plenty of light, the farther side of it was barely discernible. At first glance, the width added up to no less than seven hundred or eight hundred paces. There was a light source approximately in the center of the cave — a bright white sun that rippled with bolts of lightning. A portal from the looks of it. A host of strange demons were sustaining it from the ground — their paws raised beneath it. Demon Mages. First time I’ve heard of demons having a Mage class. Considering that any old demon is a Mage by default, it’s hard to imagine what demons specializing in magic were capable of. Although, maybe it’s not that hard. Evidently they can open and sustain a portal between worlds.

  The rest of the cave was filled with demons of various shapes and sizes. Winged and horned, like our escorts, small and toothy, fat and clumsy, quick and agile — the various demon types vaguely resembled the specific divisions between the classes. Mages, Warriors, Hunters, Rogues…Char offered the same assortment of classes as any other race.

  “The Annihilator!” The demon pointed at the white sun. “Before we can begin filling it with energy, you have to prove that you’ve been truly sent by the Keymaster. You shall speak with our leader!”

  Stacey and I barely had time to exchange glances, unsure of how we would pass this test, when a small demon popped up right before our noses. This fellow barely reached my waist in height and had neither horns, nor fangs, nor claws. In fact, outwardly, the demon leader looked more like a reddish goblin who’d undergone some minor plastic surgery than a demon.

  “Let’s see now…” drawled the demon and the world around us dissolved into darkness. I lost complete control over my avatar, finding myself in some sort of suspended state. On the one hand, I could still do whatever I liked, yet on the other, my actions had no effect. Various debuffs flashed past my eyes so quickly that I could barely keep track of them. The demon had uttered merely three words, yet the effect was intense! Fighting him would be difficult indeed.

  “It’s odd that the Keymaster failed to protect you from the voice of the leader. He is well aware of its effects on uninitiated minds,” the demon who had brought us to the cave remarked with surprise.

  “He merely wishes to test us,” I wheezed, getting to my feet. Once again I was forced to thank my lucky stars that I hadn’t turned off my sensory filter — judging by Stacey’s eyes, that had hurt a great deal. “To see whether we shall remain loyal to him, knowing what we’ve committed to. We have no choice but to bear the pain. Such is his will.”

  “May his will be done then.” The small demon smirked, flourished his paw and two amulets appeared in his palm. They bore such a striking resemblance to an item I had seen before that I shook my head trying to clear my sight. This wasn’t possible!

  “It is entirely within the spirit of the Keymaster to test his minions again and again,” the small demon continued once we had donned the amulets. “I sense your kinship to him! You are blood kin! The blood of the Keymaster fl
ows in your veins. There is no better proof that you’ve been sent by him. I have been informed of your quest. We are ready! The sacrifice shall be performed immediately!”

  “Something tells me that Plinto owes us an explanation,” Stacey muttered aloud when the demons began to hop into the Annihilator one after the other.

  “Not Plinto,” I shook my head, adjusting the Tooth of the Patriarch. “His father!”

  The cave was rapidly growing empty. The demons were filing into the white sun one after the other without even uttering a sound as they did so. Excellent warriors — they’d been ordered to die, and so they did. Management knows best! Any attempt to speak to the small demon and pump him for more info turned out unsuccessful. The only help we could get from him was a tutorial on how to activate the Annihilator. All other questions such as ‘And where shall the Breach take place?’ ‘How many demons will enter Barliona?’ ‘What are the demons’ technical specifications?’ as well as others, elicited nothing but a smirk. He seemed to have decided that my attempts to gain information from him was just another trial of the Keymaster. And if he talked, then he would be deemed weak and all of his subsequent incarnations would be as a footsoldier.

  “Subsequent incarnations?” I asked baffled. “Death isn’t the end of being for you lot?”

  “We are the spawn of Erebus!” the small demon replied proudly. “Death is but a step towards unity! And my time has come to take this step! Tell the Keymaster that I have completed my task. It is his turn now. We shall open the door!”

  “Okay, now I’m completely lost — what the hell is going on? How the devil did the Vampire Patriarch become the demon Keymaster?” I asked a rhetorical question once only two sentients remained in the cavern — Stacey and I. The space around us had filled with the roar and buzz of the charged Annihilator. The hovering orb had turned a deep red, illuminating the cave with a sinister hue.

  “Damned if I know. Ugh. The people you’ll meet…Let’s get on with it,” Stacey waved at the Annihilator. “It’s time we wrap this up.”

  “Without searching the cave?” My astonishment knew no bounds. “Are you well, my dear? An army of demons just committed ritual mass suicide, leaving all its gear. What if we get thrown out of here once we launch the device? No! You can do whatever you like, but I’m gonna take a stroll. Maybe I’ll find something useful.”

  The Altarian Falcon. Scepter of Power. Properties: Complete subjugation of an enemy’s mind (up to 1000 sentient creatures at once). The subjugation of a player is limited to 60 seconds, no more than 10 times an hour. Mind control resistance does not work against the Falcon. Limitation: Level 300+; Shadow Alignment. Warning: The owner of the scepter receives Hatred status with the entire world apart from Shadow.

  Achievement unlocked: ‘Orly?’ You have reached Hatred status with more than 10,000 factions.

  “Oh yeah, yup, that’s useful all right,” Stacey said sarcastically after reading the properties. My hopes did not pan out — the demons had hopped into the Annihilator with all their gear. The only thing they left behind was the scepter of power. “A few minutes ago, only our continent hated you. Now the entire game’s out to get us. Fun.”

  “By the way!” I recalled Linea’s tale. “Did you know that the Annihilator is also Karmadont’s handiwork? It turns out that our ancient emperor didn’t just want to enslave the world, he also wanted to destroy it!”

  “Or enslave it by destroying it,” Stacey added. “He was the servant of the demons, the Tarantulas, the Patriarch and who knows who else all at the same time. Anyone who was powerful enough. What are you going to do with the scepter?”

  “Well it can’t get any worse,” I tossed the Altarian Falcon into my bag. “Send me the coordinates. Let’s get this party started.”

  Heroes of Malabar! A terrible evil is headed for Anhurs! The Emperor has declared martial law and bids you to assist him! Everyone to the defense of the Empire!

  Heroes of Kartoss! A terrible evil is headed for the Nameless City! …

  Residents of Barliona. The inter-clan tournament has been suspended! All PvP limitations have been lifted.

  Stop Mahan and Anastaria at all costs!

  “Welp, they definitely hate us now,” Stacey smiled sadly, sitting down on the sand. “Twelve years of playing all to…”

  “Sucker town,” I offered. “Plinto’s suggestion.”

  “Speaking of that Rogue!” Stacey dialed an amulet. “Hey you bloodsucker, are you ready to do the Eye?”

  “Always ready, my little serpent,” replied the voice on the other side of the amulet. “When you vanished, everyone decided something odd was afoot. Not many were aware that castles can teleport. Now however…Kek. The Emperor is demanding that the people return to defend the realm, but no one has the gold for portals! They’re stranded here! The castle’s gone after all! You should see this! The PKers have woken up and they’re hungry. And there’s a herd of players running around in a panic. Hundreds of thousands! Are you sure you want to do the Eye right this instant?”

  “That’s right!” Stacey said firmly. “Gather your warriors.”

  “Already done.”

  “Wait!” I managed to jump in before Stacey hung up. The girl looked at me inquisitively, but didn’t say anything. “Plinto, head over to Altameda right now, please, and pick up scroll number one from the storage vault. It needs to be urgently cast right in the center of that crowd.”

  “Where did you get it?” Stacey asked with astonishment.

  “They returned all five scrolls to me. They revived Geranika, after all, so it was only fair that I get the scrolls back too. I threw them in storage and forgot about them. Wasn’t any reason for it. Until now.”

  “On it!” the Rogue said happily. “Using numbered items, whether they be number one or number two is my favorite pastime! In this case, we’ll have to wait six hours to do the Eye.”

  “We’re going to head over to Altameda during that time. Geranika can’t hear us here,” I tried to summon the Lord of Shadow to no effect and realized that this wasn’t possible outside of the continent. We’d have to return to Altameda on the GAS. That would take us about 5–6 hours. Plinto would manage to respawn by that time.

  “What do you need a massive slaughter for?” Stacey asked, once Plinto had set off to perform my orders. “There’s a lot of minnows there.”

  “I couldn’t care less. I’ll even reimburse them for their lost items,” I explained. “But right now, well, just put yourself in their shoes…They’ve just been pulled out of yet another competition…They’re all standing around buffed up, in their best gear, thinking their happiest thoughts…When wham! Armageddon, baby! Strictly for educational purposes…‘Cause the hell with them!”

  “Shadow is affecting you,” Stacey shook her head. “You’re becoming…”

  “Cruel? Cynical? Calculating?”

  “Prudent. Everyone who’s not with us is against us. And the more we weaken everyone who’s against us, the stronger we’ll be.”

  Stacey got out an amulet and called Plinto again.

  “What’d you want?” the Rogue answered, suggesting that he was a bit busy.

  “Are you still in Altameda?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Bring a helper with you. Cast two scrolls. We need maximum damage.”

  “Mahan?”

  “Do it. The more of them we kill now, the fewer will get under our feet later.”

  “A’ight. I’ll bring…By the way! I ran into Lori here. She asked me to tell Mahan that she couldn’t find Karmadont in the Gray Lands. Either he’s well hidden or he’s already departed to Erebus or…Well, figure it out for yourself. I’m off to the slaughter.”

  As soon as we entered the boundaries of the continent, my mailbox exploded. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of letters came pouring in from all ends of the game world, trying to tell me a single, simple thing — I would die. I was a dead man. I was a very sick person and Barliona was no place for someone like me.
I was forced to set up the mail Imitator to respond automatically: “Hi! If this is regarding the big ba-da-boom, please address your complaints straight up your…” I’ll admit this wasn’t very tactful of me. But I was pretty fed up.

  In order to protect Altameda as much as possible from the players’ ire, I was forced to make a deal with Geranika to locate the castle on his territory. The castle’s coordinates would be listed in the castles register, so any clan that felt like vandalizing Altameda by way of revenge could find it in a few minutes. I wanted to avoid this, so the Empire of Shadow was the best hideout. Teleportation scrolls could send players to practically any point in the continent, with the exception of several locations, including the Empire of Shadow. So when a quite content Geranika gracefully permitted me to locate Altameda not far from Armard, the capital of his Empire, my joy knew no bounds. At least one problem had been solved.

  Three tanks, seven healers (including Anastaria and me), nine melee fighters and eleven ranged fighters — our raid consisted of thirty players of Level 250+. As we were on our way back from the Annihilator, Stacey demanded an industrial supply of healing and defensive scrolls for the entire raid. I didn’t feel like arguing, so I turned my attention to crafting, sending my Shadows into the paper instead of my quick spell slots. In just over two hours I managed to create 50 scrolls for each member of my raid and, it seemed to me, completed my task of preparing the raid party. Like hell! As soon as Geranika teleported me to Altameda, which was already near the Armard walls by that point, Stacey dragged me off to the Cartographers. To study! While I was creating the scrolls, my Cartography specialization had grown up to 150, which allowed me to level up my ‘Scribe’ specialization to Level 3. It didn’t seem like much — one level — what’s the big deal? But Stacey held a different opinion entirely! Three levels of this specialization allowed me to create scrolls with a 1000 point stat limit. When it came to healing scrolls — from now on they would be five times as powerful as before and everything I’d made to that point was quickly sent to the storage vaults. Stacey simply smiled to my angry rant and told me to get back to work.