The Kartoss Gambit (The Way of the Shaman: Book #2)

by Vasily Mahanenko

  “Thanks for the Plinto warning, but the goblin info’s already out of date. The algorithm for finding the squads was elementary – it was either mines or logger's cabins. Hel and I found four squads, which means that two more were found by the other groups. Two hours ago, when we destroyed the last squad, a Herald appeared, accepted the completed assignment and told us that not a single clan member was to be found on the territory of the Krong province in the next couple of months, on the pain of failing the scenario. The Herald promised to be on a particular look-out for any free players of groups that may hinder a certain player from completing his part of the scenario. You know, you don’t have to be a genius to figure out who that player is. It’s you! You are the one who found the first squad, so it was you who was given an assignment with a set time limit. Hel has flown into a rage and I simply don’t understand anything. What’s going on?”

  “You flew away?”

  “Yes, the Herald sent us to Anhurs. Mahan, can you tell me your quest? Can I help in any way? Please understand, this scenario is very important for our clan. If you need anything, just say — whether it's money, gear or scrolls. Anything you ask for would be sent straight to the Bank with your name on it. Don’t hurry, have a think about it.”

  “There isn't that much thinking to be done. I need a full set of level 21 gear, with bonuses to Intellect. Getting equipped around here is a big pain.” I wasn’t going to pass up on a gear freebie. “I have no need of money, but scrolls… Anything with AoE damage would be great. As for the quest – I told you everything at our meeting. There is nothing more to add. I have no idea why no-one from your clan is permitted to show up here. May I ask a question, by the way?”

  “Sure. The gear will be sent today. As for scrolls, I think we can put something together for your level. Would a hundred do?”

  “Yeah, that’s plenty. So, Have Eric, Leite and Clutzer really been accepted into Phoenix?” I still had trouble believing that they ditched me. They just couldn’t have, whatever Hellfire may say.

  “Yes, but not all. A few days ago we were approached by several beginner-level players who had First Kill. This really piqued my interest, so I personally oversaw their testing.”

  “Testing? What’s that?”

  “Identification of their abilities. Eric turned out to be an excellent tank and he’s already been sent for a levelling boost. Clutzer’s a decent DD. But Leite didn’t pass the trial. He makes a pretty average DD and we decided not to take him. Now we’re looking for Karachun to assess his abilities”

  “So how come you let Leite go? After all, we all got a scaling item for taking the second place in Malachite gathering. Letting a player with such pauldrons go is somewhat careless,” I noted in surprise.

  “An item doesn’t make the person. If you have clumsy hands, no amount of gear will help. We gave Leite a chance, but he didn’t take it.”

  “Fine, another question. What is a Phoenix Master?” I asked nonchalantly. You can relax, Oh Gorgeous One. This just made for another point against joining Phoenix. So I am supposed to think that Eric and Clutzer are now in the clan and even came out with a full report… Yeah, right, they just ran in and typed it all up, especially about the non-existent second place and Leite’s pauldrons. So, it looks like Karachun was the one you spoke to… But he doesn’t know about the fifth place or Leite’s sword.

  For a while there was a silence and I even started to think that we lost connection when Anastaria spoke again:

  “So that’s how it is! Now I know how you got Crafting. Did you already solve the riddle? You wouldn’t share the formula with me, would you?”

  Oops. I’m treading on very thin ice here. Anastaria knows about Crafting? How? After all, Karachun only saw the rings and heard that I was able to change stats…

  “I don’t quite get what you’re on about,” damn, what a clumsy evasion. Totally childish.

  “All right, it doesn’t matter. Just in case, remember – my analytical department is one of the most powerful in the game. We don’t just sit there making strategies for going through Dungeons, we know how to use our heads too. If you need any help – just say. As for the Master… All together there are several ranks in Phoenix. Right at the top there are two people – the clan leaders. Hellfire and myself. The second tier down there are Treasurers, two, in our case, and five Castle Owners. The third rank in our hierarchy is held by the Masters. We currently have eight of those. Masters are the most valuable players for the clan. They are even paid a salary from the clan treasury. For example, one of the Masters is a player with level 20 in Crafting. As far as I know, this is the maximum level of Crafting in Barliona. On the fourth tier are the Specialists. We greatly value people who bring money into the clan and so create very favourable conditions for them to develop. The clan accepts any players with over 200 levels in any profession, irrespective of the results they get during testing. Fifth are Raiders. As you can see, they rank lower than Specialists. Sixth are Fighters. These are our potential Raiders. And seventh are Recruits. These are simply hired players who've expressed a desire to join the clan. Eric and Clutzer were immediately given the rank of Fighters, bypassing the Recruit stage. Their test results were just too good. As for their low level – with time that can change easily enough. Did I answer your question, future Phoenix Master?”

  “Yes, thank you. And we’ll have to see about that Master thing. Catch you later.”

  So, for the next two months I won’t be seeing any members of the leading clans. That is, while I am looking for the Dark Coordinator? That's just as well, I'll have time to think of how to formulate my polite refusal to join Phoenix. Judging by what Anastaria just told me, I will be practically rolling in it in her clan. If you add to this my desire to quietly pass my time until the end of my sentence, this was the ideal scenario. I would gradually level up my professions and may even join Phoenix on a few raids. I would be invited to receptions with the Emperor and there would be crowds of players offering me untold riches just to put in a good word for them. I would have it made. But I was very much put on guard by the inconsistencies in the words of Anastaria and Hellfire. If Eric had sold me out completely, in his report he should have said that we took fifth place in the gathering of Malachite and that Leite got a sword of some kind. If Anastaria personally met these players, it hasn’t been all that long for her to forget the details. Something wasn’t right here. My inner voice was very firm in insisting that I must not join Phoenix. And that joining any clan at all was out of the question – I had to make my own. Why – I had no idea, but I’m a Shaman, and this means that I have to trust my feelings...

  Four days flew by in what felt like an instant. When I handed in the wolf quest to the village Headman, I gained access to his other assignments. ‘There are no quests in Beatwick’ – yeah, right! You can fetch the water, gather wood from the forest or sweep the street. Just in the first day of doing quests I raised my reputation with the Krong province by 500. After that I went to the blacksmith and arranged to loiter around his place for four hours a day.

  The smith turned out to be an altogether strange NPC. He was silent and huge and all his replies to my questions were monosyllabic and came through gritted teeth. At least he wasn’t kicking me out of the smithy.

  Levelling up in professions ended up being very productive. I raised my Smithing to 8, first casting Copper and then Tin ingots. When I was smelting Copper Ore the stars aligned correctly and a piece of Malachite dropped for me. You had to see the Smith’s eyes at that point! He stood there for a couple of minutes, muttered something inarticulate and went out to get some fresh air. I planned to focus on Smithing for another week or so and then switch to Jewelcrafting.

  Nor had I forgotten about the Dark Coordinator.

  “Hi, Tisha,” I sought out the Headman’s daughter after leaving the smithy.

  “Hi, Mahan,” replied the pretty girl, fixing her hair. After Anastaria, who represented the real world, all NPC beauties seemed to pale i
n comparison. “I see that you’re making progress in our village. My father’s happier than ever: now the water arrives on time and the wood too. And the matter with the wolves has been settled. They really have caused too many problems for our flocks, as the father says. Did you want something?”

  “Yes. I have a question. Listen, I would like to visit some neighbouring villages, maybe they have some jobs as well. You don’t happen to know who travels a lot between villages and whom I can ask where it’s best to start?"

  “The Merchant. He visits all the villages once every three weeks. He was here just a couple of days ago, so we won’t see him for a while. Then, who else... Ah! Slate, our smith. He goes between the villages quite often. We don’t have that many smiths in our area, so he travels around mending everything, As far as I know, he should be venturing out again soon. I think that's it. We don’t have anyone else travelling between the villages."

  "I see. Can you tell me if you get visitors from other villages very often? Maybe I can ask them how things are over there.”

  “No, we don’t get many visitors. There’s the Merchant and also some free citizens, but we haven’t had any of those for over six months now. We have no inn, so there isn't much for visitors to do here.”

  “Thank you, you simply saved me. I will ask Slate which village would be the best to visit. Though he’s a bit of a silent type — you can’t get a word out of him.”

  “Well, he’s still wary of you, that’s all. He’s used to working alone and now you invited yourself to his smithy. So he doesn’t know how to handle this. Our smith is a good and kind man, really. Even likes poetry.”

  “Poetry, you say? Do you know how long he's been living in Beatwick?”

  “About as long as we have — a couple of years.”

  I left Tisha in possession of two suspects: the Merchant and the Smith. And the version with the Merchant, who was trying to offer me crazy money for the Eye, looked a lot more likely. I just couldn't see the smith as a goblin coordinator. This meat that I had to check out the Merchant. Something to do when he returns in three weeks’ time.

  After four days of working side by side Slate still hadn’t warmed up to me. He still shot me sullen side-glances from under his eyebrows and was untalkative, responding only in short phrases. I really had to do something about this. It's high time we became friends.

  “Slate, Tisha told me that you travel around villages, fixing things. Is that right? Can you please teach me the art of repair? I know how to craft, but have no clue about mending things. For example, most of the stuff I'm wearing is already on its last legs, but I have no way of fixing it.”

  “Repair, you say? That’s not hard to teach.” Ah! Finally we have progress! So many words at once. “But to repair, you first have to know what it is you'll be repairing. You can't learn everything. You can repair items made of metal, leather or cloth. But you can train in only one of these. Which do you need?”

  “Shamans mainly wear leather items. I can put on mail or plate items, but I'll be moving around like a tortoise. Slowly and steadily.” Just in case I asked:

  “Is it possible to change a specialisation? For example, if I get tired of mending leather items, could I train to repair items made of metal?”

  "Yes, you can. Any repair trainer can re-train you. So, what did you choose?”

  “Yes, I'd like to learn to repair leather items.”

  You have acquired the 'Repair' profession. Current level: 1.

  You received an object: Repair Kit (Attention! Does not take up inventory bag space).

  You have chosen the 'Leather Repair' specialisation. You can now repair leather items up to (10*Repair) level.

  Nice one! I thought repair would be part of smithing, but it turned out that it had been given an entire profession of its own! It even had specialisations!

  “So, how do I use all this?”

  “It's fairly simple,” it was beginning to look like I finally found some common ground with Slate. “You put the item on the table, take out the needle and thread from the Repair Kit and start sewing up the torn areas. This way its durability will be gradually restored.”

  “Thank you. I'll try it out right away.” I picked out the necessary instruments, took off my rather battered jacket and started to repair it.

  “And you know, Mahan… I’m sorry for the first welcome I gave you,” I nearly ran the needle through one of my fingers on hearing such words from the smith. "I didn't realise you were a normal bloke. I thought we were sent a cutthroat and was afraid you might get up to some bad business. But things turned out rather different. Anyway, don't hold it against me..."

  In due course the day had arrived. Or night, to be exact. The night of the revenge for my respawn. The night of the Vagren hunt.

  The actual method of capture wasn't particularly ingenious. I would come out to the middle of Elizabeth’s courtyard, summon the two Bone Traps around me, and then sit between them and wait for the 'ol' red-eye'. I didn't doubt for a second that he would show up. After all, this is a quest mob, so we were meant to find each other. Today I asked Little Tim not to be released from his enclosure, saying that I had to take a walk in the moonlight. I am a Shaman, after all.

  “Elizabeth, where are you going at this hour?” I was very surprised to see the mistress of the house going out so late in the evening.

  “Ah… It's you… I….” Even in the twilight I could see that Elizabeth was blushing like a young girl. You had the impression that my landlady was heading out for a date. At her age too! And I even knew where she was heading — probably to the local Headman. Eh, Elizabeth!

  "I'm going out for some fresh air," she managed to regain her composure, glanced at the fence gate and asked, "Will you be taking long with your walk? After all, it's quite chilly – you might be more comfortable in the house." A soon as I completed the Wolf quest, Elizabeth offered me to move from my current cramped abode to a normal room in the main house. But I refused, at least for the time being. Until I've caught the Vagren I didn't want to disturb the household with my stamping around at night.

  “Well, I better go,” only now did I notice a small bundle in the woman’s hands. Why would she need that on a date? Or was she going to a completely different place? But where?

  The night in Beatwick was coming into its own. As before, it was pitch-black and its silence was tinged with the sound of the forest, but now it featured a Shaman squatting between two traps. Elizabeth never came back, although it was past midnight now. I looked at Tiny Tim. The dog showed no sign of agitation and was calmly pacing around the enclosure. It would be such a laugh if the Vagren decided not to show today and I would have wasted nearly a thousand gold on traps! That would be a pity… I don’t think I got the night wrong. But there was no-one here... Nothing. I'll pop over to Farstead tomorrow and buy a couple more traps. Wouldn't be a bad idea to drop by the old ladies and ask how Swiftbel came to know the dragons. And then to the Bank – the parcel with the gear should have arrived from Anastaria. I had long since outgrown what Kart made for me, but, being so far away from the auction house and normal merchants, it was practically impossible to buy a decent replacement. And I should also collect the Lapis that Hellfire promised me. As it happens, after four days of thinking it over I decided to have a chat with him. I was prepared to work for the clan, but not as a member. Joining a clan was to be avoided at all costs or I would miss out on some very important bonus. I spent a couple of hours looking through the manual for things that you could lose out on by joining a clan, but found nothing. On the contrary, the recurring message was that with joining a clan you gained access to the main aspects of the game in Barliona and the player acquired the full set of features… Perhaps this was just my paranoia playing up? Who knows… I also took stock of the fact that Hellfire was talking to me from a position of power. For him that was normal. After all, he's the highest-level player in Malabar, and was simply incapable of speaking in any other way. Phoenix already had the bonuses
from the First Completion of the Mushu Dungeon and as for the chess pieces that Phoenix so covets… I would not hand them over until I solved their riddle. After that we could talk. Again, if I am unable to solve it in two months, I would have to ask Anastaria to give me a hand. It would mean that it was too much for my brains to crack it alone. But this was all for later, I had different task in hand now.

  As if it was waiting for me to stop making various grand plans, a shadow fell a couple of meters away from me. I heard Tiny Tim’s muffled squealing and realized that the hour that I was so eagerly awaiting finally came. The Vagren was here.

  A humanoid dog was standing a couple of meters away from me, right opposite one of the traps. Just what the doctor ordered! If it went for me now, it would step straight into the trap. And in the morning we'll see who's been nimble enough to be running around Beatwick and causing all the mischief. One thing didn't seem right – the Vagren was without the mist and I could see his properties without much trouble:

  Vagren. Gender: Female. Level 95.

  So, it was Elizabeth, after all. Eh, my dear hostess… What would happen to your children if I hand you over to the priest? What would happen to Clouter? Damn! I even felt sorry for her. Was there perhaps a different way of solving this?

  Several minutes went by. The Vagren still stood opposite me, hopping from one foot to the other and seemed to have no intention of attacking. Did she need some encouragement? That can happen!

  "Why are you just standing there? Who are you waiting for? Do you need a special invitation? Go on, jump. I’m ready."

  The Vagren started at my words, but stayed where she was. Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice put it. Why is she hesitating? And, more importantly, why aren't the Vagren's eyes red? Why is it not aggressive?