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

by Vasily Mahanenko

  "Mahan, am I correct in thinking that it's curtains for us? Let's at least get to know each other a little. I'll tell you why I'm here," Mirida began to speak, but I rudely interrupted her.

  "Wait! That's for later!" I took out Anastaria's communication amulet and had to expend considerable willpower to avoid crushing it to pieces as I pressed the call button. Well, Stacey, pick it up!

  "Speaking! the girl's tired voice was music to my ears. Stacey dear, I love you!

  "Anastaria, this is Mahan! Summon a Herald, quick! It's a matter of life and death!" I screamed into the amulet.

  "Mahan, is everything all right with your head?"

  "Stacey, on the double! Trust me!"

  "Shaman, have you completely lost it? As if getting me stuck in the middle of nowhere wasn't enough, you want to land me in the Heralds' bad books as well?"

  "Stacey. I am begging you: summon a Herald. Just trust me."

  The Master took no notice of my screaming and Anastaria fell silent. An eternity seemed to go by before I heard from the amulet:

  "I call upon a Herald, I request your assistance. Mahan... You owe me. Remember this!

  "You called me and I came. If your summons was a false one, Anastaria, you will be punished. Speak."

  "Herald, this is Mahan. At this moment the temple of Vlast near Beatwick contains a Magister and a Master of Kartoss, as well as two stunned Heralds. The temple is covered by a dome that prevents you from being summoned, use the village to find your bearings!" the Heralds probably would've heard my wild screaming even without an amulet. I cared little that the Master could hear me too, he was as good as done for. In a moment the Heralds would turn up and clean up this mess. Two against eighteen don't stand a chance in hell.

  "We read you loud and clear, thank you Mahan! Hold out for an hour. We can't open a direct portal to Beatwick, so we'll create a network of portals. We need an hour! Hold on! Anastaria," he now addressed the girl, "on behalf of the Emperor I thank you for your help. No matter how this ends, you will be rewarded."

  There came a clap of the portal, as the Herald flew off on his various errands, and then Anastaria's heavy breathing was all I could hear from the amulet.

  "I think my debt is paid. When the time comes for the bonuses to be handed out, I will ask the Emperor for your reward to be a good one. Anyway, I have to go. Thanks," with these words I turned off the amulet. I felt that the situation called for a flamboyant remark of some kind.

  "So you managed to get through after all," as soon I turned off the communicator, I saw that the Master observing me with some interest. "Bravo, Mahan, bravo! Geranika was right, you really do have a certain something."

  I was about to give a rather pointed response, when an announcement appeared before my eyes.

  Citizens of Malabar!

  Our lands have been invaded by the forces of the Dark Empire! I ask all the heroes that have proved their valour to come to Malabar's aid. Summon a Herald and follow him to the gathering point. I forbid fighting between free citizens at the time of the invasion — now we must unite and act as one.

  I would like to express my gratitude to free citizen of the Empire, Shaman Mahan, thanks to whom the Kartoss plot has been unveiled.

  Hurry, the time for summoning a Herald has begun.

  The Emperor.

  Conditions for taking part in the continental scenario: character level of at least 280, positive reputation with the Malabar Emperor.

  Scenario description: PVP mode has been disabled for 24 hours throughout the Empire. Participants in the event will receive + 200 to the reputation with the Malabar Emperor.

  Your reputation with the Shaman Council increased by 200 points. You are 700 points away from the status of Friendly.

  The last part was for my eyes only, by the looks of it.

  "So, it looks like I have an hour," said the Master, looking pleased. "That's even more than I expected. Now you can drag out the time all you like — everything is ready for us to receive the guests. Thank you for reminding me about the amulets used by the free citizens. To stop you warning anyone that this is a trap, I should block them too."

  My eyes met Mirida's. Judging by her raised eyebrows, she managed to return to the game, read the announcement and was now giving me a long appraising look.

  "Level twenty one, eh?" it was more of a statement than a question. "And already neck-deep in the thick of it."

  "I too was first surprised by this," quite unceremoniously the Master slid into our conversation, "I have to admit that I expected a higher-level envoy from the Emperor, so right at the start made an inexcusable mistake, which could have spoilt all my plans. I was relieved that Mahan didn't take any notice of it."

  I was all set to defend myself, pointing out lack of information, but was visited by an ingenious idea. It was so good that I practically beamed with happiness. The Master narrowed his eyes, somewhat puzzled, and tilted his head.

  "Why the sudden look of joy, my good fellow?" he finally enquired. "Did you really find a way to spoil my plans?"

  "Of course, Master," I had to put my cards on the table. As soon as I did anything, the Master could simply freeze me and my plan would fail. I had to play on his curiosity. "If you give me your word that you would not try to hinder me, in about thirty seconds your plan will fold in a most spectacular fashion.

  At first the Master lifted his eyebrows as if in great surprise then looked around the temple, weighing up the strength of the veil at the entrance, thought about it a moment and started to laugh.

  "Ha-ha-ha! Do you really think that you would be able to destroy me in thirty seconds? Even if all four of you tried anything together you will fail."

  "What are you on about? Do you think I'm crazy to attack someone who is twenty times higher than me in his level. No, your Lord's plan has a certain flaw, meaning I'll need only thirty seconds to disrupt it."

  "The Lord's plan is perfect. It was put together by four Masters and no room was left for mistakes. We planned for everything. You're bluffing, Mahan. Your attempt at delay has failed."

  "Master, let's make a bet," I was ready for anything at this point. It's not like I had anything to lose. "Don't touch me for thirty seconds and I spoil all your plans. Without even moving from this spot. If I win, the Dark Empire owes me one wish. If I lose... You'll think of something — you're smart enough."

  "You are able to spoil our plans in thirty seconds without moving from this spot?" The Master was quite an interesting sight. He was almost laughing, but was just able to restrain himself in some unfathomable way. "All right! On behalf of Kartoss, I Master Naahti, agree to your conditions! If you manage to spoil our plans, the Kartoss Empire would be obliged to carry out any wish you may have. I repeat, any, which is within our power. Including having the Dark Lord sing you a lullaby. But it comes with a limitation — the wish must only be connected to yourself. No world peace, end to all hatred and other social foolishness. But if you fail, you will work as a servant in the Lord's fortress. You will be teleported to our capital and end up serving food. To everyone! For a year, without any increase in levels or reputation! Agreed?” the grinning Master was looking down on me, in full belief that he presented me with conditions that could not be met. NPCs have become rather naive these days.

  "Agreed," I was, of course, taking a great risk, but my intuition, may it be damned, told me that the plan should work.

  "You have thirty seconds, future slave."

  You have concluded an agreement with the Kartoss Empire. Conditions:...

  "Mahan, what are you doing?" shouted Mirida, "I haven't spent all this time looking for you to see you destroy all my efforts!"

  Looking for me? Why? Nevermind, this can wait.

  "I call upon a Herald. I need the aid of an Advisor," at this phrase the Master laughed. To be more exact: he cracked up.

  "Didn't I tell you that the temple is surrounded by a dome! Ha-ha-ha!" Heralds can't lock on here to open a portal! Especially one for a Advisor! Ha
il, new slave of the Lord."

  "Master, we've known each other for quite a while now," I returned the Master's smile, "how could you think so little of me?" I opened my bag and took out the Emperor's ring, put it on and once again looked at the Kartoss official. It was so good that I didn't give the ring away to Beth!

  "I call upon a Herald. I need the help of an Advisor. Target destination — the Emperor's ring!"

  The Master froze. There was such surprise in his eyes that I even missed the moment when the portal opened and a sentient wearing a white robe stepped out of it. The Kartoss representative came to himself, made a fast hand movement and the portal exploded with a great bang. A wave of destruction went through the temple, toppling the statues, but a dome appeared around all those present. The Advisor cast it on me and the ladies and the Master put up a defence of his own. Although it's not like some explosion would do him much harm.

  "Advisor," the Master uttered in a hissing growl. "You cannot stop the invasion! You are too late!"

  "I too am glad to see you," the Advisor answered with a chesty voice accompanied by thundering music, "FATHER."

  The conditions of the agreement with the Dark Empire of Kartoss have been met. You have a right to one wish. In order to have your wish carried out, summon Master Naahti.

  "People, can someone explain to me what the heck is going on here? There's every chance that I'll die anyway, so this way I'll at least gain some information what the heck is behind all this.

  "Will you tell them, father?"

  "Do not dare call me that," the poison in Naahti's voice could have easily killed, had the Adviser been a now-level NPC.

  "All right, if you won't tell it, then I'll try to guess," smiled the Adviser. "Could you release the Heralds? I really don't want to start a fight. Whichever way you turn it, you're still my father. I propose you surrender to the mercy of the Emperor and wait to be ransomed by your Lord. No? Fine. Then I'll begin," the Advisor walked around the frozen Heralds, touched the obstacle that barred the exit from the temple, chuckled at its exquisite beauty and then turned to us.

  "I won't be telling you about myself, that is a separate tale. One could only note that I didn't share my father's attitude to Malabar — I like peace and harmony and thus decided to go over to the other side. Now about the current situation. Two years ago the husband of this woman," the Advisor pointed to Beth, "who was exiled here, had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. "A few months before that a priest of Vlast came to Beatwick and offered to build a temple. The previous Headman realised that the village was in need of protection and thus gladly agreed to it being built, especially since it was to be located outside the village. Then the Headman disappeared. Not died, but disappeared. The Master of Kartoss probably knows that all the citizens of Malabar that hold position of importance, are imprinted with a special mark, which informs the Heralds whether this sentient is being controlled and whether he's alive or not. The former headman is still alive, but it was decided not to look for him. The Emperor's decree was never recalled. A new headman was appointed to Beatwick from the nearest town, Farstead — a representative of an industrial association. He did not have a mark on him, so I may surmise that he is no longer in this world. From here on I'll be guessing, so you can correct me. The Magister intercepted the industry man on the road, where they had an interesting chat, following which a new headman arrived in Beatwick — who happened to also be a Kartoss Master. The residents accepted him and the Herald received a message that a new person was in charge of Beatwick. In the first few months father didn't do much, making an effort to win everyone over. You can ask any villager and he'll tell you that the Beatwick Headman is the best and most conscientious man in the world. Having secured his position, the infiltrator put his plan into action. First he founded the castle which Mahan managed to find. As an aside, I should say that that castle will soon meet its end. In just a few minutes it will cease to exist. After the castle father began to curse the land, putting a Blackener in each village. Heralds get very nervous when such a thing is put on their territory, so it was hidden by a ziggurat. The Heralds knew that a Blackener had been built on the territory of the Empire, but couldn't find where exactly. Nice move, this one took some creative thinking. Kartoss's aim is as yet unclear, but I can suppose that some pointer to an artefact located in these lands had been found in some archive, which explains the goblin search parties. It's all finished, father. The time had come to answer for your deeds."

  The longer the Advesor had been speaking, the more pleased Naahti's expression was becoming. By the end he was smiling quite openly. I was just about to stop the talkative NPC, when a message popped up in front of me:

  Change in the status of the agreement with the Kartoss Dark Empire. You were unable to hinder the Kartoss plans. In view of the previous status, the agreement is considered void.

  "Such a pity," said the former Headman turned Master slowly. "I would've liked to get a slave like that. Mahan, would you like to make another bet, perhaps? The same conditions, but this time you'll have a day. A day to hinder our plans: What do you say?" The Master was having fun. I didn't really understand what just happened, but it was certainly something very unpleasant.

  "Father, you've lost!"

  "A foolish little Adviser. You may have stopped me if you started to act straight away. But no, you decided to have a chat first. To relish your victory and present your point of view. That is the difference between the Dark Empire and you. You are weak! You slavishly follow the rules and never see past your own nose. The army of Malabar should appear before the village gates very soon. Enjoy the spectacle!"

  With these words the walls of the temple disappeared. In the sense that the building rose about ten meters above ground and was then flung aside in the direction of the forest. In place of the walls there remained several vertical spikes about two meters in height.

  "Allow me not to pull them out completely, this would take great deal of energy, SON," the Headman sneered at the Adviser, who had grown pale. "I think you know what these are."

  "The Blackeners?" I intruded on their conversation. "There were similar spikes on the Blackeners that I saw by the castle."

  The Advisor grew even more pale, impossible though that seemed.

  "Father!" Tisha, now awake, was getting up from the ground. "The priest of Vlast is not who he claims to be. He... Brother?"

  "Leave him be" the Headman came up to his daughter and straightened out the cloak on her shoulders. "Your exiled brother has other things on his mind right now."

  "Naahti, a couple of days ago you said that you would give me your aid should I need it. So — I need it now. Can you explain what's going on? I've heard the Advisor's version of events, now I'd like to hear the truth."

  "Why not? All the preparations have been made and now it's time for the interesting part. Nothing really depends on us anymore, so I can give you a couple of minutes. For starters, let us strengthen the Kartoss influence," the Headman said, satisfied, and nodded at the Heralds to his other two sons standing nearby. The Advisor could only helplessly close his eyes — he equalled the Master in strength, but was could do nothing for the Heralds. Any defence would be immediately removed by the Master. Two silent Vagrens slid towards the Heralds with lightning speed... and then Malabar had two new vacancies for this position.

  "Nooo!" came Tisha's scream, when her brothers carried out the order. "Father, why? Why?

  "You made your children into your assistants," whispered the downcast Adviser. "You have gone too far..."

  "What would I do without them? Tisha calm down!"

  The Master waved his hand and a small chair appeared next to each of those present.

  "Beth, get up. It's stupid and uncomfortable to keep pretending you're still petrified. The ground is cold, you'll catch a chill and deprive me of the pleasure of personally crushing you."

  "Father, why are you saying this?" Tisha began to cry. "What are you doing? This is Beth!"

&nb
sp; The Headman shook his head as if so show what a handful children are these days.

  "Sit down and listen to me. You can scream all you like later. SIT DOWN, I SAID!" the thundering shout made everyone sit down, even the Advisor. Now we were looking at the real Master of Kartoss, without any masks or pleasantries. "EVERYONE READY?! Then I shall begin," he then returned to his previous tone.

  "Malabar and Kartoss Empires had existed for a long time. They had maintained a constant armed neutrality: we took turns in attacking each other, but no-one tried too hard. It was just a couple of villages going over to one side of the border or to the other — everyone was happy with such state of things. But fifteen years ago free citizens had become active in the world. They wanted something more than just raids to capture some loot. Instead of coming and quickly taking an object that caught their eye, the free citizens engaged in genocide. How is it the fault of goblins that they were born green? Or trolls? How is it a little warg's fault that he needs meat to survive? But no, the free citizens decided that we were 'dark' and started to kill us off. I visited the castles that had gone through the hands of free citizens. Everyone was killed. Even the little werebeasts that had not yet been weaned. Why? We tried communicating with the Emperor, but boys like this one," a nod in the direction of the Advisor, "dismissed our complaints. What do you say, 'light one'?" the Headman's last words were full of so much hatred that his son started.

  "Us... Them... There are always casualties during a war, father."

  "There can be casualties on the battlefield, but before they can become casualties, they have to be strong and able to fight back. If the casualty is a child, irrespective of the skin colour, it is no war casualty. And for this you betrayed our family? Because you enjoy watching children suffer?"