by Elian Tars
“I see you’re in a better mood, lad.” Lade chuckled as we stopped to rest once more.
“Do you call everybody that?” I said looking at his childish face. “I think I’m older than you.”
“Hah! It’s not important how old your body is,” he loudly slapped his cheeks, “what’s important are the scope of your knowledge and experience,” he poked my forehead in an instructive manner. “Well? Come clean, what are you so happy about?”
“And why would I be sad?” I chuckled. “You organized a field trip for me in a reserved area at your own expense!”
Lade suddenly frowned and shook his head in disapproval.
“You shouldn’t relax just because we have the Glozeysk Crystals,” he spoke in a low voice. He then smiled, turned around, and walked back to his horse. What a weird guy. Actually all of them are.
When it started to get dark, Arthur got off the road and led the group deeper into the forest. We slowed down significantly. Our leader had to carefully choose the path in order to find a more convenient way through the trees. We had been moving like that for a couple of hours before he announced:
“We have arrived. Lade, Berg, go scout the area. East and west are a priority. Dina and Bale, take care of the horses.”
We dismounted and started fulfilling our leader’s commands. Arthur himself, after having checked the map’s duplicate, went north.
“Good girl, that’s my girl,” the sorceress gently whispered to her horse, taking off the saddle. I had nothing to do but watch the girl and follow her example. “You did well, too,” Dina said and I understood that she was addressing me.
“Thank you,” I bowed, putting my horse’s saddle in my inventory.
“No, seriously,” my sister-in-arms smiled, straightening the hat that had slid over her eyes. “You hold yourself quite decently in the company of such important persons as Mr. Elliot. When I saw him for the first time, I got scared and tried to hide from him,” Dina smiled sweetly. “And my level was a bit higher back then than yours is now. By the way, take it,” she materialized a halter and a tight rope and threw them to me.
Swapping the bridle for the halter and tying my horse to a tree, I went to Lade’s horse.
“You are not very good at dealing with horses,” the girl noticed and smiled again. “Berg isn’t either. He prefers to walk through the forest. There, among the trees, he feels at home. I like horses. They are so cute, smart and kind.”
Listening to her I tried to understand how such a pretty girl got in a squad heading into the heart of the territory of Decay. Remembering all the shit that was waiting us ahead and looking at this gentle creature I asked myself — should I play along or not? If this was a trap, it was a very smart one. Leaving me alone with a kind girl that was praising and admiring me and tending to the horses together… Damn it, could this really be true? Maybe I’m getting too worked up for no reason? Maybe she really isn’t trying to win me over so that she could gather more information for the mayor?
“Could you help me? The horses need to drink,” Dina materialized five huge buckets in front of her and took off the lids. Each of them was filled with water. They had to be heavy. There she was, looking at me and waiting for a strong man to prove his worth…
Yes, the sorceress was definitely overacting. Even if she didn’t spend her points on strength, lifting a bucket should be as easy as lifting a mug of beer for someone who was level 50. It’s not like your strength stopped developing completely; every ten levels you’d get some points attributed to it.
“Of course,” I smiled as sincerely as possible and played along.
Chapter 24
The Beginning of the End
How would I describe the members of our group? That was a difficult question… I should start with the obvious. Captain Arthur looked like a brave veteran who didn’t like idle talk, but wouldn’t tell you to bugger off if you asked him a question. Instead, he would do his best to make a greenhorn understand the essentials and help them as much as possible.
Special ranger Berg was quite the opposite. He was the one I really disliked. During the evening I tried to start a conversation with him a couple of times, but the archer just looked at me with undisguised contempt, as if I was a talking cockroach, and both times he walked past me without saying a word.
Lade, on the other hand, was quite talkative for a “Follower of the God of Balance, Guer-shui”. I read about this God in the Encyclopedia and imagined him to be a mixture of Confucius and the Buddha, and his “Followers” to be some kind of Shaolin monks. But Lade didn’t look like a monk, except for his bald head and his skills — hand-to-hand combat and healing.
By the way, he told me the name of his Patron himself, which was very unusual since I didn’t ask him for it.
And the last one was the sorceress Dina; polite, thoughtful, if not a little bit naïve, and quite feminine at the same time. In the real world I would have fallen for her; it would’ve probably been love at first sight. But here… I had to be careful. I had to think over every step and not go with the flow.
The mayor spent two thousand gold coins on me — two Glozeysk Crystals for me and my horse. What for? I doubted that they expected help from my humble person, and it was unlikely that there would be a fight. According to Arthur, if several owners of activated Glozeysk Crystals were located near each other, the supposed force field deflecting the creatures of Decay would be of the average level of the owners. In other words, there were ten of us, including horses, with the average level of fifty two. So my presence didn’t spoil the statistics much. Had I not been level 27 but level 57, the average level would have been fifty five.
But if Godwin Elliot had gone alone, riding a Mueskan Race Horse, he wouldn’t have been afraid of level 87 monsters. If he had a stronger horse, he could have increased the average defense level even more…
I understood that it would have been inappropriate for the ruler of the city to be to the frontline alone, but he could have sent one of his secretaries. She was quite a strong girl…
Why did he have to gather a group, ruin the level average, and spend a lot of money on the equipment? Arthur claims that we’ll be safe thanks to the Crystals. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be simpler and cheaper for the mayor to go alone, or to send Ande? They were both higher levels than us.
There were two conclusions to choose from. The first was that, despite the captain’s words, powerful creatures of Decay were waiting for us ahead, which could be defeated only by group. The second was that we could be attacked by other people in the decayed lands that, of course, couldn’t be deflected by the Crystal’s force field. For example, the Iron Faced could possibly have their own “Big League” that was superior in strength and level to the average warriors.
But if my assumptions were correct, the main question became much more important — why was I sent here? How could I help in a dangerous situation? The lack of understanding was pissing me off, to put it mildly. I had to convince myself that the mayor either thought that I had some hidden powers, which I would reveal in case of emergency… Or that there was really a high chance that our journey would pass without a hitch, and that my presence was nothing more than the usual test of my qualities on the field — just as Elliot said that it would be.
In any case, all of my thoughts led to the same conclusion — I shouldn’t let my guard down. Though I wasn’t surrounded by obvious enemies, I was, by no means, surrounded by friends either. Not even by allies. They were just accidental fellow travelers, which were carefully, like an old appraiser, examining what kind of talents I had.
I thought while we rode north, meandering through the high trees. Waking up at dawn, we had a quick breakfast before setting off.
Just like yesterday, there was nothing to do. You couldn’t relax much because we weren’t riding on a straight road, the horses were either going up a hill, or down to the valley bottom; it was impossible to read in such conditions. Not to mention that I was nearing the end
of my Encyclopedia.
To kill some time I opened the skills menu and skimmed through the first column. A new line had been added to it.
War Horseman
Level 1
Set of skills
Allows you to attack and finish off enemies while on horseback.
Cost: 2 skill points
I had discovered this yesterday during the ride. But once I looked at the skills menu after dismounting, the skill was gone. Now it had appeared again. Why? I supposed that it was my horse’s harness that increased my Riding skill while I was in the saddle. To learn this set of skills, located in the combat and special skills columns, I firstly needed to upgrade the everyday skill, and then I would be able to get War Horseman once I reach a certain level. But if I learned it now, while the effect of the harness was still working, I wouldn’t be able to use War Horseman until I bring the everyday skill up to the necessary level if I were to mount a horse with different gear. But there was no information about what level should I be in order to get this opportunity. Though, I wasn’t going to spend valuable skill points on something like that, anyway.
But it looked like some of the Iron Faced did…
I cringed involuntarily remembering how that damn “Gleam” finished me off during my very first day in the game, crushing my skull with his horse’s hooves.
“Are you all right?” I heard an anxious female voice before me. I raised my gaze and saw Dina looking at me over her shoulder. Someone should give her an Oscar — she had such a worried look on her face, as if she wasn’t acting.
“I’m fine,” I smiled, “just remembered something unpleasant,” I quickly changed the topic, before she could ask what was on my mind.
“By the way, we’ll soon be there, right?”
Glancing at the road the girl turned to me again and wrinkled her nose, sniffing the air. She made a grimace.
“Yeah, it’s starting to smell.”
“There’s a pit ahead! Dina, stay alert!” our group leader roared, and, smiling guiltily, the girl turned away, correcting her horse’s route in the last moment.
“You’re so mean, Arthur!” I heard Lade’s mocking voice, who was riding behind me. “Let the younglings flirt!”
Dina gave the monk both a baleful and confused look, but didn’t say anything. I kept silent like the rest of the group. It was not good to give the chatterbox extra attention.
I wondered how we looked as a team. Sometimes I even forgot about the cloak-and-dagger stuff and omissions and felt quite comfortable; as if I was walking in the company of friends…
I shook my head, getting such nonsense out of my head. You could get in trouble in this world even if you were focused and vigilant. It had happened to me more than a few times already. Until the quest is over, and until I hear the mayor’s decision and get a reward, I won’t think of the people around me as friends.
“We’re almost there,” the captain said in a firm voice.
Five minutes later we stopped. Arthur ordered take a short rest — the territory of Decay stretched a few yards ahead of us. When we cross its boundary, every minute will count.
“Ghastly sight,” Dina spoke in a low voice, with her eyes on the black trees that were looming ahead. “Ghastly and a little bit intriguing.”
“Is this the first time you see the lands of Decay?” I asked.
The girl turned to me without hiding her surprise.
“Yes. So what? Lade’s, too, for example. You know, it’s not a very popular travel route. There’s nothing much to do around here.”
“But Arthur and Berg had seen the Decay before?” I asked.
“Yes,” the sorceress nodded, “captain helped several times to evacuate the villages that got too close to the constantly growing borders of these dead lands. And Berg,” she nodded in the direction of the ranger that was standing about fifty feet away from us, “he had some business there. He had been looking for something in the settlements destroyed by Decay.”
Only now, after the girl’s words, had I thought about the fact that there were whole villages, and maybe even towns, on the decayed lands. Desolated, covered with acid-green slush, under the dome of disgusting vapors… It was a good place to hide something or just to plunder.
“Normal people,” the sorceress continued, “try to stay far away from Decay. And they definitely don’t hunt near it,” she smiled looking into my eyes and shook her head. I was no fool, I took the hint.
“It’s usually the Decay that comes to us,” I heard a sneering voice behind me, “and not the other way round.”
Lade and the captain came back. The group was now in one place. Arthur looked at me coldly and loudly said:
“That’s right! Usually there’s no need for the living to go to the decayed lands. People usually manage to defend themselves. Praise Glozeysk and its researches… But today is a different situation. Our goal is worth the risk. Yet again thanks to Glozeysk, this risk will be minor. Attention, everybody! Activate your Crystals! The one on the horses, too!” shouted the captain materializing both of his polyhedrons.
Coming up to the horse, Arthur pressed the crystal to its chest. The horse got surrounded with an acid-green glow and neighed loudly. The artifact in the captain’s hand started to dwindle until it was all gone.
“Don’t be afraid!” our leader shouted, touching his chest with the second crystal. He looked at us. His gaze was seemingly fond, as if he truly wanted to encourage all of the members of his little group.
“Nobody’s afraid, Arthur!” Lade chuckled and boldly walked to his horse. Following the monk’s — I had decided to nickname him that — example, Dina and I went to our horses with smiles on our faces. The last to join was the frowning Berg. By God, looking at his gloomy face I couldn’t help but wonder if he had upgraded his Gloominess to its possible maximum.
Well, there were more important things than the archer.
I took out the expensive artifact and held it against the horse’s chest. Nothing happened until I gave a mental order: “Activate the on this Mueskan Race Horse”.
And then everything happened just as with the captain’s horse. When I activated the artifact on myself, I felt an unpleasant prickling that spread through my body and turned into a heavy weakness. I almost fell to the ground, but, luckily, the effect stopped almost immediately, leaving behind light and unperceivable numbness.
You have used a “Glozeysk Crystal” on yourself.
Energy consumption increased by 20%.
Attention: “Glozeysk Crystal” will activate once you cross the border of Decay.
Attention: Activate the “Glozeysk Crystal” within two hours.
And what if I don’t step onto the decayed lands within two hours? A thousand gold coins would be wasted? The artifact had a very interesting way of operating.
“Let’s go!” Arthur gave commanded and, without waiting for the others, purred his horse.
Having hardly crossed the border, I saw a new system message pop up in front of my eyes:
The “Glozeysk Crystal” has been activated.
You are protected from all the Effects of Decay. You are surrounded by the “Glozeysk Crystal’s” aura that wards off all the level 27 or lower creatures of Decay.
Duration: ten hours.
Attention: there are other “Glozeysk Crystals” within the range of your “Glozeysk Crystal’s” aura. Together, they generate a united aura, protecting you from level 52 or lower creatures of Decay.
Great. Everything was working. The most important thing was not to get more than thirty yards away from my group; otherwise, the united aura would split.
Still, that Crystal was a very convenient thing! Honestly, it would have been had I used it on my own. Even if Vella and I got a couple of those artifacts, our level average would leave much to be desired. Though we didn’t have to worry about the constantly lowering HP, we still wouldn’t be able to quickly reach Bon’s father’s treasure. We would cover the first half of the way without
any problems as the creatures there were not very strong, but we would be locked in fights after that. Ten hours won’t be enough, that’s for sure. Not to mention the fact that decayed creatures near the hiding-place will likely above our capabilities — after all, the stash was deep in the territory of Decay.
So, as it turns out, money doesn’t always talk. This venture would end up being be a waste of two thousand gold pieces. Although, if I had an unlimited supply of gold, I could buy skill and stat points and not give a damn… That would be incredible.
Few acid-green geysers gurgled to the left of us and I heard Dina let out a barely audible “phew”. The girl looked around with a strange mixture of disgust and fascination on her face.
I didn’t see the captain’s reaction on the environmental conditions — he didn’t turn to us as he proudly led our group. I turned around to check up on others. Lade, just like Dina, didn’t hide his curiosity, but the ranger, on the other hand, rode with his head slightly lowered. Jesus, doesn’t he know that we should be checking the perimeter? Although, Berg was the only one, apart from me, who had been in the decayed lands. I shouldn’t underestimate him.
Looking around I didn’t feel as enthusiastic as the sorceress and the monk; rotten grass, moldiness and dead trees were a usual sight to me. It all reminded of the only creature I could trust in this world. I hoped that Vella was doing well, spending her time hunting, resting and not getting into trouble. I wished that she could have been here with me. But I thought that it would be too much to ask for one more Crystal for my dog. Though Glozeysk Bullkorgs were bred to fight the creatures of Decay, they didn’t have a total, but only improved resistance to it. And no matter how you looked at it, they were more suitable for protecting the living lands from the decayed creatures that had crossed the border.
By the way, it was funny that Vella wasn’t marked as my pet in my interface. There was also no such notion as a “team” in this dark game. Although we travelled together, nobody offered me to join their “team”, and I didn’t have such an opportunity either — I checked. It followed from this that alliances were voluntary, and that XP was shared equally among those who attacked and killed a mob. It applied not only to people, but to the dog, too. So, from the game’s prospective, Vella and I had equal rights when travelling together. Just like the people that were now surrounding me. By the way, when we had set off from the Ekheim’s stables, the frames of my four companions became green instead of the usual grey.