The Secret of the Dark Forest ( (The Way of the Shaman: Book #3) Read online

  “Now we come to the main point of putting someone on this blacklist. As soon as someone from the clan runs across the player on this official list, they must do all they can to send that player for respawn. They would not be penalized with a PK mark and would be able to do this even inside a town. Members of other clans or unaffiliated players will receive a message that the Dark Legion clan will pay them 5000 Gold for killing you. The Heralds are responsible for ensuring that clan members comply with the compulsory attack policy. They will also count the number of times you're killed by other players. Even the safe zones are ineffective against the official list. This blacklist is very popular with those who wish to punish some particular person. It is expensive, of course, but sometimes it's worth it. There are around forty thousand players in my clan, with an average level of 137. You have a day to run and hide. In the following two weeks our people will be looking for you very thoroughly. As soon as the Reputation of each person that signed under the list gets reduced to Hatred, you will be removed from the blacklist automatically, if I do not do so earlier. But that's never going to happen." Evolett looked like the cat that got the cream; "That's all from me."

  "Evolett, what are you up to?" came Anastaria's subdued whisper. So that's that. She was no longer interested in Mahan-the-Dragon; she had to get to the bottom of whatever plot the leader of Number Twos had concocted.

  "You'll find out soon enough, my dear." Evolett gave another radiant smile. "Mahan, you're really quite a find! You've gained positive Reputation with so few Malabar factions – and all of them exactly the ones I was after!"

  "Mahan, the Emperor wishes to speak with you." With all this talk I hadn't even noticed that a Herald had appeared next to me.

  "Yes, of course," I mumbled, but before I could step into the portal, I was stopped by a gentle touch from Mirida. Everyone seemed to have completely forgotten about her.

  "Wait – " Mirida bit her lip, as if trying to come to a hard but necessary decision. She finally breathed out, leant over to me and quickly blurted out, "I want to tell you why I came to Beatwick. It doesn't matter what you'll think of me, but you ought to know the truth. My name is Marina. Yes, that very same," she said when she saw my reaction. "I'm marking a spot on the map, let's meet up when there's a chance. Please come. There is a lot I must tell you." A message flashed before my eyes; a location somewhere near Anhurs had been marked on my map. "If you don’t turn up, I'll understand, but give me a chance to explain, please!" Marina let go of my hand and stepped aside. It was just as well that I was already pumped full of emotions by this point, so I took the news that I was looking at the cause of my eight-year prison sentence calmly enough.

  "A day, Mahan, you have a day," repeated Evolett, "then the hunt will begin!" It came out rather overplayed and over the top, like a villain in an old film giving his final speech. I don't know why, but it made me smile. Bearing in mind that all of this was being recorded on video and would be uploaded for public viewing, I knew the Dark Legion clan would be looking forward to some dark times. A bit of a tautology there. Putting a low-level player on an official blacklist just for successfully directing an inter-clan raid looked stupid and cast the clan in an extremely unfavorable light. But Evolett didn't look like a stupid man and he had probably thought this through in advance.

  "Please wait here." As soon as I stepped out of the portal, the Herald gave me a few minutes to look around and enjoy the view of the Palace after its 'rearrangement' by Geranika. Even in this sorry state, the Malabar Emperor's residence was magnificent: the stones, the dust, the pockmarked walls and broken statues scattered around the territory – all this destruction only underlined the excellence of the spectacle. You got the feeling that it took several teams of designers to achieve the proper 'ruined palace' look.

  "I even somewhat regret that I didn't see all this splendor in its better days," came the words of the former Beatwick Headman, the ex-Master of the Empire of Kartoss and the current Emperor of Malabar as he walked up to me. "You have to give it to the previous Emperor , he had taste. Come, it's time to reward our hero."

  I don't know what it was: the destroyed palace or the moon being in Aquarius, but as I walked behind the Emperor, I totally failed to experience any excitement over the anticipated bonuses. I had a feeling that my inner zoo was immediately disheartened and succumbed to apathy. The Hoarding Hamster was an especially sorry sight: under normal circumstances he should have been flying after the Emperor, trying to get his paws on all possible bonuses and stuffing them in his pockets. Far from it! He was sitting and gazing sadly at the downcast Greed Toad, barely holding back his tears. I opened my quest log and scanned through its contents to stave off the infectious melancholy:

  'Night Terror of the Village.' Rare. Completed. Reward: +400 Reputation with the Krong Province, +500 Experience, +80 Silver Coins, a Rare Item from Headman's Stores.

  'Search for the Dark Coordinator.' Unique. Completed. Reward: +4000 Reputation with the Malabar Empire, +4000 Experience, +10,000 Gold Coins, a Scaling Item from the Emperor's stores.

  'The Last Hope. Step 3.' Rare. (Time until the wolves respawn: 2 months, 21 days.)

  'The Eye of the Dark Widow.' The Quest will become available at level 100. Legendary.

  'The Way of the Shaman: Step 3: Completion of the trial to become a Great Shaman'. Class-based.

  'Restoration of Justice.' Class-based. Unique.

  I was about to remove the Wolf Quest, but something within me objected. You don't just ditch quest chains. It's not like I have to feed it or as if there's a limit on the number of quests. At the same time, it would be very interesting to see what crazy things the developers cooked up with this quest chain. Pulling out those arrows was something else! Just remembering it made me shudder. In all likelihood it comes with a pleasant reward at the end, even if it's a low-level one. The happy squeak of the Hamster, who caught a whiff of a bonus, was barely audible. My brain gears seemed totally out of whack!

  'Restoration of Justice' is a good quest, but to complete it, I would have to hike all the way to Serrest Province, where my Reputation is at Hatred, thanks to its Governor. I wondered if my Reputation with the Governor could be higher than with that of the Province itself. Would they kick me out straight away or would I actually have a chance to speak to Prontho? I guess I'll find out when I get there.

  It will still be a while until I'm able to do the 'Eye of the Dark Widow' quest. Two quests are completed, so it looks like I have nothing left aside from the 'Path of the Shaman' and 'Restoration of Justice'. According to the timer, the trial for becoming the Great Shaman was still 2 months away. Even that made me a bit sad. In Beatwick I started to feel like a protagonist in global game events, but as soon as it was all over, I immediately turned back into a standard ordinary player, of which there's a multitude in Barliona. Once again, I became one of the many.

  Other than access to the palaces, there are no benefits aside from the positive regard of the Emperor and the Dark Lord. With my level of Reputation I could only walk around the Palace, watch it being restored and regain its former brilliance, and watch covetously as Anastaria and Hellfire receive unique and rewarding quests. There was little doubt that the entire Phoenix leadership had gained Esteem with the Emperor.

  The Emperor took me to a small room lit by a couple of torches. Aside from a hint of daylight from a narrow window, the place was submerged in gloom. A small wooden table on curved legs was the only object that interrupted the surrounding emptiness. I would never have thought that such rooms could exist in the palace ...

  "From what I've come to know of you, you have no special need of elaborate rewards." The Emperor smiled and picked up a scroll from the table: "You are being given this item for completing the 'Night Terror of the Village' assignment. I no longer hold the position of the Headman, but I can't fail to reward the man who found my Sklic. You did a good job." With these words Naahti handed me the scroll.

  Reward for the 'Night Terror of the Village'
Quest: +400 Reputation with the Krong Province, +500 Experience, +80 Silver Coins, Jewelcraft Recipe 'Malachite Jewelry Box with Lapis Inlays.'

  I quickly learned the recipe, opened the recipe book and looked at its description:

  Malachite Jewelry Box with Lapis Inlays.

  Description: A neat and sturdy box for jewelry. Can carry 10 items. Crafting stat bonus: the box can carry an additional (Crafting) number of items. Item class: Rare. Minimum level: 50.

  Crafting requirements: minimum Jewelcraft level 40.

  Ingredients: 2 pieces of Malachite, 2 pieces of Lapis Lazuli, 4 Bronze Wires.

  Instruments: Jeweler's tools.

  Well ... that'll do, I guess. On the one hand, it's a new recipe, on the other ... a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping for more. The expression on my face made the Emperor laugh:

  "You definitely need to work on controlling your emotions better. You look like someone just offered you something disagreeable. Bear in mind that the assignment to find the Sklic could have been removed altogether as soon as the battle started in Beatwick, but I decided to leave it in place. Now let's move on to a reward that should be more to your liking: the search for the former me.

  Reward for 'The Search for the Dark Coordinator' Quest. +4000 Reputation with the Malabar Empire, +4000 Experience, +10,000 Gold Coins, a Scaling Item from the Emperor's stores (the choice of the item is up to you).

  I noticed that exactly 10,000 Gold coins fell into my purse. It turned out that this amount was already free of the usual Imperial tax. I quickly tried to calculate what it should have been in the first place, but couldn't come up with a round number, only fractions. Never mind.

  "There are five items on the table that would suit you," continued the Emperor. "You can choose one of them. You wouldn't be able to buy these items from Thricinians even if your reputation with them was Exulted. You will be able to see the properties of the items only after you make your choice, so choose carefully."

  No looking at their properties? How the heck am I supposed to make a choice like this? Five items were lying on the table in a neat row: a Shaman's Hat with horns, like the one Almis had; a feathered Cloak, almost identical to the one I was wearing; Boots; Pants; and Bracers. Disbelieving the Emperor, I checked the properties of each item, but they really were hidden. How to make a choice? My spirits sunk even further. How long can I keep playing these guessing games? Bah! They can go to hell with their rewards!!

  "I respectfully decline your gift," I said, firmly returning the Emperor's gaze. "I refuse to make an uninformed decision. It's better to refuse everything than forever regret picking the worst out of the lot. I would like to thank the Emperor for this opportunity, but no – I will not choose."

  "Your choice has been made," the Emperor replied calmly and immediately the table with all the items disappeared. "The Heralds will see you out."

  My Hoarding Hamster lifted his head, looked me in the eye and then let it drop again. He had no fight left in him.

  "Mahan! You're here!" As soon as we left the room, Tisha suddenly appeared next to us. "Father, have you thought of a reward for him?"

  "He refused it," the Emperor replied just as calmly. "Mahan thinks that the Emperor is unworthy of granting him a reward."

  "Mahan," Tisha froze next to me, astonished, "is this true?"

  I don't think I like the direction that this conversation is taking – the Intellect Imitator is doing a great job of making me look like an obnoxious and ungrateful bastard who rudely refused a gift. In your dreams! I happen to be capable of standing up for myself! I took out five cursed rings and, after hiding their properties, handed them to Tisha.

  "Choose one and put it on, without looking."

  "But, they can't be 'read'!" said the girl in surprise.

  "Exactly. Just choose one and put it on."

  Tisha took one of the rings, which reduced Strength by 5%, put it on her finger and exclaimed:

  "It's a Cursed Ring! Mahan! What is the meaning of this?"

  As soon as the ring was put on, its properties became accessible to the wearer. Tisha angrily pulled off the ring and threw it towards me.

  "Why did you do that? I trusted you! You ..."

  "Hold on, Tisha," the Emperor interrupted her and turned to address me: "Open the properties of the other rings and hand them over to me."

  There didn't seem anything wrong with Naahti's request, so I picked up the ring Tisha threw down and dropped it together with the rest into the Emperor's hand.

  "Did you make them?" The Emperor took a careful look at each ring.

  "Yes. I made them from the materials gathered in Beatwick, but after the Inverters did their job only items like these came out, no matter what I did."

  "What do you plan to do with them?"

  "I'll take them to Elizabeth. She can bless them, they're quite useless otherwise."

  "Do you still have any of the amulets that you made in Beatwick?" The former Headman kept up his confounding line of questioning. Something began to stir in me that I thought was gone forever – genuine interest. What can the Emperor want with my rings and Amulet? Strange.

  "Yes, here it is." I took out the Novice's Amulet out of the bag and handed it to Naahti. I thought that as soon as he took the Amulet, he would immediately turn into a Vagren, but Emperors were immune to such things by the looks of it. Naahti gave me back four rings, leaving only one for himself. He took it in one hand and the Amulet in the other and then did something I thought completely impossible. He combined them together. A bright sun shone through his hands and when the glow faded both the ring and the Amulet disappeared, as if they never existed. A pleased smile appeared on the Emperor's face.

  "Dad?" Tisha was looking wide-eyed at her father, "You just ..."

  "Destroyed something that belonged to another?" The Emperor raised an eyebrow. "I know. Mahan's losses will be reimbursed. A hundred Gold for the ring and a thousand for the Amulet." As soon as he uttered those words I received a message that 770 Gold had fallen into my purse. "But that's not the important part. Firstly, Mahan showed me that I was wrong to offer him a blind choice and, secondly, I have an assignment for him."

  "A blind choice?" asked Tisha.

  "Yes. I offered him a choice of five items with concealed properties. He refused to choose. Now I understand why. It seems that he hasn't forgotten who I was before becoming Emperor, so his suspicions are not groundless." I was lucky that the Emperor was so clever. He came up with the reason, explained it and, most importantly, believed in what he was saying. I was slowly coming back to normal and was hit by the horrible realization how my refusal must have looked. Here was a prideful Shaman, turning his nose up at the gifts of the Emperor. I was lucky not to get docked Reputation points for this.

  "You've shown me that I was wrong," continued the Emperor, "so we should once again return to the reward. This time you will have no choice: I will decide what your reward should be. But this can wait. I can't stop thinking of the chess pieces standing in the main hall. They could've only been created by a Cursed Artificer. Did you hold such a title?"

  I nodded, not understanding where the Emperor was going with all of this. And why did he say 'did' rather than 'do'?

  "The Amulet of the Novice of Eluna could be made by any sentient that has a positive reputation with the priestesses. But you were a Cursed Artificer, therefore, in order to create such a thing, you had to become a Blessed Artificer. Is that the case?"

  I nodded once again, beginning to lose track with all these Artificers. There were altogether too many of them.

  "Dad, I really don't understand what this is all about," said Tisha, who was still standing next to us. Truth be told, she was voicing my thoughts too – I had no idea what it was that the Emperor wanted.

  "Come," the Emperor waved his hand and a portal opened nearby, "I must show you something."

  You have gained access to the Emperor's Throne Room. Current level of Palace access: 46%. Next interior: The Emperor's Of
fice.

  I waved away the message – for which many players would have easily given two years of play – and stepped into the portal. What was it that Naahti needed?

  The answer was very unusual: a dagger was stuck right in the center of the throne. I could tell that this was a Cursed Object without even looking at its properties. The waves of darkness emanating from the dagger were being contained by statuettes of Eluna placed around the throne.

  "A present for the future Emperor from Geranika," explained Naahti. "No-one can touch the dagger – neither the Emperor nor the Dark Lord. It can only be destroyed by combining it with a holy object, as I have just done, but there are very few of these throughout the Empire and all of these are located in temples. Neither the throne nor those objects can be moved, otherwise they will lose their properties. The new High Priestess has shielded the effect of the dagger on the Palace, but I cannot take my throne. An Emperor cannot exist for long without his throne. In four months' time I will disappear."

  "No!" came a cry from Tisha.

  "Calm down, my dear. Not all is lost. In a week I will gather all the heroes of the Empire and ask for their help. According to these scrolls," – some scrolls appeared in the Emperor's hands – "a lost Relic of Light is located somewhere in the depths of the Free Lands. With its help it will be possible to destroy this dagger. The heroes will have to meet very strict requirements, including a minimal level of 200. Their Reputation with the Emperor will not be a factor – I am prepared to meet any exiles half way and give them a second chance. Although I'll weigh up all the pros and cons first..."