Winds of Fate Read online

“Innkeeper! You devil’s spawn! Why is my jarl sitting with your whore—who’s slender as an oar and scary as my life, I might add—and still sober? Do I need to slice open your intestines, or are you going to fix your mistake?”

  Elina was about to explode again, and I was starting to worry for Flosy, when the tavern owner walked over. He looked her over and replied to Flosy. “She isn’t my whore. He must have picked her up somewhere in the city, so, shut up! What would you like to drink, hofðing?”

  “Two ales,” I said shortly. Elina was silent, the result, I thought, of falling into a light stupor.

  “Anyway,” I started off when the innkeeper walked away, “about those secrets—I don’t know what you’re talking about. My secrets are the clan’s secrets I learned accidentally. The only thing between me and the Hounds is a friendship that was your doing. Glen’s cloak? That was a present he gave me after a few of his warriors had a lapse in judgment. If you need any details about that, just ask Fitz or Miurat. And as far as the invitation is concerned, I haven’t gotten one. Strange, incidentally.”

  “Really? You haven’t?” Elina looked at me closely.

  “I swear on my mother,” I replied with authority. “If you have some with you, sprinkle a little of that truth powder on me.”

  “That’s funny; I didn’t get one either,” Elina said. “Okay, we’ll see what happens. If they send you an invitation, let me know.”

  “All right.” I nodded. “By the way, what you said about participating in the life of the clan? Let’s do it. I’d like to offer the clan a chance to participate in a sea battle with the Sea Kings, complete with a boarding and the daring rescue of a young girl.”

  “What girl?” Elina asked, staring at me. “Are you out of your mind? Who are you boarding?”

  “A perfectly fine girl, the daughter of old Harald, the local könig. The day after tomorrow, there will be a battle to recapture her. Would the clan like to join us? I can’t invite everyone, but you can bring a good fifteen people with you. You won’t get a quest or experience either; it’ll just be a chance to see what happens and join the fight. It’s going to be fun!”

  “Oh, right, saving the könig’s daughter, I remember that…” Elina said slowly. “But why is everything happening at sea? Isn’t she supposed to be in a cave? Is the quest a raid?”

  “Supposed to be, yes, but that’s not how it turned out.” I was just as surprised as she was, but I made sure not to give that away. “There’s a sea battle this time, a quest variation. But no, it’s definitely not a raid. I’ll be going with or without you. I just thought it might be fun for you guys; it isn’t every day you get to board a ship.”

  “I guess they added a patch that changed the quest,” nodded Elina. “Okay, where should we go and when should we be there?”

  “Well, there’s just one thing.” I frowned slightly and waited for Elina’s inquiring glance before explaining. “It costs 20,000 gold.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  In which the hero wraps up a few loose ends.

  Poor Elina looked strained to the breaking point. She took a few deep breaths to calm the fury building inside her and even closed her eyes in an attempt to keep the fire in them from singeing me. Sadly, it was all to no effect.

  “Twenty thousand?” she asked, hissing rather than yelling. That hiss, however, had so much emotional power behind it that I suddenly had the urge to pull out my sword. “I guess that’s what you’re charging for the show? Does that include popcorn and drinks?”

  “What are you talking about, boss?” I didn’t even have to fake my fright, although I wasn’t backing down on my idea. “Are you kidding? When have I ever charged my people for anything?”

  “Then what’s the 20,000 gold for?” There was enough poison in Elina’s voice to kill a herd of elephants.

  “It’s an entry fee, basically. The free tramps don’t want to chase down the girl’s kidnappers on open water for free.”

  “Could we skip all your little allegories?” Elina frowned.

  “Okay,” I agreed. “The sea jarls are prepared to help intercept the kidnappers of the könig’s daughter, but only for a fee: 20,000 gold. I don’t have that kind of money, and who should I come to if not my own clan? Other clans? The könig’s a miser who definitely won’t pony up.”

  “And so you called up your clan. I was right all along—why would Hagen just do something for us out of the goodness of his heart? No, it’s the usual story; you just ran out of money.”

  “Why do you have to look at it like that?” I added a little resentment for good measure. “I could easily find the money without our clan—you know that. There are plenty of players out there who wouldn’t mind helping, not to mention other clans.”

  “For example, Milly Re?” Elina asked with exaggerated agreement in her voice. “You asked her to go with you to Sviss’s cave, not us. Because, really, why would your clan possibly want to go through an epic dungeon? There are other clans out there, right?” Her sarcasm was reaching the point that I thought she would explode.

  I had nothing to say there. The truth would have meant prolonging the argument and losing 20,000 gold that I needed and had already pocketed mentally. I mean, not their money exactly, but still. But what if I lie? The crazier it is, as they say…

  “Yes, I asked her to go with me,” I responded brazenly. “It’s not like real life, where you give girls flowers. In here, you can give them a dungeon. I really like her, and I needed a way to make an impression, so I gave her a trip through Sviss’s caves. I like her, okay? As a woman.”

  Elina gurgled, and it struck me that she looked like a crab with Graves’ disease. She was pale, her eyes were popping out, and it didn’t look like she was breathing.

  Flosy happened to glance over in time to see her face, hiccupped, looked down at the row of empty mugs in front of him, and mumbled something like, “I need to stop drinking so much.”

  The show was interrupted by von Richter’s appearance in the tavern. “Laird Hagen, we’re all good with money,” he announced, sitting down. “To be honest with you, I was almost sure Brother Yur wouldn’t give it to us, but we got really lucky. It happened that van Aikhenwald, himself, was there and personally ordered Brother Yur to pay for such a good deed. Even our accountants are afraid of him.”

  Gunther smiled complacently before noticing the still-silent Elina. “And who is the lady? You poor thing, are you feeling sick? It’s probably just your thyroid acting up. Laird, I’ve always known you had a big heart, but taking this unlucky woman off the street and feeding her? We should give her a little money so she can visit a healer. I think I have some on me.”

  Elina went from white to red, though she still refused to say anything.

  Gunther smiled and continued. “My name is Gunther von Richter, a Knight Templar of the Tearful Goddess Order. What’s your name, you poor child?”

  I choked on my laughter, Elina on her rage. We were both quiet, and simple-hearted Gunther misinterpreted our silence.

  “Ah, you poor dear, you’re mute, too. Or,” he continued, leaning over and loudly whispering in my ear, “is she, alas, not well in the head?”

  Thank God, that pushed Elina to the point where she opened her mouth. “Hagen, …who…is…this?” she asked, emphasizing every word.

  “Allow me to introduce you,” I replied quietly, doing my best to maintain control of my voice and avoid ruining the Homeric scene. “Elina the Wise, head of the Thunderbirds clan, to which I have the honor of belonging…”

  Elina bowed her head, hiding for a second the fire in her eyes.

  “Gunter von Richter, Knight of the Temple, Chapter Member of the Tearful Goddess Order.”

  The knight got up and bowed deeply, obviously feeling uncomfortable and trying to quickly make up for his misstep. Sadly, he just made things worse for me.

  “My apologies, fair lady. Your unpretentious attire prompted me to think that you were a tramp my friend decided to feed out of the goodness of his
heart. Again, I am sorry.”

  “No. I’m not a tramp,” croaked Elina. I saw her about ready to give a finger on each hand and realized she was barely maintaining control over herself, looking, in fact, like she just might attack an NPC.

  “Excellent, so that’s settled,” I jumped in hurriedly. “How about some ale?”

  Our table shuddered just then as Flosy plopped down next to us with a message for Gunther. “Hey, my friend, stay away from this one. She’s cute, but I’m starting to wonder if she’s got the same disease all her friends have. Mark my words!”

  “Flosy, she’s a lady!” the knight answered reproachfully. “What disease are you talking about?”

  “Oh, I know what kind of lady she is. Today she’s a lady; tomorrow she’ll be anything but,” Flosy said in an accusatory tone. Shaking his head, he turned around and headed back to the other side of the room. I had no idea if I should keep him and his flapping tongue off by himself until Elina left or hold my head in my hands at the absurdity of the whole thing.

  Whatever the case, Lady Elina looked so pitiful that I decided to sweeten my offer. “See, Elina, the financial side is taken care of, though that certainly doesn’t mean you and the clan can’t come along and join the sea battle. Gunther, you wouldn’t mind if a dozen or so veteran warriors from my clan helped us out, would you? There may even be more of them. It’s just that, from what she said, it sounds like the clan is going through some hard times, so—”

  “Of course,” von Richter interrupted. “The more, the merrier, whether you’re feasting or battling.”

  Elina cleared her throat and looked us over. “Thank you, von Richter, for your concern for my health and social standing, as well as for the financial state of my clan. I think our coffers are sufficiently full to pay the necessary sum without resorting to the assistance of the Tearful Goddess Order. And now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with my friend alone.”

  “Lady Elina, I will, of course, fulfill your wishes, though I would like to note that the sum in question is not too large for the order,” the knight answered helpfully. “I greatly appreciate your pride, so if things aren’t as good as you’re saying…”

  Elina tightened her jaw to the point that her cheekbones turned white. She then smiled and softly replied to Gunther. “I can assure you that everything is fine with the clan and that the amount is not significant. It is entirely insignificant, in fact. It was very nice meeting you.”

  Gunther understood her hint correctly, pushed back his chair, and stood up. “Always at your service.” He bowed to Elina and went over to the bar.

  Flosy walked by right then, muttering to himself. “What a mess. They haven’t cleaned the toilet in weeks. It’s a disaster in there!”

  Judging by the fact that his aroma had gained a few new notes, it appeared that conclusion was based on more than observation.

  “I’m not sure what to say,” Elina told me, her voice completely calm. “You can believe me when I tell you that I can’t remember the last time I was laughed at like that. You’ll get your money by mail, and you can reply to let me know when and where our soldiers should be. As far as the loot, we’ll discuss that later. Do you have anything else to say?”

  “Yes, of course,” I quickly replied. “The loot doesn’t matter too much to me, with the exception of the könig’s daughter, of course. I should just let you know that the Sea King jarls will be taking a share as well, so we’ll only be getting part of it. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure you don’t walk away empty-handed.”

  Elina nodded.

  I continued. “For the time and place, I can tell you right now. Make sure you’re on the Falderhall wharf two days from now at 7 a.m. And don’t be late, because we won’t wait for you. But most importantly, what are you mad at me about? Okay, so a couple NPCs went a bit too far. So what? One’s a Don Quixote as pious as Mother Theresa, complete with an angelic look on his face, and the other is a toilet-cleaner. Are they really worth getting that worked up over?”

  “You’re a jackass. An idiot,” Elina said sadly. “And apparently you’re a jerk, too. See you in a couple days.”

  She stood up to walk out.

  “Hold on,” I said, getting up myself. “You were the one who wanted to meet with me to begin with. What did you need?”

  “What did I need?” She smiled unhappily. “That’s not important anymore. I don’t need anything, and especially not from you.”

  Elina spun on her heel and left the tavern.

  “She didn’t give it up?” Flosy’s stench was nastier than his question.

  “Nope.” I sighed.

  “Forget her. You’re better off without her. Here, have some ale. Oh, and can I have some more money?”

  I gave it to him, asked Gunther to make sure nothing happened to him and not let him clean the bathroom if he suddenly got the urge, promised to be right back, and cut him off when he said he had something to tell me. Then I walked out of the tavern, opened a portal to the könig’s palace, and stepped through it, hoping the 1,500 gold I spent on it wouldn’t be in vain.

  Everything was the same at the entrance: the tattooed, bearded mercenaries kept watch, though they let me in without a word that time. I guess I belong now.

  The könig wasn’t in the hall where we’d been sitting the last time, so I walked down the corridor hoping to come across a servant who could tell me where he was.

  It was like the palace had gone extinct, as it took me quite a few trips through different passages and up staircases until I finally met Magny, just as unhurried and sleepy as ever.

  “Hey, Magny,” I called to him, “where’s the könig? I’ve already worn my shoes out looking for him.”

  “Who knows?” he answered evenly. “But if I had to guess, I’d say he’s probably in the women’s quarters. I saw him going there an hour and a half ago.”

  Having said that, Magny was about to amble off when I grabbed him by the sleeve.

  “Excellent, and so could you let me know where the women’s quarters are? And how to get there?”

  Magny lazily tried to pull away but realized that wasn’t happening. I could tell he was trying to figure out if it would be easier to take me there or explain how to get there myself.

  “Let’s go; I’ll show you.”

  Ten minutes later, he stopped by a door, behind which we could hear women yelping and the könig happily growling. I banged on the door with my foot.

  “König, it’s me, from the West. The one who took Flosy off your hands.”

  “I’m busy with affairs of the state and the defense of the North,” I heard Harald’s bass voice say.

  “And working on its demographics, yes, I’m aware,” I couldn’t help but add. All the tough negotiations and conversations I’d been having were taking their toll on my patience. “I found something out about your daughter.”

  “Just a second!” he called, clearly not happy, and five minutes later, the door opened to show him standing there with a disheveled beard and an annoyed look on his face.

  “Magny, bring some beer to the hall. You, come with me.” Having given both of us our marching orders, he set off down the passage.

  He didn’t sit down at the table in the hall, instead choosing a throne on a small pedestal I hadn’t noticed earlier. The back of the throne was remarkable for the large animal skull with hefty jaws and antlers that sat atop it. The sides were decorated in a military style with a variety of sword hilts.

  The könig settled down and got comfortable before smoothing down his chin and giving me my next order. “Speak.”

  I told him everything I’d learned with the exception of who had given the order to kidnap Ulfrida, figuring that there was a time and place for everything. I also decided against giving him the exact time the operation would be starting, for fear of him heading north and taking command. The whole time I was talking, I did my best not to look above his head. The antlers looked hilariously like they were coming out of his ears.
>
  “So that’s how we’re going to get Ulfrida back with the help of the Sea Kings.”

  You completed a quest: Conversations with a Vala

  800 experience

  +1 respect among the peoples of the North

  Eivaz Rune

  If it hadn’t been for those idiot bandits, I would have leveled-up right there.

  You unlocked Runes of the North.

  To get it, collect a complete set of runes (25), which, according to legend, the gods themselves created.

  Reward:

  Title: Rune Expert

  +2 to wisdom

  Opportunity to get a quest: Rune Stone

  To see similar messages, go to the Action section of the attribute window.

  Interesting. I decided I’d have to check out that rune later.

  “Well done. Bravo. You’re dismissed. I have some state matters I need to finish up.” The könig finished his short speech and accepted the mug of ale Magny proffered, having just walked in.

  “There’s one more thing, könig. The Sea Kings aren’t in any hurry to help for free, and so they’re asking for a small fee.”

  The könig was already slurping away noisily at his drink. He pulled himself away, wiped his mouth, and as if he hadn’t heard a word I’d just said, barked another order at me. “Why are you still here? Go free my daughter!”

  “Of course, your highness!” I stood to attention. “Just as soon as you take care of the financing.”

  “What financing? What does that word even mean?” the könig asked, playing with his beard. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but, if you’re referring to money, I’ll tell you this much—the opportunity to save the daughter of your sovereign is no small reward. You really should be paying me! In the West, there aren’t even enough girls for the princes to save, so they go off wandering through the forests and mountains looking for someone to save. For free, mind you.”

  “They’re willing to give you half their kingdom, complete with those forests and mountains, if you’ll save their women,” I replied, not backing down an inch. “So why not give it a try? Your daughter doesn’t come with anything—the best-case scenario is that you’ll give me Flosy, and that will only be because you want to get rid of him.”