Winds of Fate Page 33

  “Yeah, I just happened to get it.”

  “Sure, sure,” Miurat replied with a smile. “Hey, you came here from the North, right?”

  “Not exactly,” I answered evasively. “But yeah, sort of.”

  “What’s going on up there? They say there’s a horde of NPCs being gathered by the koning—”

  “König,” I corrected him automatically.

  “Right, the könig is marshaling everyone and heading off for the Ice Wall. Is that true?”

  “Who knows? I’ve just been bouncing around the burgs earning my reputation.” It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him; just…caution is the better part of valor.

  “Strange. I heard people say you visited the könig’s palace a few times. You even saved his daughter, and you went with the sea battle instead of how everyone else does it?”

  “Yeah, I did.” I allowed a little pride to creep into my voice. “But I finished that quest three days ago, and I haven’t been to the palace since. Plus, the quest is standard, and I had a bunch of our clan members with me.”

  Miurat and Romuil glanced at each other. I didn’t like the look of that, and so I plastered a naïve smile on my face. “But hey, if there’s something going on in the North, I should get involved—maybe I can earn a reputation bump. You were right, Miurat, about how important your reputation is up there.”

  “If you find anything out, give me a yell. Maybe we’ll come up and join you.” Miurat smiled even wider.

  “Of course, buddy!” My grin spread from ear to ear, and I clapped him on the shoulder. “That goes without saying.”

  Romuil nodded, and the pair headed off.

  When they were already a few strides away, Miurat turned and looked at me thoughtfully. “Interesting how that happens. Just a couple weeks ago I told you about reputations in the North and how hard they are to earn, and now you’re traipsing in and out of the könig’s palace as if you own the place. Interesting…”

  And away he went, the bastard, leaving me to grind my teeth. What really got under my skin was that I’d freely admitted how friendly I was with the könig.

  They were a tricky pair; that was for sure. And it was a shame how fast the news about the North got out. Or maybe that’s a blessing in disguise? Is it better to hide in the shadows or in plain sight? In plain sight. Okay, wait a minute…

  “We need to talk,” a very familiar voice said as someone laid a soft hand on my shoulder. Could everyone just leave my shoulders alone?

  “Who needs to?” I asked Elina wearily. “You need to? I definitely don’t need anything. Wouldn’t you say that all we’ve been doing lately is sorting out our relationship? Soon, every time I come across you in the game, it’ll be a new episode in some soap opera, something like the Loved and the Loving.”

  “What love? Have you completely lost it this time?” Elina’s eyes flashed.

  “What else could it be? Why else would you be all over me like this constantly?” I looked at her innocently. “If you like me, just come out and say it.”

  Elina quietly breathed through her nose and cracked her knuckles.

  “I just need you, I’ve needed you for a while, and I don’t even know what you look like in real life,” she muttered. “Why did you lie to me?”

  “Me? What did I lie about?” I really did need clarification because I’d lied to her about multiple things—but not everything. And not all the time.

  “You said you didn’t get an invitation.”

  “Milly, my dear, can you come here for a minute?” I waved to Milly Re, who was shouting about something as she danced in the middle of the courtyard with a mage dressed in incredibly gaudy clothes.

  “Hagen, come on, let’s dance,” she said as she ran over, her eyes gleaming.

  “Milly, guys don’t dance.” I shook my head reproachfully. “Would you do me a favor? Tell Elina why I’m here.”

  Milly cheerfully ran through the whole story, not forgetting to mention that I’d immediately brought up my dear clan leader. She stuck a rosy tongue out at me and dashed off.

  “Does that answer your question?” I looked at Elina.

  She nodded. “Completely.”

  “Then let’s talk about us.”

  “About us?” Elina stared at me in surprise.

  “Yes. Put it this way, I can’t think of a single time we’ve met recently where nothing happened. If we were media personalities, we’d be enough to keep half a dozen reporters employed. Know what I mean?”

  “It’s not my fault that you’re constantly making me put you in your place,” Elina said, jumping straight into one of her rabbit holes. “Did someone force you to wish the Witch a happy birthday in the name of the clan? That should have been me up there.”

  “The situation forced my hand.” The truth was on my side this time. “Do I have to find someone else to prove that to you or are you just going to believe me this time? The Witch saw me and announced that I was from our clan. What was I supposed to do? Say that I’ll wait until you show up before wishing her a happy birthday? The clan would have looked great then. Am I wrong?”

  “No, you’re right,” Elina replied unwillingly. “What did you give her? What kind of scroll was it?”

  “An archer ability, Level 120+,” I said with a sigh. “I could’ve gotten so much for that thing…”

  Something gurgled in Elina’s throat, and she took a deep breath. “Why wasn’t it in the clan storehouse? Think carefully before you answer, and this might be a good time to lie.”

  “What’s there to lie about?” I replied, confused. “And why should it have been in the clan storehouse? I got it fair and square, it was a reward for a quest.”

  “Things like that are always turned over to the clan storehouse.” Elina’s voice was beginning to ring again. “They’re property of the clan, not the player. And what was the quest?”

  “Why?” I answered calmly. “I didn’t get the scroll in a clan raid or a new dungeon; I got it playing solo. Why should I give it to someone else? I mean, if you’re trying to say the clan would have bought it off me, okay. But just handing over something you won in battle? Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

  “This won’t mean anything to you, but the clan is gathering strength for a leap forward, and we have a shot at the top of the leaderboard—”

  “No, you don’t,” I replied, looking at Elina pityingly. “Clans are people, first and foremost. What strength are you going to gather? That Iron Doofus? You pushed out all the best warriors in your pursuit of glory, and you’ve changed, too. You didn’t use to be in hysterics like this all the time. Everyone’s laughing at you.”

  “Let them laugh.” Her jaw clenched. “You know who laughs loudest, don’t you? And the ones who left were weak. Just weak.”

  “Elina, you forgot that we’re all here to have fun—there’s really no other way to play. But you’re playing the game for the sake of the game now. And even that would be fine, if it weren’t going to become your life soon enough. Is your life worth playing away?”

  “This is everything I have,” she said quietly. “And listen carefully; don’t get in my way. If you don’t want to turn something over to the treasury, fine—don’t. If you want to live however you want and ignore the clan rules, go for it. Just don’t ruin what I’m building, please.”

  “No offense, but I feel sorry for you. If you could just hear yourself,” I said, taking her by the shoulder. “You need to spend some time in the real world, find yourself a good guy, and let him clear your head of all this. Go to the movies, or maybe the planetarium. Or even a museum—go see what a mammoth tusk looks like.”

  “Okay, invite me to go to the planetarium. I was just there recently, but I’d go again. The movies would be even better though since I haven’t gone out to see anything in forever.” Elina looked me in the eye. “What do you say?”

  I let her go and spread my arms.

  “I can’t. I said you need to find a nice guy, but I didn’t mean me.
I already have a girlfriend, and she’s great, if a bit young and sometimes naïve.”

  “See? You don’t need me either. Nobody needs me. So, I’ll keep working here, and I’ll walk over or kill anyone I have to. Again, don’t get in my way.”

  “Elina, I’ve never once tried to keep you from anything. Never. Sometimes, it just happened that way, and you made the rest up yourself. Put it this way, why would I get in your way? What’s in it for me? I even let your guy Hopkins go. Nicely.”

  “Yeah, right, you let him go.” Elina giggled unexpectedly. “He was cursing up a storm so bad that he had me scared. Your ruffians spent the whole way deciding how they were going to take him, either from the back or the front, and they were so serious about it that he believed them. And then, when he thought they were about to kill him, they just gave him a kick in the ass as hard as they could.”

  “But he’s okay? They didn’t take him after all?” I asked, surprised. “So what’s the problem?”

  “It was humiliating! That’s just the kind of person he is. And watch your back—he’s vindictive, too.”

  I nodded. We looked at each other, and then Elina headed toward the fun and wine. I couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.

  “Elina!” I called after her. “Hold on a second.”

  She stopped and turned around.

  “You want to just finish this once and for all? Kick me out and be done with it. Hell, you can kick me out dishonorably if you want. You’ll remember, I never really wanted to be in, you’re really the only one who knows me, and everyone I’ve spent time with already left. Just put a nail in it, and we’ll call it a day. That way, nobody will get in anyone’s way.”

  “No,” Elina answered sharply. “We still need you.”

  “The clan does, or you do?”

  “It doesn’t have to be one or the other. Anyway, I said everything I wanted to say, so we’re done here.”

  She spun around and walked quickly away.

  Milly came over.

  “What was that about? She looked as pale as a ghost.”

  “Ah, she’s just mad that I wished your clan leader a happy birthday without her.”

  “Does she have nothing better to do?” Milly winked at me. “So, what about that dance?”

  “Why not?” I held a hand out to her. “Let’s raise the roof.”

  An hour later, I left the party and ported to Kayger, opting not to wait for the fireworks and pet competition. Obviously, I said goodbye to the Gray Witch before I did. There was one thing I needed to take care of, and time was running out.

  ***

  Vika was already at home, judging by the sound of the dishes and the singing in the kitchen. The whole thing was soothing, and I was struck yet again by a nagging thought, Why not?

  Zimin answered the phone after the third ring.

  “Kif, is this important?”

  “Well, sort of. Depends on what you compare it to.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Here’s the thing, everyone’s going up North. I think by this time on Thursday, we’ll have quite the crowd of players up there, and everyone’s going to want to get involved.”

  “No news there,” Zimin replied quickly. “And?”

  “That’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I’d rather not have witnesses; on the other, nobody will notice me with that many players around. But I won’t be able to finish the quest either way since Fomor has to die. If someone else kills him, the whole thing will be for nothing…”

  “Not at all. As soon as he dies, the location will be available for looting. Anyone can loot it, so, you won’t be able to just jump in and get what you need.”

  “That’s different then,” I said, crestfallen. “That changes things. My plan won’t work now.”

  “You have a plan?” I heard irony in Zimin’s voice.

  “Of course,” came my laughing reply.

  “Tell me about it. Kit is right here, so I’m going to put you on speakerphone.”

  “Hey, Kif,” Valyaev said, as upbeat as ever.

  “Hi. Okay, so if you can’t stop something, what’s the best thing to do?”

  “Let me think,” responded Zimin. “Take charge, I guess. How original of you—you want to take command? I doubt you’ll be able to do that.”

  “Not take command, just guide things along. From the outside, preferably; I mean, you probably have people you pay on the forums to guide things along. They post what you want people to hear and all that, right?”

  “That wasn’t very tactful of you,” Zimin scolded me.

  “Oh, come on, he wasn’t born yesterday. Yes, of course, we do,” Valyaev jumped in.

  “I thought so. Okay, so I need them to get the community thinking about two things in the next couple days. First, that it’s going to be a ton of fun, really incredible—rumor has it there’s an event going on, but it’s just for NPCs. A test for a new mega-quest. Second, that everything worth seeing will be happening around the Ice Wall, but not inside it. Inside, there will be a bunch of NPCs, and if anyone dies inside, they bite the dust right there and lose everything they have with them forever. And there’s no loot there. Nothing at all. Then Fomor’s guard needs to all be made NPCs relevant to this. There’ll be some idiots out there who can’t read or don’t believe what they read, and they need to be taken out the second they kill any of the guardsmen.”

  “And you…”

  “I’ll go inside with all the NPCs, and nothing will happen to me.”

  “Some people will break in just to see what’s going on,” said Valyaev. “Lots of curious players out there…”

  “Okay, then can we make a solo location for me and the NPCs?”

  “That will raise questions, and someone will definitely notice,” Zimin replied. “We need to stay out of this—you’re the one who doesn’t want to get burnt.”

  “Hmm. Oh, there’s an idea!” I could hear Valyaev snap his fingers. “There’s an NPC magician I stuck in one of the burgs for a quest we were looking at. I’ll send him to the könig and have him seal the entrance to the palace, I don’t know…maybe with Impenetrable Curtain. That should take care of it. Whoever goes in with the könig will be fine, and everyone else will be stuck outside. If a few players make it in, you can just have the NPCs take them out.”

  “The program won’t think we’re assisting him?” Zimin asked dubiously.

  “What do you mean? He’s voluntarily declining help from the rest of the players. That’s it.”

  “The game doesn’t happen to give you a bonus for that, does it?” I asked.

  “You get a certificate and a trip to Siberia. A bonus…” muttered Zimin. “Do you like the car?”

  “Oh, right, thanks so much.” I suddenly felt self-conscious about the fact that I’d forgotten to say anything. “It’s exactly what the doctor ordered.”

  “Excellent.” I could feel Zimin smiling.

  We said goodbye, and I rubbed my hands in satisfaction. The area in front of the palace would be free of players, that much I was sure of. The main part was making sure nobody snuck into the cave ahead of time. But what’s the point if there’s no loot and no fun to be had?

  I spent the next two days at work, figuring that there wasn’t anything for me to do in the game and logging in would have just been inviting another of those “adventures” down on my head.

  Yet another Fayroll Times was released to fanfare and trumpets. From what we were seeing on the forums, we’d finally narrowed things down to the columns people wanted to read by getting rid of the least popular of them. In a word, we’d found our reader.

  ***

  But all good things must come to an end, and that Friday morning, I was standing in the main Kayger square looking wonderingly at everything that was going on. It was impressive. There was a crowd of players—at least 3,000 of them, I estimated, and their number was growing. Portals flashed everywhere, releasing new waves of adventurers into the burg. The NPCs looked around warily and jack
ed up the prices of the goods they were selling.

  It wouldn’t have been easy to find someone in the crowd, so I headed toward the rix’s house. If König Harald was anywhere in Kayger, I assumed, he’d be there.

  The house was fenced in and also surrounded by a crowd of players demanding that they be allowed to see the könig. Their reasoning didn’t tend to go much farther than, “These NPCs are crazy…are you kidding me?” The crowd was held back by some hefty Sea Kings, each lazily promising the various people in the crowd how they’d polish their faces if they kept talking like that.

  “Hagen!” I heard Gunther’s voice call. “Ha-a-agen!”

  Looking around, I saw my friend, although I only recognized him by his armor—his visor, for some reason, was lowered. He was standing on a small stone ledge not far from the fence around the könig’s temporary residence.

  Thank God, one person I know, at least, I said to myself as I walked over. “Did something happen to your face? Why are you shutting the world out like that?”

  Gunther quietly stepped to the side, and I saw Flosy lying on a stone a few yards behind him next to some kind of creature wearing a brown cloak. It had red hair growing from every body part I could see, and its beard made me think it was male.

  “Jarl!” bellowed Flosy, wasted out of his mind. “Our jarl is back! Now, we’ll show them! Alex, get up, let’s go see the jarl.”

  The thing got up on his stumpy legs and clumped over in my direction. The wave of stink that hit me more than just stunned me; it ravaged everyone within several steps of where we were standing. Flosy, by comparison, smelled like a bed of roses.

  “What is that?” I jumped away. “Or who?”

  “This is who the könig found to replace Flosy in his palace,” came Gunther's muffled reply from inside his helmet. “And Flosy decided to bring him along so he could share some of his experience with him. Also because he wanted a drinking buddy.”

  “Flosy, what are you doing?” I roared. “We’d barely gotten used to you, and now we have to deal with this?”

  “Jarl,” the creature lisped, quickly pulling a few strands of his beard out of his mouth. Unfortunately, that didn’t make his speech any more intelligible. “Jarl…mph…dran…geni…life to…ugh.”