(World of Valdira 01) The Way of the Clan (29 page)

How do they do it? How do they manage to express such sincere emotions without sounding fake?

-
        
Oh, yes. I’m sorry I haven’t noticed as soon as I entered. You’re very pretty – I smiled again, nodded to say good-bye and walked in the shown direction.

It was easy to find the door lit by a gleaming halo. I turned a ball copper handle and fell into my new ‘private’ room. A tiny box of a room with miserable brick walls. Plain and unfriendly, but I couldn’t find a safer place… I’m in…

A flash.

Exit

Chapter 9

Hard Talks and Sweet Promises.

Plosefont - Freaks’ Plaza. Rosgard, Angry Swine and Dark Jedi.

After opening the lid and crawling out of the cocoon, I was sitting for five more minutes glaring at the wall covered by cheap wallpapers. I was recovering. Not just from the adventures experienced during the last day but also from the picturesque world of Valdira. Even at dark night there was some beauty and décor in the game.

Just a moment ago I was walking along ancient stone-block streets, looking at the starry sky, watching the pale moon lighting the sharp spires of roofs and fantastic shapes of weathercocks. I was strolling along the corridor decorated by paintings and carved wooden panels, feeling thick shaggy carpet, opening sparkling bright emerald door… and bang here I am, found myself in a grey and gloomy interior. Certainly there is also a door, but a tacky and creaking mercilessly one carelessly painted with the color that used to be white. But to open this door is less pleasant than to turn the ball copper handle and open the emerald one wide…

Feeling a bit better I stood up and shuffled to the kitchen like an old man. The kitchen was also unpleasant to look at. Again dullness all around. That’s why first of all I struck a match, lit a stove burner and turned the handle to regulate the burner intensity to the maximum. I was staring the whistling blue flame staying frozen for some minutes. Well, then I felt better. I dare say it came down. The dullness vanished not able to compete with fierce and playing colors of the flame. The kettle full-brimmed with water whistled, the water vaporizing from its bottom hissed…

I walked to the bath-room in my usual manner. Hot shower can eventually revive me and wash down sticky sweat from my body.

Twenty minutes later I was again sitting in the kitchen, sipping hot sweet tea and looking into a plate with mashed instant noodles without enthusiasm. What a disgusting thing… Just an hour ago I was sinking my teeth into mutton ribs under wonderful hot sauce and washing it down by beer and now I have to swallow these cheap noodles. I forced myself to push a couple of this ‘viand’ into my mouth and screwed up my face. Loathsome… However substantial in contrast to delicious but still virtual lamb.

Well, that won’t do. I’ve got money after all! I can put on a tracksuit and drop in the nearest 24/7 store. I can afford some nosh-up. Simple but with a taste. I can buy some pickled cucumbers, some smoked sausages and a small bottle of vodka. I deserve it anyway. And that’s a good idea to walk a bit just to make my muscles toned.

I got dressed fast and armed with no doubt legendary weapon i.e. fifty dollars I was about to open the door when I heard ear-piercing telephone ring that made me swear like hell.

-
         
Hello?

-
         
Would you like to eat anything?

-
         
Sure – I admitted unwillingly.

-
        
And how about drinking a bit? Maybe vodka. Cold one. With crunchy pickled cucumbers?

Is he a clairvoyant? Maybe all bankers are good at predicting? Possessing some extrasensory skills…

-
        
I can’t refuse it – I replied and swallowed drooling saliva convulsively.

-
        
I’m waiting for you – Gosha summed up and hanged up the receiver.

A security guard wasn’t glad to meet me as I came at late night. But he didn’t express his dissatisfaction openly as any well-disciplined server was supposed to do. He accompanied me till the necessary door, pressed the electronic door-bell button and literally handed to Gosha.

-
        
Please, come in, Ros – Gosha invited me in and immediately disappeared behind one of numerous doors – Shut the door and come into the lounge. It’s right in front of you.

-
        
Ok – I responded, pulling my trainers off my feet. I didn’t have to shut the door since the guard still standing at the door didn’t trust me to complete such an important task and close the heavy door himself almost without any noise. After smelling tasty flavors soaring in the apartment I sighed with expectation and hurried to the source.

Lounge… first it seemed to look like a football pitch. It was huge in contrast to my tiny studio-apartment. Let alone the furniture and interior. I had seen so many luxurious items in one place only in Hollywood movies about the rich. It made me dizzy, I could see the most important in the room though – a coffee-table with thick glass instead of a table-top overwhelming a dozen of plates with different delicacies.       

-
        
Please, come in, don’t stand still – Gosha flash-like as usual pushed me inside; he was holding a couple of small glasses and a frosty bottle of vodka with an intricate label. – Take any sea.

-
        
Impressing – I uttered while coming to a broad arm-chair and nodded at the table.

-
        
Yup, but it’s cold – the hefty guy winced – I didn’t have time to cook. As they say, come and have potluck with us… Come on, make yourself home. You deserve it.

-
        
Oh! – I exclaimed – Is it a bonus? I’m lovin’ it.

-
        
Yep – Gosha sneered and after digging in his pocket passed me a few green banknotes. – Here is a thousand of green. I continue paying you for your work as promised.

-
        
Thanks.

While I was putting the money into the hoody pocket with care, Gosha managed to open the bottle of vodka, pour it into small thick glass tumblers and handed me one of them.

-
        
Cheers – he said and we whipped fifty grams each.

Nice… and it’s high time to fill my empty stomach.

I dragged a plate with something like meat closer to me, grabbed a fork and took up using it like hell. Gosha was keeping pace with me in devastating the table. 

It must be a very strange and even surrealistic scene – in a luxuriously decorated lounge two guys were eating eagerly in absolute silence and looking nowhere except for their own plates. Clinking of forks and muffled chewing could be heard only. Besides, one of the eaters was dressed in expensive leisure-suit while the other was in old and wrinkled jumpsuit.

We moved on to blamestorming only after feeling full. Actually I felt sleepy as well but tried to do my best to stay awake. So did Gosha. Besides, he had baggy eyes, rough hair and three-day stubble.

While he was pouring vodka again, I couldn’t resist asking him:

-
        
It was your PC whose blue boots I was about to kiss, wasn’t it?

-
        
Yep – Gosha burst out laughing and almost spilt vodka. – First I didn’t realize what was going on at all! I got Keira’s message – everything is fine, we are going to the gates, meet us soon. I was happy about it, gathered the family, so here we are – standing, waiting, looking at the gates impatiently. And then bang! Another message from Keira – we’re running to the gates, somebody is following us but we don’t know who it is. We worried outright, stood in a combat order just in case. And then it got started. First a dead guard landed right on my head. I caught him by my assault rifle and threw him aside while losing my marbles because of misunderstanding. I didn’t have time to gather my wits after the first gift when Keira flew through the gates upside down. Thanks god, alive. I caught her and passed back to Elga, an archeress. What a fun the guys are having in the Cradle, I thought at the moment. Then you surfaced like fish at my feet. With wildness on your face, rolled eyes, and a smart cloak on you to crown it all… 

-
        
And you didn’t catch me – I summed up remembering my crazy leap – You caught everyone but for me.

-
        
Although I was standing at the gates, I’m not a goal-keeper to catch everybody in a row! – Gosha boiled over gulping another vodka. – Besides it happened so fast that I didn’t manage to consider it. I just passed Keira to my clan-mate, looked back and here you are flying into me and yelling.

-
        
Well, actually I started yelling later – I stressed out sedately – And I was rather warning not yelling.

-
        
Oh, yes, you’re right – Gosha agreed – When you cried out that Graver was climbing through the gates, I couldn’t believe my own ears. Graver in the Cradle! Holy shit! Can you imagine it?

-
        
Can I? – I re-asked him – Actually it was me who was dashing from it through the Cradle! Such a mortal marathon, damn it! I wouldn’t kill this monster even by Crashshot let alone the new PC!

-
        
You wouldn’t even close it up – Gosha shook his head – Cheers!

I grabbed the tumbler, saluted Gosha and had some more vodka. Well, I felt even better.

-
        
It has the aura of darkness, you know – Gosha was continuing meanwhile – It pulled out fifty life points in a sec. How many steps were between you when you were leaping from the gates?

-
        
About three steps, I suppose – I answered – Maybe fewer.

-
        
Lucky you are – concluded Gosha and stood up – It just didn’t have time to pump up its aura and broaden it. It’s a young one, hadn’t grown up yet. Wait here, I’ll go to the toilet and get some cold vodka on my way back.

Vodka from the toile? Hmph…

-
        
Gosha, that’s enough for me – I tried to protest.

-
        
Calm down, Ros. I’m not going to force you to drink. Or try to talk you out to know your secrets while we are drunk. I just want to relax… but to drink vodka alone… isn’t comme il faut.

-
        
Right, it’not a good idea to booze alone – I rushed to confirm his words remembering that I was going to buy a bottle of vodka to hit it in splendid solitude. Although I wasn’t going to admit that sin.

While Gosha was out I came back to my thoughts about the beast that had attacked us.

Graver…

A huge skanky monster living in the deep underworld. It moves on two legs and as for its body proportions it looks like a human but for the head. It’s a giant demoniac muzzle with flaring yellow eyes and a sharp-toothed jaw. It’s totally encased in stone armor and wrapped in special black-ink aura. An ideal disguise for dark underground tunnels. If you get into Graver’s aura, your life points start expiring fast like hell flowing to the beast. The only way out is to run as fast as you can luckily the monster is rather slow.

It’s good that Graver uses no magic but for aura. But it is quite satisfied with the crushing physical attacks it is very good at. Besides lost underground caves it can suddenly appear in ore mines and start killing, then continuously level up and grow in size. He is called Miners’ Curse for a reason. Actually it happened but very rarely when Gravers came out to the surface and attacked travelers they met on their way or even small villages. But only at night. If the beast stayed undefeated till the sun-rise, it would usually retreat back under the ground since the sunlight clears up the dark aura and the monster gets weaker and weaker…

-
        
Hey! We did kill the beast! – Gosha announced, he had just come back swinging another bottle of vodka in front of him – We had to, damn!

-
        
What do you mean saying we had to? – I didn’t understand – It was very slow and small. It couldn’t bother you much to make off from it due to your levels.

-
        
Due to our levels it’s not a problem to kill it as well – Gosha sniffed sinking in the arm-chair opposite me – But what the hell do we need it for? We wanted to restrain it for a couple of minutes to give you enough time and make off too. It can cause some trouble to fight inside the city. But at that moment guards ran up and one of them claimed business-like: ‘Algora’s guard asks for your help!’ and nodded at Graver. So we had to help.

-
        
I see – I drawled – There was no way to refuse.

If city guards ask you to help you’d better cancel all your deals and go helping them. Sure if you refuse, they won’t attack you. But after that you’ll be treated worse, much worse. Not only the guards but the whole city. Next day all ‘locals’ dwelling there will know that you have refused to help, that you haven’t given your hand. Especially in such an emergent situation as Graver penetrated Algora. It refers to the city defense against dangerous monsters. Your refusal will cause a dreadful decrease of reputation. All in all it means that you didn’t justify the confidence of your supporters and they can’t be your friends anymore…