The Citadel (Mirror World Book #2) (17 page)

Last night he'd had the biggest drop in his Satiety levels yet. He only had 100 pt. left, but only because he'd learned to scale walls. I must have looked a sight. Imagine my little Boris gingerly stepping along the ceiling, his ears pressed down to his neck in a most funny way — and me following him below with my arms outstretched, ready to catch him if needed.

Having studied his little paws later, I realized that they had changed. His feet had developed sets of narrow ridges of hair, just like a gecko's. How interesting.

When I finally completed my quota and headed for the terminal to declare it, a system message popped up.

Congratulations! Your mount keeps growing!

Your Hugger the Night Hunter has just entered his 2nd stage of growth!

I turned round for a look — and froze, stupefied. Prankster hadn't changed. But instead of the cute and cuddly Hugger baby I was now looking at a fine animal the size of a young lion walking along the rocky path.

Prankster didn't seem to notice the change in his friend. But me, I admittedly chickened out.

My pets followed me, occasionally growling their indignation: like,
we haven't played enough and we don't want to go back into those tiny summoning charms.
When they finally caught up with me, Boris gave me a look of incomprehension, as if asking, 'What on earth is going on here?' Staring me in the eye, he gave me a gentle poke in the chest with his massive beak. I staggered. Reaching out a shaky hand, I touched his powerful neck.

"You're not so fluffy anymore, are you? You're covered in feathers. And you're too big now to sit on my lap. Sorry, kiddo. You seem to have grown awfully fast, don't you think?"

Boris didn't reply. He rolled his eyes in delight and shoved his massive flank under my hand, very nearly dropping me again.

"You're a right little elephant, aren't you?"

In the meantime, Prankster jumped onto his friend's wide back, studying his recent metamorphosis.

"Ah, you've noticed the changes in him too, haven't you?" I asked him. "I dread to even think what he's going to be like in the third stage of his growth..."

* * *

Today the wizard's place was busy again — just like it had been every day recently. Everyone was bending over backwards to get No-Man's Lands quests. Quite possibly, Lady Mel's representative too was going to offer me a trip down there in the company of some high-level scouts. Having said that, they only knew me as an Experienced Digger. They'd probably only send their Masters on raids like that. I'd have loved to meet one of them and ask them a few questions. What were their lives like? Did they enjoy working? What if I didn't have to worry about unveiling my status at all? Should I stop looking for "devious routes" maybe and throw myself at rich employers' feet?

If things didn't work out with the Reflex Bank, I might just do that. I'd simply have no choice.

Tronus the wizard was cheerful again today. He seemed to find this entire quest rush quite funny. "Ah, Olgerd! Any news?"

I nodded. For the last few days I did nothing but run a few errands. At the moment, he didn't have time to appreciate my "talents". He'd been writing an awful lot of letters just lately which I then had to run around and deliver. I'd seen Captain Gard a few times — and one letter had even been addressed to a fellow player. Basically, the moment I completed my daily quota in the mines, I had to go back to the Citadel to do my messenger bit. The local quest system seemed to be identical to that in Mellenville: you had to find your way around the place before you could qualify for more complex quests. Not that I minded, really. Every completed quest gave me 50 pt. Reputation with Mellenville. I could actually use more of them. Three or four such quests a day would have suited me just fine.

"What did the Lieutenant say?" Tronus asked me.

"It went well," I replied. "He was very nice with me. He even wrote a quick note to give to you."

He beamed. "Excellent!"

I offered him a small envelope. A quest completion message popped up. Fifty more Reputation points into the piggy bank.

"Thank you very much, Olgerd. That's all for today," he turned around and strode off to his lab.

Very well. He was probably right. Time to catch a few winks. Having said that... I might do one last thing before going to bed.

A few days previous, Tronus had given me a guided tour of his tower — as a sign of goodwill and to show his trust in me. I'd quite enjoyed our thirty-minute excursion which resulted in me getting 100% access to virtually all of the tower's premises.

If you asked me whether I'd liked it... Oh well. A tower is a tower. Even though admittedly this was the first proper wizard's tower I'd ever been to, it was interesting but not particularly impressive.

Apart from one place, that is. The roof. Or to be more precise, a large terrace on top. And that was where I was heading now. I wanted to enjoy a bit of a view before calling it a day.

And some view it was! The tiny figures of players scurried below. Tiled roofs were topped with colorful little flags and chimneys, both round and square. The far-off wall towers looked like toys. That was beautiful. I didn't even mind the constant drizzle so much. I was actually getting used to their weather.

Having said that... should I let my beasties out, maybe? Let them enjoy the view too.

Good idea. I activated the charms.

Prankster materialized instantly as usual. He froze, then began darting around the terrace like a black bolt of lightning, studying his new playground.

Boris appeared to my right. He always did. He must have been preprogrammed to do so, to allow a player to mount him straight away.

He arched his back and stretched, protracting his foot-long claws, then tilted his head in a most peculiar way and stared at me quizzically.

"Go ahead," I nodded. "Check the place out. I'm sure you'll like it here."

For a while, Boris watched Prankster dart around. He then stood up slowly and laid his front paws onto the stone parapet. His ears rotated like two radars as he moved his head slowly up and down. His powerful leonine body tensed, his shoulders bulging with muscles. Wasn't he beautiful!

I slapped his back. "So what do you think?"

He didn't react, unmoving, as he stared upwards. How strange. His tail began swishing violently.

"Everything all right? Whatcha lookin' at?"

The feathers on the nape of his neck bristled. A growl escaped his throat. I'd never seen him like this before.

Slowly I removed my hand. I knew of course that this was my mount — and a mount couldn't possibly attack his own master, it simply wasn't in their makeup. But on the other hand, simply looking at this monster gave you the shivers.

"What's up there?" I whispered. "What can you feel?"

The rest seemed to have happened in slow motion. Boris dipped slightly on his haunches. His body turned into a steely knot of cable-like muscles. The screech of his claws on the parapet made me cringe. His head sank into his shoulders. He pressed his ears to his neck, the feathers on which bristled ever higher.

I'd never expected what happened next. He jumped! With a curt growl, his ashen body disappeared into the darkness below.

"You stupid idiot! Where d'you think you're going?" I leaned over the parapet, trying to make out his falling outline in the dark. I couldn't see anything.

"Hold on, kiddo! I'm coming!" I yelled and swung round, about to dart for the door.

A system message made me freeze in place.

Congratulations! Your pet is fully grown!

Your mount has received a new skill!

The flapping of powerful wings distracted me from the message.

"I see," I whispered. "I think I know what skill it is."

Chapter Fourteen

W
hen Boris finally landed on the terrace, I realized that my plans might need a bit of tweaking. My kiddo had a fine pair of wings now. He'd also doubled his previous size. We could fly now!

A thorough check of the forum made me wonder. Apparently, Boris was the first flying mount in Mirror World. Don't get me wrong: the game had plenty of dragons, eagles, manticores and wyverns in place. The problem was, they were all Relics – unknown entities which, according to lukewarm forum discussions, weren't to arrive for quite some time yet. It looked like I'd stolen a march on everyone else.

Apart from the purely physical changes in his appearance, Boris had received a new skill – Flying — as well as a new characteristic: Stamina which boasted a number 10. I thought I knew what it was: Stamina must have been responsible for energy regeneration.

His Satiety had also grown to 1,000 pt. His Level and Damage stats both sported miserable zeros. Until I received some combat XP, neither he nor Prankster could level up. This seemed like a Catch 22 situation. Still, Boris' ability to fly changed a lot of things.

I opened his skill tree. What a disappointment. All the slots were dark, sporting small locks next to them. The Flying alone was accompanied by a brief description according to which, using it increased Boris' Speed 30%. It was an expensive pleasure which would cost me 15 pt. Satiety per minute. In other words, Boris' own energy would last him an hour-plus — or considerably more, if you added the synchronization to the equation. Admittedly, it might backfire later but I already had a few ideas how to circumvent the problem. It was going to cost — but it was probably worth every penny.

The first item on my new list was to acquire the Mount Riding skill. Without it, I could forget flying or riding anywhere. But once I studied the relevant info portal page, I realized that this skill was little more than yet another money extortion machine.

So you've got a mount summoning charm? Then you'd have to pay.

Name of skill: Mount Riding

Restrictions: None

Description: Not one warrior in Mirror World would say no to a strong brother in arms and a fast mount.

A mount will never betray you. It can't flee a battle. It'll never shrink back under you. Ask Rotim the Riding Instructor to help you learn the art of mount riding. His experience will turn you into a perfect rider.

Yeah right, provided you paid five hundred gold.

According to the page, Rotim the Riding Instructor lived in a small village called Tikos in the vicinity of the Tallian Prairie. One needed to take a few transfers to get there. Never mind. I could use a walk. Once I finished my daily mining work and closed the wizard's quest, I might go there. I needed a change of scenery. I was fed up with this constant drizzle.

* * *

"Hey, dude! Move over, wouldja?"

An enormous level-90 Rock Rhoggh barged at me like a shell-proof tank. Oh wow. Their race looked awesome in their armor. They sent shivers down your spine.

I leapt aside before he had the chance to trample me.

"Hey, man. What do you think you're doing here?"

I turned round. A level-70 Dwand was hung with ribbons, bone charms and bits of colored string. He must have belonged to some magic class. Having said that, had the game had a jester class, this guy should consider swapping.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

The gray-skinned Dwand frowned. "I'm asking what the fuck you're doing here? Being a zero level and all."

"I see," I said. "Why? Are they, as you called them, 'zero levels' banned from this location?"

He shook his head. "They're not. But what's the point, anyway?"

Mirror World was crawling with guys like this one. Always meddling into other people's affairs. They couldn't live without telling others what to do. Always ridiculing and criticizing others. Always celebrating others' failures. Always ready to add an inane comment before they even knew what the discussion was about, then being rude to those who disagreed with their short-sighted views. Such people tend to neglect their own mental skills — instead, they keep insisting on their ignorant philosophies.

It looked like I'd chanced upon one of them. Time to make myself scarce.

"Thanks for the tip... Drox. I must be off now. Enjoy the game," I swung round and, accompanied by their mumbled contempt and snide giggles, headed for the large courtyard.

The next moment I'd forgotten all about the Dwand. You had to see this.

A courtyard? — more like a football pitch covered with sand.

It was crowded with what looked like at least a hundred players. But that wasn't what caught my eye. All the mounts! They must have been brought here from every corner of Mirror World.

I didn't see any Grinders. Probably, a riding instructor wasn't their most popular NPC choice. Never mind. I couldn't turn back now.

I walked across the sandy yard, staring at this collection of beasts. They had all sorts. Reptiles, ruminants — but predominantly, felines.

Aha, I'd seen that one over there before! Not in real life, of course, only on a web page. What was its name again? Yes! A long-tailed Jandai! A battle mount. To get a summoning charm for one of those, you had to level up Reputation with the House of Stone Lotus. It looked scary — a bundle of muscle, albeit admittedly slightly smaller than Kosma.

I cast another look around, realizing that Uncle Vanya's draught animal could compete for the title of super giant of Mirror World.

The Jandai's owner was a level-260 wizard sporting the Steel Shirts' insignia. Both his armor and the gear of his mount glowed a reddish purple. I dreaded to even think how much money he'd poured into the game. Then again, who knows? He might have started off a Grinder like myself, farming stones or growing pigs at some rich bastard's farm. Hadn't Greg said that most top players had started off as Grinders?

My satnav — which I had prudently set up at the portal station — brought me to a large hangar. Its interior resembled a stable with countless stalls for all sorts of animals. Despite their sheer number, the passages between the stalls were sparkling clean. Could they possibly have Grinders to do their dirty work for them here too? A place like this probably needed a whole army of us.

I jumped at the calm sound of a male voice behind me,

"Good day, Sir! Can I help you?"

I turned around. The speaker was about forty years old: suntanned, his hair cropped, his face cleanly shaven. His slanted eyes focused on me.

My satnav pinged happily, reporting my arrival at the target location.

I smiled to him. "How do you do, Master Rotim. I suppose you can help me, yes. I've actually been looking for you."

The riding instructor raised a surprised eyebrow. "Do they use mounts in mines these days?"

"Not yet. But you never know."

He sized me up and down. "You don't have a mount yet, I presume?"

"How can I?" I replied with a deadpan expression. 'Where would I get one from? A friend suggested I gave it a try. It might be nice to learn at least the basics."

Somehow I didn't think I was the first Grinder asking to join his class.

"It's five hundred gold per lesson," he watched my face closely for a reaction.

I shrugged. "It's by no means cheap, I agree. But it can't be helped, can it?"

He smiled. "Very well. We can start now if you think you're ready."

"I am."

He motioned me invitingly into the passage that ran the whole length of the stalls. "Please."

I walked down it. The passage ended with a large gate-like door.

What did we have here? A riding hall. About ninety by two hundred feet. It was covered in sand just like the yard outside.

There was no one inside. Excellent. The fewer eyes I attracted, the better. Sunlight beamed through the wide windows lining the arena.

"This is where we're going to practice now," Rotim said.

"Fine."

"Wait for me here. I'll bring you a mount," he disappeared behind the door.

A few minutes later he re-emerged, leading a small horse just a tad bigger than a pony. "Here's your mount!"

He spent the next hour teaching me various riding tricks. Admittedly it was a lot of fun but hardly worth half a grand. I wouldn't be surprised to see other players voice this concern at forums.

I wasn't even sure this lesson could teach me anything useful. This pony was a far cry from Boris. I found solace in the thought that all players must have started with this little hobby-horse.

An hour and a half later I paid Master Rotim, received the Riding skill and left the arena.

My next port of call: a saddler's shop. As the name suggested, I needed to buy a saddle. Why in a shop and not at auction? I was too paranoid to do that. A zero level buying that sort of stuff was bound to attract attention. It might have been much ado about nothing but still... better to be safe than sorry. For the same reason I preferred to avoid places like Doryl's little shop or the good old Digger's Store owned by my friend Rrhorgus.

That left me with NPC shops. They were bound to be more expensive but at least NPCs didn't talk. The least amount of fuss made, the better.

It didn't take me long to locate a saddler. I shouldn't have even used my satnav: his shop was a stone's throw from the riding school.

Predictably, his trade wasn't exactly booming. Why would anyone bother with overpriced NPC merchandise when the auction was brimming with much more interesting offers?

I got the impression he was happy to see me. I might have indeed been a rare customer. Alternatively, this could have been just part of his player-friendly program.

Yeah right. Friendly he may have been — but not enough to allow me to talk his prices down. Grudgingly I parted with another hundred and fifty gold. At least the saddle's stats pleased the eye with ten more points Stamina. That brought my Boris up to twenty.

The saddler attempted to sell me yet more gear — but once I told him my mount's level and explained why I wasn't going to buy anything to grow into, he seemed to lose interest.

As I left the shop, a familiar voice spoke behind my back,

"You're one funny guy, that's for sure."

I turned around. Drox, as large as life, was grinning at me.

"Oh," I said. "It's you. Why do you think I'm funny? Actually, don't bother. I don't really care."

I cast a suspicious look around and set off toward the portal station.

"If you say so," his sarcastic voice echoed behind.

I hurried to the station, checking my back as I ran, and dove directly into a portal. Good job I'd thought of pre-paying all the transfers. Every time I changed portals I peered around me for any sign of Drox's cunning fanged face. Luckily, it didn't look as if he'd followed me. Still, the fact that he'd remembered me was already bad enough. Never mind. It might be nothing. Just a nosy guy, as simple as that.

I only allowed myself to relax when I finally got to Drammen. The station was empty. I'd never thought I'd be so happy to come back to this wet, muddy little town.

It looked like I had everything ready for the trial flight. Last night I'd decided on what seemed the best place: the cliff that housed my emerald mine. Initially I'd been toying with the idea of using the wizard's tower as a landing pad, but then I'd reconsidered. Not now, anyway. Even though I planned to only practice at night, the risk of being discovered was too big there. You never knew how many eyes might be focused on Tronus' tower at any given moment. The Citadel was a very busy place, and the tower had recently regained some of its popularity.

And as for the emerald mine — in all the time I'd been working there, I hadn't come across a single fellow player. Which made perfect sense. Who in their right mind would volunteer to work in this miserable excuse for a location? Apart from me, that is.

I reached the Crooked Cliff without further ado. The place was predictably quiet, its silence disturbed only by the rustle of rain and the squelching of mud underfoot.

I passed the entrance to the mine and began climbing a narrow trail that led to the cliff top. I used to take it quite often in the past to enjoy an after-work view of Drammen by night. The flat cliff top wasn't exactly large but it just might suffice for my purposes.

Soon I stood there. The wind had abated; even the rain seemed to have calmed down. I wasn't really sure I could perform my first test flight under these conditions. Then again, last night's downpour hadn't been an obstacle for the Hugger.

I'd never been afraid of flying. I'd taken enough plane trips in the past. Still, Boris wasn't exactly an airplane, was he? So admittedly I was nervous. All day I'd been trying to put the thought of it out of my mind. And now it was all coming back with a vengeance.

I exhaled and activated the summoning charm.