The Citadel (Mirror World Book #2) (18 page)

Boris appeared to my right as usual. He was almost twice the size I'd seen him last, with a formidable beak and a large powerful neck. His wings were folded behind his back. He was awesome.

"So, kiddo? Are you ready?"

Reaching into my bag, I produced the saddle. Immediately a new system message popped up, offering me to saddle up my pet. I pressed
Yes
.

And there he was, my very own Hugger the Night Hunter, ready for his maiden flight.

"What do we do now?"

Boris seemed to have understood me. He crouched down on all fours.

"Excellent!"

For a while I shifted from one foot to the other. Awkwardly I leaned my hands against his powerful back. "This is definitely not a pony, is it?"

Boris sat there nice and calm, as if oblivious to my tentative attempts. Strangely enough, it gave me a little more confidence.

I pushed myself up. Phew! There I was, up in the saddle. I seemed to have mounted it right. If the forums were to be believed, you couldn't fall out of the saddle in Mirror World. Which was good news, I suppose: at least my backside didn't risk familiarizing itself with the rocky surface of this clifftop. Already during my riding practice I'd noticed that sitting in the saddle was in fact quite comfortable.

And so it was now.

"Listen kiddo, before we go flying, mind if we just walk around here for a bit?"

Indeed, why start with the hardest bit? You should always master the basics first. His saddle was designed a bit like the seat of a sports motorbike: I was half-lying in it face down, rather than sitting. My elbows rested in special moldings. The saddle's pommel was shaped like handlebars. My stomach rested on a leather cushion but there were no stirrups. Not that I needed them, either. Apparently, the game designers hadn't even bothered with them. How strange. When I'd bought it, the saddle had looked totally different.

Slowly Boris rose to his feet and walked toward the rock face. That seemed all right. I focused, sending him a mental command to change direction just as the instructor had taught me.

Boris obeyed. Excellent. It wasn't that much harder than controlling a pony, after all.

"Now let's try and climb that wall over there. You can move a bit faster if you want."

He obeyed instantly. In three leaps I found myself halfway up an almost vertical slope. Boris moved effortlessly, ignoring the rider's extra weight.

I could feel my digital heart flutter in my chest. I glanced down. Oh wow! The rocky cliff top below kept shrinking in the distance, its gray rocks looking like toys. Boris climbed the wall confidently, his powerful muscles rippling under his skin.

I didn't dare move but I was perfectly comfortable. I must have looked like a scared baby monkey desperately clinging to his mom's back.

The higher we climbed, the stronger the wind grew. Drizzle battered my face. Boris seemed to be indifferent to either: he just kept scaling the wall ignoring the elements.

We'd been at it for about ten minutes already, and Boris' Satiety was only 90 pt. down. Considering the climb, the weather and his impressive speed, the Energy drop was negligible. I felt fine. Fine? — I was thrilled! I had this amazing feeling of having just conquered half the world.

"All right, kiddo. Now climb all the way up to the top. We can fly from there."

As if sensing my excitement, Boris rushed up, raindrops pelting my face, the gray rock ledges flashing before my eyes.

He was on top of the cliff in a heartbeat. I looked around me. The view sent shivers down my spine. Occasional disjointed bolts of lightning ripped through the darkening skies. The leaden thunderclouds resembled giant mountains about to squash all living things underfoot. Somewhere far below at the foot of the cliff lay the forest. I knew it was safe but it looked gloomy and threatening from up here.

My fingers sank into the pommel. I leaned forward. "Are you ready, kiddo?"

He growled an affirmative, swinging his large head as if to say,
Come on, let's do this already.

I heaved a sigh, activated the Flight skill and squeezed my eyes shut.

I could feel Boris leap forward. I opened my eyes. The sharp gray rocks below were approaching rapidly, growing in size. The hiss of the wind in my ears grew to a roar. Then his powerful Night Hunter's wings billowed open, parachute-like. In two powerful thrusts, he headed for the skies. Strangely enough, this gave me no unpleasant sensation. The game developers must have been too busy to have bothered with the authenticity of flying experience. But as far as I was concerned, the less authentic it was, the better.

Boris continued to gain altitude with fast, powerful thrusts, catapulting us into the gloomy skies. There was no stopping him, his enormous eagle wings ripping through the dark with ease. I couldn't see earth anymore: only the gray and black tatters of thunderclouds below. Now I knew what Boris reminded me of: a gryphon. It wasn't a hundred-percent match, but the idea was there.

We exited the darkness in a few powerful thrusts, flying above the thunderstorm. Here, it was quiet and rainless. A huge moon hung dead ahead. I'd almost forgotten what it looked like with all these constant thunderclouds constantly hovering over both Drammen and the Citadel. Later in the daytime you could probably see the sun here. A skyful of stars twinkled overhead. What a shame Boris couldn't climb higher: this was all he could do in the game. But even this was plenty. I had this feeling of being alone in the whole universe.

Somewhere below, the rain showered the dark sleepy streets of Drammen; the wind, damp and cold, whistled through the hated tunnels of my emerald mine. But here it was quiet, warm and dry. And then there was this moonlight, soft and gentle.

"Right, kiddo. No good getting all soppy about it. Let's go to the Citadel now."

Obediently he flapped his powerful wings, changing course. Now we were soaring toward my temporary abode.

Even better news was that he followed the satnav settings to a tee. This was very useful as I didn't need to double-check his course every five minutes.

"Do you think Prankster will like it?"

Boris squinted his eagle eye at me, as if saying,
you won't know if you don't try
.

I activated the charm. Prankster materialized on my shoulder. He momentarily froze as was his habit, taking in the sights, then clung to my back, swinging his head around in surprise. Soon he was over his initial shock, busy climbing over Boris' back. The Hugger greeted his old friend with a quick turn of his head and a hoarse croak.

"So you like it, don't you?"

It took us about fifteen minutes to get to the wizard's tower. The thunderstorm was stronger over the Citadel which made me hope that no one had noticed our landing. They must have mistaken Boris for yet another thundercloud in the sky.

I unsummoned both critters and stood on the terrace alone. My heart was heavy as I glanced at the dark expanse of the woods in No-Man's Lands.

"No idea what awaits me there, kiddo, but I'd better come prepared."

* * *

I didn't even notice the next week fly past. I spent mornings performing the wizard's quests, trying to complete them before midday to catch the caravan to Drammen. There, I toiled in the mines, then tried to get a few hours of sleep after dinner before going out at night for some flight practice.

We took care to stay unnoticed. We only landed in deserted places, mainly clifftops.

Gradually we built up range, making sure to stay within Boris' own Energy limits. By the end of the week, we'd completed our longest journey yet, crossing the entire breadth of the Lands of Light.

As a result, I already knew from experience that a flight to Mellenville took me forty-three minutes while the town on the shore of the Azure Ocean, the farthest in the Lands of Light, was all of two hours away.

Unfortunately, flying over the ocean was strictly forbidden. It felt as if Boris just hit an invisible wall. A system message would then pop up,

Warning! Mirror World's submarine locations are still undergoing testing. Please check back later for updates.

I could only guess at all the game's immense potential once they were opened.

We'd been practicing for a week now. On Sunday we had to go and visit Master Adkhur, for several reasons. Firstly, I couldn't wait to show him my Boris. Secondly, the old boy just might impart some secrets concerning him. Thirdly, I really needed a good buff — and at the moment I only knew of one creature capable of casting it on me for free. Well, almost free.

Chapter Fifteen

S
unday evening.

I'd spent the afternoon visiting Master Adkhur. Admittedly, Boris had been a blast. The old man studied him for well over an hour. He must have inspected every feather of his wings. He checked Boris' beak, massaged his legs and felt through his tail, then dove into his hut and emerged with an armful of ancient books. He pored over them for quite a while. Finally he reached into his pocket for a long piece of knotted string and began measuring Boris with it, comparing each result with the books and tut-tutting delightedly every time.

Boris had remained nice and quiet all along, sitting motionlessly and apparently lapping up all the attention.

Later over a cup of wine, he imparted to me that our Boris was apparently the gold standard of its species. "Our Boris"! I didn't mind him saying this — not because an NPC couldn't rob me of the summoning charm but simply because it felt so good to see Boris being admired. Besides, to be brutally honest, by saying "our Boris" the old man had sort of accepted me. It didn't matter that he was only a cleverly designed in-game character. Even so, I wasn't alone anymore. Which meant a lot to me.

We'd had a nice day as usual. As I left, I offered his gorgeous feline another huge fish. It had cost me an arm and a leg but it had been worth it. This time the kitty generously issued me a five-hour buff of +250 to Energy every 30 seconds. Now we could fly around the world without stopping to refuel: the spell would have lasted both of us.

Before soaring into the skies, I humored Adkhur by circling the place a few times. I thought I saw tears in his saucer eyes.

I waved our goodbyes and told Boris to climb. In a few powerful wingbeats we rose over the clouds. Time to head for No-Man's Lands.

Admittedly, it felt scary. I kept telling myself this was only a game, even if it looked too much like real life.

I was heading for the North Mine where, if my satnav was to be believed, I could farm some of the Blue Ice necessary to create an Unworked Charm of Arakh. I only had the Map of the Der Swyor Clan's Trade Routes — or rather, the omnipresent Pierrot — to thank for this bit of intel.

In fact, it had been Boris growing himself a pair of wings that had prompted my decision to risk delving into the very heart of No-Man's Lands. Before that had happened, I'd had not a hope in hell of leveling my second profession. But now my mount's surprise development might just pay for itself.

According to the satnav, we were flying over the Citadel although I couldn't see a thing through the clouds. And once we'd crossed the invisible line marking the frontier of the Lands of Light, a system message popped up,

Warning! This location can be too dangerous for players of your level!

Please turn back.

Apparently, this wasn't the place for the likes of me. Never mind. They couldn't scare me with these kinds of warnings anymore. I was too used to putting my butt in the fire.

I won't lie to you. The message had made my heart miss a beat. But if you want to get anywhere in life, you shouldn't indulge your fears.

I ordered Boris to descend. He dove through the dark clouds and re-emerged directly above the woods. Strangely, it wasn't raining. The wind had abated too. Overall, the weather was much better here than it was in the Citadel.

Spreading his wings wide, Boris soared the sky above the primeval woods. The sheer thought of my being the first player to ever set foot here gave me goosebumps.

I peered hard, trying to make out the land below. Pointless. The dark woods weren't in a hurry to divulge their secrets to me.

After another twenty minutes, the forest had become sparser.

Warning! You're about to enter the Quartan Valley!

This location can be too dangerous for players of your level!

Please turn back

Ignoring the message, I checked the Der Swyor map. Everything was going as planned.

Gradually the night clouds parted, revealing a gargantuan Moon. Now I could see the land below much better. If you disregarded the fact that this was apparently one of the most dangerous locations in the whole of Mirror World, it actually looked quite pretty.

This moment of admiration, however, was immediately cut short by the arrival of a group of huge arachnid mobs. I hiccupped and ordered Boris to gain some altitude. Even though the creatures couldn't have possibly noticed me, let alone reached me, it was more prudent this way. I hadn't had the chance to read their stats but I had a funny feeling that this wasn't the right place to encounter low-level mobs. Talk about goosebumps: I wouldn't like to meet them in the woods after dark. Having said that, proper players who farmed monsters for hours on end, probably didn't even notice their appearance anymore. I must have been the only impressionable one.

In another quarter of an hour, we'd left the Quartan Valley and were flying over the Rocky Desert. Here, it was considerably colder. And the worst was yet to come. Judging by the map, we were heading toward Mirror World's northern extremity.

I glanced at Boris' stats. His Satiety was nearing zero. Immediately the Synchronization kicked in, but — thanks to the kitty's buff — I didn't even feel the drop in my Energy. It definitely paid to do things properly!

The night before I'd bought myself a few Stamina stones just in case, so I was pretty sure my little flying pony wouldn't run low on gas. The buff would last another four hours, plus my stones: plenty for Boris to feed on. Especially because once we got back to the mine he'd have more than enough time to recuperate.

The Rocky Desert lived up to its name. From above, it looked like a moonlit sea of solidified lava. That's what it probably was. I glimpsed a few silhouettes flashing past amid the fire-polished rocks but they moved way too fast for me to see them properly. Their speed was mind-boggling. For the umpteenth time, I congratulated myself. Personally, I was safe here — but I couldn't say the same of those players about to conquer these lands on foot. Having said that, I kept forgetting that encountering local monsters was exactly what players like Count needed: to loot and level up. Wasn't it exactly what they joined the game for?

And talking about the cold, a couple of days previously I'd popped into Nilius' shop. The wizard had greeted me like an old friend. He wanted to know everything about the Anti-Humidity protection he'd sold me. My appraisal pleased him a lot. And once he'd learned of the purpose of my visit, he couldn't have been happier.

I have to admit that all this flying practice had very nearly made me forget the nature of the place I was heading for. Only when I'd overheard a tavern conversation between a newb and one of the old-timers did I realize the importance of it. So that day I'd been treated to Nilius' half-hour lecture on the importance of cold protection and left his shop perfectly equipped for the journey. The good news was, the Anti Frost Elemental Protection cost considerably less than the drop-shaped Anti Humidity. And before I left, Nilius had asked me to pop in once I was back to report on the protection's performance.

Finally, the Rocky Desert was over too. We approached a body of water that the map identified as the River Quiet. The night before, I'd imagined it might be a sleepy little stream. As if! The sight of this mighty body of water, as wide as the eye could see, took my breath away. When you reached its middle, you couldn't make out the ancient pine trees lining its banks anymore: they looked like a brown stubble covering gray cliff sides. The cliffs themselves, black and gloomy, loomed over the river's mirrored surface, threatening to squash any humble intruder.

This place was an angler's dream. I dreaded to even conceive all the kinds of fish you could catch here.

Just as I was thinking this, a jet of water rose a good hundred feet above the surface. Some beast that was! Judging by the size of its broad back, Kosma was a kitten compared to this little fishie. Oh no, any angler might be in for a very nasty surprise.

After I'd left the mammoth fish far behind, I noticed several outlines in the water that looked suspiciously shark-like. Oh. The local mobs would make quick work of Boris and myself. If these were river monsters, I dreaded to think what upcoming surprises the developers had in store for any submarine pioneer.

The satnav pinged, prompting us it was time to turn right. Obeying its directions, Boris banked a simple turn, changing course. That was it. All we had left to do now was cross the Ardean Range.

A few minutes later, the black mountains topped with white snow appeared on the horizon. I was getting cold. My nose and ears tingled with frost. Had it been happening in the real world, I might have already turned into an ice statue.

"I think we should climb a bit higher, kiddo. We don't need no unpleasant encounters."

In one powerful wingbeat we left the snowy peaks far below.

Suddenly I glimpsed a tiny light glowing on a mountain top. The sight made me jerk my head, so out of place it was. How interesting.

Obeying my command, Boris banked, diving toward the speck of light. Could any of the players had already gotten this far? I decided to get closer and investigate. Whoever it was, they were unlikely to notice me from below. All they might see was Boris' belly — and No-Man's Lands were crawling with all sorts of critters.

The light came from a bonfire. But whoever was sitting around it weren't players — even though they might have passed for such from a distance.

Boris soared above them like a silent shadow. We descended some more. I took in the surroundings. Aha! I could see a small rock ledge just above the fire.

Boris didn't need words. After one last wingbeat, he sank his talons into the black rock. No one could see or hear us from there.

"Great job," I whispered into his ear.

We were about the height of a three-story building. I could easily see the creatures sitting around the fire. There were five of them. Same size as myself, only burlier with slightly broader shoulders. What a strange race. Well-built midgets, they did have something in common with dwarves and gnomes. Thick beards. Large noses. Clad in furs and armed with long spears. Each had a short wide knife dangling from his belt.

Even in the fire's failing light, I could clearly see their dark skin which distinguished them from both gnomes and dwarves.

They sat there in silence, casting an occasional wary look around as they listened in to the night's sounds. No one had bothered to look up. Apparently, they didn't expect any danger to come from the sky. Which was good news, I suppose.

I'd love to know what they were doing up here. Who were they?

The answer to the first question I might never know. But as for the second one, the game promptly informed me,

A Caltean advance team

Well, well, well. Fancy seeing you here. So that's what you look like, then. How very interesting.

All five had rather high levels, especially the team leader: level 230. The others were only twenty levels below him. They looked like nothing special but you wouldn't like to bump into a group like this!

What had Marcus told me about them? They were NPCs, not mobs. Mirror Souls, hostile to the players of both Light and Dark. Now what might they be doing here? Wait a sec... Yes! Hadn't Marcus said that "hedgehogs" lived in the mountains?

Mechanically I cast a wary look around me. Being attacked by one of those spiky monsters was the last thing I needed. A few dozen of those had completely demolished the Citadel's West side in less than an hour. Still, admittedly I was curious. I'd love to see the Calteans trap these gargantuan beasts.

A powerful growl from below made me jump. Goosebumps erupted all over my spine. Talk about the devil.

Boris strained his muscular back. Strangely enough, this brought me out of my stupor.

"It's all right, kiddo," I said, stroking the nape of his neck. "We're too high. They can't get to us here."

Previously impassive, the Calteans jumped to their feet — admittedly without any fuss. This was a well-choreographed group. Each team member seemed to know what he was doing.

The repeated growl sounded even closer. The Calteans formed a semicircle bristling with spears. Their leader produced something out of his bag. Now only their tiny bonfire stood between their flimsy ranks and the monster-harboring darkness.

Somehow I doubted they'd make it, even despite their levels. Then again, I still seemed to be thinking in real-world categories. Everything was different in Mirror World. Earth's laws weren't applicable here.

Yet another growl rose to a roar. The darkness parted, disgorging a leaping beast. Oh wow. This was big. Either I was too scared or this hedgehog was twice as large as all the others. Level 300+, it was much darker than those that had ravaged the streets of the Citadel. His elongated muzzle was covered in old scars. This was an animal tempered in battle.

The Calteans seemed to have noticed it too. Their ranks stirred, anxious. They couldn't have expected a visitor of this caliber.

The ginormous Komodo dragon peered shortsightedly at his opponents. He didn't seem too impressed. He must have sensed their fear but wasn't in a hurry to attack. Slowly he turned his head from side to side which only seemed to unnerve the dark-skinned dwarves further.