Capítulo 32: CHAPTER 32
"If you wanted to do something bad, I'd say you were insane. Are you aware that there's an official protocol in place for interclan communication? You did write an official letter from the clan, after all. Let's just imagine that Merkel got a letter from...oh, I don't know, Vasya Pupkin, a locksmith from Building Maintenance 18. 'Some guy at the pub told me that the Germans are about to go to war with us again, but don't worry, I gave him a jab to the m nose. You aren't idiots, and you don't need us in Berlin for the third time. Russia and Germany are friends and all. Oh, and do you have skirts in your closet, too, or just pants?' That's basically what you wrote. Sure, maybe the context is a little different, but the idea is the same."
"But everything's okay?" I breathed a sigh of relief when I realised he was talking about my letter to the Gray Witch.
"Yes, of course. More than okay. Our two clans are going to sign a cooperation and mutual assistance agreement. The Witch was apparently so touched by how our clan feels about hers that she contacted Mila herself to offer us their friendship. Mila was shocked, obviously, because she had no idea that was coming. But she quickly let the Witch know that anyone who insults the Hounds of Death is insulting the Thunderbirds. The document will be ready to sign tomorrow. As soon as we figured things out with the Gray Witch, we all left to find you, and you were logged out. So we tried to find anyone who'd talked to you recently, and the acrobat brothers, Rone and Dorn, got in touch. They figured you'd done something wrong, so they immediately started telling us how you were a good guy and couldn't have meant any harm." Carol's imitation of Dorn's booming voice was dead on. '"He did everything by the book, they were the ones who started it.'"
"Ha! And they went on and on about how helpless I am." I was moved.
"That sounds like them." Carol nodded his head and continued. "When we figured out what was going on Mila started yelling about how you didn't let us know first. Then she quieted down, thought for a bit, and gave a speech about how it was fate that led us to you in the pub. We let you into the clan, and you helped us meet a goal you heard about. Then she said how we need to reward you, seeing as how you acted in the interests of the clan."
"Of course I did!" I puffed out my chest.
"I don't exactly agree with her." Carol looked past my gesture and stared closely at me. "I think you couldn't care less about the Hounds, and I don't think you really care about what we need. You handed that ore over to the Hounds, just handed him over so you wouldn't have to deal with him. You only wrote about the clan to make yourself sound more impressive—I don't think it had anything to do with our interests. Maybe that crossed your mind later, but I doubt it."
Damn, he's smart, I thought. I need to keep an eye on him. That wasn't a terribly difficult deduction to make, but still.
"But I still helped you!" I began my defence.
"Yes, you did. Mila wanted to formally present you with something in the clan fortress, but then this whole firestorm broke out, and now we don't have time."
"What firestorm?" I blinked for effect.
"Do you even read the forum? Do you care about what's going on in the game?" Carol was suddenly angry. "You can't be that oblivious! Apparently, someone got a quest from the Departed."
"The Departed?"
"The Departed Gods."
"Is that good?" I kept up my façade.
"It's impossible. The clans are all on edge now, and even lone players are trying to find out what they can. Although they're all on the outside. What chance do they have?"
"What do you mean?"
"The chances of finding the player with the quest are almost zero. Miniscule—it would be pure randomness."
"Wow! So what's the quest?" I was enjoying myself thoroughly.
"Nobody knows."
"Then how did everyone find out about it?"
"That's what I'm saying; read the forums. Yesterday, some Level 23 player wrote that he was chatting with someone else at the same level who told him about a quest they got from the Departed Gods. Now, the clans are all looking for him so they can find out about that second player." Carol shook his head. "You know, you read it all on the forum, and it's all fine and good, but it sounds crazy when you explain it like that."
"Seriously. Maybe that first player was just playing a joke? Or someone's trying to trick everyone?"
"Maybe, but that doesn't make sense. You'd need a reason to run a ruse like that, and there isn't one here." Carol could have quoted the two businessmen from the gallery verbatim. "Either that or it's just absolute nonsense."
"Maybe he just wanted a laugh!"
"There's nobody like that here." Carol was confident in his reply. "Plus, the message isn't written like that. And even if that were true, believe me, the clans have gone all out to check out worse stories. So, everyone's been on edge since last night. The high-level players are all scouring Level 18-30 locations, talking with NPCs and players to see who saw what. The NPCs answer, the players don't."
"Why not?"
"There are tons of clans. Just imagine having someone ask you for the hundredth time if you've seen anything. What would your response be?"
"I'd tell you to screw off. Not everyone, of course. You could get something from some people."
"That's exactly what everyone's saying. Nobody likes it."
"Are there really that many clans?"
"Just look around you!"
I looked around. There were plenty of players running around, but not that many.
"Look more carefully."
I did what he asked and realised what he was talking about. Everyone running around was Level 100 or higher, and clearly in leadership roles.
"The guilds all sent their best people out to question witnesses, but they're going at it so hard, there's nobody left to question. Everyone has a different method—some are more pleasant about it; others try to scare you into talking. Everyone's angry."
"Pay them 3 gold, and they'll tell you everything." I had a piece of advice for him. "Pay them 10, and they'll even make things up to tell you."
"Good idea." Carol fell silent and clapped me on the shoulder. "Well done, I should have thought of that myself. You haven't seen anything, have you?"
"Nope, I'd have told you right away. By the way, what's the reward you were talking about for me?"
"Oh, right, sorry."
Carol waved his hand.
Your status in the clan was changed to kinsman.
You are now a full-fledged member.
You have the right to access the small clan store-house.
Your clan bonuses now include:
+7% protection from mental effects
+4% protection from poison
+5% to movement speed
Your bonuses can be modified or increased by fostering respect within the clan.
"There you go. We wanted to do it up in the clan hall, but sorry, no time."
"This works for me. Do you have any clues about the guy everyone's looking for?"
"Not really. The thread was started by someone named Buzdigan, and he was at Level 23 as of yesterday. All anyone can find about him is that there was a player with that name in the game, though the last time he logged in was two years ago. The Buzdigan, who wrote the message, probably registered on the forum using a different name from the one he plays with. Everybody does that. So who knows what his name in the game is. Some people talked about rounding up all the Level 23 players they could find, though there are just too many of them—and not all of them play regularly. Plus, they're always jumping between locations. He could be up to Level 24 or 25 now, too. There hasn't been a response from him on the forum either, so I guess he realised that he got everyone too riled up. Maybe he's scared and waiting until it all blows over."
"What about the second player?"
"The one with the quest? Nothing. We know he exists, but we don't know who he is, what class he is, what his name is, absolutely nothing. Just his level, and even that isn't a sure thing. So, everyone's looking for this Buzdigan, both in the game and in real life."
"Wow, that's serious."
"Well, of course. It's a hidden quest from the Departed Gods. Okay, anyway, I have to go. So much to do, it's crazy. Oh, Mila may ask you to stop by for a private conversation. And wipe that smile off your face—we're talking about our clan leader. If anyone from the Hounds of Death asks you to come talk with them, who are you going to tell first?"
"Mila?"
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