World of Karik: A Game of Villains 28 Small Gifts

I didn't create a super weapon; I didn't expect that I would take almost a thousand health points with one blow. I was not that naive. Not after a failed attempt to invest everything into one attack. The good thing was that I would learn how another thing worked, then I would resurrect, and then I would continue. I still had time before the dawn.

You used Cure Light Wounds.

Elements of light affect the undead creature.

Magical protection reduced by 10.

With a satisfied smile, and although I was dying under the bites of the gnats, I watched the Zombie's health points drop as fast as mine did. With the magical protection reduced by "light", it was helpless against them. I was only to resurrect and come back to retrieve the proof of my victory.

You will be moved to the nearest tombstone by default in:

3…

2…

1…

Dying was a horrible feeling. The good thing was that my tombstones were under my control. Who knew what would have happened if had I woken up at the graveyard where everyone else kept their tombstones. A terrible scene appeared in my mind—I was locked in there forever, living a miserable life and gradually going crazy... The picture seemed so real that it even made me wince. I didn't even want to even think about it. I'd better go and see what's left of my recent enemy.

My stats had grown a bit in the last fifty minutes; combined with my level 2 Stone Skin, my protection would be enough to survive local wildlife's magical attacks.

At the battlefield awaited my dead body, a shapeless mess of bones and green slurry. Catching my breath, I hesitantly put my hand into it... and almost buckled from the urge to vomit. It was not only the stench, but the substance itself, the worst I had ever seen. But I had no other choice. Alex needed a proof. And a tooth of the zombie I defeated, I thought, would be a great trophy. I'd better hurry. It'll dawn soon.

As I approached the merchants' wagons, the first rays of sun began to break through the treetops. Alex and his sons were waiting for me. The old man looked at the tooth in my palm with slight approval, and the guys smiled gesticulating desperately.

"I can't say that I'm glad," Alex began, "but you've proved your point."

"Really?" I grinned. "What's the reason for the lack of joy?"

"I'm only happy for my family, boy," the old man said reasonably.

His sons took turns shaking my hand, and Ronald even patted me on the shoulder.

"I'm now sure that you'll find David," old Jones said. "We need to move on, but we'll come back soon. Even sooner than expected."

I had hoped that they would tell me where and how to find the prodigal son. But even I didn't hope to be explained why they didn't want to do it themselves.

"When?" I asked. This question really worried me.

"In a month, I think," Alex said. "You should get ready in the meantime."

"For what?" Alex's manner of speaking and his unfinished phrases were beginning to annoy me. "What do I need to get ready for?"

"I have an idea where David could have gone," mused Jones senior. "There are ruins a couple of dozen miles away. He used to say that he would like to visit them one day."

Ruins? That was interesting. What were they before and who used to live there? If, of course, it was the type of ruins I imagined.

"What ruins? Do you know much about them?" I asked Alex.

"They say that someone used to live there before," said Ronald. "Nobody knows exactly who these people were and even if they were humans. Some believe that they belonged to those who came here long before us."

"Exactly," the old man nodded. "But there are other assumptions—that they are the remains of some vanished civilization that... reminds of itself."

He said the last words very carefully, clearly looking for the best way to say them. What did he mean by that?

"If you're David's follower, you will be able to enter the 'Forbidden City'," Jones continued.

"That's not a very hospitable name," I joked awkwardly.

Alex suddenly burst out laughing.

"There's more to it than that," he said. "Fools are attracted by this name, and the smart ones take it as a warning. So don't let that surprise you..."

I pretended to appreciate the merchant's humor and smiled, even laughed a little. And who was I in this case—fool or the smart one? As this name scared me, I was the latter, but it looked like I had to go there.

"You must be ready for our next visit," Alex suddenly became serious. "You may be required to use everything that you've learned. So don't waste your time. Here's a map, you'll need it."

He handed me a piece of brownish paper rolled into a tube and tied with antediluvian lace.

"Take it!" Alex raised his voice, seeing my confusion. "Trust me, it's the best gift you can get from me."

"Thank you," I said and took the parcel from the merchant. "Can I see you wares?"

Alex and his sons looked at each other.

"Why not?" the merchant shrugged. "It's a pity that we don't charge browsing them."

Then he laughed again, as if he made a grand joke.

"Come with me," Ronald waved.

He went to one of the carts and threw back the canopy. He waved his hand again as if saying: "come and look". I approached him and looked at the neatly arranged objects on the floor.

"These things are cheap, but they're useful, too," he explained. "Everything else is in the back; with your stats, it's better that you don't to look there yet."

"Why not?" I asked.

"You'd get upset," he said without pardon.

Chapter end