World of Karik: A Game of Villains 32 Deeper in the Wood…

We walked in silence for a while. The girls were either afraid that someone was following us, or simply didn't know what to talk about.

"Vasily," the business lady finally spoke.

I turned slightly to show that I was listening, but didn't stop.

"Vasily, wait," Olga said a little louder.

There we go.

"Do you know what happened to Vadim?" Dasha suddenly came up to me, so Olga didn't get chance to utter a word. She even winced a little, apparently not expecting this from the athlete.

I saw a small stump and sat on it. If we're going to stop and talk, it was better to do so while sitting comfortably. To be honest, I would rather find out why they were constantly sitting in a cave than to discuss Vadim. But since they mentioned him the other topic would have to wait.

"Vadim left us, thinking that working with the merchants is more interesting," I answered.

"Looking like that?" Dasha seemed shocked. So she saw our fat man's new "style".

"Why not?" I shrugged. "They say that it pays well. As far as I remember, he didn't want to level-up. At least he'll be useful this way."

"So he's not in any danger?" the novice archer gently asked.

I looked at her. Why was she so concerned about him? I doubted that they were romantically involved. I would not believe it.

"Dasha wanted to ask," Olga said sternly, looking at the athlete, "if he had voluntarily become that… Or if he was forced to do so."

I was starting to understand — the girls seemed to have understood that the merchants took Vadim by force, and were now trying to figure out whether that was true or not, masking their fear by caring for a member of the squad.

"As far as I know, he did it voluntarily." To be honest, I was still a little confused. After all, I heard nothing from Vadim himself, and given the older Jones's mental abilities, anything was possible. Fortunately, my words were enough to calm down the girls.

"Okay," Dasha murmured. "I thought Petrovich made him. I was afraid that he would sell us, too."

I never thought him to be a noble man, but even I doubted that he would do something like this even if his reaction to Vadim's departure left much to be desired. It wasn't in his best interest to lose people like that. I was sure Petrovich himself understood that very well.

"I think we have nothing to fear," I cheerfully said, hoping that we could change the topic.

"You shouldn't think so," Olga sourly said. "Petrovich is up to something."

"What else can he be up to?" I fidgeted on the stump, feeling surprised. The seat was pretty uncomfortable. "He started the revolution and came to power. And, pardon my rudeness, he got rid of competitors."

I know it was tough. Andrei and his companions were good people, our guys... But it's better to nip this conspiracy of hers in the bud even if it makes us uncomfortable...

"If it was only that," she sounded desperate which made me feel dumbstruck.

"Should I give you two some spaces?" Dasha quietly asked. "So you can talk?"

"She heard this before… More than once," Olga waved her hand, seeing my surprised look. "You can go, Dasha."

The athlete unlimbered her bow and moved in the direction of a small glade.

What a berry-searcher she is, my God.

"Listen, Cat," Olga was obviously collecting her thoughts. "Don't ask how I know about it...just don't ask. Petrovich wants to leave the base."

I admit, that was surprising. If, of course, Olga did not get it wrong.

"Where does he want to go?" I cautiously asked.

"Toward the exit point," she replied.

Something's wrong, I thought with a slight smile. With our levels and training?

"I know what you are thinking," Olga continued, twitching strangely. "Hey, can I sit down, too?"

"Sit down, there's enough space," I agreed, scooching over and inviting her to sit next to me.

Olga very delicately sat down on the edge of the stump and clung onto me. Not in that way; the stump was not that big, that's all. But, frankly, it was pleasant. Olga, although some ten years or so older than me, could make our athlete-archer envious even despite the conditions in which we found ourselves in.

"Of course, he's not planning on doing it immediately," she continued. "He wants all of us to level-up and wait for the new 'bloody dawn'. The more people, the better. Cannon fodder, he calls them."

I kept silent, tensely waiting to hear what Olga was going to say next. I wondered why Petrovich had told her these things.

"You know that you can get out of this world," Olga said with a hint of hope in her voice. "But the exit point is so far away and so difficult to reach... They say that no one has ever left. But..." she turned to me and looked me straight in the eyes. "As the Strugatsky brothers wrote in their book, '…you never know whether it's true what they are talking about the country of the barbarians.' "

"I don't know," I honestly said. "I wish I knew the truth, but I'm afraid that we don't have enough information."

"You spoke with the merchant," it wasn't a question, but a statement. "What did he tell you? He's obviously been living here a long time. He has his own business. He must've left his previous settlement and found himself in the new world. So what?"

She maintained eye contact, and I even felt embarrassed, which was untypical of me. The girl's attempts to manipulate me were fairly obvious, but I wanted to know how this would end. I cleared my throat, stretched my stiff back, and exhaled, telling her some of the things that Jones had told me. Not everything, of course, only the history of this world. I embellished a couple of facts and raised my deception a little along the way.

Chapter end