World of Karik: A Game of Villains 49 The Great Council

He paused and looked around the room.

"People have been getting to this world for many years now," he finally decided to break the silence. "But no one has ever gotten out of here. At least, there is no reliable information about it."

"I heard that one American squad succeeded," Vlada stated. "I heard it from the merchants."

"Jones?" Petrovich got interested.

"No," Vlada shook her head. "Our people. Medvetsky."

I looked at her. Judging by the wrinkles in the corners of her mouth, she was older than Olga, but very attractive at the same time. Well-groomed, so to speak. Keeping fit in these conditions was quite difficult, but she seemed to be really good at it. Her hair was light brown and slightly gray, or discolored by chemicals. I wondered what had happened to her and where it had happened. Was the discoloration a consequence of the deadly test or did it happen here, in this world?

"I heard that someone got to the exit point, too," Petrovich said. "Americans, Russians and Poles. But these stories are terribly similar to each other."

"Maybe someone really made it back to our world," Dimitri added. "Although I doubt that we'll ever find out the truth about it. It's a little strange that someone can tell us about those who had managed to find the exit point. How do they know about it?"

"That's the point," Petrovich started talking again. "I'll repeat myself once again — there is simply no reliable information about someone getting back to the 'real' world. Although, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try. It's common knowledge that it's impossible to get there with a handful of people. That's why we have teamed up."

"Okay, but what's next?" Boris asked.

He had obviously been a sportsman, maybe even a soldier, or a cop. Why was I surprised that someone like him ended up here? No one here was a saint, including me.

"We'll expand a little," Petrovich answered. "There are nineteen of us now. That's enough to protect our base and become a force to be reckoned with, but it's too little to move north."

"So what do you suggest?" Vlada asked. "Save our strength and recruit newbies after every bloody dawn? After about half a year we'll have an army, provided we save them all."

Is she joking? Is she testing Petrovich? Or is she being serious? The red dawn happened about once a week and brought a few more people to this world. I was, however, under the impression that the number of people was constantly decreasing.

"It's useless," Petrovich snapped. "I'm afraid that from now on we'll meet just one newbie a week. Or maybe even none at all."

Everyone fell silent. Only the crackling of the fire and the noisy breathing of the drunk Major could be heard. It seemed that I was right. The constant decrease of the number of people coming into this world was not a coincidence. When I got here, there were five of us. Then three people came — the archer, Vadim and the one whose name I had forgotten… Zelenets, as far as I could remember. Last time we got Sergei, the crossbowman, and Lena, the ropemaker.

"Nobody knows for sure what mechanisms are in charge of bringing people into this world," Petrovich said. "Although, it's a proven fact that more people in the detachment means fewer newcomers. Thus, opportunities for growth shouldn't be sought there."

I looked at Vlada. She gave all of this a thought and nodded.

"You're right," she admitted. "Our group hasn't been here for long and we're already quite worn out."

"More than 'quite' I'd say," the Major snorted. I was about to hit him when our leader gave him such a glare that it made him lower his gaze and immediately fall silent.

"Your attack was the second one," Vlada said, her voice harsh. "Some nomads attacked us the first time."

"Nomads?" asked the blacksmith. "Who are they?"

"I thought you knew about them," Vlada shook her curls. "Some groups don't stay at the same place for long and are constantly on the move. Their members believe that they will get to the exit point faster this way. They level up as they go."

"Strange people," Dimitri shook his head. "They have to carry their tombstones with them."

"Exactly," Vlada confirmed. "They risk, but they do it for a reason. We were attacked by the nomads while leading our newbies to the base…"

I expected the Major to blurt out something again but he, being afraid of Petrovich, was wise enough to keep silent.

"We were all killed, even the five newcomers. Of course, they were carrying their tombstones with them. While everyone else revived at the base and was racing to their rescue, the nomads smashed the tombstones to pieces and moved on. Next time, five more people came again, the ones that you've captured. Maybe, it's just a coincidence…"

"It's not a coincidence," the blacksmith interrupted her. "It's the same in other groups."

"Where did you get such information about other groups?" someone asked. I was also surprised that the redhead was aware of such facts.

"I am very sociable," the blacksmith said with an enigmatic smile. "Jokes aside, folks, you have to communicate more with the traders. They know a lot since they maintain relationships with different people."

"All right," Paul, one of Vlada's aids, agreed. "Let's say that's true. What about it?"

"My scout discovered one more group nearby," Petrovich squinted and, pleased with himself, moved onto the main subject of our meeting. "There are about fifteen people in it, but they have no powerful weapons or high-leveled men. So, if all of us attack at the same time, we could take them down without any loss of experience. Some of us could even level up."

I wondered who Petrovich's scout was. Don't tell me that it's the Major? How did he manage to find another enemy base? It couldn't have been a coincidence; he is clearly hiding something.

"I'm in," Vlada said.

"What will you do with them?" came Innokenty's quiet, weak voice.

"Invite them into our group," Petrovich answered. "Isn't that obvious?"

"Try talking to them?" the guy grinned. "Maybe they will agree to join us. Why would we need to kill and punish them?"

The motley crew at the campfire roared in approval.

"As practice shows," Petrovich started calmly, "just talking doesn't lead to the needed result. Need I remind you of a certain incident?"

Innokenty wilted and fell silent.

"But there is a grain of truth in your words," our leader suddenly said. "It's possible that they will agree to unite with us. You'll check that out."

The boy raised his head and inquiringly looked at Petrovich.

"It was your idea, and you'll see it to the end," he reasoned. "Or did you think that you've been enrolled as one of my advisors? I don't trust you, so this is a good way to prove your loyalty. You can even bring a couple of companions along with you. If someone agrees to go with you voluntarily, that is."

A tense silence filled the air. Innokenty was helplessly turning his head from one person to another. I wondered if anyone would volunteer.

Chapter end