CHAPTER 48 [The Great River and Other Issues]

"So that's the only option?"

"No, there's a quest ferry, too, but it's a really tough quest that doesn't even let you ride for free; you just get a discount. But that's your call. If you want, you can go talk to the pier boss in Mettan. Or just walk around the city—there's a lot that's fun to do."

"What if I just build a raft?"

"Everything in the river will eat you alive. It's teeming with all kinds of things, and they're all carnivo-rous. You think you're the first one to have that idea? Anyway, are you coming with me?"

"Of course. Just give me ten minutes to take care of a quest."

Reineke nodded, and I hurried off to a stand I'd noticed earlier. The sign above it read "Life-Giving Power of Nature: Herbs, Roots, Ointments." herbalist named Felga quickly asked me to find eight sheaves of Drianod grass, though she had her doubts that I'd be able to find them.

"They're so hard to find...so hard!"

To her surprise, I simply pulled them out of my bag, receiving in return 150 gold, 400 experience, and a charming smile from the lovely herbalist to boot. She also promised me a 10% discount on all her inventory. I doubted I'd ever need it, but it didn't hurt.

That done, I walked over to Reineke, who was sitting on the step outside the hotel.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Sort of," I said, and rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't mind picking up some abilities. I have at least two waiting for me."

"Oh, you can get them in Mettan. I definitely remember seeing instructors there."

Lis opened a portal, and we stepped inside—Lis to see his friend, and me in search of new adventures. Or maybe just yet another headache.

The smell of river water is unmistakable. It's a bit sweet, with a smack of freshness, different underwater plants, and a touch of sand. That was the smell that met us, making our hearts skip a beat when we exited the portal.

We were standing on a perfectly standard pier. As expected, it was wooden, and it reminded me of Bobili Pier in Krasnoslobodsk, where I'd been sent the year before chasing a story. Gamroth had heard that the city was being called the Rublevka of the Volga, so he decided to cover his bases and collect some material just in case. Gilbert was actually supposed to go, but, you know, a young woman alone in a strange city and all. Something might have happened... But what could happen to her that she hadn't already been through? She'd worked as an oligarch's servant, and then she spent time with some Bedouins in Egypt. And both the former as well as the latter liked to have fun, or so she told us once at a corporate party after we'd gotten her thoroughly drunk. I guess it was one thing to chow down caviar in Rublevka and experiment in a tent with some exotic nomads, while wandering off into the depths of Russia and chatting with the people there was something much worse.

Krasnoslobodsk turned out to be a very nice little city, even if it wasn't well taken care of and was stuck in the roaring 90s. Still.

There were three boats at the end of the pier: one big one and two smaller ones. I wasn't expecting a ferry with staterooms, but honestly... The boats were pleasantly reminiscent of ships I'd read about in pseudo-historical and pseudo-Slavic fantasy novels. At least, they looked exactly how the books had described them. And, to be frank, I doubt I'd have ventured out on a river like that one on those boats in real life.

I could see why it was called the Great River. I'd seen the Volga, the Dniester, the Seine, and the Thames. They had nothing on the Crisna. I've also heard that the Amazon is a big river, but I don't know since I haven't seen it. Still, I don't think it would be anything next to what was in front of me.

The Crisna was enormous. The opposite bank was so far away that it disappeared when the water swelled higher. It flowed lazily as if still feeling out its greatness and size. The waves gently washed ashore near the pier.

"Powerful, no?" Reineke was obviously enjoying watching my face. "I couldn't believe it either the first time I saw it. Beautiful and enormous!"

"Seriously," I agreed. "Impressive. What's on the other side?"

"It might as well be the moon for how far away it is for you, my friend. Over there is Mirastia, the dark kingdom of the dead. The raid zone there is for strong, high-level clans, and nobody, no matter their level, ever goes alone. Zombies, skeletons of all shapes and sizes, hell hounds, blood ghosts, wyverns, probably, and lots of all of them. And as if that weren't enough, at the end you have to deal with the Emperor of the Dead, sitting on his throne of bones in Skull Palace. Sitting there with a grin on his face and a sword in his hand. A lot of people said his sword was from a set."

"Was it?"

"Nope, not in the least. Legendary, and really incredible, but not from a set. Clan after clan has died trying to storm Skull Palace. In the entire history of the game, only three clans have ever taken the palace and killed the Emperor: the Vultures, the Wild Hearts, and, if I'm not mistaken, the Forest Beasts."

"And our clan?"

"We're not that strong, or, at least, not yet. We took out some lower-level bosses around the outside a few times, and that was all."

"What about the Hounds of Death?"

"They tried four times, but they weren't able to do it. The last time, the Gray Witch and two of their warriors got all the way to the Emperor. He piled them up one on top of the other in the throne room, though, and the Witch was livid for two weeks. She really wanted that sword, I guess."

"Or she wanted even more prestige for their clan."

"Could be."

"So does the kingdom of the dead cover that entire bank?"

"Oh, please, no. You can see how wide the river is now, but in three weeks, you'll also realise how long it is. Two weeks after that, you'll lose your mind completely. Everything's different on the other side. Farther downstream, which is where you're going, right next to Mirastia, is the Forest of Spiders, and then another forest—apparently without a special name. And after that, there's everything you could think of. The thing is that it's tough to survive alone. You have to go with your whole clan or with a big group, and you need to be at least Level 100. Oh, and you should have a bunch of healers with you since there aren't any respawn points there. If they kill you, you come all the way back here. That's why storming Skull Palace is so hard. If you die and manage to get back over to that side of the river, you still have to wade through a sea of skeletons, and that can take a while."

"But what about the three clans that killed the Emperor? How did they get back? There couldn't have been many of them left."

"One of the bonuses you get for killing the Emperor is a portal that opens. You walk in, say where you want to go, and you're there. Well, within the known regions, of course."

"But why did the developers make it so hard?"

"Well, aren't you inquisitive today? Everyone has their own opinion. Personally, I think they made the locations over there just in case the world gets too crowded. That way they can gradually start to open things up, start cities, populate them, write quests, and add actions, none of which are there now. There isn't anyone living there, so there aren't quests or actions. If there were, people would try to head over. That lets them preserve it for later, so to speak."

"And Rivenholm? If all that is true, why would they need Rivenholm?"

"Why did people imagine El Dorado? It's a pipe dream. You need them, so you have something to work toward, something to discuss, something to think about. It's just that it's far away across the ocean, and that side of the river is right there. Well, it's close compared to Rivenholm, at least. Oh, Ruh, hi!"

A big, high-level warrior barbarian came up to us, and his size immediately reminded me of Fat Billie. For some reason, I'd thought that he was part of our clan, but he turned out to be in the Valley Children clan.

"Hey, Lis. Who's this?" Ruh more boomed than spoke.

"Leyton. He's a good guy from our clan."

"Hi, Leyton! How's life?"

"Getting there, Ruh. Doing my thing, taking my time, killing some monsters."

"Quick on his feet!" Ruh winked approvingly at Reineke. "I like that. Anyway, you ready?"

"More than. Okay, Leyton, see you around. If you need anything, write. Oh, and, again, go around Snakeville. Don't try to get fancy."

"Agreed," Ruh said. "Rotten place. Zoren, a friend of ours, was there, and it changed him. Eventually, he was so gloomy he quit the game. He was even at Level 128 and respected in the clan. So just go find your jollies elsewhere. All right, let's go."

A portal flashed and Reineke dove in behind Ruh.

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