In Service of the Pharaoh (League of Losers Book #2) Read online

  In Service of the Pharaoh

  a novel

  by Michael Atamanov

  League of Losers

  Book#2

  Magic Dome Books

  League of Losers

  Book #2: In Service of the Pharaoh

  Copyright © Michael Atamanov 2020

  Cover Art © Ivan Khivrenko 2020

  Art Designer Vladimir Manyukhin

  English translation copyright © Alix Merlin Williamson 2020

  Published by Magic Dome Books, 2020

  All Rights Reserved

  ISBN: 978-80-7619-207-2

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is entirely a work of fiction. Any correlation with real people or events is coincidental.

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  Table of Contents:

  Chapter 1

  Invisible Swordmaiden

  Chapter 2 [Sergeant]

  Ancient Fortress

  Chapter 3 [Kitten]

  On the Edge

  Chapter 4 [Sergeant]

  Restless Night

  Chapter 5 [Kitten]

  Secret Room

  Chapter 6 [Sergeant]

  Return to the River Island

  Chapter 7 [Kitten]

  Training a New Master

  Chapter 8 [Sergeant]

  Group of Outcasts

  Chapter 9 [Sergeant]

  Hard Decisions

  Chapter 10 [Kitten]

  Breaking Bad

  Chapter 11 [Sergeant]

  Downstream

  Chapter 12 [Kitten]

  Hundred Skull City: Entrance

  Chapter 13 [Sergeant]

  Hundred Skull City: Challenge

  Chapter 14 [Kitten]

  Final Boss

  Chapter 15 [Sergeant]

  Discussion with a Player

  Chapter 16 [Kitten]

  The Pharaoh’s People

  Chapter 17 [Sergeant]

  Mother’s Milk

  Chapter 18 [Kitten]

  Unexpected Meeting

  Chapter 19 [Sergeant]

  In Service of the Pharaoh

  Chapter 20 [Sergeant]

  Territory of the Strongest Guild

  Chapter 21 [Kitten]

  The Cat That Walks By Himself

  Chapter 22 [Sergeant]

  Old Acquaintance

  Chapter 23 [Kitten]

  Palace of the Cat Goddess

  Chapter 24 [Kitten]

  Secret of the Cat Goddess

  Chapter 25 [Sergeant]

  The Courtesan’s Gift

  Chapter 26 [Kitten]

  Mission of Survival

  Chapter 27 [Sergeant]

  Slaughter in the Night

  Chapter 28 [Kitten]

  Rest

  Chapter 29 [Sergeant]

  Southern Ruins

  Chapter 30 [Kitten]

  Refuge with a Monster

  Chapter 31 [Sergeant]

  Working for the Minotaur

  Chapter 32 [Kitten]

  ¡No pasarán! They Shall Not Pass!

  Chapter 33 [Sergeant]

  Snap Goes The Mouse Trap

  Chapter 34 [Sergeant]

  Preparation

  Chapter 35 [Kitten]

  League of Losers

  Chapter 1

  Invisible Swordmaiden

  The Abandoned Veich Village of Ori-Tavi

  Sherkh Outpost, Guild Eastern Garrison

  Clan Leader’s Tent

  “THEY’RE GONE?”

  Avelia Un Ponar, respectfully down on one knee before her leader, nodded silently. Yes, the group of thirty humans from the river village really had gone beyond the barrier. And the Swordmaiden had no doubt that her all-knowing guild leader, level 78 Shadow Master Al’tair Un Ponar, already knew the answer to his question. The leader’s next words confirmed it.

  “What was that chaos at the forcefield? Why did you interfere in human affairs?”

  Avelia kept a neutral expression with difficulty. It seemed she had been watched. And the task had no doubt been assigned to one of her very own squad, perhaps even her own brother. Sherkhs were not supposed to interfere in the affairs of other races, and her help to Sergeant could be interpreted as subversive. She would have to weasel her way out, make excuses.

  “Two of the humans sent beyond the barrier refused to comply with the order from the river village’s leader. They decided at the last moment to stay. There was a conflict between the humans. The sherkhs do not need new settlements of races competing with us for land. And my task was to track the departing group and ensure that the humans truly did leave, and not settle in our territory. That’s why I decided to send the stubborn ones through the barrier. In the end, all the humans left, apart from two low-levels.”

  “Such zeal. I approve of your initiative.”

  The strict and eternally displeased level 51 Councilwoman sitting next to the guild leader — a representative from the Grand Emperor of the sherkh race, sent to ensure that law and tradition was upheld in Eastern Garrison — also nodded with approval. It worked! The Swordmaiden sighed with relief. However, the guild leader’s next question put her on guard again.

  “Avelia, I have had reports that for the last few days, you have often spoken to humans without reason. Specifically with one human, a Beast Catcher by trade. Would you care to explain your interest?”

  Avelia held the guild leader’s long, piercing gaze without dropping her eyes. No doubt remained — she had been followed, which was peculiar. That had never happened before. But the girl felt no guilt. Now all she had to do was convince the others she wasn’t guilty.

  “The new lands interested me, leader. Knowledge is the most valuable thing that can be stolen or spied out from our neighbors. The low-level human Beast Catcher managed to tame several dangerous monsters in a short time, thereby noticeably strengthening his guild. Our enemies, the veichs, sent their own people to buy the knowledge from the Beast Catcher. Even the Cartographer flew in on his dragon to learn the methods of taming such beasts. It is not the sherkh way to trade with competing races, so I watched the Beast Catcher and gained the knowledge for free. In addition,” Avelia hurried to add, seeing the old Councilwoman at the leader’s right hand shift, wanting to object or add something, “I needed to retrieve a weapon that one of the humans had taken. I lost my crossbow after a death to the night beasts on the river island, and I couldn’t find it, although I scoured the entire human settlement. Our Blacksmith crafted the crossbow specially for me, and it was a reward for successfully completing a dozen dangerous missions in the veich war. I learned from the human where the crossbow was and stole the weapon back that very night. I broke no laws, kept closely to sherkh tradition, said no words in our own language, shared no food with the human and limited myself entirely to matters of business.”

  The leader glanced at the Councilwoman, but after a moment’s hesitation, she shook her head, retracting her unspoken objection. Al’tair
Un Ponar’s face dropped its strict mask, brightened. He even allowed himself to sit down on a carved wooden chair found in an abandoned village, which signaled that the conversation with the Swordmaiden was now in the informal stage.

  “Well then, my daughter, you have pleased me! Your little scouting squad has provided excellent reconnaissance all along the big river, and you have proved yourself a worthy commander. Just explain one thing to me, Avelia — how did you contrive to die to the night beasts? Have the creatures learned to detect sherkhs?”

  “No, father. The Feelers and Alphas are still unable to see our race. But on the river island, I encountered a new beast — flying, with the ability to corrupt the mind. It made me panic and act irrationally. It knocked me out of stealth, and then the other beasts caught up to me and finished me off. I have learned that painful lesson, father, and will not repeat it!”

  “Your fourth death, daughter… Be more careful from now on, particularly when near humans. Humans are foolish, reckless. They violate the laws of nature and gather in overly large groups, causing the night beasts to appear. This has happened not only on the island. Our other scouts have reported that the situation was even worse in the villages of Orshi-Ur and Un-Talavi. Hundreds dead. Many of the humans died permanently. I believe that our Grand Emperor is right. We need not hurry to declare war on them — they will destroy themselves without our help!”

  The Councilwoman nodded approvingly and declared that she saw no more need for her presence in this conversation between father and daughter. They waited for the tent flap to snap shut behind the sour old woman in black, then the Shadow Master spoke quietly:

  “Now I can finally relax and speak openly, without fear that any incautious word will be relayed directly to the Grand Emperor. I’m glad to see you in good health, Avelia!”

  The guild leader stood and warmly embraced his daughter. And whispered into her ear:

  “There have been several complaints about you in the last few days, Avelia. The scouts from your party weren’t always sure where to find their squad leader. You did not appear at the designated meeting places. You left no messages for your subordinates. Your brother Arvedo stated plainly that he saw you last night practically naked in the company of a human man with a sordid reputation for consorting with women of other races.”

  Avelia sniffed in righteous indignation and opened her mouth to explain to her father what had happened on the river island, but the guild leader just waved it away.

  “Nonsense, of course. The entire guild knows of the strained relationship between you siblings. So Arvedo was not believed. Moreover, I ordered my son to keep his mouth shut and stop spreading rumors that tarnish our family’s good name. But always know — you are the commander of a squadron of spies. And you are the chief’s daughter, so the demands on you are greater and the eyes on you sharper. Especially now, with all this talk of potential war with the humans.”

  The Swordmaiden thanked her father for his care and asked how true were the rumors of war. Al’tair Un Ponar turned serious again. He even opened the tent flap, checked to make sure there was no one nearby. Avelia knew that her father’s special abilities as a Shadow Master meant he could not only remain invisible even when all other sherkhs were revealed, but also detect other invisible creatures. Once certain there were no listening ears, the chief returned to the tent, closed the flap tightly.

  “Daughter, the situation is extremely serious. The guild leaders of Northern Garrison, Northwestern Garrison and Southern Garrison are in favor of war against the humans. They say that after our victory over the veichs, the time has come to push the other competing races beyond the barrier and provide our race with a safe shelter, where sherkhs can live for centuries in a world of peace and safety. Only I and the leader of Western Garrison spoke out against war. You know my stance on this — if war is declared, then may we have no mercy for the enemy, but if there is still a chance to keep the peace, then we must try. Now that the veichs are gone, our people have gained vast lands, and we must focus on taming those lands, not on war. The Grand Emperor has not decided yet. He hesitates. The humans are, after all, not so simple and helpless as they appear. There are many good fighters among them, and some powerful spellcasters. And… have you heard of the trophies that Angea Un Vari’s group took from followers of the Pharaoh?”

  Avelia shook her head. She really hadn’t spoken to many of her own people in the last few days, while carrying out her mission to track the humans on the river. She had missed all the latest news. Fortunately, her father painted the picture.

  “We found one of the Pharaoh’s nobles in our new lands — a very powerful mage accompanied by a bodyguard. The fight was fierce — three groups of our soldiers were sent back to the graveyard. But it was worth it! We found much of interest among the trophies. A device for communicating over long distances, and a rapid-firing ranged weapon. But what interested our wise men most of all was a type of headgear made of leather straps and pieces of glass bound in tubes. If you put it on your head and look through the pieces of glass, you can see any sherkh within three hundred paces, even in stealth. Do you understand what that means? The humans don’t need high Perception, high-level detection skills or complex eye mutations to see our race even in total darkness and at a great distance.”

  “Father, but this is…” The Swordmaiden was shook and didn’t even try to hide it. “That means if we do go to war, we’re guaranteed to lose! The humans are more numerous and better armed, and they have those guns. And now it turns out that our main advantage — invisibility — isn’t even that useful against the humans! Does the Grand Emperor know about this? Do the other sherkh leaders?”

  “Of course they know. But if I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t worry about what the guild leaders know, I would worry about making such hasty and categorical predictions of our race’s upcoming catastrophic downfall. If anyone else heard you talk like that, you’d be in trouble. The sherkhs are still strong, omnipresent and practically omniscient. But it is these very ‘infrared goggles’ and ‘night-vision scopes’, as the humans call these devices, that provoke our leaders to start the war sooner rather than later, while these items are rare and available only to chosen few servants of the Pharaoh. If humans begin to mass-produce tools to detect sherkhs, then our omnipresence and dominion is at an end!”

  Avelia lowered her head, said nothing for half a minute, then spoke thoughtfully:

  “Father, what if the leaders who want war are right? We need to act now, before it’s too late!”

  But the guild leader just shook his head.

  “Starting a war is simple enough, daughter, but there won’t be a way back once it’s started. It’ll be us or them. I even feel certain that our squads would easily eliminate or drive away the humans from all the villages east of the mountain range and south of the great river. But what then? Their main settlements are in the west, and they’re well defended. We won’t take those fortresses by storm, and a drawn-out war is no good for the sherkhs. As you yourself noted, humans are more numerous, better armed. And they get fifty to seventy reinforcements every day. When was the last time you saw sherkh arrivals to the new world?”

  “But father, the priests claim that there will yet be a third coming of our race! You told me that yourself! We all believe it faithfully!”

  “Yes, daughter, the third wave will come, of course. But when? And how many sherkhs will it contain? There were only two hundred pioneers in the first wave. At great risk, by exploring the unexplored and paying with lives to gain knowledge, they collected information on this new world, built our first settlements and paved the way for the coming of the others. Ten thousand sherkhs came in the second wave, more than enough to gain full control of the lands of our shelter. If it weren’t for the betrayal of those four leaders who took their entire guilds beyond the forcefield, things might have gone very differently, and the problem of humans might never have gotten so serious…”

  The Shadow Master clenched h
is fists until bones crunched. That split last autumn still lit a burning fury inside him. Back then, at a regular high council meeting, the Grand Emperor — the ruler of the largest and strongest sherkh guild — declared to the other nine leaders that he planned to start a great war against the veichs, and he wanted the support of all nine of the garrisons. He said some very convincing words on the need to push the competing veich race out beyond the forcefield and to create a safe shelter where the sherkhs could peacefully advance the sciences, raise children, create new technology and forge weaponry for further expansion into the wider world. He said that the third and final wave of sherkhs was coming to the new world, and the new arrivals would need fertile and resource-rich lands for settling. The veich lands were a perfect fit, he said.

  Humans weren’t even taken into consideration then — they were weak, bogged down with internal conflict, always killing each other. The last of the sentient races — the veyers — had made the sherkhs’ job easier by all gathering together and flying out beyond the barrier unprompted. It seemed the perfect time for an attack. Al’tair Un Ponar was the first of the nine leaders to express his absolute support for the Grand Emperor and declare his readiness to provide soldiers from Eastern Garrison for the united sherkh army. The heads of other guilds followed, voicing their support for the war one after another.

  Which made subsequent events even more surprising. The leaders of four guilds at once declared to the Grand Emperor that they would not participate in his ‘senseless war,’ and, moreover, they were taking their four thousand sherkhs beyond the barrier to colonize the wider world. Al’tair Un Ponar neither understood nor forgave those traitors — not then and not now. How could they do it? Abandon everyone else, betray the interests of their species and create a rift that badly weakened the sherkhs? Especially his blood brother Aquila Un Ponar, leader of Central Garrison. How could he?!

  Al’tair spat in disgust, as he did every time his traitorous brother’s name came into his mind.