A Trap for the Potentate Read online

  A Trap for the Potentate

  a novel

  by Michael Atamanov

  Dark Herbalist

  Book#3

  Magic Dome Books

  A Trap for the Potentate

  Dark Herbalist, Book # 3

  Copyright © M. Atamanov 2018

  Cover Art © V. Manyukhin 2018

  English translation copyright © Andrew Schmitt 2018

  Editor: Zach Lewis

  Published by Magic Dome Books, 2018

  All Rights Reserved

  ISBN: 978-80-88231-48-6

  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 return to Amazon.com and 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:

  Foreword

  New Director

  Lost Oasis

  Taisha's Wish

  Adjustment in Plans

  Taisha's Rebellion

  Subterranean City

  New Hardships

  The Banks of the Styx

  Blood-Soaked Swamp

  After the Battle

  Emissary of Darkness

  New Patch

  Lower Fort

  Land of the Giants

  The Clan of the White Lily

  Island Duel

  Questions without Answers

  Foreword

  The great hunt is over. In the end, Timothy managed to keep his invaluable prize. A victory? Perhaps. But glory and adrenaline are very powerful intoxicants, and tolerance builds quickly. Having to go without them quickly makes life gray and bleak. What’s more, his beautiful lover (to be more accurate, both of them) is beginning to transparently hint that she could find herself a more interesting beau.

  What is a talented player to do in this case? The solution suggests itself: rush headlong into the most dangerous adventures, taking risks and walking the blade of a knife. Timothy must do everything in his power to survive in places where making a clean escape is entirely impossible, delighting the viewers with his utterly unique playing style and proving definitively to his lady (to be more accurate both of them), that his previous success was no mere coincidence.

  Will it be hard?

  Very!

  But old reliable friends are still by his side, and that means victory is possible!

  New Director

  “DID YOU CALL?” I asked, knocking politely and walking through the wide-open doors of my new boss's office. Before entering, I pumped the breaks for a second, reading a copper plaque that a workman was screwing into the door:

  Max Tohner

  Director of Special Projects

  He was the fourth person to occupy this office in a month. Truly, it was a cursed position. The new head of the special projects division didn't look all that glum about it though, reflecting confidence, gravitas and power with his whole appearance. When I entered, he gave a scant nod and motioned to the guest chair.

  It should be said that my recent late-night conversation with the Keeper had given me an utterly mistaken picture of my new boss. Based on the voice and behavior of his glowing winged character, I supposed that the person playing the Keeper was fairly young, maybe even my peer. But the man sitting in the immense director's seat left by the rotund Mark Tobius, was short, around fifty and had a noticeable gray streak in his otherwise dark chestnut hair. He had a huge bald patch that practically reached the back of his head. And I was also struck by his eyes. They were chalky, cold and had a very light-colored iris. They looked somehow inhuman, like those of a snake or
fish.

  “You already know my name,” Max Tohner said with a nod to the plaque, “and I know yours. So then, let's get straight to business. Timothy, what kind of character do you play?”

  “A Goblin Herbalist,” I answered, surprised at his ignorance.

  How could he not have known that?! After all, he had met me in Boundless Realm, seen my big-eared Amra with his own eyes and probably read the race, profession and level as well! Had he seriously forgotten? But, as it turned out, it wasn't forgetfulness or ignorance that served as the reason for his question.

  “So then, you're an Herbalist, not a Pirate, or a Wolf Rider or a Beast Master! But meanwhile, Herbalism is your most waning and neglected skill! You still haven't even leveled it to first specialization, even though your character is at level forty! That's a downright mess! The corporation hired you to do a specific job: show our users all the advantages of playing as a Goblin Herbalist. But somehow, you just keep doing all manner of things other than your explicit profession!!!”

  With every new phrase, my boss raised his voice more and more. By the end of his incriminating speech, he had built up to a scream. I tried to vindicate myself, reminding the director with a smile about the great hunt for my Amra and how I had to constantly flee, so I didn't have much time to gather plants.

  But I should have just kept my mouth shut...

  My boss found my response inappropriately jocular, which struck him as very disagreeable. He also clearly disliked having a subordinate try to contradict him. A stream of reproaches and cursing poured out onto me. I was accused of not respecting my superiors, having a defiant attitude, exhibiting boorish behavior, holding a negligent outlook on work and damn near treason against the Boundless Realm Corporation. Only at the very end of his hateful monolog did Max Tohner begin to calm down, noting justly in a more or less normal tone:

  “Timothy, the great hunt for you ended several days ago. But you have missed a number of work shifts since then, and your goblin didn’t gain a single level in Herbalism over the whole ten hours of your last gaming session. Your character didn't grow in any other way, either. You just flew to your heart’s content over the desert at night and lollygagged instead of working.”

  I really had no way of denying his last accusation. After leveling up the Royal Forest Wyvern to the point it could support my small weight, I really had forgotten about everything on earth and just enjoyed the sensation of flight, while my orcish army made its way across the Great Desert. But there were plenty of other complaints without the senselessly wasted gaming session. I was in shock and didn't even know how to behave.

  No one had called me out like this in a fairly long time. I suppose the last time I'd gotten such a chewing out was ten years ago from my school principal for missing my final algebra exam without a good reason. At that time, I was poorly prepared for an important test, so I thought I’d be clever and skip it, claiming I had sharp chest pains.

  I was only ten at the time, and I naively supposed I would simply be allowed to go home, then take the test a day or two later, getting the questions from my classmates and finding the answers to them in the comfort of my own house. However, it all turned out wrong. My awkward attempt at faking illness was quickly uncovered by the ambulance workers and, instead of maximum points on the test, I got a call to an enraged school principal...

  But then, ten years ago, I could have guessed that the school director wouldn't have anything good to say, and was morally prepared for his stream of sharp enraged proclamations. Now though, the new special projects director for the Boundless Realm Corporation had caught me off guard with his fervent criticism. I didn't know how to act. I could either demonstrate submission and agree with him or, on the other hand, tell the boorish man what I thought about treating subordinates that way and sign my resignation right then and there.

  In the end, life did exist beyond the Boundless Realm Corporation. I'd find myself another job with leadership that treated me right. Also, the half million credits I'd earned in the great hunt allowed me to have an optimistic outlook on the future and not worry too much about losing this job. But I still didn't rush such an irreversible decision. My boss had already said his fill, blown off steam, and was returning to normal. Some of the things he said were completely correct.

  What was more, I noticed that he looked tired, as if he hadn't gotten enough sleep. His excessive irritation was probably rooted in that. What was more, Max Tohner had most likely gotten an emotional send up from his bosses intended to push him into adapting quicker to his new position, and he was just transmitting this rage to his underlings.

  Nevertheless, I was expecting a totally different evaluation of my gameplay. No matter how you sliced it, Amra had kept the wonderful flying mount, acquired a unique mythical hound for the Gray Pack, made it away from the big chase and kept up an exciting pace the whole time. The fact that my video clips enjoyed such success in the rankings was evidence of that. Taking advantage of the pause in the stream of the director's rage, I reminded him of my accomplishments.

  And yet, on that account, my boss had a totally different perspective:

  “Timothy, I don't see anything to your credit in this sudden spike in popularity. You got the unique forest wyvern from nothing more than one stroke of luck. I don't know all the details of what happened, but I've heard rumors that your much-vaunted quest was not entirely free of foul play, and that other directors of special projects were fired over some of the murky details. From there, you just rode the current. The reason your clips were so popular wasn’t because you’re such a brilliant player, but simply because the players were interested in the valuable trophy of the great hunt. Soon, your fleeting glory will pass, and all that will remain is a barren remnant — an abominable Goblin Herbalist who hasn't even developed his main skills.”

  I wanted to disagree and even opened my mouth slightly, preparing to speak, but just kept silent and lowered my head. Actually, I had to agree with him there. Max Tohner then continued:

  “If you were just a normal player, no one would have said a word to you about your poor skill leveling. But you're employed by the Boundless Realm Corporation, and everyone knows it! You must serve as an example for the others, show the advantages of playing as an Herbalist, reveal the potential of that path and then, at the very least, don’t lag behind in your profession. But what we have on our hands now is a rotten mess. The average level-forty Herbalist has their Herbalism skill at around level forty-two, or three. But yours is just fifteen... I'm not afraid to say that that someone who works for a game developer should be ashamed of that. How much time do you need to correct the error? Will one week be enough?”

  “More than,” I answered with an even and absolutely confident voice, trying not to show my feelings.

  Inside, I was cringing in horror. Was it really possible to raise my Herbalism skill by thirty levels in one week?! Even if I crawled around the forest and swamp day and night collecting herbs and flowers, it wasn't certain I'd make it! But I didn't want to show my lack of confidence in front of my boss. I was still a senior tester, a quite famous player, and wanted my boss to see me as an experienced employee who knew his value.

  “That's great then!” Max Tohner lit up. “Then let's come back to this issue in a week. And for now, Timothy, I say we should look over how to use your unique flying snake for the shared interest and benefit of the whole Boundless Realm Corporation. There are very few flying mounts, and your advantage over other players needs to be constantly emphasized. How about exploring some undiscovered lands?”

  It cost me great effort to hold back an acrid comment. It was hardly possible to both actively gather herbs for the whole next week and take VIXEN on prolonged flights. But I didn't provoke my boss, instead answering that I was already working on something like that.

  “A wyvern is, of course, good. But it alone isn't enough for long scouting missions. The flying snake is still small and weak. She gets tired quickly and has to land often. In any p
lace inhabited by dangerous monsters, we'd be devoured the second VIXEN lands. And also, don’t forget about flying beasts. Boundless Realm is full of them. In far-off unknown places, such monsters will be beyond high-level. VIXEN and I won't even be a mouthful to them. But as it turns out, I currently have about three hundred brutish orcs under my command. Of course, I could just let the NPC pirates go free, but I don’t think that’s the right decision. No matter what, they are a valuable resource, which just needs to find the proper application. Maybe I could use them for a big expedition to hard-to-reach undiscovered lands.”

  “Continue,” the director replied, his interest piqued. He folded his hands together and leaned over the table toward me.

  “My troop is moving through the narrowest part of the Great Desert and, today or tomorrow, we will have reached the other side. I told my warriors the way, then spent all night flying back and forth on the wyvern, bringing them strength-restoring water from an enchanted spring near a copper mine. The water is a special elixir that restores endurance, but it spoils quite fast. So, I had to carry it on the Royal Forest Wyvern to get it there in time. At any rate, my cutthroats are moving fast, and will soon cross the desert and reach a deep, wide black river, on the very edge of the known world. I could make a map of these new territories and even, if I'm dreaming big, construct a defensive outpost on the river, where players can wait out the dangerous nights in safety.”