They were on their way back to the castle. They"d come home.

Three days in town were filled with unexpected discoveries and new problems.

The caravan arrived in town late at night.

But Nick left the group as soon as they reached a safe section of the road. He ran ahead. Michael trusted a clan merchant to do the first important thing.

Nick had to find a decent hotel for people and meet the group at the city gate.

In the evening, Nick met the group and walked down narrow streets to a small two-story house.

It was dark in the streets, n.o.body saw anything interesting. But it was pretty clear at once that this was a medieval town. Dor amused himself by the fact that the streets were clean. There wasn"t any garbage underfoot. The houses on the streets had a solid wall. All the windows were covered with st.u.r.dy shutters. The locals took care of their safety.

Nick was able to rent a house for the clan. An old woman, the owner of the house, looked at the players with sympathy. Was it the joy of meeting or the good payment of rent? It doesn"t matter, people are tired. They had dinner, laid their cloaks on the floor and went to bed. Valerie went to a private room.

"Men, who have an interest in close contact with local women?"

John"s quiet voice drove away everyone"s fatigue.

"This is not good, John. Tomorrow I"ll show everyone where two respectable wh.o.r.ehouses are located. Each will get one rial. That"s enough to have fun and take the stress off," said Nick in a stern voice.

"This is not necessary information," said Michael.

"Wh.o.r.ehouse is far? I"m asking about the nearest one," asked Alexander.

"A couple of minutes walk," said Nick calmly.

"I have the money. Describe to me the directions."

"I"ll go with you. I"m not tired," Nick came up from the floor.

"You checked the quality of the local wh.o.r.es and you"re not tired? Did you do your job well? The clan needs a solid commercial agent," said John.

A few more men came up off the floor with him.

"Guys, can"t you wait till morning? That"s not why you came to town," said Michael.

"And that", too," said Alexander.

And the men went to reduce the stress.

In the morning everyone ate and went on business.

Jim refused an escort. He had letters of recommendation for important dwarves in town. He said he"d find his way.

Nick led people through the streets and the group was shrinking in size.

The leader of the group went to the Magistrates, that"s what the city control center was called.

Unfortunately, the main expectation was not realized. They weren"t the first players to hit the Dor.

They did not receive any message from the game. No achievement, no Glory.

"There are other players in the city. We are not the first. But there aren"t many," said Nick.

Michael left to deal with important matters that involved the clan"s cooperation with the local government.

Nick did a good job. Next to their temporary home were the Warrior and Magic Guild. These guilds fought hard for influence, but their buildings were set up nearby. Guarding the warriors will never hurt a true magician.

Soon, Tom, Alexander and Gandalf left to meet possible future teachers.

Stefan said he"s taking Valerie on her business. The pair left the house early this morning.

Nick showed Leo the Temple building.

"I"m not very good at the local religion. But it"s a solid temple. Dear G.o.d. Patron of war, but fair war and protection of the weak. You can learn how to meet local paladins and knights in the temple."

Leo nodded his head silently. Showed the boys a gesture of "Okay" and went towards the building. Of late, he was almost always silent. Vows have been a serious and responsible thing to do.

Ron"s situation was the most difficult. Nick discussed it with the whole clan. There was a strange situation in town with followers of the Spirit"s way. The local priests lived in temples and, if necessary, they helped the city, but did not seek close contact with the city government. The spiritual"s actively cooperated with the aristocracy. They occupied an important place in the administration of the city. Nick was unable to learn anything about the Inquisitors. Ron listened to many words about the need to be calm and secure. But everybody understood that the guy had taken a difficult development path. He"s got some hard meetings ahead of him.

Nick showed Ron the building where the city"s spiritualists lived. He shook the young spiritualist"s hand, smiled and said:

"Don"t let them eat you. The clan hopes for you, Ron."

"I will not let you down! I"ll meet you at home."

The scouts took a guy"s figure with their eyes. Then Nick said softly:

"We"ll go to the Killer Guild together."

"Real killers?"

"It"s a normal job in this world, John. There are few, very few hired killers. I"m sure they won"t take you as a student."

"And why do we go to them, brother?"

"Let"s spend the gold on buying skills. We"ll buy information. Hired killers are in contact with the Merchant Guild. It"s a matter of contraband, illegal and dangerous, but profitable business. It"s always the same, John, nothing new in this world."

"Will you be in time for your business? You too need to learn new skills, brother."

"I"ve already had time to upset someone"s needs. The local players are muddy guys. But they don"t want to be in a group. They"re about 20 people. Dirty and unreliable subjects. I"m picking up rumors. We need new people at the castle. We"re here! Meet John, this one-eyed man"s name is One-Eyed. Greetings, Master."

Nick tilted his head with respect. John was just saying:

"My name is John. I"m a killer. Nice to meet you."

"I recognized your name, John. You recognized mine. Sir Nick, you have a lot to talk to important people about. This boy will escort you, masters."

From the wall came the figure of a boy who worshipped the scouts.

"Remember who you are, brother," said Nick with a smile.

"Standing shoulder to shoulder," said John. "Don"t let yourself be fooled, brother."

And the guys went to make up their business.

***

In the evening, the clan got excited. Ron refused to return to the castle. He said he had the opportunity to study his cla.s.s. He will have many opportunities in the city under the guidance of experienced teachers. Ron wouldn"t listen to any objections or persuasions. He said he wouldn"t mind being kicked out of the clan. Everyone was surprised at his farewell words:

"I am not a hunter of monsters. I chose the way to fight evil."

The warriors had an unpleasant situation. They could study in the city. But they cost money. Making money in the city was easy. Terrible monsters were living in the sewers. In the warriors" guild, you could take a quest to destroy dangerous creatures.

Tom honestly admitted his desire to stay with his brother.

"I must support Ron. The Spirituals are in charge of the local police, called the Guards. For some trophies, Ron will help me kill monsters. He has to pay his teachers money. I"ll need money to repair the equipment and pay my teachers too."

Michael asked the main question:

"Can you help the clan fulfill its imperative quest to clear our land from monsters? The city"s Magistrate has recognized the clan"s right to own the ancient castle and the lands around it."

Tom didn"t get a chance to answer. He was interrupted by Nick"s quiet but tough voice:

"Do they have the right to such recognition?"

"What are you talking about, Nick?"

"The local authorities have no right to interfere with our actions. You"re forgetting who we are. We are the immortal heirs to the Ancient Order of the Hunters of Monsters. No local aristocrat has any right to tell us how to do our business."

"It"s not diplomatic, Nick. We need to look for ways to cooperate with the local authorities."

"Raise your diplomacy skills, Michael. But not at the cost of the clan."

"What did you say? I"m thinking about the benefits to the clan," the leader said sharply.

"So you misunderstood the meaning of what you"ve become. I repeat you are an Immortal Leader of immortal heirs of ancient knowledge and ability. We"re playing in another league, Michael."

"What are you talking about?"

Alexander"s words, in their mocking tone, have diluted the cold of conversation:

"He says that you"ve forgotten your place. Are you going back to the castle? Or are you going to stay in town and start recruiting new people to the clan? Are you going to be a hunter or a bureaucrat, Michael?"

"One thing doesn"t bother the other. Clan organization is serious work," said the leader.

"I think we"ve talked enough for today. We all need to think hard about our new circ.u.mstances," said Nick.

"I have nothing to think about and nothing to hide," said Alexander. "I"m going back to the castle with you two. When do we get out? I have something to buy in town."

Nick looked at John, then at Alexander and confessed honestly:

"In two days. We go out early in the morning."

The warrior rubbed his bald head and smiled:

"Okay, boys. I"m going to a wh.o.r.ehouse. Who"s with me?"

Michael stood up and asked the question in a strict voice:

"Do you understand that you"re breaking up the clan? I need your help in town. We"ll get the quests. We"ll get a reputation and trophies and new skills and influence. Isn"t that what we wanted?"

"Michael, this is what we all wanted. But that"s what we wanted at the castle. Now we"ve learned more about these people"s real lives. I won"t be a chained dog for the local aristocracy. I don"t care about their awards for shady operations. I"m not a politician. My business is killing monsters. I"m just an immortal warrior who has enough of the existing perspective. Tom didn"t say the local warriors looked up to us with respect and cautious fear. They"re all afraid of dying. They don"t understand us or the skills of our cla.s.ses. And I don"t know what miracles the transformation of the warrior cla.s.s will reveal to me. That"s enough words. I"m not coming back, I can sleep in a wh.o.r.ehouse."

Alexander came out of the room.

"We need to talk seriously, Nick," said Michael quietly.

And they talked.

Two days later, the clan cracked. The scouts and Alexander were on their way back to the castle. The rest of them stayed in town. Michael had already accepted new people into the clan. He met a lot of different players. And he found those who understood that the group could more successfully solve their problems.

Michael and Nick found that the question of separation of responsibilities wasn"t so easy to deal with.

The castle belonged to the Phoenix Clan. But there were two groups in the clan that didn"t have the same interests.

Leo solved all the problems. He came to say goodbye to the scouts and listened with a smile to the conversation of the two new leaders. Suddenly, he said:

"Michael, give the leadership to this crazy man. Nick, can you change the name and organize part of the clan into a separate group?"

"It"s allowed in the game. You"re suggesting we split the clan as the order was divided into two combat groups? We"ll be allies, and everyone will have their own responsibility."

"I learned a lot about this Order of Hunters, too," said Leo. "And you know. That in ancient times they were also immortal? This rebirth room in the castle wasn"t built by the game for us. It"s where the ancient hunters were reborn."

Everyone was silent. Such thoughts never came to the players" minds. Leo calmly asked:

"Nick, anyway, we should all have access to the Cla.s.s Choice Room. I"m working on the transformation of the Knight cla.s.s myself. And I"m willing to pay for my progress with the help needed to fulfill the mandatory clan quest."

"Leo, you can visit the castle anyway and solve your cla.s.s problems," said Nick with a smile.

"I know what guest status is, scout."

Michael shook his head, but the knight"s offer took away all the questions.

Nick gained leadership over the Phoenix clan. Then a group led by Michael was able to form a new clan in alliance with the Phoenix clan.

Nick then renamed "the Phoenix" to a clan called "Shoulder to Shoulder". The new clan left the ownership of the ancient castle and territories. The quests have not disappeared. Michael was able to keep the old name for his group and the "Phoenix" clan revived its name.

In the early morning, scouts and a warrior returned to the castle.

They didn"t expect it, but all the players came to say goodbye to them.

People stood and smiled at each other, though many knew they wouldn"t see each other soon. The atmosphere was calm and cheerful. The reaction to the decision of three players to join the Inquisitor was fun. Let these madmen risk their lives in their backyard corner.

The city has its revival points!

Michael, as a clan leader, was able to create in his status a new permanent point of revival.

It was simple. The Ancient Order had its residence in the city. The hunters kept close contact with the city. The bank even had an old vault of the Order of Hunters. There was no money or artifacts in it. Nothing was interesting in the old abandoned building either, except a room with a rebirth point.

The buildings were in a respectable part of town. There were aristocratic mansions in the neighborhood. When the Phoenix clan began to live in a new house, it immediately showed interest to those players who previously wanted to show independence.

Michael did not forget the words of Nick and soon found that the scout in many ways right. The status of the Phoenix clan players was different from the other players. The aristocracy opened the doors to him and his men. Michael"s job got bigger. He was looking for new helpers.

People stood and joked with smiles about how soon desperate hunters would return to visit wh.o.r.ehouses again.

Suddenly, a terrible thing happened! Bright rays of sunlight illuminated the city. The clouds disappeared from the sky as if they had been moved by a magic hand.

No one understood what was happening. For the first time people saw a clear blue sky above their heads. Everyone stood and looked into the sky.

And then a message appeared before the eyes of the players.

*

[Attention! Global message!

Project "Anyhorr" has been successfully developing for exactly one month.

The company thanks you for your active partic.i.p.ation in the game process. Thanks to you, the world of "Anyhorr" is cleaner and more beautiful.

The company is proud of you!

Since the start of the project, 10,000 players have partic.i.p.ated in it.

Dead: 6,392 players.

They couldn"t pa.s.s the initial test and couldn"t bind their character to the point of rebirth. This led to a malfunction in the initial configuration of the neuron-interface, which caused a brain hemorrhage.

The company shares with you the sorrow of these victims.

Changed cla.s.s or race: 571 players.

Cause: inattention to the game process. Cheating.

Survived: 3 037 active and responsive game process partic.i.p.ants.

The company congratulates you on your success and looks forward to furthering productive cooperation.

The partic.i.p.ation of new players is not planned at the moment of the project development.

As a reward for successful cooperation, the Company gives each conscious player 50 characteristic points for free distribution.

The company and the developers of the "Anyhorr" project notify the players:

Attention! AI monsters have been modified to meet the wishes of players. Battles will now be more interesting.

Attention! Reduced prize number of "Glory" points for pa.s.sing the dungeons and cleaning locations.

Attention! The quant.i.ty of experience for killing monsters has been increased by 10%.

Attention! Players have access to clan and group chat and game mail.

The company wishes you have a nice game]