More Than A Game (Epic LitRPG adventure)

Chapter 5: Clan volunteer part 6

The clan had information, weapons, clothes, components, everything one could need to craft things...within reason, of course. Anyone who wanted to learn how to do that could study with the clan master. The clan also had its own hunting lands or a few areas with different levels that newer players could use to level-up, safe from PKers. I would head to one of them the next day with the latest batch of volunteers.

And that was basically it for the rights and responsibilities.

"Got it?" Sergeant looked at me.

"Yup," I nodded.

"Then be on the square in front of the fortress at 9 a.m. Moscow time tomorrow. We'll head to Gringvort to beat up some skeletons and zombies. That's it for now—get out of here."

"Um...Master Sergeant, I can't."

"What? You know, you're really starting to get to me! Stop with your jokes! Why can't you?" The dwarf sprouted red spots, and even his beard turned pinkish.

"I don't know the way out of the fortress..."

I knew better than to hope that a dwarf who was about to crush my skull would walk me to the exit. Still, he had some brain cells left, as he called to a Level 114 mage walking by, "Eilinn, are you on your way out?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Gerv threw this volunteer at me, and he has no idea how to leave. I don't have time, you know how it is—ambushes to plan, betrayals to hunt down."

"Got it. Sure, I'll show him," the mage replied amiably. He seemed nice, with a frank face, middling height, and intriguing staff: four clawed paws holding a crown with broken-off tines.

"Unusual, isn't it?" Eilinn smiled when he saw what I was looking at.

"Yes," I answered. "Epic?"

"Epic. Let me introduce myself, and we'll get going. Sergeant always has a ton to do, and as far as I know, he's leading an excursion to Gringvort tomorrow. It isn't an easy location, takes a lot of prep work. Anyway, my name is Master Eilinn. And yours, my young padawan?"

"Hagen."

"How did you know about our outing?" Sergeant jumped back into the conversation.

"No need to ask, since it isn't polite to interrupt," the mage said to the dwarf reproachfully. The latter was quiet, which I found very surprising. "But I wouldn't expect anything different from you. I'll be coming with you tomorrow to cover the volunteers."

"Oh, you'll be there tomorrow." Sergeant lightened up. "That's great. Who else is coming?"

"Rango, Reineke Lis, and Krolina."

"Wow. It's been a while since we had such a veteran group. What's the occasion?"

"It just worked out that way," laughed Eilinn. "Hagen, follow me. See you tomorrow, Sergeant."

"See you tomorrow," I said to my first boss in parting.

The stubborn dwarf ignored us and walked back into his room, pulling so hard on his beard that it almost grazed the lintel.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked Eilinn immediately.

"Well, two things. First, I've never seen a dwarf who wasn't in a bad mood. Not even once. They're all incredibly feisty and standoffish. And, to be honest, they're all just plain greedy."

"Well, not all of them," I said, remembering the dwarf who gave me 10 gold when I was running around Aegan in my underwear.

"If you saw any other kind of dwarf, you're lucky. All the ones I know are stingy bastards. Anyway, second, Sergeant does have it tough. He can't walk."

"What do you mean he can't walk?"

"He just can't. When he was 16, he got into a car accident. The car rolled, he was sitting in the back, and when it landed, something bent too far and snapped his spine. That's why he started playing Fayroll. He's almost always here, in fact."

I felt terrible. Of course, he'd never served in the army. On the other hand, I couldn't have known. Still, I started to get that gnawing feeling...

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