The Secret of the Dark Forest ( (The Way of the Shaman: Book #3) by Vasily Mahanenko

make a clan together, or has that totally slipped your mind?"
    "I see. Right, about the clan. Yes, I am in a clan, but I am its only member since I created this clan last night to save time doing it today. I created the clan for us."
    "Seathistles?" chuckled Leite. "You've got to be kidding, right?"
    "On the contrary. "If you hate the name, it can be changed – I picked the first that wasn't downright terrible. The other names on offer, like 'We love Barliona, we play Barliona" and "Dark-eyed Cows of the West' didn't quite fit." I mentally gave myself extra points when all three of them chuckled. So, they're beginning to thaw. Good. "So you don't need to worry about the clan, I was never going to ditch anyone. Moving on to the headband, how much do you need to take yours off?"
    "For me it's a hundred thousand ... what about you?" said Eric and looked at Leite and Clutzer.
    "Two hundred and twenty," threw in Clutzer.
    "A hundred and fifty," said Leite after a pause. "Why do you ask?"
    "I call upon a Herald, I require your assistance!" I said, in place of a reply.
    "You called me and I came. If your summons was a false one, you will be punished," the Herald uttered the standard phrase as soon as he stepped out of the portal. The three 'Red Riding Hoods' froze. Little surprise there – it was their first meeting with a Herald in the Game.
    "I would like to make a payment in order for these free citizens to be able to remove their red headbands. Please deduct the money from my account."
    A window opened before my eyes asking me to confirm the deduction of the required amount. I chased the Greed Toad into some distant corner and pressed the 'Yes' button. Unlike the wait following Nurris' payment, the red headbands vanished from the heads of the three convicts almost instantaneously.
    "Can I be of any further help?"
    "No, thank you. We can take it from here," I said and turned to the guys. "Listen, if it bothers you that I created the clan without you, you have my sincere apologies. I arrived in Anhurs yesterday, sent you messages and created the clan to save time later. If you don't like the name, suggest another one, we'll talk about it and, if it's free, change it."
    "Thanks for the headband, of course," said Clutzer, "but can you tell me one thing: where did all this gold come from? You just made a generous gesture and shelled out four hundred and seventy thousand gold. Three months ago you had nowhere near as much money. What's with the ostentatious habits you seem to have picked up in the meantime? I want to know everything before I tie the rest of my game life to you. From A to Z. Otherwise what do we need a clan for, if it will be you constantly rubbing shoulders with those at the top and us doing all the grinding while picking up crumbs that fall from the table? We can do that in any clan."
    "Catch and sign the non-disclosure agreements," I opened the list of standard agreement forms, which included the non-disclosure agreement, changed a couple of points, entered the players’ names and handed them to the three men. "It's time to start playing by the rules and not by 'the code of the underworld'," I pointed out, seeing Eric's glum face.
    "Now listen to what's been happening to me all this time," I began, as soon as all three agreements were signed. "I will start from the very beginning. The Pryke Mine and Kameamia."
    I told them about everything: the creation of the Kameamia, the Orc Warrior Figurines, which they immediately asked me to show them, the Crafting skill, the First Kill, Beatwick, the Totem, Dragons, the Cursed Chess Pieces, the Priestesses of Eluna, the map of Kartoss and its sale, Anastaria and her presence in the clan and the Treasures of the Dragons. I kept nothing back, even telling them about the Dress of Leara. When I told them about the Totem, I had to activate the standard invisibility barrier that was available in this tavern so I could show them Draco, because the guys had trouble believing it