The burden of trifling spells grew heavier, but the master was stubborn and did not leave his post. For a moment, Tobius felt he was being watched. He instantly checked the weaving of the "eye pipe", found no violations of the contour and looked around hesitantly. They really looked at him, and the beholder ... was extremely uncommon. He was a magician, no doubt, but a magician who wore polished steel [Extremely unusual for a magician, since steel, along with metals such as iron, zinc, tin and lead, is a magic-repellent metal. Mages prefer to work with copper, bronze, cast iron and brass, which absorb, conduct and hold magical energy well.]. A tall, lean man in leather robes heavily sewn with steel plates, a closed helmet with a smooth face shield and a raincoat, which consisted of steel leaf-shaped blades, somewhat reminiscent of fluffed up horny scales. The gray mage could see the steel wizard's left arm - it was undoubtedly a prosthesis, made in the form of bare bones, shining with

They ate silently and with concentration, and only insipid vegetable food without a strong smell. Talbot explained that on the third day of his first sortie, he had to run for several hours from a pack of small animal lizards chasing him, until he guessed to throw all the jerky out of the bag.“I expected to see you with a party,” Ser Richard said as they sat down in the semi-darkness, well fed and tired.- It's pointless. You can’t lead a detachment through the forest, except perhaps by beaten paths, but barbarians also use them, and what is a detachment capable of against that horde that you and I saw on the hill? You say zulans don't go to the thicket?- One-eyed - no. They drive on roads, but among the trees they are crowded. But small freaks feel good here. They are engaged in foraging, hunting, dragging venison and poultry to their owners. And I'm looking for them.Have you killed many?“Three hundred in all the time of the war,” Hoss said, without a hint of smugness or pride. “

The forest knight looked around and without thinking twice began to climb the thick trunk, clinging to the strong bark with hand hooks. The oak tree was too tall, even its lower branches were much taller than a man, so Ser Richard had to pant for a high vantage point.“You know, I thought that civilized magicians couldn’t,” he panted, finally reaching a branch strong enough to sit on, “be where the pagans make their temples.“You know very little about magic, Ser Richard. In other words, you are a layman.Tobius blissfully basked in the center of a magical whirlwind of energy, pure as the icy water of mountain springs, which filled his head that had stopped hurting with the smell of forest needles, resin, fresh rain, damp earth, moss and rotten leaves. He enjoyed getting rid of a heavy burden, blissful under the trills of birds, the chirping of crickets and the buzz of beetles flying back and forth.- I have not been to the south, but I was taught that there, even in countries loyal t

When Thobius Moth found himself on the walls of the walled city in the light of a magical flash, with his right hand firmly on the shoulder of Ser Richard Hoss, and in his left clutching the still warm wrist of the dead Zulan, the world shuddered from a truly powerful thunderclap, merged with a volley of artillery.The black clouds covering the sky turned the day into night, the belated thunderstorm broke out in earnest, as if trying to take revenge on all the forces that held it back, showing hitherto unprecedented fury. The heavens rumbled and roared like the stomachs of starving mountain giants, sky-high waterfalls poured onto the ground like a solid wall, and only flashes of dazzling lightning made it possible for the shortest moments to very clearly see the picture of the battle unfolding under the walls.Two armies fought there, but if you look closely, you could see that there were still three armies. Below fought the barbarians of the Savage Land, one-eyed man-eaters and chari

With a loud roar, he announced his presence, and the ogre, as if forgetting his first enemies, answered with his own roar. The giants rushed at each other, Thobius was a third smaller than the monster, naked and unarmed, but a fierce fire raged in his body, and when he crashed into the ogre's chest, he was seared by a wave of hungry fire. However, the ogre resisted and pushed the wizard away, after which he brought hammers down on him. Tobius managed to intercept one of them by the hammer and set fire to the tree. The second hit him in the ribs, and the wizard rolled on the ground. One of the spells, Heal, began to splice bones, but it worked poorly due to the altered physiology of the wearer. Avoiding another blow, the magician rolled over himself once again, feeling a sharp pain in his left side. Raising himself on his right arm, Tobius belched out a torrent of fire and ignited the armor of the ancient monster.“Magi… I hate it!” I will crush!- Come on! You were born to live under