Darine Atana sat at the table with her head in her hands and listened.She really wanted to cover her ears with her palms, drive out the speaker and go to bed. Maybe after that the world will again become familiar and understandable.“So we decided not to touch Saran and his brothers. The boys are right. Either we now catch him by the hand, or we have every chance to find such a guardian. He will be monitored around the clock. Rumors that will certainly go after the performance of Khiyat Dakka will be carefully warmed up. We will also prepare protective amulets and weapons. Because there is a small chance that this situation could turn into a conflict. It is not yet clear with whom, but if the surveillance yields results...The head of the council sat and understood that Iltar was right, as always. Calling out to someone with the blood of guardians of other cities was a very bad idea. And this wave really will not bring anything good. They created a problem for themselves, trying to s
The guys nodded in unison."I don't understand," Velda said. He shouldn't, but he does. How?“Maybe somehow,” Tiyan suggested and began to fumble in his pockets in search of food.He can't do anything on his own. Otherwise, the keepers would not be needed. The stones from which the city is built are unintelligent, they are not able to understand that the defense lacks energy, and cannot add it.- What if it's an amulet? Kalar asked.“The city itself is that amulet. Where have you seen amulets that charge themselves?“Nowhere,” Kalar admitted. “Even the accumulators need to be opened so that they draw in energy.“Here,” Velda typed in and said worriedly. “The protection here is either not the same as in other cities. Or the last custodian died much later than everyone thinks. Or not dead at all. Sitting somewhere... - the girl thought.“In the bushes,” Ladai prompted.Velda nodded.Sitting and giggling as he watches us call the city."He can't sit anywhere," Dean said irritably. “Every
About how the assault on the city by the dead ended, Liiran learned only a day later. Before that, he had heard scattered rumors and strange stories about some crazy people who chased these dead with swords. Liiran did not believe in the latter at all. And as it turned out, he was absolutely right.In fact, everything was simpler and not at all heroic. First, the bodies under the walls were thrown with barrels of tar. Then the firemen agreed, tuned in and created a circle, uniting their elements into a single whole. So it got scary. If the city's defenses were weakened, it is not known whether the walls would stand or not.Koyan, for allowing the firemen to do this, was almost killed by the kindest and wisest. The Pathfinder did not understand why they asked permission from him and, as it turned out, until the last moment he was sure that they were not serious.The remains of the corpses butted against the wall for some time, and then fell where they stood and did not move anymore. So
The head of the council of the city of Big Stone found a house on the mountain without any effort. Despite the fact that the person living in it stubbornly called himself a hermit, a wide path was trodden to its threshold. And the dwelling least of all resembled a cave laid down for hermits. Solid house, partly stone, partly wooden. It stands on a man-made ledge surrounded by huge pines. Even some fragrant greenery grew near the house itself. And along the path someone planted flowers.Hermits don't live like that. Atana knew exactly. She saw these hermits, at best, whiled away their days sharing a cave with a skinny, mangy goat, giving a mug of milk a day. And they ate from the garden and what they begged from good people, going down to the villages. And they were dressed in unwashed gray-brown rags.The owner of the hermit's house did not even remind. Good clothes, trimmed and without the obligatory shaggy beard.He sat on the threshold, smoking a pipe and looking at the sky.And he
Darine Atana, closing her eyes and trying to keep her face calm, looked at the raging Council of the Great. Wise men and women. Those who care about the good of the city and its inhabitants. This is necessary. Looking at them here and now, hardly anyone would suspect something like that.In principle, Atana could veto any of their decisions. For a maximum of a year, but I could. But does it make sense? Apparently - no. No point. Let them do what they want. They are worse. Especially to the smart guy who started it all. He, for sure, invested time, material wealth, and even reputation in his undertaking. True, the entertainer may not guess about the latter, especially if he considers himself the smartest.Atana chuckled softly.In the meantime, the advisers were shouting, negotiating and almost fighting. There were still more of those who agreed in advance, and they behaved more calmly. Therefore, it was easy to calculate them. But again, it's pointless. What will you present to them?
What is he doing? Dorana asked in a whisper, admiring enough of some crippled guy touching something invisible in front of him.“He is studying defense,” Khiyat replied.They watched the guy through the attic window, passing to each other an old magnifying tube, bought somewhere by Ladai. It’s impossible to make magic lenses, but sometimes you really want to see who is wandering along the fence.How long will he study it? the girl asked the next question. - If it takes a long time, they can start looking for me. I'm helping my mother, I just brought you food.“Who knows,” Khiyat said with a sigh.He and Ladai had been spending all their free time in the library for nearly two decades now. They studied maps of the island. Khiyat read aloud the diaries of the previous keepers, after which the guys looked at the genealogical tree drawn by someone on the flyleaf of a book on the history of the city. Why they needed it, the guys did not say. But Dorana suspected that they were going to loo
Dila fussed around her brother, trying to feed him, question him, persuade him and scold him at the same time. She made her feel comfortable and at home. Ladai gloomily watched this action. In his family, it was not customary to behave like that, especially in front of witnesses. In general, they showed little of their feelings there, and these feelings were mostly negative. And now Ladai felt uncomfortable, as if he were spying on something very intimate.Hiyat and Doran weren't embarrassed by this behavior in the least. The guy periodically approached the table and dragged the meat off the guardian's plate, explaining this act by saying that he didn’t want to eat at all, so he wouldn’t sit at the table, but the meat smelled very appetizing. The girl admired the family idyll and drew something on a napkin, also taken by Khiyat from Taladat.Then Dila got tired of bothering, she looked around and ordered everyone to sit down at the table. She remembered that she had not introduced Lad
The next day, apparently having thought of something at night, Khiyat decided to go to his grandfather Dorana's native village. To find a hermit living in a cave and ask her a few more questions. He took Dorana with him, she was there and knew where she was. And Ladai, Liiran and Taladat were charged with doing everything in their power to hide their absence from the city.While Khiyat confusedly and verbosely explained why all this was needed, Vin also went to ask questions. The person who convinced him of being chosen and special. For courage, the fireman drank, because of which his path was not easy and full of obstacles. Something fell under my feet, then the streets and alleys disappeared somewhere, and then the city wall came from somewhere. The guy kicked her a couple of times in frustration and sat down, leaning his back against her. I decided to rest, think and remember the right way. The bright sun warmed the alcohol in his blood, increased his strength and Vin fell asleep.