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.
Toen lay on the roof and looked at the clouds, all as one for some reason resembling dogs. Sometimes huge and vicious, sometimes affectionate and playful, sometimes hysterical mongrels. He suspected that he saw these dogs in the clouds because of the head of the council. A bad woman, really. Who knew that she would not agree to walk around the city and knock on a couple of houses. He would have brought her almost immediately to where the first suspect lives. But it didn't work out. And now it's too late. Even if this suspect left the city, now he has already returned. Toen personally saw him leaving his guardian's house. The girl was still hugging. Probably, if you ask them, both will wrinkle, blush and hint in every possible way that they were lying in bed for half a day. Together. They did not invite any witnesses there. And try, prove they're lying. Not under a rock to ask them about their personal lives.And Darine is a bad woman. Always trying to do everything right and the right
Toen boredly looked at the ceiling. A white and smooth ceiling, for some reason similar to a frozen and snow-covered lake.In general, Toen liked to lie there and do nothing. Always liked it. He just didn't want to admit it to himself for a long time. There were a lot of people around who aspired to something, wanted to achieve something, were going to grow above themselves and make great discoveries. And here he is - wanting to wallow on the beach and watch the surf lick the shore. It's stupid. And unworthy of a man.Therefore, Toen gritted his teeth and began to achieve everything in a row and in spite of everything. For a while it was even interesting. Then it stopped being interesting, but pride in oneself appeared. By that time, he had left almost all his acquaintances far behind. Then he rolled by inertia for some time, until one day he thought: why is it needed? Toen never found an answer to this question. Therefore, he quit his job and, without saying goodbye to anyone, went t
Dorana managed to relax and get bored again when the guy sitting next to her naturally jumped up, froze in a strange position with bulging eyes, and then collapsed into her seat and began to think about something diligently, judging by the expression on her face. The girl was even afraid to ask why all these gestures. Suddenly it dawned on him, and right now he is inventing a recipe for eternal youth. And she will kill, and he will forget everything.Ladai's expression became at first gloomy, and then frankly gloomy. He stood up, leaned against the railing, and stared at something for a long time. Then he again returned to his place and froze in a relaxed pose, putting his hands on his knees.“Yes,” he said at last. - Do you have a shield?Dorana nodded and showed Ladai the bracelets. He scowled at them, touched them with his fingertip, and nodded.- Do you know how to sculpt birds?The girl shook her head negatively.- Badly. Liiran must be warned, they are two balconies from us, als
A huge white snake and a man sitting on its head watched what was happening in the city that was dear to them. At night, they observed when most of the townspeople were asleep, and a minority was engaged in those things that are not customary to do in the light of day. Or for which they did not have enough time during the day.What was interesting to the snake and man began quite recently. In one of the oldest houses in the city, the light came on in almost all the windows. Shadows darted across the rooms. Weapons began to jingle, then human voices began to rustle. Quietly, but both the man and the snake, if desired, could hear what these people are saying. They just didn't want to.Noise in this house for a long time. Then the armed people began to disperse in small groups in order to gather around the House of Soviets and hide.The man smiled and whispered:- She was always reinsured and knew how to convince. Note that there are very few guards there, mostly people from older famili
The retelling of the conversation with the red-haired Wayne did not take much time. Then Atana told Toen in person how Khiyat confessed that he was the guardian of the cities and how those present reacted to this. I did not forget to mention that Teika, apparently from a great mind, did not come up with anything better than trying to enter the house of the keepers. For some reason, he decided that since the house has an owner, then the door there will be open. As a result, having tried to use force and influence the elements, he got back and now lay in the hospital near that very house. With a complex fracture of the leg, he was lying around, a dislocated shoulder and a blue bruise, in some places peeled off his back. Yeah, lying around was uncomfortable for him, and painkillers didn’t help much in this matter.But the brave adviser managed to share the news about Hiyata with everyone who was not lucky enough to get close enough to him. And now various rumors were circulating around t
“A strong bastard,” Toen repeated, when the assistants finally left the head of the council alone, and various sympathizers stopped breaking into the house, wanting to personally make sure that she was not hurt.Atana saw everyone off with the words that she needed to rest and think that the trackers were dealing with the incident at the training ground, that everyone could offer their help and be sent to distant places by the already dissatisfied Koyan. Nobody wanted to be sent, so those who wanted to understand and help quickly ended.Atana, with a sense of accomplishment, locked the door and went into the kitchen to prepare soothing tea. And there was Toen sitting at the table, who wanted to talk.“You see,” he said, “we didn’t even notice him right away. His rustling of pebbles underfoot gave away. Almost perfect invisibility. If you don’t know where to look, you won’t even notice a slight tremor in the air. But we noticed. They waited for him to stop, and behaved very stupidly. W
On an island surrounded by rocks sticking out of the water, like those very dragon fangs, Taladat got with the help of a portal stone. To be honest, he was afraid to the last that Toen, who was gnawing his pipe, had calculated something incorrectly, made a mistake somewhere, and the portal would not open to an island at all. At best, in the open sea. At worst, in a cluster of rocks, from which, according to rumors, it is generally impossible to get out. But I had to take the risk. And, oddly enough, it was worth it. Some bad person set up a whole warehouse on the island, building a wooden hut and protecting it from all possible and impossible dangers, including time. And another bad, but obviously talented person managed to crack the protection against penetration and not bring down all the others. He also hung a signal above the door, which Taladat fiddled with for a very long time before he forced her to ignore him.“Deeds,” Taladath said, once inside the building.No, these were no
Neti Larka was pretty, considered talented and was sure that she was smart and charming. And everything would have been just fine, but, unfortunately, she was unlucky too often. And now, instead of being in the same trio with someone worthy of her person, she discovered the fool Aika Vila and some strange guy. Aika generally seemed to be chasing her. Last time they were also in the same trio and Neti did not receive the chain due to the fact that she spent most of her time arguing with this fool. And how not to argue with her if she does not understand elementary things? For example, the fact that someone smart should be in command, and not a loud-mouthed girl who skipped half the lessons at school. To be honest, Neti did not understand at all how Aika could be allowed to take the exam. What if she gets a chain? Because of some stupid accident. Then there will be no trouble with her at all.“The main thing is not to waste time arguing again,” Neti muttered and looked at the guy.He st
Atana listened to Darine's report very attentively. So attentively, without interrupting or even asking again, that Taladat very soon suspected some kind of trick.“Why didn’t you tell me about fortune-telling right away?” she finally asked the question when Toen finished his story.“They wanted to check, search,” he said, somehow not very confidently, and smiled sadly. Looks like I know what you're going to say now.— Goonies! she said eagerly. "Why are you even looking for someone?" More precisely, why do you need such a complicated and dangerous way to look for someone whom I can point a finger at without spending a moment on reflection ?!- Can? Taladat was genuinely surprised.- Do you seriously think that in our city there are many relatives of your ward, whose mother died, father is unknown, uncle sits on the council, and they themselves run away from responsibility? Or do you think these relatives have many children who have thrown themselves under the wing of their grandmothe
Failed to get drunk.Kalar was just finishing his second beer, and Khiyat was dozing over the remnants of the first, as if some unfamiliar uncle appeared in the pub where the company was sitting, cursed the owner for no reason and ordered the applicants for silver chains to get out. Dean, already angry for no reason at all, answered the uncle's claims, and they quarreled merrily until the guards came and kicked everyone out of the establishment, including the owner. On the street it turned out that the owner of the piteyny was an idiot and was breaking someone's plans. The guards are still big idiots, because they did not recognize their native authorities, who the guests of the city generally considered to be some kind of extraneous uncle, climbing into their own affairs.On the other hand, the commanders of the guards called the group of Liiran Vue almost geniuses and began to assure that they would definitely receive the chains. These assurances shocked even Kalar, and Dean looked