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Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 18
François went to Montferrand, where Anna de La Tour lived. As we moved east, there were fewer and fewer villages on the way, and on the third evening after leaving Limoges, Francois could not find a single settlement where one could stop for the night. After spending the night in the field and eating the remnants of cheese, which he was provided with in the last village he passed, he continued on his way.By evening, a forest appeared ahead, huge and dark. The road went straight through it. Before reaching the forest, exhausted and hungry, François settled down for the night. For the whole day he did not meet a single village. “What should I do now?” he thought. “The forest, apparently, is rather big, it may take several days to go through it, but there are probably no villages there. What will I eat? And where will I sleep?”With these gloomy thoughts, he imperceptibly fell asleep, and in the morning, hungry and chilled, he cautiously moved towards the forest.He was walking down the
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 19
But it was too late to retreat. The next morning François, as promised, helped papa Étienne straighten the fence and set off.The road was steadily going uphill, and François was rather tired, climbing up the wide path. Here it is, the Auvergne, a wooded highland with short mountain ranges sticking out here and there. Far below, he noticed a village near a river flowing in a narrow valley. Well, he finally reached the goal, somewhere in this alien, inhospitable mountainous country, his sister lives. Inspired by this thought, the boy hurried down.François now walked much more carefully, from settlement to settlement, trying not to catch the twilight on his way. You can hide or run away from robbers, but where can you get away from evil spirits?If the locals refused him lodging for the night, Francois quietly settled in someone's garden. He shuddered at the thought that a werewolf might attack him at any moment. When he managed to persuade the owners to give him shelter, he carefully
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 20
As soon as dawn broke, François pushed Blanca aside, and they set off in the direction of the Dauphine. It was dark in the forest, and they walked carefully, carefully looking around.Very soon both felt that they were hungry. François was alarmed: it was not the first time for him, he would be patient, but what would it be like for his sister not to eat for a day?"Let's look for a clearing," he suggested. - If we're lucky, we can find berries.- Nonsense, - Blanca waved her hand. - The forest is full of sweet roots. Look, this is a cinquefoil, and there is a parsnip. He has pretty tasty tubers.- How do you know all this?“I’m a country girl,” the girl answered innocently. - We all know this. Give me the knife.She sat down in front of a small bush with pale yellow flowers and began to dig it out of the ground with a knife. Her brother stood by and watched her in surprise.Suddenly, a gray carcass flashed through the air, and a huge wolf landed on François's shoulders, instantly kno
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 21
After dinner, François, Gilbert, and Blanca ran to Uncle Lazzi's house. Half of the villagers were already there. The guys squeezed closer to the table, at which sat the owner, Umberto Lazzi, and a stranger strikingly similar to him. He was short, but broad-shouldered and muscular, and over a linen shirt he wore an unusual-looking leather jacket. His swarthy smiling face was overgrown with a beard and was dotted with wrinkles, his eyes glinted slyly from under a cap of disheveled hair. A white scar ran across the right cheek, on which an earring dangling on the earlobe cast a glare.François and Blanca, like everyone else, stared in amazement at the strange stranger. None of them had seen anything like it before. Roberto did not seem to notice the surprised looks, cheerfully and calmly telling his story to those around him. Slowly and with humor, he told how he ran away from home as a boy, how in Genoa he became a cabin boy on a merchant ship bound for Marseille, and how over the year
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 22
François returned to the city and wandered around the market for a long time. Finally, he found what he was looking for: fire-grass, causing instant irritation and skin burns. Having bought a bunch of grass and some fern powder, he went to the next street, where he bought not a new, but rather decent European-cut caftan, a velvet beret, chausses, boots and a leather purse. Having finished shopping, the young man jumped on his horse and rode back to the Toad's house. Not far from him, François dismounted, tying his horse in the shade of palm trees, and changed his clothes. He looked at himself as best he could and was satisfied: in this caftan he could easily pass for a young rich merchant.François approached the house cautiously and bent over towards the back door. There were no servants present, and he slipped in unhindered.The house was huge. François crept along the corridor, looked into several rooms, but did not meet a soul anywhere. Ahead, the corridor forked. After hesitating
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 23
The next morning, taking advantage of the non-working day, Francois agreed with the overseers and went into the forest to collect herbs for the treatment of a friend. Even on the Star of the Seas, he more than once had to help the ship's doctor and extract herbs for him in various ports. And now he quickly found everything he needed, and an hour later he was already giving don Rodrigo a healing decoction to drink. During the day he gave the Spaniard half a dozen different tinctures, and by night he was already much better. Using all his eloquence, Francois convinced the guards that the living Don Rodrigo is much more useful to Sufi Pasha than the dead one - after all, a ransom is already being taken for him. The Spaniard was allowed one day to spend in bed, and this finally helped him to his feet.The captives were very happy to learn that they now have their own apothecary. They often turned to François for medical help, and he made it a rule to go for herbs every Friday. The Arrais
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 24
The life of friends flowed according to the established schedule: during the day they went to patients, at sunset they passed a glass of wine in the nearest tavern, and late in the evening Nostrdam sat down to read books, among which were the works of Johann Faust, Agrippa Nettesheim, Paracelsus, and often sat up until morning. François tried not to disturb him at this time, but Michel often knocked on his room to read some quote or ask his opinion on this or that problem. François more and more often joined his friend when he worked with books on healing. In addition, Nostrdam initiated him into the secrets of astrology, firmly believing that the past and future of any person can be read by the stars, you just need to be able to do it. And now the two of them sat all night long, reading, writing, experimenting, mixing herbs, agreeing and arguing.***After one of these night vigils, François slept until noon. Entering Nostrdam's room, he found that his friend was not at home. There w
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 25
The next morning, entering Nostrdam's room, François was surprised to find that he was sound asleep. The heroic organism of the doctor, which allowed him to work for wear and tear for several months, finally demanded a rest. François quietly closed the door and went for a walk. He walked along the city streets, inhaling the fresh sea air, purified by him and his friend from the stench of the plague. For the first time in years, he felt truly happy. The epidemic is defeated, he is no longer alone and, most importantly, as it seemed to him, he was able to overcome the sticky, shameful fear of death that had tormented him from the very day when the little puppy was floundering in the waters of the Seine.François returned home in excellent spirits at two o'clock in the afternoon. He heard voices in Nostrdam's room and, deciding not to interfere, went to his room and sat down with a book on a wide bench. But gradually he began to listen to the conversation behind the wall. The unknown int