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Fortress of Hope 9
Chapter nine.Way to home.And again from all sides we are surrounded by an endless and majestic forest. If I had been here at another moment, I might have admired its pristine beauty. Now I have no time for this - the leather harness of the dragger unbearably cuts tired shoulders, sweat rolls down from my steamed face, flooding my eyes. For half a day now, I only looked at my feet, only occasionally tossing my head to make sure that I had not lost my way, and then again staring at the withered grass. I was exhausted so much that if we stumbled upon the Shurds now, I would be enough for no more than a couple of swings of the sword. The rest felt no better - for the third day we stubbornly moved towards the house, dragging heavily loaded sleds behind us. One of the drags was occupied by the smallest of the children, the older ones walked on their own and even tried to help to the best of their strength when the drag got stuck in the interweaving of branches.We filled the remaining t
Fortress of Hope 10
Chapter ten.Dark deeds of a bright church.Accompanied by the brothers of the masters, I examined the settlement - bursting with pride and consumed with impatience, Drevin and Drovin raised me at dawn to show me everything that had been done during our absence.And I, naively, hoped that I could sleep off for the whole last week. Where is there ... who would let me ... The first rays of the sun barely had time to break through the dense clouds and fall on the walls of the gorge when I was unceremoniously awakened. As usual, Ricard, who was sleeping next to him, opened one sleepy eye, grunted something impartial about the restless brothers, and, straightening the slipped blanket, continued to sleep. He certainly didn't want to wake up. With burning envy, I got up, groaning - the workload of the last days had an effect, my muscles ached mercilessly - I made my way to the stream, sprinkled ice water on my face, threw on a tattered leather jacket and waved a doomed hand to Drevin, showi
Fortress of Hope 11
Chapter Eleven.Encounter with an enemy from a forgotten past.Seated at the head of the long table, I surveyed the assembled gloomily, and turned my gaze to the smoke of the funeral pyre billowing over the wall. Shurd and the spider calmed down forever, which could not be said about me. Despite the fact that the rays of the sun still illuminated the earth, darkness reigned in my soul. It didn't take the smartest of people to figure out what had happened. The crippled shurd who came to our house is only a scout. Eyes and ears of an unknown enemy. Moreover, the shurd was looking for not just a human settlement, but ours. Looking for me. At the same time, he had significant information about me. - Shurd was looking for me - I voiced my thoughts aloud, without addressing anyone in particular - Why? Who sent him?- Sir, maybe he was just scouring the district in search of settlements - the namesake objected uncertainly, - Why did you decide that the goblin was looking for you?- Namesa
Fortress of Hope 12
Prologue- Cap, move to the right! Nick's ringing cry echoed through the intercom.Mark twitched in surprise, wincing at the flashing ringing in his ears, but clenching his teeth, obediently followed the advice.“Watch the tunnel panels on the right. You will see gray with a blue tint, beat! - the youngest member of the team continued in the same boyish voice. - I know what I am saying! Chicker drove here last month, complained about how he got into it! ...Well, everything. The talkativeness of the whispering boy has always been on top. And now, on emotions, Nick just went into a rage, excitedly telling the team all the details of his bosom friend.But Mark was not at all up to talking. A blue tide against the monotonous gray background of the tunnel flashed almost immediately after the warning, and the team captain barely managed to hit the right panel at top speed with his fist.- Forward! Forward! Nick added in a cry, abruptly cutting off his emotional opus. - Do not be scared! Mo
Fortress of Hope 13
1. Great things start small.… In a month…… The Anomaly Research Institute, located on a space station orbiting Saturn. Meeting in a small conference room…The further the Inspector of the Council of Nine for Scientific Relations listened to the report, the more gloomy he became.- It's clear. Thank you,” he nodded to the speaker, who had finished his presentation on the small screen. “I can tell at a glance how the Council will respond to your request.The scientists, gathered at the round table in the small conference hall of the Institute, exchanged worried glances. They did not expect the Inspector to take their request so gloomily.The Inspector continued:- So that you do not suffer in ignorance for an indefinite period, according to old friendship, I will say ...The director of the Anomaly Research Institute nodded in satisfaction. An imposing man, with a noble gray hair at the temples, immediately understood what his old acquaintance meant to say, who by the will of fate had
Fortress of Hope 14
. An unpleasant surprise at the start.- Well, how are you feeling?The first of his people, whom Mark saw in the foyer of a glass skyscraper, was Nick.The blond shone like a neon lamp.“Which of us is already here?” - instead of a greeting, Mark asked, holding out his fist for a ritual greeting.Nick touched his fist with his and smiled with all his thirty-two snow-white teeth.You are the fifth.- Frets. I'll go and check it out.Mark walked to the terminal, which, in his opinion, the queue was smaller. Despite the early morning, before the competition crowded in the lobby immeasurably.For the qualifying round, the organizers rented the entire huge high-rise building. And Mark and his friends were lucky to get the whole team into the third wave.Over the past two weeks, we managed to collect a maximum of information about the first round.The organizers of the competition did not bother and took the old virtual game Arkoland as a basis.And the condition of the first round was: to
Fortress of Hope 15
4. Entering the game.On the floor where the elevator took them, they had to spend three days without the opportunity to get out. The game was to be played for three days with breaks for lunch and sleep.Before finding his room, Mark followed an employee through a crowd of others just like him.The guide quickly led them down a long corridor, commenting on the doors flying past.- Signs are everywhere. Dining room, gym, living room, - he also quickly broadcast along the way. - Leaving for lunch at exactly two. Dinner and bed at nine sharp. If you do not go out yourself, we turn it off automatically. Keep in mind that you don't accidentally end up dead in the game, he warned. - The timer is built into the main menu, - he immediately answered the emerging question. “Now take your rooms according to your numbers.” The entrance to the game is exactly at nine.And Mark understood why there were only numbers on the doors now. It remains only to find your room.The modest appearance of the r
Fortress of Hope 16
The beginning of the game is not happy.Yes. To fall abruptly into another place, and even into a humming crowd, is still a pleasure. Mark grimaced as someone nearby screamed piercingly, calling for Dick.On the square of a small town, in the style of German old towns, there were already players - a dime a dozen. But most of all, it was surprising that the bulk, especially the girls, were dressed up in such a way that they seemed to have already been at the ball.Noise, uproar, laughter, careless fun... It all looked strange. Especially when you consider that the competition was very serious.Looking around, Mark resolutely pushed his way to the nearest building and stood under the protection of its walls. So at least the back will be covered. Immediately activated the help.You are in the city of Chartjem on the southern border of Arkoland. A hundred and forty leagues to the capital. Helpfully provided help.Mark figured out how much it would be in terms of standard measurement, and