After a few minutes of incessant climbing, he fell out. The fresh air intoxicated me, clearing my nostrils clogged with dust and stench. Behind them, they cheered happily. - It's time to go. - He interrupted the touching meeting of the brothers. They didn't argue. Releasing each other from a strong embrace, they followed him. Claude sighed unhappily, everything went to the fact that he would have to get out of the city with them. Having taken Nelya, they hurried along the quiet streets of the sleeping Rigva, saying goodbye to her, if not forever, then for a long time. The western gate was always more weakly guarded, because it was an area of the poor and all the rabble that was in their favor. When they almost reached the exit from the city, Nel stopped. - I won't go with you. - Said the young man and smiled friendly. - Why is it dangerous for you to stay here? Caer was surprised. “Perhaps, but this is my home and family. I'll stay. - Good. Take care. - And
His crippled back responded to these actions with a sharp pain, knocking down his breath and coordination of movements, which is why he almost missed a blow, intercepting a sharp-toothed creature near his neck. Thin teeth clicked angrily, but never reached the goal. Throwing her aside with a careless throw, he drew his dagger and hurled it at her. With a dull thud, the blade entered the slippery body and stuck in the trunk of a nearby tree. But it was too early to relax, two more creatures "flyed" in his direction, he met them with a wave of his sword, cutting a long body into two neat halves. The creature nailed to the tree was still alive, but no longer dangerous for them. The brothers also got along well, and the snakes seemed to have no end. They all popped up and popped out of the grass, alone or in groups, rolling on them like waves of surf. It wasn't supposed to be like this His arms ached from the relentless swinging of the blade, and the ground around his feet was alre
brighten up a long night. Claude did not mind, the information obtained in this way often turned out to be the most useful, since the old man did not try to please him, verbally sharing information. - What is it? - Yes, got into the habit, cursed creatures, to attack travelers. Nothing and no one is afraid. People are attacked in broad daylight. - How long has it been like this? - Yes, go for three months already. Claude whistled impressedly, he hadn't been in these parts for a long time. - And what, the mayor does nothing about it? - Why, he does. The award was appointed, but no one is taken. They are painfully weird. Reasonable stuff. - It is unlikely. The mercenary chuckled skeptically. - Yes you?! They are not attacking anyhow, but together - in a flock. It shouldn't be like that. It never happened. - That's right, this is not typical of these animals. - What I'm talking about. These vipers were always around Permit, but they didn’t attack people,
- We've finally arrived. Come on boy, don't be shy. You won’t embarrass me, and it’s more fun to cuckoo the night together. - Thank you, - Claude thanked this man, he himself did not expect, but he was pleased with such an attitude of his grandfather, it was not often that people showed him so much warmth and cordiality, usually, a benevolent disposition ended after the work was done. Such imaginary warmth. Once upon a time, at the beginning of his path to the path of a mercenary, the then teenager was a little offended by such a two-faced attitude, but over time it passed, giving way to a slight sadness. While the mercenary indulged in sad memories, Andren diligently rattled the keys, trying to get into the lock with a shaking hand. When Claude already had the idea to open his door in the way he was accustomed to, the key slipped through the slot and the door swung open. Everything inside was just as small as the outside. A small table, surrounded by three stools, a neat sto
As he expected, Kaer was in his sister's room, sitting next to her bed and holding her hand. Now, while he did not see that he was being watched, his face was frozen in a sad, thoughtful expression, as if something was gnawing at him from the inside, something that he did not intend to talk about. "So be it. It's not my problem," Claude shook his head and softly knocked on the door with his knuckles, causing the teenager to turn around in fright. There was clearly something wrong with these kids. He himself did not enter the room, having settled down at the jamb near the door. - It's you, - the boy exhaled with relief and sat back on the chair from which he managed to rise. - Me. Waiting for someone else? - Not no. - Okay. Hold on. I brought food. - Said the man and handed the boy a pot and a spoon. - Thank you, I'm not very hungry, - the teenager was embarrassed, but the rumbling stomach said everything for him. - Eat. This grandfather sent. - Good. The con
- Forgive me, boy, that I look at you like that, the old woman and I did not make our own children, and you look so much like our unborn son, the way we imagined him. Not knowing what to say to these words, Claude only smiled crumpled, taking up the plates. It was a surprise for him to become someone a reminder of an unborn son, that the man had no idea how to react to such a comparison. But clearly, he enjoyed it. - Claude, you would take off your hood, it's hot for you in it. - Suddenly the grandfather said, which made Claude twitch, as if from a blow, and all the romantic mood disappeared, barely born. - I can not. - Nothing, son, you can't, you can't. - Adren, you better tell me how many cemeteries you have in your city? - Claude decided to return their communication to the business stream, sitting down at the table. - We have few cemeteries, only one will be on the western side of the city. - This is good. There will be more chances to find the creature so
Leaking between the fallen and the wall, Claude went behind him and swung his sword, barely managing to dodge five claws that flew past the very nose. The blade slashed unpleasantly at the stone buried in the mass of the earthen ceiling, causing the angle of impact to shift and instead of entering directly into the black heart of the creature, the blade only slightly scratched the skin on the broad shoulder. Roaring in pain, the monster bounced off the mercenary, hitting the opposite wall, knocking out clods of earth and continuing to howl in pain, rushed away from the hole, not paying attention to anything that came across it on the way. - Stop, creature! - Claude shouted after the fleeing monster, but he did not even think to obey, developing an unexpectedly fast speed. Puffing and shaking off the ubiquitous earth that got into his collar, into his sleeves, into his boots, Claude, helping himself with his hands, got out. The fallen one had already managed to retire to a dec
When the water finally warmed up, the old man invited Claude to wash himself and left the hut, promising to return in an hour. It was very kind of him. Wasting no time, he began to undress. Dirty, dirt-stained trousers and a jacket fell to the floor, metal buckles plaintively clinking on the floor, then came the turn of weapons, shirts and trousers. Last of all, Claude removed the bandage, which had dried to the wound, which made it necessary to wet it, but the blood no longer flowed, and the wound itself had already healed, and all the wounds of the last days took on the appearance of freshly healed scars on slightly reddened skin. However, they no longer posed a threat to him. Climbing into a wide wooden tub, Claude experienced real pleasure, bordering on ecstasy. It was so nice to take a dip in hot water after hard work, his previous employers did not often bother with such a trifle as giving him the opportunity to wash up, because what he was to them, a simple mercenary. The water
The Rancia empire prospered. Those terrible times when the Ransians fearfully expected the birth of their own children are far behind. With the accession to the throne of the new emperor Claude re Tigras the First and Empress Daisyre re Tigras, the people stopped living in fear and excitement. Now every Ransian, human or not, had the same right to life and happiness. The persecution of non-humans stopped, because the ruling family also did not belong to the human race, mixed marriages began to appear more often, and cities grew. Life became calmer, now the imperials were not afraid to travel between cities, risking being in the mouth of some monster. All creatures, of course, did not disappear, but as a result of a number of innovations introduced by Claude from the experience of his mercenary life, they greatly facilitate the fight against these creatures, forced them to go away from human habitation or hide deep in their holes. Man again became the dominant race on the planet, and e
- Oh, those boys. Alita purred as she slid off her man's lap and sat down on Claude's bed. “In general, sweetheart, when we burst into the hall, we only made it to the finale, when you, with completely wild eyes, rushed towards the door until you stretched out on the floor, not having reached us a few steps. And then Alexander quickly stepped forward, ordering that you be lifted and taken to the imperial chambers and called for a doctor, and then he explained to everyone present that according to some ancient law, I don’t know where he dug it up, you become the next emperor, taking the place of the deposed you ruler. We didn't even believe what we heard. You are Claude and the emperor. It sounded kind of unbelievable. And to be honest, they also managed to catch this cold, so they thought it was the result of a fever. But as it turned out, no, they heard right and you were really glorified as the future emperor. He cleverly organized everything here. So even the few dissatisfied witne
- Infections... It's people like me that you call an infection?- Yes. To be honest, I even liked you a little, not often non-humans managed to hide from my eye for so long, and your stupid principles ... naive, frankly childish, but noble, made me smile. However, the fact that you are a monster cannot be changed and you have no other destiny than to die.“It’s like seeing which one of us is a monster.— Ha! Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?“Appearance says nothing about a person. Yes, my eyes and ears are different from human, but there is much less blood on my hands than on yours.- What are you talking about. Turn around. All these people could live if not for you.“My fault for their death is no less than the one who set them on me. At least I was only defending myself, not sending them to their deaths.They died because they were doing their duty.Or because they were left with no choice.This conversation did not lead them anywhere, without bringing clarity or sat
And now only three of them remained, the horses carried the tired mercenaries forward, whipping dust into the air and crumbling the age-old stone into the sand. Two hot streams of steam escaped the air from the wide, nervously quivering nostrils of the driven horses. No one believed that they would catch up with the warrior, only hoping that the emperor would not realize his terrifying plan immediately upon the arrival of his assistant. On the horizon in front of them rose the towers of San Pen, brightening up the dull landscape with each kilometer growing higher and higher, delighting and frightening at the same time. Claude did not know what awaited them in the capital, for the first time he did not have at least some slightly thought-out plan, only one desire to be in time, not to be late, to stop. Inside, everything was shrinking from a bad premonition, but the guy drove away uninvited thoughts. You should never take on a job with a gloomy attitude to its failure, otherwise, every
Leata's voice broke through her rage-clouded consciousness. "Finally!" the guy exhaled, looking at the best thing to do in order to retreat without consequences for his health and life. It was not far to go, the creatures had already almost pressed him to the failure, from which the mercenary was separated by several steps, he needed only a couple of three seconds to get the coveted vial and jump over to the other side. Taking a step back, he seized the sword more comfortably and threw the dagger at the creature closest to him, slashing the blade across the entire expanse available to him and forcing the creatures to retreat a couple of steps. Here are his seconds. Rushing back, he removed the blade with one hand, and with the other he felt for the coveted cork. Which is specially marked so as not to be confused with others. The previous experience of using this remedy in the battle with sectroses taught him decently, but there was no time to sip drop by drop. Let it be what will be.
Aiyana, hurry up. Something is not happening.- One more second. Here it is! - the girl purred enthusiastically, pressing the lever near the capsule, and completely not noticing what was happening around.- We have no time. It's time to go.- Not! Until I find it, I won't leave.- Crap! Is it worth your life?- Yes!Discouraged by the answer, the mercenary fell silent for a few seconds. That's devotion! She could be admired if he and his comrades of life did not depend on her.Tell me what to look for! - finally, unable to stand it, he grunted, finally entering the room and feeling the cold enveloping from all sides.- You don't know the language.But I can see. I'll find it by sight. Show me or we'll all stay here.She did not argue further, obediently showing what symbols she had to find. There were few of them, at most four, of which one was a letter, and the rest resembled modern numbers. It was not even a name, but rather a code. He moved along the nearest shelving unit, running
At Leata's remark, Claude only shook his head, as they approached the ruins, Leatrice became more and more irritable and angry. He did not know what was eating her, most likely she was also afraid. After a quick bite, they hit the road. The sounds that accompanied their breakfast didn't help their appetite, and neither did their conversation. In anticipation of a meeting with the owners of these voices, people unanimously grew gloomy, but walked, carefully looking around. It gradually began to get light around, mischievous rays gently ran across the grass, reflected in drops of dew, flashed on people's weapons, playfully looking into their eyes and blossomed with a gloomy rainbow, reflected from the surface of the lake. The one that Leata called the "Lake of the Dead". For what it received such a name, no one knew, but the assumptions were different. Maybe the ancients drowned their dead in it, or maybe this is due to some mysterious story, since the lake was no different from its cou
- What the hell! cried Claude with a loud splash as he went under the water. The turbulent river picked up its prey with the joy of a small child who discovered in his power a toy he had long desired. The big man was twisted and twisted, sometimes hitting the side of the shell. Water clogged in his mouth, nose, forcing him to spit, smearing haze before his eyes. You can't give up! Claude remembered that he was not alone in the water, but he did not have time to really see the creature that had so cleverly discounted him. However, this did not give a reason to underestimate her. Ripping up the water with powerful strokes, he forced himself to swim up. Thank the Gods, he did not have time to take aside. The shell, like a native, clung to him, dragging him along, trying in vain to pull him under him. The body already almost did not obey him, bound by a terrible cold. Pushing off from the surface of the water, Claude desperately jumped up in an unsuccessful attempt to grab the edge, feeli
— Falcon. Daisyra prompted, following his gaze. For her, this distance was not a problem. - Beautiful.- Yes. And lonely.- How are you!- What did you get?“This is how we met you in that tavern.- When it was. Seems like another life.- Yes. And I'm glad we met.- And I.They had a strange conversation, they seemed to be talking and at the same time not. Pictures of their meeting floated before his eyes, taken apart by the words of the girl, and seeing himself, he looked and did not recognize. Now he was no longer the same person. Claude has changed. Becoming somehow something ... more integral, but still in his chest did not want to melt a tight lump that appeared there in childhood, as if not allowing him to free himself from the cage created by himself.- For me, he is not alone, but strong. Rolk muttered thoughtfully.— Who are you talking about? Caer joined in, also following his eyes sparkling in the rays of the sun, following the bird circling above them.- About both.“We wi