- Don't you know the difference? His answer was an uncomprehending, puzzled look. - Everything's clear with you. Free means I take on the work that I want myself. And I don't want to work for you. - Well, please, Mr. Claude. At least you just go. Don't kill me with rejection. - Thorng suddenly pleaded, all his importance and pomposity flew off him, like applied gilding, revealing a not at all expensive inside. - What is it so important that can ruin you with my refusal? - Snakes. - Finally, the messenger gave up, looking doomed at the floor, - but I didn't tell you that. - From what? - the mercenary said more interestedly. He wanted to know more about snakes himself. - Mr. Mayor, does not want to recognize them as a problem, but they have already spoiled everyone's life. The man has finally given up. - Okay, wait, we'll have breakfast, and then I'll be ready to go with you. - Is it possible without breakfast? Thorng muttered, somehow haunted. - No, I d
At least Claude didn't know about it. nicely illuminated by the light of the morning sun. And expensive artsy furniture, placed along the walls, and now empty. Although the dining table attracted the greatest attention here. Long, wide, on lion's legs and covered with a patterned tablecloth, transparent lace of the web of a stoklog, a spider-spinner, descending to the floor. Products from the web of these stoklog spiders were very much appreciated and purchased for terribly fabulous money, not every rich man could afford them, especially such a volume as this tablecloth. The high cost of such a web was also facilitated by the fact that such spiders were rare, and they did not want to give away their creations just like that, and no one had yet succeeded in breeding them at home. At least Claude didn't know about it. nicely illuminated by the light of the morning sun. And expensive artsy furniture, placed along the walls, and now empty. Although the dining table attracted the greatest
- What are you so immediately. Let's do this, for your work thirty gold pieces, ten for the restoration of the churchyard. - Not. The guy stood his ground. - How difficult it is for you. Okay forty! - Ivanos finally gave up, sparkling with displeasure in his eyes, human already completely unreminiscent. Claude narrowed his eyes suspiciously, the mayor gave up too quickly. - Fourty! On hand, but with a condition. If it is human or non-human, I will refuse the order. - Good. - See you! - Claude threw angrily and with a confident step went to the exit, already at the very door his heightened hearing was touched by something unkind: "Maybe you will die there!" The boy shook his head, not a bad wish, but it wasn't the first time he had received it. With a cheeky smile, he left the palace. Forty gold was not a bad catch, and with that amount he could completely renew his ammunition and afford not to work for a month, while living well in a not the cheapest Guest House. Th
Meanwhile, the forest grew thicker and more impassable, giving way to an overgrown thicket that was barely traversable, where a man's foot did not often set foot. And what a reasonable person would voluntarily put himself in such a place, who else but him. With a sigh, he looked at his fighting friend, who would have to play the not-so-heroic role of a woodcutter, cutting off especially stubborn branches, the sharpness of the blade allowed him to be used for this purpose. But, as Claude noted with anguish, after such a specific use, the sword will have to be shown to the blacksmith, since even its manual sharpening will no longer correct the situation. After half an hour of fermentation among the thickets of fir trees, a few scratches and a hole in the leg, a much-desired gap appeared in front, in the reflections of which the features of some structure were clearly visible. "Here it is - the lair!" - the mercenary breathed a sigh of relief, rejoicing that this exhausting wandering
- Not the first time. - And what happened to the previous ones? - They weren't disappointed. - Vaguely answered the woman. - And came back? - Watching who. Special people are always welcome here. - Special? - Yes, like you and me, mercenary. - Claude. - Claude. Even the name, impressive - gorgeous. - As if tasting, she repeated, voicing the meaning of his name. Claude himself knew that his name was translated as magnificent. What a mockery, magnificent and subhuman. - And you? - Alita. Nice to meet. - Mutually. In the room, meanwhile, it began to gradually darken, the sun was more and more inclined towards sunset, less and less penetrating inside the room with its playful rays. And in the reflection of these rays, Alita became even more charming and desirable. “I like you, mercenary,” the snake queen continued meanwhile, giving him an appraising look. - I know that you are the same as me, my children have seen You. You should understand me.
After sitting like that for a couple more minutes, he was able to finally regain control of his own body. The fact that his hands were shackled with chains did not upset him much, not for the first time. In such a case, he always had a spare master key stashed away. Bending the brush, he tried to feel for the metal rod sewn into the edge of the shirt sleeve, but as soon as he twisted to pull out the skeleton key, the snakes, before that, indifferent, and as if not alive, began to move, emitting a menacing hiss and sticking out a forked tongue. Not wanting to take risks, the guy froze, judging by the appearance of these creatures, they were relatives in appearance to the one that bit him and fell from his hands. It means that he will not die from their bite, but he did not want to experience again all the delights of paralysis, you never know what could happen while he was passed out. Claude threw a hateful glance at the reptiles and relaxed, hanging in the shackles. His hands ache
I didn’t feel like eating out of her hands at all, but I didn’t have to choose, it was stupid to arrange the head, he could need strength at any moment. The meat was juicy and tender, well-done, it literally melted in your mouth. Whatever he thought of Alita, she was an excellent cook. Not a woman, but a dream, if it were not for such a snake. And the piece was already somehow suspiciously quickly over, as Claude thought, without saturating him. - Alita, why do you need all this, because you're not bad? - unexpectedly even for himself asked Claude, when the last piece disappeared into the bowels of the stomach. - Tired of living in fear. I want happiness for people like us. - Still she answered, after not a long reflection, but her voice did not sound very confident. - I understand, but maybe there is another way to fulfill your desire? -Not! I do not see him. - It's a pity. - What are you sorry about? - What, such beauty will be lost in vain. The w
- We are just very tired, and these snakes swarming around ... - continued the story of brother Daisy. - And the woman was so kind, so sympathetic, that we followed her. “Such a woman…” Caer muttered dreamily, apparently also succumbing to Alira’s charm, and judging by Deiza’s words, it had an effect on her too, forcing her to see Alita as a trustworthy person. - I understood it. Kaer, wipe your drool, she's too tough for you. - Confidently ordered the mercenary, trying to return their heads to their place. - I didn't let you! - the brother was indignant, moving closer to Claude as far as the length of the shackles allowed. - Okay, what's next? “Ah, nothing,” the teenager finished their confession. - As soon as we went inside, snakes rushed at us, twisted, and the one that bit from the woman's hand. - And me. - The girl confirmed the words of her brother, waving her hand. - In general, I understood everything. Now we have to decide how to proceed. C
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