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THE OUTLAND 52
"Ale and Tears" turned out to be exactly where the guildmaster indicated - a two-story elegant building attracted the attention of passing travelers, and the promised discount reduced the room payment from two silver pieces to half. But Yolka smiled so pleased that I could not resist.- Give you a room for two? the innkeeper asked melancholy, rubbing mugs.— What are the options?- There are for one, for two, for seven - with separate beds. There is a family room.“Family, please,” I looked vengefully at Yolka, “we just secretly got engaged and fled from Askolta.Oh, wedding night! The innkeeper nodded understandingly. “Second floor, last room on the left. Clean linen and wine for the mood - at the expense of the institution. He winked.“I will definitely remember this for you. Yolka muttered, stomping ahead of me and letting me admire all the advantages of the position. - I'll come back - and I'll figure it out!And yet."Are you really going to bed?" - I clarified. - I understand, m
THE OUTLAND 53
“And you, by any chance, don’t know Aunt Saga?” I asked.— Sagu? And, you, probably, are talking about the rector of the faculty of martial arts, Saggitaria Lame? Why do you need her?Hmm, I wanted to joke, it's called.“Ask something if I can’t find it from you.”I'm sure you'll find it! So, magic, witchcraft and their church versions. You in the historical department. Wait here, I'll send the librarian.- And you?“No, no, I don’t claim to be a scholar in any way. Uncle Cornus is just making sure the librarians have something to eat a little. One moment.Kornus, to which the definition of "swindler" was too sticky, disappeared as if it did not exist at all, and I was left alone in a small room with bare walls, the only decoration of which were painted frescoes. One of them caught my attention and I moved closer. Not badly drawn, it was more like a battle canvas than a religious plot - on it a huge savage, armed with a club, heartily beat a kind of Thomas on the head. True, unlike th
THE OUTLAND 54
"Reader, you will soon get to know me better. Forgive me in advance. Give in to laziness, lean back, drink wine and be lazy as much as you want. And only when you start to feel sick from idleness - come back.And find out that we drink from the same font while we live, and return what we have drunk when we die. The life that the Font gives, flows in our veins, allows us to let go of the lived moment and take the next one. But there are those for whom their own is not enough, they want everything at once, a lot of everything. This is how the Divine Spouses turned out, this is how the Big Spider came to heaven, and this is how the foremother of death became the foremother of life. The world was inhabited by the elder gods.They were all people, and like all people, everything turned out wrong for them - the life intended for many thousands of generations spilled, scattered throughout Tlalli. Life flew all over the planet, settling in the water, on the ground, freezing in the air, burnin
THE OUTLAND 55
Yes, that's interesting, but...“Sir, listen further. Okama was not at all invincible in battle, on his way there were warriors much more sophisticated, much stronger, but he always moved on, winning with cunning where there was not enough strength, understanding how the enemy fought. Having cleared the coast of Exod from white barbarians, Okama put his warriors on ships and sailed to the coast of Habitat. Here they first encountered some other gods, no less powerful than the divine couple. One of them was the Sky Spider - Okama's forces laid siege to the temple of this deity, and a fighter entered the field, short, wiry, but armed with a huge two-handed sword. And the Spider fighter moved with such speed that the most accurate archers could not hit him, the best spearmen fell dead. And at some point he got to Okama.“I mean, are you saying this Spider also had a champion?”“I don't know the word the lord uses. But in the eyes of the Spider fighter, the same fire burned as in the eyes
THE OUTLAND 56
Nodding to us, the commander of the patrol raised his fist, and the cavalcade with a clatter and a roar departed.“Look, there are no more questions. Yolka smiled. “Apparently, your captain has already told everyone that he has his eye on the nun Arsa.- He is not mine!- Yes of course.Askolta remained unvisited, she sailed back in the sunset, and we moved on along a well-trodden road. For the bridge, as Yolka put it.- Christmas tree?- Hm?“Are you the Archer of Ars?”- Let's put it. What is it?— How rich is the church of Ars?— Compared to what, depending. If with you, then, of course, rich. The girl winked. At least she has money.- And in general?- Not really. The archer confessed. - Ars specializes in hunting, ranged combat and reconnaissance. You understand, this is a bit not something that can get rich. And, of course, the reputation of the church - they say, they train spies there, and all the novices of the spy without exception.“That’s why the captain wasn’t surprised a
THE OUTLAND 57
“And everything is going according to plan. I muttered thoughtfully.No, actually, even too according to the plan! And when everything goes too well, I start looking for a catch. We were really placed in the guest quarters, fed, watered and provided with a bath, and at ten o'clock there was a gentle knock on the door and invited Sister Dergilda to proceed to the captain's chambers. Okay, this is understandable - the captain is suffering from sperm toxicity, so his thinker is completely disabled. But everyone else! What's wrong with them? Why didn't anyone think to stop us along the way and ask a couple of questions? Oh yes, promise...The captain also suddenly decided not to immediately take the horse by the leg, but to play the gentleman - he poured wine, cut fruit, lit candles. And, of course, he successfully turned the back of his head, where the heavy silver tray flew so successfully. A true gentleman. It is terrible even to think what would have happened if he had not been a con
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Foma stood in front of me, tilted his head to one side, studying thoughtfully. I absorbed the incoming information like a sponge, feverishly moving my brain. The remark about the murderer Tael is logical, but so far I don’t need it, but the “currents of life” ... This is interesting!“You are an ungrateful bastard, boy. Aren't you grateful that your father can work again, move his arm, live like normal people? Not? Looks like no. Otherwise, why would you sneak up on a defenseless sleeping holy brother with a dagger? What's the matter? Maybe you can tell? Foma winked, and I felt that I could move my tongue and lips again.- Yes, so ....- Don't talk though! he interrupted excitedly. “People are ungrateful and do not see good, and for what in Mount they can take offense at me is for the execution of a sorcerer and the ascension of his girlfriend!” It’s hardly a matter of a girlfriend - these arrows suit you too much in front of your eyes. So you've come to avenge your friend? Or do you
THE OUTLAND 59
Rob, Rob, get up. A familiar soft voice called out to me.Otherwise, I will be late for my first working day, for my first game death at the stake. I took a deep breath of air, expecting a flash of pain where the bloody artifact gnawed at the flesh - and coughed. There was no pain. Only the smell of a thunderstorm, only the surf and emptiness beating somewhere far, far away on the rocks.“Welcome to Limbo Island. - said the same voice, and I opened my eyes, stared at the low gray sky, felt the hard rock under my shoulder blades. “You almost succeeded, my Rob, my hero. — Agnis?"But aren't you dead?"Dead, Rob. But you also died. It happens, those are the rules. - The girl squatted down next to me, picking up the hem of a sundress that seems out of place here, in the Middle Ages, invented by some sadist.“Foma thought that he would simply kill you, suck the life out of you and send you to frighten the people in the form of a Fel creature. But it turned out that he did you a favor.“Ac