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The Verge Of An Empire 33
I lie in bed among hot blankets, and sleep is afraid to come to me, because I am afraid to fall asleep. This happens in patients with fever or poisoned by bad food, who are tormented by great heat and nausea. Any attempts to fall asleep are futile, because crazy pictures, fragments of some melodies, slurred phrases are dancing in the inflamed mind. Every now and then the disfigured muzzle of the late Wolfeld flickers, the family of coal miners dances among the nameless tombstones, and people whom I did not personally see, but who have disappeared, lie in a heap on the sidelines. Customs officials, most of them never found, none of the ones de Moranjac suspected of taking bribes. Speaking of him, the high accuser is also here, in my head, in the midst of the excruciating heat. He and his whole family dine at a large table, not noticing the dancing dead and the lups prowling between the graves.“Monsieur de Moranjac,” I said as I approached, “forgive me for disturbing your meal. I don't
The Verge Of An Empire 34
We left the mansion and with great difficulty again overcame the green obstacle course. Escaped from the garden, we walked freely across the snow-covered wasteland. Frankly, I hate to meddle in this realm of warlike vegetation, and to stand on ceremony with every flower is somehow stupid! Not that Dargul would have burst into tears from such a loss or would have treated me worse, but he certainly would not have experienced joy. For example, I would not sympathize with someone who would dare to hit my Gladstone if the dog did nothing.Ook always obey an instinct that tells them to create the most comfortable environment around them. And the best thing for them is a dense wild forest. Their association with lower, non-sentient plants is very similar to magic, but it is not. Rather, it is an impeccable training using the forces of nature, which are available to everyone. Terrible power, great power. These creatures, as is commonly believed, have always existed, but they were not always a
The Verge Of An Empire 35
Excited exclamations of passengers were heard. I hurried to the side and leaned over the railing to see what the noise was. From the muddy waters of Estra appeared the bumpy, overgrown with silt, like wool, the shell of the Clastanos violinist. A giant crab with a primitive mind took up a vertical position, showing a huge right claw, and began to gurgle. Judging by the way its mouthparts trembled, the klastanos was about to release a long jet of stinking water at the passengers for fun.“Be careful, master. Sebastina snatched a kitchen hatchet from under her hem and threw it at the violinist.Hissing through the air, the weapon slammed into the carapace and knocked off the outermost of the six horn growths above the muzzle. Hissing viciously, the river dweller sank under the water.- In vain you are.“This lower being allowed himself the unacceptable. I intended to drive the ax between the eyes, but did not take into account the movement of water and ferry.“The Clastanos are vindicti
The Verge Of An Empire 36
- I believe you. I even roughly imagine what kind of soldiers accompanied the cargo. But where did they take him?- Don't know. I was tasked with transporting weapons across the Estra and then hiding them in one of our warehouses.“Western part of Little Zankog?”- Yes. Warehouse lot number six, room number seventeen just above the canal. Where the boxes then disappeared, I do not know.Did they disappear?“No one carried them outside, tan el'Moria. My people simply put their weapons in the indicated place and locked the warehouse. When they got there a day later, the warehouse was empty. And so time after time ... Hmm, the tea has cooled down, and we have not touched it.- This is all?“Anything I can offer for an investigation. And now I ask you to forgive me. It's time.The girl, who had been dozing all this time on the sofa, whose head Dan Kao was stroking as if she were a cat, sat down, flexibly stretched and stood up. She rolled out a wheelchair from behind the sofa, and then, s
The Verge Of An Empire 37
Sebastina helped me sit up and piled plates around me, interspersed with documents. I ate something without looking, sorting through the results of examinations, the conclusions of the coroner, the reports of alchemists and forensic magicians. Perhaps the most interesting was the description of the black substance found in Incival's house. Neither magicians nor alchemists had any idea what it was. More precisely, the alchemists knew what they had found, but they did not understand how it got there and what it was used for. The guys from Kalkstein University even sent us a list of the elements that make up that mass: water, carbon, ammonia, lime, phosphorus, salt, saltpeter, and so on, some other number of substances that could say something to Inchival, and not for me.- Some kind of nonsense. They say that this mixture is not particularly flammable, therefore, it is not a fuel, it cannot be consumed, which means that it is not a medicine. Not vegetable, not organic. Not acid, not… An
The Verge Of An Empire 38
– I was looking for meetings with the so-called free zheshzuls, a community that does not obey our laws, shuns our society and retains its original ethnic features. I hoped that they would have information that could help me in the investigation. After all, who knows more about the devouring of souls than zheshzul?Fear, distrust, in the air.“Unfortunately, wandering among the shadows, I did not meet a single zheshzul. But then I found a warehouse full of weapons and ammunition, and then I met a man who is now better known as the Leatherworker. Meeting him almost cost me my life, and then I had to flee from armed netankris who tried to kill us.“Are you saying, Thane el'Moria, that when you visited the forbidden territory, you discovered a murderous maniac, a cache of weapons and living beings?”- I don't want to say anything, Mr. Chancellor, I'm speaking in plain text. This mentally brings me back to the reports of my predecessors, but more on that later. Now I continue. Although I
The Verge Of An Empire 39
“And this is you, the thane who rushes between the bar and the dubious admirer.- How rough! He grimaced arrogantly.– Do you know each other, thanes? the Emperor asked, watching us with interest.“We are not represented, Your Majesty,” my interlocutor bowed low. “Although I have heard a lot about Tanya el'Moria during my communication with my capital friends. Miscellaneous.“Then I will do you the honor of introducing you personally. Thane Brian el'Moria, High Interrogator of the Night Watch. Tan Ruton el'Vanshar, representative of our economic interests in the eastern sector.“In other words, I am the reverse representative of the Orst-Malda Trading Company, which works in close cooperation with the tenkris families of the Eastern powers,” boasted a lover of dark glasses. At the same time, a stuffy cloud of swaggering complacency spread around him. “And I have arrived with extremely good news for His Majesty!”- Is it true? The monarch chuckled.- Still would! Our income has skyrock
The Verge Of An Empire 40
Nearby loomed the figure of Mork. Avian tried desperately to issue instructions, forcing the terrified netankris out of their stupor and giving way to fire brigades and rescue teams.“This is a real nightmare, Sebastina."Would you like to leave, master?"- For what? Is there any way I can help them? Or will I just get in the way of Mork? Sebastina, again I don't know what to do.The tower was on fire, as my maid rightly compared, with a gigantic torch illuminating the entire capital. My floors, my office, everything was engulfed in a roaring blue fire, the heat from which rose up with clouds of greasy black smoke and mingled there with the icy winter night. Pieces of the building broke off and rushed down, developing breathtaking speed ... Miraculously, the employees who survived the explosion jumped out of the windows, choosing a quick death.How long can I take all of this before my heart breaks as the waves of pain, fear, and despair wash over me?“Only the Thane himself knows wha