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2024-10-29 19:42:56The monks could not sit idly by and follow the manipulations of the necromancer, they dispersed in different directions and began to crack branches somewhere behind the trees, apparently looking for something. Soon the good brothers returned to the path, slurping their salty slurps - Olveh decided to walk along the edge of the path so as not to leave any unnecessary traces, and Horace followed him.
“No one and nothing,” said the little monk, “unfortunately, we failed to find.
"Then let's get to my conclusion." The necromancer rose to his feet, still clutching the basket in his hands. This woman was killed by a sorcerer.
“Unexpected solidarity,” said Brother Olveh indifferently.
"And this sorcerer is not a Maren charm," Tobius put in. “She died a few hours ago, when both he and I were with you.
“It is possible that he is innocent,” the Petrian still agreed, “or perhaps he has an accomplice. Time will show. Time and knowledge.
Completely ignoring the gray mage, the monk looked at the necromancer.
“The sorcerer killed her,” he continued. “Possibly a necromancer, but not necessarily. She walked from south to north, carrying with her brushwood and some fresh mushrooms. Apparently she was returning home - the nearest settlement to the south of here is three days' journey, but in the northwest there is an almost extinct farmstead, which is less than an hour on foot. I must say that this woman, God forgive me, was a fool. She left the house alone and went into the woods. This is despite the fact that here the places are almost wild and local people are obliged to be careful. Wolves are just beginning to eat after the winter, and besides them, there are more than fifteen types of small evil spirits that are always ready to hunt a person.
How did you know it was a sorcerer?
- It's simple. Char Thobius, are there any other tracks on the path besides those of the victim and perhaps yours?
- Have not found.
“You see, brother Olvekh, before her death, the unfortunate woman was stunned by a blow to the back of her head. After that, she was gutted alive. The work of man, not beast. The cut is even, the hand that made it is stuffed, you can trust me. Then the organs were taken out and laid out in accordance with the order of their location in the body along a vertical line. Some are missing - I think the killer found them suitable for his purposes. However, he left no trace. It doesn’t matter what he did, flew in and attacked from above, or wrapped himself in the illusion of invisibility and enchanted boots so as not to leave marks, the fact is that he owns the Gift. Well, or he is a Lontil elf. These creatures in the forest are invisible and inaudible, they leave no traces, they can walk a step away from a person, and he will not recognize this until the green steel knife enters under the ribs ... Sorry, I digress. To top it off, the killer took the child.
The necromancer pointed to the basket.
Why did you decide...
“I can smell a baby.
Brother Horas pursed his lips and frowned, brother Olveh seemed to have missed such reckless words past his ears, but this was a deceptive impression.
"You really don't smell dirty diapers, brothers?" - The necromancer grinned grimly and finally threw away the ill-fated basket. “If you leave us with enchantment Tobius, we will consider how to help the cause.
The wizards bent over the body, the monks did not move for some time, watching their actions, but nevertheless soon left.
"I didn't pay attention," Tobius whispered, "the child... Are you sure he didn't die?"
- Not sure. But I can swear he didn't die here. That's for sure.
- How are you…
“Children's blood smells very different from the blood of adults. Especially the blood of babies.
Goosebumps ran down Tobius's back.
“A grimm could help us. If brother Olveh doesn't drag us to the fire even for this little thing.
“Very interesting, do you know how to summon a Grimm, Char Tobius?”
"I don't, but I thought you... You don't have any ingredients?"
The necromancer smiled without a word, continuing to carefully examine the mangled corpse.
- Ingredients can be obtained. Just think, a tuft of wool and a couple of bones of a rabid dog. It's easy to get it. But to cope with an enchanted spell [A spell that the wizard is not able to learn, or is able, but with great difficulty, no matter how simple it may be. Cursed spells drop spontaneously for every wizard.] — no.
- OU.
“Yes, char Tobius, summoning a grimm is a bit difficult for me. Once I was able to carry it out, but the damned creature almost tore me to pieces. Too bad, it could help us a lot.
Some sorcerers and necromancers could summon grimm, the spirit of a rabid dog, to the World of the Fallen Dragon, which perfectly followed the trail, and not only. Usually necromancers created these creatures and let them chase the fugitives, and finding the unfortunate, the Grimms pounced on their prey with an unbridled desire to kill them. Very dangerous and strong, they faithfully served only sorcerers with a strong will, which is strange, because humility is inherent in the undead - even a wild restless will not attack a necromancer. Many young lords of the dead have lost their lives by summoning a Grimm to their head.
“Do you think if I offer them to perform the ritual of summoning her soul, they will immediately kill me?”
“Most likely, Brother Horas will get ahead of us both and use what he hides under his cloak before we raise the wands… Tell me, are you familiar with Blood magic?”
- Never tried.
"I have," Tobius admitted. “One day I came across a tomb deep in the swamps of the forest. And when its inhabitant finally rested thanks to me, I found some writings. I don't think the ritual is particularly difficult, but I really can't do it on my own.
Thobius took out his spell book, a rather bulky tome, bound in bronze with the silhouette of a flying moth on the front.
I don't think it's so much...
The noise of leaves stirred by the wind silenced the gray mage. He felt like someone was looking at him.
- Can? the necromancer asked cautiously, bringing Tobius out of his daze.
“…Yes, look.
Marin accepted the book with great respect. His behavior was natural: after all, for a magician, a spell book is a sacred treasure, a storehouse of knowledge and a source of power. Touching someone else's book or looking into it without asking would mean provoking the owner to the most severe retaliatory measures.
- Interesting…
- I haven't tried it yet - fortunately, there was no reason. And now that we don't have much choice... we can't summon the Grimm, and there's no legal way to track down the killer. There is only this - a ritual of blood magic at the level of village witchcraft. The brothers will not praise, but this is the most convenient way out.
“You will outline the body, and I will collect her blood.
- Let's start.
The necromancer took out a silver goblet from his bag and poured the blood of the murdered woman into it. Tobius took out his ritual knife and began to outline the corpse with a magical design. Unlike the blueprints common to the school of civilized magic, those lines were unkempt, broken, wild.
- What are you doing? asked Brother Olveh, approaching inaudibly from behind.
“Creating a blood tank,” the necromancer replied.
I don't know of such a spell.
"So it's not forbidden," Maren continued cautiously. “It never even occurred to us to disturb the soul of this unfortunate woman. This is completely unacceptable, right? Therefore, we decided to create a tiny nameless spirit with a blood body. The bloodworm is driven by a single desire - to grow. But he can do this only by finding more of the blood from which he is made. Now I am his essence, and the enchantment Tobius closes the original source of blood from the future creature. He will not see the body and will not feel its blood, which means he will rush to the nearest drop of blood that exists. It doesn't matter where she is - at least on the other side of the world. If the killer has taken even a little of the victim's blood on him, the bloodlet will follow him anywhere.
- Vile sorcery.
“You have to choose the lesser of two sins.
“It’s better not to sin at all and pray more often.”
“If praying in the middle of the woods over a disemboweled body will help us find the killer, then my ears are open, and I am listening,” Tobius said sharply. “You want to find a maleficarum [an ecclesiastical term for a sorcerer, warlock, heretic, or witch who practices dark magic.] or not, brother Olvech? If you offer your solution, we will stop all this and follow you.
The monk was silent. He was a professional magician, most of his life he was taught to find tracks and follow them for adepts of the dark arts who planned evil. But this time, the witch hunter's instinct failed: no matter how carefully the monk searched for the trail of the criminal, he eluded him.
Meanwhile, the wizards continued to work. Marin copied the text from the book of Tobius, and then they both stood over the body of the unfortunate woman. Thobius held a wand in his right hand, a book in his left, and Marin held a goblet in his left and a wand in his right.
Auta ermambas, suvelash kudari kver.
Auta almidash, suvelash tazzari arn.
Auta crudovil, suvelash ireded fing.
Aut tskakivar, suvenite rabita int.
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World Of The Fallen Dragon 6
They repeated these lines over and over again, saying each word in unison. The lines drawn on the ground glowed faintly, and the blood in the goblet began to seethe little by little. It remained cold, did not boil, did not steam, but twitched and gurgled, as if writhing in writhing.— Bekvim talvimat!— Bekvim fegatar!The blood in the goblet frothed violently, and Marin dropped it, but the contents did not pour out, but rolled out like a mobile and elastic ball of mercury. As if sniffing, he twitched to one side, to the other, crawled towards the corpse, but stumbled upon a barrier of broken lines and moved in the other direction.“It worked,” the gray mage whispered, looking fascinated at his handiwork. “Another spell in my piggy bank.“Char Thobius, does he have to move so slowly?”- How should I know…The gorewort crawled along the ground slowly but surely.“I think he took the lead.- I doubt. At this rate, we won't find the maleficarum until tomorrow morning.- Let's fix it! Bul
World Of The Fallen Dragon 7
Finding no remnants of magical energy, Tobius dispelled the Raccoon Eyes and created True Sight. However, the result was the same - no magical presence. By all accounts, it turned out that they had discovered a wizard's laboratory in which there was no place for magic.- This is absurd. There must be something here.“Everything is shielded, char Tobius, the work of a master rank wizard, no less.Both mages came up with the same thought, and they began to fear for the integrity of their skins more than ever. Until now, they had hunted a dangerous maleficarum, but now there was a possibility of meeting with a magician of the level of a master or, worse, an archmage, which neither one nor the other wanted.With a gesture forcing the golems to halt on the stairs, Tobius shifted his grip on the wand and walked forward. As soon as he took two steps, a wave of magical power hit his head, and with all his available senses, the wizard felt the heavy oppressive aura of that place.“It’s true, c
World Of The Fallen Dragon 8
The monstrous wounds should have killed the monk, but no, the strong, trained body was still alive, although it was barely breathing. Healing Brother Horace was useless—magic had little effect on God's servants—but Thobius carried with him an infusion of white aloe, bitter, fairly poisonous, but capable of giving a half-dead man a few extra hours if left alone. Pouring a liquid that looked like thick white milk into the cracked slit of his mouth, the wizard rushed away. There was nothing more he could do, no matter how much he wanted to.When the sorcerer escaped from the laboratory, he was met by Brother Horace. The huge Johnite blocked the way to escape, rose to his death and single-handedly gave him a worthy fight, but was struck down by something terrible, from which even the holy weapon could not protect him. Yes, but the sorcerer himself did not leave whole. Tobius rushed down the trail of blood, with which the enemy sprinkled the rotten leaves and branches of plants, running aw
World Of The Fallen Dragon 9
The gray mage continuously brewed medicines and combined antidotes for two days, keeping Maren alive along the way. Luckily, he had a few needles with samples of the acidic poison left to use to create an antidote. On the third day, the necromancer died, and he had to transplant his heart, and at the same time his eyes to replace those that had leaked out.Tobius infused a test sample of the antidote into Maren's body over the next three days, after which side effects appeared in the form of purple sores on his right arm. Taking a sample of the substance from the ulcers, the wizard analyzed its composition, changed the formula of the antidote and began infusions of the improved composition. The damage to the body was terrible. Tobius was able to fix something thanks to experience and healing talents, but only time and a miracle could fix something. The face was especially badly damaged, and it was not to be hoped that it would ever look the same as before. Nevertheless, Marin slowly g
World Of The Fallen Dragon 10
The wizard's feet led him to the threshold of the Sleeping Giant tavern. In his youth, he used to come here with fellow members of the Dar to taste simple human pleasures like beer, obscene language and fights. A faded wooden plaque with a pot-bellied giant painted on it, sleeping under a rickety spruce, still swayed on a metal rod above the door. Mildon Fazard hadn't been around to update it since Tobius was still an apprentice.Inside, almost nothing had changed, everything was familiar, and even the smells remained the same, as if from a past life. The owner did not recognize him immediately, only after a few words.- Don't recognize you! he exclaimed, waving his hands.- Is it? It seems that the beard has not grown, and the mustache too.- Well ... you know, good charm, the guy left here, and the man returned! You seem to have become wider in the shoulders, and taller ...“Well, well, don’t exaggerate, Mr. Fazard."How long have you been gone, char?"“About two or three years, I t
World Of The Fallen Dragon 11
Nikadim was very old, and this was striking in many ways. As the years passed, he took less care of himself, his unwashed gray hair looked like a gray washcloth, a long, unkempt beard and many wrinkles on a hard face emphasized the fatigue of faded eyes. At the same time, the old man was very tall, had broad shoulders and a straight back, his voice sounded booming, and his eyes remained clear. Nikadim's head was encircled by a shining golden hoop with a large blue stone in his forehead, bracelets and rings, both precious and iron, and some even made of rare materials - bone, wood, stone, jingled on his hands and fingers. Old tried-and-true jewelry tools hung from a rich belt, chains, medallions, key rings tinkled here and there; in the pockets of the mantle, too, something was constantly rattling and spilling over.“Attornak was going to throw you to someone, but, fortunately, I participated in the assembly of these artifacts and cheated here and there. Now all such a maetha first pas
World Of The Fallen Dragon 12
The recruitment of students to the Academy has long been considered an unofficial holiday in Riven. The doors of the shops were closed that day, and people hurried to the Pier of Miracles with their whole families. The gates of the Academy swung open before them, and the watchmen fell into a deep magical sleep. There were no crowds on all four roads. Still, after all, only twice a year the wizards let the common people into their possessions, it was impossible to miss such a chance.The rules established by the magicians forbade leaving the main roads and going deeper into the park - as soon as someone violated this prohibition, chichivarniks, also known as grass dogs, immediately emerged from the grass. The creatures are supremely cute, like furry stoats with grass instead of fur. They yelped loudly and bit painfully, but they did not pose any danger at all, although they seemed quite formidable to ordinary people.Tobius walked freely on the grass next to the road - among the townsp
World Of The Fallen Dragon 13
Four neophyte wizards immediately jumped up to him, who, accepting his works, carried them to the rulers of the Academy.“Allow me to ask, enchantment Tobius,” Gasparda carefully examined the skillful sketches of plants and insects on the pages of the book he got, “where did you meet all these curious specimens unknown to modern magical science?”“In the Savage Land, your might.There was a deathly silence for a few seconds, then the audience buzzed like a disturbed hornet's nest, sometimes surprised, sometimes indignant, sometimes even hysterical.- To order! Gasparda roared. "Have you set foot in the Savage Land, enchantment Thobius?" Did I misheard?No, your power. To roughly round it off, I could say that I lived in the forests of the Wild Land for two years. During this time, my life has been in danger more than twenty thousand times for one reason or another. I suffered three serious illnesses of unknown origin, which I described in treatises, met five species of animals officia
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Epilogue
After Tobius Moth entered the Academy grounds in front of hundreds of wizards, everything went awry. After some time, many heard through the Astral the appeal of Tobius, in which he denounced the archmage Shivarius the Polyhedron, calling him a renegade, guilty of the war with the Zulans and sabotage of the Academy. After that, hours passed before the barrier that kept the magicians out of the campus began to lose stability, and they began to diligently hit it with all available spells, despite the constant interference in the form of the air element. In the end, the barrier was broken through, and, having risen to the top of the main tower, the magicians found the rulers of the Academy there in full force, alive and unharmed.The guilt of Shivarius the Polyhedron was confirmed by the words of the stewards, and the wizards of the Academy were ordered to immediately begin the search for the missing traitor. But neither Archmage Shivarius nor Magister Tobius could be found. They weren't
- World Of The Fallen Dragon
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As the Polyhedron and the Free Gyenjoylin battled, Tobius chose the moment tensely. It was not easy, because, unlike himself, Shivarius effortlessly parried and counterattacked the magical creature. He was fast, deadly, masterfully interspersed with sword and staff strikes with magical attacks, pushing the gyanjoilin and lashing him with energy chains that appeared here and there from the air. Shivarius knew plenty of ways to inflict pain and injury on a creature that could disintegrate in smoke and reunite. The moment came, and Thobius did not miss it, dishonorably hitting the archmage in the back with the Ice Drill. The impaled renegade fell to the ground, and the Gyenjoylin immediately struck his chest with his blade. But instead of dying, Shivarius turned into a flock of asps that flew up to the ceiling, merged together, recreating the unharmed body of the wizard, and he collapsed on the back of the gyenjoilin's neck, plunging his sword into his unsteady flesh. Crying terribly, th
- World Of The Fallen Dragon
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And Chaos."I'll tell you what, boy, let me out!" Let me out and I'll kill Shivarius! I swear I'll finish off this nasty bastard, I'll pop him like a stinky pimple and then lick the contents! Don't hesitate, I will! Of course, I'll kill you too, but at least your death will be quick... maybe... I don't know, I haven't decided yet! But you can believe me, I will make Shivarius suffer for a long time!“I came here for nothing.- No, wait, wait, let me out ... no, just loosen the fetters a little! Even a nobody like you can do it, come on, give me a little chance, buddy! Let's!- Never!— Like this, right? And you have no other choice! You can’t do it yourself, boy, the task is not up to you!I was hoping for advice!- What advice?! Do you hear yourself?! What advice were you hoping to hear, slug?! Do you think there is some workaround? Do you think there is a way for a nonentity like you to bring down a colossus like Shivarius?! You live in the real world, motherfucker! In real - not in
- World Of The Fallen Dragon
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— Eishubeihwan.“Master wishes to give me a new name?” the gyenjoylin asked in a leaden voice.- The owner wants to give you this polyhedron. Take it somewhere where no one will see it, throw it as many times as you like - and put the fallen signs into your new name. By doing this, you will become your own master.The tiny wooden craft was in a wide palm, and the gyenjoylin stared at this priceless gift in disbelief.- Can't be…“I am an honest wizard and I keep my word.“Oaths given in the name of the Mage of Mages do not have to be kept before those whom he commanded to rule.“I have always fulfilled my oaths, to whom I gave them, to the king or the goldsmith,” replied the gray master.Gyenjoylin hid the ball in his belt and, materializing the sheath, hid the blade in it.“Shivarius will kill you if he catches you. Hide somewhere else... I don't know how you could beat him."Even with your help?" Tobius slid along the edge of the abyss. - I do not intend to change my decision, altho
- World Of The Fallen Dragon
81
The danger was warned by a sharp gust of wind, which was nowhere to be expected in a room devoid of windows or a second exit. Tobius jumped back just in time to avoid being hit by lightning. Directly under the ceiling, on huge bright wings, a giant butterfly soared, fanned by a halo of iridescent glow. This beautiful creature would become an appropriate guest in innocent children's dreams, if fireballs, lightning and deadly ice arrows did not rain down from its delightful wings, from which the wizard had to leave insane zigzags.He blocked part of the attacks, diligently answered, attacked, maneuvered, defended himself, attacked again, but the butterfly flew quickly, beat accurately and accurately and did not know fatigue. It was Bambaleska, one of Pongemonius' beasts, summoned to Valemar by Shivarius the Polyhedron. Saturated with her master's magic like nectar, she set up an ambush near the ipspiroch and patiently waited for the stupid young wizard to reach for the artifact. Fightin
- World Of The Fallen Dragon
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Tobius tossed all three blueprints forward, energized them, and trapped the spirit in a triangular trap. Boards with luminous lines revolved around the pascantes, held together only occasionally by discharges of magical power running between them. Thobius cast a banishing spell, using the sharp knob of his staff to draw a polysyllabic drawing in the air with a septagram at its base. Pascantes pounded with his fists on the barrier that stopped him; He tore through the Gray Wall fairly quickly, but the second trick really gave him trouble. The revolving blueprints contracted as Thobius cast the spell, and the gray magister had only to “squeeze” a little to throw the pascantes somewhere in the area of the Arimead archipelago, when the spirit nevertheless split one of the typesetting wooden plates and freed itself.The magic system could not exist with less than three reference coordinates. The next blow knocked the spirit out of Tobius, he flew off into the open interior of the cabinet
- World Of The Fallen Dragon
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— Open it, there is a lot of interesting things in this book, but the most important thing for you is now on the flyleaf. Come on, open it up and try to read it.Thobius obeyed, opening a sheet of the thinnest parchment, which had yellowed with time, and saw on it an even line drawn in blue, barely distinguishable ink. On a hunch, he touched the badges, pouring a drop of his magic into them, and they shone as if filled with blue flames.Jassar... Ansafarus? Something quivered in Tobius's soul and exploded.“I remember what it was like to hold for the first time something that Jassar himself once held before me. And not just holding on. He created this book, created the matter of which it is composed, inscribed everything in it, from the first to the last character. It's Jassar's book, Tobius. I went through the arms of death and great torment to get to it, entered the Wild Land with a dozen faithful, experienced, proven associates, friends whom I loved like brothers and sisters ... an
- World Of The Fallen Dragon
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"What does that mean, charm?!" - the officer shouted, trying to block the screams of the indignant crowd.“It’s just that sometimes people need a little help to be human.But no one heard him. The guard held back the indignant, flying from everywhere, but rotten vegetables and insulting words did not reach; the irritated city fathers hurriedly retreated, accompanied by guards - they, too, could have been punished for a disrupted performance, although they were not to blame for anything. Tobius, on the other hand, looked around carefully and thought - people deliberately save rotten meat until better times, so that later they can throw it at someone, or some quick-witted hawkers go through the crowd and sell spoiled food for everyone, before some drunkard is wrapped in pads and it will be possible to use the sufferer's face as a target?The magician struck the ground with his staff, and his voice sounded like thunder, reaching the ears of all those gathered:It was my prisoner! I fough
- World Of The Fallen Dragon
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He walked around the building, as he had done on his first visit. The walls of the inn were protected by prayers that warded off not only evil, but magic itself as it is. It was impossible to get inside, but Tobius was not used to looking at the world from the height of a chicken perch, he looked wide and far, like a soaring eagle. Mainly because he had a flexible, inquisitive mind, but the ability to fly also helped.Soaring on the Wings of an Eagle, the wizard climbed to the very top of the tower, to where Marin had an office. Having looked into the windows that had not been washed for a long time and making sure that the holy grace does not protect them, the gray master broke several glasses and got inside.Despite the fragments that scattered on the floor, the former office did not begin to seem any more dirty; a mess, mixed with desolation, already reigned inside. There was no doubt that someone, most likely experienced "sniffers" of Investments, climbed the premises far and wide
