Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 15

Chapter 15

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:29

Any person who tells me about how cool life was in the magical Middle Ages, I'll have to bring him to this very town. And I'll have to take him to the places, so that he'll get into the spirit of the era, so to speak. All these beautiful landscapes, polite and noble people, universal humanism, and the triumph of the spiritual over the physical.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:33

Putting aside the sarcasm, I can responsibly say that this town resembled an enormous garbage dump combined with a prison and a latrine. And there was really a lot of shit here - enough to fertilize a large part of the area. Of course, the farther into the city the cleaner and richer it got, but the slums and poorer neighborhoods were drenched in sewage, and the rats there seemed to be grinding levels of people who had broken away from the crowds.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:35

Yelling and screaming.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:35

The howls of the smeared children.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:38

A constant confrontation free for all.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:39

Occasional dead bodies.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:40

To tell you the truth, I had a sudden urge to get the hell out of there and never get out again. Fortunately, it was already much cleaner in the craftsman's quarter, though it smelled just as bad. But it was more the stench of leather and charcoal than the ubiquitous shit. It was here that I decided to make my first home base. Simply because there were regular patrols of guards in the wealthy quarters that I didn't want to meet, and the average level of the inhabitants there was higher. And why would I want to get into trouble? No, I love them, and they love me, but not enough to lose all discretion.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:42

The large workshop, where six men worked with wood, making decent tables, chairs, and other furniture, was an almost perfect fit. The first floor was occupied by the workshop and its products; the second floor was used as living quarters for the master and his apprentices, as well as for the support staff (almost entirely represented by the master's relatives, judging by their resemblance), but the attic was untouched. I suppose that at first people were too lazy to drag all sorts of garbage into this room, which they were sorry to throw away, although it was garbage, and then they forgot about it altogether.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:45

A rather large room, with creaking floors, in the middle of which stood pieces of furniture that were many years old. And that was no hint of the antique value of the interior there. These old, crumbling pieces of furniture evoked an involuntary urge to burn them for firewood. They were dragged in here to sell them to some idiot, but they were never sold. Apparently, there was no idiot.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:49

In general, the place was comfortable, unattended, dry and warm, but very dusty. But I didn't care much about the dust after my adventures in the swamps.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:50

The first thing I did was to change my clothes for one that wasn't so dirty. At the same time, I tried to scrub the mud off of it. I wasn't afraid of being heard from downstairs; there was a lot of noise down there, and with my stealth skills I could dance a ballet here. Not one creaky floorboard would creak unless I wanted it to!

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:51

Obtaining normal clothes, preferably ones that didn't stand out in the crowd, was a vital, though not very unnerving, matter. Yes, it was necessary, but I could do without it. There was still the question of whether I should buy the clothes or just steal it. Against the first speaks my greed and lack of money, against the second is the remnants of conscience and common sense. The likelihood that someone will recognize the stolen clothes is very small, but, with my luck, I am guaranteed to get caught.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:52

Although the thirty thousand or so inhabitants of the city (I estimated it by eye, based on the readings of the sphere of shadows) gave a reasonable guarantee that no one would look for the stolen goods. Especially if the theft occurs on this day when the fair was attended by an unusually large number of the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:58

My timing was perfect, I can't say anything about it.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 19:58

It didn't take long to find a place of sale and manufacture. The sphere really is a miracle, helping me to navigate in an unfamiliar area even better than the native inhabitants of it. I rejected the first shop, because they were already selling some very poor designs. I had to go a little farther, straight into the shopping district, and there I grabbed a perfectly usable suit.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 20:03

It was dark in color, made of coarse fabric, but sturdy and completely inconspicuous. It was the kind of thing you could find in poor neighborhoods and in the shopping district itself. I stole a raincoat with a hood, too, to hide my face if necessary. And it helps against the rain, considering a lot of people here wear them.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 20:04

I wasn't lazy and watched the trade to roughly estimate the price of all this "splendor". If you take the average value, such a creation sold for four or five silver coins. Still, I chose simple and inconspicuous, but high-quality clothes. The cheapest one costs about eighty copper coins and looked just right for the price.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 20:05

In an act of chivalry, I left three silver coins (in coppers) as payment. I underpaid a bit, of course, but let's just assume that I haggled like a god. Or, at the very least, like a Jew in Odessa.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 20:07

The money I had left could have paid for my trip to one of the two brothels I had seen. The only thing was that these brothels were located in such depressing neighborhoods, and with such people and workers, that it would be better to fuck Ygra! At least you wouldn't catch STD, but seeing some of the "clients" whose noses didn't just fall off made me want to stop... everything. I don't want to do anything.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 20:09

Anyway. Once I got away from the ring-modified ogre, I lost a fair amount of my lust, so I decided to at least get something better to eat. Meat is good, but now I'm ready to kill someone for normal porridge with butter and a loaf of bread.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 20:12

Tomorrow I'll look for brothels in the rich neighborhood. The local moneybags had to have fun somewhere, preferably so they wouldn't leave with a huge bouquet of crap, right? That's where I'm gonna look, and I'm gonna make some money too. The local thieves are afraid to steal from the really powerful, but I don't give a fuck about them or their wrath.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 20:13

It wasn't hard to choose a tavern - where it smells good, not rotten and sour, that's where you go, Kostik. It's a good way to determine quality, and my perception of these smells is as good as that of other sommeliers. Another point in my dislike for the local slums and their delightful ambre.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 20:19

The inn (or was it a tavern, since it was inside the city walls?) bore the sonorous name "Bearded Moose," which told me two things at once. One: the owner has a strange imagination. Two: I can read signs in the local language. Another System twist, or something similar? I get the feeling that everyone speaks some separate language, understood simultaneously by all the locals, even the dumbest goblins. I wonder if there are separate languages that need to be learned in.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 20:20

All these thoughts were knocked out of my head by the luxurious smell of buttered porridge, which hit me in the face as soon as I entered the room. I glanced around the room and realized that no one cared about me, as long as I wasn't standing in the aisle. I walked calmly and confidently to one of the few available tables, and sat down at it.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 20:21

I was well dressed - I don't stand out from the crowd. The crowd itself, by the way, consists almost entirely of local artisans and workers, along with the visitors who have come to the fair. No mysterious personalities in black cloaks, no lonely girls who are molested by drunken company, no company of tipsy noblemen. An ordinary tavern, no fighting, no lying around under the benches.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 21:19

No, there was one who rolled under the table, but his company didn't notice the loss of a soldier. I look away from the men drinking for some obscure reason and focus my attention on the rather pretty delivery girl. She had slightly reddish hair, a nice figure, and the fucked-up look of someone who works in a diner on a bad day when it's almost full.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 21:20

"What do you want?" No particular politeness, no disdain, just simple communication.

Camrad_RIP 19.12.21 в 21:25

I noticed that the delivery girls here were nice, for the most part, but nobody touched them. It was either they weren't drunk enough yet, or the crowd was polite, or the two big bouncers working here at once added to everyone's peacefulness, tact, and understanding.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:13

"Porridge of some kind, meat, if there is poultry, it's better... Is there any bread and milk?"

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:15

"Yeah. And poultry and milk, and we cook porridge with it." The delivery girl nodded her head. "Would you like a drink?"
T.N.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:39

I was about to demand alcohol, too, but when I remembered that with my endurance I wouldn't get drunk, I changed my mind. No, if I really drank a barrel, I would get drunk. But I'd be too greedy to spend that kind of money. Besides, I want to eat properly now, not get drunk.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:42

"Nope, still busy today. Just to munch." I answered, careful not to show how unused I was to talk to people.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:50

"Thirty-five coins." The maiden states the price and then does not wait for my answer and adds. "Today is the fair, so everything is more expensive, I can't help it."

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:51

"All right, bring it on." Immediately I agree. Just because I believe in the truthfulness of her answer.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:51

The food came pretty quickly, and it was exactly how I wanted it. Warm, but not hot, fresh, and delicious. After nearly two months of wandering, it was food ecstasy, literally. How hard it was for me not to eat it like a hungry savage, only I know. However, when I had satisfied my first hunger and looked around, I realized that my efforts at decorum had been for naught, for the people around me were munching, in no other way could it be said.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:53

That's how you reveal yourself, Kostya.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:53

Fuck it!

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:54

I spent the rest of the meal frankly enjoying the taste of home-cooked food and the quiet noise of the entertaining crowd. Fucking hell, I missed it all! I wanted to let a man's tear down my cheek.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:56

Everything went surprisingly... normal. Just came, ate, sat, and left. No pub fights (two conflicts between drunken people were resolved by peace, kindness and frowning faces of bouncers), no adventures, even to pick up a waitress and that did not succeed (and I did not try). I could have rented a room here and hit on the girl in earnest, but I was just lazy.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 04:59

Somehow fatigue and moping came over suddenly: a typical situation after achieving a goal. I had existed in constant tension for so long that when I found myself in the middle of a peaceful and calm environment, I was confused and did not know what to do next. The main thing is not to let myself fall into boredom, and any active activity is good for that.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 05:00

When I left the tavern, I immediately went into stealth, after which I went up to the rooftops and jumped there. I felt like some kind of superhero (optionally a supervillain), bringing vengeance in the name of the moon. The buildings were close enough to each other that even jumping was infrequent. And the creaking and brittle shingles posed no problem for my high stats. This sort of easy walk combined with watching the incredibly clear starry sky. The latter is one of the few things I'm willing to love this world for. You will never find such beauty in dusty metropolises.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 05:25

I crossed paths with a small group of three lurkers, just like me, using the rooftops to get around. At first I even stuck to the back of the guys in a hurry. But they weren't going to and from the job, so I didn't learn anything interesting. I only figured out one of the local criminal hangouts. It would be good for the future, in case I ever wanted to play Batman.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 05:39

I went down from the roof in a small courtyard of some trade guild, next to a full-fledged well. I decided to use it to rinse my face and body properly. The shadows, of course, clean up dirt, sweat, and anything else by dissolving it, but it didn't feel right. But the ice water is the best for the tired and rushing mind of an isekai. All worries have quickly washed the fuck away!

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 05:44

I use the sound-amplifying ability, so as not to wake up the sleepers, who might not like my use of their possessions. I use it at least once, so I didn't get it for anything.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 05:46

I washed and dressed again, and wandered around the city, trying to ignore the shadow sphere, trying to detach myself from my surroundings as much as possible. It was a kind of meditation.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 05:57

I crossed paths with several patrols of guards and didn't want to show my face in front of the scowling men. To hell them, and I'll just keep wandering. At least I'll make a map of the city. Too bad there aren't any underground catacombs, with the obligatory treasures and cultists hiding there. Or better yet, cultists! I'm in a cheerful mood now, so I'd go and explain to them how to summon Cthulhu properly.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 06:05

It looks like I'm starting to look for adventures in my ass.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 06:05

Am I used to it?

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 06:06

I didn't want to go back to "my" attic. It was peaceful, but it was dusty, and I was not at all happy about the prospect of brushing the dust and cobwebs off the clothes I had just bought in the morning. This is not the surface of my skin if I try to dissolve in the shade, with a high likelihood of damaging the clothes themselves. I've got a weird thing going on - when I do shadow steps, the clothes aren't damaged, but simple shadow energy damages and corrodes the fabric quite noticeably. I'll have to test to see if I can use the teleporter to clean myself of all kinds of dirt.

Camrad_RIP 20.12.21 в 06:12