Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 17

Chapter 17

Camrad_RIP 21.12.21 в 19:20

Have you ever played such a classic, in every sense of the word, game as Pacman? You know, the one with the flying jaws, the eating of the goodies, the view from above, and the fucking ghosts! Pac-Man!

Camrad_RIP 21.12.21 в 19:23

The game is old, tested by time, and hundreds of thousands of nerve cells burned in the flames of a flaming butt. I've never liked it, a product of someone's evil genius. This game always made my eye twitch after half an hour of trying, and if you spend the whole evening with it... The neighbors once heard me yelling and cursing, so they called the responsible person. No, not a doctor - a priest. What can I say? My neighbors were even more fucked up than I was, and that says a lot!

Camrad_RIP 21.12.21 в 19:25

But back to the real world, in which I again had a session of playing the ill-fated flying jaw, only now in 3D and with full immersion in the atmosphere of gaming. The role of the packman was me and three other imbeciles, one of whom also had to be carried. There was a crowd of guards and other murky personalities in the role of evil ghosts eager to claw at our delicate buns.

Camrad_RIP 21.12.21 в 19:27

Of course, it wasn't me they were looking for, it was the imbeciles, but there was nothing I could do about it - as long as I was with them, I was considered as much of a packman as the three fugitives. Fugitives about whom I know nothing at all, except that they are, in fact, in serious trouble with someone very powerful and influential. Because it wouldn't be possible for someone else to raise the entire city guard and put the elite elimination squad I'd met earlier on top of them.

Camrad_RIP 21.12.21 в 19:35

And my tirade about the old game is actually quite serious, because, given my sphere of perception, we are exactly playing hide-and-seek with the enemy. We are all helped by the detailing of my sphere and its continuity, which allows us to track in real-time the movements of all those seeking a meeting with such poor and unfortunate us.

Camrad_RIP 21.12.21 в 21:05

We were saved by the fact that there were no professionals of the level of the squad we'd destroyed. The guy with the search artifact was guarded by two men above level twenty-five, but the guards had no one else of comparable caliber. There were a couple of groups of twenty-plus fighters, but the majority were barely above level fifteen. Or even lower.

Camrad_RIP 21.12.21 в 21:10

And they did not want to look for us, or rather find us. The newfound clairvoyance showed that they knew of the arrival of the eliminators because they came through official channels, as well as of what had happened to them. They had no intention of pushing their way in against the men who had turned an elite unit into a pile of cut-up corpses. Unless, of course, they are patriotic idiots. But even if they were found, there would be very few of them - no one wants to die. And there are very few people who want to die for the interests of others.

Camrad_RIP 21.12.21 в 21:12

I have a suspicion that all this mess with the full-fledged raids and the raising of all the city guards is not as legitimate as it may seem. I can't say for sure that this is clairvoyance and not a guess, but I have a hunch that someone will be held responsible for this situation. Of course, if this company survives its adventures and can make its claims.

Camrad_RIP 21.12.21 в 21:13

Eh, I have the urge to save all the offended by life.

Camrad_RIP 21.12.21 в 21:21

It was ridiculously easy to get us all through the ring of enemies that had been carefully created and blocked all the routes. At first, I tensed more and more, expecting a trap and an ambush at any moment, simply because it couldn't have been that ridiculously easy and unstressful.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 06:52

I mean, the very first moments were dangerous-we were extremely densely surrounded, there were mobile groups of the enemy roaming around, and some of the guards clearly had some sort of sensory skills. In theory, the fugitives had no chance of escape. Though their strength, even with the wild exhaustion, was enough to quickly destroy the sentinels they encountered, that was the plan. While some were being killed, they were being surrounded, cut off, and taken. The only ones who would be displeased would be the rank and file sentries themselves, whose deaths would serve as a litmus test for the sentries, but who cared about these peasants anyway?

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 06:54

It was my presence alone and, let me praise myself, the lack of professionalism of the pursuers that failed the creators of the plan. The man, if he is not reinforced by a huge number of systemic benefits and did not grind his stats to obscenely high rates, has an extremely limited viewing angle, poor hearing, and lack of intuition.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 06:58

There were only a few gaps in the rapidly shrinking ring that couldn't be used unless I had a permanent map of the movements of all the objects, displayed directly in real time. I had one, but they didn't. Even the sensors had to save their energy and let the scanning waves go by at short pauses, just to avoid falling over in the process with severe exhaustion.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:15

That's how we got past the first barrier. I waited for another wave of magical energy, covering barely fifty meters, to pass, then I waited for the same wave from the guardian-finder next to it, and only when they were both discharged and the regulars weren't looking in our direction, I gave the sign to start moving.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:23

The four of us got through the short section in two and a half seconds, and then we dove into a ditch of muddy water. At least they didn't pour sewage in it! For me it's nothing, I had time to wrap myself in a suit of my own shadow (unnoticed by the rescued), but the three had to endure. How the little one survived was a mystery.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:26

Holding our breath, we managed to hide rather neatly under the surface of the muddy water, so that we were not noticed by the guards who passed one step away from us. And the sensor going with them used his skill after leaving us out of its range, because this area had been checked by him earlier, and we ourselves had to be in the building, which was about to be stormed.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:27

The observer on the roof, who was clearly a stealth class, could have interfered, but at this very moment, his head was looking in a different direction. It could have been spoiled by another observer (and this one, I think, was one of the Night Guild hired by someone), hiding in the attic of the tallest house, looking through the entire courtyard through the skylight. And, bastard, he didn't take his eyes off the view one bit! But at that very moment, a handful of dust fell on his face from some beam, and bad luck happens. Especially within my shadow sphere.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:29

The assault had just begun, but the main force had already passed us, and the reserves were slowly pulling into the second circle. I couldn't stay underwater for long, because my wards couldn't breathe through a thin shadowy tube. I had to choose a moment and scare away a dozen bats lurking in the same attic, which began aggressively squeaking their bat swears to the intruder in their domain, causing him to be quite distracted, completely forgetting about the supervision of the territory entrusted to him. And the silent man on the roof rushed to his aid, assuming the worst, but not wanting to sound the alarm until he was sure.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:30

There was no reason for alarm, but in the ten seconds, it took the four of us, of which I was the only one who was dry, to get under the wall of the same tall building where the two bat-nest ruiners were huddled. No Batman on them! I had to work hard, though, to cover up the very clear traces of black water and mud that clearly indicated to observers how they had been screwed. Fortunately, the shadow of the building fell directly on the ditch, so there was no need to work too much.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:33

It would be possible to thicken the shadow and throw away the remnants of dirt on another plane, but this is already hammering nails with a microscope and smoking from a flamethrower. So it is also energy-hungry and much more noticeable than simple manipulations of the materialized shadow. Just made the shadow sharply surge, curl up into a roll, and throw all the dirt into the ditch, at the same time calming the water surface. By the time the observers returned to their positions, there was no sign of anything. Only the old bodyguard, who apparently at the last moment remembered such a problem and sensed the hiders with his sensors, looked surprised and even with a kind of disbelief at the perfectly clean ground behind.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:36

Then he looked at the clean me.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:37

Then he looked at the clean ground.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:37

Then he looked at me agein.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:37

Then under his feet, where there was already a puddle of water.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:38

And only then did he realize.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 07:39

The next few minutes were spent scrubbing away the de-masking factor. I personally, after consulting the sphere, opened the shutters of the nearest window with a knife, climbed into the house, and, without disturbing the inhabitants of the house who were hiding in the corners (a raid!), stole some rags and two freshly baked buns. I had to use the Silence in the Hall to get the baking tray out of the oven because the baking had been trivially forgotten for fear of the angry guards outside the window. I left them one silver coin, just out of habit. All the same, if the disappearance will be missed, it is in the evening, and we by that time will be far away. I doubt the owners would complain to the guards. And I doubt they'd listen to them.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 08:00

The company hastily cleared themselves, as much as was possible in such a hurry and with so little cleansing agent, and then I gestured for them to move out. The old man silently picked up the unhappy-looking boy. Who almost drowned while hiding in a ditch, then almost puked all over from the smell, and seemed to have caught a cold, too. He was unlucky with me, but, to his credit, he held up well and without hysterics, thanks to the elf-like negro woman (man, even the word combination made me giggle), who whispered something in his ear. Maybe she promised to teach him something new since the kid was so hungry for exotics.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 11:49

We moved on.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 11:50

The second ring was both easier and harder to pass. It was easier because there were fewer guards there, and there was much more room to maneuver. It was harder because there were enough townspeople and gawkers who had no idea what was going on or who they were looking for, but who were interested in what was going on nearby. Crowds are still crowds even in fantasy.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 11:51

Here we had to walk at a sideways angle, at times cutting through yards or through the buildings themselves, which did not make me or the fugitives feel any better. It would have been reckless to let even a homeless person see us, for we were all so filthy that we were unwittingly attractive in comparison to the neatness of the townspeople. No, if we were in the slums, there would be more "dirty" kids there, but in the relatively decent artisan quarter, things were much worse for us.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 11:52

Fortunately, most of the likely observers looked the other way, and the class of observers here was much lower. The townspeople, on the other hand, were not seen as anything other than trivialities of life. They weren't looking for us themselves, and they didn't have great levels or stats. The main thing was not to bump into them, otherwise, it would be a shame.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 11:55

We walked quickly, but that didn't help much, because there were an obscene amount of damn stares. We had to stop for a long time, occasionally going back again and again. The most dangerous moment was when we were all sandwiched between a group of men discussing the price of conifers on one side and a group of drunken workers on the other.

Camrad_RIP 22.12.21 в 11:56

And we hid from their gaze behind a small cart with firewood, almost against the wall of the inn, making my nose irritated now and then by the smell of sour broth. I leaned against the wooden wall of the bad pub and then took out the stolen buns. Out of sheer amusement, I offer one of them as a treat.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 16:33

The assassin just gave me a scornful look, the boy turned away, hardly able to resist the urge to empty his stomach (what a gentle boy you are, though!), and the old man suddenly accepted the gift. After that, I was left with only one bun! And I'm sure he didn't want to eat it, but just did it for fun. I got the stupid feeling that I was being subtle pranked.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 16:35

No, that's ridiculous!

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 16:35

We had to sit through almost half an hour until the inn's kitchen called a break, caused by the sudden dropping of a barrel of water upstairs, which everyone ran to mop up. Me??? What about me? I had to distract them somehow, or the owner of the wagon might soon come and leave us with no cover.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 16:36

After quickly squeezing through the window - the little one had to be lifted from one side and pulled out from the other - we were inside without being seen by passersby (who had an epidemic of earworms in their eyes). Not too lazy to take some sort of floor cloth and wipe the window frame so as not to leave a mark. Again the flashing clairvoyance asserted that thieves had broken through this window before so that traces of dirt would cause the cooks and cooks to have reasonable suspicions about the integrity of the food supply.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 16:51

We went straight to them (the food, not the cooks) - straight to the cellar, the entrance to which was in the kitchen, so as not to go far. The looks of the rescued were very suspicious, but apparently, they thought that if I decided to set them up and kill them, then such difficulties would not be required. The guys were pretty freaked out by my abilities. Even though I was demonstrating the bare minimum of my powers, it was not a small minimum, causing legitimate concern for my anonymity.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 16:52

Tonight is going to be a very busy night, for I will not leave unreliable witnesses behind. Either they don't plan to screw me in the future, after which they survive, or they are assholes, after which they just don't wake up. I won't give them a third option, good or bad.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 16:53

Their suspicions were understandable - they needed to get out of town, not hide in the food cellar. Especially considering how poorly this place is for laying unnoticed: too often people come here for a new batch of groceries. Quite shitty groceries, I might add, since a fair share of meat and vegetables can be found to be moldy or leathered. This, however, didn't stop the guard and me from taking the more decent-looking provisions with us.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 17:02

In the meantime, I was busy opening an old and nearly collapsed passageway, long since hidden by a rusted and jammed lock. The images pouring directly into my brain told me that this passage had been built by the very first owner of the building, who had been executed for possession of a large amount of some forbidden herb straight from the swamps (to check on my herbs by the way.). And he never used it, leaving it as a legacy to the next owners of the building.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 17:05

They never found out about it, but I, thanks to the shadow sphere, probed all the voids in passive mode, and immediately found the forgotten underground passage. If there had been catacombs in the city, I'm sure this would have led to them, but fortunately or unfortunately, there were none.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 17:06

I almost punched myself in the head with a facepalm, but I still remembered the need to lock the tunnel back up. In the original mechanism, the secret passage slammed itself shut, but that mechanism is long gone. My shadows were able to simulate its functionality without showing my ability to control them. All three of us were quite frightened when we heard the soft creaking of the gradually locking door, but we refrained from commenting on it.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 17:08

Now we can crawl on with a clear conscience.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 17:09

I crawled forward silently, at the same time pushing and tamping the earth, gradually pouring from year to year. I thank the woodpeckers that for so many years, this hand-made passage did not collapse to all the demons, but even so it was difficult to move. Dirty, dusty, narrow, and dark as the asshole of a purebred Negro fed on the most caloric fast food in the universe. If I hadn't created a kind of shadow drill in front of me, with which I squeezed through the worst rubble, we would have starved to death.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 17:23

Fortunately, the tunnel was not that long, so no one had time to panic or get claustrophobic. However, this did not prevent little Sigismund from whining the entire way, like a goddamn nerd at a survivalist convention. Apparently, he was compensating us all for the restraint we had shown earlier, which was worthy of the highest praise (in his view).

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 17:24

"I am a noble aristocrat." A pause, during which he clearly awaits our answer. But I'm too busy gradually dissolving the earth into concentrated shadow, and his companions are too tired and probably long used to regular whining.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 17:25

"My father has enough influence to buy this damned city, along with all its inhabitants." The wondrous creature did not relent, diligently grinding the pity-pressure skill.

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 18:00

I crawled forward in silence, trying to abstract myself from everything that was happening, at the same time genuinely amazed at the paranoia of the creators of the secret passage. Two hundred meters we had already crawled, and about the same amount left! I have only two questions for these departed gentlemen. The first would be, "How did they get this crawlway through a residential neighborhood without anyone noticing?" The second will be much shorter, but it must be pronounced with the same tearfulness, as in a good drama. In short, it's: "What the fuck?"

Camrad_RIP 23.12.21 в 18:01