Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 19

Chapter 19

Camrad_RIP 25.07.22 в 20:06

The trouble with eliminating bloody Melareth's internal security representative began literally from the first seconds of our joint trip to get his head. The trick was that this asshole lived too far from the chambers where Gamel lived, so the two of us had to walk across most of the Stone, risking the odd question time and time again. I'd already covered the two of us with a dome of unexistence, just as I'd covered the chief mage's imminent death, and I still had to somehow cover the hollow where my companions now stay. No, I had put a few pieces of the mirror there, but they would not last long, though they did not need to, and they would not protect them from a really diligent search through clairvoyance if all the specialists of the Stone were gathered in the circle at once.

Camrad_RIP 25.07.22 в 20:13

There were only four hours left, which should be spent wisely. If I could at least kill the security agent, that would be fine. But the question of raising the alarm worries me much more, for the death of a man on the access list would send all the people stationed here up in a jiffy, forcing them to search for the cause of the deceased's death. To make his death look like an accident? I don't think I could fake an accident that would wipe out a bison like that. Just poison it with a paralyzing, slow-killing poison, so that it doesn't die immediately? That's closer to reality, but there would be too many amulets on him, including ones that could give the "I'm dying here" signal, which would negate any attempt at elimination. Unless you can remove those amulets, but it's going to be a lot of work, too, to do it quickly and quietly.

Camrad_RIP 25.07.22 в 20:16

The pocket on the inside of Hestia's form was a cozy place, and the proximity to her body negated the searching impulses of the closed field, so I was wasting the least amount of essence, which was too little left for full use. One more large-scale use, like the one in the pantry, and I'd be with a bare ass and an empty vessel. Unpleasant, but I didn't expect otherwise, so I'm fine. If I hadn't met Hestia, I probably would have had to pull the same stunt with the first lady I saw, just so I would be able to move freely.

Camrad_RIP 25.07.22 в 20:21

And there's still so much to do.

Camrad_RIP 25.07.22 в 20:21

Hestia's badges and high rank allowed her, by and large, to roam almost anywhere she wished. And if her rank and pass weren't enough, she also had the status of mistress to the first mage in the area, which neither of them hid. In general, she could get into the office of the head of Stone's special department, even if she didn't open the door with her foot. At the very least, she would be received and listened to politely before being sent to the demons.

Camrad_RIP 25.07.22 в 20:30

We didn't need to go to the demons, so I spent the whole time planning my move, cursing myself for not having time to talk to the girl about the plan. She knew the basic nuances, as well as the necessary reactions, but she had no way to react to my actions in time, simply because I did not know how I would act. A few agreed-upon patterns, when trying to eliminate a unit like this, are not even enough of a joke. These plans wouldn't survive beyond the first strike if they lived to see those strikes. On the other hand, the fight would have to be over in a heartbeat anyway, so I didn't need much planning. If I couldn't kill my opponent quickly, I'd just stop holding back and hit at full force. No matter how much protection I had on the cabinet and the boss himself, it wouldn't survive a shadow attack, it just wouldn't survive a ramming attack.

Camrad_RIP 25.07.22 в 20:32

"The purpose of the visit?" Politely, but coldly inquired about the gloomy-looking secretary - a male, I note - sitting in the reception area of our target and clearly having trouble suppressing a yawn.

Camrad_RIP 25.07.22 в 21:02

Still, this place is too boring, and exhausting with its constant routine. I'm sure that if this place were regularly attacked, it would be much harder for me to sneak in undetected, even if the defenses were much worse. However, we have only what we have, and the paranoia of the builders is met with no understanding from the current contingent of the Stone. Yes, they are professionals, but even professionals tend to lose focus. To be constantly ready for combat or other mischief is very difficult, but possible if you are a really cool professional, but to be ready for danger in the absence of that very danger is a whole other level. From the moment I arrived in Whitewater, most of my actions were aimed at concealing my presence and preventing the fortress garrison from sensing anything amiss. And, I dare say, I was quite successful in my endeavor since there was no teleported team of liquidators waiting for me, like those who are sent after rebellious Heroes and might have sent for me.

Camrad_RIP 26.07.22 в 09:07

In general, the secretary's boredom only pleased me, despite the simplicity of the reason for joy. Because he could probably pretend to be just indifferent talking with Hestia - he was a professional - but to pretend to be bored next to a dangerous saboteur is not the right level for wiping his pants outside the chief's office. Not that level at all.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 17:58

"Personal address," Hestia answers in her usual manner, which makes me rejoice once again that she is so frozen in life, and then completes what she said. "The problem arose during yesterday's inspection of the golems."

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 18:00

The problem with the golem is not a problem for the Secret Guard, but for the mere wizards, who will have to do their inspection and either fix the breakage themselves or throw the task on a specialist in the person of Hestia herself. Hestia didn't come to them, she came here, which means the breakdown may not be simple at all. Unsophisticated is sabotage, or, more likely, treasury theft, where gold and amulets were taken from expensive golems and then pushed off somewhere. So the work is quite in the style of the local Security Service, which was dealing with just such matters, in the absence of that very sabotage.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 18:49

All these thoughts flashed through the secretary's head in a few heartbeats, after which he made the right decision, from his point of view. I could barely keep the image of the rat out of my head because of the clairvoyance that came over me at an awkward moment.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 18:59

"Come in, Maestro Gordion is not busy at the moment." Hestia, after all, has a certain reputation and authority that makes her take her words seriously, not as an excuse to shirk her job.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:00

With a silent nod, showing minimal politeness, the woman entered the office, and I barely had time to increase the dose of the essence released to fool the scanning network at the entrance to the office. Although, this creation of an unknown enthusiast is already much more reminiscent of a full-fledged screen than the usual alarm system.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:01

I looked inside the room exclusively with the sphere, not risking getting out of my container, carefully estimating the number of protective, scanning, and signaling charms in the place. It wasn't bad, I must say, not bad at all. For example, the table at which the esteemed maestro now sat was a kind of concentrator for defense systems, so that sitting at it, the uncle remained virtually invulnerable to enemy magic of the subtle type. A direct attack might have broken through, but all sorts of illusions, mental influences, and curses simply dissolved into a stream of energy. I couldn't tell right away, but I had the feeling that this place, and the magic that filled it, was a sort of offshoot of the main channel that fed the protective domes. The current of power was obscenely huge, literally washing away all extraneous influences. Luckily, the flushing only worked within the confines of the desk, not the entire office, or else my image would have crumbled into dust, or at least become unstable.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:03

The main thing now is to get this fella to leave the table, so as not to raise the alarm. I was hoping Hestia and her not-so-great acting skills would do the trick. The girl had already finished feeding the story she'd made up beforehand about how she'd noticed the lack of passability of the energy conduits of one of the groups of golems, which was most likely due to a change of material from gold to copper. Some of the gold was taken out then they added copper and mixed it all up to cover up the evidence of the crime.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:04

Actually, ordinary golems, even if they are durable, are not made of such expensive materials, preferring the banal stone, but these particular steel statues were put here a long time ago, and they were not brought from the workshops of Melareth. So they didn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but now and then they wished they'd put a few of those teeth and hooves in their pockets. Or even the whole horse.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:06

"It is impossible to say in more detail without at least a few constructs to the core, but had my suspicions not been sufficient, I would not have come here." Hestia finishes her report by giving a polite bow to the possessor of the high rank.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:07

"So you need my written permission, right?" Immediately Gordion understands the unspoken request. "If I remember correctly, no one has abolished the ban on the complete disassembly of combat structures without security oversight. My predecessor had nothing better to do than to issue bans."

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:08

It is quite a logical decision on the part of the predecessor - in a disassembled and reassembled golem you can stuff so much good stuff that any saboteur would burst into tears with tenderness. This moment only confirms my conviction - if it were not for the reputation of Hestia, who is known as an expert on golems, no one would have believed her. And anyone who came as a consultant would have realized at once that the Specialists were being hoodwinked, taking advantage of their lack of understanding of the subject. You don't have to disassemble the golems to see if some of the gold has been replaced by copper.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:09

But.

Camrad_RIP 25.07.22 в 21:02

Hestia had a reputation, so they took her at her word, but she "suspected" the mages serving the golems, so their advice was very questionable. The intuition of a seasoned specialist was silent, showing no hint of imminent danger, so the man quietly got up from the table and went to the nearest cupboard to get some form, or seal, or other crap out of it.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:09

The timing was perfect, it couldn't have been more perfect, so I left the pocket I was sitting in and immediately went on the attack, desperately hoping for success in my endeavor.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:10

The first thing I did was apply a Shadow Theft to my opponent, simultaneously releasing all of the essences, stopping the fortress' sensory systems, and giving myself a little more time. No amount of unexistence could conceal the final cry of a previously muted sense of danger, causing the gaunt man in the stone-embroidered black uniform to tense up sharply, preparing to deflect and strike back first, only to ask later. But the man failed to strike, though he turned to face the danger.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:44

The stolen shadow clung to its former master, preventing him from moving or even sending a signal through the always-active amulet, which he didn't even need to touch. A single mental effort would have sufficed. The rat's image flowed and distorted, glowing on the touchscreens, but, bad luck, those screens were reliably silenced by the spewed essence.

Camrad_RIP 27.07.22 в 19:46

My powers wouldn't be enough to hold my opponent for long, at least not without dispelling the image of the rat. A very huge and uncharacteristically black rat, ran up the arm of the magician, almost being launched by her like a stone. And in flight the image blew even stronger, making me almost completely lose the energy aspect of the cloak, only a small fraction short of the point at which I would have been spotted even through the shroud.

Camrad_RIP 28.07.22 в 05:38

I did not understand exactly how I did it, but a moment later there were two glass needles in the rat's paws - they were hollow inside, by the way - the tips of which were already glittering with green drops of something unhealthy. In the next instant, the black rat was already running up the arm of the paralyzed and nearly paralyzed Inner Security Officer, immediately thrusting the needles into the corners of his eye sockets, instantly setting the complex alchemical compound into action.

Camrad_RIP 28.07.22 в 05:39

Any thoughts disappeared from the enemy's brain, leaving only basic instincts, like breathing. The alchemical equivalent of liquid lobotomy was a terrible weapon, especially when concentrated above all norms. After twenty-four hours the victim's brain should be dead, but he wouldn't live until then. After all, I finally had a plan.

Camrad_RIP 28.07.22 в 05:40

The plan is shitty, and risky, assuming no possibility of turning back. But at the same time, it is surprisingly logical and correct, despite the seeming insanity. Yesterday I would have thought it a stupid and shortsighted decision, but right now, if I succeeded, I would be able to make it many times more effective than I had originally planned.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 18:06

I instantly drop the image all the way down, becoming human again instead of a vile rodent. I nod gratefully at the extremely shocking speed with which Hestia's high-level adversary has been massacred, and then I get to work, leaving the woman to continue to wonder. And she does have something to be surprised about, despite the fact that she managed to actually kill even a stronger opponent earlier - you can't just get used to the fact that even high-level opponents die very easily and quickly. At the same time, I also understand why no one likes stealthers and assassins: in another situation, I would have had to strain so hard to kill a ready-to-fight ace fighting in his own territory. And here he fell with a single blow - one cannot help but begin to hate such dishonest bastards as poor Kostik, who can send any man-army to meeting with his ancestors without even raising the alarm.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 18:08

Distracted thoughts did not interfere with my work, for I had long ago become accustomed to the fact that my brain was always taking me somewhere else. The class skills were working at full capacity, but the main task, causing most of the difficulty, was keeping my background in check. Something was leaking, of course, but still not enough to push through the alchemical veil.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 18:11

The stolen shadow was still on the vegetable in front of me, but I kept taking more. Somehow it reminded me of the trick I'd pulled in the slave camp, only it wasn't to increase my combat power, but to match the stolen image as closely as possible to the real one. It was as if a barely perceptible cloud, or rather a shadow of it, had frozen over the body of the Special Security Officer, and the man himself, already not so young, was aging rapidly, stopping just short of turning into a desiccated dead man.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 18:14

My hands were shaking and my nose was dripping blood under the mask, but I was still holding the damn image, still keeping the parasitic energy currents from lighting up, still not letting go. The Shadow Creation was working instead of the usual Stealing of Shadow that had already fulfilled its role. Muffled heartbeats, heavy breathing, and a haunting cold pierced through my bones despite the insulated clothing. This cold is of a different nature, one that I know very well. It was the same nature as hunger, the desire to consume the soul and life, leaving not even a memory of it. And it was also impossible to ignore the whispers and rustles that exist only in my mind. There could not be thousands of voices calling me to become one of them - the fortress itself is too protected. No, it was just my imagination, stirred by too much use of class skills.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 18:35

Once again I have to do something that forces me to go over the limit of my skills. Once again I have to bet everything I can, everything I still have. To bet and not lose, to once again win at this roulette game. Right now I wouldn't mind getting a couple of free skill points instead of having to screw my ass with Shadow.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 18:46

Anger helped.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 18:47

Not the hatred for anything and everything characteristic of the Shadow dwellers, but the banal, thoroughly human anger. Anger that, even now, in my already miserable situation, I was forced to risk even more, even though it seemed as if I could go no further. This anger was so foreign to the sensations pouring into me that I was able to cling to it, clearly separating me from The Shadow, and then the Price of Humanity came into play, on which I was able to hold on.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 19:06

Again.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 19:05

The images that flowed into me, the insight that came with another victory, immediately came into play, turning my pathetic attempt to do something I can't even begin to understand into a full-fledged plan. Understandable, feasible, and even somewhat elegant. The stolen shadow, along with the life drained from my victim, began to merge into the Shadow itself. A shadow that was born in reality, that I had created from beginning to end for a single purpose.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 19:07

A system message flashed in front of my face, but without even looking at it, I knew exactly what it would say. However, I cannot, and do not want to, refrain from checking my sensations against reality. What could it be in my somewhat inadequate state?

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 19:08

Creating of Shadow: 3/9

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 19:19

Allows you to use inferior and weak shadows as material, changing their essence with your will; allows you to implant obtained essences into stolen shadows; allows you to work limitedly with concluded contracts, throwing a summoning loop on material carriers; with certain costs, allows you to change contracts or intercept others; allows, to the limit of effort, create Shadows from stolen images, lives and souls, very limited giving them the essence you desire.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 19:43

Exactly what I would need. At least I didn't risk it for anything, or I could have gotten reinforcements that I wouldn't even need, wasting my strength and almost getting killed in the process. It would have been very much in my spirit, just a hundred percent Kostik.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 19:49

The shroud of negator still exists, even if my activity has undermined it. If I do it right, though, I won't need it again until the hour of "X". On a hunch and a fleeting hunch, I grasp the resulting, created Shadow with my hand, holding it tightly in the grip of my altered palm, and then touch the dying Maitre Gordion with my other hand. I'm not sure that siphoning essence from a living creature can be a fighting skill - the cost is enormous, the concentration is absolute, and the result is too slow to manifest. Thanks to the title of Hero, I can endure the quiet wheezing of a dying man who's not even being used for meat, but reagents. No, that's not right. It's not him I'm putting on reagents, but his essence, something that suspiciously resembles the soul itself.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 19:51

A golden cloud, whose gold has incredible purity, is slowly drawn into the Shadow frozen in my hand, giving it a piece of what made Gordion La'Skerry all that he was. His knowledge, his habits, his joys, his desires, his sorrows - everything he was and was no longer - was sucked into the slowly growing Shadow, becoming something new. This essence was simply overflowing with shades and aspects and desires. So overflowing that I can't even imagine their exact number, let alone work with it. I don't really need that work right now, though. Yes, I can filter and concentrate it using the vessel I emptied earlier, but I don't have the time or, I confess, the desire for it. It would be too much like Shadows eating the souls of their victims, with the difference that it would be done through seemingly harmless alchemy.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 20:01

Inhale.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 20:01

Exhale.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 20:01

I put the Shadow I had created on myself, turning to face Hestia, who was stiff and pale. Behind me, the body of what I was now was crumbling into dust.

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 20:02

"Well, Lady Raimel, perhaps I will walk with you to verify the conclusions and suspicions you have stated," I speak in the same voice, in the same manner, with the same intonation as the donor who has ceased to be. "I ask you to follow me."

Camrad_RIP 29.07.22 в 20:03

Quickly coming to her senses and it seems even more focused than before, Hestia nodded and, making another graceful bow, said, as calmly as ever:

Camrad_RIP 25.07.22 в 21:03