Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Интерлюдяи третья "Никто не хотел"

Interlude Three: Nobody Wants

Camrad_RIP 05.08.22 в 20:08

Once upon a time, when he was a simple officer in Melareth's Second Army Corps, he was told that the most problematic part of fighting sabotage is the fact that it only looks sudden. In reality, any enemy sabotage stunt is preceded by long and painstaking preparation, gathering information, recruiting renegades and informants, sending in their spies, and a bunch of other little things that to the uninitiated seem to make no sense at all. Much later, when he had grown considerably in rank, given new powers and another pile of responsibilities attached to them, he was taught to correctly assess and anticipate such surprises.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 08:30

Most likely, ordinary soldiers and sergeants will be very surprised at how much harder the work of spies and infiltrators can be made if one simply observes the regulations and does not allow accidental leaks of information. Somewhere, the brave corporal will not arrange a drunken heart-to-heart talk, the captain of the cavalry will not go to whores to brag about his exploits, somewhere, the officer on duty will carefully monitor all who enter the territory entrusted to him, and somewhere noble officers will not lose in cards huge money, for which they will be taken by balls. And, oh, miracle, nine out of ten of the masters of the dirty game will look, walk around the camp, collecting rumors, and go away: either to ask for reinforcements from the command or seek easier prey.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 08:32

All it takes is caution, common sense, and competence - and how much good it does! Quite a rosy picture for a skillful and genuinely willing commander. Leroy himself always tried to comply with these regulations, to overcomplicate them, and then to overcomplicate them again. That is why he was disliked both by officers, who had received rank and patent by patronage, and by soldiers, who only had time for training, sleep, and minimum rest. That's why army staff would pray for him if they needed someone who could set up camp quickly in newly occupied territory. Apart from the fact that he was a pretty good general, too, even if he preferred to command a relatively small elite breakthrough corps.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 08:33

Unlike so many others, he wasn't exiled to the Stone for his misdeeds, but for having some qualities necessary to be the commandant of such a place. Perhaps when Melareth re-enters the war he will be dragged back to the field, but until then his abilities were much needed and sought after here. His ability to keep a crowd of deadly personalities in a tight grip and instill iron discipline in pampered aristocrats trapped in the extremely limited space of a pocket dimension allowed him to maintain order in the Stone almost around the clock. Besides, his family was a successful merchant, and the Crown personally covered them from greedy old-family rivals.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 08:37

He didn't really care about his family: his parents were in the crypt of the family, and the others were distant cousins whose names he couldn't remember, and still were. But if you have certain preferences, it would be foolish not to use them. Another clever thought that came to him during his service.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 08:38

More unpleasant was another conclusion drawn from an old instructor who had served the Crown half his life as a secret-guard operative and was now living out his days as a teacher of promising young men. The gist of what he said was that the most trivial precautions could save nine out of ten sabotages by preventing them from happening. And against the one that won't, even much more severe methods of protection won't help.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 08:39

"Understand, young people, a funny situation." Master Shostin spoke, pounding on the stone floor of the auditorium with his usual stick. "If you have pros working against you, you can only do something in advance by accident if they make a mistake. You can make their work more difficult, and you can react as quickly as possible, but you cannot make yourself completely safe. The main problem of such badgers is that you, having received the first blow, begin to react and command strictly within those limits, which are prescribed by the statute. That's exactly what they expect from you - predictability. Remember, young men, the only way to outplay the elite spies on their turf is to change the rules of the game immediately. Otherwise, before you realize it, your staff plans will be copied, the army treasury will be stolen, and the food in the warehouses will be poisoned. You will be court-martialed or go to your grave, for people like you will be among the main targets. Dismissed!"

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 08:41

Those words had stuck in Liroy's mind for a long time, allowing him to counteract various amateurs and professionals quite successfully on several occasions. He'd even destroyed four elven saboteurs, which didn't give him points in the eyes of the eared bastards, but it gave him titles and headaches. And he truly wished to take the creatures alive, but they fought to the very end, obviously not counting on mercy or ransom. Right, in fact, they didn't, for then they would only face captivity and a dishonorable execution. Well, except that their girl would have been sold to one of the nobles. Leroy, by the way, would not have claimed it - he was neither a womanizer nor a xenophile.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 09:06

That's why it hurt him more than most that on this shitty day he had fallen for the same line that his less fortunate and reasonable colleagues had been fishing for. He had been calculated. No doubt, there were many excuses. The fact that the Stone was many times better protected than any other place where he had to command. That the unknown saboteurs, if they could get here, obviously belonged not just to the elite, but to the real aces, which even on the scale of the kingdom can be counted on the fingers, perhaps even on the fingers of one hand. The fact that he was careful to take every possible and not-so-possible precaution, personally getting a few extra sensory fields installed. There was much that he had done cleverly and correctly, but the result was the same: he, and the entire Stone Command, had been miscalculated. Now his men would die for their carelessness, for allowing themselves to be consumed by routine, for their negligence.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 09:08

Leroy Atkins was not one of the few commanders for whom soldiers became their sons, though some thought otherwise. To him, any soldier, scout, or handyman was a resource, just as Leroy himself was. He cared for warriors as a master cares for a useful tool, he watched their achievements and allowed them to develop themselves, not unreasonably believing that some of the levels and titles they gained were due to him. He hated to lose the powers entrusted to him, which somehow in and of itself led to soldiers willing to carry him in their arms. Even in full armor. He took the soldiers' respect for him as a matter of course, sincerely believing that any highborn commander should behave the same way, receiving the same feelings in return from the men entrusted to him.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 09:10

Because of this belief, he often clashed with aristocrats who, while demanding deference and special treatment, did nothing to validate such claims. It is probable that it was due to some of these offended youths, who decided that being a traitor was sweeter than serving the kingdom, that he found himself in this situation.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 09:11

A very unpleasant situation.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 09:11

When the alarm came from the outer perimeter, he was not particularly alarmed - it often happened that single hunters, or even whole groups, would come out to the entrance to the Stone. The forests here were full of wildlife, and so the locals preferred not to let one pass by. Sooner or later, there was another fool, too brave to fear the rumors about the Woods, or too greedy to fear anything at all. There had been a time, long before he'd been commandant when they'd simply been brainwashed and kicked out of the forest, but that method was quickly found to be ineffective. The only way to ensure that the peasants were kept out of the forest was to make those who went into it disappear.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 09:34

In general, the standard signal indicating that the security perimeter had been breached meant just another stack of reports sent in. Before he came here, many preferred to quietly slaughter hunters who got in the wrong places, but Leroy's pedantic nature demanded careful documentation of all odd situations. He despised the routine paperwork that forced soldiers to write several reports for every lost arrowhead, and there was almost a combat encounter, even if it wasn't dangerous for the garrison of the Stone.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 09:37

Very quickly, however, the standard signal was replaced by a triple alarm, which automatically meant the need to quickly get off their asses and rush to the aid of the rangers in trouble. Not too fast - in a fortified position the rangers could hold out long enough - but not too slow for nothing. Even then he should have been on his guard when one of Gordion's lurkers came running back with a report of the sabotage they had foiled. Even the goblin could see that over two dozen dead was not prevented sabotage but since Gordion himself had survived, he couldn't call the liquidation attempt a success. Still, the owner of his level, his powers, and his legendary artifact from the royal treasury is a tidbit if you want to wreak havoc.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 09:48

After calming down a bit when it became clear that the old stealther had survived, he gave the order to go, literally overloading the portal arches with more than a hundred fully-equipped fighters. Other enchantments were triggered after them, cutting off possible spies from leaving the fold - it would be much harder to get back inside, but no one would leave the fortress itself. There were enough simple soldiers and elite units inside to protect both the center of the fortress and its most important asset, Ferer Roche, who was doing some research here.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 11:37

The situation, already no longer normal, spiraled out of control when it became clear what it was that opposed the Rangers in their field. The Shadows are a very unpleasant opponent, as Leroy knew from his own experience during the war with the Sorz and the creatures of the Dark Orders who sided with them. The Sorz are all sun-glorifying fanatics, but they ally themselves with dark things more readily than his own Melareth.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 13:29

It was hard to fight against Shadows, especially if there were many of them - simple signal threads were no problem for them, because the creatures could clearly distinguish magic, flowing around dangerous areas. Traps could only be activated blindly, but that was likely to lose both tracking and protection circuits - all washed away by the rampage of magic. Up to a point, the Rangers, who had lost four, didn't risk hitting so sharply. Inferior Shadows are dangerous, but very dumb, and quite easily destroyed if you're prepared for them.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 13:45

If there hadn't been so many of them, things might have gone differently, but they did. It wasn't that Leroy panicked, but he felt it necessary to destroy the apparent diversionary strike quickly. Apparently, the main target was Ferer, as Leroy immediately made his point on the connecting amulet. The mage would have to be guarded as such, plus he always had two elite guards with him, but reassurance would not be superfluous.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 13:46

The second message sent demanded that the fold be opened back up. And send a couple of dozen more fighters with the most suitable classes for fighting the Shadows, and give them the necessary amulets to pass on to the rest of the soldiers. Only the intuition of one of the mages, who felt something wrong, saved them from the most dangerous blow, which could crush a good half of the soldiers who came out to fight. They are not rangers, they are not trained in constant maneuvers so that a ramming attack will have to meet with the forehead.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 13:48

The mage sensed more foes approaching, and activated the traps without asking, incinerating at least two dozen inferior Shadows that had yet to penetrate the defenses, lost in the labyrinth of signal nets. The attack also revealed for a moment two creatures that were far more dangerous than all the little things.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 13:49

One of them, looking like a ghoul wrapped in darkness, was too distracted to survive, giving the mages time to douse her in flames and then finish her off. Also, a Shadow, only not an inferior one anymore. The second roared furiously, but evaded their attacks, employing the shadow-melding trick, so much disliked by Leroy. Even the most primitive of Shadows using this type of cloak could only be spotted by those with heightened perception and peculiar classes. The rest of them had either to wait for the abomination to reveal itself, or strike at random.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 17:12

The signal changed from alarm to full combat, forcing us to hurry. And then Jeremy, the staff amulet man, looked shocked at Leroy, who had sensed something wrong himself.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:08

"The Second Hundred's signals changed to "dead." Stammering, which was never his style, he said. "Survivors are under attack... there are no survivors."

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:09

The strike was to be made directly at the portal platform, where the remaining forces had gathered on alert. Not all of them, of course, but all of those entrusted to Leroy personally. Ferer's guards, Gamel's mages, Gordion's spies, and the trivial attendants were still alive, combat-ready, and on full alert. True, after so many defenders had been killed, ignominiously and instantly, Leroy was not so sure it would be enough. Such an attack could only be pulled off by truly mighty foes, and even the rest of them wouldn't stop them. It was too late to consider taking out summoned monsters. The summoners would hardly go to the battlefield in person anyway because their role would be to distract most of the garrison by forcing the others to assemble by exposing themselves to some bomb or even a legendary artifact. Most likely the latter.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:11

"Call the gathering!" Atkins shouted, shouting out the noise of the magic going wild and the traps activating idly. "Give the signal to open the arches! Get them to let us back in before they get eaten!"

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:12

"Yes, give the signal!" The amulet man came to his senses at once, quickly remembering that he was no longer a rookie, so he would lose his pants in a sudden attack. - I'll send the combination! Ready! Nouuughh..."

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:19

The man's words and life were cut short by a glowing dark blue arrow, smeared with some vile poison that causes instant decay, and in such concentration that Jeremy's body fell to the ground as a pile of slime and rot, identifiable only by its shape, and even then, not necessarily. At this point, Leroy stopped understanding the thread of what was happening. The actions of the opponents were completely illogical, wrong, and irrational! The only purpose that justified an attack on his men right now was the capture of the Stone, but that was no longer sabotage, but a bloody declaration of war!

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:20

Not even Sorz would go for such madness! Leroy knew, albeit without detail, exactly what was being researched in the Stone, knowing full well that the Crown would not forgive such a surprise, and allies would turn their backs on the aggressor, leaving him at best one-on-one against a righteous Melareth. Or, more likely, to join in the plundering of the idiot.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:21

The conclusion is simple: the enemy is counting on the fact that there will be no one or no one for identification. So it's his job, Leroy, to get the enemy wrong. We'll have to trust that Gamel and Gordion will be able to outmaneuver the small saboteurs. A large squad of saboteurs would not succeed even with the legendary Heroes. And to withstand a blow and inflict one of their own. That same Maître Shostin used to say that when you cannot beat a saboteur with little blood, you must forget all the complicated plans and simply crush the enemy while there was still someone left to crush. Having lost all the bets up to this point, you are already in a losing position as much as it can be a losing one. So now all that was left to do was to show military valor and pray that your ardor and power would be enough to break the situation, or at least to save yourself.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:24

The reinforcements from the Capital will be arriving soon, which means that there is still much to wait for. The main thing is that until the arrival of the capital's elite, they are still able to tell about what happened. Such a failure, of course, will affect his career unpleasantly, but given the class of sabotage carried out, a certain discount will be made for him. And it would be Gordion and his service who would be whipped, figuratively speaking, rather than Leroy and his men who had fought fair.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:25

The main thing is to withstand it.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:26

They had to accept the fact that the problem with "withstand" would be quite serious from the very first seconds of the battle, which broke out as soon as all the traps were activated, most of them wasted. And then the shadows themselves began to strike at the crowded men, tearing, choking, restraining, cleaving, and even cursing at a level that was uncomfortable and dangerous.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:30

The Rangers, accustomed to maneuvering and single attacks, quickly joined the ranks, for the singles had lost nearly a third of their numbers, even if you count the second quarter-hundred that had arrived with Leroy. They adjusted quickly, even nearly finishing off the inferior creatures, but the more dangerous Shadows were too clever and cautious, and the signal net was gaping with holes. The archers, accustomed to relying on stealth and distance, fared very poorly against even more stealthy creatures that had no use for physical attacks, little magic, and whose wounds were healed by the devoured lives of their victims.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:31

They cooperated, nailing the inferiors, nailing the second Shadow, who looked like some kind of giant dog, and using magic from their bows, nailing a demon archer with poison arrows (he couldn't be alone there, could he?) and forcing him to retreat further into the woods. They were able to cover the fighters' orders with light cocoons, preventing the shadows underfoot from coming alive to grip their throats. Standard magical defenses worked well against ranged attacks, even if they had to be renewed time after time. The twenty-fifth level ranger even managed to illuminate a Shadow of incredible power, engaged in area attacks and covering that lone archer. In fact, the fact that the creature was covering him was the reason it was spotted.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:35

If they now had a set of flame and light artifacts, which they never had time to deliver, it would be over quickly-no matter how dangerous this particular abomination might be, but against the immense power of pure Light, no Shadow could resist. Also, an experience, also personal, in which Leroy was as sure as he was of himself. Even without the approach of reinforcements and the amulets he had issued, The Shadow was doomed. Several mages and warriors of suitable specialty were among them right now, and just the sheer number of attacks was slowly but surely draining The Shadow.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:36

Now the Shadow, illuminated by a dozen marking skills, hung in the air, sheltered by another dozen barriers, which, one by one, crumbled under the methodical attacks of the assembled men. The creature was struck by nearly two dozen people with the right skills, plus the five huntsmen whose arrows could deal damage to such intangible creatures. Soon the Shadow would fall, after which the lone archer (he seemed to have been sent here to bring the Shadows to the right point) would be hunted down and either captured or killed. Probably the thought that they were about to be killed proved mistaken, a brief panic attack, shameful and ridiculous.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:44

Leroy Atkins made a mistake once again.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:44

The creature struck as suddenly as a Shadow can be sudden. It was at that moment when the creature hovering in the air was covered by the last layers of its barrier, and all attention was focused on her alone, perfectly timed for an insidious strike. The first dozen and a half fighters and the most dangerous mages simply ceased to be when they were pierced by clawed hands popping out of the ground.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:45

There were so many of these hands, unbelievably many, but Leroy's combat intuition told him that they all belonged to the same creature. The soldiers reacted quickly, as veterans with high level and necessary skills should. Some used a dash to get out from under the blow, some used a defensive skill, some managed to put a shield under the claw, and some hit the attacking limb with a shining blade.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:47

It even helped some, but not too much in most cases. Those who jumped away got another blow, catching them at the moment when they couldn't escape again. The defensive skills were too weak to keep such a creature away. Material, or even enchanted barriers like shields, did not deter the creature, which passed through them like a ghost through a wall.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:48

The warriors would withstand.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:48

Though the creature was so mighty that the sense of danger screamed to flee without a second thought, though it was fast, skilled in sorcery, able to disappear into shadows like an elven assassin, and restore its life with the lives of others, it was only one creature, though a very strong one. Leroy had yet to meet a legendary monster, but from the looks of it, this abomination was very close to being called one.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:51

The warriors would strike it down.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:52

Had it not been at that very moment that those whose existence had been forgotten had struck. Those who had waited so fortunately for the moment of disruption to strike their decisive blow. Alchemical bombs were a treacherous, fastidious, expensive weapon, capable of turning against their owner at any moment, and yet incredibly effective in skilled hands. The adversary was skilled.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:54

The poison gas and acid vapors that corrode the lungs were no guarantee of killing the enemy - everyone here had the simplest poison amulets, and everyone here had a couple of not the simplest. but the enemy didn't need that. It was enough only to break the barely recovering order, to knock out the most unprotected part, to force the others to run out of the poison zone instead of fighting. And to strike, to strike quickly, often, and deadly, to strike with new poisons, arrows, or magic, to keep Leroy and his squad from waking up and striking back.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:56

There weren't many of them: Leroy could distinguish three, and something else flickered in the background. Maybe another Shadow, or maybe a second squad of similar foes. Just three, but laden with enough potions and vials to sustain several hundred regular fighters. He felt a flame of detached, calm anger ignite in his body, filling his body with lightness and strength. The adversary had shown himself, the adversary had become clear to him, the adversary could dig their own grave.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:57

With a savage roar, the forty-seventh-level Master of War rushed forward, activating an unstoppable ram, expecting to literally splatter one of the nimble enemy figures against the surface of a heavy shield of thick layer of enchanted steel. Now only a fair fight would decide everything, which he had missed for all those years of quiet life.

Camrad_RIP 06.08.22 в 19:59