Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 12

Chapter 12

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 10:52

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Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 10:52

A beautiful life cannot be forbidden, even though such actions are regularly attempted. The owner of the largest mixture of restaurants, casinos, and entertainment centers in all of Eternity undoubtedly knew this truth, and he was certainly not afraid of having his beautiful life spoiled. Rumor had it that the Owner of the House of a Thousand Spectacles was approaching heroic status and that the guards and mercenaries who kept his business safe from encroachment would be enough to take over a medium-sized county and fast.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 11:07

This place was characterized not only by its notoriety but also by the very different social status of those who were welcomed here. The huge building, somewhat reminiscent of Earth's high-rises, was an entire complex supported by powerful magic and cunning dwarven engineering. It housed gambling houses, drug-smoking joints, restaurants with the fanciest cuisine, exotic brothels, fighting arenas, and who knows what else. Somehow this place reminded me of the Eternal Library because it was not without spatial distortions, but the difference was very noticeable. Still, it wasn't that complicated in the House.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 11:12

From the outside, the building did look like a multi-story circular-shaped apartment building, with a large courtyard with a park and playgrounds inside the ring of walls. Only it would have to be multiplied by an indeterminate amount. If the height of the building corresponded to an ordinary five or six-story house (there were houses even higher in the city, at least the same palace), then the volume of the occupied territory was comparable to a large Magical Guild. And what's more! The Adventurers' Guild I had visited occupied more space but not much more.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 11:15

As I said, almost anyone could get in, as long as he had enough money, decent looks, and a brain that wouldn't allow him to make a fuss for nothing. Of course, it could not do without a division according to the degree of solvency and nobility because there was no way for ordinary visitors to enter many floors or special rooms. On the other hand, no one would be surprised if, in one enormous hall, the dancing circus performers were both ordinary mercenaries with big money and someone of the high aristocracy who occupied a separate place. And that's not even mentioning the banal arrival of the incognito - rumor has it that at one time, the young Emperor also liked to drop in here, blending in with the crowd. I'd wager a sack of alchemical silver that the owner of the establishment is spreading these rumors.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 11:20

One thing was certain. This place was truly unique and unparalleled in the Empire of the Ages. I was no longer sure there was nothing like it anywhere else in the world, but there probably wasn't in the Empire. It was here, as one might guess, that we went to blow off some steam and relax after being locked up for so long. And we weren't the only ones affected by the wave of searches, scans, and arrests that swept through the city. If the rumors and visions are to be believed, a lot of the powers that be have been rapping each other to a bloody pulp during this time. And that's not even mentioning the heavy and pressing premonition of another war.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 13:22

The last full-scale conflict with Alishan was over half a century ago. Yes, since then, there had been minor border conflicts and regular sabotage, but now everything threatened to develop into another large-scale fight, and it would be good if only the Empire and Alishan were involved. They had enough allies, both of them. And if they called on all of them to help, the whole continent could go up in flames. And then the overseas countries will come to light. If they don't intervene immediately.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 13:30

People were all nervous and with bad vibes, and the prices of weapon amulets, alchemy, and military equipment were rising day by day, threatening to hit new highs. Many were eager to cash in, but all realized they might as well lose everything they had gained during the years of relative peace. Guild colleagues, as adventurous mercenaries as our "legend" shared information about the slowly growing demand for mercenaries. And take on long contracts with more than excellent pay but rather vague terms of employment. Merchants, aristocrats, guilds, and moneybags were preparing their small armies, hoping to either wait it out or kill someone while no one was watching.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 14:04

With this mood in mind, people ran to the House of a Thousand Spectacles as soon as the opportunity presented itself. It was easy for the small and modest of us to get lost in the crowd, and we did so with almost no conscious effort on our part.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:14

Still, the House clearly played with space at a very high level. Only here, it wasn't so much protection as extra square meters into which visitors could be crammed, and they could be monitored and controlled. At the very least, the attendants were sure to use all sorts of amulets that allowed them to go from one door to another in such a way as to be a couple of floors below and at the opposite end of the structure. Not all the servants or all the guards, just the most important ones, but the very fact that such magic was used for such mundane purposes spoke more colorfully of the place than any advertisement.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:16

We dropped our bones in an enormous hall shaped like some kind of cross between a parking lot and a theater. There was a spiral staircase from the bottom to the roof, surrounded by cozy little booths for small groups. In the center of the structure was an empty space from the top to the bottom, which here was deeper than the ground level at the expense of the underground floors. There was no floor or ceiling, and its role was played by networks of alchemically reinforced ropes and chains that created a platform for the local entertainers. Each floor had its crowd-entertainment specialists, and all of them, from time to time, switched places using the same local teleportation or mechanical levers that lowered one stage or raised another.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:18

The price for such a regal spectacle was such that Hans almost chewed his collar out of greed, but we were all so fed up with being locked up that I ignored the price of the "ticket" too high for our level group and limited me to checking for sneaks through clairvoyance. It is not difficult to understand that as long as we are sitting here, we have not found anything, and suspicions, if any, are quite insignificant. It's just that these outsiders had a taste of life in the capital and began to squander the squad's coffers with all the proper irresponsibility.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:20

"Strange stuff." Taria looked at the dish served to her, ordered by poking at random, with a kind of interest close in its nature to the scientific. "What is it anyway, and why does it look like someone's brain?"

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:20

It really did look like someone had cut the brain into slices, fried them in butter, and served them with lettuce and cheese balls. There were many reasons for the outward resemblance, but the real one was the most obvious.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:21

"Because that is the brain of a Red-headed Tree Monkey." Losius, like the rest of us, was rather taken aback by his surroundings, but the ability to keep a poker face and aristocratic image was, in his case, something of a non-scripted system skill, so he looked like he'd been walking in such places all his life. "I hear this dish is quite popular among the peoples of the jungle, from where the fashion for it was brought to more civilized lands. Despite its appearance, it's quite a delicious manifestation of their cuisine, albeit one that requires proper processing and a high-level chef to bring out all the facets of flavor and remove the possibility of poisoning or catching some kind of contagion. At first, the brain was served directly in the skull of a monkey. Sometimes even alive, but not wanting to shock the public, they changed the serving."

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:31

If he had expected a violent reaction from Taria - and he had secretly hoped he would - he was disappointed. When she heard the explanation, the girl nodded calmly and began to wield her knife and fork, proving that the lessons of etiquette through Dream had served her well, despite her love of swagger and demonstrative disregard for manners. She would have eaten with her hands, but the dish was too hot.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:32

"Ah, good." She just answered as she chewed the first bite and dipped it in a small bowl of sauce. "I was afraid it was some kind of mushroom. I can't stand mushrooms, to be honest. Besides, you're wrong, Losius!"

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:33

The last phrase was accompanied by an accusatory poke of the fork in the direction of the accused, though, fortunately, with a fork, without a piece of brains on it.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:34

"Where is my wrong? Please tell me?" The poor guy had long ago grown accustomed to ignoring the girl's quips and had developed a thick-skinned sensibility. "I just freeze in anticipation of the truth."

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:36

To back up his words, he elegantly sipped his wine from the glass (quite expensive, which, unlike ordinary glassware, you don't want to beat on other people's foreheads), demonstrating how much he couldn't wait for an answer. So much so he might fall asleep right there, in the middle of the slight hum and noise of the crowd.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:40

"This dish just doesn't have a whole brain in it, if I understand anything... and I do!" Immediately the girl spoke up, not stopping to taste the exotic cuisine. "They clearly divided it into several portions, plus fried it as well. And you can eat the brain of a living monkey only in raw form, otherwise, it will quickly cease to be alive. It will, but you know what I mean, don't you?"

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:41

I roll my eyes, but I'm not going to break up the argument between the two of them, and frankly, I can't. Seriously! Where Hans looks so organic with his simple language that even Losius gave up on the idea of teaching him how to speak loftily. In Taria's case, she's perfectly capable of speaking normally. She just pathologically enjoys making Losius and the rest of them nervous with these kinds of words. And she doesn't like to turn her way of speaking into that of a common slob. She doesn't like to be too flamboyant either, but she speaks clearly and beautifully in her own way. She makes an exception only for Losius and now for Tia.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:44

I ordered some strange steak with herbal spices and several sauces at once. The dish, contrary to my fears, was not a small piece in a huge bowl but a huge piece of tender meat that barely fit in the huge bowl. You can't go hungry here. Rather, you have to make sure that you don't overeat.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:45

"Tin, are you making potions out of food again?" A poke on the shoulder from Hans knocks me out of my thoughts, causing me to frantically draw the barely visible sparks of essence back into the Vessel. "Gah! You're losing control again, Commander!"

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:47

I reply with a demeaning look, intended to show the superiority of my superior intellect over his flawed village thinking, but all I get is another wave of laughter, now with the support of the rest of my companions. Even Hestia, the traitor, covers her contented smile with a glass of wine! As if I'm so chuffed and addicted that I would turn the meat in public into a kind of edible vial for three different potions. Two to boost my stomach and one to neutralize the alcohol.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:47

"You're all imagining things." I have steel in my words and an absolute certainty of my rightness on my face. "It seemed, I said! I said it's imagined! You don't fucking believe me! You did! To me!"

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:51

Well, maybe I do get a little carried away.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 16:51

Sometimes.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:09

Almost always.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:09

The groups of performers changed quite frequently, about once every hour or two. We sat here for a long time, planning to spend at least twenty-four hours partying - which is what the whole environment was designed to do. Not just in the restaurant, but to go dancing, to watch fights, maybe even to play dice if we wanted to.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:18

But I admit there was something nice about sitting in comfortable chairs, sipping light drinks and snacking on equally light snacks, and discussing dancers' boobs with Taria. I had to admit that the bitch knew more about tits than all of us put together, though Hans was very indignant when she demanded it of us.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:19

They really knew a lot about entertainment here. All sorts of dances, costumed as they were, were just the tip of the iceberg. I saw a whole ensemble of black ladies dressed in palm leaves and coconut shavings, or whatever they had on their clothes. And their shaking breasts looked not banal, but really interesting - the dance, the smoke, where the smoke was controlled by two magicians, who created all kinds of screens and figures from the smoke, the drumming and even the plot of this very dance! That case, when in the presence of naked bodies you look not at them, but at the picture itself.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:20

The whole story, telling without any words about the hunt of two huntresses for a wild beast that threatened to either devour them or love them, was gripping from beginning to end. Yes, the plot is primitive but played with excellent skill and seasoned with splendid special effects. And that's despite a light mental field that makes the audience empathize more strongly with the onstage images. Not aggressive or dangerous to the audience, but a kind of artistic class effect, like a bard's song, only not as powerful.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:20

Then there were three women, all of them very frail and thin, making them seem almost childlike in their costumes. They had no curves, and their bodies were covered from head to toe with cloth. No eroticism at all, Comrade Isekai. But they had ribbons, many meters of multicolored ribbons, which they operated with a skill impossible for ordinary people. Levels were all twenty-one, and their stores of magical power were quite decent. A dance that was magical in every sense, combined with magical contact telekinesis, made it possible to create and play an entire movie with these ribbons. Like the smoke of the black women before that, only much more varied.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:22

They would not have been strong enough to show such a thing on every floor of the tower-restaurant through which they were teleported, but they were aided by the very construction of their scene. There, among the ropes and chains, were woven extra ribbons, thickly painted with runes, and in the knots of these ribbons were hidden magical accumulators. Enough to waste almost no reserves of their own. However, there were three of them, that is, three full shifts - while one is dancing, the other two groups are resting.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:23

The sight so delighted everyone that someone from the opposite booth tried to jump onto the stage but found himself caught in a magical barrier. The scarred, bald man's hands glowed with the burgundy light of an activated skill, but his comrades quickly grabbed him, dissuading him from breaking through the devil's barrier and embracing the lovely nymphs, expressing their respect for them. And he really wanted to praise them, not fuck them.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:25

They calmed down the connoisseur of beauty faster than the guards intervened. Before that, they were sitting in their booth and keeping a close eye on the order. They even arranged for one of the dancers to come out from behind the barrier and accept a tinkling "thank you." She was also invited for a drink and a meal, but she only allowed herself a sip of water, lifting her cloth mask. According to what I could hear from the shadow sphere, she couldn't eat while she was working, or she might vomit. By the way, she looked pretty cute, even if not as stunning as the other local girls.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:54

The third group was an entire show, performed by three illusionists who spared neither magic, nor reserve, nor imagination. They even took orders for a fee, showing anything and everything the esteemed customers wanted. Despite the highest level and the biggest impression on the public, this particular company didn't evoke any emotion for all of us - we've seen better. And Taria, if she tries, can show better, although she is not an artist but an adventurer with experience. Our Suicide Squad, by the way, spent most of the show jabbering with each other, which I'm sure offended the illusionists a bit.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:56

One of them, the youngest, was even about to scare us with the illusion of spiders escaping from under the bowls, but before my vision became true, the oldest of the triad silently covered him with an extra layer of illusion and punched him in the face, knocking him down on the ropes that trembled from the fall. Yeah, well, insults are insults, but a local visitor might as well take up arms, even if they weren't allowed in, except for daggers and knives, which are more status items than weapons. Personally, forks would have been enough for us to stuff the whole trio on bare reflexes. Although, something tells me that he was much more afraid of the anger of his superiors at the possible complaint than of the unhappy customers.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:58

The last performers were four ladies, of whom only two possessed classes. But they were both level twenty Hypnotists and Seductress, and the other two were their assistants and, as I understood it, a demonstration aid. They did not, however, use the aid, stating with aplomb and pathos that they were willing to let the glorious heroes and mighty warriors test whether the steel of their will could withstand the tenderest silk of pleasure, which binds the mind more securely than the strongest chains. That last one, if anything, is a direct quote!

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 17:59

I, personally, didn't understand what they were even counting on. Even with the security vows and an audience to watch their activities, what kind of moron would allow himself to be victimized in such a performance? As it turned out, I stupidly underestimated these beauties' ability to take a dare. Well-placed hints and several spectators at once decided to show that they would not succumb to any charms. And the ladies only added fire, as if casually adding that everyone who has stood before their temptation will be given a handsome reward. For participation, so to speak.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 18:00

By the way, one of the men, a monk by class, managed to stay awake despite the rather masterful attempts to deprive him of consciousness. He did not go into deep meditation, cutting himself off from hearing, seeing, touching, and the world in general. It was forbidden by the rules. He calmly withstood several attempts to bring him out of his equilibrium, after which the ladies quite decently conceded defeat, drank the lightest wine with him, kissed him on each cheek, leaving traces of lipstick, gave him his reward and, already mentally, spoke an unkind word about all the monks and their class stability.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 18:28

But the rest of us showed the show to the entire audience, as originally planned. They sat in a soft chair, closed their eyes, listened to the voices of the two of them, and that was it. Nothing humiliating was done to them, simply because their friends and comrades were nearby and could have kicked the shit out of them. One was collecting gold coins, visible only to him, falling out of the punctured pockets of his pants. The other confessed his love for the chair, which in his mind was his longtime love... he recited some pretty good poetry, by the way, apparently written by him. The third and third were indoctrinated that their left palm was an erogenous zone. Not theirs, but their partner's - his in hers and hers in his. At the request of the laughing couple, this suggestion was left with them, assuring them that it would dissolve by morning.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 18:29

At least two of the volunteers deliberately volunteered to give themselves to these foxes. And I'm sure they knew perfectly well who was here out of curiosity, who for money, and who for pleasure, but they didn't show even a hint. Though, they could have embarrassed the poor people in front of an honest audience. For the first time, I see how such a class can be applied without undue meanness, guile, treachery, and nastiness. I have a lot of respect for them, honestly. It's not that they've never done anything they don't like and hurt before, but they were smart enough to get it over with by going under the wing of the Master of the House. Well, and conscience crept in there somewhere, though here only in the case of the Hypnotist, as the Seductress would have been content with her life if she hadn't crossed someone else's path.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 18:31

I can't help but throw a gold coin right into the hands of the lady who is about to leave, as she prepares to be transferred to another tier. Not an ordinary coin, although that is also a good tip, but one of the "ancient" ones, as if brought by us from the wilderness, but in fact forged by me with the help of essentialism. I reckon I can get about ten gold pieces for it. If I am lucky enough to find a collector, I might even get as much as fifteen. An ordinary collector would not recognize my forgery.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 18:33

She managed to catch it, as well as to appreciate the weight and size of the coin, so she smiled quite sincerely and bowed slightly, saying, еhank you, spectator, for appreciating my art. And I raised my glass in response and spoke with my lips alone so that no one would notice my gesture or my words but hers:

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 18:36

"Not the worst of ways." She could read lips, so she understood what I was saying, just as she understood my implication, involuntarily flinching and looking away as if my words had hurt something in her soul.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 18:37

And I stifled a slight prick of pain as I sent another series of visions into oblivion. These were the words that said goodbye to her, not so much her lover, but her old comrade and friend, dying of a neglected curse. She was already moonlighting as a performer then, though all sorts of personalities beckoned her to get back to a "normal" job and stop counting pennies. However, that person would have refused to accept money for treatment earned by the kind of work Hypnomancers usually did. She might have risked enchanting her friend and forcing him into treatment, even if it meant losing his friendship forever, but he knew how to resist her methods, even though he was not a monk. And by the time the pain and weakness had sapped him enough for her to put him into a trance, it was too late to save him. At most, she could anesthetize him and let him leave without suffering.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 18:42

These words, about the path, about how it is chosen, and how the paths choose us, that he admonished her before falling asleep for the last time. A week later, she was invited for an interview at the House of a Thousand Spectacles, and a month later, she was performing on the local stage, having taken the necessary oaths and contracts. Managing not to fall into servitude or give up her choices. Choosing to take not the worst path fate had offered her.

Camrad_RIP 01.07.23 в 18:44