Ойкумена / Oikumena: Глава 20

Chapter 20

Camrad_RIP 30.06.23 в 17:58

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Camrad_RIP 30.06.23 в 17:58

Since this wasn't a horror movie, it didn't occur to any of the brigade to divide into groups, scattering around the rooms. They all gathered in one room, not too big, not too small. Apparently, in the past, it had been something like a smoking room, a place where serious matters were decided in confidence or blissful relaxation. The study was upholstered in leather wallpaper that looked like a fine embossed suede - a repeating print with plant motifs. But now there was little of the suede, and the bare wood was streaking through the huge gaps with grayish-brown slats. The same fate befell the chairs, which looked like animal skeletons with scraps of hide on the base ribs. But there was carpet, which, though compacted to felt, provided reliable protection against the dampness that rose from the flooded cellar. The doors on either side of the hall were securely locked, and the broad window still had three-part shutters.

Camrad_RIP 04.07.23 в 19:27

Usually, the tarred ones tried to arrange their lodgings in such a way that there were at least two directions for escape. This time, Santelli betrayed the tried-and-true tradition, reasoning that the lost adventurers were hardly any sillier. They must have taken every precaution, but it didn't help. So they barricaded behind bars and decided they would have two men on duty at a time, with the sentries on duty at different ends of the room. No one would get a good night's sleep or rest, but they would have a better chance of not missing the night's attack. And if you have to walk back in the morning, you'll have to live to see that morning. For a time, Santelli had seriously considered the idea of keeping the team awake until dawn, reveling in invigorating elixirs. But after long hesitation, he gave up the idea. The crossing was too tiring. The brigade could hold out through the night, but it would be too exhausted on the way back. We had to strike a balance, choosing between the risks.

Camrad_RIP 04.07.23 в 19:30

The first guard fell to Shena and Zilber, as he had lost a lot of blood and therefore was prone to weakness. The most dangerous, the one before dawn, Santelli left to himself and the silent Einar. The rest went to Helena and Kai. It was decided not to wake Biso so that he would get more or less rest and be on guard on the way back.

Camrad_RIP 04.07.23 в 19:36

Checking that the company was assembled and no one had been replaced, the foreman closed the shutters and threw on a latch - more of a decoration than a real lock, but enough to deter, if only for a few moments, whoever dared to break in through the window. While the foreman covered the cracks with a curtain, Biso pinned a moon crystal to the wall candelabra, and a steady bluish light illuminated the room. Kai had a few camp candles ready. In case the crystal wasn't enough until morning, which was not uncommon. The crystal was already old.

Camrad_RIP 04.07.23 в 19:38

The first thing Lena did was to check the condition of the "Vietnamese footlocker." There was nothing wrong with it - despite a couple of episodes of bathing, not a drop of water had seeped inside. Bottles were intact, and tools were in place. Taking advantage of the moment, Lena checked Zilber's leg one more time, applied a new bandage with a plantain leaf, and treated a second round of tick bites. Everyone took it for granted, without any particular approval. The healer was doing the job for which she had been hired.

Camrad_RIP 04.07.23 в 19:40

She was going to keep watch originally. She stood like a real sentry and set the ahlspise so that when she dozed off and lowered her head, her chin was sure to bump against the point. Looking at this, Elena could hardly keep from smiling. The girl was reminded of her childhood stories about the "stubborn girl." One day the two-year-old Lena said, "I'm not going to shleep anymore." It was said and done, and the girl sat down in full readiness to avoid sleep at any cost. And to be sure, she took a child's pyramid of rings on a rod and put it in front of her so that, if anything, she could fall right on the toy and, accordingly, wake up. It ended predictably with a slap on, and Shena was now an amusing reminder of it.

Camrad_RIP 04.07.23 в 19:44

Silber didn't bother to insure himself; he just sat down on the ancient skeleton of a chair that looked like both a couch and a chaise lounge, checked the bowstring, and laid out three poison arrows under his arm. Took a small brush out of his bag and began brushing his sideburns. Three strokes on one side, three on the other, and on and on, with the monotony of a metronome. It seemed as if he could do it without interruption until dawn.

Camrad_RIP 04.07.23 в 20:05

Unfastening the straps of the ponjaga, Lena removed two blankets from the frame and rolled them out - one down, the other to cover herself. Despite the rug and the tightly closed shutters, it was chilly. Behind the walls of the house, someone was squawking, powerful, and trumpeting like the very first night Lena had been in the Wastelands. After a little suffering, the healer "re-bedded," that is, rolled up the bottom blanket as a roll under her head and lay down directly on the rug.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:00

Her stomach belatedly reminded her of itself with an unpleasant sucking sensation, as if it had turned into one big octopus suction cup. During the day, Lena hadn't eaten a crumb because of the ubiquitous smell of urea, and it seemed that if even a piece of food got into her stomach, it would immediately come out, along with all her insides. Now was the time to pay for the squeamishness. She could have snacked on a piece of jerky or pemmican, hoping that the protective essence didn't soak through them like it did her clothes. But fatigue came over her like a pillow, soft and unbearable at the same time.

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 08:24

Tomorrow, thought Lena. It's all tomorrow...

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 08:24

Sleep didn't creep up. It came, wrapping a thick blanket around her with an insistent softness. Surrendering to this alien was easy and very pleasant, feeling the relaxation of the day's exhausted muscles and the closing of her eyes. Einar hissed in his sleep, someone's weapon rattled, and Zilber's brush rustled in a measured and quiet way. The акщпы outside the window fell silent. The house was silent. Not even the crackled wood creaked.

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 08:47

Lena fell asleep.

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 09:29

Or not...

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 09:29

In her previous nightmares, she'd seen images, but she couldn't fully comprehend them, as if she were looking through a keyhole at a picture of someone else's life. Now it was the opposite. It was as if Lena were suspended in darkness without end and edge, devoid of body and will - a blob of pure consciousness. And all around her, outside and inside her mind, images unfolded. Sparse, fragmentary, like a television screen with a disrupted setting, where the film breaks into separate frames, further distorted by ripples, and the sound hoarsely blaring from the speakers. Only once in a while, following the mysterious fluctuations of the airwaves, the image and the sound are put together into a wispy scene, very short, ready to drown again in the interference.

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 09:31

I'm a bad mage...

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 09:31

Worthless...

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 09:32

Useless...

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 09:32

The stranger's sadness had the color of the crusty leaves and the smell of straw, which was laid on the bare floor of the houses. The scent of freshness, sun, and earth was still tangible but already interrupted by mustiness, manure, old boot leather, and dust. The grief, stale and familiar, is like a non-threatening but non-healing ulcer.

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 10:20

I'm only capable of tricks...

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 10:21

Petty tricks...

Camrad_RIP 05.07.23 в 10:21

Not even a real mage... A mere "alchemist" a pathetic artisan...

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:01

And I'm not destined to go any higher...

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:01

Magic is a gift I am deprived of...

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:02

Damn, this life... Cursed be the Creator who was so cruel...

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:02

He let me drink from the cup, but only one sip... And left me to thirst in front of a spring I can never reach...

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:03

Alchemist Trickster...

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:08

It was... uncomfortable. Lena did not feel any discomfort, but somewhere in the back of her mind, there was a growing awareness that this was NOT her vision. The images unfolding before her inner eyes were meant for someone else.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:08

Mom, what are you doing?! Don't hurt him!

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:09

New images, new colors. If the previous ones had been gray and dreary, now there was rage all around Lena. Anger that time had concealed with a solid shield from the rest of the world but which had not been quenched.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:10

Faggot? No, this is a mistake!

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:11

Son, it's not your fault. He crept into our house as a silent snake to poison your soul, but now you are free. The viper will be exterminated.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:11

Leave him alone. It's a mistake! He's not guilty. He's just a teacher!

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 06:12

Hang him! No, first cut off the criminal, filthy members of his body! Burn it before his own eyes! Cut off the flesh from the bones. No one shall be allowed to confuse young minds, for it was said after the Tribulation, the seed of man shall not be wasted, for the earth has become scarce and is inhabited by women who are deprived of their husbands.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 08:24

Leave him alone, leave him alone... It's not fair. It's not right... We only read old books of poetry... Mother, you're the one who wanted me to study science and art.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 08:26

Get out of our house, you vile brat. The filth has yet to take root in you. You pity the renegade. Release the boars on him!

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 08:27

I hate you. I curse you. I renounce you.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 08:37

The rage was burning, and she wanted to turn away, to cover her eyes with the palm of her hand, but ...

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 08:38

Someone, or rather something, enveloped the world in a disembodied net, pulling someone else's memories, twisting them into a heavy vortex that drove someone else's mind further and further into darkness. Into oblivion. And, by some miracle, Lena found herself on the periphery, at the very edge of the vortex, where the wave was already moving but not yet strong enough to take her with it.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 08:57

And an understanding began to come to her...

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 08:58

The new image had the color of gold and steel.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 08:58

Death. Murder. Many deaths and many murders. The cold, judicious cruelty of a master of his craft. Blood, paid for in coins, turned into silver and gold as if transmuted in the crucible of a skilled alchemist.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 08:59

Gambling. Victory. Years of fighting. And finally, fatigue. Severe, excruciating fatigue, when victory for a long time brings no joy, and the gold seems unclean, covered with indelible stains of blood.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 09:00

A woman who happens to be near, her warmth, her care. First, bought with money, forced, impregnated with dread and fear of upsetting the owner. Then - unfolding with affection, like mountain flowers whose petals can be seen only in the brief moments when the moon and the sun meet equilibrium in the sky. He is the sun, straight, confident, stern. She is the moon.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 09:03

Peace. Serenity.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 09:03

You can't buy love with money. But you can grow it together, patiently, day by day.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 09:04

Happiness. Short-lived... Destroyed. Shattered by another's evil will.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 09:04

The hands are old, too old... They no longer had the old strength, the quickness that for years had brought victory after victory. There's only experience left. And an all-consuming hatred that is doubly bitter because the owner of the hands knows he has received nothing beyond what he has so generously given away left and right in exchange for gold coins.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 09:07

Only the experience remained. The experience of a fighter. It will serve. It will help when there is nothing else left. It was time to remove the saber from the wall, lift the blade from its gilded hooks, and feel the familiar heaviness in his hands.

Camrad_RIP 06.07.23 в 09:09