Ойкумена / Oikumena: Глава 26

Chapter 26 Weapons of the proletariat

Camrad_RIP 06.02.24 в 19:42

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Camrad_RIP 06.02.24 в 19:42

The three bandits had finally finished dividing up the healer's possessions. There were few possessions, mostly clothes and small things like a comb, a couple of wooden bowls and so on. In fact, the raiders' orders were somewhat different - lurk, wait, grab - and they had been paid in advance quite generously, but old habits prevailed, overpowering any instructions.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 09:49

They would have done it sooner, but it took them a long time to believe that the damned girl had no stash or cleverly hidden boxes of valuables. Everyone knows that healers make a lot of money by sowing plague and other mischief, and they bathe the sick in milk and sell it to witches and confectioners. But, apparently, this particular healer was a beggar and most likely kept the money in another stash or even in a bank. However, who in their right mind would carry coins to a money house? Everyone knows that bankers steal good silver, and even more so, gold, and melt it down, casting abominable gods for the Two's shrines, and give back counterfeits, made so skillfully that you can't even tell the difference by a tooth. But nothing, the wench will come back, and then there will be time to ask her where the money is kept. The silver had to be divided among all the men, but this money would go to only three.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 09:52

Since there was nothing left to catch, the three of them stomped down the rickety stairs, arguing softly and sluggishly, rather for the sake of propriety, to find out who had been deprived in the sharing of rags and sheaths. As the staircase was narrow, the raiders stretched out in a line, one after the other. The procession was closed by Noseless. He was more dissatisfied than the others, as befitted a man who was determined to take just and fair revenge but was deceived (even temporarily) in his aspirations. The criminal's mind was filled with dreams and visions of all that should be done with Lunna. Everything began in the same way, with a cut-off nose, first the very tip, then scissors to cut off the rest of the pieces, and then ... It must be said that Noseless (whose previous nickname had been long forgotten by Elena's efforts, and this the bandit could not forgive her separately) had by nature a vivid imagination so his fantasies were varied and seldom repeated.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 09:54

So the "meat" hired by the witch descended one by one by the light of a few "rotten" lamps down the old staircase, accompanied by the creaking of the decaying boards. Elena, lurking on the second floor, let the trio pass by, then stepped out of the deep shadows, brought her hammer to bear, and with one blow, cracked Noseless' skull. The hapless avenger still had time to realize that the creak of the boards had changed, a different, alien note, as from foreign footsteps. Then, the whole life of a professional scoundrel, all memories and experiences ended in a bright flash of darkness when the six-sided hammer shattered the parietal bone.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 09:59

It's still good to be a tall woman as tall as the average man, if not taller. It's easy to hit.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 09:59

The force of the blow rocked the criminal to the side. He slumped against the wall like a jellyfish. His body relaxed, and he slid down to the landing. Elena, remembering the location of each step, silently jumped over the settling corpse and immediately went into a crouch, hooked the leg of the second opponent, shattering the knee. The raider flailed his arms incongruously and screamed, not so much from pain as from panic and the realization that something horrifying had happened. The nerves were still just transmitting the signal, and the neurons in his brain were processing it before giving the final "It hurts!" in that brief moment, the thug flailed his arms with a terrifying shriek, smashed through the railing with his whole body, and flew downward.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 17:58

A scream, a crack of the railing and steps, a thump on the floor, another crack of boards from below, from the darkness, another scream. All this merged into a single sound that literally sawed the ear with strong teeth. The third crook had time to turn around, caught a glimpse of the dark figure, and with a sharp swing, threw at it a flail - a bone weight [1] on a thin and strong string. The criminal stood a couple of steps lower, and the weight came not in the head but on the abdomen, which Elena covered with a loose part of her cloak. The dense fabric weakened the poorly calculated blow but did not protect completely. A sudden jolt just below the solar plexus almost knocked out the woman's breath and snapped her rhythm. But the bandit had already rushed forward and upward like an American soccer player, clutching a sharpened shard of mutton bone in his left hand [2].

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:01

Elena ducked down again, "piecing together" her clasped hands, cloak, hammer, and knife in front of her. She wanted to cover as many vulnerable areas as possible and catch the enemy on the blade at the same time. More precisely, for Elena worked the science of Draftsman, controlling the body in addition to consciousness. Both opponents failed. The bone went sideways and got stuck in the cloak, which for the second time saved the mistress, and the knife slipped on the enemy's shoulder, bloody and generally not dangerous. In addition, the force of the blow knocked the hammer out of his hand, which flew down to the second raider, who continued to scream. From the fall, the criminal was even more crippled and unable to move at all.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:05

The woman and the bandit got into a clinch. Elena's left hand with the cloak and knife was blocked, and her right hand was freer and, at the same time, unarmed. The criminal, sniffing and breathing sour onions, was twirling the bone needle, trying to stick it in properly. Instinct whispered to Elena in the grouchy voice of Draftsman that if she didn't come up with something original right now, it was the end. The woman pressed herself even harder against her opponent, wrapped her arms around him like a lover, and pushed off with her foot, dragging the two clutching bodies downward.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:07

They tumbled, accompanied by the cracking of the wood and shouts from below. The house seemed to shriek in alarm, startled by the amazing, unprecedented events. Somewhere along the way, a fragile lamb bone snapped, and Elena dropped her knife, learning that even a safety cord doesn't help if your grip isn't strong enough. After counting a few steps, the tangle of clutched people changed its trajectory and tumbled sideways. Already at the bottom, it broke into two bodies groaning with pain, knocking over several empty pots and breaking Baby's old cradle.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:09

"Kill the bastard!" shouted from the side, number two. "Finish him, for God's sake! Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, my leg! My back! My leg! My back! My legs won't move!!!"

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:10

//"Him?" - Helena thought machineily, getting up on all fours. - "They still don't get it."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:11

It hurt all over. It seemed like she'd hurt every bone, every joint. Her arm, broken a year ago, was almost out of commission again. The corner of the step had nearly punctured her temple, but it was only an abrasion, which now bled. Warm trickles rolled down her cheek and ran to the corner of her mouth, leaving the taste of a well-licked doorknob. Something else was broken, and it didn't seem to be just her head that was bleeding. A bone point had pierced her stomach, luckily not deep, but none of that mattered. Hate electrified every cell of the battered, wounded body. Hate filled his lungs and heart with every breath. Hate dulled the pain better than any elixir. If only because it didn't cloud the mind with sleepy indifference.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:14

//"Death loves me!"

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:11

The bastard was already up, wobbly but ready to fight. He tried to throw his flail at the dark silhouette again, lost a moment or two pulling up the string. Elena knelt down and blindly searched around, her fingers grasping something short and angular, a piece of cribbing. Too light and short for a club, but at least it was something. She lunged forward, pushing off with her supporting leg.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 13:20

The thug struck, clenching the bone weight in his fist, and hit, but weakly, the swing was not enough. Elena clenched her teeth to the crunch, feeling a new flash of pain. The next moment, a piece of wood in her hand stabbed right into the groin of her opponent. If he'd had normal pants, the tight leather, and flap would have protected him, lessening the blow. But the bandit was forcing on the southern custom, pulling on tight stockings, thin enough. A terrible, unspeakable flash of pain twisted him and threw him to the floor. Growling like a beast, Elena was on top of him and, clutching the same splinter in her curled fist stabbed the wood into his eye from top to bottom. Or rather, in the place where the eye might have been because the only source of light here was a dimly flickering lamp with a rotten stuffing of fish guts.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 13:22

One thing was certain. The woman had hit something. The shriek turned into a high-pitched squeal, and the wood in her hand finally cracked and splintered. Elena rolled off her defeated opponent and fell beside him. It was good to lie down, very calm and almost painless. Only a man who has learned tedious work knows what a real rest is. Only a well-beaten fighter understands what happiness it is to just lie there, with arms spread out, when muscles seem to moan from the pleasure of respite, lungs greedily gulp air, and pain no longer tears the body with red-hot cutters, but rather strokes it, encouragingly whispering "you're alive, you're still alive."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 13:27

With a groan, the woman rolled over, got up on all fours again, and rested her shoulder against the wall. She pulled herself upright, little by little, clinging to the rough stone and brick with her broken fingernails. Pain and unbearable fatigue came like a heavy shroud, bending her back, urging her to fall down and not think about anything. Brether's instinct methodically, like a good accountant, inventoried the damage. Her knee crunched, something with the joint. If she, Elena, survived, she would have to eat a lot of jelly. The right arm is badly bruised, to say the least. On the left, near the trapezius muscle, a particular pain, where the second blow with the weight had come. And on the left side, a couple of ribs cracked. Her head was hurt, but her nose was intact, with a few bruises and skin on her temple.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:16

The thug also rose, wheezing, trying to utter swear words reduced to hisses. In other circumstances, Elena would have given credit to the criminal's resilience. She could not fully appreciate the consequences of a blow to the groin, but she knew that it hurt. And the eye was hurt, even in the light of the lamp. And the man not only managed to get up but was preparing to continue.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:21

The circumstances were not different, however, but as they were. And just next door, behind the wall, lay, tied to the table, the mutilated bodies of two little women who would never grow older. Even if Elena had tried very hard, she could hardly have found a single drop of mercy in her soul. But the healer didn't try.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:23

Every movement was a flash of pain that lit up like fireworks, scorching the nerve endings. Sniffing noisily through her teeth, feeling the exhalation turn into a snarling groan, Elena swung her arm around, unraveling the cloak in a couple of frugal movements, just as Figueredo had taught her. She threw the cloth over her opponent just as Kai had once done during their 'duel' on sticks. The raider staggered back on shaky legs and swung his fist blindly with a clenched weight, bumping into the walls.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:26

"There's my hammer," Elena whispered, giggling stupidly.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 13:28

It was not easy to hammer the bandit. Because of the darkness, resistance, and fatigue, every second blow slipped or even missed. But the woman did it. Throughout the entire execution, Number Two shouted at the top of his voice, calling for help and promising all sorts of punishments, often in one sentence, in one exhalation.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 13:28

"Well, that's it," Elena told the house and the darkness, finally putting down the hammer. Blood and grayish-brown sludge dripped from the hammer, slapping the floor in heavy, viscous drops. The woman took a deep breath, feeling the odor of the slaughterhouse fills her lungs. Everything seemed to be soaked through, even her underpants, leaving not a single dry thread. A bone flake pounded from the bandit's skull was stuck to her lip and would not come off.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 13:30

"A weapon of the proletariat, for fuck's sake," she breathed out, spitting the profanity along with the fragment of someone else's head that had finally fallen off. The taste of iron in her mouth intensified.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 13:32

//"I'm a murderer. I just killed three people," she thought and searched her soul for any feelings about it. Reflection, regret, or, on the contrary, happiness. No, nothing, just a general feeling everything was done right. As it should be.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 13:34

//"Ah, no," the cries of the crashed man finally penetrated her consciousness, a reminder that this was not the case. - "Only two."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:26

"You wait," she said, breathing hard, taking a breath after almost every word, to the bandit cowering in the shadows. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:28

The realization of what would be the best solution in this case came naturally, immediately in the form of a finished concept. It took some time to find the nails in the kitchen. It could have been quicker, but Elena felt like Kid and Baala were looking at her with silent disapproval, so she looked away, searching almost by feel. But she found it.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:29

"You... what... you've got... bastard." The already not eloquent bandit number two was in a hurry to say as much and as convincingly as possible. He was scared and very, very hurt, so the words came out of his mouth mixed with spittle spat in an almost unintelligible shorthand.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:31

"You'll find out," Elena promised, stepping closer and bringing the hammer down. "It won't get past you."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:33

It took a lot of time and effort to nail the second raider to the floor, hammering nails into his wrists and forearms. The legs were immobilized as well. It seems the bandit really hurt his spine when he fell, so some of the nails were not useful. In the course of the operation, the woman broke the hammer and the hands, which the unlucky criminal fought back with, but she achieved her goal. Now Elena was most worried that someone might come and interfere with the procedure. The screams should have shaken the whole street, but either the old walls muffled the sound or, in the troubled capital, preferred not to interfere in other people's affairs.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:35

"Well, that's it. It's done."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:35

The bandit whimpered, thin and pitifully, breaking his voice.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:31

"We need more light," Elena said. "More. The operating field must be properly illuminated!"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:01

It took her a few more minutes to find five more or less good candle burns, to light one of them from a lump of coal in the stove, to stick them to the steps and railings, and to light them, too. But in the end, there was enough light to act with confident accuracy.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:37

The bandit squelched, swearing and begging as the woman pulled off his torn pants and then, writhing at the smell, unwrapped the bandage, freeing his loins. The thug's voice trailed off into high, hysterical notes, and the force drained away like wine in a keg at a good table. Toward the end of the action, the bandit forgot all threats and simply begged, searching his memory for such convincing, beautiful words he would not have remembered on pain of death a quarter of an hour ago.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:39

"As we say..." Elena pushed aside a strip of fabric with stale and fresh stains. She undid the buttons of her own codpiece, pulled back the wide flap. The man lying there squealed in a very nasty and pathetic way, not understanding what this creepy woman in men's pants was going to do.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 15:00

"... a well-tethered patient needs no remedy for pain," Elena said, pulling out a small wooden sheath knife from her codpiece. It looked like a Japanese kogai or a scalpel.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 14:40

"Yoo-hoo!!! Uhh!!!" The nailed man wailed, rolling his eyes and twitching. In those moments, he was ready to sacrifice anything, even pieces of his palms, just to get free. But the nails held firmly, reliably.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 14:41

Finally, through the anguished howl came a more or less meaningful one:

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:31

"Don't! Please, please don't!"

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:32

"We must," Elena replied with the strictness of a teacher, trying on a knife. "We must, Fedya. But I don't have a whip, don't apologize. We'll make do with what we have on hand."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 14:32

"Please," the bandit whispered. His face was glistening with sweat, and tears of horror were rolling unceasingly. "I beg you, honorable lady, sweetest, most marvelous lady, don't...."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 14:24

Elena looked into the eyes with madly dilated pupils, and the bandit gasped, because the woman's gaze burned with an otherworldly, inhuman coldness. The paralyzed man clamped his eyes tightly shut and pleaded for the third time, and made a terrible oath to himself by his mother's grave that if the Lord passed by this repentance, Balkat, nicknamed "Cut Purse", would quit his life of crime, spend the rest of his days in prayer and begging for alms, arousing pity in people by his mutilations, as well as by penitential stories about his former unrighteous life. And all the money, of course, to give to the monastery.....

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 14:23

"They begged, too," Elena said softly. "I'm sure they asked you not to torture them. But that didn't stop you."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.24 в 14:22

"I didn't do anything! I didn't do anything!" howled the criminal, who had become very eloquent and convincing. "I came afterward! I tried to stop everything!!!"

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:32

"I believe it," agreed Elena. - "I believe every word of it."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.24 в 18:33