Ойкумена / Oikumena: Глава 11

Глава 11

Camrad_RIP 17.10.24 в 15:45

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Camrad_RIP 17.10.24 в 15:45

"Take the cart," the poacher half-offered, half-ordered. "You'll be cutting up the beaten one as we move."

Camrad_RIP 18.10.24 в 19:14

"I'll gut him in a cart shake,” Hel snapped angrily, applying a linen pouch with a hemostatic herb inside.

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 09:21

"We must run,” repeated Maryadek. "By noon the news will reach the Count's castle. By evening the whole county will be on our trail. If we don't cross the border by tomorrow morning, we can hang ourselves on the same tree. So take the cart."

Camrad_RIP 21.10.24 в 19:56

"And the trophy horses?" Gamilla showed an unexpected marauder's ingenuity. It was normal to hear it from her, though; the noblewoman understood the value of war horses.

Camrad_RIP 20.10.24 в 12:53

"We can't,” said the poacher, who was practical and had clearly seen the underside of life. "We can't afford them, it's obvious. So they're stolen. And again the rope on the tree."

Camrad_RIP 21.10.24 в 19:57

Gamilla cursed in a florid and unladylike manner. Grimal was silently helping Elena. The servants of the dead were scattering, apparently at the same time they were scavenging their master's goods. The women were shouting, but they did not enter the square.

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 05:27

"Hurry up!" Maryadek shouted. "Before they remember our faces!" He looked longingly at the crutch, recognizing it as a prominent feature.

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 09:23

Things developed in a confused and hectic manner, Artigo had a good chance of escaping again, but the boy fell into prostration and just lay on the wooden step outside the stables until Cadfal picked him up.

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 09:59

"Come on, boy,” the big redeemer said gloomily, making Artigo look like a midget. "You've made a mess of things today."

Camrad_RIP 20.10.24 в 12:54

The child sobbed again, quietly and with hopeless longing. Perhaps Artigo could understand, from his point of view the bad men had just shattered the dream of returning to a life of deference, servants, and fine sheets. Pulled back to the cold, the shaky saddle, the dirty clothes, and the crows in the cauldron. But no one sought to understand him. Or rather, the only person capable of it was groaning under Hel's hands.

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 10:00

"I t-t-t-thought b-b-b-brethers were scarier,” Gaval stammered, showing his wits to be quite good. To understand what the dirty, unshaven Ranjan was up to, he had to know more or less about city life and be able to draw logical conclusions.

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 10:02

"Because you're a fool,” the crossbowwoman said as she helped the wounded man into the cart. "A two-on-one fight is a sure death for even a very good fighter. Only great masters can fight off three. This one took out five armored men before we arrived and stayed on his feet."

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 10:00

She corrected Brether's slack hand and finished quietly:

Camrad_RIP 20.10.24 в 12:54

"Not gray."

Camrad_RIP 18.10.24 в 19:14

The short phrase sounded mysterious to the others, but Elena immediately understood the crossbowman's train of thought or thought she understood it correctly. Not gray - so not the Moon Reaper, who was already old. Gamilla must have realized who owed her a shot in time. There might be consequences to that realization, but they wouldn't come right away, so Elena forbade herself to think about it.

Camrad_RIP 20.10.24 в 13:10

They left the town of wild-honey farmers and carpenters quickly, noisily, unprofessionally, like a tabor, not a company of dangerous conspirators, cleverly covering their tracks. But still, they left, seemingly even without spies on their tails. Only Grimal and Maryadek cut a couple of purses from the belts of the dead, hoping there would be some silver among the coppers. Elena stitched up Ranjan as he went, stopping the blood and applying bandages, but the Brether fell into unconsciousness and, judging by Elena's experience, was out of commission for at least a couple of weeks. He stayed in the cart with Artigo

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 11:08

"Why didn't you run away?" Elena asked briefly of Maryadek, who was working his crutch with grim exasperation.

Camrad_RIP 20.10.24 в 13:11

"I'll run away,” said the poacher. "You're too edgy and dangerous, you get into the noose yourself and drag others along with you. But I'll run away later. Now we must all leave. They won't sort it out."

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 17:39

The Highlander was silent on who and what wouldn't sort out. It was clear enough.

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 17:40

We moved quickly and without lanterns, trying not to attract attention and to get as far away as possible before sunrise. There were no maps, of course, but judging by the stone signposts, there was a good chance of getting out of the county quickly. Of course, that didn't cancel the pursuit, but it made it more difficult.

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 17:40

Pantin seemed to have eased Ranjan's pain imperceptibly but that was all he could do. The whole medical part had to be taken care of by Elena. The horses had been left without a night's rest and now had to haul the load again. From time to time Ranjan came to his senses and tried to go on his own, and Elena felt a regular urge to punch him in the forehead, as the current state of the great swordsman would allow it. Gaval was silent and afraid, it seemed, even of his own shadow. Gamilla was not throwing words around either, and together with the minstrel they formed a strange pair in which each member hated the other but had to cling to him. Apparently, the crossbowwoman still counted on a share of the creative worker's future earnings.

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 17:42

Elena was tormented by sleep deprivation and, checking the condition of the wounded at rare rests, thought - what the hell do they need Pantin for? What good is a warrior-mage who does not sorcery and does not fight...? Well, almost no sorcery. At the thought that now the sickness would be added to the general fatigue, it was getting bad.

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 17:44

But still, he could have helped some more!

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 17:45

So they walked on through the night and all the morning by the light of the pale sun rather than the moon. They walked on through the night and the morning by the light of the pale sun instead of the moon. There were sparse pockets of life nearby, judging by the smoke, but no villages yet. It was warm and unaccustomedly dry, but there was an unhealthy gloom rising behind them, to the north. As Maryadek confidently reported, the thin gray band on the horizon would turn to rain by evening, and the next day, most likely, a real blizzard with wet snow. Maybe even sooner. The news, which before would have caused widespread despondency, was now received with enthusiasm and hope - hurry! Bad weather is a fugitive's best friend.

Camrad_RIP 22.10.24 в 17:48

The road was completely empty, the pursuers had either fallen behind or gone another way. So far everything had been going more or less well. Even Maryadek, grey with fatigue, relaxed a little. And then the travelers saw the familiar carts of the circus performers. They, one must assume, had also been walking all night, and now they had set up camp in a clearing about fifty meters from the road, so that they could be at a distance and, if anything happened - rain, for example - return to the highway without pushing the carts too far through the mud. The fire was smoking, the mules sadly stuck their muzzles into the skinny sacks of feed. A clown sat by the fire with a sad look and roasted something vanishingly small on a thin twig, it seemed like a crust of bread.

Camrad_RIP 26.10.24 в 12:27

Maryadek cursed softly, jerking his head back. There, on the horizon, appeared a scattering of small dots with a bright spot, most of all resembling a flag. Ranjan muttered something inaudible and lost consciousness again. Gaval was clearly sad. The Redeemers somehow suddenly pulled themselves together. Elena again felt the sliding glances on her, as the day before, after Ranjan's hasty departure.

Camrad_RIP 26.10.24 в 12:28

She wanted to scream at everyone at the top of her voice, something like "What the hell?! I don't give a damn about you and that little moron! I just wanted to find a new swordmaster and get away from the capital! Stop staring at me, save yourself if you can!" Moreover, Elena clearly understood that by and large, nothing was stopping her from breaking loose and running away right now. A travel bag on her shoulder, a knife on her belt, a sword on her back. A cheap one, of course, a practically ordinary cleaver forged by an ordinary blacksmith from soft iron, but still a blade. And most importantly - a tube in which the guild diploma, the last gift of Flessa. With it, she can practice medicine and pharmacy in any city.

Camrad_RIP 26.10.24 в 12:31

By the way, the redeemers follow Elena and most likely they will follow her now. That is, two tough bodyguards will keep her out of trouble. So, what is she looking for in a dubious company that's doomed anyway?

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 10:45

In the course of these reflections in the head clearly, clearly, formed a simple question: would you go all alone...?

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 10:47

Well, really?..

Camrad_RIP 24.10.24 в 14:30

The stares grew more insistent. Artigo began to sob again. Ranjan was delirious; the wound seemed to be inflamed after all. Gaval whispered prayers. Elena looked around in a huff, realizing she had to choose again. She caught Pantin's gaze, his expressionless eyes a dirty gray. It was unclear what the warrior-mage was thinking about, but a five-hundred-year-old prick looked pensive, and in a special way, as if he were a natural scientist or a psychologist making experimental observations.

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 10:50

\\Dammit - Elena thought distinctly and expressively.

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 10:52

"What are we going to do then?" Maryadek asked quietly, as if into the void. No one answered him.

Camrad_RIP 24.10.24 в 14:45

They walked a little farther, Elena looked back again and saw that the dots had gotten closer. Whoever was following the fugitives down the road, the pursuers were in no great hurry. Who knows, maybe it wasn't on their heads? She wanted to hope so, but common sense mockingly suggested that it was on yours, of course, but whose else?

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 11:07

"Over there,” Elena pointed in the direction of the circus performers. She couldn't even explain why she'd decided that way. Probably, her subconscious concluded that it was pointless to just run - sooner or later they would catch up with her. At least there was some variety here.

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 11:08

When it became clear that a rather large company was approaching, the clown pulled himself up and said something softly, addressing his invisible companion. Judging by the bucket in her hands, the girl was lubricating the cart axles. Elena raised her empty palms, demonstrating that she was not looking for a fight, and stepped forward. Everyone took it for granted, causing the medicine woman to have a new bout of anger. Found a fucking negotiator and a diplomat...

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 11:09

"Good day!" she greeted the circus performers trying to sound as confident and casual as possible.

Camrad_RIP 24.10.24 в 14:45

"And the same to you,” the clown said glumly. The girl next to him put the pail on the ground and silently wiped her face with her sleeve. Then she, too, greeted the sudden guests, very discreetly, on the verge of open hostility.

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 11:24

Elena introduced herself, changing her name once again, now she called herself Siriol, that is, “Merry” in the sense of “entertaining”. The clown turned out to be Kimutz, a name that seemed oddly and vaguely familiar to Elena, but she couldn't remember where she'd heard it before. Kimutz had the appearance of a man disillusioned with life to the point of philosophical humility and zen. When looking at Kimutz, one is immediately reminded of the depressed Donkey Ia from an old cartoon. The clown was also clearly drinking, a lot and with a soul, the pernicious passion reflected on his face and in the yellowed whites of his eyes. As a healer, Elena would advise absent relatives to start saving for the funeral. Now it was clear why Kimutz was dressed as he had been before the performance; it seemed he simply had no other dress, he must have drunk it.

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 11:25

The blond-haired, short-cropped acrobat named Joaquina was young, flexible, and dressed in a man's suit of good, though shabby cloth with stockings instead of pants. Under other circumstances, Elena would have looked at her with some interest, but now her head was occupied with other things. The circus girl would have seemed very pretty if you didn't look closely at her eyes. The girl had the hard and cold look of a person who had been trained from an early age to fight for life, who did not believe in kindness, and who knew that what seemed to be offered for free was the most expensive.

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 11:26

There was an unhealthy pause. Everyone introduced themselves and tried to figure out what to do now. The strolling troupe was clearly wary of the strangers. Elena couldn't even formulate a request, and the others expected a miracle from her, except for Pantin, who still seemed to be a bystander, completely alien to the process.

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 11:27

“And we’re wandering here,” Elena finally squeezed out, spreading her arms again.

Camrad_RIP 24.10.24 в 14:47

"Well, yes..." Joaquina agreed after some thought. "We too."

Camrad_RIP 24.10.24 в 14:48

Elena looked at the sun, squinting slightly, and said a new phrase:

Camrad_RIP 24.10.24 в 17:34

"Bad times for making money. Meager."

Camrad_RIP 24.10.24 в 17:33

She was dying to look back at her distant pursuers to see if they were really far away. But the woman knew that she should not show her fear so openly. But she knew she shouldn't show fear so openly, judging by the slanted glances of the circus people, Elena's companions did look back and burned the whole intrigue.

Camrad_RIP 31.10.24 в 11:29

“That’s true,” Joaquina finally agreed. Her voice was rough, like that of a person who has to shout loudly and often, but overall it was quite pleasant, with a kind of lingering accent. It seemed as if bitter honey was being poured into the ears.

Camrad_RIP 24.10.24 в 17:35

“You don’t have enough people,” Elena pointedly looked at the carts, which were too big for the tiny troupe of two people.

Camrad_RIP 24.10.24 в 17:35