Селеста / Сelesta: Глава 4

Chapter 4

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:30

The two nights passed quietly and calmly, as quietly as an existence amid a struggle between all and everyone can be called calm. At any rate, no gangs or monsters bothered the monastery inhabitants. The two girls tried to keep out of sight of Carlon, and the rest of their kin as well, though Celeste had asked the priest for permission to use the library. Under the pretext of studying sacred books, the earthling was going to learn to read and write - thanks to a nearby teacher. Who, incidentally, now wore a headscarf so as not to draw attention to the natural color of her hair.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:40

The plans changed a little when Andrew saw the geographical atlas. There was not much secular literature in the library: the fire destroyed almost everything, only the rarities were hidden in a special room survived. Indeed, manuscripts do not burn. A book of maps someone had forgotten in a special repository, but could not return and put it back, so the girls and had the opportunity to consider together the outlines of the old world. One remembered the other saw for the first time.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:41

Before the Plague, there were three continents on the planet - one, the huge Birel, in the eastern hemisphere, and two smaller ones, Kikin and Ossilanni, in the western hemisphere. There were also several large islands scattered in different places in the oceans. Despite the recent series of earthquakes, Alarika didn't think the outlines of the continents had changed much: the catastrophe had had little effect on nature. Civilization originated in three centers, one of which was the shores of the Good Sea; gradually these centers of culture subjugated the rest of the world to their influence.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:42

Of course, people's favorite pastime became a war. It was thanks to wars that the first mages became heads of states, founded dynasties, and learned to transfer some of their power to ordinary people. With different variations of state structure, the equilibrium has been maintained throughout the centuries. The entire history of humanity has evolved around the Three Greats - the Middle Empire, of which Salvatia was a satellite, Zirhaba to the west, and Roh to the east. The latter two countries have recently divided the small continents between them once again, and the bloodiest battles have taken place between them.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:44

The people who died in the last war were lucky compared to the survivors.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:46

The Midlands Empire was located on the shores of the Good Sea, connected by two straits to the Cold and Dark Oceans. In fact, the Emperor ruled over a conclave of smaller, almost independent rulers, most of whom were closely related to him. The army was also considered united and, judging by the successful wars with its neighbors, was not the worst. Andrew was not interested in the details. The authorities were inactive, the Imperial family was dead, like almost all mages - so why fill the head with unnecessary information? Except for Thalea, the former rulers continued to rule their lands in only three coastal cities, in all the other aristocrats were exterminated. As a consequence, chaos and anarchy reigned. If relative order was maintained elsewhere, nothing was known of such places. Most likely, the coast was no longer safe: sailors sailed all over the sea, and rumors flowed to Thalia from all sides.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:53

"I wish I had a detailed map of the area," Celesta said.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:53

"It's no use..." Alarika replied. "We can't stay away from shelters for long, and there aren't too many people outside the city, either. I talked to a ghoul from the village a month ago. He said there was nowhere for people like us to go, no reason to, and too dangerous."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:54

"Still, I would like to understand where the ships come from, where the borders of the Duke's domain are... The old towns have probably not yet been looted. What if we need it later? It would be good to capture one of the soldiers, they are always aware of the current situation."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:56

The beauty looked at Celeste with amused amazement, with a touch of fear. Not everyone can look into the future, not knowing if they'll see the next sunset. You'd have to be either very sure of yourself, or a little crazy to make plans in their situation. On the other hand, this very position has the advantage of complete freedom of choice, because no matter what you do, it will not get worse. Will they be killed on another hunt, or will a vagabond accidentally wander into the monastery and slaughter the sleeping ghouls? Alarika's death hadn't been feared for a long time. She just hoped that something would eventually change, and that's why she lived.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:58

A timid hope for change, coupled with a rare sense of sympathy lately, led her to suggest:

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 10:58

"There's a magician's house not far from here that still has some books. Of course, it's a terrible mess inside, everything of value was stolen by looters, but for some reason, nothing was burned. If you want, we can go and look."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:01

She said, and she was frightened. She was used to spending all her time in her cell or wandering around the monastery without purpose. Celeste did not notice her excitement:

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:03

"It's about four hours before sunrise. Do we have time to turn around?"

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:04

"Of course."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:04

"Then go."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:05

Carlon gave the departing couple a long look. Since the new girl had come to the monastery, something had gone wrong. He couldn't say what it was, he just felt it. On the one hand, there was a visible benefit: the girl had ceased to embarrass Artak, and that was a good thing. In his mind, the priest called Alarika exactly that: a wench. He remembered what she had been in her past life and did not understand his Master's decision to bring her back to life. He did not doubt it - certainly not - for who was he to question his will? Perhaps God had decided to give the obscenity another chance, which she did not take. And he had gone to great lengths to try to explain the wickedness of her choice, to forbid her to sing, and to withhold blood until she had read the whole of the Great Canon. To no avail. The girl gave lip service to obedience, sabotaging all orders in secret. And yet she seduced his only truly loyal assistant.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:10

But his instincts made him take a closer look at Celeste, and the longer the priest watched, the less he liked the girl. Her calmness and determination were not surprising; they could easily be explained by her character. Knowledge, mindset, phrasing, were different matters. Can not a person who has lost the memory and turned into a vessel for the demon to behave with the equanimity with which she acted, study the situation. It is impossible to rely only on oneself, to etch the adoration of higher forces to the end.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:19

Carlon could compare; he had met ghouls who had lost their memories before. To them, as to himself, magic was a reality, albeit a shattered one. People did not doubt the existence of the gods, or, more accurately, it never occurred to them to doubt. They wondered, they looked for signs in the clouds floating in the sky, they consulted with experts about good and bad days, and they saw the supernatural in everything. For the new one, there were no true omens: She didn't even remember them, she didn't consider it necessary to take them into account, acting only from she's pragmatic considerations. And, as the priest felt, she did not believe the words about the punishment of the rotten human race, as if she knew something else that was not available to the others.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:35

The senior brother thought, 'We have to do something.'

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:36

"Are you saying humanity will survive? - If the priest could overhear the conversation, he'd be surprised at how much his train of thought coincides with Alarika's conclusions. "It sounds like something from the writings of Pikran of Samonea, the philosopher who lived there. He thought the gods were creations of men. He wrote that "the intelligent animal will survive where the unintelligent animal will perish," for which he was executed."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:42

He was a clever man. People often blame their sins and troubles on an unknown force - it's easier for them. Preachers are so popular now because they offer a convenient explanation for what is going on. Notice, not correct, but convenient and acceptable to most people.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:47

"Silence!"

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:49

The conversation that had promised to be interesting was interrupted, and both undeads listened eagerly. Finally, Alarika let out a light chuckle:

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:50

"This is something new." After hesitating, she suggested: "Shall we go and have a look? That house had been standing for three years - it wouldn't fall apart overnight."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:51

The frail girl nodded without opening her eyes. It made it easier for her to concentrate on the sounds: the creak of the wheels, the whimpering of children, the mooing of the few pets. There was the sound of metal objects rattling around on her belt like little bells, the sound of metal-stitched jackets and boots rustling. People, lots of them. Not the usual gang - much more.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:54

Something's going on. Celesta nodded:

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:55

"Let's check."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 11:56

Andrew had intended to climb up to a higher place to see what was going on when Alarika dragged him behind her. The woman knew her way around the courtyards, and she took advantage of it. They wandered through the ruined buildings until they came to a two-story house with a leaky roof, then dove into the basement. At the very end of the long, wide dungeon, the ghouls nestled into a small window that gave them a good view of the street and the column of people walking down it.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 12:14

"Do you understand anything?"

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 12:15

Alarika shook her head perplexedly:

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 12:15

"I've never seen anything like this before. Refugees of some kind."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 12:21

Indeed they did. Forty of the fifty people who walked were men, varying degrees of exhaustion, and a dozen women led four cows on ropes, dragged other livestock, and some carried children in their arms. Four cows were worth a fortune in today's world - it was worth guarding the column for the animals alone. But the man who had ordered the unusual caravan had plans of his own, and to fulfill those plans, armed warriors walked along the roadside. With swords and spears, in rough but strong armor. They must have been ahead, too, but the head of the detachment was poorly visible from the observation position where the girls sat.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 12:24

"Why would they travel at night?"

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 12:26

"In a hurry, they want to get away quickly." Alarika made herself comfortable on the hard stones, philosophically wondering that it could be worse. "Or they plan walking all day, so they could be out of the city by nightfall and ready to make camp. It's safer to sleep in a fortified place, you know."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 12:29

"Is there slavery here?" Celesta suddenly inquired.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 12:37

"Now it seems so."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 12:38

"Then they are slaves or voluntary-forced colonists. Somebody has to farm the land, dig it, work it. And the soldiers would guard them and at the same time look after them so that they don't run away."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 12:59

"There aren't enough women," Alarika disagreed. "Rather, the men have to build houses for the settlers. There's no point in guessing; our assumptions are no more than a castle without a foundation: too little is known. The duke could be planning something else, something we didn't expect."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 12:59

Celeste hissed, craning her neck. A noise at the end of the squad drew her attention.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 13:11

"It seems to me that we were definitely not wrong about the status of these people. Look."

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 13:12

One of the women was too weak to keep up the pace. Either she had been hungry or sick, but gradually she began to lag behind. At first, the guards jokingly chased her, pushing her with their spears, then they transferred some of her belongings to other prisoners. It didn't help. Eventually, the woman collapsed from fatigue: she did not have the stamina to walk any further.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 13:13

Three guards lingered near her motionless body while the rest of the squad slowly moved forward. The remainder risked their lives. Large groups dared not be attacked by bandits, ghouls, or the monsters that lived in the city, though in the countryside there were packs of creatures capable of tearing apart a few dozen trained fighters. For the most part, the creatures didn't like the light, but there were exceptions. Here, in the city, there was enough danger for three, even if armed, men. So the guards, conferring near a woman half-dead from fatigue, quite rightly did not want to stay away from their own for too long.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 13:16

After talking a little, they agreed. Two stood guard, while the third went to the woman and rolled her over onto her back. The first thing he did was to take off her shoes, turn them in his hands, put them aside, then he just as carefully pulled down her skirt and unwrapped the rags that covered her upper body. He ignored weak attempts to interfere, evidently not the first time he had done so. The clothes looked old and tattered, compared to what Andrew was accustomed to, but in the local conditions, they wore and not so. Eventually, the woman was completely naked, her possessions piled next to her. Suddenly Alarika grabbed Celeste's hand and squeezed it tightly, not taking her eyes off what was happening. The marauder scratched his head, trying it on, then lifted her in his arms and carried her to the rubble wall, so that her bent-knee legs rested firmly on the ground, the rest of her body lying on the surface of the debris. He pulled up his shirt, made himself comfortable...

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 13:19

He raped meticulously as if he were performing some customary ritual, disregarding the encouraging remarks of his associates. The others, however, were not too diligent, peering intently into the darkness. They were afraid of surprises. Though the place was dangerous, despite its proximity to populated areas, an attack could follow at any moment. But no, the silence of the night was broken only by the sounds of nocturnal insects, and the soft moans of a tortured woman. At last, the rapist froze for a moment, exhaled, fell away from the motionless body, and cleaned himself up; his place was immediately taken by a second. History repeated itself, the only difference being that this time the victim was not moaning at all. She seemed to have lost consciousness.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 13:22

The third soldier, who looked about sixteen, was in a hurry: his accomplices urged him on, advising him to finish quickly. The column was already far away, and even the rebels' keen ears couldn't detect its movement. But Celeste could hear Alarika's heavy breathing, normally labored, and see the blood trickling from her chapped lip. What was the matter with her? It was a common sight: women in gangs were generally considered property of some sort - why was there such a reaction?

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 13:24

The nervous rapist was in such a hurry that he tripped and almost fell when he tried to stand up, picking himself up near the ground. The others laughed lowly as they watched him awkwardly try to tie his pants. The first, apparently the leader, approached the motionless woman.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 13:25

He pulled out a knife.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 13:25

Alarika clutched at her neck.

Camrad_RIP 03.01.22 в 13:25