Селеста / Сelesta: Глава 24

Chapter 24

Camrad_RIP 09.07.22 в 06:51

Later, in his analysis of what had happened, Hastin concluded that they could not stay. The order was so pure and concentrated that the mortals and the vampires who accompanied them rushed to do their Mistress's bidding before they could even comprehend it. They leaped from their seats to aid those afflicted by the demon rampage and ran deeper into the dungeon. The men didn't dare turn around.

Camrad_RIP 09.07.22 в 09:32

Without Latham, who by some miracle had kept his composure, they would surely have lost someone. The route was winding, there were wounded in the group, and only through the efforts of an Elder warrior did the mages in their entirety reach the small hall, where they fell to the floor from fatigue. Not so much physical as spiritual. The knight briefly examined the mortals, checked their condition, grimaced slightly, and approached a fellow sorcerer:

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:08

"Do you understand what happened?"

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:09

Despite their long acquaintance, the mage and the aristocrat continued to treat each other with the courtesy of the highest circles. Not because they tried to keep their distance from each other, but simply because they were more comfortable.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:24

"Roughly the same as the encounter with Carlon, only on a different level," Hustin answered without hesitation. "The Initiation of Abyss allows the Mistress to communicate with its inhabitants and, with luck, to make requests. She talked us out of it."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:25

"We have to go back. If she is in the same condition as back then..."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:25

"Hustin stroked his short beard thoughtfully and nodded uncertainly. After her fight with the priest, Celesta had lain unconscious for hours, completely defenseless. She probably needed help now. Only what to do with the humans?"

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:26

"My colleagues shouldn't be left alone."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:26

"Yes, I see," Latham agreed. "I suggest you stay here for now, and I'll go and see if Messena needs help. Wait for me in... let's say, an hour."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:26

"And what do you intend to do if she needs help?"

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:27

"I don't know," the knight admitted.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:27

It wasn't a long walk to where they were caught up in the aftermath of the ritual. The mortals, frightened and weakened, could not run fast, so they fell to the floor at the first opportunity. Yet Latham did not find Mistress. He knew for sure he was not mistaken - there were traces of the circle drawn by the sorcerer on the stone and dust. Here in the dust were the imprints of people's boots, and a relatively free area where they had been sitting close together. Come to think of it, the wizards weren't doing too badly. A normal person might well have gone insane after the sight of a stream of whispering demons, while the Academy fugitives didn't even go into hysterics. They rested, helped the weakened and wounded, and asked perfectly reasonable questions.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:30

Where did the Mistress go?

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:30

Latham strenuously banished bad thoughts from his mind. After his death and birth into Darkness, the Mistress of the Night became the center of his inner world, an unchanging foundation without which existence seemed vague and unclear. Celesta was always there. The risens knew who taught and protected them, made rules and judged, helped, and punished. She created the community system and developed it. She ruled wisely and justly, keeping her subjects from slipping into the mud. The latter admired most of all, and since childhood accustomed to the idea of serving his suzerain, the aristocrat found in the new mistress an ideal ruler - the heart of the folk, its essence. Now Latham knew exactly to whom his allegiance belonged.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:32

There was a small pile of dust on the ground where Mistress had stood. The bodyguard stepped closer, tasted the fine dust with the tip of his finger, and his face relaxed slightly - it didn't look like the remains of a vampire. The undead decayed in other ways. The dust sagged slightly in the center, and a curious Latham shoveled it gently to the side. He grinned incredulously, moved a little closer, and, disregarding the stained clothes, began to shovel the dirt off the floor. No, he was not imagining it; there was an image of two narrow woman's feet carved and polished in the stone as if they had been made by a master craftsman. It was so carefully made as if for a moment the hard granite had acquired the viscosity that allowed the painstakingly crafted form to be immersed in it.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:33

"/And the stone turned into the water where it was touched by the bare feet of the eternal youth. A fitting phrase for a legend, don't you think?

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 06:34

Latham swiftly shifted from his knees to a fighting stance as the first words began to be heard. By the time the unknown man had finished his short speech, the risen was at a suitable distance to attack, roughly assessed his opponent, cast a short spell, probing the situation... His sword was staring precisely at the throat of a short man dressed as a not very rich townsman, standing quietly at the lowest level of the catacombs. The vampire scanned the dungeon with his eyes, made sure there was no immediate danger, and focused his attention on the mortal. It was an odd situation. The man, not a nobleman, not a fighter, not a wizard by any stretch of the imagination, had managed to sneak up on one of the kingdom's finest warriors. His instinct, forged in hundreds of fights, was wary of anything incomprehensible and strongly advised him not to get into a fight.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:08

"There is no reason to worry, Messen Latham. I am not your enemy."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:08

"Is that so?" The tip of his sword didn't waver, continuing to target Adam's apple on his scrawny neck. "Then who are you?"

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:09

"An observer," the mortal said with a wave of his hands. "I'm more of a witness and a checker at the moment, though."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:09

He reminded someone with his manners, his detached friendliness. Something similar was going through his mind. Latham took a tiny step back, breaking the distance a little, and took his eyes off his adversary a little, hurriedly going over his memories. Where could he have seen, or heard of, an elderly townsman with an unremarkable appearance, without any weapon in sight, but with a muffled, hidden, but understandable presence of the power of Light, tucked into a corpulent body? A Saint? A High Priest of one of the temples? No, the feeling is slightly different - no hostility, no desire to punish the demon of the night. Then who remains?

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:13

The mosaic came together. The sword crawled silently into its scabbard as its master slid gently down to one knee.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:14

"Ascended."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:14

"Wow! Somebody still remembers."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:15

Hardly the forces that planned and orchestrated the Academy's demise counted on the result. Yes, there were almost no mages left in Taleya. Almost, because every nobleman possessed a minimum of ability. Not nearly everyone was able to use them at a decent level. The victory, however, was pyrrhic and not much different from defeat. Tyran had taken the priests at the top of the most active temples, leaving those loyal to the Chancellor and the Son of the Sea without ideological support. Part of the Golden Quarter was caught in the breach, and the officials and clerks who inhabited them, some of them in very high positions, were killed. Panic spread like wildfire through the city to the poorer suburbs and by nightfall, at least a hundred thousand poor people had fled the Capital.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:20

They fled without purpose, spurred on by wild rumors of angry gods and a new Plague. The troops could not react in time. The barriers had been set up in advance to intercept the small groups of students and teachers fleeing the Academy, and they did not expect to meet the crowds of terrified commoners.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:32

Not two days later, Prince Kono declared his nephew bereft of Grace. The Civil War had begun.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:34

But that was for later. For now, the risens had enough of their own concerns to oversee the affairs of mortals. It was necessary to reassure the servants who had been warned of the coming unrest, but who had never expected such an end. Somehow to accommodate mages from groups who had failed to penetrate the search net spread by the powers-that-be. To rob, a little, kill someone, extract a couple of documents from the vaults, which are not accessible at the usual time. In short, make the most of the opportunity. All in all, the Community was not confused and acted according to plan, but tensions were growing. The disappearance of the Mistress, who possessed all information and the fine coordinator, disturbed and a little frightened. Not so long ago, though, she had been presumed dead, so the rank and file vampires, who knew the true state of affairs, were not worried. But the Elders were worried

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:41

"It's been eight hours already."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:56

"Garresh promised to let us know as soon as it became clear."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:59

"I don't trust him!"

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 07:59

The objects trembled, and the thin glass crumbled as Medea raised her voice. She was afraid of everything to do with the Master of Light, and Garresh's interference in events weakened her control over her abilities.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 08:20

"What did he say?!"

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 08:21

Latham mentally cringed at the sight of the approaching hysteria, but he repeated it aloud:

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 08:21

"Messena has been invited to speak with representatives of the Abode of the Abyss and will return here at the end of the conversation."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 08:22

"Did he promise? Did he say she would come back?"

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 08:22

"Of course. He had a very friendly attitude."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 08:23

The beauty collapsed into a chair, looked around at the other vampires, and stopped at Hustin:

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 08:23

"Can we search for her ourselves?"

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 08:23

"It's a lot easier to find Garresh himself," the sorcerer remarked melancholically. "He's a master and so on, of course, but lately he's been giving off a lot of phlegm in the upper spectrum. He hasn't had time to clean himself, I guess."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 08:24

The vampire warlock was surprised to realize that he felt no particular bitterness at what had happened. A Mentor, before whom he worshipped and respected infinitely, was dead - but Tyran chose the time and place himself, departing with dignity, taking his enemies with him. The Academy is plunged into darkness, but it would be far more painful to see it desecrated by the hands of fanatics and fools. The libraries and the bearers of tradition have survived, and that is all that matters.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 08:27

"Why did you have to let him go in the first place?" Zervan spoke up as Medea shook her head in horror, refusing the offer. "I'd have to stun him, tie him up, and question him thoughtfully."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 09:14

Hustin smiled slightly indulgently, but almost immediately the smile disappeared. He had never met Garresh in person and judged the priest's magical potential from circumstantial sources and some studies of Taleya's background. Thus, how good a fighter he was, he could not judge. But before the sorcerer could speak, Latham spoke, who took Zervan's words as a veiled accusation of cowardice.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 09:22

"It's a pity you weren't there at the time. I enjoyed watching you do this foolishness."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 09:23

Oh, yeah?" The werewolf Elder leaned forward, hunched over, the tips of his ears pointed and pulled back.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 09:24

Latham put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 09:24

"I've wanted to try it for a long time."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 09:24

Hustin waved his hand carelessly, and the air between the disputants rippled and blurred, causing them both to recoil.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 09:25

"This is no time to argue. You'd better think about what we're going to tell Gardaman. Should he come to Taleya or not?"

Camrad_RIP 11.07.22 в 09:26