История Королевы Эльфов / The story of the Elf Queen: 42. Слишком солнечный день для агентов королевы эльфов

As the priest and the paladins left the inn, the living quarters occupied by the diminished band of adventurers were filled with the exhalations of all the guests. Who were not adventurers at all. Twilight collapsed in his chair, wiped the sweat on his forehead, and said in a tired voice:

Camrad_RIP 07.09.24 в 20:43

"It was close…"

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:49

Equally exhausted from the previous day, Luaval collapsed onto one of the empty beds, dragging a pair of bewitched maids with him. Staring at the ceiling, he nodded in agreement:

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 14:30

"It's lucky that they were looking for traces of Inferno first. Otherwise, they might have noticed our disguise."

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:49

"It was hard to keep the illusion and hide all the magical emanations. It was a good thing that we had a lot of reinsurance, just in case of such checks."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 14:31

"Yeah. They were really in trouble after yesterday. What a day it was..."

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:50

The dark elf yawned tiredly and put his palms into the necklines of the shirts of the still giggling girls and began to squeeze them. They weren't bad Humans, but only by the standards of their kin. Luaval would only share a bed with them if there were no other options. But they could be groped, and so he did, ignoring the disapproving glances of his colleagues. True, some of them hid a slight envy behind the disapproval. With a wry grin, Luaval said:

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 14:35

"Well, I'm gonna get some rest, at least for a while. Before they send me to storm the First Temple or something."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 14:35

Darendil, no less exhausted, merely waved goodbye to his old acquaintance and colleague. The commander of the squad of Secret Guard agents himself was only dreaming of rest in the near future. The commotion after they had literally snatched the demoness from the dungeons of the Inquisitorium had been great. The entire city was put on the ears and in fact, blocked. All the gates were closed, as well as the passages between sectors. And the light of the Lesser Sun became especially dazzling and hot, seeking to illuminate everything hidden. Any gloom, any illusion or disguise. It was hard to get to the inn and the cost of losing almost all the cloaking amulets to zero. And so a couple of times they almost flashed in the literal sense of the word.

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 17:16

But instead of resting, they had to urgently prepare for the inevitable inspections and searches. Which began soon enough. And if the first inspectors, a group of temple guards led by the Junior Priest and a couple of novices, managed to deceive without any problems. The second inspection became a serious test. Fortunately, in the time between them, the agents were able to prepare themselves properly. Experience is a great thing. Everything that could be removed, everything that needed to be hidden under camouflage amulets and double-checked. And still, it was barely enough. The Light was perfect for searching for hidden things, and the High Priest who tested them was filled to the brim with power. In many ways, the quality of the prepared legend saved them, which did not raise any questions, and therefore, no desire to scrutinize particularly carefully. No sign of Inferno? The inn has not been abandoned? Nothing suspicious felt or seen? Dismissed, rest, and spend your money.

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 17:19

Rest, indeed. Taking a few sips of cool water from his personal flask, Twilight began to give commands to his subordinates, who were as exhausted as he was:

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 17:19

"Sunset, you are to check and restore your cloak and defenses. Ensure there's no slippage or other rough spots after this priest's lumen. They may come again."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 17:39

"I will,” the on-staff magic master nodded, once again scolding himself for his indiscreet thoughts on the boring routine.

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 17:40

Given that their squad had been halved, they had to work for three now. And the work was no longer routine.

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 17:53

"Rustle, go check on the amulets for now. Check everyone's storage crystals, and send any you need to recharge. Start with the cloaking ones first, we've depleted them to zero."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 17:45

"I'll,” nodded the agent in charge of maintaining secret communication with the Forest.

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 18:01

"Then we'll need to..."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 17:54

"We have an urgent call!" In a sudden interruption of the commander, Rustle was at the table where a set of amulets for secret communication and an artifact mirror were located.

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 18:02

With a flick of her fingers, she extinguished the illusion that had sheltered them for the duration of the inspection, then sat down at the table and quickly placed the magical tiara on her head. Her gems immediately flashed, and the agentess closed her eyes and tuned in to the incoming call. For a moment she sat motionless, listening to the silent words. Then she extinguished all the amulets, sighed heavily, and turned to the commander:

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 18:03

"We have a new task. Urgent."

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:50

Silently accepting the thought image from his subordinate, Twilight realized it for a few seconds, then also sighed heavily and only whispered:

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 17:46

"Holy shit... Luaval! Get up! Rest is over."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 18:16

* * *

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:50

In a spacious circular room, brightly lit by a huge ceiling mosaic of the Sun, the High Hierarchs of the Theocracy along with their first assistants were gathered around a wide round table. Despite the early hour, they had all been up for a long time. And some of them had not even gone to bed. However, almost none felt tired, saved by the generous infusion of the Sun's power, which their patron had not spared them.

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 18:58

"We have not found any trace of the fugitive. Most likely, she has already left the city and its surroundings and is now heading towards the borderlands,” the Archilictor finished his report on the work done in a tired and gloomy voice.

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 18:59

Frowning and squinting unkindly, King-Priest Arnuil the First said in an equally gloomy voice:

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:56

"Send word and warnings to all our villages and to the cities of the Confederacy. Make them vigilant and cautious. Also, spread the word to all the orders and guilds that have chosen to hunt the Spawn of Inferno. If necessary, we are prepared to assist them in any way we can to capture or destroy her. Or reward them generously."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 18:59

"It's already done. We sent word of her on the very first day when we first discovered our dead brothers and sisters on the ship."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 19:00

"Okay. What about those who came into contact with her?"

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:55

"Checking and calculating. Unfortunately, there are a lot of them, and some of her clients have already left Iyastar. We're currently compiling information on all the ships she's been stationed on. Most of them are Confederate ships. We have also notified the councils or rulers of their cities. So far, no tainted among her clients, but a few dozen humans and a couple of non-humans have shown signs of life force drainage. Minimal, and thus imperceptible. All the victims are sent to our temple hospitals on a mandatory basis. No one has expressed displeasure about this, although most of those sent for treatment are non-believers."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 19:06

"Okay. We've dealt with this whore who sold herself to Inferno."

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:55

Wincing, the King-Priest asked the most painful question:

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:55

"What about the demoness herself? How did she escape?"

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:54

The Archilictor pursed his lips and said through gritted teeth:

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:54

"It would be more accurate to say she was stolen from us. My men managed to locate the place where she was ripped from our dungeon. Exactly ripped. The infernal thing paid for that escape with some of its remaining strength and lost at least half a dozen souls. Maybe more, but it was harder to say for sure."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 19:07

Placing the scroll with the report in front of him, the Head of the Inquisitorium continued:

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:54

"The place where the ritual of summoning the demoness took place was the basement of one of the dormitory houses where the families of the workers of one of the workshops in Iyastar live. It was made and equipped with a secret room. None of the residents even knew about it, we've already checked that. Apparently, it was equipped quite a long time ago and quite skillfully, because even during the active phase of the draft, we were not immediately able to find it. Most likely, a complex of masking amulets of high quality, multiplied by a powerful illusion-weave. It's hard to say more precisely, as the ritualists who ran away hid all their traces with the help of negator magic and alchemical fire. Almost all traces."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 19:09

Placing a small crystal with imprinted images on the table Mayer activated it, and three-dimensional images from the scene appeared in the air. In particular, the remains of a human body are almost completely burned to ashes.

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 19:09

"We were able to determine that the demoness' puppet, the former healer Liana, was the basis of the ritual. We had to spend a lot of effort to establish that, literally scraping together what little was left of her. And I'm not just talking about her physical body. Her soul was also literally burned during the ritual of summoning her mistress. In fact, it became the basis for the demoness to be ripped from our hands, despite all the precautions. We can assume that in the case of Liana, there was a voluntary contract. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been such a powerful connection."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 19:10

The Archilictor grimaced and continued:

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:52

"Unfortunately, we couldn't find any trace of the demoness or those who had torn her out of our dungeon. They were very thorough in their preparations. They probably left in disguise. Probably through a local portal to the suburbs of Iyastar. Our search of the city was also unsuccessful."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 19:12

A mighty orc in the casual robes of a paladin of the Bright Order grinned his powerful fangs and slammed his big fist on the table:

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 19:13

"I warned you that you can't do anything with the spawn of Inferno! We should have destroyed this abomination as soon as we captured it! That way there would have been much less trouble!"

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:52

Sitting opposite the green-skinned giant, the Reverend Mother raised her open palm in a conciliatory gesture and said in a calm voice:

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:52

"I understand your anger, Brother Dragn. I admit we all underestimated the cunning of the demoness and her accomplices. This is a terrible lesson for us all. And for the sake of the memory of those who died, we must learn all we can from it. And the conclusions, as far as I can tell, are quite interesting,” Aurora added, looking at her colleague carefully.

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 14:37

The Archilictor nodded in agreement and continued his report:

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:51

"Both of the demoness's puppets had been helped into hiding by someone, there was no doubt about that. The real question is, who? The most obvious and simple answer is that it's whoever is behind Arendal's kidnapping. But there's an inconsistency. In the first case, the Inquisitorium agents who tried to capture the puppet were killed. And not just killed, they were captured, after which the Infernal underling squeezed them to the bone before escaping. It was done defiantly. Ostentatiously."

Camrad_RIP 08.09.24 в 14:36

A shadow passed over Mayer's face, and he continued, emphasizing each word:

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 18:38

"She couldn't have done it on her own. At worst, the agents could have sent a call for help! Instead, the cover team received a message that they had successfully boarded the ship, found nothing suspicious, and continued their inspection. By the time those remaining ashore suspected something was wrong, it was too late. There was no way around it without serious help from someone orders of magnitude more powerful or dangerous than the demoness's puppet. Even if she had the defiled ones at hand. In the second case, however, Sister Nagata's group had almost managed to capture the puppet but had been attacked by unknowns at the last moment. And those unknowns not only didn't kill her and her subordinates but even healed them as well. Traces of healing magic were clearly visible. These unknowns also left us a very specific message."

Camrad_RIP 07.09.24 в 20:07

At the mention of this message, Dragna's face, as the commander of the Bright Paladins, darkened even more, but he remained silent.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.24 в 19:43