История Королевы Эльфов / The story of the Elf Queen: Интерлюдия четвёртая. Новое убежище Архиврага Героя Королевы Эльфов

Interlude four. The New Hideout of the Archenemy of the Hero of the Elf Queen

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 13:51

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Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 13:50

The consciousness awakened abruptly and quite suddenly, without any transition or intermediate state, although the time should have passed for two full days. For Master, it all looked and felt as if he was standing at the restored portal arch, trying to stabilise the weaves of spatial magic, simultaneously watching the actions of the puppets and the approach of what came from the depths of the Earth's bowels. And, of course, preparing to leave the body of the puppet- deception. It had to be done at the very last moment, so that his pursuers would believe he was really dead, or escape through a portal, which would suit him just as well. He had almost made it in time. Only a fraction of an instant short of leaving the body of the trick puppet without any repercussions. But the monster that emerged from the bottomless depths was faster than he had hoped, and when its darkness and fire consumed the body of the puppet, Master's consciousness was still there. Standing on the threshold, you might say.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 12:53

But it was enough. In spite of all the precautions and safety measures taken, Master fully felt the terrible pain of his dying body literally turning to ashes as it burned in the fire. Opening the eyes of his real body, Master lay absolutely motionless for several interminably long seconds, staring up at the ceiling with widened eyes. If he could, he would have screamed and convulsed, trying to extinguish the flames. If his heart had been capable of it, it would have been beating like a drum, and his eyes and fingers would have been throwing lightning and flames, or even pure energy. But the body, which had been carefully transferred into a state of deepest lethargic sleep, almost anabiosis, could not return to its normal state at once. The subtle body was also almost completely ‘extinguished’, because of which even the simplest magic could not be created at once. It took several endlessly long minutes to come back to life.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 12:57

In the time it took for his ability to move and control his physical and subtle bodies to return to normal, he was almost completely calm and convinced that everything was all right. He had not died a gruesome death. His flesh had not been burnt to the bone. His limbs had not turned to weightless ash, swept up in the swirling darkness. Even his delicate body was not affected in any way. It was just a sensation, an eerily accurate one, but a sensation nonetheless. Which, while unpleasant, was a small thing. When his arms and legs began to obey him more or less normally again, Master sat on the camp bed and grabbed the enchanted water bottle he had prepared beforehand, which had been filled with light-stimulating alchemy. He took a few eager sips and exhaled heavily, shaking his head.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 12:59

Such a singularly unpleasant experience. To control the body of a trick puppet while it was being turned to nothing by an unknown creature of the abyssal depths! And this despite the fact that he had spent a lot of effort to make his connection with it as safe as possible! The defence he had created was supposed to filter out all negative effects. And yet for a moment he actually believed that he was dying a painful death in the embrace of suffocating darkness and scalding flames. A most disgusting experience that would be better never to repeat. Shaking his head and taking a few more greedy sips, Master sighed heavily. But he had no other choice. It had to be as authentic as possible, so that his pursuers would believe he had died. Or died trying to escape through an unstable portal.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 13:06

For this purpose, he worked very hard on one of his gifted puppets, performing an entire operation on it and transfusing it with two portions of his blood. In essence, he had turned one of the gifted adepts into an almost complete blank slate for a full consciousness and soul transfer. This made remote control very easy, and made it possible to reliably pass off the deceptive puppet as himself when viewed from the outside. Especially considering the protective and camouflaging amulets surrounded the expedition's camp in tight rings. Even the appearance of the deception puppet he had changed to resemble his real one. It made him feel in the alien body almost as if he were his own, while his real body had been here for two days during the decisive battle, as safe as Master hoped it would be.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 13:08

He took a few more greedy sips and looked around the large storage room in the basement of the main mansion of one of the Dark Elf Houses of Deyartan. This building was relatively far away from the crack that led to the abyss, and compared to the other structures, it was practically intact. Because of this, his dark elf puppets had chosen this place as a safe haven. Next to Master, two dozen puppets were lying in neat rows on the floor on similar beds, also in a state of sleep so deep that they could easily be mistaken for dead people. Their hearts were almost non-beating, their breathing had almost ceased, and even their thin bodies, if viewed with magical vision, were almost completely gone and barely recognizable. To ensure that this state of “almost death” did not lose its “almost”, each of Master's puppets, as well as himself, was surrounded by several protective and healing weaves. The warehouse itself was carefully sealed inside and out, and was covered with several layers of masking and protective weaves. As a result, it was as inconspicuous and hard to detect as possible under the circumstances.

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 12:43

To prevent the sleeping puppets and the Master himself from suffocating, because they were to spend several days here, the air was purified and renewed by several high-quality amulets, combined into a single complex, where every element was duplicated. And his precious rostral mirror, which reflected all possible “ gazes ” from this place, completed the whole system of protection and camouflage. He rose to his feet and waddled cautiously toward it, checking the integrity of the weaves and the amulets as he went. Even the simplest manipulations were difficult for him, as if his subtle body had become stiff. His physical body, which was gradually coming back to life, was also reluctant to obey him, and he almost fell on the way, tripping over the feet of the dark elf who had been captured at the beginning of the expedition.

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 12:59

The dark-skinned beauty lay motionless on her back, like a perfect statue. She did not react to Master's touch. In order to wake her and the other puppets, it was necessary to dispel the weaves that protected them, or wait for them to dissipate. That would take a considerable amount of time. Only the weaves protecting Master's body had to awaken him at the right time, which they did. The others were to be awakened by him when he deemed it necessary depending on the situation. Apart from the dark elf he had tripped over, Master had kept Nidira and her two most intelligent subordinates from the underground firstborn. The rest of the dark elves, as well as the vast majority of the puppets, had to be sacrificed for the success of the rescue. Needless to say, his invaluable Bazita and Saya remained with him. Also, Master, out of stubbornness and principle, kept Violetta and her children. To abandon them after dragging them through half of the Underworld would have been simply foolish. He also kept Little Nodri. She was the best candidate for becoming a full-fledged doll out of all the expedition members Violetta had hired. Albeit frankly average, by his personal standards. He also left a dozen and a half puppets from among the non-combatants who participated in the expedition. And not the most valuable and useful ones. All the puppets lying here were, in fact, camp servants, doing necessary, but most of the manual work. If he had the opportunity, he would have left the best fighters and the gifted. But the risk was too great.

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:07

He wasn't quite sure the disguise would completely hide him from the Terror of Diyartan. What if the creature had some very specific skills for finding prey? Like the ability to sense living sentient beings directly through any obstacle? Master had only heard of such things, and that was just anecdotal, but after acquiring the Power of the Greatest, he wouldn't be surprised. In such a case, the weaker the prey near him, the more chances the monster would not pay attention to it. And, just as importantly, it was critical to Master that the puppets left for slaughter should, at all costs, survive the onslaught of their pursuers until the Terror of Diyarten emerged from the bottomless depths, sensing the arrival of new prey. So he had to use everyone he could to the defense, leaving only the most useless puppets. Just to have someone to take care of the household chores when this nightmare of a chase was over.

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:16

Yeah... The mere memory of the past few days made Master shiver. He had never been so exhausted in his entire life. In general, he was not accustomed to working in the mode of terrible rush, lack of time, and monstrous tension. No, of course, he had to give his best at times, and work under time constraints, but it was in his very comfortable and well-equipped laboratory, for which he would still ask the damned ostroukhikhs separately! And here there were no familiar conditions, no normal resources, no familiar level of comfort! Instead, there was a threat to life, a huge number of problems and tasks, multiplied by a catastrophic lack of time and intelligent assistants. Yes, Saya and Bazita were excellent, both of them working their butts off. But in terms of magic, neither of them could do anything to help him. If only one of his gifted puppets had survived.....

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 13:11

But alas and alack, the dead could not be brought back. It was necessary not to grieve over the losses, but to save one's life. The Master rolled up his sleeves and did just that. In a very limited time, he had to organize a serious defense of the ruins, where the main camp of puppets was. And for this it was necessary to prepare fortifications, to place attack and defense amulets, stationary battle wands, to power them, to prepare the main and reserve positions, to distribute the defenders between them, to think over the escape routes, and so on and so on and so on. It was good that among Violetta's mercenaries there were intelligent warriors, who helped him a lot in this, competently distributing the forces. But still, it was necessary to check and control everything. And it was also necessary to unite all the puppets into one control and management network, so they were guaranteed to withstand the onslaught of the enemy and did not waver. This, with his current strength and knowledge, was well within his power. But it required time. And there was no time! He had to drink stimulant alchemy, work to the limit, and still he was afraid of not having enough time.

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:33

At the same time, he had to prepare a safe place for himself and those he had decided to leave with him in Diyarten itself. Which first had to be found. Then it had to be set up. And then hide it. In order to hide it as securely as possible, it had to be sealed from the outside. Just like the tunnel that was tunneled into the city by the duster. That is, it had to be done while controlling the body of a prepared puppet-delusion. The creation of which was also a separate headache! Master cursed everything in the world, first of all the damned elves, spent the funds given by the Greatest to buy what was not at hand, mercilessly drove the puppets as if they were driven horses. And still it seemed to him that he was not keeping up. And, of course, the most important thing, the thing around which his whole plan was built. Everything had to be calculated in such a way that the Terror of Diyarten would come to the surface at exactly the right moment.

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:37

The latter was the most dangerous and weakest part of the whole plan. There were too many unknown factors in it. To begin with, there was no understanding of what dwells in the bowels of the Earth. There was no certainty that it would wake up when it felt the ‘twitching of its web’. In fact, the whole idea of using the Terror of Diyartan was a blatant gamble. It was much safer to leave the puppets to fight back in the ruins, and slip out of the shrinking ring of pursuit himself, with the most valuable of them, by punching another way out of the sealed city. That would give him time and a chance to break away, and a good one. But somehow Master was sure it would work out. You could call it anything you wanted: intuition, premonition, foresight - it didn't matter! The main thing was that he was sure the risk would pay off! And Master had not failed!

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 13:13

Thanks to the knowledge granted by the Greatest, he was able to carefully ‘pick up’ some of the threads that led to the abyss, and very carefully move them to a new place in the camp of the puppets. And as soon as he ‘tugged’ on them, he felt a barely perceptible tension in return. It was faint, a non-specialist of the Silk Thread School wouldn't even realise it, but it was obvious to Master. Whatever was hiding in the bottomless depths, it clearly felt the ‘touch’ to its threads. And now it was listening to what was happening in what it thought was a dead city. This reassured Master, and as the pursuers approached the hall neighbouring Diyarten, he continued to pull the strings carefully, sending more and more signals into the abyss. In doing so, he deliberately tried to make it look like ‘accidental’ touches of prey. There was no rhythm or purposefulness, so as not to arouse suspicion in the inhabitant of the Earth's bowels.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 13:15

He didn't even pull them himself. It was just that his puppets, moving around the key places of the camp where he had placed the threads, unwittingly touched them, sending signals to the creature lurking in the depths. And by the moment the pursuers had encircled all the exits from the fatal underground hall and were preparing a plan of assault, Master had already clearly seen that the threads were ‘stretched’ and being listened to carefully. And the rest was a matter of technique.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 13:18

All we had to do was put on a little show in front of our pursuers, a theatrical performance. Practically, ha-ha, a puppet show, ha-ha! Those on his trail couldn't help but notice his attempt to create a portal using the old portal archway Saya had discovered. And as soon as they did, they immediately rushed into the fray, afraid their cornered prey would escape. The funny thing was that if they had been more decisive, instead of being so cautious, they might have foiled his plan. He simply wouldn't have had time to prepare everything the way he needed to if his pursuers had reached him even a couple of days earlier. But reputation did the trick. When the dear lovers of eternal sunshine rushed to the attack in the first ranks, he was already pulling the strings of the web with both hands, literally shouting into the abyss: ‘GET! MORE! MONEY!’ And at the same time he was making sure the desperately fighting puppets would hold on just a little longer, just a little longer....

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 13:21

The moment he felt the earth's depths shudder, he realized he had succeeded! Although he must admit that he had underestimated the creature that had emerged from them... creature? A monstrosity? It didn't matter, the main thing was that its power was truly terrifying. Now he could see how it had managed to destroy an entire city, and then destroy those who had come to reap the spoils. As far as the Master was able to assess it through the eyes of a puppet, the Terror of Diyarten was comparable in strength to a fully experienced archmagister. Although there was no such thing as an inexperienced archmagister. How right he had been to prepare the deceptive puppet so thoroughly, ensuring he could escape from it and transfer his mind back into his body. He spared no expense in purchasing rare and painfully biting materials and a couple of amulets from the Greatest, instead of additional protection and weapons for the puppet. And, as he now realized, without these additional measures, he had a good chance of being seriously injured, if not killed, along with the trick puppet. Ideally, he shouldn't have transferred his consciousness into her body at all, taking direct control of it. Instead, he should have used a control thread, or a controlling amulet, preferably directly implanted in the puppet's brain, or at least in its skull.

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:42

The control would not be so reliable, but there would be no need to be directly in the puppet's body, and in case of danger, it would be enough to simply cut off the connection with it, leaving it to its fate. If done in time, there would be no danger at all. But any such remote connection leaves an inevitable trace. And any trace can be traced if you know how. In that respect, a full-fledged consciousness transfer was much more reliable.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 13:23

And there was no way he could let his pursuers know that there was a trick puppet sitting in the ruins! They had to be sure the real Master was in the ruins! And that he was about to escape from them through the portal! So they had to use the more risky method of full-body consciousness transfer. A much riskier method. It had the same problem as the shapeshifters. Taking the form of a beast was much easier than taking the form of a sentient creature back. In his case, transferring his consciousness into a puppet body was easier than being able to bring it back. Especially without possible negative consequences, of which there was a very solid list. Master justifiably considered himself an excellent expert in the field of Mind Magic, and was confident that he could do it, providing himself a reliable and unnoticeable escape route from the head of the dying puppet.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 14:41

And, as it turned out, this confidence had almost cost him his life! Removing from his head the small amulet he had bought from the Greatest, attached to his temple, Master saw that his heart, a special, magically active gemstone of azure color, was blackened and cracked. The setting was rusted and melted, though silver was not known to rust. The second amulet, exactly the same, was on the head of the puppet-puppet. They were intended to increase the guarantee of safe direct transfer of consciousness, acting as both a beacon and a filter against possible negative effects that the mind leaving the body of the puppet could bring with it. And judging by the condition of the amulet, there were enough effects.

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:50

He'd been hit by Terror of Diyarten's attack just a little bit, just on the very edge, when he'd almost left the body of the puppet, and he'd felt the full force of the sensation of death in its embrace. It turns out that if he had been a moment longer, he might not have returned to his body, unable to escape from the suffocating embrace of darkness that instantly covered all the ruins.... And it was still good that his consciousness moved into the already reliably sleeping body, and also instantly fell asleep, staying in such a state for two days, during which, according to Master's estimates, the monster was guaranteed to return to its lair. These two days of sleep had slightly weakened the sensations that the dying body of the deceitful puppet had experienced at the last moment. Still, when he woke up, he felt a terrible pain, as if he were really dying.

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:52

Shivering once more, Master, who had finally reached his mirror, sat down on a small stool in front of it. He tuned into the desired control weave and began to gaze carefully into the reflections saved by the mirror. Let's see what we have here, shall we? So... Uh-huh. So that's how it is... As the mirror reflected the events that had happened in the neighboring hall, Master's mood got better and better, and the smile on his face got wider and wider. When he saw the last reflection, in which the underground hall began to collapse into the abyss, followed by the First Herald of the Sun and the Terror of Diyarten, he couldn't help but jump to his feet and let out a triumphant and jubilant cry!

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:54

Such a stroke of luck! This was something he hadn't even dared to count on! He had hoped the Terror of Diyarten would kill all the puppets and, at the very least, most of the pursuers. Ideally, all of them, and return to his lair fed and satisfied. And while the bosses of his pursuers will be tearing their hair out, blaming each other for the failure, looking for the guilty and doing things obligatory in case of such a fiasco, he will be able to leave the dead city unnoticed. And when things settle down and someone decides to check what's going on, he'll be long gone, leaving no trace behind. And now he doesn't have to go anywhere! He can stay right here in Diyartan! An entire city, secure and isolated, now at his disposal! It's just what he needs! Time, resources, a chance to regain his strength, to set up some kind of laboratory, to turn Naidira and Nodri into more or less acceptable dolls!

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:57

Master's jubilation was interrupted by a message from the Greatest. He froze and read the invisible to outsiders lines of the Tablet of the Soul, which appeared right in his consciousness:

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 15:28

Attention!

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 15:27

A feat has been accomplished!

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 15:27

To defeat even one strong enemy, you need a lot: knowledge, the ability to use it, and, of course, luck. To defeat several strong enemies united against you, you need many times more. You did not just defeat several strong enemies at once, who came out against you as a united front. You inflicted a painful defeat on them without even engaging them in direct combat personally!

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 08:43

The One Who Was Born in the Eternal Darkness and Hot Flames of the Earth's Bowels at the Dawn of Time has destroyed countless numbers of the endowed and mindless living. They are all but prey to him who dares disturb his peace. You would be no exception to him, but you were able to channel his hunger and anger against your enemies by standing aside. Thereby forcing your enemies into a battle they were not prepared for, nor did they expect. A battle they would not have had a chance to win had it not been for the Right Hand of the Bearer of the Eternal Sun, Guardian of the First of His Rays.

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:48

Receive a fitting reward for this feat!

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 15:28

Three free stat points.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 15:28

Four talent points can be spent on enhancing existing or acquiring new properties or modifiers of the Soul Tablet.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 15:29

Two random elite artifacts.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 15:29

Four random elite tokens.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 15:29

One random elite property.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 15:30

One random elite minor knowledge.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 15:30

Having reread several times the message received from the Greatest, Master felt his good mood turning into a great mood! He wanted to make a holiday for himself immediately, right now and here! To awaken Bazita, Saya, and the rest of the female puppets, to try out Violetta and her little girl, or maybe even her son, having first remade him into another daughter. But as much as he wanted to release the accumulated tension, Master kept himself in control, and first disposed of the gifts he had received. It took several long hours, and when this important but very pleasant work was finished, he mentally commanded the cherished lines of his Soul Tablet:

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:46

Status.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.25 в 15:30

Name: FORGOTTEN "Master"

Character level: 63

Class: Wizard

Specialization: Mind Sculptor/Body Sculptor

Characteristics: (0)

Talents: (0)

Constitution: 2

Sensitivity: 7

Power: 16

Control: 23

Source: 17

Spirit: 4

Resistance: 3

Camrad_RIP 01.04.25 в 15:26

Knowledge:

Camrad_RIP 01.04.25 в 15:26

CORE/ROOT: "Advanced Mastery of Mind Magic:

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 14:43

Methods of correcting consciousness/personality (subtle/imperceptible, ordinary, coarse); methods of creating a new personality/consciousness + a wide choice of ready-made templates; methods of combining/mixing separate fragments and/or whole parts of personality/consciousness; splitting one personality/consciousness into separate fragments, whole parts or full-fledged personalities/consciousnesses; methods of working with memories (subtle/imperceptible, ordinary, coarse); methods of degradation/destruction of personality/consciousness (subtle/imperceptible, ordinary, coarse); methods of strengthening of consciousness/personality (subtle/imperceptible, ordinary, coarse); methods of direct and remote control of consciousness/personality; methods of partial or complete transfer of own or another person's consciousness/personality to a new carrier body or material storage device; methods of transferring own mind outside own body;"

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:45

AUXILIARY:

Camrad_RIP 30.03.25 в 14:42

"Mastery of Control and Management of Internal Energies

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 13:44

Methods of cleansing subtle bodies from extraneous energies; methods of healing damaged areas of subtle bodies; methods of direct application of internal energy (concentration/projection/dispersion/extinction);»

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 08:40

"Silk Thread School Mastery:

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 08:32

Methods of creating weaving threads (very thin/small/medium); methods of creating nets/webs (very thin/small/medium); combat techniques of using attacking threads (entangling/cutting/piercing); methods of weaving threads into the target's subtle bodies (inconspicuous/aggressive/neutral);"

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 08:33

"Doll School Mastery:

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 08:33

Methods of creating Dolls (techniques/materials/forms); specializations of Dolls (positive/destructive/protective/controlling/masking/universal);»

Camrad_RIP 05.04.25 в 08:34