Настучать в бубен / Hit the tambourine: Глава 19-1

Chapter 19

Camrad_RIP 01.11.24 в 20:27

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Camrad_RIP 01.11.24 в 20:28

After leaving the shop and squinting his eyes in the bright midday sun, Stepan carried the honestly bought and not quite honestly sold herbs back to the courtyard to hand them over to his immediate superior. His mood was great and a little lazy and a little tired, even though he hadn't done anything special. He wanted to lie down and sleep, so the shaman did not deny himself that, except that he was not going to sleep at the courtyard, but at least in Sylvia's mansion. Well, or in his underground laboratory, but it was dark and not too cozy. It was a working atmosphere. Stepan knew for sure that as soon as he was there, he would immediately start working, checking, redoing, supplementing and doing a whole lot of other things, after which rest would cease to be rest. He'd already gone out for a little fun with the healer's skills once, and he'd barely crawled back from exhaustion! No, this time he would not be fooled by this kind of chaff, he needed to rest at least once in a while, otherwise he would definitely go crazy.

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 13:48

“Yeah, yeah, that's it, thanks, Pann, you helped me out.” The smiling Pirius thanked him, but immediately took a serious look and, looking around, leaned a little closer and said quietly. “There is an important meeting planned here tomorrow. Сristan, son of Trabius and his heir, will be visiting, not alone, but with partners. Everything is still shaky, but they've already agreed on it, and they'll arrive through the city's portal. You know, no one's gonna go to all that trouble just to say hello. You, uh, be ready to show your face in the second row, okay? A gifted in the retinue is always a good thing, especially if he knows how to behave, doesn't pick his nose with the same hand that was in his ass a second ago, and speaks with a clear speech."

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 13:50

Stepan, who had been told all this in order to be happy with the pleasant news, was a little upset because it was extra work and trouble, but he did not show it. He just nodded and started asking about the details. Not about the upcoming deal, which the winemaker was very much hoping for, but more interested in the procedure and protocol of the meeting. The answers showed that this was not a ducal palace so it would be a solemn meeting, a feast, and a discussion of general prospects, without aristocratic ceremonial. The main topic will be the purchase of wine, which this year and last year, due to the work with a new variety of grapes, as well as improved by magic and prayers of the harvest, managed to make quite a lot. It's just that now it will be purchased not for Dantmark, but for a ship caravan, a full-fledged, large, and extremely expensive in terms of preparation costs. The quantity of wine available, as well as its quality, has already reached the point where such a shipment becomes profitable.

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 19:36

Nothing much was expected from the modest and not particularly enthusiastic about the prospects of the shaman, just to be present at the meeting, trivially showing that Trabius had his own gifted ones working for him. Therefore he was, so to speak, quite cool, even if not as cool as the dear guests. In addition to Stepan and Maître Jasper, there would be Cristan Borshakl, a competent mage with an adept's patent, albeit the lowest one, and some other alchemist. Not the old man who works at the farmstead, who recused himself, but another one who works with fertilizer potions and fertility rituals for the vineyards. In short, they will. pull the wool over guests' eyes and show their worth in every possible way, trying to prove to the rich buyer that the goods should be taken from them. The shaman would be there, too. It was Pirius who had taken care of it for him, roughly speaking, giving the young man a prospect for promotion and career advancement. No, the earthling, of course, appreciated and even thanked for such care, but what the fuck?

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 19:41

Although, it is very clear why. He proved his competence in practice, he doesn't drink, doesn't cause problems, fulfills his tasks correctly, can express himself coherently, can write and read, and in general, if it weren't for his frankly zero knowledge of the world outside his native home, even a blind goblin wouldn't mistake him for a village gifted. Such an individual, as Stepan sees in the thoughts of Pirius, it is a sin to loseю He will simply leave and there will be no matter for what reason. Roughly speaking, several factors coincided at once, among which the fact that the young man did not lie about his abilities and could really do everything that was described in the fake-but-real reference letter should be singled out. Not yet an adept, that's true, but not just an apprentice, maximum able to recharge the contours of household charms. Here you can think about using such a resource as rationally as possible.

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 19:53

To Stepan, this approach seemed somewhat consumerist and unpleasant, scratching the delicate strings of his soul. But it was no different from the earthly corporate approach. After all, neither Trabius, nor Pirius, nor anyone else in this courtyard wished him ill, believing their actions to be a blessing. He was in no hurry to dissuade them, but he did not want to stay here. He felt too uncomfortable here. But he didn't want to just send the man away and go to his underground house, going into complete isolation. It wasn't why he'd gone to all this trouble to get legalized. And there was no work for the next week until the moment the demon-eating armada was summoned.

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 20:22

"Fine, just tell me what they will expect from me there and what I should know and do?" Still, he did not cut off the idea and spit in the outstretched hand, deciding that standing aside during the conversation of important persons, especially in their imagination, would not cost him a lot. "What to talk about, what to keep silent about, and what even to think about very quietly, and so on."

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 16:59

"Ha! That's a good point, Pann, but no, it's not going to be like that. Well, let's go and eat what the gods have sent, and I'll tell you what I know." Here he again took a look of utmost seriousness and in a heartfelt tone clarified, as if for idiots. "Only you, well, don't talk too much. It's not a secret, but there are a lot of ears in the courtyard, and a superfluous word is like oil on the stairs - it looks like nonsense, but you'll fall hard."

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 06:50

Waiting for a confident nod from the shaman, who was not going to talk, even if he had no idea about information security, Pirius continued to give secrets that made Stepan want to roll his eyes in irritation. The essence of the situation was very simple and clear, and it was all the fault of wine and cards. But, for once, they did not lead to problems, but to positive results. Cristan was known as a companionable guy, always able to find, if not friends, then drinking companions. Unlike his father, he saw his calling more in magic than in trade, but he managed to combine the two without even conscious effort. So it was that, during a casual drinking session with a guy of comparable age, but in a higher league, he got to talking about the wine trade.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 07:25

And then it turned out that the guy, or rather, his trading family, a very, very large House, had free money. In their hometown, there was a temporary shortage of quality alcohol, so there was also an opportunity to organize the very rafting of a large number of barrels and bottles on the river. At the same time with maximum profitability, because part of the goods, whose transportation and place in the holds had already been paid for, was canceled at the last moment. So now it was possible and necessary to fill the free space with something. Why not Borshaklov's wine? Especially since they had managed to pour so much of it into barrels that it would be impossible to sell it in Dantmark and its vicinity, except for discounting. In fact, Trabius was going to do just that, having squeezed out a couple of competitors, but the chance his son had gotten was much more important and useful.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 07:44

Of course, Kristan's drinking companion, whom Trabius thought his elders were training for the first independent deals and transactions, would not come to Dantmark by direct portal for the sake of Trabius and his wineries alone, bringing his entourage and Cristan as a bonus. But this would be one of his goals and the winemaker wanted to sell his goods very badly. It was a way out of the city market, a chance to enter the market of another big free city, and not just any city, but Morgrave! It was not out of nothing being called the Pearl of the Seaside. This city was a natural trading paradise and it was very difficult to get there as one of the suppliers, so difficult that it was even dangerous. The markets were divided long ago. But now, when the city had already rebuilt itself after the islanders' sea raid the markets that had survived the upheaval were not yet fully formed... Let's just say that, according to Pirius, the honorable Trabius would not even go there, for it was not the right league and the transportation of goods would consume too much, especially since the wine in Morgrave was as good, if not better than in Dantmark. Certainly better than the Borshakl wineries.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 08:13

But now there is a unique situation, when there is support from one of the players of the Morgrave trade field, and even with an almost open window for transportation, which is already provided at a decent level. Even if they managed to sell all the goods at once for a good price, it would be great, but there was also a possibility to make some other arrangements for the future. Trabius was serious about getting the most out of the situation, and Pirius was once again demonstrating his awareness at the level of a close associate of his employer. And also his trust in Pann and his willingness to include him in a closer circle of workers, no longer so much a hired servant as a fellow payer, albeit at the most minimal level. No, the young man would have been happy about the career advancement if he had been just an ordinary apprentice with a minimum of knowledge and potential, but he didn't give a shit about this promotion, to put it mildly.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 08:18

He could, of course, fend off the attention, but he was really interested in seeing the guests. He sighed quietly and tiredly as he said goodbye to the manager, deciding to take an afternoon nap and look over the structure of the totems that had been taken out of the city. It was a small thing, but it would give him some crumbs of experience, as well as a reason to think he wasn't as lazy as he really was. That's what he did with the active assistance of the spirits hidden in the totems, to whom any improvements or preventive energizing is always a pleasure, finishing in the evening, having slept well and even having time to come to breakfast right to the courtyard. He did not have time to eat breakfast, because he was immediately dragged to the master's house to talk to the honorable Trabius.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 08:21

“Well, Pann, I won't talk long. I'm running out of time, and Pirius has already told you almost everything. You've proved yourself to be the best. You solved the problem with the damned rodent rot the first night, for which I commend you.” Still as dry and calm as ever, but now with a little more meaningful approval in his voice, his employer said. “The honorable Nerthm de Vicar will be dropping by today since my son has managed to get his attention. We'll meet him, but the question is, Pann, would you like to go from hired labor to a full contract? Five, maybe seven years? Yes, there will be more duties, no doubt, as well as guarantees of their fulfillment, but I will offer you a much more generous payment and help in developing your gift. Maybe not the facet your grandfather taught you, but still magic? Maitre Jasper has accumulated a good library, there is an opportunity to provide you with normal reagents, consider it an interest-free loan and at cost price, alchemical potions, if anything, can also be purchased. I'm not rushing you and I'm not forcing you, don't think so, I'm just suggesting that you think about it, and then if you decide, you can tell me. Or Pirius. He'll tell you.”

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 12:41

Further conversation showed that his hands were not being twisted, but offered to him generously and with the expectation that Pann would realize and understand this generosity. His opinion of Trabius had only improved, for he had not planned any sneaky tricks with harsh conditions in the fine print of the footnotes, but simply offered help in exchange for service. Another thing is that Stepan doesn't need this offer at all and is even uncomfortable with it, so he has no other option but to use suggestive spirits and softly take his superiors' thoughts aside. It is unpleasant primarily because he is actually forced to pry into the heads of those who do not wish him bad, but only good. Not that his conscience is tormented, but somehow it is not pleasant.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 17:27

His dress code for the upcoming event was simple, for he was not Trabius or his son to flaunt the local tuxedo options. Just clean, good quality clothes of normal fabric and no unnecessary patches, which he already had. He had even updated his closet not so long ago, having bought an analog of the set that the system had given him at the beginning of his arrival, only newer and not in dark brown, but in light gray. At the same time, he bought several sets of typical city clothes of the middle segment of “coolness”, but of very high quality. Taking into account careful wearing and the ability to replace the washing machine and a platoon of laundresses, he looked quite presentable, and if not, you can change into clean and unworn. And he certainly didn't need to learn table etiquette. No one required him to know hundreds of types of forks for oysters. He could use a fork and a knife without additional lectures and practical lessons.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 17:23

"Listen, Pann, have you ever wondered how your grandfather came to be in your village in the first place?" Asked a young blond-haired guy about five years older than Stepan, thoughtfully wiping with a special handkerchief a miniature rod, almost like a magic wand, only made of transparent glass-like material. "No, you don't think so, it's just hard to believe that a simple village magician would teach his grandson to use the cutlery of high cuisine, as well as to speak and read in pure academic. Maybe he told you something about himself?"

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 17:19

Stepan looked at the son of Trabius, who had decided to keep him company, with an unreadably polite glance, once again suppressing his irritation and his desire to get off this ship before he was pissed out. The man with the clean-shaven face, the clean shirt, the braided hair in a ponytail, and the dapper brooch-amulet on his collar did not carry any negativity in his words. Perhaps that was why he felt triply uncomfortable. He felt like a spy who had been interrogated by a law-enforcement agency as a witness. Nobody seemed to suspect anything, but he could easily give himself away by some trifle, get caught in ignorance of the realities.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 15:55

"I have no idea, Honorable Cristan, I've never given it much thought before." The Earthman said, hoping he would not speak to something so harsh that his grandfather would really come from the other side of the world and break his head with a shovel. "I was very surprised when I realized that not every one of my peers can do what you have listed."

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 15:52

The long-open and very formal defense on his interlocutor's thoughts gave away the usual interest of a bored golden boy, not any suspicions. Cristan could see that Stepan was obviously not just an apprentice villager, but he believed that he had been raised by a well-educated and erudite gifted man who had gone into the wilderness and was a strong adept. There are many reasons why such people go to live in remote villages - from enmity with someone, disappointment in life, and obscure reasons related to the chosen school of shamanism. Despite his father's efforts, Cristan had no fire in his soul for anything related to commerce, but he loved magic and carefree life, especially as long as his father financed that carefree life. He was already Adept by local, not systemic, standards - good natural control and a healthy and well-developed imagination made him a good ritualist, as opposed to the same kind of amulet-focused householder that Maester Jasper was.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 17:30

He was aware of the maestro's deep friendship with his father, but he didn't give a shit as long as there was a flow of finances for his education and partying. The boy himself did not hesitate to help with his magical gift in his father's business, regularly working in the vineyards, plowing the fields with ritual weaves, or renewing the signs around the hop fields to ward off weevils. He'd spent the last year and a half in Morgrave, though, taking advantage of the fact that access to a range of tutors and alchemical potions suited to his needs was easier and cheaper enough to afford the portal and lodging with distant kin. Most of the costs, however, he covered himself by selling his services as a mage and paying the Morgrave Guild a legitimate percentage. Even so, this “eternal student” managed to make an excellent profit out of nothing and the prospect of entering a new market simply by... going to a brothel.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 19:23

The very possibility of meeting a rich heir with a lot of dough in the best establishment in the Pearl of Primorye is not surprising. But the opportunity to sit on the interlocutor's ears, to get drunk together, to quarrel, to make up, to spit out another barrel of wine, to quarrel again, almost to arrange a duel according to all rules of magic art, and after that to reconcile again and to be able to push his father's goods to a new drinking buddy - that is Criss the Grape. And no, he was called by the berry nickname not for his father's glory, but because when he gets angry or drunk, the skin on his face turns red very noticeably, like some special kind of elven bright scarlet grapes. That nickname just couldn't unstick, so he stopped taking offense to it or punching it in the face even in his youth. Despite his non-combat specialty, he was quite good with a wand, and the very instrument he was wiping during his conversation with Pann could not only draw ritual signs on any surface but also hit with very accurate magical arrows.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 19:28

"So, I understand correctly, it's quite possible to call a couple more cats of the same kind... well, well, don't look like that, not the same, but almost the same, so that they could cover the warehouses outside the city from pests, too?" In the voice of the young man tired of regularly renewing household charms, there was some timid hope for the best, which Stepan cynically crushed with a forged sabaton. "All you need is reagents and time, right?"

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 19:34

"And there is no guarantee that summoning a spirit will succeed, especially if the offerings are planned to be relatively small. Shamanism is wild magic, not high magic. It depends too much on chance and luck, not mathematical precision." The young man did not notice how he got involved in the discussion, in the course of which he and his interlocutor were trying to find a way to do all the work perfectly, but not to work at all. "You could summon the entity you were looking for on the first try, and even better. It would agree to do its part of the deal for next to nothing. You can ruin several months and get a result that is acceptable at best. Or you can summon a seemingly normal entity, and it will, in addition to mice and other pests, take it and start crushing chickens on the neighbor's farm, or even attack passing children."

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 19:36

“That's why I'm a mage, Pann. We keep it simple and straightforward. What you weave is what you get.” With a slight patronizing superiority in his voice Cristan, who had already managed to switch to the simple Criss, with two, almost three “s ”s, the peculiarities of phonetics, but immediately became bored and added not so boastfully. "Though in reality it's not simple, and it's not obvious, and if you move away from the ready-made scheme, everything goes into a deep hole. Reserve and reagents first of all.”

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 19:38

"If it's any consolation, Criss, the shamans are exactly the same, only the atmosphere is a little different." They both seem to enjoy talking to someone who understands magical theory and is in roughly the same age group. "The other day I decided to summon an entity, I used up a lot of supplies, almost everything I had planned, and it just didn't come. If my metaphorical manifestation of frugality could be embodied in the material world, she would have killed me for such a waste, and my whole village would have laughed at me as if I were a poor mind."

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 19:43

"I would very much like, just to increase my general erudition, to visit a village where the villagers know the meaning of the term “metaphorical manifestation." Criss giggled, and Stepan realized that he really began to talk, especially in terms of vocabulary. "Oh, I hope you'll accept my father's offer, and then you'll be sent to help me. There's no one to talk and drink with, I swear to Gods! Everyone's either talentless or stupid, like normal villagers, not you. Or Jasper. Uh... Don't think he's a normal guy, but I don't feel comfortable around him."

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 17:30

Stepan knew perfectly well why Criss was uncomfortable around Jasper, but he didn't say it out loud, for he didn't want to get into a quarrel in the middle of nowhere. His last comment had cut off some of the sympathy he felt for his companion. He seemed to be a normal man, even enlightened to the envy of many, but there was something about his attitude to the ungifted. Something like the traits of Malfoy акщь Harry Potter, or a reflexive desire to raise the hand from his heart straight to the Sun. However, against the background of most of those individuals he had to communicate with, it was not even a trifle, but something quite microscopic.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 17:27

"It would take a long time to get there, there are no normal roads." The young man confessed honestly enough, referring to the place where he was born, so he wasn't lying. "And for what? The village is like a village - forest, berries, bears, vegetable gardens, and a shaman. Used to be. Now I'm sitting here."

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 17:32

"Heh, well, you've seen the world, you live in Dantmark, that's something. - The mage said this phrase with such aplomb as if he had personally built Dantmark from the first shack to the last stone of the magic tower. "Again, Nertm would have his entourage, acquaintances, and perhaps a girlfriend. He said, bragging, that he had one shamaness in his good acquaintances, so beautiful!"

Camrad_RIP 05.11.24 в 08:20

Stepan, whose communication with shamaness had been purely negative, shuddered at the mere thought of meeting another colleague of that fucking mare, and the desire to get away from this place only grew stronger. But he'd already made his promise, and the visit was literally hours away. The guests were finishing up their basic business in the city. It was too late to leave. He only put away most of the suspicious spirits, lest they catch the eye of a likely colleague. A little time passed, unnoticed by the conversation, and right from the table, without finishing the appetizer, they both went to the large hall for meetings, only Criss closer to his father, and Stepan farther away, in the third line. The analogy with some kind of collective farm event, when they met guests from the big leagues and didn't want to make a mess of it, was so strong that he couldn't get rid of it.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.24 в 17:10

The young man was extremely calm until the summoned spirits attracted his attention, some of which had retreated deep into the spheres to avoid being seen, but some of which, on the contrary, tried to look at the visitors unnoticed. There was indeed a shaman among the guests, and a very competent one. And then in the earthling's head as if dryly clicked and began to put together a very obvious puzzle, giving a logical picture of events. No doubt, in a city of Morgrave's level there were always a lot of gifted people and a drop more, because it could be considered almost the capital of the Confederation, though unrecognized due to the lack of a capital. There were also shamans among those gifted, almost certainly in assortment, because there was no reason for the contrary, despite the low popularity of this school of magic among the civilized. But how many exactly good shamans could there be in a given city? Good enough to be in the retinue or escort of the eldest son of one of Morgrave's richest merchants, and female shamans at that?

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 17:35

//“Aha.” - A deep thought, full of high truths and mysteries, ran through Stepan's empty head, and he turned slightly pale.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 17:36

If we talk about shamanesses, how many of them will have an aura on the level of a very advanced adept, with an extremely developed spiritual body, full of marks covering it, not hidden, but proudly on display to be respected and bowed? How many of such shamanesses will gravitate to the spirits of almost exclusively the spheres of winds, whirlwinds, air, and blowing? Yes, the direction is one of the most popular. Sylvia confirmed it. Steppe and nomadic people, whether human or green-skinned, are almost always drawn to the free winds but still, but still.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 18:34

\\“Uh-huh.” - An even deeper and more philosophical thought beat against the walls of Stepan's empty skull, echoing loudly and sonorously.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 18:34

And now let's compare all the smallest, like an iceberg that destroyed the Titanic, factors, imperceptible, like a sequoia log in an eyeball, details, subtle, like the trolling of an average Internet regular, hints to get from two times two to four exclusively. The young man felt his eye begin to twitch, and bile bubbled in the depths of his soul, mixed with a distilled desire to inflict on the people around him something bad, but justly deserved. And not people in general, but one representative of humanity, who had lost her way, because of her extremely high intellectual giftedness, his ass was almost chewed off to the very head. And when the dear guests, under the sound and quite successful welcoming comments of Trabius and his smiling wife, entered the hall of the lord's house, when the shaman's gaze unmistakably caught the previously unknown personally, but perfectly recognizable face, it was as if all the air was knocked out of him. And along with that air, a quiet, on the verge of audibility, but very heartfelt voice, spoken in a language unknown to anyone else present, burst out of his parted lips:

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 20:07

"Fuuuuuuck..." If earlier the shaman still doubted whether he should leave the barque, that is, change his place of residence and work, now these doubts have disappeared completely.

Camrad_RIP 04.11.24 в 20:11

Introductions followed the welcoming speeches. Criss introduced his father and mother to a good acquaintance and almost friend without the slightest shyness and with complete naturalness, and he didn't even lie. The man could become friends with anyone quickly. Nertm, who turned out to be an average height dense wiry young man with sharp and slightly elongated facial features, with an age roughly corresponding to Stepan, maybe a little older, accepted the greetings and introduced his entourage, starting with an experienced and obviously daddy-appointed assistant-administrator, and a certain honorable Singha, without skimping on colorful epithets. In general, the meeting was a success and the mood of all present jumped to the top. Almost all of them, because Stepan had only the arrow that measured the boiling point of the kettle.

Camrad_RIP 05.11.24 в 08:14

“Is it your khao that guards the peace of this place, warding off those who trespass on the crops?” Politely, but rather unceremoniously and without refusal, like a woman who is used to being listened to, especially by those gifted enough to understand her power, the mare asks Stepan, who has been pale and unblinking for the past two minutes. “I've seen him. Strong khao, very intelligent.”

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 20:19

"Yes, me." The young man's voice now sounded like someone had smoked him with helium or squeezed his balls tightly in iron pincers. "Summoned. To catch mice. Little pests."

Camrad_RIP 05.11.24 в 08:16

His mind was buzzing with thoughts and passions, most of which came to a very clear message: //“You can't kick her in the face. You can't kick her in the face. You can't kick her in the face. You can't kick her in the face with your feet. You can't kick her in the face. You can't kick her in the face. You can't kick her in the face. You can't kick her in the face.” And indeed, you couldn't, even if you really, really wanted to, more than you wanted to sleep before the session, and that, you know, is an indicator! Judging by the way Criss looked at him, he obviously realized that something was wrong with Pann and it was time to help him out. However, Criss was a little shivering from the presence of this steppe mare, because the guarding spirits in her amulets and just circling in the spheres almost at the edge of reality were such that it was as if you were standing next to a tank. Well, or he thought that the shaman was just stuck on his beautiful colleague. Dressed in a blue-yellow dress-robe with rich golden embroidery and light sandals, this bitch could boast an appearance equally alluring and exotic. There was something to swim from, something to be frightened of, which meant the future employee had to be saved, as well as the upcoming deal.

Camrad_RIP 05.11.24 в 08:18

"Heh, our young Pann was a bit shy of such an honorable audience." Criss, who was hugging him by the shoulders, released a barely perceptible charge of invigorating magic from his amulet, and the shaman had to work hard to prevent the defense from reacting sharply to the unexpected effect and burning the amulet along with Criss. "Well, or he was blinded by your beauty, honorable. I almost activated the sobering amulet, as it seemed that my house had been visited by a heavenly messenger or a marvel of unprecedented beauty."

Camrad_RIP 01.11.24 в 20:55

Stepan pulled himself together, though he mentally managed to tear off the head and other limbs of the bitch that would not leave him alone three times. The necessity not only to think evil but also to mask his thoughts from those spirits who could sense these thoughts and intentions was the main reason why he still kept his mind sober. He also marveled at how smoothly Criss, who seemed to have a complimenting skill at a level close to advanced, not less, was discharging the situation. The slightly embarrassed Singha even stepped back and shook her head, causing some of the stones and bones woven into her pitch-black hair to change tones, and the most visible of her spirits to deepen their position in the spheres.

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 07:12

"It's okay. It's my own fault, your servant just saw some of my khao and was intimidated." It seems, Stepan thought, that she just has a class skill for walking on fucking thin ice, and it's already pumped up to mastery, no less. "I've already subdued them, ordered them to go deeper into the winds, hide the yanal-khao-shat. I apologize for this. I meant no harm to this house."

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 07:07

"Oh, a mage shouldn't apologize for his art, especially if no one was hurt." Criss smoothed the conflict, letting go of Stepan's shoulder, who was ready to explode angrily because he didn't like how he had been enlisted as a servant. "I also apologize for Pann, he didn't mean to offend, nor to be rude or stupid....."

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 07:15

"'No, no. I understand, I don't hold grudges. The ability to see the hao so deeply is, on the contrary, a good thing, a sign of will and perseverance." She calms Criss and Stepan down at once but, for some reason, he doesn't calm down. "As one very wise Khao-Seran said, to echo an even wiser one, everyone should have the right to be stupid."

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 07:17

At that moment, the shaman's eyes were so red that he thought he was going to get a new Berserker class right away. He'd been comforted with quotes from his own grandfather, damn it! No, he'd been willing to put up with a lot from her. He'd tolerated and forgiven her then, saving her life and getting involved in a completely unnecessary risk. But this, no, this was over the line, and if not for his skills as an agent, he would have failed the disguise for sure. And so he calmed down, exhaled and took a normal look, only that very pale and his eye twitches, exhaling-siping- wheezing a laconic: “Thank you”. Later, when the guests were led into the dining hall, Pirius came up to him, still standing, peering cautiously into his face.

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 13:26

“Pann, are you okay? Yeah, I see you're reacting, so you're fine.” Apparently, he was not going to get a reprimand. He wouldn't be able to take it, and moreover, they were genuinely worried about him. "Why are you looking like that? Is she so beautiful? Or so scary?"

Camrad_RIP 02.11.24 в 13:42