Настучать в бубен / Hit the tambourine: Эпилог

Epilogue

Camrad_RIP 14.05.25 в 19:39

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Camrad_RIP 14.05.25 в 19:39

The quiet melody of the music box was playing, set at a minimum volume, but only more resounding in the absolute silence. Allisira de Fell was careful not to disturb these moments of silence even with her own breath, silently awaiting a verdict from her lord and suzerain. Herbert de Dantrelle had aged over the past week, for he had slept hardly more than Allisira herself, but had no health-boosting magic, and had drunk many times more of the invigorating alchemy than de Fell herself. The woman and the future head of the secret chancellery of the duchy, if she still managed to get this future position, was not that afraid now, but clearly felt some nervousness. She and the honorable Herbert were distant relatives, they had long ago secured their trust by oaths, and the situation itself was not one in which even the closest associates were ordered to be executed.

Camrad_RIP 14.05.25 в 19:39

But still there was something nervous in the atmosphere, though she realized with her mind that her failures were not worth her own life, that those punishments would not be applied, after which a loyal ally becomes an equally loyal foe. Although several of her subordinates, thanks to inactivity or wrong conclusions, of which she now has such a pale appearance, Lady de Fell will either punish or eliminate them in the near future. So far, the blood had not flowed, the mental body of the guilty had not been burned, only and only because there was no time to replace the eliminated, as well as no time for the flogging itself. The worst of all was not even the situation that had arisen; in itself, though nightmarish, though dangerous, it was quite within the framework of those things to which countermeasures and plans had been made for such an event. The trouble is that the resulting demonic breakthrough without a small top-class happened completely suddenly, and its rapid closure and plugging merit not at all Allizira or even the city temples.

Camrad_RIP 14.05.25 в 19:40

There were too many questions for which there were no answers at all, not even normal assumptions, and even then, one had to operate with mere guesses, bold theories, behind which there were practically no facts. In general, being critical of her lack of success, the woman sorrowfully admitted that there was not much difference between her report and the wild rumors retold in the markets of the city. The evidence for the rumors was about equal in number, which saddened her personally, as she was accustomed to operating with only rigorous and repeatedly corroborated facts from duplicate reports. She could assume a lot of things, but the specifics for a normal answer to Herbert's face were lacking, which was the reason for their mutual silence. Both of them understood perfectly well that she had failed, to put it mildly, and both of them had to do something, preferably without crossing a certain line, after which hard decisions would be obligatory.

Camrad_RIP 14.05.25 в 19:41

Allizira felt a sharp, burningly angry twinge of envy for Rictus, who had come down with another thin-body debilitating illness that had kept him under the care of the healers for the past week. It was also a big question whether he'd gotten sick in time or whether he'd had help. Professional paranoia suggested that there were no such coincidences, but logic modestly reminded her that such a condition had been predicted for months. She didn't believe that the old man had deliberately set her up, quickly getting rid of a problem that had been foreseen in advance, leaving the young shiftmate to deal with it and smash her face into it. The old man, called Grumpy even by his retinue, was too responsible and not used to leaving problems to chance. But if he'd decided to punish her for some reason, he'd done it disgustingly well.

Camrad_RIP 14.05.25 в 19:43

"Okay, Allizira, I'm only going to ask one question." Herbert breaks the silence, extinguishing the sounds from the music box in one motion and staring at her with a heavy and tired look. "What was that all about? I've already realised you don't have the facts. Nobody seems to have any. Then let's, as the Southerners say, eat this mumanac bit by bit. Anything we can find out, especially about the demon fighter's identity. I'm waiting."

Camrad_RIP 15.05.25 в 05:43

Allizira once again runs her mind over the data and begins to speak. At first, the most general, witness statements, a list of victims, the place where the infernal creatures broke through, and their classification. Here, it was possible to collect a lot of data. It was unrealistic to completely hide all traces of the ritual, which turned one of the “shadow” taverns into a solid desecrated artifact. However, there was not just one ritual, but many small rituals, which gradually adjusted the thin edges of the world properly. They also managed to find out some identities of those involved, but they were also seen, or at least figured out after the fact, not even being able to execute them since they had not survived the day of the incident.

Camrad_RIP 16.05.25 в 08:26

"The base of the cult cell was the road brothers, and it was through their ranks that the creature or creatures consolidated her influence." De Fell continued her report, pulling up reports by telekinesis or projecting the illusion of faces and places, at the same time marking the necessary ones on the large and high-quality map of the city. "They are always under special control, even among the night people. Still, they are always away, always disappearing somewhere. So it was possible to pocket some of the loot, which frightened Ruth even more than any other possible threats. The first of those who had been inured to the curse was Garaza the Brushwood, the head of a small group of roadmen, not even from Dantmark. She was assigned to Quay. She returned alone, without a group, and told Ruth a tale that her squad had fallen under the guards, and she was blamed for the failure, so she had fled to this place. She probably seduced him or even partially defiled him, but it is not confirmed, and she eliminated Ruth four days before the incident."

Camrad_RIP 16.05.25 в 08:30

Then he listed the faces and personalities that had been caught in the net of the demon of true Lust. Most of their remains, though turned into a mass of meat, had not lost their auric impressions and could be analyzed. Again, every single night leader, one before the other, hurried to give lists of those who behaved strangely or simply disappeared with the ends recently or comparatively recently. They cooperated surprisingly diligently, realizing they were one step away from being wiped out. With such data, it wasn't hard to trace the creature's path, stunningly brazen and yet executed with extraordinary skill. Allizira had managed, she thought, to almost completely reconstruct the scenario of subjugating a large proportion of the road thugs under Dantmark, while also showing how the creature had remained undetected. Indeed, brazenness and astonishing sophistication, a combination that could take cities, not to mention individual operations.

Camrad_RIP 16.05.25 в 08:33

"From this data, from Marek's report and the assurances received from the priests, we can safely say the following: the demon was not trying to build a stable cult cell here, the structure prepared by the creature was doomed to be opened in the near future, which the demon understood perfectly well." It was weak an excuse, but the woman did not hide the fact that the infernal scum had calculated everything perfectly, including the reactions of her department, expecting to pull it off before the department realised the degree of danger. "It could also be assumed with near certainty that the creature was alone, at least initially. Nevertheless, the invasion team was unequivocally waiting at the shortest coordinate, literally one step away from breaking through to reality. Such a methodology is characterised by enormous risk even for such resilient entities, equally enormous cost, and absolute disadvantage in the balance of loss and gain. The only conclusion to be drawn from this is that neither the creature, nor its brethren, nor their higher essence planned or expected to conduct a takeover of Dantmark or a large-scale reaping of souls. The whole purpose of the operation was to hit a single target, capture it, and, obviously, take that target straight to Inferno."

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 10:32

The news on the one hand is very comforting, comforting even, but on the other hand, we had to speculate about who was so interested in the demons, about why this someone surrendered to them, and about what would be fraught with the success of the inhabitants of Inferno. The answers were not the kind of answers that would please or reassure, despite the obvious fact that the demonic side's schemes had failed. Because the one who had failed those schemes in the most radical way was still here in reality, nowhere, unlike the demons, had not gone anywhere. And even though the probability that the unknown individual was still within the city was estimated to be low, it was not dismissed as an unviable option.

Camrad_RIP 16.05.25 в 08:34

"Very little is known; there is nothing to embellish, my Suzerain." Allizira repented melancholically, pulling out a new pile of documents. - There had been traces of the powerful shaman's activities before, even before the incident with the de Lomere heiress. Some disturbance in the fabric of reality and etheric currents had been detected by both the Tower and Master Enyo. It had been suggested that one or more unregistered shamans were practicing in the city, and a version of a sabotage prepared by the green-skinned was being worked out. No trace was found. After the triumphant, pardon my sarcasm, return of de Lomere, this version was checked much more carefully, but no clear confirmation was received. Attempts to get any answers from the de Lomer trading house ended in complete, but expected and understandable, failure."

Camrad_RIP 16.05.25 в 08:43

Pausing and taking a few sips of water from the glass pulled up by telekinesis, Allizira put away most of the papers, creating another illusion and overlaying it on top of the city map. Moving elements began to appear on the map, symbolizing both the currents of the ether, the movements of the search parties, and the banal crowds of citizens wandering the streets along their usual routes. Toward the end, the same map was marked with scarlet dots of the places processed by the search teams.

Camrad_RIP 16.05.25 в 08:45

"None of the scanning influences gave a clear result." She spoke, listing in turn the locations of the search rituals, secretly performed by a group of competent specialists. "The disturbance that the Tower, led by the Honourable de Martire, Master Enyo, and I have detected... it could well be another fluctuation in the ether, there is no evidence to the contrary. Yes, both you and I, and any host of more than a couple of dusters of the human mind will realise that there are no such coincidences, but then again, there is no clear outline of a space control ritual in progress either. You have read Miller's report on the search for the missing heiress, and without my abstruse comments, you can understand how isolated the girl was in a trap."

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 10:35

"And I realise the fact that she came back and we didn't even notice anything that could be considered a portal breach." Herbert, who had also been educated in magic, though not a full-fledged practicing wizard, finished grimly, staring at the full three-dimensional projection of the illusory city she had created with an unreadable gaze. "He who was able to hide such outrage, hiding himself alone, will definitely be able to do so. Do we have any idea where his or her lair was or still is?"

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 10:36

Allizira groaned wistfully, but only mentally, because she understood her suzerain's emotions. It would be hard not to understand those emotions when you were told that you were likely to have in your family fiefdom a concentration of power of a mage of unknown, but obviously very considerable, power, which was hidden from you and your people. And what can provide cover and camouflage, even penetrating and a priori unconcealed in terms of background portal transition super-high range! The first thought of any normal owner will be: ‘Can't this unknown wild magician open a door to my chambers and put an enchanted bone knife in my heart?’. - Try not to be alarmed by such a scenario. Just as mentally, Allyzira suppressed the urge to try to pin it all on Maega de Lomer, saying she was the one who had gotten her daughter out after all. It was possible, but not after she'd failed so spectacularly, when even something she'd summoned had failed, promising the black spirit a piece of her soul. There were still options that the steppe rabid bitch had tricked them, pretended to be weak to buy time... but that theory didn't hold up to scrutiny. Okimarzi's blade - cut off all unnecessary things from the version, leaving the simplest, because it will be the true one.

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 10:38

"We're just guessing. And that assumption sounds extremely vague - somewhere underground." She squeezed it out of herself, feeling ashamed at such a ridiculous and nonspecific answer. "Those few strange signatures of energy currents, especially in the amplitude suitable for the properties of the spiritual call, in three cases out of five, came from somewhere above, at the very edge of the sensitivity of the city's scanning fields. But in a clear sky to hide in.... let's just say I can't imagine that even in theory. The remaining cases either lead far outside the city or somewhere deep within the Earth's bowels. Not the Underworld, mind you. No unregistered passages there, my agents have guaranteed me with their heads. Underground.

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 10:41

Having expressed her complete confidence nicely, she began to describe and colour her utter helplessness. It's not so pleasant, but it can't be helped. Those crumbs, which we managed to find, even on a serious version, did not stretch, and they were considered only from desperation and because of the extreme seriousness of the situation, when even the smallest things are not allowed to miss. A new pile of written reports, a few drawings, and a couple of insulated glass vials took their place on the table.

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 10:45

"We sifted the city from top to bottom, visited Lortan's shrine, scoured the city's catacombs, finding the lair of some dark alchemy adept, alas, long abandoned. In addition, we found..." The methodical enumeration of everything that had been found or searched allowed him to delay the moment of confession that nothing had been found. "...as well as eighteen buried bodies, probably left over from the redivision of the river arms of the trade a dozen years ago. At this point, I can only assume that the shaman's lair, if there is one, is hidden either in an encapsulated area with no exits, which has to be accessed through a portal, as the unknown man has proven himself to be an expert in working with the dimension of distance. Either this lair is hidden at too great a depth and standard scans simply do not reach it, or they lose the lion's share of power, reflecting and losing focus in the cloaking fields. In both cases, the only thing left is to search with more thorough and powerful impacts, and many interested parties are ready to provide services or at least funding for the search."

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 10:48

Miller will be extremely annoyed, he is already annoyed, that now he will have to search for the black weasel in the darkness of the cellars, without even knowing if it is there at all. The resource strength of the scanning obelisks, the cost of ritual reinforcement, the time and reserve of his subordinates, and the magister himself. All this will have to be spent, and not all of it, not all of it, will be compensated by golden streams or supplies of reagents with discounts. Those streams are not so turbulent, the lists provided are not so extensive, well, or you will have to bend a lot harder and share a lot more information. She would not have minded, perhaps, but there was nothing to share, which depressed the beautiful and lovely beauty of the human tribe and the aristocratic family. Her report lasted more than an hour. Herbert seemed to forget that he needed sleep, and she did not dare to drink water, because the duke had such an unpleasantly hard look.

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 10:50

"Payment for the participation and counselling of Zarga Black Vine and the three senior apprentices of her coven had been taken from the reserve fund of the Secret Chancellery. But it wasn't necessary." It would have been ideal not to call on the old hag, who looked hardly older than Allizira herself, not because of her personal magic and alchemy, but because of the black rituals of stealing youth, which she regularly used to use to buy slaves and slave girls, who were always young and always beautiful, and who turned into old men and old women in six months, because they were just sick, and it was a bit scary to say otherwise about a witch who wasn't weaker than Allizira. "In fact, I authorised her involvement and a triple oath on the Keeper's relics solely because the evidence found was related to witchcraft.... May I express myself in the most obscene manner possible for your lordship's society, my suzeren?"

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 10:55

Herbert raised his eyebrows and nodded silently in surprise, and de Fell was eager to give away one of the few trump cards she had during the investigation. Yes, the decision to bring in not just any enchanter or witch who lived near, if not in, Dantmark, but the head of a powerful coven and a recognised expert in area curses had really paid off. Though initially Allizira was already preparing to pay the priests and temples as well, because the old scum demanded not only gold, but also her favourite slaves. Yes, they were ritual modifications, when the victim was forced to grow old and sick instead of the witch, so that she could live young and beautiful, even if she had accumulated a lot of curses in order to get more power and jump almost to the magister of magic. In Zarzha's case, it was said that she could even use her hoods to keep in touch with her land while the witch was wandering somewhere far away, so that the old woman in her young body could keep her mobility without losing a bit of power over the land when she was out of it.

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 10:57

But that didn't save her from inevitable weakening away from her source of power, which made Zarja's existence a little more bearable. She was almost a master even outside of her land, but she was slightly inferior to Allizira in aura power and development. In the centre of her hollow, the old woman could be considered a magister, and there were rumours that she and the whole Black Vine coven had something else hidden in the hollow that gave her great power, even without the ability to take it out of the hollow. All the disciples were silent, buried by their oaths, and all attempts at reconnaissance or espionage had so far failed, though some of the coven's secrets had been learnt and even played out.

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 10:58

"The remnants of the billet used by the unknown - an ordinary, albeit imbued with wild magic, canvas sack, and about three pinches of earth that stuck to it from the inside." A hint of a feeble smile appears on Allisira's face for the first time since the conversation began. "I analyzed the thing personally, with all precautions, per se. Even so, I only recognized the presence of the highest manifestations of wild magic in the matter, which was beyond me to decipher without being a witch myself. But Zarzha realized what she saw and quickly figured it out... I'll say this, apologizing again for my rudeness, I was afraid she wouldn't drool all over me or finish in a raging ecstasy right there. First, she offered to buy the earth from me for half of the payment offered to her, then for all of it, then she began to offer to pay extra herself, noticeably exceeding all the costs of hiring her."

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 18:12

"You have, I trust, squeezed all you could out of her?" The Duc de Dantrel was surprised, but it was a pleasant surprise, and he was probably already going over in his head how to use such an asset. "Including a favor, of course."

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 18:13

"Even a little more than was possible." She doesn't let a shadow of smugness into her voice or facial expression, but she still almost glows, remembering the not-so-small victory. "And a favor she owes to your house in more than one. In answer to the unasked question. This soil is the essence of the material power of witchcraft. Zarzha was unable to pick up any imprints of the aura or the typical witchcraft adept echo of the connection between the land and the host. But the dust itself left on the cloth was so full of power that even a fraction of a smaller fingernail tip would be enough to create a spell a rank above what Zarzha could do. Or to amplify her power source as if she'd been doing just that for ten years, or at least five."

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:10

Alizira shrugged her shoulders in response to the surprised look on her suzerain's face, who clearly didn't expect someone like Black Vine to confess such details until her hands were twisted or needles were driven under her nails.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:10

"She wanted those samples very much, and was ready for anything, even an oath of complete truthfulness for exhaustive answers," Allizira added mentaly that she had taken a lot from the witch for herself, not to the detriment of the common cause, just as she had kept silent about the fact that the hag would have offered to eat her out, if only to put her paws on it. "A quarter of the mass of the remaining dirt, I admit, had to be sold to her after all. But before you blame me, I ask the suzerain to look at the list of what is owed to us. Also, of course, under a certified contract and partly under oath."

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:13

Herbert chuckled at the aptly inserted joke, an old and long-revered one between the two of them. It was something Allisira, still very young, six winters old, had once said to his face as a distant child. Don't blame me, my liege, I'm innocent of wasting sweets, and I can prove it, and the jam stains on my dress and face are not of a suspicious nature. Yes, she had a terrible sweet tooth, and the punishment of being deprived of sweets was one of the most horrifying to her. So terrifying that she was ready at a ball at Herbert de Dantrelle's house to crawl into the sweet pantry and drop everything.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:15

They spent the next half an hour discussing the prospects of tightening contacts with the Black Vine, even summoning Maître Roderick and Master Enyo in turn, in order to figure out, together with the chief magician and the chief economist of the noble house, how best to take Zarzha by the throat without her taking them by the balls in return. It was no longer her quote, but a direct statement from Roderick, who had always lacked tact, a commoner, that's it. Despite his simply astounding erudition in all things financial. It was only when they had finished with this pleasant business that they were left alone again, to continue Allizira de Fell's slightly interrupted lecture. The woman herself appreciated how beautifully Herbert had not only shown his affection but had even quashed most of the rumors that a rift had passed between them. He praised her in public, but continued to blaspheme her in private.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:17

"Thus, the nature of the ritual blocking the breakthrough can be considered confirmed - the reliance on wild magic and its connection with the world, actually putting the creatures trying to break in against the universe as such." Allizira sums it up again, as she has been pestering the experts for a long time with questions about whether she or any other of the city's mages could replicate even a remote semblance of this marvellous remedy. "The result is not too conceded to the prayer of the chief priest, if conceded at all, although it wastes the enchanted earth, which is a consumable material. And very expensive, as well as long created, years, decades, or even centuries. Expert opinion on the portal was backed up by Brazzera the Locking, delivered by the Keeper's clerics by an emergency portal. Even without my descriptions, you know her qualifications and parsimony for praise, but even she recognised that this trick was far beyond her abilities."

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 11:00

Herbert wrinkled his face tiredly, remembering this particular person. She was taller than Allizira by two heads, bald, even without eyebrows, with lush breasts like a Taurus, and as strong as an Orc warrior, but she was said to carry some demon blood in her. There was no proof, and to ask the priestess directly was a bad idea. But certain things were suspicious. The temples and shrines of Damocar were one of the few places that did not harm demons or their half-breeds per se, but prevented them from using species magic. In fact, it was in the temples and hermitages of the Keeper of Oaths and the Giver of Life that those children who had strong infernal blood, but had not had time to sin or become a problem due to age, settled as eternal prisoners. And not all of them, not all of them, gave the children born by the Tieflings a chance to live. Their blood, their connection to Inferno, was a beacon in itself.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:21

Praying, God-fearing, and able to resist the call of blood person could well ignore such a stress, but also to fall to any stain with foul blood was very easy. A simple man, he began to beg for the power of demons, will only shake the air with blasphemous abomination if he does not have the necessary knowledge and skills. If there will be no demon who heard him. If a Tiefling wishes to reach for power and foulness... a normal conscious desire will be enough for such a one, and on top of that, basic skills of mastery of internal energies, which are almost always gifted with evil children have from birth. In general, outside the temples, such children are good if they just die, but more often they die in a large company, taking a village or two or a city block.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:24

Got your ass kicked for stealing a jar of honey? Anger and rage will burst out in defiling flames, swell the body and muscles, and spill out in an empathic wave that will provoke a fight between everyone. You like a pretty girl? Attraction and lust will open a path to under her dress, and tiefling straight into the jaws of those who will point at the glow of another's passion. Every strong emotion, every fervent desire, is the key, and the door is the very bearer of foul blood, and there are few beings under heaven who can fear, desire, and rage more than the children and youth of any race.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:27

So no one dares to ask Reverend Brazzer why she hides certain parts of her aura even during prayers, why her body has such uncharacteristic features, why even without prayers she can almost smell the infernal scum? After all, who would be a better bloodhound than carrying the necessary mark in their own heart, who will hate the demonic race more than the one to whom their mark broke the life, mutilated body, and mind? The High Priestess herself spent most of her time either in a secluded cell of a large temple in the south of the Western Empire or traveling all over the world, where her power and knowledge could be useful. If she had been brought to Dantmark, the priests had assessed the situation correctly and were very alarmed.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:28

"As for the recording of the images pulled out of this peasant's head....." At that moment, they both wrinkled their brows in synchrony, looking at the carrier crystal as if it were a poisonous snake. "I brought in, at my own risk, one of the unfamiliar experts. It was this that explained the Oath Keeper's overuse of the relic, for I did not trust his silence."

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:30

Poking his finger again into the crystal on the table and activating a pinpoint infusion of reserve, Herbert achieved the activation of the amulet, which again formed an illusory image of an isolated and looped second in the life of an ordinary citizen who had barely survived the massacre. A couple of moments, during which the desperate man, running desperately wherever he could see, saw the horrifyingly beautiful in its impossible abomination of the supreme demon and the even more horrifying spirit-possessed shaman, and heard them exchange a few words:

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:31

"Bleat, dear... blrblrb... ee for me? Who is a good goat? Who's a good goat?" The demon spoke in the language of the Free Cities, pure and correct, as if the best rhetors had produced it, and the numerous purifications of images, including priestly ones, and the poor quality of the recorded image, badly stored in the memory of the mortally frightened mortal, kept away from the foul treacle of the words of the supreme creature.

Camrad_RIP 23.05.25 в 18:01

"Iya! Iya! Iya, Shub-Niggurra-a-a-a-a-at!" But the answer of a shaman, or a spirit, which, as this version was calculated, could eat its receptacle as well as demons, was much better in the memory of the citizen, conveying all the unnatural and mocking insolent vomiting disgustingness.

Camrad_RIP 23.05.25 в 18:01

It wasn't the first time they'd looked at the tape, but the result was the same. The demon's words were understandable, but the unknown man's answer, most likely male, but even that was unprovable, did not bring any understanding. Except for the fact that the blurred images from the head of the townsman could be assumed to indicate that the demon understood what was said. But now it is not demons to ask about what they heard, right, especially given the death of the guests who came to reality?

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:34

"This language is not known to me, nor is it known to any of my men. Master Enyo also failed to recognize what was said. That's why I turned to one of my not-so-reliable but erudite contacts." She barely held back a grimace of displeasure as she remembered all the trouble it had caused to get said person to Dantmark. "If it weren't for the complete lack of more serious leads, I wouldn't have scrutinized this little thing so closely. But without seducing the prince, we'll settle for a baronet, as my venerable mentor used to say, may the gods grant her a pleasant postmortem."

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:36

"Let them give it to her, or she'll be back again." Herbert, who knew her mentor well and had personally helped her to send her to the gods for trial, and who had bought her loyalty with his vows, joked grimly. "So, who have you engaged, Allizira?"

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:37

"Mater Punto of the ancestral name Yschetsruk. A great, distinguished expert in all matters of linguistics, speaking and reading most of the known languages and dialects, including even the long-extinct ones." A small scroll with the dossier of said individual appears on top of the table. "I would be happy to use simpler methods of confidentiality, but this individual, alas, not only resides in Neurath, but also belongs to the retinue of the heir to the House of de Switzer, and you know how they feel about your family name. There is no reason to give their matriarch any clues as to what we do and what we are doing."

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:39

The duke accepts her argument, studying for a while the illusion-printed portrait of a short man with prominent sideburns. Allizira waits patiently, though she has no idea what it was that attracted Herbert to the portrait.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:41

" Yschetzruk..." The old man said thoughtfully, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "It's a clan of latifundist bread-bearers, direct vassals of the Undermountin, isn't it? He doesn't look much like a halfling. And he's come a long way."

Camrad_RIP 22.05.25 в 14:42

"He has blood from his paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather, but yes, he is a pure human being, only that he is not too tall." De Fell reported quickly, mentally wiping the sweat from her forehead, for she was afraid of deeper questions to which she might not remember the answer at once. "But he's an expert in linguistics, and that's why it was so hard to get him out of Neirat, because he knows his value, too. He translates texts from ancient languages or teaches rich kids."

Camrad_RIP 23.05.25 в 07:07

"Okay, then what did he tell you?" And after thinking for a moment, he adds, a little irritated. "Was it even worth it?"

Camrad_RIP 18.05.25 в 11:37

"Partially worth it." Cautiously says the magician, mentally recognizing that there is a very small part of that partiality. "The recording is not too clear, but the combination of sounds flashed in it, produced by the unknown man, resonates with some of the records of the Neirat archives known to Maître Punto. Ab-Niurrat or Shubble-Iguraat - there was no exact transcription, or the expert simply didn't know it. It is the name of an entity worshipped by some tribes of the far North in times before the North was turned into a dead fiefdom. The last mention of this entity dated back several centuries ago, when the last forest refuges of the primitive tribes were finally pushed to the icy shores, where they were killed by the followers of the Thirsty Battler."

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 18:15

A weak lead, frankly, but still better than nothing at all. The Head of the Privy Chancellery, most likely the official one now that Rictus would be removed from his position and sent to a well-deserved retirement, was now ready to cling to anything, even air. Levitation had always been extremely difficult for her, but the last few weeks had been much harder than levitation.

Camrad_RIP 19.05.25 в 18:28