Быть Гладу и Хладу / There will be Hunger and Cold: 7. Расширяя стены своего сознания, нужно внимательно следить за тем, чтобы эти стены не оказались несущими

7. When expanding the walls of your consciousness, you need to ensure that these walls do not become load-bearing carefully.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 07:37

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Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 07:37

The memory of a Twin, like talent, is undoubtedly useful and can save lives more than once, protecting you from a lot of trouble in the vastness of the Broken, but at the same time, the information obtained from such memory cannot be considered absolutely reliable. Memory only gives you the knowledge possessed by the average inhabitant of a particular part of the Ecumene, so it should be treated with considerable caution and even skepticism. After all, when it comes to a single or even two divisions, what can an ordinary, untalented city dweller, peasant, vagrant, or even a hired blade know about life? Certainly less than those who consider themselves masters of life! So, the blissfully restless Iliy Khvat did not know quite a few important and even necessary things, and in some cases, he was either mistaken or, even worse, did not know everything.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 07:39

For example, the “gate birds,” which Ilya the Diver mentally christened canaries. From his twin's memory, he knows about the phenomenon of using a unique species of non-creatures to control the flow of incoming people. Poor Ilya had a good friend whose brother worked as a gate guard—it was from him that the Twin learned that female non-canaries identify hidden non-humans, using loudness to indicate strength and melody to indicate the type of enemy trying to hide. However, this knowledge, though true, was categorically incomplete, for Ilya did not know and could not have known that the birds' trills not only detected all kinds of creatures, but also infuriated them.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 07:40

Not strong enough to cause even the most ordinary diver with a chthonic or cannibalistic class, such as the Possessed, to lose control and rush to eat the canaries. But it is quite noticeable, causing an obvious reaction and nervousness that attentive guards may well notice. And the birds? What would happen to the birds if their small cages were hidden inside a large, iron-and-stone cage, carefully constructed and built specifically to protect the living radars? They sang constantly, softly, almost inaudibly, but Wendigo's inner ear creaked from this trill, and the creature inside grumbled discontentedly and demanded that everyone be killed, eaten, and shat out. To be honest, the huge crowd of people infuriated the creature inside even more than the canaries, but Ilya had already gotten used to its reaction to people.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 07:43

The guards at the entrance didn't even check him. The mustachioed, stocky, broad-shouldered, but not fat commander of the entire patrol just glanced at him lazily and yawned heartily. It was a lucky coincidence. Ilya arrived on one of the fair days, on the third of the ninth of winter. Yes, yes, the cold he experienced at birth was late autumn for Ridge. Here, as in the agglomerations of Siberia, they heard and even saw the sun in summer, and the local varieties of grain and other cereals managed to produce a bountiful harvest in those couple of months, absorbing the magic of natural currents that had become softer and warmer.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 07:46

Returning to the winter fair, it was not considered the most lavish, incomparable to the early autumn fair, when the harvest was gathered, but it was still held, mainly by craftsmen and fur traders. And even more so, this fair was extremely popular with innkeepers and inn owners, as it was held just before the onset of the snowy nines. During this time, the probability of another super blizzard, like the one that Ilya and his pursuers encountered, was at its highest. Hunters, craftsmen, herb growers, and, of course, merchants who came to sell their wares were forced to stay within the city walls and pay for lodging. If it weren't for the city governor's decree prohibiting price gouging during blizzards, the joy would have been complete.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 07:52

However, the concessions and liberties did not only concern the rules of lodging and feeding; there were many nuances, including passage through the city gates. For example, during those days, the tax for entering the city was levied only on merchants with carts, while pedestrians and merchants with their bags passed through free of charge if they could carry their goods or simply their cargo by hand. This resulted in some rather amusing situations, such as entrepreneurs arriving at the gates in rented carts, then hoisting huge bags onto their backs and dragging them inside the city walls. Not for long, just long enough to enter, and then immediately hire a cab driver, trying to straighten their backs, which had suffered from the overload, and find their spine in their trousers. The guards only watched them with mocking and slightly condescending glances, but did not interfere too actively.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 08:04

However, from those who literally put on a portable shop, a natural box with walls and only a hole for their feet, they took a small bribe, yes. Of course, no one prevented you from not paying this bribe, but then you would be interrogated and searched by hand, without relying on the mustachioed commander's amulets and the trills of birds. And according to the same fair rules, such a merchant must be able to stand on his feet and not drop his goods. Everything that was dropped was given to the glorious city of Upperstone in the person of its valiant gate guards as an exclusively voluntary donation. No one tripped him up or pushed him in the back, but if such a smart guy's back couldn't withstand the strain, he wouldn't be able to complain, and he would be legally robbed.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 08:18

Ilya carried a fairly spacious bag, but it wasn't overloaded, and he looked like either a traveller or a tired wandering mercenary, or rather a bandit, only a decent one who hadn't yet been put on the wanted list. He expected to be questioned and tried to be extorted for some kind of bribe, but no, everything went smoothly, and no one bothered him. Everything was going so well that he involuntarily began to expect trouble, but no matter how much Ilya glanced around, no one was going to mess with him. Even the pickpockets, who were clearly working in such a crowd, seeing the sober and sullen gaze of his icy blue eyes, as well as his hand clenched on his belt pouch, while the other hand gripped the hilt of a combat dagger, decided not to mess with this dangerous type.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 08:19

This time, Ilya did not try to play the role of a peaceful craftsman, but he did not create an overly tough image either. He was a moderately poor armed man – a mercenary, a bandit, a hunter, a worker, or anyone else, depending on the situation and how he presented himself in specific circumstances. Of course, it was a slightly greater risk than he would have liked, but starting the story again with a craftsman-carver seemed even more risky to him. No, he could do more than just carving; he was skilled in many medieval professions. He knew how to weave baskets, use a potter's wheel, and had a basic knowledge of weaving, which he had learned on Earth thanks to simulators.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 08:21

From Gemini's memory, he inherited some decent shopkeeper skills and a rough understanding of how goods are delivered from one corner of the city to another. Before falling into the clutches of the non-bandits, Iliya was already an assistant shopkeeper with the prospect of marrying the not-so-pretty daughter of the shop owner and a distant relative of Iliya himself. Accordingly, he would also inherit the shop, yes. But while he was young and early, he worked hard as a courier, which was not only a job for a vagrant, but also a job for a man, suitable for an adult and moderately respected individual, where you needed a silver tongue and the ability to clearly explain to the tough guys from the neighbouring district why the hell you had come to their tough neighbourhood.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 08:22

Then, however, the shop owner was seriously robbed, tried to borrow money and resume work at the shop, but was unable to pay off the accumulated interest and was forced to flee to a neighbouring town with his assistant and daughter, along with the rest of the migrants. The new mayor swept with a new broom, and so all those who were not with him became sad. The fact that the distant uncle of the Twin was guilty only of paying protection money to the wrong district supervisor did not change anything at all. In general, Ilya, who had taken over someone else's life, turned out to be quite savvy in the methods of earning money typical of the local part of Broken.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 14:28

But what's the point of pretending to be a potter without a potter's wheel, a shopkeeper without a shop, or a weaver without any fabric? It's easier to pass yourself off as someone else, hang around town for a couple of days, and then quietly slip away. The walls here are not particularly well guarded, so he could slip through if everything went well. It is always easier to escape than to get in, because no one really tries to block such loopholes completely — there is smuggling, all sorts of other illegal activities, and the possibility of needing to use the means of escape yourself. So Ilya wasn't worried; he just looked around carefully and moved slowly along the guest quarters of the glorious city of Upperstone. It wasn't that he was thrilled with what he saw, but rather that he was even more upset.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 14:29

There was hardly any pure white snow left here; it had long since turned into mud and slush, even on the roofs, because in such cold weather, every stove was lit. They did not burn wood, which was not particularly abundant in the Ridge, but coal, which produced a lot of smoke. A black column rose above the blacksmiths' settlement, and the fire was so intense that from a distance it could be mistaken for a fire. This was because a new and large order had come in to rearm the guard and the city's strike force, so new armour and blades were being forged continuously. And to forge a single pitiful sword, you need to burn a great deal of coal. People grumble, of course, that there is nothing to breathe, but try to argue with the blacksmiths. They and the masons were the two largest workshops in the city, the foundation of the economy. Along with coal mining and building stone, yes.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 14:30

Ilya learned this interesting information in the first relatively decent tavern where he stopped for a bite to eat. He ordered a double portion of something resembling potatoes fried in oil with cracklings and onions, as well as a jug of strong wine. And it turned out to be even easier to strike up a conversation with someone who had come in for a bite to eat, especially if the wine was shared between two people. He tried to avoid the local drunkards, the kind who know all the rumours and eagerly report them to anyone who will listen. Then they talk about those who questioned them in order to earn another jug. In fact, Ilya sometimes wanted to desecrate the graves of the writers who had invented and popularised this cliché. That's why he didn't bother with drunken individuals of increased moral flexibility, striking up a conversation with a decently dressed man with a knife on his belt and high-quality quilted armour, who was also looking for someone to talk to.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 14:39

He found him in Ilya, and very quickly, the conversation about the weather turned to the city, and the earthling began to memorize everything that interested him. And there was no sedition or anything suspicious, just city rumours about who pays better, where to find work, who cheats on payments, and so on. Like, someone who lives by the sword will better understand someone like himself. Ilya was not surprised when his interest was immediately dampened by the fact that his conversation partner's group was involved in protecting the market and the merchants of one of the wings of that market. And, my dear, they don't need new people, sorry, you're Wendigo hiding under the guise of a mercenary, look for work somewhere else. But when it became clear that the newcomer wasn't claiming such a lucrative position, everything went smoothly.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 14:41

Ilya was recommended a couple of inns that rented beds cheaply, but without the risk of waking up in the morning with a second smile, robbed and fucked. Although judging by the careful choice of words, the guarantee was only for the second smile, and even then, not complete. He learned about the taverns where it was safe to go and those where it was not, about a couple of groups that were recruiting people for fun but not too reckless, yet dangerous, activities. In the end, when Ilya, taking advantage of his twin's knowledge, bought another jug in gratitude for the stories, the man even allowed him to refer to him in his recommendations.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 14:47

The conversation with my ‘colleague’ turned out to be somewhat more useful than expected, which is not bad. Of course, the information obtained needs to be verified, and relying on it completely and without doubt could lead to very big disappointments, which may be the last ones.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 14:48

But this conversation was not superfluous, especially for the person he was pretending to be, so Ilya seriously intended to look for a job, just so that random witnesses would remember him exactly as he wanted to be remembered. He did this more out of a desire to do everything as correctly and properly as possible, just as he had been taught. Because statistically, it was much more likely that people would notice and take an interest in a strange traveller who simply came to the tavern, spent two days in his room, and then mysteriously disappeared. Or simply vanished into thin air. Like, why did he come then? And in the case of the chosen diver, there are no oddities; everything fits into the usual patterns and therefore does not arouse interest.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 14:49

In the pseudo-medieval world of Broken, historians will beat you up for trying to use the word ‘medieval’ without the prefix ‘pseudo,’ and they will do so in droves, because there were too many differences from the life of an ordinary earthling. But there were also commonalities, such as travel and movement between cities. Here, people don't come to the city just to relax and sit in a café; getting from one settlement to another easily becomes an adventure, full of mortal danger and very considerable investment. People don't just travel between cities for no reason; there has to be a reason, and that reason has to be given to those who might notice its absence. Ilya gave it, conscientiously going to the proposed inn and even renting a room there for a couple of days until he found a job. The gloomy and not particularly talkative man who ran the entire establishment just nodded to his assistant, who appeared to be his son, to help the guest check in.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 14:51

At night, Ilya propped the door open with a chair and set up a primitive sound trap near the window. It was somewhat out of character for a simple and straightforward fortune seeker, but he had no other choice. Under normal circumstances, he would have easily woken up at the slightest sound, but today was his first day in Verkhnekamenny. And, naturally, the thread leading to the lacuna brought him to the right address, ending at the city walls. He had no specific talents, mainly from the Sage's arsenal, so the key story would reveal itself to him in a dream. Officially, it is believed that the images that come in dreams do not affect sensitivity, but all sorts of things have been said, even if the sources were not particularly reliable. What if he missed the moment, missed a second or two, and died a stupid death? He didn't want to check, so Ilya didn't bother to check.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 14:55

No, no one tried to break into his room at night, unless you count the surprisingly vivid and colourful dream, literally a series of episodes merging into a perfectly decent film. The film, as is customary in Broken, is exclusively horror, but it seems as if it were waiting for something else. The images merged into chains of images of dark tunnels and twisted turns, a solid labyrinth of passages, bridges, and narrow passages, through which a warm and disgustingly musty wind blows. As if there, in the depths of those tunnels, at the very bottom of the underground labyrinth, something was breathing, something huge and evil, extremely, extremely evil.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 15:48

The images shift slightly. The viewpoint rises, and now Гззукіещту is visible in all its smoke-filled, slush-covered glory. People live here, walking along the dirty, cold slush of the pavement, stomping their feet, unaware that they are on the border with something else. There were no extensive catacombs in the city, despite the predominantly stone foundations under many of the houses. There were a few tunnels, secret passages, or separate complexes under individual buildings or small settlements. Most of the mines and tunnels that could have formed the basis of true catacombs are located some distance from the city, in separate mining settlements or near quarries.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 15:50

But what met his gaze was not a mine or catacombs; it was simply there, as if nearby, almost here, but behind an insurmountable wall. And only in a couple of places did this wall become so thin that it almost bent under its weight. One inconspicuous alley, where the bodies of those unlucky enough to encounter dangerous people at night are often found in the morning, became darker and darker with each passing week, seeming more and more abandoned. And today, if you wait until sunset, when the last rays of the Sun disappear, and walk forward to the very end of the alley, you can see that an old, rotten door has appeared in place of the wall. The door leads nowhere; behind it is only a stone wall, but the stone is different, not dark grey, but with a strange scarlet tinge. There, in the cracks of this stone, you need to place coins taken from the eyes of the hanged murderer on the second night after his hanging, or perform a specific ritual to open the passageway.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 16:02

Ilya knew quite a few rituals, so the images merely suggested which ones would be suitable. They also suggested a couple more entrances to the underground labyrinth and how to open them. What these images did not suggest was the appearance of the creatures waiting there in the dark tunnels, as well as the nature of the axial creature and the axis itself. But he, who woke up in the morning feeling slightly broken, even despite the endurance of his body, did not need these explanations. The ‘corpse’ keys in the form of coins from the eyes of the hanged man, candles with wicks made of rope, on which the hanged man was hoisted, and other attributes related to a single theme, revealed themselves.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 16:03

The corpse eaters sit there, and the basis for this is a gnawed-out slaughterhouse or corpse pit, in which either there was no sanctity of any of the Dead, or it was all devoured. And, judging by the sensations coming from the depths of the tunnels, the second option is correct. Yawning widely, Ilya recalls with slight irritation everything he knows about such keys and lacunae in general. The axial creature is not always one step stronger than the axis of the lacuna itself, but it can be, as in this case. The Gift received on the first step, which gives the key and beacon to the lacuna, could not lead Ilya to the ‘dungeon’, one step above the most gifted. But, by all the Dead, this place is very close to the second level, if he understands correctly. And, alas, he understands everything very, very correctly, and there are no two interpretations here; there cannot be.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 16:34

The first-level lacuna is one step away from the second level, an axial creature of guaranteed second rank, just fucking perfect! Corpse eaters in a ‘labyrinth’ type location, with an emphasis on flesh and rotten blood. Based on the creatures' abilities, we can also expect curses, diseases, and constant manoeuvring by small groups of active scum of various kinds. Frankly speaking, they are not the most dangerous enemy. Only the lazy ones don't fight corpse eaters. They are ideal for terrorising distant villages and farms, for which a trio of Ghouls or Nahtserers can become a nightmare that cannot be overcome by the forces of the ungifted. A team of at least three gifted individuals, supported by fifty normal, well-trained fighters, is capable of defeating almost any reasonable number of lovers of dead meat.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 16:36

The problem is that these creatures are not particularly eager to engage in combat, so they must be tracked down, requiring the expenditure of resources to hire trackers and hunters. Additionally, there is the issue of lacunae, those stone labyrinths with numerous passages or even simple tunnels, which transform the battlefield into a continuous nightmare for those who descend into them. Without a leader with the class of a Spellmancer or even a slightly non-classical Dreamer, Sage, or Hunter, trained to support communication and coordination between fighters in the same group, there is no point in going there. The picture of complete and utter destruction threatening the city is completed, of course, by the axial creature and the axis itself — a corpse pit, probably saturated with the bodies of priests of someone from the dead. Even if it were the Guide of the Lost, the setting is quite appropriate, as if the entire labyrinth were once a temple complex.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 18:02

The bodies that formed the creature, saturated with devoured divine mercy, will play a cruel joke on the priests who ventured there, yes. Especially if you add to the bodies of humans the incarnated servant entity, which also ended up at the bottom of the pit. Corpse eaters were a very amusing case in this regard. Some of the most primitive and insignificant creatures all possessed the ability to eat even what other creatures or gifted ones were unable to touch and digest normally. Therefore, it would not be so incredible to find among a bunch of simple and stupid creatures a ghoul with a truncated, crippled, and completely malfunctioning ability that other creatures would not necessarily be able to replicate.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 18:03

An axial creature resembling a devoured corpse pit?

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 16:37

Going there without your two commander and another two specializing in cleansing curses, poison, and disease, and on top of that, being able to apply buffs, let's be honest, is not worth trying. The losses and risks will not justify the possible trophies, even in a rough estimate. Funnily enough, his build will feel quite comfortable in this dump, being vulnerable or completely invulnerable to a large part of what can be thrown at him in the lacuna. If he were just another enthusiast with adventurous fantasies “based on” in his head, he could try stepping into the void and wandering around its edges, knocking out lone creatures.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 18:06

Labyrinths are no problem with good spatial imagination. He knows the rituals for getting out and will choose the right one for himself, because he knows the key to the entrance, and that's already three-quarters of the work of finding the exit. Creatures are not particularly dangerous for a Wendigo accustomed to close combat. He does not care about corpse poison, disease, or induced nausea and disgust. Even narrow passages and confinement are not fatal for him, because he is also, if you think about it, a distant relative of such creatures, only a predator, not a scavenger. It is clear that he did not seriously consider a personal visit to a piece of enchanted and looped space, but simply assessed his chances. Not too great, but greater than, for example, those of a pure caster or the Executioner.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 18:34

Again, the very act of entering the previously sealed lacuna will cause it to partially open, which, of course, will not be noticed at first, but over time will seriously harm the city and its inhabitants. It will start to leak, and some kind of deadly disease may escape from such a lacuna. It's not that he didn't give a shit about all the natives, but on Earth, it was considered bad form to unleash all kinds of cataclysms on the locals who hadn't done anything to you yet. It was considered bad manners, somewhere between “farting loudly at the table” and “tearing off the legs of ants.” It was okay to save your skin, but just like that, out of curiosity alone... what the hell for? And without the door ajar, this abscess would fester for at least another five years, five years until the first signs of the coming, expressed in nightmares, visions, and other attempts by the Mechanism to hint to the locals about the lacuna.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 18:36

Before the first breakthroughs of creatures or space “trunks” hunting for local prey, dragging late passers-by into the depths of the labyrinth, there were still seven years, maybe even more. Let them figure it out themselves, because in Broken, such outbreaks are regular, including under cities. Sometimes cities die out or are abandoned because of this, and sometimes they flourish if the lacuna is successfully opened and something particularly valuable but non-transportable is extracted from it. Or cities turn into permanent testing grounds for extracting essence and rare reagents from deliberately maintained lacunae. But the latter is rare; for such matters, it is easier to use wide-open sinkholes than sealed “dageonsi.”

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 19:04

The earthling spent the second day of his stay in Upperstone trying to find a job, albeit without much enthusiasm. Oddly enough, there were a couple of offers, but one smelled of outright crime, and the other smelled even worse of an equally outright scam. Because the tactic of “first take care of the person who is getting in our way, and then we'll pay you, don't worry, we won't hurt you, every dog here knows that we're honest” can be nothing other than an outright scam. The second offer might have interested Ilya if it weren't for the fact that they paid pennies, and you had to pay for all your meals except breakfast. Usually, in hired labor, you choose either one or the other: either deal with your own problems, clothe yourself, and feed yourself, but get paid more, or get paid less, but have everything included.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 19:18

They weren't rushing to offer anything more interesting to the man who had recently arrived in town, and he wasn't particularly eager to get involved. The city atmosphere and the crowd of people around him were gradually blurring his trail, his energetic projection. That was why he was here, and not for anything else. So now sit down, Gozhik, that's the name he gave himself in the city, not wanting to leave even the slightest clue, eat some pretty good meat broth, and watch the trio of card sharps, very skillfully fleecing some poor guy from the mining workshop for his money. The bastards are good at their job; you wouldn't even notice them unless you knew where to look. They regularly let their victim win small amounts, constantly losing, simply playing against each other, only occasionally picking a few leaves out of their victim's pockets.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 19:19

Actually, Ilya himself was quite good at cheating at cards, dice, or chips, but he certainly wasn't going to make a living out of it. Even if the local criminal underworld didn't ask him to pay for “working without a license,” there was still the question of whether card sharps were too often killed or beaten up. A normal diver uses this method of earning money strictly when he desperately needs money and is willing to ignore the accompanying problems, but at the same time, he has no way of obtaining money through robbery alone. In other cases, with rare exceptions characteristic of certain builds, it is easier not to get involved in cheating in gambling, as it will be easier on the nerves.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 19:20

"Are you looking for a job?" The man who sat down next to him was about the same age as Ilya, and looked exactly like him, dressing and moving in exactly the same way as his twin before Ilya appeared in Broken. “I need to go to a certain place. Everything seems to be fine there, yeah. But I need someone to stand by me with a weapon. It's a matter of safety, you understand.”

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 17:34

For a while, the earthling thinks about just sending the problematic footage, because even with a single FaFo unit, it's quite possible to get caught up in some local trouble. And the old man doesn't inspire confidence; there could well be a newcomer to the city waiting at the meeting place, wearing a collar or carrying a set of surgical instruments. The main fuel for the work of a considerable number of Alchemists was, is, and will be the entrails of innocently murdered people and, surprise, surprise, all kinds of criminals and other brothers sentenced to death, not enough to distribute to all comers, not enough for those who want it. On the other hand, the man did not seem to approach him intentionally; Ilya was simply the only man in the bar who was not busy drinking or talking, who was looking for work, armed, and with a grim face.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 17:36

And the task they described to him didn't seem like a setup, because they weren't going to talk in some back alley in the slums, but in a very respectable tavern. The man who introduced himself as Yorick, which made Ilya, who had read the classics of English literature, barely suppress a smile, had a somewhat wayward brother who had done something serious to an important person and was now in hiding. He tearfully begged his older brother to go and talk on his behalf, saying that he had repented and was ready to work it off, but without any physical harm. And since the mistake was not really that big, and its price, as the wayward brother hoped, was not worth any deaths, he considered the chances of an amicable resolution of the conflict to be very high.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 17:38

But the man didn't want to go to that tavern alone, so he needed someone to accompany him for appearances' sake. His colleagues could have been that someone, but Yorick was a full brother of Ilya, a shopkeeper, only a full-fledged one, not an assistant. Well, his shop was smaller, and his only personal assistants were his wife, daughter, and young nephew. And there was no point in asking his colleagues, they would send him to the senior member of the market wing. They would send him, and the senior would help in such cases, but the trouble was that Ilya's brother had messed up with that very senior. Little stories about other people's big problems did not distract Ilya from finishing his lunch-dinner. And when he was done, he calmly and businesslike expressed his opinion:

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 17:39

"Add another half of what was said, and no leaves, only petals." Seeing the desire to bargain and play the victim in front of others, he doesn't even let them start, interrupting their complaints before they begin. "If you don't like it, find someone else. I'm new here, I need the money badly, so I'll agree to less, but the others won't double it, they'll immediately ask for three times what you're offering. And I'll be fine if you decide quickly. Less? For less, it's easier for me to go to the workshops; they pay about the same, only without the extra risk."

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 17:19

Sighing and wringing his slightly calloused fingers, Yorick finally made up his mind and became a little poorer than he had been before. Ilya took half of the payment up front. Apparently, the employer himself understood that the price was really low, but his inner bargainer was tormented by the fact that he could try to hire a worn-out thug even cheaper. Well, that's how Ilya saw it, sometimes regretting that he hadn't chosen the Dreamwalker class and built a classic a-la Mesmerikl build. Now he would be lying on a bed under the protection of a couple of beautiful aborigines who adored their master, instead of all this. It was as if, instead of a pornographic story, he had decided to try his luck by becoming part of a typical dark fantasy plot.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 17:17

But, okay, jokes aside, it's better to get down to business.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 16:34

The tavern turned out to be quite decent, but not overly pretentious, and the two who entered were immediately shown into a separate room. There, in that room, sat a very corpulent and colourful man with Mongoloid features and a strange hairstyle in the form of an almost shaved head, leaving only a narrow strip in the centre, which turned into a ponytail at the back of his head. Next to him sat two more thugs with faces that would have scored negatively on the ‘Intelligence’ characteristic, if such a thing existed in the Broken Mechanism at all. A pretty girl stood quietly in the corner with a glass bottle of something alcoholic blended in with her surroundings like a piece of furniture.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 16:38

"Well, you showed up, so you came yourself." The Mongolian's speech was strange, slightly slurred, and it wasn't the accent, but rather the individual characteristics of his throat. "And not just one. You, dear, go for a walk, have a beer, and we'll talk here. I didn't invite you."

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 16:44

Ilya just silently looked at the slightly pale merchant, but Yorick shook his head imploringly, as if to say, don't leave me here. Apparently, he had been expecting someone else entirely at the negotiations, someone easier to talk to, rather than this colourful character. Assessing the prospects of actually having to fight, Ilya decided not to give up without a fight. It wasn't that he was so proud; he just didn't see any reason to be a coward when a typical individual, the role he was playing, would not give in without even symbolic pressure.

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 16:45

"I'd better stand in the corner like your girl." Nodding towards the girl, who didn't even glance in his direction, Ilya, without waiting for an invitation or permission, stood in the opposite corner, folding his arms across his stomach, but not directly touching his weapon sheath. "I'll be quiet, I won't bother anyone."

Camrad_RIP 17.07.25 в 16:46

The Mongol's gaze was unpleasant, piercing to the bone, but he said nothing more, only grunted suggestively, then nodded graciously and allowed him to stand in the corner. It seemed like he had insulted him, put him in his place, and even acknowledged a certain boldness, the right to be here and now. Yorik was not invited to the table. There was not even a chair for him, so the man sweated and stood, stood and sweated, listening to the bandit's quite polite and businesslike statement. Without unnecessary words or details, he clearly and concisely explained that Yozhik, Yorik's brother, had already gotten on the nerves of important people. They forgave him the first time, let him off the hook the second time, but if this idiot didn't fix things now, the whole family would have to pay, so that he wouldn't be tempted to do it again.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.25 в 16:33