Страж Империи / Guardian of the Empire: Глава 6

Chapter 6
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Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 11:19

We reached the caи yard very quickly. And the cab driver took us to the Black Pearl, located two blocks from Crab's house, in just fifteen minutes. Silver works wonders. And in the tavern, I had to explain myself to my friends. Roald immediately understood why I needed to hide in the port, but Veld... The redhead dug his heels in and refused to believe my story about the mess I had gotten myself into that morning. It took me almost an hour to convince him that I had really messed things up with our commandant's granddaughter, and now it was either marriage or the chopping block. At least we killed some time...

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 16:20

And yet, before dusk, I managed to gnaw at myself and curse my imprudence more than a hundred times. I was very concerned about the fate of the innocent little girl. But still, the sun set, we got into the carriage and drove off to visit Crab.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:03

The street adjacent to the port warehouses was lit almost as well as Uter Avenue. The Trade Guild made sure that no shady characters could get to the property of honest merchants under the cover of night. In addition, there was not a single tavern or gambling house here. Only residential buildings, several trading offices, and one building belonging to the newly formed Union of Stevedores.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:05

I stopped the carriage a hundred yards from Crab's house.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:08

“I’ll go,” I nodded to my friends.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:08

"Be careful there," Roald admonished.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:15

“You have half an hour,” Veld reminded me of the agreed time, after which, if I didn’t come out, they would break into Crab’s with the first passing patrol.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:15

Crab owned a tall, three-story red brick house. The mansion looked like it had been stuffed by some giant into the space between two old port service buildings, but it looked quite ordinary. It didn't look like a den or a robber's lair at all.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:17

//‘See, no one is here to meet you. They don't respect you,’ remarked the devil who had appeared. ‘Let's not go anywhere. Let's sell the estate to someone and have a good time!’

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:17

//"Let's go," I said firmly. "We have to rescue Kaylee."

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:18

//‘Who are you going to rescue?’ the horned one snorted indignantly. "There are plenty of pretty girls around! A dozen for every hundred! So what, are you going to risk your own skin for every girl you barely know? So what if you share the bed with her a couple of times? Did she enjoy it? That means you don't owe her anything! You can calmly walk away from here. To the council. Complain about the robber's tyranny. While you're there, pick up the papers for the estate and drive someone away, before everyone finds out about the moneylenders' claims..."

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:30

//“Look, shut up,” I suggested to the tailed bastard, narrowing my eyes angrily.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:30

As soon as I stepped onto the wide porch, the massive stained oak front door swung open hospitably. A burly man with a broken nose peered out, turned his head, looked warily at the passers-by, and, turning his gaze to me, growled:

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:31

"Come in."

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:32

I came in. And immediately stopped, as another big guy with a short baton on his belt blocked my way.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:32

"Do you have any weapons?" he asked.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:32

I shook my head, but that didn't seem to convince the crab's bone-breaker. He unceremoniously patted me down from head to toe and made sure I wasn't hiding a sharp knife in a secret sheath so I could stab their beloved leader. Nodding, he moved out of the way. The one who had opened the door locked it, bolted it with a thick bolt, and pushed me forward.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:33

"Go ahead." And, apparently realizing that I didn’t know where to go, he deigned to explain: "Up the stairs to the third floor."

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:34

As I climbed the steps, I kept thinking about how to get out of this mess. To rescue Kaylee and get myself out alive... But what could I do that would be sensible and without the slightest risk? If Crab didn't have Kaylee as a hostage, then I could take a chance. I could risk my own skin.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:40

The staircase ended before I found the right and safe way to solve my problems. Although maybe it's for the best. There's no need to rush and act recklessly. It's worth waiting a little and figuring out what's what, and then thinking about a plan of action. If, of course, Crab gives me time to think.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:40

" Come on, come in, don't be shy," the last of the lads nudged me gently in the back as the first one opened the door to the room for me.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:41

They were in no hurry to enter. For standing in their way was a dark, red-spotted, healthy dog weighing about a hundred and fifty pounds. And he bared his teeth as if he were about to pounce. In fact, he could easily have done so: there was no chain attached to his collar, which was covered with thick steel spikes. And who would put a Ruvi war dog on a chain? They weren't paid that kind of money to guard yards. These vicious creatures had a different purpose — to protect their master.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:44

Without attacking me, the dog moved aside, clearing the way. My escorts seemed to have been waiting for this. They quickly pushed me into the room and closed the door behind them. They remained in the corridor.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:49

"Come in, guard, since you're here," the owner of the house suggested in a feigned bored tone, turning his head in my direction. Pulling the curtain aside, he moved away from the window.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:50

I did not respond. My attention was absorbed by the scene that unfolded before me. In the middle of the luxuriously furnished hall stood two chairs. A dishevelled young woman was tied to one of them, nervously biting her lips. A man sat on the other chair, his head tilted to one side. His face resembled some kind of gruesome, bloody mask. I did not immediately recognise my rival in the game, Tier Otis, a merchant and part-time cardsharp. Two black dogs lay sprawled on the floor near the captives, one of them busy licking up the drops of blood that occasionally dripped from Otis's chin. Leaning his shoulder against a tall bookcase filled with books, Louis Crab's closest associate stood with his arms crossed over his chest. There was another little man in the room. He looked like a stray who had wandered into the respectable company of noble robbers and scoundrels: small, unremarkable, shaggy. But when I saw him, I shuddered. For a moment, it seemed to me that Shcherbay's relative had risen from the dead and come for my soul. Only he had aged a little.

Camrad_RIP 07.09.25 в 16:46

"Yes, yes, you're right to tremble, foreman," Crab remarked with undisguised malice. "You'll pay for the death of Fury's brother."

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:53

"I'll tear you apart and eat you alive," the shapeshifter snarled like a beast. He licked his lips. "I'll rip out your guts and start eating. Eating and listening to you howl"

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:54

For some reason, looking into the eyes of this creature, I couldn't bring myself to doubt the reality of these nightmarish threats. The shapeshifter clearly had no intention of scaring me. He simply informed me of his intentions. No more, no less.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 18:55

Had this happened a few days earlier, I would probably have seriously considered moving to another city far away from Kelma. Without waiting for the shapeshifter to catch me and eat me alive. Gone were the bright days when promises of a violent death could seriously worry me. Now it didn't matter how many of them were eager to put me in my grave.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:02

Shcherbaty's relative moved towards me.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:02

“That’s a little later,” Heron stopped him.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:05

I looked from Crab and his shaggy friend to Kaylee:

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:03

"Are you okay?"

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:03

The girl nodded quickly, not taking her hunted gaze off me. It seemed she had been scared half to death.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:06

“Your girlfriend is alive,” said Crab and made a meaningful correction: “Yet…”

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:07

Picking up a blood-stained club from a low lacquered table, the head of the Night Guild headed towards me. And for good reason. A few moments later, I deeply regretted refusing the painkillers. Crab struck me sharply in the ribs. And when I jumped to the right, dodging new blows from the club, this rabid creature, this Ruvian dog, clamped onto my leg. It nearly tore me to the bone.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:08

“Stay where you are, guard,” Heron ordered me with a crooked smile and threatened: “Or…”

Camrad_RIP 07.09.25 в 16:47

He turned to Fury and gave him a signal with his hand. The shapeshifter grinned and jumped behind Kaylee in one leap. He took a razor from his jacket pocket and, grabbing the girl by the hair, pulled her head back. Looking at me with undisguised malice, he ran the blade across her throat.

Camrad_RIP 07.09.25 в 16:50

"Wait, I'm standing still!" I quickly blurted out, raising my hands. And, unable to hold back, I gasped as I was struck in the stomach with the butt of the baton, bent over, and fell to my knees. But even then, Crab did not calm down. He began to beat me with the baton wherever he could. All I could do was cover my head with my hands, but even that didn't help much...

Camrad_RIP 07.09.25 в 16:50

I woke up in a chair. True, I wasn't tied up. But that didn't make me happy at all. It was as if a mechanical threshing machine had gone over my entire body.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:09

//‘I told you – let's not go! But you said no, how can you leave a girl in trouble, I have to help Kaylee! Did you help her?! – The imp sitting opposite me on the edge of the table teased, swinging his legs. And he prophesied: – They'll beat you to death here, you idiot!’

Camrad_RIP 07.09.25 в 16:52

I didn't respond to the malicious imp. It seems that everything is indeed leading to my demise, and I won't be able to save Kaylee. But what could I do? Break in here, armed and wreak havoc? Kaylee would definitely be killed immediately, and I wouldn't even get to Crab. There had to be a way for him to slip out of the house unnoticed. And then there were the Ruvian dogs... The only way to take them down would be with explosive bolts. But by the time you shot one, two more would pounce on you... And if their collars had kinetic shields built into them, you wouldn't stand a chance. You'd need a full dozen guards, plus a mage, to smoke Crab out of his lair...

Camrad_RIP 07.09.25 в 16:55

“Have you come to your senses?” asked Heron, placing a chair at the table opposite me and sitting down on it.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:09

"Something like that,” I grinned wryly, wiping the blood from the corner of my broken lip with the back of my hand.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:09

Nodding, Crab deftly transferred the ill-fated club from his right hand to his left and asked:

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:07

"Do you know how I achieved what I have, guard?" And then he, looking at me angrily, replied: "Because I never allowed anyone to fuck me over! Do you understand, guard? Everyone who ever had the delusional idea that they could steal from Richard Heron and profit at his expense later bitterly regretted their stupidity!" After blurting this out, Crab sucked in air with a hiss and, baring his teeth, asked insinuatingly, "Do you know what I usually do with such fools?"

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:19

"No," I shook my head, although I had my suspicions about it. It's not for nothing that people talk about the piers. And the crabs that live under them, which have grown fat on the dead bodies regularly delivered to them.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:20

"No, guard, I don't kill them," Heron replied to my mental assumptions. And he hissed irritably: "Those little bastards... when I catch them... I break their arms and legs. And I let them go... alive. And they remember for the rest of their lives, and tell others, what joy awaits the little shits who decided they could screw with Richard Heron..."

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:21

“What does this have to do with me?” I asked when Crab fell silent.

Camrad_RIP 06.09.25 в 19:23