Страж Империи / Guardian of the Empire: Chapter 10

Chapter 10
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Camrad_RIP 10.10.25 в 16:43

I was awakened by the frantic barking of the yard dogs, who had been greatly disturbed by something. Almost immediately, the horses went berserk, bursting out of the stable with such wild neighing that they immediately drowned out the dispersed pack. But only until the frenzied barking of the dogs rushing around the yard turned into a completely insane howl, filled with fear and hopelessness.

Camrad_RIP 10.10.25 в 16:53

Jumping out of bed, before I could even comprehend what was happening, I knocked down the latch on the window shutters and peered out into the courtyard… And, my mouth hanging open in amazement, I stood frozen, staring at the scene. A horde of loudly howling dogs was scrambling up the fence surrounding the inn like seasoned cats… And several had already covered at least two-thirds of the required five yards…

Camrad_RIP 10.10.25 в 16:54

I even rubbed my eyes, assuming I was just half-asleep. But no, nothing had changed in the courtyard.

Camrad_RIP 10.10.25 в 16:54

"Kar, what's going on?!" Angel's worried voice reached me.

Camrad_RIP 10.10.25 в 16:55

"I don't know," I muttered, looking at the dogs, who had clearly gone mad, in confusion. Turning to offer the girl a reassuring word, I saw the imp fidgeting restlessly across the table. This immediately put me on guard, and I immediately asked, "What's so alarming?"

Camrad_RIP 10.10.25 в 16:57

//“Oh dear, oh dear... What am I going to do now?!” Ignoring me completely, the imp continued running back and forth across the tabletop, exclaiming and frantically scratching his shaggy head.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 07:18

//“What happened?” I tried to get an intelligible answer from the horned one, because apparently, he definitely knows something about the reasons for the sudden madness of animals.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 07:17

"Aaah!" A completely insane, inhuman scream emanating from the stables easily drowned out the entire cacophony of sounds and sent a sudden, cold shiver down my spine. People just don't scream like that when they're scared...

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:05

//“The demon is here, the demon!” the imp finally deigned to answer me, stopping his run for a moment.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:05

//“What the demon?!” I shivered.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:06

"I don't know," the imp replied. "Most likely one of the inferior ones... But they don't know how to hide their aura and remain unnoticed."

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:07

//"But where did he come from?!" I froze, stunned by the imp's statement. And then a realization struck me, making me clench my fists and move toward the vile creature, forgetting the impossibility of causing it physical harm.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:07

//“How should I know?” the tailed one responded with annoyance.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:08

"//You don't know, then?!" I seethed, feeling a strong urge to skin someone. And I hissed, looking at the bastard twitching his tail: "And who just recently came up with that seemingly pointless demon summoning ritual? Wasn't it you?! Ah, your lying mug?!"

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:08

//"I have nothing to do with this! Absolutely nothing to do with it!" The imp assured me swearingly, and, irritably lashing his thighs with his tail, he blurted out, "Do you think this inferior will bother to sort out who's who?! No way! And he'll tear me apart just for the sake of it, without even thinking!"

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:09

//“But then, where did this demon come from?” I backed down, although I didn’t fully believe the imp.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:20

//“How should I know?!” he spread his arms wide. “Someone summoned it.” And he hastily added, “We need to get out of here fast! Whatever brought this demon out of the Underworld, it doesn't bode well for us. This bloodthirsty creature won't rest until it destroys every living thing within reach!”

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:40

"Foreman, there's something strange going on in the yard!" Thomas and Nick, who were standing guard at the door, burst into the room.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:40

"It seems that some kind of creature has crossed over the fence," I instantly offered a plausible explanation, deciding not to shock them with the cruel truth. And immediately ordered: “Quickly wake up the others!” And as my subordinates rushed off to carry out the order, I shouted after them: “Put on your armor!”

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:41

"But what kind of inhuman creature could have terrified the animals so much?" Angel asked in surprise.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:41

“Well…” I drawled, quickly girding myself and at the same time trying to figure out what to answer the girl.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:43

I turned to Angel, and a sudden feeling of terror washed over me, almost making me rush out of the room and run, run, run as long as my legs would carry me. Such fear gripped me that I even trembled all over, and my hair stood on end. And perhaps I would have given in to the mad desire to get as far away from this place as possible, if I hadn't been looking into the eyes of the girl, frozen with terror, at that moment.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:44

Overcoming myself, I rushed to Angel to unshackle her. In shackles, she had no chance of escaping the demon. And I'm not some kind of villain—to hand over innocent girls to a creature from the Underworld for prey.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:45

“What is this?!” the lady asked, looking at me with shocked, huge eyes, as soon as the horror subsided.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:45

"The hell knows!" I cursed, trying to find the key to the shackles in my pockets.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:48

//“The demon is so close that you have been affected by the aura inherent in all primordial beings!” The imp immediately enlightened me. “Judging by its aura of fear and terror, which suppresses the will to resist in living beings, it is definitely an inferior one!”

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 09:47

"Kar, there's no such thing as a nonhuman that inspires such fear!" the goldilocks girl said hastily. "It looks more like a demon!"

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 08:49

"Yes, it seems so," I was forced to admit, acknowledging the correctness of the expressed guess.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 09:50

"But what do we do now?!" Angel asked. And, noticing my frantic search for the key, she voiced a logical guess: "Kar, are you trying to take my shackles off?"

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 09:51

“Well, yes,” I nodded, finally fishing out a chain with a key from the inside pocket of my jacket.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 09:55

“Don't worry about it,” the girl stopped me and shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, shaking her hands sharply. The shackles, fastened with a chain, fell to the floor with a clink. And Angel, feigning naive simplicity, simply shrugged her shoulders, her whole demeanor seeming to say, “What about me? They just came off somehow while I was sleeping!”

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 10:21

I frowned at this performance. But before I could form my opinion on Angel's unexpected talents, my subordinates burst into the room with a clatter of feet.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 11:16

“Foreman, something's going on here!” John blurted out.

Camrad_RIP 20.10.25 в 17:55

“I noticed,” I chuckled, listening to the noise and hubbub that reigned in the inn.

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 13:43

Once again, a clammy dread pierced the soul, and everyone turned visibly pale. And when the sound of breaking wood and the sickening creak of bending metal came from somewhere above, it became even more terrifying.

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 13:44

The glass globe of the magical lamp flashed past the window like a blue comet and, falling to the ground, burst with a dull crash. Immediately, the courtyard was plunged into darkness. The feeling of terror gradually lifted.

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 13:44

"Can this creature fly, too?" Burim asked, not sure who he was addressing.

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 13:52

"Haven't you figured that out yet?!" John shouted irritably and rushed to the window, closing it. He rushed to the door and slammed it shut. Then he turned to us and said quickly: "Well, what are you standing there for?! We need to block the window with the table and beds, and drag the chests to the door! We'll barricade ourselves in here, and no creatures will be able to get us out!"

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 14:14

//“He'll get in here and kill everyone!” retorted the demon, pacing around the room. "The inferiors go completely mad when they escape to the Edge! Like... Like ferrets that get into someone's yard and can't calm down until they've strangled all the chickens! And no walls can hide you from the demon! He'll scatter them in an instant!"

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 14:15

"What about the rest?" I asked John, raising my bolt thrower. "After all, no one here probably has anything even close to our arsenal!"

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 14:17

"What do we care about the rest of them?!" John exclaimed. "We're not in Kelm, and we're not obligated to protect anyone here! And anyway, we didn't hire ourselves out to fight demons! That's the job of the holy fools!"

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 14:18

The other guards remained silent. John was absolutely right, in principle: we were just visiting guests here and owed nothing to anyone. But abandoning even strangers to their deaths?!

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 14:26

//"This one's affected by the demonic aura!" the imp blurted out, momentarily halted. "You're not going to explain to him anything now! You'd better do something about him before he goes completely nuts and causes trouble for us!"

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 14:28

"A-a-a!!!" Someone screamed in one of the nearby rooms.

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 14:28

I rushed to the window. I flung open the shutters and saw, dimly visible in the light of the lamps hanging in the courtyard, a winged creature, twitching from side to side, pulling a man, grabbed by the leg, into the sky, struggling and screaming in terror.

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 14:40

With one movement, I cocked the bolt thrower, raised it, and hesitated for a moment, choosing a target. Hitting a moving demon is problematic, and a twitching person is not a suitable target. And so I shoot at the stable roof.

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 14:41

The flash of bright white light didn't hit my eyes too hard, as I managed to close my eyes. But the demon was clearly blinded: it let out a piercing screech and, abandoning its prey, darted away, disappearing around the corner of the building.

Camrad_RIP 11.10.25 в 11:17

The demon's victim, having fallen from a height of just over ten yards, didn't break. The screaming boy even tried to rise from the ground. And at that very moment, he was trampled by the maddened horses that had broken free from the stable and were galloping across the yard. Only then did the poor fellow fall silent...

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 14:43

"Foreman, do you want this creature to jump in here and eat us?!" John, dumbfounded, rushed at me, pushed me away, and closed the window again.

Camrad_RIP 18.10.25 в 14:44