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Fortress of Hope 1
Chapter 1Chapter first.Between life and death.Oh. How it bothers me. My head hurts like a sore tooth. It's so bad that you don't even want to open your eyes. I'll go a little more. No strength is bad. Something runs down my face. Rain? Salty drops fall into the mouth. Familiar taste. Blood. My? Spit. I don't care at all now. - Mister. Sir, wake up. - Be quiet! Why are you shaking him? Can't you see that the blood is gushing from the head - a second voice barked in the hearts. Husky and rough...with a clear, overbearing note... - Well, I wanted it better. Maybe dip it in a stream? The water is icy, it will come to itself at once.- I'll dunk you there now! And I won't take it out again! Let's run after the druid. Let's live! Get moving, you sklirs brat! yelled the second.“Yes, I’m already running, running,” the receding voice of the first responded conciliatory. - And tell him to hurry up, - the second one shouted after him, - And grab a blanket!Every sound echoed in my head w
Fortress of Hope 2
Chapter 2Chapter two.Path into the unknown.A bright ray of sunlight broke through closed eyelids. Opened my eyes. A familiar picture - a blue sky overhead, tree branches, a light lulling swaying of a stretcher. They're taking me somewhere again. Listened to feelings. The head began to hurt much less, the leg only slightly twitches. Raising his head, he saw the backs of two hefty warriors dragging a stretcher. - Good morning! I greeted loudly, trying to smile happily. In surprise, one of the porters in front twitched and unclenched his arms, the stretcher tilted, and I fell out of them safely. He only managed to notice the ground rapidly flying towards him and lost consciousness from a crushing collision ... darkness ... Oh. My poor head. I won't open my eyes yet. Something is bothering me. A familiar voice of a big man was heard nearby:“Why did you leave the stretcher, you sclerous brat?” BUT?! It looks like Ricard is having an educational conversation with a negligent porter
Fortress of Hope 3
Chapter 3Chapter three.Dark past.The next day began for me as usual - I woke up on a stretcher gently swaying in the air, when the sun was already at its zenith. Again he slept for more than half a day, or even more.Taught by recent bitter experience, I gripped the edges of the stretcher more firmly and only then ventured to open my mouth:- Good morning.Amazing. The stretcher only slightly twitched, but did not even tilt. This is what the miraculous fist does! “Good morning, sir,” a chorus of voices greeted me. - Isn't it hard for you to carry me? I asked. They assured me with an oath that the precious burden (that's me) is not burdensome at all and this is a great honor for them. About the fact that yesterday my carcass was lying in the road dust, they did not mention, and I prudently kept silent. - How long have we been on the road?“We’ve been going for half a day, sir,” answered the porter with a black eye, which did not prevent him from smiling happily.Raising myself o
Fortress of Hope 4
Chapter 4Chapter Four.In a new place.The first day in a new place turned out to be one of the most difficult for me - for the first time I tried to stand up and take a few steps. Prudent Ricard prepared a pair of homemade crutches for this occasion and now cackled at me like a mother hen, running from one side to the other. I refused his offer to lie down for another day, they say, they can handle it themselves, which caused a bunch of reproaches about my indiscretion and stupidity. Seeing that I was stubborn and could not be persuaded, the big man sighed contritely and, after a short absence, returned with crutches. Looks like he prepared ahead of time, doubting my prudence. And now, leaning on crutches, I was preparing to take the first step. Taking a cautious step, I shifted my weight onto my injured leg and listened to the sensations. Tolerable. I am not a walker for long distances, but so far this has not been required. From an unexpected thought that came to my mind, I laug
Fortress of Hope 5
Chapter 5Chapter five.The first surprises, pleasant and not so.Sitting down on a thick log next to the kitchen, I ate breakfast with pleasure, not forgetting to look around. The camp turned into a lively anthill. Work was in full swing. The air was filled with the smell of freshly cut wood, dug up earth, smoke and the smell of food being cooked. The men cut down trees, dragged logs and stones. Women, under the supervision of my namesake business executive, dismantled the remaining untouched bags of belongings and watched the nimble children, who strived to stick their nose where it was not necessary. The older youth cut down the thickets of bushes, removed small stones - I ordered to clear the space from the back rock to the future wall of the fort clean. So that not a branch sticks out. So that not a single stone sticks out of the ground. Useless garbage for incineration, small stone in a separate pile. Fortunately, the ground was relatively flat, only in a couple of places huge
Fortress of Hope 6
Chapter six.Work is in full swing. Problems are multiplying.Thanks to joint efforts, the place for the future fort was almost completely cleared: trees and shrubs were cut down, boulders and stone fragments were dumped into a huge pile. Now it is much easier to imagine the outlines and location of future buildings. Most of the people worked with their bare hands - from the tools there were about a dozen axes, heels of saws and the same number of hammers. But, despite this, the work was in full swing and subsided only with the onset of darkness. Now a dozen men, under the supervision of Drovin, were driving thick stakes into the ground, marking the contours of the protective wall. Only she could protect us from attack. That the attack would definitely happen, I had no doubt. After watching the work and exchanging a few words with Drovin, I went on. My leg buckled and, despite the protests of Ricard and Father Flatis, I got rid of the annoying crutch with great relief. He was still
Fortress of Hope 7
Chapter seven.Descent into the abyss.Instead of two days, three days passed, and we did not approach the cave a single step. No matter how hard Ricard tried, he did not succeed in completing all the preparations for the deadline set by me. The required amount of rope was not found and we had to weave it from young shoots of the temlis bush, which, fortunately for us, grows abundantly nearby. The stiff stems of temlis yielded poorly, they had to be soaked in water for a long time and only then twisted into bundles. While Ricard was preparing for the descent, I had to shoulder all the hardships of managing myself. Glory to the Creator, the people I appointed turned out to be intelligent and sharp-witted. They solved most of the difficulties without me and only in the most difficult cases asked for help. In my opinion, the preparation of food for the winter was too slow, and I mercilessly drove poor Litas. According to the chief hunter, the main difficulty was not the search for pre
Fortress of Hope 8
Chapter eight.The first harbinger of trouble.The next morning was sunny and warm. Clear weather was overshadowed by only one incident - Leni broke loose. Shortly before that, I was just standing nearby and discussing with Drevin the question of the speedy construction of a canopy over the entrance to the cave, when I discovered that the master did not listen to me at all and, with his jaw hanging to the ground and glazed eyes, stared somewhere behind me. Intrigued, I turned around, and that's when it happened. A small figure fell off a sheer wall, frantically waving its arms and emitting a heart-rending cry, in an instant covered the distance to the ground and inelegantly crashed into it, raising a high fountain of mud. Glory to the Creator, this momentous event took place at a height of only fifteen cubits from the ground, and Leni escaped with a broken arm in two places, a bruised back and numerous scratches and abrasions. Lucky. Of course, we learned all this later, and at the