At the command of the teacher, he found a stone in the water and, stretching out his hand, pointed his fingers at the running stream. As pressure began to build up under his palm, Grog clenched his fingers. The stone was caught the size of a camping barrel and did not immediately succumb. The water sparkled for a long time around his smooth sides before he lifted a smooth piece of basalt over the stream.Looking up at the glittering boulder above, Bangladore nodded in satisfaction.“ Do me a favor,” Grog asked, opening his fingers.The stone flopped into the water, showering the shore in a myriad of sparkling drops. Banglador wiped his wet face and looked at him with displeasure.I need personal time.– Why?- It's personal.The sorcerer smiled, appreciating the pun.- Good. You can do whatever you want in the afternoon when the heat takes over.With these words, the necromancer handed him the fourth beaker with a white slurry that looked like milk. Grog drank the stimulant and strain
It seemed to him no more than an hour before something heavy touched the surface of the table. Grog opened his eyes and lay on his back, noticing a man in the house. The wasteland and garden beyond the doorway were bathed in silver light. There was a lit candle on the table. The stranger did not move. A capacious hood fell over his face, hiding his features in deep shadow. A light linen cloak hung over his broad shoulders.- Get up! said a familiar voice dryly.- Bangladore?For the first time calling the necromancer by name, Grog for some reason was frightened. It really was his teacher. The sorcerer threw off his hood, allowing him to see the soot-stained face, which in the yellowish light resembled fermented pus. The sharp beard was slightly scorched. Brown eyes are wide open. Both sparkled like two pieces of dark amber. He was angry or scared, or both at the same time.- What's wrong with you? Grog asked cautiously, touching the talisman.- Get up and get dressed!With these words
At the same moment, an unknown force grabbed him and lifted him into the air. A tiny hole opened up on the wall of the cave, completely black and impenetrable, like liquid resin. The space around her began to move. Grog watched in fascination as the sarcophagus, and then the whole cave, flowed into it like water. When there was nothing left but darkness around, a blow to the back followed. An invisible stream picked him up and carried him into the void at the speed of a cannonball. Nobody's magic was terrible. She withered her skin and innards like the midday sun. The world around has hardened, turning into a piece of stone. It became hard to breathe. His hands went numb, his throat was tormented by a cough, and he kept rushing through the void, feeling only the cold of the blade on his chest and the growing pain under his heart.It seemed like an eternity before an orange dot flashed ahead. Through this point, the distorted outlines of the cave began to crawl into the darkness. First
There was not a soul in the common grotto. Thunder rumbled. In the distance beyond Rat Lake, dirty clouds swirled over the mountains. For the first time since autumn, Mirkhold was hit by a hurricane. Tantus was sitting in a pine armchair by the brick parapet and, wrapped in a loden, looked through the wall of rain. The rustle of leaves and the rumble of stones on the slopes of Teres brought him back to reality from time to time.He spent the morning of trida in thought, overcoming pain and guilt for what he had done. Climbing to the top of the red-hot pipe in the underground sanctuary cost him dearly, and the loss of his brothers unsettled him for a long time. Burnt palms were wrapped in bandages with healing ointments, the skin on the face burned like after a sunburn, and a fire raged in the heart. There was a lot to plan for, and unnecessary thoughts could only hurt, but the memories of Korda continued to obsessively crawl into my head. They first met at the city docks. The boy was
If you ask any navigator where in the world life is easier, he will point to the Equitanian archipelago. The islands in the south were deservedly called "safe haven". The last battles died down there hundreds of years ago, crafts flourished on the streets of the cities, ore was mined in the mountains, and crops were ripening in the fields. Even now, after centuries of prosperity and war with the Nikts, life in the south could be called a fairy tale, if not for one strange phenomenon.Snow fell there every winter.This happened for the first time seventy-nine years ago under Elingal X. Snow fell for a week, and then did not make itself felt for several years, after which it began to appear on the islands every winter. Peasants and miners quickly got used to it. In the mountains, it lay all year round, and in the east of Magoria it sometimes remained in the fields until late spring. Trivia and nothing more.Only a few met winter snowfalls with alarm. There was something sinister about t
He began to wear the artifact from the age of fourteen, after which another miracle happened. In dreams, Tant saw a city in the rocks, and someone's voice repeated a word similar to the name: "Mirai". There also appeared a door with skulls, which was described in the diaries of the Nismant Christabel, who came to this city along with the people of Baron Rainier.- Find an ancient city. Open the mysterious door. Looks like some kind of fairy tale, - the old man said with a smile. “I think you've been lucky twice. First, I dug up the memory of Mirai, enclosed in a stone, and then Christabel's diaries.- And the door? Why wasn't it opened when the city was robbed?“ Renier was a petty merchant from Crag Feron. He just wanted to get rich, but there was enough good here. Plus, the door is creepy. It remains to be seen what powers are hidden behind it.Tant caught the hint in the accountant's words. The old man knew a little more than the rest about the expedition and expressed his opinion,
- Hey! Look what we found! Yuller's voice was heard.The marauders stood in the center of the rectangular hall, and next to them, on a plinth, was a sarcophagus. The broken lid lay on the floor.“ In the name of Nismass!” Don't you dare! he shouted, pointing his hand with the bola at the southerners. - You know the laws! It is forbidden to open sarcophagi, urns and graves.Sebastian was the first to step back. The southerner wore a green jersey with brown puffs. He was short, with thick bristles, and was always carrying the mirror of his wicked wife in a case on his belt. The upturned nose and long golden hair made him handsome, and Üller's presence made him dumb.“ So there was nothing in it,” Sebastian muttered, pulling his comrade along with him, “except for these glass pieces. It's not a grave, your reverend.Tant looked around the high hall and not noticing anything remarkable except for six arched passages, he approached the sarcophagus. Ten men stood around him holding torches
A wide yellow strip went around the center of the hall and closed in on itself, forming a circle. A myriad of tiny ornaments were burned into it, among which the triangle most often came across. He had seen something similar before. Magorsky Nismanty called such figures "seals of Griefer." Filled with gold or silver, they absorbed spells and protected people who fell into their space.After making sure that the hall was safe, Tant called the others. The companions entered all at once, quickly looked around and began to whisper in displeasure.“ There’s nothing here,” one of the porters concluded. “Slag and dust all around. Let's go before the ceiling collapses.What about under your feet? Yuller said, touching the seal. “It's gold, bastard. Judging by the brilliance, the purest sample.“ Okay, then I’ll go to the camp for pickaxes.He headed for the exit, but the thick-set Taur blocked his path, reminding him that he shouldn't walk alone.- Hey! Look at this, ”Corda’s ringing voice ra