..............Mist..:
........(c)Schafft..:
Demons ask to serve,
But I don't serve anyone.
Even you, even yourself
Even the one whose power it is.
V. Butusov "Demons"
...Prologue...
And storms, destroying everything along the way
And covering everything with rubble,
Now in the free sea, now on land
They are vying madly.
I.V. Goethe "Faust"
The sea waves raged stronger and stronger. small
a stunted boat made of rough-hewn wood,
swayed from side to side like a grain of sand. Sail,
which now looked more like rags, dangled helplessly
on the mast, trembling under the blows of the hurricane.
There were two people sitting in the boat, their heads wrapped in black
raincoats. Both of them, as if not even noticing the storm, looked into the distance.
And such fear was visible in their eyes, as if what they saw
was the worst tragedy in their lives. Right above the island,
above which sea whirlwinds swirled, right in the black, closed
clouds in the sky, sparkled with dim light,giant red eye.
It was from this eye that the horror and fear that made its way into
heart, binding the body like shackles.
An unexpected gust of wind turned the boat around and began to drive it towards
southeast, taking with it both the fear and pain of what happened
here. And as an event it was entered into memory, but not ordinary, but
hidden deep, in which there is no name, the cat keeps
memory of all living beings past, present and future...
...Kidnapping...
Look, in the cloudless sky
A flying frigate is sailing.
V. Butusov "Flying Frigate"
Mist Continent, theater ship "Prima Vista"
He looked very strange, which he himself noticed. His appearance
was not similar to any of the races in the vicinity of the Mist Continent.
Although no, rather He resembled several races at the same time.
For example: the tail was similar to the Hamsters1, but they had a rat-like
face and thin tail; He resembled people in height and physique,
but was rather below their average height. A face more like
monkey-like, but not hairy, and with bright yellow hair, never
growing to more than a certain length, apparently awarded
His nature alone. Most likely He was a cross between several
races (well, his ancestors tried their best). In other matters, this
description, to some gentlemen (and soladies) it won’t seem
quite beautiful, but I assure you that for many young girls
Landblum He was handsome (which, by the way, he often took advantage of).
He went down the inter-level pipe into the hold of the ship. Lightweight
the light from the porthole illuminated his thick hair, in which
bright sparks appeared. The ends of the hair touched the raised collar
black short sleeveless vest. On the belt, left and right, hung
two dirks that lightly tapped against their sides with every step
light blue pants that flare out at the knees.
Straightening his shoulders, He looked around, everything was here - all the objects:
barrels, ropes, cables; furnishings: cabinets, hatches, portholes,
despite the fact that this ship was flying, it belonged to
an ordinary sea ship. And even if you don’t look outside, you can
it was easy to think that you were sailing on an ordinary sea, and not among
clouds At the same time, the ship, as if rocking, swayed slightly
from side to side. Having seen enough, He turned around and waved
tail, walked into the cabin door.
There was deep darkness inside, and even the light from the corridor
illuminated the cabin through the door porthole. Knocking on the threshold
foot, He cursed briefly under his breath, and began to rummage through his pockets,
and finding matches, illuminated the room. In dim lighting it angles
There was a table with a candlestick in the middle of the cabin. Approaching him, He
lit four candles.
Suddenly, hearing his steps, someone's voiceasked:
- Hey, who's that there?
“It’s me, Stron,” answered the man standing in the middle of the room.
The door on the right creaked open and three people came out.
The first was Fist - an experienced fighter with a broadsword2. His big head
was covered with a scarf tied at the back of her head, as they do
pirates. Second to the cabin, swinging a large war hammer on his shoulder
m, Cook came in wearing a white apron and a chef’s hat, as expected
real coke. The last one was Scar. He adjusted the bandage on
head, from under which a terrible whitish scar could be seen, then
He lowered his palms onto the hilts of the blades hanging on his belt.
In general, it was a real gang of thieves, which was distinguished
in a crowd of lords and commoners, like dirt in the snow. But then
At the same time, she could become inconspicuous, like glass in water.
Those who entered greeted Strohn: they hit the
left palm, clicking the heels of his sturdy boots.
“Stron, you’re very late,” Fist warned with a narrowed eye.
waving your index finger in front of his nose, you will receive
scolding from the boss.
“These are my problems,” Stron said, waving his hand.
At the same time, the door opposite opened, and into the cabin
the fifth member of the gang came in, or rather the boss of these lazy people (as he
often called them) - Barel. He was a crossbreed
boggits1 and hamsters. His entire body, flesh from the face to the soles
legs, was covered with softlight purple fur. Having examined
With an appraising glance, he stopped at Strona and said:
“We’ll talk about your lateness later,” Barel
I looked at everyone again, - and now quickly go to my “office”. We need
repeat once again our plan for further action.
The “office” was located in the hold and was a cabin
captain. Having descended, the team members settled around the table,
on which was a magnificent model of the castle of Alexandria. Boss
scratched behind his ear and said:
- So, let's begin. A certain group called "Tantalus" is
we must arrive in Alexandria and kidnap Princess Brighta.
To do this, we must get into the palace under the guise of the famous
Landblum theater troupe.
“I will continue further,” said Cook, getting off the chest, “after
Once we arrive in Alexandria, we will give the famous
a performance that will appeal to all residents of the city,
called "I want to be your canary"... Have fun, Fist,
you play the main role.
“But the real kidnappers will be, of course, Scar and Stron,”
Fist said, drumming his fingers on the surface of the table.
“Yeah,” Scar confirmed, “at a certain moment, we
Stronom, let's play our scene, which the audience will never forget,
and immediately disappear unnoticed. Then I will neutralize the sleepy guards
powder.
“And at this time I’m kidnapping the princess,” Strohn finished.“That’s right,” Barel nodded, “you will kidnap the most beautiful and
Princess Bright and Anderson, famous throughout the kingdom. A
Now everyone is in place, relax. We are approaching Alexandria.
Continent of Mist, Alexandria, square in front of the gate
Looking around at the pink and orange buildings with gable roofs,
covered with red tiles, Ruth walked along the square paved
gray stone. Then, stopping, he turned his gaze to
a bronze monument located in the middle of a circular square. This
There was a heroic-looking woman in armor. With her right hand
leaned on a sword, the tip of which was directed downwards, and with her left
on a large triangular shield. Ruth looked at the sign nailed
to the cement pedestal. "Deborah Guy Nilsson - the first general
Alexandrian soldiers at the founding of the kingdom" - was
engraved in gilded letters on black marble. Ruth again
looked around the openwork gate made of blue cast iron, through which he had just
entered this city. Then he took a deep breath, remembering something
his own, and walked with an awkward gait over the stones to the main square
cities.
Ruth swung his arms sharply while walking, and like a duck
moved his feet along the street, which gave the impression that
that he was about to fall. Forced him to walk this way, him
same own growth. Ruth was about a meter or more tall, although
It was difficult to find out exactly his height, solike on his head
sported a tall, pointed straw hat with large
fields. The shadow of the fields hid his face, it seemed that under
hat has no head at all, and only two lights glow from the darkness
bright yellow and round eyes like buttons. The darkness went inside
under the raised collar of a sea-green cloak. And under the cloak
puffy striped trousers flashed by.
Suddenly Ruth stopped as she lay down on the street from above
the shadow was huge, and a strong wind blew from behind, due to which
It didn't take long for Ruth to lose his balance. He raised his head and almost
fell: the sight was truly magnificent for him.
Almost a quarter of the sky overhead was covered by a large spot.
At first, Ruth couldn’t make out what it was because of the blinding sun,
leaning towards sunset, but looking closer, I realized that this was the bottom
flying ship. On the bow of a theater ship, and this was the name
but he, with his fish tail between his legs, with inlaid malachite
scales, sat a plaster statue of a mermaid-nymph, with loose,
behind his back, in the wind with large bird wings. On deck
the ship had cabins, which from the outside looked like large
y gazebo with carved columns, on top of which there was
pyramidal roof. On the left and right sides there were the same
"gazebos", but they were much smaller and lower than the central one. On
three domes, pointed roofs, there were screws,gigantic
the blades, which rotated at breakneck speed. Hanging on the stern
swaying from side to side, a huge steering wheel made of light
strong wood (from which, by the way, all the
ship), and another propeller was spinning under it. The ship slowly
floated through the airspace towards the snow-white
Alexandria Castle.
“What a colossus this is,” thought Ruth, and again almost falling over,
took a step back - “How big is the world for such a
a little creature like me." Looking around at those rushing to the square
people, he walked slowly along with the crowd.
My heart was not at peace. The moment came when
I wanted to cry and thrash about. By an effort of will, Ruth forced himself
suppress this desire within myself, it was so strong. This is the case with
it began to happen often after the death of my grandfather. He took a long time
I was killed, becoming an orphan, not finding a place for myself. Finally, already
in despair, he remembered the words of his grandfather Kwan that it was impossible
grieving for a long time - it depletes the nervous system, which is fraught
the disappearance of hidden forces in a living being.
The best way to get rid of everything that has accumulated, continued
usually grandfather, this will go on a short trip. Ruth decided
use these words. He soon learned that in
Alexandria hosts a grand celebration with a display
legendary play "I want to be yours"canary" placed
Landblum's troupe in honor of Princess Brighta's seventeenth birthday.
In the nearby town of Treno, he was able to get a ticket for
performance (by the way, for a very tidy sum). And went
with your short legs to Alexandria...
Ruth's memories were interrupted by a deafening hubbub
several hundred votes. He looked around. Huge area in front
the palace shone with diversity in all bright colors. They stood around
houses with colorful flags and garlands hung everywhere.
Near almost every house there were merchandise stalls with barkers,
who, interrupting each other, advertised their goods,
eloquently describing its merits. Noisy crowd of people
moved around the square, approaching first one bench, then
another. The people themselves were dressed magnificently, and it seemed everyone wanted
to say that he is the most chic today, on this day. Among
of this gilded and shining crowd, despite his
small in stature, noticed a small “pipe” in the middle of the square
checkpoint to the castle with the inscription "Tickets". Trying not to
caught in the footsteps of the crowd, Ruth made his way to the checkout line.
His previous state of melancholy turned into an impatient one.
excitement. A small lump came to my throat, choking
breathing, and a slight trembling permeated the whole body. Finally, with
impatiently waiting for yourRuth drawled out the line with trepidation
your yellowish ticket. Cashier, hamster, twirling in his hands
rectangular cardboard, said:
“Some kind of strange ticket... Oh yes, of course,” he said with
some irony in the voice, - such tickets, baby, I have for today
I've seen enough. This is fake.
- What?! - Ruth's mood plummeted.
- Unfortunately, there are now many such speculators trading
fakes. For example, I was recently offered to buy a card of everything
world with four continents, when it is known that in addition to ours
mainland, there is nothing else... Don't be offended, I hope it's
will at least somehow console you,” the hamster rummaged in the pockets of his
jacket and took out some kind of stack - these are playing cards, or rather
only five pieces of the first level. Maybe you can win
all the cards, I already have thirty-eight of them,” Ruth, wiping her eyes,
there are five cardboard boxes in sira, - in our city there is a guy who
loves to play, his name is Card Jack. They say he has
ticket to the show. You could beat him and get
ticket. He often hangs around that alley,” the cashier waved his hand,
pointing your thumb in the right direction.
The thick cardboards depicted five creatures that lived
not far from the city. Playing these cards couldn't do
the winner is richer or poorer, since the prize was themselves
cards. After thanking the cashier, RuthI went to hope
lane. It was different here than in the square. Instead of flags on
There was laundry hanging on the walls to dry, and there was a strong smell all around
rotten fish. Standing on a stepladder next to one of the doors,
some dwarf was nailing the sign to a special pole.
While staring, Ruth did not notice that his foot caught on a protruding
cobblestone and fell with a soft splash onto the paved road.
The dwarf on the stepladder tapped his finger in surprise
hammer, and let out a few strong words that
Ruth, getting up and straightening his hat, did not understand. Green wooden
the sign was askew and the dwarf, adjusting it back, said in
emptiness:
- There are all sorts of people walking around here. They interfere with work. This is like a passage yard
what? Is it really impossible to look at your feet? Well, the youth went
now,” he finally adjusted the sign and began to go downstairs, “
Now it’s not a sin to miss a glass of beer in a pub,” he said himself
himself, leaving the alley for the square. He still continued something
mutter under his breath, but Ruth couldn't make out a word. He
followed him with his gaze and thought - “how strange these
urban."
Turning around, he saw a boy standing by the stairs,
a leather cap pulled over a rat's head, holding onto
the railing of the stepladder, and examining it from bottom to top. Then he
turned his head to Ruth and walked up to him.
- Hey, you,hat,” the little rat began impudently, “you obviously
one of those who got tricked with fake tickets?
-Are you Card Jack? - answered Ruth’s question with a question.
- Oh damn, do I really look like this bungler?
Ruth shrugged his shoulders - he had nothing to answer.
- Okay, it doesn't matter. I have a proposal for you. You, for sure
like me, you want to get into the show, so
I suggest you help me and become my servant for a while.
Ruth was at a loss - this had never been offered to him before.
once in a lifetime. But on the other hand, did he really go that way?
just to trample around the square and nowhere
visit. Moreover, it seems that this proposal promises
a little adventure. And he agreed, shaking his head.
“Great,” the boy deftly kicked the lower legs
stepladder, it easily folded and fell into his hands, - help
me. Now we'll take it somewhere.
The two of them ran through the narrow streets, maneuvering between
rare passers-by. With a quick jog they reached the point
destination - it was an old church. Here they somehow climbed up
along the tower stairs to the bell tower. When they climbed
roof, then Ruth saw that the nearby roofs of other buildings
connected by small wide boards. They ran across the rooftops
since we were already late - the sun had almost disappeared behind
horizon. Ruthevery time they ran across the boards,
closed his eyes - he was afraid of falling due to a lung
dizziness.
After running a couple more roofs, they reached the castle wall. kid
straightened the stepladder and threw it onto the jagged peaks of the wall.
Then he ran up it, jumping over the steps, Ruth
followed him.
The sun has completely set. Two shadows ran in the back rows and
settled down in one of the passages organized specifically for
this presentation.
Suddenly, the palace lights went out, engulfing everyone in darkness. And
the audience roared with a chorus of applause. Ruth and the baby rat
supported them by frantically clapping their hands.
Mist Continent, Alexandria Castle, Royal Balcony
Will was assigned to the princess as a personal guard, although
In service, he was listed as the captain of the Pluto soldiers guarding
Alexandria Castle. Now he stood on the royal balcony,
overlooking a square surrounded by castle walls. Among the done
quick places for the townspeople, a theater ship towered,
standing on special supports. Together with Will on the balcony
Queen Branagh, her daughter Princess Brighta, and General
Great's active army (it had soldiers in its service
female only).
After the applause died down, Will raised his sword
up, which meant the start of the show. The whole palace at that hourshone with all the colors of the rainbow due to flashes like
blossoming flowers, fireworks. Cheerful marching music began to play,
rushing from the deck of the ship where Landblum's
orchestra. A new wave of applause rose from the crowd. Will
I looked furtively at the princess, but she, unlike the queen,
not only was she not happy about the fireworks, but she didn’t even look down at
ship - she sat with sad half-closed gasps and
turned her attention to the holiday organized in honor of her day
birth.
On the ship, at this very time, something strange was happening: the deck,
together with the orchestra located on it, began to rise upward
with the help of some cunning mechanisms. And soon she climbed up
so much that in the light of flashes one could see the real
theater stage, along the perimeter of which several
torches-illuminators.
To the applause that was already fading, Barel came on stage,
dressed in royal dress.
“Your Majesty, Your Highness,” he said under
the dying music, - dear lords and residents of Alexandria sitting
on the roofs, for your pleasure Landblum Theater
the troupe invites you to see the famous play by Redrigo Ezmori
about love and revenge - "I want to be your canary."
Mist Continent, Alexandria Castle, ship scene
“Act one, act two,” said the speakerafter
a short break. The curtain parted, revealing to the audience
artificial scenery of an ancient castle. Barel stood on the stage,
all in the same royal dress, and Fist, holding at the ready
naked Barel looked at Fist from under his eyebrows and
began in a strummed bass voice:
Barel:
You are stupid and arrogant, like your father -
You'll never reach her.
The princess will leave you forever.
Fist:
But it’s not for you to judge what will happen -
This, everyone knows, is the will of the gods.
It is my will to direct my path
Through the wilds to your beloved.
Barel:
Fool, can you understand
That you are rootless, even a prince.
And according to this the princess will go,
By agreement - for Kalva.
Fist:
But love...
Barel:
NO!!!... And it's not up to you to decide.
(At this time, exclamations are heard from behind the scenes)
For the kingdom of Oldria!
For blood feud!
Damn Dronia!!!
Let's not disgrace our honor!
(Strawn, Cook and Scar run onto the stage. Each of them has
palm there is a naked sword)
Fist (turning his head):
I don't need help
I can handle it alone.
Strawn:
The reason is not only because of you,
There's a bigger goal here.
He will answer me for killing his father.
Barel:
Get out of the royal chambers immediately.
Guards to me! Security Here!!!
(A pair of hamsters in soldier's uniform appears on stage)
Fist:
Life has no meaning when you're not around
The one with whom I can share grief and laughter.
Strawn:
Leaving me alone as an orphan,
You didn’t even bat an eyelid then,
ButYou will wash away your father’s death with blood.
(Strawn attacks the nearest guard and begins
a small brawl with elements of fencing, at the end of which
Everyone remains on stage except the soldiers. Stron stands next to the king with
raised at his neck with the tip of a sword)
Strawn:
And he will pierce you, parricide,
The steel is mine.
And revenge will finally be accomplished
(Scar takes Stron's sword away and Barel runs backstage. Scar
closes Stron's path in that direction)
1 Hamster (Engl.) - hamster. Hamsters - a race of rat-men
living in different cities. But their hometown is on
north of the Mist Continent in the city of Burmecia.
2 Broadsword - a type of two-handed sword, usually forged with
double-edged blade.
1 Bog (Engl.) - swamp. Boggits are a race of creatures that live
mainly in swamps, engaged mainly in mining
food and studying the laws of gourmetism.
...end...
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