Бесплатный фрагмент - Friends in the World of Sword and Magic

Chapter 1 Magic and us

Woke up sweating. Life in a dream floated by like in a bad movie, in fragments. What have I managed to do in life? The horror camp was left behind with its lord of darkness Alejandro and my captivity in his world of nightmares. The little ball, the magic yo-yo, everything was a game. I haven’t even experienced true love. Of course I have Katya, but I only like her for her body. Olya doesn’t talk to me, she’s dating this Andryshaya. Many times I wanted to meet him in a dark alley with bricks, but I didn’t. Not because I was afraid, but because I love Olya and don’t want to see tears on her sweet face.

— What was the prankster thinking about? — The beautiful girl who was lying naked in my bed stroked my cheek. Her blonde hair hid half of her pretty face. The little mounds of her breasts rose and fell with every breath she took. She knows that I look at her differently from others. — If you think that he will be jealous or offended, don’t worry, he’s still just a child, not like you. He will probably invite you to play in the yard. Although you seem to be already eighteen, just like me. You just returned from the village a month ago. — The girl put her finger in her cute mouth and licked it. Then she smiled. — Came back changed. Not a boy but a man. Katya told me what you did with her later. As her best friend, I couldn’t help but try. — The girl kissed me on the cheek. Her breath is heavy and she smells nice. She woke up while I was sleeping and brushed my teeth. I like that about her. Not like Svetka, my girlfriend. Although for me this convention became blurred after the village. All the girls are mine, not one has the right to me. I’ll fuck them all.

— You know Katya, I don’t belong to you. You jumped into my bed yourself.

— Did you invite me to the concert? — The girl was surprised.

— I wanted to help a friend. He even gave you money, well, you know why with him. — It’s still difficult for me to talk about this, but it will soon pass.

«I helped him, although it was difficult to do.» «The girl smiled slyly at me and crawled under the blanket. — He doesn’t have the same device as you.

I closed my eyes, but not with pleasure, I understood that I would have to pay for all this, if, of course, my friend found out about it. An hour later I was already standing in the yard with full sunflower seeds in my pocket. My soul rejoiced at the summer, which was almost over, just a couple more warm days and it was time for me to go. To a place where they don’t expect me, but I have to be there. My friend didn’t want to join the army and went to college. I could too, and I was invited, but for the great purpose that I read in the book in the dark tomb of the cursed camp, I needed military training. And not only that, I must learn to manage others. The army is the best place for this, well then I thought so.

Neighbors passing by said hello, I helped many as best I could. We have a very friendly area, I don’t understand why. The girls looked at me askance and smiled. They liked the new me, just like I did. That insecure boy was washed away into a whirlpool of love and intrigue in the village of the grandparents of the hero Port Arthur. I had the pleasure of getting to know some of them better, especially those over eighteen.

I noticed my friend from a distance, he was slowly walking through the yard with his eternal grin, which always made me happy, but now it scared me, it seemed to me that he had found out that his girlfriend was cheating on him with me and was preparing revenge. And he could take revenge cruelly and stop at nothing. I knew this and was not without reason afraid of my friend. Although I have never had a more reliable friend in my life, I cannot say that about myself. I’m still that scum.

«Victor today is a big day, we will go to another world,» Petka said with a serious face. «The answers to all our questions are there.»

— I won’t go peeking into the bathhouse. The jaw hasn’t healed since last time, the bathhouse attendant’s left blow is good, it’s impossible to dodge, it’s not for nothing that she worked as a sleeper for twenty years. Aunt Masha still shakes her fist when I walk near her house.

— No, you ugly thing, we are going to another world.

With these words our great adventure began. Which may not end well for me. The fear of being discovered remained hanging in the air. Although I noticed that my friend had not spent much time with me lately, I thought that he was busy with his girlfriend. But she recently admitted that he hardly notices her. Although I used to approach her like that before.

Why did everything go dark? Petka dragged me to the attic. He told me to stand in a circle with strange symbols on the floor, closing my eyes. The world around me began to spin, I felt sick, and it was as if I had fallen into a well. It was cold, probably minus ten degrees, but then it suddenly got warmer. The bright light blinded me, but when I was able to see where I was, I was shocked. This is not the attic of my five-story house, this is a well-lit room with furniture from the ancient Middle Ages. A basin of water in the corner, a kitchen ten meters long with windows covered with dark curtains through which the street could not be seen, and three rooms no more than six meters high. And the strangest thing about all this was that in the center of the room a beautiful girl of eighteen years old in a black maid’s apron was kneeling. Beautiful long blond shoulder-length hair and slightly slanted almond-shaped eyes spoke of the girl’s Eastern origins. Around her neck she wore a black collar decorated with sapphires. There are two small thin rings on the hand, one made of silver and the other made of gold. I immediately recognized them, these are rings that my friend bought a year ago, saying that he would give them to the one he loved. This means where he was running away from me all this time. I examined her with such a sweetie and I would have fun. I appreciated my friend’s choice and smiled in my heart. Maybe he still won’t take revenge on me for the girl, or rather for the ex-girlfriend, although she doesn’t know this yet, so she will be surprised that it was he who abandoned her and not she.

— Mister, you have arrived. And your friend Victor is with you. Mr.’s friend has heard a lot about you. Serving my master is good for me. I live to serve him faithfully. — The girl smiled sweetly at me. — I will do whatever he orders. — At these words, the girl looked askance at my friend. Apparently not everything is so smooth in this world that my friend called me. Although, knowing Petka, he simply doesn’t have it.

— He is also your master. From this day forward, serve him as you serve me. — Petka said with an imperious look, although then he winked at me with a smile and pushed me in the side. I stood there with my mouth open. Everything seemed somehow unreal to me, somehow fabulous. This is definitely not a dream, I pinched myself, but so that my friend wouldn’t see. Convinced of the reality of what was happening, I looked at the girl and smiled at her.

— The command has been accepted. I will continue to fulfill my duties. Food on the table, clothes in the wardrobe. They have already delivered the rings and amulets in a chest for your arrival. You urgently need to change clothes, you can’t walk around the city like this. I’ll help you change clothes, sir.

Having said this, the beautiful maid left the kitchen into the room on the left, probably her own. Although why does she call herself his servant, my friend had not yet trained girls like that and did not have hypnosis, although Petka remained a mystery to me, although I am his best friend.

For a second I noticed her disdain in her gaze towards my friend. The pleasant smell of her perfume filled the room, so I involuntarily inhaled. Ripe plum with berries. They reminded me of summer and Masha, the first lady in my life. Pleasant

— Who is this? «That was all I could say.» — Your lady’s heart. I thought you already had a girlfriend. Although I approve of your choice.

He rubbed his chin and patted me on the shoulder. So he has something to tell.

— First, sit down at the table and let’s eat, it’s not for nothing that she cooked so much, she was waiting for you, probably. — My friend sat down at the table with a grin and began to eat with me. There were hot sausages, potato pie and dumplings on the table. The smell of the dishes whetted my appetite, although in the morning I was well fed by Petka’s ex-girlfriend. — This is my friend, the golem doll, Virgil’s servant. Blonde with a beautiful figure, but you can’t hook up with her. This doll is not alive, but if you pester it, it can cause a program defect. — After these words, he began to rub his cheek. It can be seen that he received his warning or «even a red card.» A chill passed through my body, which means he’s not with her, but it’s a pity, everything would have worked out well for me. We’ll have to get out. As a child, he was ready to do anything for a toy that had been taken away, but I don’t know what he would do for a girl. Instinctively, he covered his friend with his hands. «Nothing bad will happen if we find a new doll in the Gerard store, where I bought it for an expensive price.» For some reason, the owner did not want to let her go, he says that she knows a lot about the kingdom because she worked as a slave maid in the palace. She refuses to talk about this, although I would like to know what the queen really is like; judging by the portraits, she is very beautiful. But I digress, I like her so far. -He smiled slyly and looked at the room into which the maid had gone, and a nervous cough was heard from there. And she has good hearing, I need to be careful if I plan to put my hand on her, but what if my friend didn’t succeed, then it’s my turn. «And he performs his duties well.» — My friend understood my train of thought and continued smiling with a sad smile, he understood that I had more chances, no matter how you looked at it. «Try not to anger her, otherwise you’ll get hit not only in the face, but also in the treasure.» We are in the world of magic, my friend, and great adventures await us. I came into this world two months ago, you were in the village at that time and of course you were bored without me. — He shook his head, knowing full well that this was not so. Over the summer, I only remembered him several times, and not from the best side. — When I found magic chalk and his diary at the dacha of my late grandfather Anatoly Viktorovich Kurochkin. It said that you need to make a circle in a quiet place and this way you can get into the magical world. Grandfather wrote that he had been here many times and done great things. I also wanted to come here. When I got here, this house was destroyed, then I bought it and furnished it. This was the best decision of my life.

On the street, a guard in armor and with a rapier caught me and took me to the head of the guild of heroes. He had clear instructions on this matter. They drove me around the city in a carriage, hiding my school uniform from the townspeople. The guild quickly explained to me what was what, the head of the guild is from our world, he is Vietnamese, he has a bald head and a beard for one hundred and forty years, his name is Mr. Chao. Then I was given a hero card, which replaces a passport here, everyone except slaves has one. They gave me a form in which I was able to indicate which parameters could be disclosed and which could not; my one hundred and twentieth level was high even by the standards of this world. Chao has only the one hundred and tenth level, and here he is considered almost a demigod, according to him, among people. In the guild, I chose the name Peter the Lightning, because he is sharp with his words and can shoot lightning from his hands. Yes, you can do it yourself if you practice. Here are the spell books. — He handed me the book. I read it in a minute and memorized it. My friend was always amused by this ability. He himself apparently did not fully read it and did not understand much. Notes in the margins told me that he spent his nights trying to learn some of the tricks of the magician’s craft. — I have about three thousand gold coins in my account. They will last me a long time, because I bought this house for ten gold pieces. He gave fifty to the gnomes for repairs. The guild gives money for silence, where are we from, so don’t talk about it, got it. —

I nodded, but didn’t understand half of what he was saying. I was thrown ashore like a fish. The influx of information took my breath away. What is he carrying? What kind of gnomes and magicians. What maids and fish. Especially the queen. We are simple guys from the area, even though we studied at an elite school. But my friend doesn’t think that this is not our level. I’m still preparing to leave for the army, and he’s again pulling me into dangerous and meaningless adventures. He will grow up someday, we are not children anymore. His fantasy scares me. I wonder how much he paid at the flea market for this book, which looks obviously fake, because it’s too new. Such a book must be old and decrepit, because it described quite serious things that a decent printing house would not have printed, especially on such expensive paper and leather binding, clearly made from donkey skin.

— Our state is called the Grand Floria Empire (probably because there are a lot of forests), the capital, where we are located, is the city of Landgraf, and the continent is Hundred. This practice of paying aliens from another world for silence began about a hundred years ago. When my grandfather caused trouble, told everyone about our world, sowed panic and civil strife. Three wars started because of him. Two polo kingdoms, Lithia and Etruia. At the council of kings, they decided to appease aliens from other worlds. Here they are called «Wanderers» and are hunted. That is, on us. Here you see the Middle Ages in all its glory. Just like I dreamed.

— So your grandfather still plays a big role in your life.

— Yes, my grandfather died, but he takes care of me in his own way. They gave me the money. I inherited them, so to speak. I was given several simple tasks in the guild, in order for me to become gold rank and replenish my piggy bank to five thousand gold coins. One gold is one hundred silver, and one silver is one hundred copper, it’s simple. There are not many ranks here: the lowest is iron, then comes steel, bronze, silver, gold, followed by the very rare orichalcum and platinum. Gold is considered very prestigious and with it you get a sixty percent discount in restaurants and taverns, shops and brothels. There are three platinum and orichalcum heroes in the world. And then they really are demigods of the one hundred and fifteenth level. One of them is an elf, yes, they are also here, the other two are a magician and a vampire. So after eating, we’ll go register you in the guild, you can’t go without documents, I can’t wait to find out your rank and specialization, my. — He raised his head proudly. — «Savior of the Worlds.» After that, we will buy you a sword and a magic staff. And, of course, you need to change clothes.

I had a lot of questions, but I was shocked and didn’t ask them. After finishing the dumplings, I headed to the room that my friend showed me to change clothes; the robe and hat were lying on the bed. I don’t want an unfamiliar uncle with a rapier to take me in a carriage, you never know what he can do. Although I did not believe in the reality of what was happening, I could expect from Petka a dummy actor in the role of a guard, so he would not stand on ceremony with me. He’ll beat you up in the corner and laugh, and a friend will come up with a nice face and say that he warned you, so I started taking off my clothes, waiting to see what would happen next.

My friend was in the next room and when I heard a knock on the door, I thought that it was he who said «come in,» but the maid came and began to help me change clothes. Her every movement was graceful and beautiful. Hands are skillful and strong. Her beautiful face was so close to mine and she looked at me without looking away. Light strokes on my body delighted me. No girl has ever done this before. I was embarrassed and very happy. She is a very beautiful and sweet girl, and she smelled so nice. In my world, she could easily be a magazine model with her height of one hundred and eighty centimeters. I noticed that she was smiling when she looked at me, although she looked at my friend with a cold gaze. She sniffed at me several times and rolled her eyes, even foam came out of her mouth, which she immediately wiped with a handkerchief. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to wash myself with soap and shampoo. Although maybe she smelled the perfume of my friend’s girlfriend, although I tried to hide it with my sweat.

After getting dressed, I left the room with Virgil, for some reason by the hand. I was pleased to feel her warm hand. But it was as if there was no life in her, a strange feeling, and a familiar one. Fragments of memory or hallucinations caused by the movement burst into consciousness, a dark room, a robe and glasses. The small body on the table begs for mercy, but I or someone else just laughs, intending to do something terrible. I shook my head trying to shake off these thoughts and of course let go of the girl’s hand. She didn’t like it and sat down at the table with her arms crossed. Although then she immediately began to smile at me. How quickly her mood changes. I wonder if she can really like me?

«Your friend looks like a clown.» — My friend laughed, although he himself was dressed in the same robe as myself, it’s good that the maid taught me how to wear it correctly, otherwise I would have tripped without walking even two steps.

— You yourself are a joke. «I muttered, turning away. What was he really up to?

— Don’t be offended. Let’s go, the guild is waiting. He smiled, but I noticed that he didn’t like that the maid was dressing me and not him. Although he started it all and felt like he was in charge for the first time in a long time. He often wanted to be the leader of the group, but it was always me. Without me, he would have remained a troubled teenager with a bunch of complexes. Although I have enough of them, I skillfully hide them from others. Well I think so.

When we were leaving, Virgil suddenly stood up from the table and hugged me, saying:

— Mister Victor, good luck, let your nickname be the conqueror of heights.

Walking out into the yard, I immediately realized that we were already in a completely different world. Carts with horses carried straw, people with swords on their belts, magicians with hoods and magic staffs. This is definitely not my small provincial town in which I lived. I also noticed many magical races, such as ogres and elves, draconians and mermen, orcs, gnomes, small flying fairies, demons and beastmen of various types. The streets were clean, my friend said that the magic of cleansing works here and the mucus eats up dirt and debris. It was light everywhere, although the sun was already setting due to a special ore that glows at night in lanterns throughout the city.

Walking through the block, I understood why my friend liked this particular house, although the money would have been enough for something better. Just after the quiet block was the bustling red light district. Cups of various stripes beckoned customers to come in and taste the forbidden fruits. The smell of perfume and aromatic ointments, lubricants and sex was dizzying. Apparently, having been refused by the maid, he often comes here, maybe he ran out of money that the guild gave him, so he brought me here. So his plan is revealed, it’s good that he doesn’t know about us and his girlfriend. Will he forgive me for this? Of course, we often quarreled, but before that everything was child’s play, but now everything is serious. Why did I do this, I couldn’t resist the juicy naked body. She herself came on the very day when my girlfriend left for another city. She came to my room after my parents left and immediately undressed without saying anything. I couldn’t resist, even though I should have. For the sake of our friendship with Petka and for our own sake. But I’m a lost person, seeing a cute face I can’t resist. We need to correct ourselves and control ourselves. I definitely won’t dare to lay claim to Virgil. It would be better for her to be a nobody’s, than for me to let my friend down again. Although I immediately wanted to see her naked and find out why there seemed to be no life from her. Although she looks so alive, and the maid’s uniform is almost debauched. If she had worn glasses like Olya, I wouldn’t have been able to restrain myself a long time ago.

My friend laughed, mistaking my thoughtful look for embarrassment or desire.

— I see that you want to come in?

— No, Petka was not even in my thoughts. — Although such a thought came to my mind.

— Not now, sorry. We need to get money from the guild and take on a task. And — He came closer to me. «I’ve got a little idea, you’ll give me a thousand gold pieces in a friendly manner.»

— Of course friend. «I laughed, and it’s clear why I’m here.» Maybe by giving him the money I can go home. I don’t like all this medievalism and the world of sword and magic so much. It’s all painful for children. Although when I saw a naked minotaur girl with big bare breasts I immediately took my words back, the girl smiled sweetly at me and invited me with her hands to come into one of the salons.

«The main thing is don’t think that I called you just for this.» — He smiled, although too artificially, it is clear that very soon we can stop being friends. I will go to the army, he will go to college, and our paths will diverge forever. Although this is normal, it’s like this for everyone, childhood passes and adulthood begins.

— Of course friend, this will be our great adventure. «I said joyfully, I need to at least have some fun with him one last time, I’ll have at least something to remember in my old age, when I’m thirty.»

The guild was a large three-story building made of mountain stone with a large sign «Guild of Heroes» with a coat of arms in the form of a unicorn. The inside of the building reminded me of the old-time inns in my city, except for the wall with task signs and the reception desk. At the guild we were met by rude warriors standing near the board who announced that when they saw my friend they parted to give us the way, apparently they respect him here, but they looked at me like I was trash, I didn’t like it. A more pleasant crowd was sitting at tables with various dishes. Ladies of different races in light armor cast languid glances at Petka and me. Mages buried in ancient scrolls and their young students bringing them drinks and books. They hope to become like these decrepit old men, they are fools.

— My favorite hero is back. — Emma, a very cheerful elf with blue hair, a green sundress and a small blue hat, shouted from the reception desk.

— Emma is my curator in this guild. — Petka introduced her to me. The girl was already hanging on his shoulder and kissing him on the cheek, so cute.

Then, she gave us kvass to drink, asked a lot about his adventures, even kissed my friend lightly on the lips when she received a sign with the completed task. True to her work. Having learned that I also needed a card, she went with us to Mr. Chao on the third floor. Knocking on the black wooden door, we entered his place (there is actually a reverent attitude towards aliens from another world, I liked it). A thin figure stood at the window dressed in a blue robe, holding a staff in an almost withered hand.

— Young people, sit down, make yourself at home. Emma thank you for your hard work, you can go. «She smiled at us and left, and we sat down on the spacious sofa. The owner of the room sat down in the chair opposite us. — Lightning-fast Peter, as you promised, brought a friend, Victor, I believe. «After I nodded, he continued. He apparently knew about his friend’s problems with money. — We three are guests in this world. We have several rules that you, Victor, must remember and we will not have problems with you. First, don’t tell anyone about our world except aliens like us, with the exception of wives and children who can keep this secret to themselves. Here we catch such aliens from another world and call them «Wanderers.» They give us a reward of a thousand gold pieces, magicians and sorcerers from all over the Hundreds kill our people for potions and amulets, because for an unprecedented reason we have more of it than the inhabitants of this world. Second, don’t tell or share the knowledge and technologies of our world; they’ll figure out how to live without us. It is not for us to interfere with their natural history. We can place the emergence of a revival like the grandfather of you-know-who. — He looked askance at Petka, who only smiled sweetly at him, apparently he was used to this, he had listened to this more than once. — Thirdly, do not kill civilians and aliens like you and me, unless they attacked you themselves or challenged you to a duel, robbers and demons are allowed, you can also kill in a war if you want to participate in it. There are no more than eight wives and concubines each. «He narrowed his eyes and for some reason looked not at me, but at Petya, although in theory the lecture was for me. Chao also knew about this dream of my friend about a big harem, and I trembled. — Leave the young ladies for others. With children under eighteen, no, no. It doesn’t matter that in this world the age of majority is fifteen, it doesn’t concern me, we follow the laws of our world. There was only one before you, but we quickly handed him over to the police of our world, so look at me. The rules are clear — after my nod, he continued. — Let’s see your rank, young man, put your finger on this plate. — I obeyed — So very interesting, your level is one hundred and thirty-five, the highest I have seen among people here. And the monster conqueror specialization means you can tame all sorts of creatures, that’s cool. What name should you write as a hero?

— Victor Conqueror of heights and hearts. This is what our maid Virgil advised me to do. I have no reason to disagree with her; I myself would have come up with something worse. For example, Victor the Flame or Victor the Sharp. but this is even better.

— Ha-ha, young man, you made the old man laugh, well, I’ll write as you ask. I also hope that Lightning Peter told you about the three thousand gold in your guild account.» He looked at my friend’s burning eyes, how much he needs money now. «The country gives this money so that you urchins don’t take money on the street and break into the palace.» We aliens with super abilities cannot be stopped, no one except ourselves. We have a type of trade union here. We look out for each other. If there are already two of you, maybe create your own clan. It has a number of advantages; you will be able to take on gold rank tasks right away. Otherwise, for now you are Victor only of iron rank. I also won’t be surprised that ladies will soon join such active guys. — The head of the guild smiled strangely and winked. — Also, in hotels and brothels you won’t have to pay full price for your low rank. — He smiled slyly, why does he think so badly of me, maybe Petka was talking about me. That’s a friend, although I’m still a walker. — The rank is shared among everyone who is in it. What do you think Mr. Peter?

— Good idea, Guildmaster Mr. Chao. We will call our clan «Fire Lions».

— Just like in the camp.

— Yes, Victor. Although it didn’t help us then and we lost to the girls, he winked. — That summer we lost to them, having received passionate kisses from them on purpose, well, I received them, I don’t know about my friend. He didn’t talk much about it, maybe he was embarrassed about something, this was the only topic that embarrassed him at that time.

I smiled remembering the summer camp, even my soul became warmer from these memories. But the sadness from failed love and the healed wounds from Alejandro’s torture again reminded of themselves. How can I get rid of these memories, just cause pain to myself and those who love me, although this is not right, it is the only way out for me.

— It’s a beautiful name, let’s write it down like that. That’s all for my guys. But if you have questions or business, come. Although just to chat too. It can be very boring here alone.

We left the guildmaster’s office to see Emma. She was waiting for us with my new gold nameplate.

— There are three thousand gold on it. «She came close to my ear and I saw her beautiful eyes in all their glory, and how pleasant she smelled, two sharp ears moved from her every word. «You can use it to talk between yourself and the guildmaster, and also send messages.» Luxury is available only to «Wanderers». «The girl pulled away from me and turned to the two of us. «You don’t have room for new equipment, otherwise you, Peter, lost your staff and sword in the last battle.» — The girl shook her finger at him, she understood everything anyway, but did not talk about it openly, and I noticed how lovingly she looked at him, but did not understand why Peter was so cold. From the look of my friend, I realized that he sold them to have fun in a brothel.

— Just about this. My friend Victor, conqueror of heights and hearts, wants to transfer a thousand gold to my account. Really friend? — He smiled at me. I just nodded.