Year 688 from the founding of Candoria, Kilheinica province, early spring7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WzUH6Ljtq
The dinner time wasn't nearing yet, and there were few of customers in the village tavern. Four men of different age were lazily playing the dice at one of the tables, drinking the local beer to the lucks and fails, and two barely standing individuals were trying to talk the tavern-keeper into credit; the short tavern-keeper objected diplomatically. Exclusively male company except the waitress, who was napping near the counter. Homespun baggy clothes - pants, shirts, coarse coats and a skirt in the case of waitress - pointed out that they were locals. And they really were ones, right from that village.
So, when the entrance door creaked and the young stranger girl entered the tavern, all the attention of everyone sober enough turned to her.
She was tall as an elvess, and elven clothes fitted tightly to her slim toned figure - silk dark-green tunic, black tight pants of thin leather, black boots with a small heels and a warm gray coat. An elven dagger was fastened on her hip. But her face was a human one: nothing of unhumanly sharp elven features was in it. Serene light eyes, dark eyebrows and eyelashes, a thin nose, high cheekbones, well defined lips. Two thin braids laid over her non-sharpened ears, intertwining in one and holding her long, flowing golden red hair. A stranger was young - around twenty or so - and her face was too carefree for a woman, who went alone into the place like Kilheinican village tavern.
Tavern-keeper pushed the waitress in the side and turned to the drunkards again, but the company of dice players quitted the game and started looking at the girl with interest. But she didn't pay any attention to them and sat at the table near the window.
Watching her making an order to the approached waitress, company started to talk about the stranger:
"I'm telling you, she's a half-elf!" a red-faced blond boy tried to convince his mate, waving a beer mug for more persuasiveness.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1P54KBvv1d
"Half-elves doesn't exist," his auburn-haired mate, a bit older of him, shook his head and gnawed into a chicken leg.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclbBXy8WpW
"How could they not exist? But when an elf and a human..."7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfqBVDcXZh
"They don't, really," a third, a dark and thin man, stated authoritatively while scratching his long mustache by Kilheinican fashion. "From a human and an elf either a human or an elf is born."7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMp4RNNidn
"But she has a figure, you know, like of elvess," insisted the first one.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CdgXp3rlL
"Well, I'm gonna ask her is she a half-elf or who," said the fourth, a fair-haired young boy, smiling cheekily, and got up. "And maybe of something more interesting."
In her turn Iantar - a girl which caused such a stir - looked with curiosity at the decor of the tavern while waiting for the ordered meat and vegetables. Wooden walls, thatched roof... She didn't see anything like it even in the villages among the old provinces of Candoria. But its simplicity was somehow unusually cozy.
The only thing that spoiled the idyll was the young idiot who, with a grin on his face, was heading straight towards her. The girl definitely didn't like his impudent face.
The blockhead sat down next to Iantar on the bench without asking permission, and, unceremoniously looking into her face, began:
"What is such a lovely girl doing alone?"7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkNdYFjq81
"Listen, boy,” Iantar suggested peacefully, carefully choosing her Kilheinican words, "the girl is in a bad mood right now, so why don’t you go back to your comrades?"7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixMeNb8Az2
But the guy didn't heed the warning.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNRDzZWlHn
"But maybe I can cheer you up?" he continued, grinning and moving closer. "Otherwise, it's not right - such a girl and all alone. Hair as red as fire, eyes as grey as ice - I wonder what will win in your heart?"7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pT5O7Ph2G
"Let me think," Iantar responded, "perhaps it’s fire," and before the guy had time to rejoice, she suddenly lit a small flame in her palm. The flames flickered without causing any harm to the girl. And, watching as the insolence flew off the face of the unsuccessful suitor like a husk, the enchantress added: "Although I can also freeze something."7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadG6QyJkF6
The boy blinked his eyes in bewilderment and finally squeezed out, crawling away:7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4U1NoVQOBR
"H-honorable w-witch, w-why are you angry?"7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQwj5zTbvS
"For banal comparisons,” Iantar said melancholically, put out the light, and finally gave permission: "Disappear."
This time the boy didn’t have to be asked twice, and the instinct of self-preservation carried him not only away from the table, but also out of the tavern. Iantar watched him go and looked at his company - they, laughing, returned to the game and did not express any desire to continue the conflict. That's good.
"Your order, honorable lady," the waitress returned from the kitchen and placed the ordered food in front of the girl.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JRYsVRqQz
"Thank you," said Iantar and asked: "Do you have any work for an enchantress here?"7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuELdNaVwXu
The surprise in the waitress's eyes gave way to curiosity, then she thought for a moment and answered:7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxqIaBqwgZ
"We don't, but bad news came from the village of Seven Oaks - as if some kind of monster had settled in the cemetery there. It eats the dead, and doesn't disdain the living either. It's on the road to the north, through one village."
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***
The last snow that lay in the ravines and under the trees melted under the cheerful spring sun. Streams of water sometimes turned the road, which here was only a trodden strip of land between the forests and fields, into a mess. Candoria had not yet managed to lay its famous paved roads here, cutting through the provinces in all directions - Kilheinica was conquered only a couple of years ago. But the horse was frisky and did not balk when Iantar let it go along the roadside potholes to bypass the dirt road; there was not a cloud in the clear, pure blue sky, and a spring wind blew in her face, fresh and wild just like adventures.
Sitting in the saddle, Iantar looked around with curiosity. She left behind a village of a couple dozen clay-plastered wooden houses with thatched roofs. Here the houses in the countryside stood close together, surrounded only by small gardens and orchards, and the fields of the villagers extended beyond the palisade fence surrounding all the houses. Not at all like the houses on the Flossian Peninsula, where the homestead of every farmer, even a small one, was surrounded by all the lands that belonged to him, and the homestead of his neighbor lay at a distance.
And spring in Kilheinica, unlike Iantar's native south, had not yet fully come into its own. The fields were empty and deserted - the villagers had not yet begun work. And beyond the fields the dark forest was seen again. There were surprisingly many forests in this province. They promised danger - and income.
While the road smoothly or not so smoothly lay under the horse's hooves, a chill sometimes crept into Iantar's thoughts - how would she cope without a mentor. In a good way, she still had more than one year to study. In a bad way... it turned out the way it turned out. Iantar shook her head. Alright, she should have enough knowledge. She should have enough experience. Focus, speed, system. She can't be unlucky, after all?.. She had always been a capable enchantress. And if the monster according to the description turned out to be too lethal to be trained on, she could just refuse under a plausible pretext.
The trees thinned out, and behind them the fields appeared again, and further on - the needed village. Iantar sighed. She couldn't die on her first mission, could she? That would be too absurd.
The enchantress put her horse into a gallop and rode through the unlocked village gates. Several people on the street and in the courtyards immediately turned to look at her - some curious, some wary. Iantar jumped off her horse and turned to the first woman she came across, who was feeding the chickens in the yard:7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbaTyOhxmSC
"Hello to you, kind woman! Who can I talk to about contract on a monster?"7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC02wlfzuFi
"You need to speak to our headman, honorable lady," the woman's face changed expression from tense attention to benevolence. She put the pot of grain aside, took off her apron and waved her hand: "Let's go."
After escorted Iantar to the largest house in the village - under the curious glances of the villagers gathered around - the woman left with promise to call the headman, who was not at home. The enchantress sat down on a bench by the table. The spacious room contained very simple wooden furniture, the windows were small, and some symbols were carved above the door - perhaps signs of local deities.
The girl heard some very quiet rustling and turned around. Two fair-haired children - a boy and a girl - were timidly but curiously looking from behind the door frame of the adjoining room.
Iantar winked at them and waved her hand. A small fireball flew almost across the entire room and lit a fire in the stove. The children's eyes widened with delight. But then someone's heavy steps were heard in the hallway, and the enchantress with a wave of her hand sent a light whirlwind of air into the stove, extinguishing the fire. The children disappeared as quietly as they had appeared.
The headman who entered turned out to be an elderly, rather richly dressed by local standards, gray-haired man - his homespun clothes were generously decorated with multi-colored embroidery. Iantar shook his strong hand in a welcoming gesture. Following the headman, curious people began to stream into the hut, taking their places on the benches and by the walls.
"What is your name, venerable enchantress?" asked the headman.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYS0xewl59e
"Iantar," it was still unusual to use this pseudo-elven name. It was too distant from everything that tied her to the house. It sounded too bright and bold. "So what's running around in your cemetery?"7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjzu4f5Lkl
"A terrible monster, resembling a crooked man," answered the elder. "Comes out at dusk, destroys graves, eats the dead and attacks people."7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCCNqRbsLZ
"It rushes quickly - the blacksmith's son barely escaped," said a plump middle-aged woman standing by the door. Behind her, in the hallway, someone sighed mournfully.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOAZcpD5Cf
"And the other three weren't so lucky," gloomily added a pale, black-haired fellow leaning against the wall. The villagers - young, old, rich and poor - looked at the girl from all sides with obvious or hidden hope - which was certainly one of the most unpleasant parts of her job.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xKYhuebNN
"And the monster’s muzzle is dented?" the enchantress clarified.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtApgEyCANN
"It is, it is, right."
"A ghoul," thought Iantar. "It shouldn't be too difficult, I'll take it."7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeCuW95Of8
"I see," she said out loud, "how much are you paying to fix the problem?..
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***
Night fell on the village and the small cemetery behind it. It was a new moon, but for the enchantress's eyes, altered by the use of magic, the darkness of the night was not much different from the light of day. All the colors only seemed to shift to blue and green.
Iantar carefully stepped behind the cemetery fence and looked around. She saw the disorderly rows of nearby burial mounds and tombstones, the crooked paths, the sparse trees. There was silence - not a dead silence, but the usual living silence of a spring night. Nothing suspicious was stirring in it, not a single shadow was creeping anywhere. There was only one thing that was alarming - the heavy, sharp smell of earth. And if there is a smell of damp earth nearby, it means that someone has dug it here quite recently.
Suddenly, a pale hand with claws burst out from under the ground and grabbed Iantar's leg. Iantar, waving her hand, struck down with the first element that came to hand - it turned out to be the air. The earthy-colored fingers unclenched, the soft dug-up earth shook and collapsed beneath her feet - the enchantress barely managed to jump back. Scattering clods of earth, a ghoul jumped out of the resulting hole incredibly quickly. Resembling a human, but with an unnaturally curved body and a monstrously chewed face, the ghoul rushed at the enchantress with a beast-like leap.
Iantar threw a blow of air at it, but the ghoul jumped sharply out of the way and rushed forward with the next jump. Claws flashed before her face. Iantar dodged and sent another air strike at him. A dodge, and the ghoul turned to attack. Another strike - right on target!
Ghoul staggered, but held his ground. He turned a little slower - and another air wave caught up with him. The ghoul jerked, turned around, and began to retreat in uneven leaps, but the enchantress knocked him over with a blow of air to the back.
The ghoul somersaulted and fell backwards onto the grave, his limbs twitching, and Iantar sent a bright bolt of lightning flashing at him. The monster shuddered one last time - and began to crumble into dust. Its body crumbled, falling in flakes onto the grave earth, and dissolved into the air, as befitted the remains of evil spirits.
Iantar sat down right on the nearest grave, stretching out her legs and leaning her back against the tombstone. She slowly inhaled and exhaled several times, calming her heart, which seemed to be pounding somewhere in her throat. The magical energy was slowly but surely being restored. Somewhere high above her head the stars were gently twinkling, and the air was as crystal clear as it is only at night.
In the end, it wasn't that difficult.
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***
After midday, having had a good night's sleep and received a good breakfast - or lunch? - from the headman's wife, Iantar went out into the yard. The yard was enclosed by a low wicker fence, and multi-colored chickens were lazily wandering around in the bright sun, and a huge pig was grunting in a pen. This whole picture, together with the sounds of the village that had long since awakened, seemed to radiate serenity and peace.
Iantar's white horse with a black mane and tail was already waiting for her under the saddle. The same two children were spinning around the horse, and the enchantress nodded to them in greeting.
"Will you teach me how to throw a fireball?" the girl asked, looking at Iantar with burning eyes.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8d6OKsoq3X
"The element of fire is the last of all the spells to be studied," said the enchantress, climbing into the saddle, and added, chuckling, "to the displeasure of the students. Well, good luck to you!"
Taking hold of the reins, Iantar jumped over the fence and, hearing an excited squeal behind her, galloped down the street to the gate. Life was wonderful, and of course only good things lay ahead.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhoJ8cu32V
