tavern did not stand out in any way, an ordinary log house of two floors. With a nondescript sign for me: “Tavrena Old Sturgeon”. But my companion was delighted. How he wants to eat. Inside, we were greeted by the usual smell of strong kvass and dumplings in these establishments. I love places like this. In them, my Rare Species teacher Matvey Teorit found five new species of pubic fleas. Therefore, I immediately covered myself with a light veil of poison. We sat down at the first free table. It was crowded. People like to hang out here. Someone was celebrating a wedding. The bride and groom and about twenty guests. On the other hand, there were wakes. People in black clothes were grieving. This is how life is here. Everyone else was walking and having fun for no reason.
– What can I bring you sweets? – Said the young busty elf. I examined her through a spell. Yes, the old lady has seen a lot.
– Grandma, we need some dumplings and light kvass. And bigger and fresher fish for the guy. – I said as politely as possible. Old people must be respected.
– Impudent. It’s always like this with you magicians. Others take me for a girl and give me good tips. And you all see, you bastards. I’ll bring food. – The waitress left with a snort.
– How did you find out that she is a grandmother? – Soph’s curiosity rose when the waitress left.
– I am a magician and can read all the data from everyone. Here he is. “I pointed to a strong man warrior surrounded by strong men like him. They were celebrating something loudly. My partner turned to get a better look at him. Naked to the waist, he evoked respect and fear. – I used to be an elf, and a dark one at that. I wouldn’t believe it myself.
– Yes. Your abilities amaze me. You magicians are so wonderful. What can you say about me?
– We need to look carefully. – I said feigningly. I examined him carefully this morning. – You have seen a lot of evil. I see you are in pain. But you are silent about them. “I put my hand on his stomach. He didn’t pull it away. – Complete healing. “A wave of green light went from my hand to his stomach and spread throughout his body. He smiled. It is clear that the pain is going away. – The pain will go away, but it will return. I can only take them off for a while. To recover, you need drugs. They are expensive. But maybe we can make some money and buy them. You can have children after them. I see you had problems with this.
I shouldn’t have said that; rage crossed his face. Got punched in the face. What did I want? The waitress brought the food and took the money and left, still snorting at me. They ate in silence. He refused to talk to me. We sat until evening. I listened to the conversations, but did not hear any useful information. Everyone praised the Baroness for her new laws. They scolded the king for his stupidity. In short, everything is as before. It’s time to go to work.
– Forgive me for my words. Let’s go, we still have to protect the merchants.
He just nodded, and we left the tavern and went to the merchants. They were waiting for us. Seven gnomes. Everyone, bearded and cheerful, was loading boxes into carts. What there was didn’t bother me.
– I’m Mikhail, this is Soph, we came from the guild to work. – I gave the card to the largest gnome.
– I’m Mateo. And these are my brothers. Only I can speak your way. Half payment upon arrival in the capital of the gnomes Magma. Then we load up another item and head back. We will stop in the capital for an hour. Don’t get lost there. We’ll come back and get the full amount. Agreed.
– Fine. – Why did he tell us this? It was still on the sign. I decided since we are newbies we need to chew on everything. Okay, at least it looks easy. They are strong guys and could handle it themselves. But the merchants’ guild demands protection of the cargo. So we had to hire people. But they didn’t want to pay a lot. And for starters, it’s a good thing for us to do. Not dusty and not bad money. And I’ll see the capital of the gnomes. Haven’t been there yet. Maybe I’ll go see the dwarf ladies. An hour is enough.
– Is your lady mute? Just silent.
– No, I’m not dumb. You little dork. And I’m not a lady, I’m a guy, all my life they’ve been taking me for a lady, I’m tired of it. We’ll do the work or you’re going to stare at me. Maybe he’ll undress so that you can see me better and understand that I’m not a lady.” He was furious. It’s good that this rage is not directed at me.
– I’m silent. Here’s the best place for you. “He pointed to a bench in the cart, on which there was a pillow and a blanket. “We thought there was a lady in the squad, so we bought it for you.” I’d better go ahead and download. You sit down, you can go to bed, we’re leaving in an hour. And sorry if I offended you.
The dwarf ran away to the others. The thief sat down, but his anger did not go away. I sat down opposite him, but then lay down and fell asleep. We need to gain strength. The road is long.
Chapter 3 Bandits and Traders
I haven’t slept so sweetly for a long time. I woke up from the shaking of the cart. It was already morning. The sun rose. The dwarf brothers were arguing about something in a language unknown to me. Although I studied a lot of them at the academy. Soph slept next to him. His sleep was disturbing. He tossed and turned and twitched his arms. Apparently he remembered his life in captivity. He suffered a lot. Now I have become its owner. We need to change. I’ll be gentle with him. He is my servant, debtor of life. Our destinies are connected.
– Mikhail woke up. – Said the familiar voice of Mateo. He rode next to us on a two-meter lizard that stood on both legs. Here they were called “reptiles”.
– Yes, it was a sweet dream. I can’t believe it myself.
– Apparently you had a lot of problems. So they broke out. Rest was needed. – He smiled. He’s a good guy, even though he’s a dwarf.
– Everyone has problems. How much longer to go?
– Seven o’clock, maybe eight. The roads can be crowded. Especially the bridge on the Irig River. There are customs officers standing there shaking money. Scoundrels. – He spat. – Who will restore order here?
– A strong warrior who will return everything back in ten years. – Said the awakened Soph. – In my country it was the same in Malawi.
– It may well be. – The dwarf said sadly. – And good morning. You want to eat. I made tea and made sandwiches. Or do you need a break? Wash there and – He made a significant pause, hinting at the bushes. – Go into the bushes. A magician can do everything. I know about you. I heard rumors.
– Yes I can. – I did not dispel his delusions. A magician’s honor is more valuable. I’ll be patient.
We stopped. While we were walking into the bushes, the gnomes quickly set up tables and chairs. A couple of minutes and I saw two tables with cups of tea and sandwiches filled. I waited for my companion, we ate. He never spoke to me. It may calm down over time. I never understood these demi-humans. They get offended and sulk. No, to talk.
Then they cleaned everything up just as quickly and moved on. Dwarves are funny people. Sang songs. We distributed dark kvass to everyone. After a couple of glasses, I started singing along, even though I didn’t understand the words.
We
