As he was a fool, he remained so. But I must admit, you are a lucky fool. How many people were killed, and you didn't have a scratch. Well, okay, we need the lucky ones. I will fly to the "mainland" tomorrow. You fly with me.

I want to fight, - Casimir looked tired.

Kostrov frowned:

I don't give a shit what you want, I said what you do. And now - get out.

Casimir ended the war as a captain with six military orders and ten medals. When he, barely leaving the three-day celebration of Victory, was summoned to the headquarters, then, holding the door handle, he already knew who he would see there. Kostrov, who borrowed the office of the chief of staff for half an hour (still, he would dare to refuse the lieutenant colonel of state security), traditionally thrust a mug, now filled with German schnapps, into his hand, and said:

For victory! - And after drinking, he put the mug on the table, wiped his lips and asked: - Are you afraid of me?

Casimir chuckled and shook his head.

And in vain. - Kostrov took some prescription from the table and handed Casimir: - Check it out, you go with me - to establish Soviet power in Western Ukraine. There are trusted people with knowledge of Polish and German - worth their weight in gold.

It was there that Casimir received a nickname, under which he later went through all the card indexes of Western intelligence services. Bandera called him Fangs. Once, after a continuous two-week chase, his opera detachment went to a remote farm, where, with one of his mistresses, the famous head of the wire Zozul was breathing. The operation was swift and bloody. They put everyone: Zozul himself, a dozen of his guards, his young woman, their son. Only the elderly father of the young woman, who is living out his life as a boar with his daughter and grandson, survived only the old father of a young woman, cut by fragments of a grenade. When Casimir saw the chips of an oak table and the corpses of Zozuli, a woman and a child on the floor, he was suddenly struck by a strange resemblance to that hot June morning, which he tried not to remember. Kazimir turned sharply and hit the trunk of the PPSh, which his deputy had already rested on the old man's chest.

What are you, commander? - did not understand that.

We will take this with us.

Yes, to the point of him ... - began the deputy, but, bumping into a fierce glance, stopped short.

So Kazimir got his uncle Boguslav. After three days of interrogation, Kazimir took him from the basements of the Lviv Department of the MGB and took him to his apartment. Dyadko Boguslav quickly settled down, made acquaintances with peasant women who brought food to the local market, and once, when Kazimir barely opened his eyes after a wild booze on the occasion of the successful completion of another operation, he saw a mug of cucumber pickle at his lips, and a gentle voice said :

Drink, Kazimirushko, your head will become easier.

He stared at the mug for a while, dumbfounded, then swallowed carefully. Late in the evening, gloomily watching the uncle Boguslav fussily set the table, Kazimir suddenly said:

I have worn out your family at the root, and you - with pickle ...

The old man's legs gave way. He collapsed on the bench and smiled sadly:

In the late forties, Casimir went to Moscow to study. However, when immediately after graduation he was urgently summoned from the banquet to the rector of the institute, he was almost sure who he would find in the vast office.

Are you afraid of me? - Kostrov rattled a faceted "bastard" on a misted glass of Casimir.

He grunted, and Kostrov, shining with brand new colonel's shoulder straps, grunted good-naturedly:

Fool, traditions must be observed. - And, knocking over the pile, he continued: - I took you to my place, to the Far East.

Once, returning from another business trip, Kazimir found a gallant policeman at the door of his apartment. He menacingly demanded documents, but when he saw a small book, he turned pale and muttered:

Here, I apologize, a relative of your ... that ... robbery, you know, but he did not give your medals ...

Casimir's eyes darkened. An hour later, he sat with the investigator who was in charge of this case. He was bustling about shifting some folders on the table and rumbled with conviction:

We will find, why not find them, I will put them, bitches, for such a period of time ...

Wait, captain, - Casimir stopped him, - you just show them to me, on the street, then it's my business.

A week later, the captain called Casimir and asked to come in. When Kazimir entered the office, a relief silver glass, which uncle Boguslav had brought back from Lvov, caught the eye. He stepped over to the table and with a short, without swing, hit the fryer imposingly sprawled on the chair. It flew to the wall and fell to the floor. The captain shook his head in shock.

Yes, it’s not him, he’s a cheat, he won this thing at cards, but he knows something about those who took your apartment.

When Casimir's documents were presented to the roused sharper, he immediately wilted.

Remember, - the captain instructed him, - you will describe Comrade Major as a "klikushnik". You punished him for a large sum, and he paid you off with the church "redhead", and you saw that he had a lot of it.

After that Casimir began to walk in the place indicated by the captain, near the old warehouses, with a large suitcase. On the third day he was greeted by three: two healthy rednecks and a small, nimble peasant with evil eyes.

Listen, fryer, - began the smart one, - don't you think that Comrade Stalin ordered such goons like you to be put at the peak? - And he snatched out the Finn. - Drive the "redhead", goat.

Gron - 4

The Duke of Eznelm hunted the beast. The Duke's hunts in Estregon were famous throughout the northern brand. As well as the balls in his castle. Like his parade rides, the horses in which were matched in color - black, pitch black, or white with black leggings on their forelegs ... By all accounts, the duke had the most brilliant courtyard, ranging from the southern spurs of the Bannelon Mountains to the northern coast of Tengen. seas. And although the Count of Tammelsmein and the Duke of Zhadkeysky were ready to argue with this, everyone understood that it was more from their own ambition than from a sense of justice. And on the other side of the Bannelon Mountains there were no courtyards. The places there were wild, dangerous, regularly subjected to devastating raids by wild barbarians and mountain cannibals, so that the castles there did not in any way resemble the luxurious castle of the Duke of Eznelm, shining with many mirrored windows. Not so much a castle as a palace, in which only the outer wall with a dozen towers remained from the castle, which for a long time fulfilled the duties of a palace fence rather than a fortress wall, and an old ramshackle donjon, after the rebuilding of the castle turned from his heart into his own backyards. Those same castles were still a gloomy nest of stern warriors, always ready at the slightest sign of danger to jump into the saddle and throw the sword from its scabbard. So what kind of courtyard could there be?

However, the duke's hunts were famous not only because of the splendor of the clothes and the careful elaboration of the ceremonies, but also because the Estregon Thicket was nothing more than the long tongue of the Forbidden Forest, an indestructible wall surrounding the Tower of the Lord of Ganiad. Therefore, the beasts in her were always inexhaustible.

Everyone knows that the power of the Owner, reaching its peak in the Forbidden Forest, makes life in full swing in its impenetrable thickets, giving rise to incredibly powerful and unusual animals. But the Forbidden Forest is inaccessible to people. Moreover, this inaccessibility is protected not so much by prohibitions, but, rather, by those monsters that fill it. Monsters, once, probably, having a common beast in their ancestors, now unrecognizably transformed, or rather, perverted by the powerful power of the Owner. And the closer to her heart, to the Tower, the more terrible and dangerous they become. But there are many of them on the outskirts. It is not for nothing that the peasants under no circumstances settle closer than the day's march from the Forbidden Forest. And the fat meadows on its edges are always unmown ...

But the Estregon Thicket was granted by the Keeper of Ganiad as a fief to the Dukes of Eznelm. The beast in it, although it was too spiteful and large (hares were swinging from a dog, and roe deer almost from an elk), but still not too different from the usual. And unlike the creatures of the Forbidden Forest, it was quite suitable for writing. But sometimes more exotic specimens were found in Estregonskaya ...

This hunt was the last one in autumn. In a week, cold autumn rains will charge, roads will be blown away, and castles, as well as towns, villages and lonely farmsteads of the northern mark, will be cut off from each other for almost a month. Until the first frosts hit and the ground is covered by a fluffy snow cover. However, while the days were warm, and the trees still carried on their branches an almost summer-like lush, but already quite autumnal bright and colorful foliage.

The duke drove to the top of a small hill and stopped, looking out from under his hand the forest distances, perfectly visible from this hill. The numerous retinue stopped the horses about ten paces behind and talked quietly. The hunt promised to be interesting. And unusual. A week ago, the chief hunter reported that on the western edge of the thicket the huntsmen had stumbled upon the footprints of the Bone Boar. It was one of the offspring of the Forbidden Forest, for some reason wandered into the Estregon Thicket.

Here is an e-book of the author, whose name is Zlotnikov Roman Valerievich.
In the ALIBET electronic library you can download for free or read the online e-book Roman Valerievich Zlotnikov - Gron - 4. A wonderful new world in txt format, without registration and without SMS; and get from the book Gron - 4. Brave new world what you want.

Book file size Gron - 4. Brave New World is 299.49 KB

"Brave New World": "ALPHA-KNIGA Publishing House"; M .; 2008
ISBN 978-5-9922-0264-9
annotation
Hron died. Gron was reborn. In a wonderful new world. New life, new friends and no Order. Live and be happy? No matter how it is. For the one who is doomed to fight, the new world is a new challenge, new enemies and ... a force more terrible than the Order. The rulers of the new world who do not need to hide their power over it. But they are not the only ones who threaten Gron. Here he has a new, personal enemy who knows something about him that is unknown to anyone else in this world ...
Roman Zlotnikov
Brave new world
PROLOGUE
The Duke of Eznelm hunted the beast. The Duke's hunts in Estregon were famous throughout the northern marque. As well as the balls in his castle. Like his parade rides, the horses in which were matched in color - black, pitch black, or white with black leggings on their forelegs ... By all accounts, the duke had the most brilliant courtyard, ranging from the southern spurs of the Bannelon Mountains to the northern coast of Tengen. seas. And although the Count of Tammelsmein and the Duke of Zhadkeysky were ready to argue with this, everyone understood that it was more from their own ambition than from a sense of justice. And on the other side of the Bannelon Mountains there were no courtyards. The places there were wild, dangerous, regularly subjected to devastating raids by wild barbarians and mountain man-eaters, so that the castles there did not in any way resemble the magnificent castle of the Duke of Eznelm, shining with many mirrored windows. Not so much a castle as a palace, in which only the outer wall with a dozen towers remained from the castle, which for a long time fulfilled the duties of a palace fence rather than a fortress wall, and an old ramshackle donjon, after the rebuilding of the castle turned from his heart into his own backyards. Those same castles were still a gloomy nest of stern warriors, always ready at the slightest sign of danger to jump into the saddle and throw the sword from its scabbard. So what kind of courtyard could there be?
However, the duke's hunts were famous not only because of the splendor of the clothes and the careful elaboration of the ceremonies, but also because the Estregon Thicket was nothing more than the long tongue of the Forbidden Forest, an indestructible wall surrounding the Tower of the Lord of Ganiad. Therefore, the beasts in her were always inexhaustible.
Everyone knows that the power of the Owner, reaching its peak in the Forbidden Forest, makes life in full swing in its impenetrable thickets, giving rise to incredibly powerful and unusual animals. But the Forbidden Forest is inaccessible to people. Moreover, this inaccessibility is protected not so much by prohibitions, but, rather, by those monsters that fill it. Monsters, once, probably, having a common beast in their ancestors, now unrecognizably transformed, or rather, perverted by the powerful power of the Owner. And the closer to her heart, to the Tower, the more terrible and dangerous they become. But there are many of them on the outskirts. It is not for nothing that the peasants under no circumstances settle closer than the day's march from the Forbidden Forest. And the fat meadows on its edges are always unmown ...
But the Estregon Thicket was granted by the Keeper of Ganiad as a fief to the Dukes of Eznelm. The beast in it, although it was too spiteful and large (hares were swinging from a dog, and roe deer almost from an elk), but still not too different from the usual. And unlike the creatures of the Forbidden Forest, it was quite suitable for writing. But sometimes more exotic specimens were found in Estregonskaya ...
This hunt was the last one in autumn. In a week, cold autumn rains will charge, roads will be blown away, and castles, as well as towns, villages and lonely farmsteads of the northern mark, will be cut off from each other for almost a month. Until the first frosts hit and the ground is covered by a fluffy snow cover. However, while the days were warm, and the trees still carried on their branches an almost summer-like lush, but already quite autumnal bright and colorful foliage.
The duke drove to the top of a small hill and stopped, looking out from under his hand the forest distances, perfectly visible from this hill. The numerous retinue stopped the horses about ten paces behind and talked quietly. The hunt promised to be interesting. And unusual. A week ago, the chief hunter reported that at the western edge of the thicket the huntsmen had stumbled upon the footprints of the Bone Boar. It was one of the offspring of the Forbidden Forest, for some reason wandered into the Estregon Thicket. Usually such powerful and dangerous creatures do not leave the Forbidden Forest. For, being a product of the Power of the Owner, they cannot exist for a long time without being fed by it. And that part of the power that, according to philosophers and alchemists, is spread in the world ether and is available everywhere, and not only in the Forbidden Forest, is not enough for them. Therefore, the wild boar, who accidentally got out of the wilds of the forest, which was native to him, was most likely already considerably weakened. And the hunt for him could well have cost not too many lives lost. And the trophy with luck would be noble. Dai the Keeper, one castle lord out of a hundred could boast that something like the head of a Bone Boar hangs on the wall of his hunting hall. Although the castle of the Duke of Eznelmsky could boast of such similar things. For on the wall of his hunting hall hung the head of Hellhound. But the head of the Bone Boar, decorated with a huge horn and covered, as if with armor, with monstrous bone growths, was not there ...
The duke casually threw up his hand, tied in a thin black husky, and the chief hunter immediately gave his leg to his horse, riding up to the master.
- Your Mightiness…
- Where is he, Nashprigut?
The chief hunter listened to the barely audible barking of the dogs from here.
- They are being driven from the east. From the Vagabond Ford.
- From the east? The Duke shook his head. - And it seems to me that the barking is louder in the south.
“That's right, Your Grace, louder from the south. There are at least three packs of rushes. Yes, only they bark gambling. Because they drive the usual beast. And from the east, they are deafening. More fearful. As if they themselves are afraid of the one being driven.
The Duke nodded casually.
- Good. Have you already started up Gonyay's pack?
“No, sir, your lordship. We are waiting for the beast to stupid. And he will rush to the packs that are already chasing him. A lot of dogs will lay. She-she. But when he is patted a little, and even the pikemen-beaters arrive in time, then we'll let the Chasing with the pack.
- Where do you think to get it?
- And at the Hare Beam. The very place.
The Duke bowed his head again in a casual gesture of agreement. And, with a slight movement of his hand, letting go of the hunter, he touched the horse, riding out to the very top of the hill. He is tired. No, not for today, but in general. Even this unusual hunt did not please him anymore ...
Twenty years ago, the fame of the adventures of the young heir to the domain, then still called Viscount Berjard, thundered throughout the northern mark. According to a long-standing custom, also supported by an agreement, he left his father's house at the age of twelve and went to the court of Count Tammelsmein. It was officially believed that upbringing in a family can only spoil the boy. For women are weak, and the mother will never agree to step aside and not participate in the upbringing (and therefore not spoil) the future nobleman. In addition, the children of the vassals, who were at the court of the lord, served as the best guarantee of keeping vassal oaths, and the children of the rulers, sent to the court of rivals, served as the signed contracts. Not a single treaty concluded by former adversaries has ever gone without oral or, if the severity of the previous war was too strong, even a written agreement on the exchange of heirs. So often those who were to take possession of the domain were really familiar with their inheritance already at a quite mature age. About twenty years old. For, despite the fact that it was usually indecent to keep young men who had reached the age of seventeen and were already knighted at court, and usually younger ones were sent to replace them, and the older ones were sent home, this rule did not always apply to heirs. And the last war between Eznelm and Tammelsmein was long and rather brutal. So Viscount Bergard, heir to the Duke of Eznelm, stayed at the court of Count Tammelsmein until he was twenty-five years old. Until the moment when his father, the former Duke of Eznelmsky, died of a blow right on one of his wife's maids of honor, nee Baroness Galliand. At that time, the Viscount Berjard very much approved of such a death of the priest, since he himself was very famous in the world as a skirter. By all accounts, he did not miss a single pretty face in the castle of Count Tammelsmein - from the milkmaid to the maid of honor of the countess, and according to rumors, he even made it to the count's bedroom. However, rumors are rumors, and the countess was considered a virtuous and strict woman in the world. Although the viscount's luxurious, jet-black curly curls, moist, slightly protruding eyes, in the depths of which lurked the most frank and shameless lust, and sensual lips have seduced more than one virtuous soul. And about his crazy revels, which cost the city of Tammelsmein three burned down taverns and countless losses in others, the county remembered to this day. As well as the trick with the whipped captain of the city guard. Yes, it was a fun time ...
The chief hunter listened to the barking of the dogs and the sound of the horns of the hunters and raised his horn. A deep, deep roar echoed from the surroundings. Nashprigut looked back at the duke, but he continued to look down with indifference. And the chief hunter waved his hand, ordering all the numerous retinue that accompanied the duke on this hunt to move forward. On the hunt, it was he who was in charge ... well, albeit formally, but in fact, certainly the second after the duke. The motley cavalcade of horsemen touched the horses. The duke followed them with an indifferent gaze and again directed him to the panorama that opened up.
The Duchy of Eznelm was one of the richest domains. Unlike Tammelsmein and Zhadkei, it had no outlet to the sea, but it owned half of the mines laid in the Bannelon Mountains. And the most convenient pass for communication with Zagorje was also in the lands of the duchy. However, the trade route in Zagorje did not bring much income. Zagorsk domains were all small and poor. Well, maybe with the exception of Rasdor. But the Rasdor baron was the eternal enemy of the dukes of Eznelm and preferred to trade through the Greedy. Although it came out further and more expensive.
For the first couple of years, the newly-made duke enjoyed the opportunities that fell on him with might and main. Those feasts with fireworks, hunts and all sorts of other amusements are still legendary throughout the northern brand. But one morning, the duke summoned the chancellor to the bedchamber and demanded to pay the merchant with rare incense, which enthralled his next passion. The Chancellor threw up his hands and, with sadness in his voice, announced that the treasury was empty.
The young duke stared at him in bewilderment.
- How is it that there is no money?
In his mind, money has always been. It was an immutable law of nature. Money just could not be! That is, yes, he could have missed them, but behind this was not their physical absence, but something else, say, papa's stinginess or the sluggishness of the postal service. The Chancellor sighed. He was already pretty tired of the completely crazy expenses of his young master, who in just two years managed to drain a rather tight bag, which his papa, despite his equally considerable adherence to all kinds of life's pleasures, was able to accumulate.
“Look, your lordship,” he rolled out a long scroll, which he took with him to his bedchamber, not too much, though, hoping that he would help him, “we received seventeen thousand eight hundred seventy-three tolar in total last year. It took the maintenance of the squad ...
To the Chancellor's surprise, somewhere in the middle of his speech, the young duke got out of bed, in which he was still lying with the courtesan, and began to carefully examine the scroll, while continuing to listen to the report. When the report on income and expenses for the year was completed, the young duke looked at the scroll for a few more minutes, in which all expenses were divided into five items - army and police, roads and bridges, salaries of officials and servants, maintenance of the castle and (these expenses the chancellor specially put in a separate article) his own expenses. Raising his head, he asked in surprise:
- So is that, over the past year I skipped more than it took for everything else taken together?
- Yes, Your Grace, - the Chancellor bowed his head in agreement, who even had a slight skip in his stomach.
- Dashing ... - The Duke rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
- So, - sounded capriciously from under the canopy of the bed left by the duke, - will you finally buy me these bottles? I am already tired of waiting for you to finish these intricate speeches of yours.
The Duke glanced sideways at the bed, his face suddenly twisted into a grimace of irritation.
- Go, - he shouted angrily, - go away!
- But, cat ... - a frightened sound came from under the canopy, and the next moment a plump face, framed by blond hair and decorated with bright violet eyes, stuck out from there, - are you really ...
- Go away, I said! Guardians! The duke yelled impatiently. And when two guards burst into the room, rumbling with armor shields, he ordered irritably: - Well, throw this fool out of my bedroom.
The sobbing "fool", however, was escorted out of the bedroom with great respect. No one wanted to incur the constable's wrath by disrespecting his wife. She was more than twenty years younger than her husband and possessed the love of a cat in heat. But he doted in her, forgiving her all her adventures and fiercely defending her honor ... or rather, what seemed to him as such. So it all looked like the young duke had just made a new enemy in the person of his own constable. Although, to tell the truth, his wife was really a rare fool who believed that there were only two worthy occupations in the world - to fuck and have fun, and everything else did not deserve any attention.
And from that moment the duke found another area of \u200b\u200bapplication of his ebullient energy and pounced on the concerns of the ruler with the same youthful enthusiasm and indefatigability with which he had hitherto indulged in amusements. He wandered around the whole duchy not knowing how tired he was - building bridges, laying sawmills and felts, paved roads. He heatedly discussed with stonemasons where and how to build new watchtowers, and with the owners of mines and smelters - how best to melt metal. Feasts and fireworks were almost forgotten, and on the hunt now, to the sound of horns, they not only hunted the beast, but also agreed to set up new factories and expand old ones. This went on for three years, until the Greedy Duke, alarmed by the unexpected strengthening of Eznelm, persuaded Rasdor to attack the outskirts of the duchy. The Rasdors were always considered good warriors, and the frontier vassal barons quickly lost their castles and rushed to Eznelm Castle with requests for help and cries of the sovereign's duty. The Duke of Eznelmsky gave himself up to a new field for himself with the same fervor as all the previous ones. The advancement of the quarrels was stopped, which, however, was not a very difficult task, since they themselves were not going to move too deeply into the boundaries of the duchy, knowing full well that the Discord, after all, was not equal to Eznelm and the maximum they could count on is to gain control over the pass.

It would be great to have a book Gron - 4. Brave New World author Zlotnikov Roman Valerievich would give you what you want!
If so, then this book can be recommended. Gron - 4. Brave New World to your friends, having established a link to this page with the book: Zlotnikov Roman Valerievich - Hron - 4. Brave new world.
Page keywords: Gron - 4. Brave new world; Zlotnikov Roman Valerievich, download, free, read, book, electronic, online

Hron died. Gron was reborn. In a wonderful new world. New life, new friends and no Order. Live and be happy? No matter how it is. For the one who is doomed to fight, the new world is a new challenge, new enemies and ... a force more terrible than the Order. The rulers of the new world who do not need to hide their power over it. But they are not the only ones who threaten Gron. Here he got a new one, personal an enemy who knows about him that is unknown to anyone else in this world ...

Roman Zlotnikov

Brave new world

PROLOGUE

The Duke of Eznelm hunted the beast. The Duke's hunts in Estregon were famous throughout the northern marque. As well as the balls in his castle. Like his parade rides, the horses in which were matched in color - black, pitch black, or white with black leggings on their forelegs ... By all accounts, the duke had the most brilliant courtyard, ranging from the southern spurs of the Bannelon Mountains to the northern coast of Tengen. seas. And although the Count of Tammelsmein and the Duke of Zhadkeysky were ready to argue with this, everyone understood that it was more from their own ambition than from a sense of justice. And on the other side of the Bannelon Mountains there were no courtyards. The places there were wild, dangerous, regularly subjected to devastating raids by wild barbarians and mountain man-eaters, so that the castles there did not in any way resemble the magnificent castle of the Duke of Eznelm, shining with many mirrored windows. Not so much a castle as a palace, in which only the outer wall with a dozen towers remained from the castle, which for a long time fulfilled the duties of a palace fence rather than a fortress wall, and an old ramshackle donjon, after the rebuilding of the castle turned from his heart into his own backyards. Those same castles were still a gloomy nest of stern warriors, always ready at the slightest sign of danger to jump into the saddle and throw the sword from its scabbard. So what kind of courtyard could there be?

However, the duke's hunts were famous not only because of the splendor of the clothes and the careful elaboration of the ceremonies, but also because the Estregon Thicket was nothing more than the long tongue of the Forbidden Forest, an indestructible wall surrounding the Tower of the Lord of Ganiad. Therefore, the beasts in her were always inexhaustible.

Everyone knows that the power of the Owner, reaching its peak in the Forbidden Forest, makes life in full swing in its impenetrable thickets, giving rise to incredibly powerful and unusual animals. But the Forbidden Forest is inaccessible to people. Moreover, this inaccessibility is protected not so much by prohibitions, but, rather, by those monsters that fill it. Monsters, once, probably, having a common beast in their ancestors, now unrecognizably transformed, or rather, perverted by the powerful power of the Owner. And the closer to her heart, to the Tower, the more terrible and dangerous they become. But there are many of them on the outskirts. It is not for nothing that the peasants under no circumstances settle closer than the day's march from the Forbidden Forest. And the fat meadows on its edges are always unmown ...

But the Estregon Thicket was granted by the Keeper of Ganiad as a fief to the Dukes of Eznelm. The beast in it, although it was too spiteful and large (hares were swinging from a dog, and roe deer almost from an elk), but still not too different from the usual. And unlike the creatures of the Forbidden Forest, it was quite suitable for writing. But sometimes more exotic specimens were found in Estregonskaya ...

This hunt was the last one in autumn. In a week, cold autumn rains will charge, roads will be blown away, and castles, as well as towns, villages and lonely farmsteads of the northern mark, will be cut off from each other for almost a month. Until the first frosts hit and the ground is covered by a fluffy snow cover. However, while the days were warm, and the trees still carried on their branches an almost summer-like lush, but already quite autumnal bright and colorful foliage.

The duke drove to the top of a small hill and stopped, looking out from under his hand the forest distances, perfectly visible from this hill. The numerous retinue stopped the horses about ten paces behind and talked quietly. The hunt promised to be interesting. And unusual. A week ago, the chief hunter reported that at the western edge of the thicket the huntsmen had stumbled upon the footprints of the Bone Boar. It was one of the offspring of the Forbidden Forest, for some reason wandered into the Estregon Thicket. Usually such powerful and dangerous creatures do not leave the Forbidden Forest. For, being a product of the Power of the Owner, they cannot exist for a long time without being fed by it. And that part of the power that, according to philosophers and alchemists, is spread in the world ether and is available everywhere, and not only in the Forbidden Forest, is not enough for them. Therefore, the wild boar, who accidentally got out of the wilds of the forest, which was native to him, was most likely already considerably weakened. And the hunt for him could well have cost not too many lives lost. And the trophy with luck would be noble. Dai the Keeper, one castle lord out of a hundred could boast that something like the head of a Bone Boar hangs on the wall of his hunting hall. Although the castle of the Duke of Eznelmsky could boast of such similar things. For on the wall of his hunting hall hung the head of Hellhound. But the head of the Bone Boar, decorated with a huge horn and covered, as if with armor, with monstrous bone growths, was not there ...

Roman Zlotnikov

Brave new world

The Duke of Eznelm hunted the beast. The Duke's hunts in Estregon were famous throughout the northern marque. As well as the balls in his castle. Like his parade rides, the horses in which were matched in color - black, pitch black, or white with black leggings on their forelegs ... By all accounts, the duke had the most brilliant courtyard, ranging from the southern spurs of the Bannelon Mountains to the northern coast of Tengen. seas. And although the Count of Tammelsmein and the Duke of Zhadkeysky were ready to argue with this, everyone understood that it was more from their own ambition than from a sense of justice. And on the other side of the Bannelon Mountains there were no courtyards. The places there were wild, dangerous, regularly subjected to devastating raids by wild barbarians and mountain man-eaters, so that the castles there did not in any way resemble the magnificent castle of the Duke of Eznelm, shining with many mirrored windows. Not so much a castle as a palace, in which only the outer wall with a dozen towers remained from the castle, which for a long time fulfilled the duties of a palace fence rather than a fortress wall, and an old ramshackle donjon, after the rebuilding of the castle turned from his heart into his own backyards. Those same castles were still a gloomy nest of stern warriors, always ready at the slightest sign of danger to jump into the saddle and throw the sword from its scabbard. So what kind of courtyard could there be?

However, the duke's hunts were famous not only because of the splendor of the clothes and the careful elaboration of the ceremonies, but also because the Estregon Thicket was nothing more than the long tongue of the Forbidden Forest, an indestructible wall surrounding the Tower of the Lord of Ganiad. Therefore, the beasts in her were always inexhaustible.

Everyone knows that the power of the Owner, reaching its peak in the Forbidden Forest, makes life in full swing in its impenetrable thickets, giving rise to incredibly powerful and unusual animals. But the Forbidden Forest is inaccessible to people. Moreover, this inaccessibility is protected not so much by prohibitions, but, rather, by those monsters that fill it. Monsters, once, probably, having a common beast in their ancestors, now unrecognizably transformed, or rather, perverted by the powerful power of the Owner. And the closer to her heart, to the Tower, the more terrible and dangerous they become. But there are many of them on the outskirts. It is not for nothing that the peasants under no circumstances settle closer than the day's march from the Forbidden Forest. And the fat meadows on its edges are always unmown ...

But the Estregon Thicket was granted by the Keeper of Ganiad as a fief to the Dukes of Eznelm. The beast in it, although it was too spiteful and large (hares were swinging from a dog, and roe deer almost from an elk), but still not too different from the usual. And unlike the creatures of the Forbidden Forest, it was quite suitable for writing. But sometimes more exotic specimens were found in Estregonskaya ...

This hunt was the last one in autumn. In a week, cold autumn rains will charge, roads will be blown away, and castles, as well as towns, villages and lonely farmsteads of the northern mark, will be cut off from each other for almost a month. Until the first frosts hit and the ground is covered by a fluffy snow cover. However, while the days were warm, and the trees still carried on their branches an almost summer-like lush, but already quite autumnal bright and colorful foliage.

The duke drove to the top of a small hill and stopped, looking out from under his hand the forest distances, perfectly visible from this hill. The numerous retinue stopped the horses about ten paces behind and talked quietly. The hunt promised to be interesting. And unusual. A week ago, the chief hunter reported that at the western edge of the thicket the huntsmen had stumbled upon the footprints of the Bone Boar. It was one of the offspring of the Forbidden Forest, for some reason wandered into the Estregon Thicket. Usually such powerful and dangerous creatures do not leave the Forbidden Forest. For, being a product of the Power of the Owner, they cannot exist for a long time without being fed by it. And that part of the power that, according to philosophers and alchemists, is spread in the world ether and is available everywhere, and not only in the Forbidden Forest, is not enough for them. Therefore, the wild boar, who accidentally got out of the wilds of the forest, which was native to him, was most likely already considerably weakened. And the hunt for him could well have cost not too many lives lost. And the trophy with luck would be noble. Dai the Keeper, one castle lord out of a hundred could boast that something like the head of a Bone Boar hangs on the wall of his hunting hall. Although the castle of the Duke of Eznelmsky could boast of such similar things. For on the wall of his hunting hall hung the head of Hellhound. But the head of the Bone Boar, decorated with a huge horn and covered, as if with armor, with monstrous bone growths, was not there ...

The duke casually threw up his hand, tied in a thin black husky, and the chief hunter immediately gave his leg to his horse, riding up to the master.

- Your Mightiness…

- Where is he, Nashprigut?

The chief hunter listened to the barely audible barking of the dogs from here.

- They are being driven from the east. From the Vagabond Ford.

- From the east? The Duke shook his head. - And it seems to me that the barking is louder in the south.

“That's right, Your Grace, louder from the south. There are at least three packs of rushes. Yes, only they bark gambling. Because they drive the usual beast. And from the east, they are deafening. More fearful. As if they themselves are afraid of the one being driven.

The Duke nodded casually.

- Good. Have you already started up Gonyay's pack?

“No, sir, your lordship. We are waiting for the beast to stupid. And he will rush to the packs that are already chasing him. A lot of dogs will lay. She-she. But when he is patted a little, and even the pikemen-beaters arrive in time, then we'll let the Chasing with the pack.

- Where do you think to get it?

- And at the Hare Beam. The very place.

The Duke bowed his head again in a casual gesture of agreement. And, with a slight movement of his hand, letting go of the hunter, he touched the horse, riding out to the very top of the hill. He is tired. No, not for today, but in general. Even this unusual hunt did not please him anymore ...

Twenty years ago, the fame of the adventures of the young heir to the domain, then still called Viscount Berjard, thundered throughout the northern mark. According to a long-standing custom, also supported by an agreement, he left his father's house at the age of twelve and went to the court of Count Tammelsmein. It was officially believed that upbringing in a family can only spoil the boy. For women are weak, and the mother will never agree to step aside and not participate in the upbringing (and therefore not spoil) the future nobleman. In addition, the children of the vassals, who were at the court of the lord, served as the best guarantee of keeping vassal oaths, and the children of the rulers, sent to the court of rivals, served as the signed contracts. Not a single treaty concluded by former adversaries has ever gone without oral or, if the severity of the previous war was too strong, even a written agreement on the exchange of heirs. So often those who were to take possession of the domain were really familiar with their inheritance already at a quite mature age. About twenty years old. For, despite the fact that it was usually indecent to keep young men who had reached the age of seventeen and were already knighted at court, and usually younger ones were sent to replace them, and the older ones were sent home, this rule did not always apply to heirs. And the last war between Eznelm and Tammelsmein was long and rather brutal. So Viscount Bergard, heir to the Duke of Eznelm, stayed at the court of Count Tammelsmein until he was twenty-five years old. Until the moment when his father, the former Duke of Eznelmsky, died of a blow right on one of his wife's maids of honor, nee Baroness Galliand. At that time, the Viscount Berjard very much approved of such a death of the priest, since he himself was very famous in the world as a skirter. By all accounts, he did not miss a single pretty face in the castle of Count Tammelsmein - from the milkmaid to the maid of honor of the countess, and according to rumors, he even made it to the count's bedroom. However, rumors are rumors, and the countess was considered a virtuous and strict woman in the world. Although the viscount's luxurious, jet-black curly curls, moist, slightly protruding eyes, in the depths of which lurked the most frank and shameless lust, and sensual lips have seduced more than one virtuous soul. And about his crazy revels, which cost the city of Tammelsmein three burned down taverns and countless losses in others, the county remembered to this day. As well as the trick with the whipped captain of the city guard. Yes, it was a fun time ...