Majesty, forgive me, I didn’t know! Your face reminds me of your father. But how should I know? It has long been said that you and Linder are dead. But how? How did you become a slave?
– I’m not a slave anymore! Come with me, and one day everyone will be equal in Sartoll. Get up from your knees, Starval. This is no longer necessary. Join the slave army, Starval. I know that you think first of all about profit, and not about someone’s fate.
– But, Your Majesty, I…
– Do not interrupt. So, I will give you lands when I get to Lindell.
“You have awakened memories of old battles in my heart.” I thought they were buried too deep in my heart.
– Get up, Starval! I want to build a state of equals, in which no one will need to kneel. I’ll ask you one thing. For the time being, not a single living soul should know that I am a king. Call me Namlis. I will go with you to the Lithargian Forest. Your camp, if I’m not mistaken, is somewhere not far from it?
– Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend going there. They say he is cursed. The souls of the dead have not rested; they wander at night, taking away unwitting travelers. And ghouls. And people who turn into wolves. Not a single living soul returned from there.
– Where did the rumors come from then, since no one returned? The forest holds many secrets. Some of them I still have to figure out.
Dorhand looked at the writing of mysterious runes on the iron ring, which he had taken from the sorcerer. What kind of secrets do these runes keep?
Chapter 6. The Mystery of the Lithargian Forest
Sometimes it gets cool in the summer. Whether after a hail storm, or just a north wind blowing. Dogs then shake out of habit or curl up, but people are more cunning, they don’t show their noses in public. But among the age-old oaks and elms of the Lithargian Forest it is rarely warm. Maybe the dense crowns of the trees are too high, and through them it is difficult for the sun’s ray to reach the damp earth, or maybe this place is truly cursed.
It smelled of myrtle and dampness. Strekkili, huge dragonflies, often rose in fear from the briar bushes. Oak trees are covered with a thick layer of greenish moss. Dark and gloomy. Dorkhand, who had parted with Starval the day before, was now making his way among the impenetrable bushes on his own. Starval offered to send a small detachment with him, but Namlis flatly refused. Dorhand did not want to advertise the power of the magic ring for the time being.
Dorhand crossed his arms over his chest to protect himself from the biting cold wind.
“Here to pick mushrooms,” thought Namlis.
And the memories came flooding back with pictures and sounds. His father often took him to the forest himself, not entrusting important matters to servants.
“Learn to protect yourself, son, then problems will bounce off you like water from an oil-soaked frying pan. The forest is an enemy for many, but for those who know how to communicate with it, it can become a true ally.”
Dorhand picked a bunch of scarlet berries and threw them into his mouth. He grimaced – sour. One of the strekkils fluttered up. A branch cracked. Dorhand turned around. Behind him stood a terrible creature with pale skin, huge bloody fangs and small scarlet eyes. It gave off a terrible stench and roared.
– Human! It’s been a long time since I’ve drunk human blood. Delicacy!
Dorhand backed away, and the monster looked sideways at him and gave chase. But then a huge wolf jumped out from behind one of the trees and interrupted the monster’s flight. The wolf grabbed the creature by the throat.
– This is my prey! – the monster screamed.
“We warned your tribe of ghouls,” the wolf said in a human voice, “These are our lands!” They belong to werewolves! Don’t come here! This man is my prey!
– I found him first! He is mine!
– Get away, across the river!
The ghoul scratched the wolf’s belly, and he responded by grabbing his throat and tearing off his head. The creature roared before it died. And then the nearby oak trees were doused with blood. The werewolf howled.
The wolf turned his head to Dorkhand and clicked his teeth. His eyes filled with hellish fire.
– Food! – he growled. The wolf overtook Namlis in a couple of leaps, but, hitting an invisible barrier created by a magic ring, he fell to the ground. Growling a couple of times and making several scratches with his claws on the damp ground, the wolf again rushed at Dorhand. And again he hit the invisible barrier.
– And you are not as simple as you seem at first glance. What did you forget in our forest, sorcerer?
– I need to talk to your leader.
The wolf began to change before our eyes, acquiring human features. After some time, a short, hairy man of about forty wearing a wolf skin cape stood on all fours in front of Dorkhand.
“You shouldn’t have come to our lands,” he said, standing on two legs. – We don’t like guests. I alone could not cope with your spell, but with the whole tribe we will tear you apart.
– It is unlikely.
– What is your name?
– Call me Namlis.
– Wow, Nameless. Don’t trust me? You’re doing the right thing, Namlis! If I found out your real name, I immediately subjugated you to my will. The magic in our family has not yet faded.
A whole group of ghouls came out from behind the trees.
– He killed Kurt! That wolf trash killed Kurt!
– What have you forgotten in the lands of the werewolves? Why did you come here? – he turned into a wolf again and howled, and his howl echoed through the forest.
– Kill him!
Several ghouls attacked the wolf. He bit into the throat of one of them, but the other four tore him to pieces. More wolves appeared from behind the oak tree.
– We warned you, enemies: you should not cross the river. But you disobeyed,” the largest of the wolves flashed his eyes ominously. – Do you want war? Well, we are ready to destroy your filthy family to the roots.
– Well, brothers, let’s teach the shaggy ones some good manners?
– Stop! – one of the pale-skinned men shouted, coming forward.
“Wow, Laybon himself decided to come for a visit,” said the leader of the wolves.
– You know, Valukh, that we would not violate the borders if there was no good reason for it.
– I recognize ghouls. They will start a fight themselves, and then run into the bushes when they smell something burning.
One of the ghouls rushed forward, but Labon held him back with his paw.
– He called us. You know who I’m talking about, right?
“The sorcerer is in the house on the hill,” Valukh whispered.
– He is. I heard his call several moons ago. This has not happened for several centuries. It seems that the day he spoke of at the Conversion has arrived. The Great War is coming, and he is gathering our army.
Valukh acquired human form. He looks about fifty years old. Others of his tribe followed his example.
“If it were up to me, I would immediately turn the spellweaver into dust.”
– For the sake of this, I myself would team up with the wolves. But this is not yet in our power. We are slaves to his will, and who knows how long this will last.
– Be guests in my forests, ghouls. One day the