Kitobni o'qish: «A dirty magician – golden mask»

Chapter 1 Ex

The park is always sunny, especially on such a summer morning. I Danil sat down on the bench. Purely. Freshly. Nearby there is a pond in which ducks swim. Beauty. I can’t even believe that just yesterday I broke up with my beautiful girlfriend Regina. Although she was always jealous of me, I loved her. Maybe I still do. She always suspected me of cheating. I was rummaging through my phone. And yesterday she came to inspect my apartment that I was renting. I checked every corner. And as luck would have it, I found lipstick. I don't understand where she comes from. Maybe it's left over from previous tenants. But for her this was the last straw, and she broke up with me. I was very sad. But it looks like today I will be given a second chance. She wants to talk. Maybe we can make peace. Although she is quick-tempered, she is quick-witted. Believes in all sorts of omens. Black cats, scattered salt. Reads all sorts of conspiracies. In short, he suffers from garbage. But I'm not judging. It was when she started whispering over my tea that I didn’t like it. But I drank, I love her. I'm sitting waiting. He put on the cleanest white shirt and black trousers. Shaved and combed my hair. I was ready for reconciliation. I bought two packs of protective equipment. After a quarrel, our passion can be violent. I looked at the reflection from a display window advertising anti-baldness products. Really beautiful. Tightened up, pumped up, even for the cover. Twenty-two already.

– Save the tone. – A thin female voice shouted.

I looked around. The park is empty. Where is everyone? I looked into the pond. The girl screams, it is clear that she is drowning. The reflex worked as it should. No wonder he served in the army for a year. He quickly took off his clothes and dived into the water. The lady had already begun to drown. He dived after her. He pulled me ashore. Yes, she's naked. I took it under a tree, and suddenly they saw it and didn’t understand it. I felt the pulse, it was alive. But she's not breathing. He began to perform artificial respiration. It helped.

– So you’re a bastard messing with the girls here. I thought we’d put up with it. That it was by chance that lipstick was found in the apartment. And all this time you cheated on me with her. – Regina stood with a cake in her hands and a bottle of kvass. I was going to make peace. All angry, just burning. This is the first time I see her like this. – I am tired of you. I thought you were not like others. Everyone betrayed me. For this I am sending you to another world. There you will suffer for a long time and so will your girlfriend. But to another country. You will never find her. I am the witch Regina Bony, I order all dark forces to throw these creatures out of our world.

Black clouds filled the sky. It began to rain. Everything turned black. I fainted. That's how it goes. My ex-girlfriend turned out to be a witch. Although I could have guessed it based on her rituals and inclinations. Now I won't be nice to the ladies. I'm tired of all.

He opened his eyes. Everything is strange. Air rushes into my ears. I'm flying. Down at high speed. To the ground to death. Birds flew sternly nearby. Strange birds. Big ones. I have never seen such birds in my life. They look like eagles. But the feathers are red. He grabbed the leg of one bird. She pecked, but flew down with me. This saved me from death when I fell. Feathers flew off her in bunches. But I landed. I let go of the bird and lay down on the grass. Covered in sweat. I was terribly scared. Fields all over the horizon. The bird lay down nearby.

–Where did you come from, you stupid freak? – The bird said in a female voice. – He ruined all my feathers. You see, I won’t be able to fly because of you. Well, people went. I'll have to take on the appearance of a human for a while until my wings grow back. “She began to turn into a sweet girl with red hair and a white short dress. – I would turn away at least for the sake of decency. What a shameless guy. “The lady hit me on the cheek with an open palm. But not much. She has a very warm hand. Soft.

– Daughter, he didn’t hurt you. “A black eagle, clearly the leader, landed on the ground. The whole flock follows him.

– No, everything is fine. But the feathers will not grow soon. – The girl said, shaking off her dress.

– He'll pay me for it. Do the same with my sister. “An eagle with a white spot on its beak turned into a guy of about seventeen and grabbed me by the breasts.

– I came from another world. My ex turned out to be a witch and sent me here. Although I don't know where I am. Isn't this Russia?

– Leave him, son Anton. – Said the old eagle turning into an old man in his late sixties. – Look at him. He's clearly an alien. A hero from another world. The kings must have called again. Maybe an evil magician or witch called. Although the world is calm. Wars are always going on.

The girl's brother let me go to the ground. I fell into the mud. He looked at me menacingly and clearly wanted to kill me. He has so much power.

– If he is a hero he must be strong. – The girl said. I took a closer look. Beautiful red hair. Brown eyes. The figure is like a berry. Eyes and hair like everyone else in her pack. There are twenty of them. They stood around me. Fists clenched. They shout curses. – But the little eyes are painfully disgusting. Assessing me. No wonder my grandmother told me that people are lustful.

– I will kill you. – My brother said and clenched his fists near my face.

“Don’t blame him, he’s just an alien.” They are all like this at first. In my three hundred and eight years I have seen two of them. Everyone started out like that. They started a harem. And he will begin. Only he will feel his strength.

– I won't start a harem. My witch was enough for me. I won’t contact the ladies for now. Exactly.

– That's good. – Grandfather said, narrowing his eyes. “That means you won’t pester your daughter.” She can't fly anyway. Will be your companion on adventures. And when the feathers grow back, it will fly back to us.

– I don't want to be with him. – The girl said angrily.

– Don’t argue, daughter. He's a hero. Champion. You can't leave him alone. Otherwise he will gain the wrong strength. There is all sorts of vile knowledge there. And he will kill us all in retaliation. I know people like that. Heroes are a vengeful people. I heard the legend about the ancient hero “Victor the Conqueror of Heights.” He was still a libertine. And his friend Peter is lightning fast. But many thousands of years ago passed. Maybe they are no longer alive.

“If he’s that dangerous, we’ll kill him and that’s it.” – My brother said, hitting me in the face with his fist. Blood was pouring out of the nose and eyes.

– We can't do this. He is strong. – Said the old man.

– Now we’ll find out. “My brother hit me in the face again.” The blood began to flow more heavily. The pain is hellish. He is strong. He continued. – You see, he is mortal and not strong.

– Yes, it’s strange. They must be strong. This, however, happened with other aliens. Although they should appear in the summoning circle, not in the air. “Grandfather thought while I was being beaten by the whole flock. My brother got the taste and started kicking. The girl also has bare legs. I thought I was going to die. – Stop hitting him. Don't take sin on your soul. We are not that kind of people. We float above the clouds and live in peace.

– Okay, father. “The brother stopped, and the others reluctantly did the same. But as they walked away, they spat on me.

– You young people are so impulsive. They became evil. How the dragon Mal was killed in the north and the trolls came to our valley. They stopped listening to their elders altogether. – Grandfather turned to the flock and said. – This is my decision. My daughter Aralia will travel with the summoned hero. She will help him find his place in this world. If he goes to the city, they will give him a reward. She should have enough money for the first time. And when he finishes the treatment, he will return to us. We're all flying away.

The whole flock of birds began to grieve. Saying goodbye is a difficult thing. Everyone took turns hugging Aralia, turning into eagles and flying away. And I lay with a broken face in a pool of blood and urine. The girl waved her hand to her flock for a long time. Then she came up to me and kicked me painfully in the groin.

– Dumb hero. I despise you. I was doing so well. Only Servilas found the groom. And you ruined everything. “She again hit me painfully in the most valuable place.” – That's bad luck. Get up and let's go into town. We'll get you the documents, otherwise they'll sell you into slavery. Or they will eat it. You will come with me to the adventurers guild. But before that, we need to tell the city hall about you. A strong magician lives there. It will help you decide on the future. He will give money. You will give me back a lot of money. You'll work it out. For my wings. Do you have any abilities? In magic or martial arts?

– I went to karate as a child. But I abandoned it. I'm definitely not good at magic. Served in the army for a year. But there have been no wars for a long time. Therefore, only the weapons were cleaned and taken to the shooting range several times.

– That's it. Why aren't you getting treatment? What spells don't you know?

She said, placing a warm hand on my head. I shook my head.

– Well, what should we do with you? Healing spell.

I was magically cured. Got up from the ground.

– If only he were handsome, it wouldn’t be offensive. It's a shame you're such a freak.

– Lady. Excuse me, but I consider myself beautiful and attractive. All the girls told me that. I had quite a few of them. – I said proudly.

– Look at you. “She created a mirror with magic and placed it next to me. – Tell me, are you handsome?

A terrible sight met my eyes. The freak in the reflection was me. My attractive face turned into an ugly face. With freckles and pimples. And also warts. Chunks of flesh hung like dried snot. I touched them, these are pieces of skin. I tried to tear them off, but couldn't. Anyone would run away if they saw me. At that moment I saw the former witch laughing. This is her curse. So she made fun of me. Well, I won’t be nice to the ladies anymore. Tired of it.

– It doesn’t matter whether I’m handsome or not. I will have a lot of ladies. I won't be kind to you. Take me to the city. In the guild. And to the magician. We must try to return home and take revenge on the witch. And we need to find out the fate of the other lady. Maybe you saw her while you were flying? Young naked? No older than twenty.

– There are no other people in the valley. The city will be more precise. I haven't been there for three years. I'll go to the store. You need to buy a new dress. Otherwise this is already old. You need different equipment. Life is not easy for adventurers.

She walked forward with a cheerful step. I followed her. She was cheerful and sang a song about the wind, although a minute ago she was furious. How changeable she is. It was a long walk, almost three hours. I'm incredibly tired. Although he didn’t show it in front of the lady. She was just as cheerful as at the beginning of the journey.

– Here is the city ahead. The glorious city of Bram. It’s a province, of course, but there is an adventurers’ guild here. The first stronghold of people in the valley where the trolls live. Next are the great mountains. Good thing they're on a demon raid right now. Otherwise they would have eaten you, handsome man. Haha. – She laughed. I began to wonder what kind of prison sentence they give in this world for killing a girl’s eagle?

The city seemed unattractive to me. An ordinary log wall is no higher than two meters. Behind it, flimsy houses with no visible luxury were visible. The gloomy soldiers were bored at the gates. The same soldiers stood on the wall. The small line of people waiting to get in at the gate did not bring back good memories. Customs is strict everywhere. This means the inspection is thorough. But I don’t have documents. Even passports. I took out my phone. The plate is discharged. Pressed. Empty. Discharged. And also new. Must be charged by magnetic fields. It had everything. And digital documents and a card and travel pass between planets. My whole life is on my phone.

– Who are they? – Said the old guard in chain mail and with a halberd.

– I am Aralia Orlova, here are my documents.

She held out the iron plate that hung on her chest. The guard examined her briefly and returned her back. Then he looked at me.

– And this one? The view is painfully strange. You are mad, are not you? What a freak. I don’t need sick people in the city. “He spat disgustingly at my feet. Others in line began to move away from me.

– He is with me. My prey. I take him to the magician Gnus. And to the adventurers guild. My wings were torn out and I was left without feathers. So I want to become an adventurer until they grow up.

– Under your responsibility. You are a free people. You'll still get into the city. So at least it's official. Three silver and pass.

– That's it. – She said quietly. – Give me one coin. Uncle, I’m such a sweet girl, do me a favor. I'll cry sometime later. – She winked at him. I almost threw up. Well, he’s old and scary.

– Okay, daughter, one coin. And then don’t come, I’m too old for this. Although you are beautiful, you could become my grandson’s wife. He's still a fool, but he'll come to his senses with you.

– Here's a coin. – The girl tenderly handed over a coin with the profile of a snub-nosed uncle. I couldn't read the inscription on it.

– Come on in. Just don't be outrageous.

“I don’t know with such a handsome guy, maybe I will.” How to keep yourself from temptation. – Aralia began to laugh. The guard is the same.

We entered the city. Dirty medieval city. Horses in carts shitting everywhere. Shabby houses. But what struck me were its inhabitants. Various races lived here. Orcs and mermaids, gnomes and elves. Beautiful and terrible bitches. But what struck me most about the slime was the people. All made of liquid. The elves were not the beauties from books and films. Here they were ordinary girls with pointed ears. They did not stand out as particularly beautiful. Although it may have seemed that way to me. The effect of the former witch's curse. After walking for ten minutes we came to the shopping district. Stalls with dirty food and goods.

“Only poor people buy here.” We need to go to the stone part of the city. There are luxury shops there.

– I take your word for it. I don't like flea markets myself.

– What a good and true word. There are plenty of tasty fleas here. Especially on the spit.

Chapter 2 Mages and their quirks

The place where magicians work. Since childhood, I imagined that it would be a huge white tower in the city center. Or a black castle where a hermit magician is served by skeleton warriors or zombies. But in this world everything is simpler. An ordinary three-story house made of mountain stone with a pen and staff sign.

– Is this building where magicians live?

– What did you expect? They are people just like us. But they take a lot of bribes. So keep quiet.

The girl who used to be an eagle said, clenching her fist menacingly. I didn’t argue with her; we entered the building together. There we were met by a small but cute dwarf girl in a blue uniform. With the coat of arms of a snake and a griffin on the sleeves.

– I welcome you to the mayor's office. I'm Galina administrator. Do you have business with us?

– Yes. Here he is. – Aralia pointed her finger at me. “Fell from the sky and hurt my wings.” He pulled out the feathers. I want to receive a reward for his information. He claims to be a hero. The witch sent him to our world. Maybe he's lying, maybe he's not. If so, give me a reward. I also want him to go with me to the adventurers guild. He became my partner in this craft. Let him repay the debt. After all, I need to wait until the wings grow. By the way, what's your name? She turned to me. Indeed, I did not tell her my name.

– Danil.

– Stupid name. But it doesn't matter. – She turned to the dwarf. – Galina, who deals with such matters? Maybe there is a high magician there.

– I’ll look in the catalog now. – The lady smiled at us. I looked in the big book and started looking for something. I flipped through the pages. – So here it is. Toren, the magician's third assistant, will help you. She's in room three hundred and two. Here's your pass. “She gave me a piece of paper with a stamp. It’s good that there is the same bureaucracy here as everywhere else. I won't get lost here.

– Thanks beauty. We are going. – The eagle girl said and we went.

Beautiful spiral staircase. Two children with small horns were running on it. A boy and a girl about ten years old. The boy danced a strange dance, and the girl clapped her hands and sang a song.

“Peace will come and peace will go, but our savior will come.”

–What kind of savior is this? – I asked the girl. Her two yellow pigtails seemed funny to me.

– A savior who will change the world. – She said cheerfully.

– Uncle, don’t bother my bride. Your lady is standing next to you, you never know what kind of bust she has. I don’t understand what ladies see in such monsters. – The boy said, covering the girl with himself. Well, a defender has been found. I noticed he had a reptilian tail. The horns also stuck out from the hair. Three jokes.

– I'm not his lady. He's my prey. – Aralia said. Her figure is truly lovely.

– So it’s wonderful, you will become my second wife. It will be cool. You will begin to clean up the toys for me. Get jam from the top shelves for me, and for Masha too. The first wife in the harem. And you will be second. You will read me scary tales. Otherwise, grandma only reads to children’s books. And I'm no longer a child.

– No, I’m her prey, and she’s my girlfriend, although she doesn’t know it yet. But I will achieve my goal.

Puffing out my chest proudly, I said. Previously, my appearance instilled fear in the hooligans in the area. After all, he beat them more than once.

– Yes, sure. I won't go to bed with that. – Aralia laughed. Just like children. And the most offensive thing was that the dwarf lady Galina behind the counter smiled sarcastically.

– Yah you. “I felt offended, and I went forward and left them laughing behind me.” Something urgently needs to be done about the appearance. If this is the world of magic, then there must be spells to cure the curse, either potions or decoctions. I wouldn't want to live the rest of my days like this. Although he might buy a mask first. And this is an idea.

I found the right office quickly. I asked a passing man in glasses and a robe, he pointed to the red door. He entered without waiting for his companion. Let him continue laughing with the children. He didn't knock. Let this world meet the new evil me. A demon with blue skin and two yellow horns stood near the window. In a red military uniform. Three mugs on shoulder straps. He's clearly an officer. He stood not alone, but hugging an angel girl with white wings and the same shoulder-length white hair. Dressed in a loose white tunic. The lady is clearly beautiful, but painfully sad. Apparently this was not a fit of passion. The demon only consoled the lady. Although clearly with hidden intentions. I don't trust demons. The room was simple. Large white desk chair, sofa and three chairs. At the table there were folders with various documents. I remembered the offices where I worked part-time in my youth. It was especially fun to move all these folders from place to place.

“They didn’t teach you to knock, young man.” – Said the angel, all teary-eyed. – We had a serious conversation here.

– I don’t care about your conversation. I'm a hero from another world. Lady Aralia brought me here. He wants to receive a reward. And I want to get away from this crappy world. – I said and unceremoniously sat down on a chair near the table. A very comfortable chair covered in velvet. I haven't sat on one of these yet.

– Okay, Alphonse, we’ll talk later. Tell me about your problems. – Said the lady. The demon grimaced and left the office. I looked at the lady who sat down next to me in the chair at the table. That means who is the magician here. Toren third assistant magician

At that moment my companion knocked and entered the room. Having bowed, she sat down next to me. What kind of morals are there to bow to everyone? There was silence. I don't like moments like this.

– Give me a reward, angel. My future lady wants money. – I said the first thing that came to mind.

“You can’t talk to her like that; even though she’s the third assistant, she’s still a magician.” – Aralia said, grabbing my hand. It doesn't bother her to cut her nails. I tore all my skin.

– Thank you noble lady for such words. But the question is. How a hero could come to our world. But we magicians didn’t know about this. There were no signs or signs. There are no major wars. There are no princes of darkness or self-proclaimed rulers. All is quiet in the world.

“My ex turned out to be a witch.” So she threw me out here. She thought that I was cheating on her. But that's not true. So there is another hero in this world. The lady that I saved. Although she must be very far from me. That's what the witch told me. My ex Regina. “Saying her name, a chill ran through my body. The same changes occurred on the faces of the ladies. Fear appeared. Even horror.

– You slept with Regina Kostlyava, the destroyer of nations. The scourge of humanity – Toren said. She was afraid to even speak.

“Don’t say her name, otherwise she’ll curse you too.” – Aralia said covering her mouth.

– Yes, I slept with Regina many times. So what? – I didn’t understand the meaning of the question.

“She’s five thousand years old and she’s old.” The elf hero Kalevan seduced her and tricked her into the portal hundreds of years ago. There are various rumors about her. That she will return to take revenge on us for this. Although I didn't believe them. She was seduced and dishonored by the old king in his youth. Then he gave it around to his soldiers. She ran away wounded into the forest. The old witch Anna Crystal Eye came out there. Regina became a strong witch. I took revenge on everyone. In place of that country there is now a sea. The whole place was flooded. This is such a legend.

– It doesn't matter. Will you give money to my companion?

– Yes, sure. Such information is expensive. – Toren took out the bag and put it on the table. – One hundred gold. We urgently need to notify the council of magicians. We need to gather people. Announce mobilization.

– I love money. – Aralia happily took the money in her hand, then it disappeared.

– Why did the bag disappear? – I asked, not believing my eyes.

– I put it in the void. Isn't there one in your world?

– We don't have magic.

The ladies fell silent and looked at each other. Toren clearly calmed down.

“So Regina is in a world without magic.” This changes everything. She spent all her strength to send you here. So there is no threat.

– I won’t return the money. “The eagle lady said menacingly, putting her hand to the blade on her belt.

– No, leave the money. This news is even better.

– I want to take the hero as my partner in the adventurers guild. – Aralia said, removing her hand from the blade.

– It is your right. But I don't see any magical powers in it. He is also not strong as a warrior. Although you can see there is intelligence. The numbers are off the charts. Maybe he'll be an alchemist. – Toren bent down and pulled out two blades of grass from the shelf. She handed them to me – Try to make a potion out of them.

– Fine. – I took them in my hands. I turned it over and smelled it, it smelled like mint. – What should we do with them?

– That's stupid. Say “potions ready” and that’s it. – Aralia said angrily.

– Get your potions ready. – Then, after thinking a little, I added. – The most powerful. “The herbs in my hand began to shake, glow, and a second later there was a glass vial of red potion in my hand. – That's it. – What a joy. This is the first time I've seen this. I handed the potion to Toren.

– That's strange. “She turned the bottle over in her hands. Then she opened it. I sniffed it. She took a sip. – Strong potion. New. Restores strength and health. But this is the first time I’ve seen such effects. I've only heard about them in legends. You truly are a hero. A champion from another world. I'll keep the potion for myself for experiments. Who sent you here?

– You know Regina. – I said angrily. I didn’t want to remember the former witch.

– No, I'm not talking about that. You could be sent to any world. Ours is not the only one. We know that. But who brought you specifically to our world. And for what purpose? Here's a riddle. We magicians need to figure it out. And we will look for your friend. So the adventurers guild is the place for you. Maybe you can find her before us. “She started digging around on the table shelf again. – Here are your new documents. Spell "Name and Status".

She handed me a sign with my name and status.

– The guild gives you a bonus of thirty gold. There is a note about this in the corner.

I watched. Yes there is such a thing.

–There is one condition. For now, don’t tell anyone that you are a hero from another world. Otherwise they will call you to fight. With your condition, you will lose and disgrace all the heroes who came to us before you. We wouldn't want that. And don't tell everyone about your world. Aralia can be your partner from this day forward. And responsible for you. It's clear?

We nodded. I didn’t want to talk about my world of the developed future.

– Sell the potion, but with a note that it was made by magicians in the guild. Here are the papers. “A scroll appeared out of thin air, which she handed to Aralia. – Don’t forget to pay taxes. You are a hero now, a citizen of the Yarov state. And excuse me for asking, but what's wrong with your face? It doesn't look like a curse. Were you born this way?

– No, it's a curse. The witch did. You have no cure for this. Or at least masks?

– Sorry, hero, there is no such potion. Maybe do it yourself. From these herbs.

She grew five blades of grass from the shelf. She gave it to me. The smell is floral, and maybe lemon.

– A potion to remove my curse. I want to become as handsome as before so that the ladies will stick to me. “The herbs in my hands became a bubble of bright red liquid. I drank it in one gulp. – Is there an effect?

– No, you're still the same freak. It may take time. Until it works, here is the mask. – The magician began to rummage through the boxes again. Yes, they are simply bottomless or there is emptiness there. I still don’t understand its principle. – Here she is. – She took out a beautiful mask. All covered in gold and jewels. – The thing is expensive. But it will suit you. It has the ability to heal and increases strength. Mask of the Lord of Darkness. She changes to suit her owner.