Posts from 🍁Nine Ancient Obelisks Auto-translated

Asmidulu manages to catch a teacher fish, and not just one, but two – it was a common fish found all over the world, but it usually lives only in hard-to-reach places, so in a way, the young fisherman was very lucky. It was with this fish that Inak treated the young man when he came to visit him in Onkaih. There was also Asakhin rice and greens gathered in the mountains, along with ingredients grown by Nitro.

- I don't know what artificial meat is, but you shouldn't talk about yourself like that. There are no useless or incompetent people in the world, there are only life situations that lead to such circumstances, and nothing more. - An unfamiliar foreigner sits down next to the tipsy Asmidulu. He wasn't sure if his interlocutor was still conscious enough to understand his words, but he continued anyway. - We all come from the same place, and we all have a common end. - After a moment of silence, he decides to introduce himself. - I am known as Urazuki Shiki. I would like to believe that my presence and words do not bother you.

Today, one of the miracle workers was at the Guild of Wonders.

- Ah, Erika. Good day! - Belladonius Abazhur smiled warmly. - It's always a pleasure to see you; many of our colleagues could learn a thing or two from you about proper attire. Otherwise, they dress like... Well, you know who.

January 14
Went to the tournament -- turns out it was a lousy idea.
Passed through the Gate -- haven't seen it in a long time. Monstrous, I'd started to forget how much. Threw Black Jack off the train -- some maniac who bought a non-removable Tung mask, and it already backfired on him. Great, I thought. I'll never hear about him again, and the tournament will be a bit easier. Never been so wrong.
The Station in Shina is dusty, unimpressive, and after the train you feel sick, but still, almost home. 
In the Light of the South, there are memorials and altars. It's nice here. Checked the memorials -- seems like everything's in order. Tried to remember at least some of the city's rulers -- maybe some of them are still alive.
Zinobis
Xenos
Kusarikku
Gnaev.
Fyr
Forgot a few. Well, good thing I'm not some Fyr — going down in history with a name like that would be awkward.

The School of Baldr — it's like a fiction, like a philosophy, and like a cult. A strange old man named Lampr sits there, says that after reading too many tablets he abandoned his family, fell for an imaginary woman, and even stabbed some Luu Saint-Luna just because they disagreed about something regarding their Baldr.
In short, in a certain kingdom, in a certain barony of Baldr, there lived an old man named Gungnir, and he had a bunch of children, but none of them were his own. Here they are: the hysterical Eir, the glutton Gulveig, the omega Anders, the holy man Anselm, Rehay-from-the-Mitsurugi-Isles, the crazy Imelda, the narcissistic Alessia, the bro Renold the fighter and his sister Ilva the cook, and Calantia — a woman of steel. I think Naoya writes something like this in her books. I think everyone died at the end, but I read it diagonally and I'm not sure. It's all strange, albeit interesting. I hope if I decide to actually read it properly, I won't lose my mind like Lampr.

On the way to the arena, I dropped into a bar — no other way to get there. Immediately spot another Asugukh face — it's Zenus, a white-haired loser with a katana, chasing after a skirt. I have a diamond eye for people — I knew right away he wouldn't do anything at the tournament. The bartender, a bastard, a man without honor, a perfect example of a Felician rat — he profits off the common folk, disgraces the country, thinks no one will touch him. But I touched him — and how! I think for the rest of his life he won't be able to say a coherent word. The people supported me, a ruckus started, but then they threw us all in jail. Punished the scoundrel, made a reputation for myself — let's consider that the first micro-step on my long path to the rebirth of Calcite.

Noddavariz — a simple Calcite man, we sat in the same cell under the "Sanctuary of Sand" after that fight. He told me all sorts of things. A good man, of the old breed. If you could gather a few thousand like him in one place — Shina would be turned upside down effortlessly, and Ginza's head would decorate the doors of the "Citadel."
Our gang did well. They kept me informed about who was fighting whom, I even placed bets. The guard, fortunately, retained at least some humanity. It was hard to bet just by looking at names, only after the first round did things become clear. Bibis and Beavis — huge thugs from the Scrym, but Erika gave them a watery-fiery hell and they folded. Erika, as it turns out, deserves respect — she made it to the finals and even helped Ilka. Giladrion Esiem Irikius — bet on him because of the name, they say he fought well, but couldn't quite pull through. Lezedi — a woman with a katana, fighting style like twelve mosquitoes stinging at once. Asura — also a woman with a katana. Why is everyone so obsessed with them? Katana wielders seem to multiply like budding. Zenus, Zibabych, Jack — they're all among them too.
It's not just the bartender disgracing our people. Some Hyattata stabbed a woman in the back with a knife.
Ginza. Ruler of Shina, a submissive Felician bitch, a bespectacled coward, a butcher of the regime, a spineless scum. In his time, he surrendered to Felicia without a fight, so there's nothing surprising about his character. Usually so important, thinks he's smart, but step on his toes — and he foams at the mouth worse than a rabid hyena. By his grace, this was (supposedly) the last tournament in the Citadel. He doesn't want tournaments — he'll get war.

January 15
What actually happened — me, the rest of the gang, Erika, and a couple of other guys from the tournament — Shram (he won the tournament and has a cool armor, as he himself says) and Zibaba — were thrown into a pit, they poured slop on us for who knows how long, we ate rats in there and almost died of fever. The rest is speculation.
Zibaba, a thuggish-looking man, was the only one who had his nails torn out, and Ginza offed some acquaintance of his. We of course asked him about it, and he answered, but I get the feeling he was lying somewhere — he's a slippery character. Here's what I see:
There's a certain flower girl in Shina — either she herself is some powerful witch, or she possesses something very valuable. A flower shop in Shina... That alone is enough to sense something is wrong. Zibaba is a buddy of Zenus and Black Jack. And finally, there's Taylo Bocci, part tournament fighter, part bookmaker, but in reality — the most vile and cunning creature on the planet, and lately, Felicia's husband. Number 1 on my guillotine list.
Either Taylo recruited Zibabych's crew to help kidnap the woman and then screwed everyone over, and Zibaba just didn't manage to escape alone, or Zibabych himself wanted to kidnap the woman because... Something. As cunning a bastard as Taylo may be, I don't see what kind of plan there could be that depends on a random pirate without any escape plan. For now, let's consider the first hypothesis as the working one.

??? February
Rested up in the capital's hospital. Baths, massages, but the food was mediocre. Felt a bit better, but not as good as before the pit — Nikonia Aigle tricked me. She promised a full recovery.
Asmidul, one of our egghead intellectuals, shows up with some woman. And he starts going on about a black knight, a curse, how Asmidul was out of his mind and killed someone. Looking back — I'm surprised he even cared about the knight and the pentagrams on the map at all. I'd have ignored it, and if I hadn't, I wouldn't have understood a thing. Erudites are sometimes more useful than they seem.
From the hospital, we picked up Erika and Zibabych. Also Ferrus, a silent journalist (turns out they exist), came along. And Camistella — a strange woman. Pretty, but creepy. Like glass. And completely insane, as we later realized.
Obelisk of Fire — Asmidul was drawing some diagrams on the map, said we need to go there. I said if this is a prank, I'll cut him and the woman down right here and now, but it didn't come to that. The woman turned out not to be a woman, but a Phantom — sounds terrifying (not really). Speaks in a way that needs a translator from Phantom to human — luckily for us, there was one. Aya — also killed someone foolishly and became the Phantom's lackey. Fortunately, Tann, the black knight, turned out to be reasonable — he explained what he needed and clearly showed why we had no choice. A decent man, in his own way. We're working.

We reach Onkaih — and it's in ruins. A Calcite landing force on air balloons. The Protector said they were all killed almost without losses — what were they even hoping for? Only the transport station wasn't working — as if fate is specifically hitting us, even if in small ways. 
With nothing else to do, we had to go to the Guild of Erudition, to Asmidul's buddies. There sits a freak with ten rings, says he can send us almost anywhere — if at least one of us has been there and has something from that place. An incredible coincidence, isn't it? I'm almost sure it's the Phantom again. Whether it's the true form, Linshi, or this one — they're all a bit off. We spent an hour thinking as a gang — decided on the capital. 

We ended up in Gura-Gura. Ferrus suddenly found his voice — and started buying up supplies. Quiet as he is, what a business grip. We scared Svereepka, the owner, pretty badly — in the context of the Harran attack on the capital. There was a small skirmish, Harran lost Lord Zezilion. They say the Tsar's daughter killed him, but that's probably propaganda. Missed all the fun a second time.
Arrived in Pharis — third time. Annoying.
Left for the Sushin Gate to cut down the dogs of the new regime. My hands are itching. Maybe I'll even get to Ginza. Especially since the strait is blocked and the tunnel (Zibaba suddenly remembered it — he's still a complicated type) to Calcite no longer exists as of very recently.

3 days, 13 locations, 43 characters

- It's a decent plan; with all these refugees, they'll need to somehow recover their losses. As for me... I could say something grand, like it's my civic duty, but that kind of pompousness grates on me. The truth is, I don't particularly like some of the Calcite people, and I don't really have anywhere else to go; my family is gone too. So, I might as well lend a hand to a worthy cause, maybe I'll figure something out for myself in the process. Wandering around like a rag in the wind... I don't really have any special skills. And even if I did want to, how would I do it? The ports are closed, and I can't travel by land.

- This... No, it's not bothering you. It's just that you don't have anything left, - he said guiltily, tilting the empty glass bottle downwards. - Sorry... My name is Asmidul, nice to meet you.

He draws the last circle on the water and sits down to warm his legs in the sun.
- Good catch today... I don't usually drink... I'm just seeing a friend off. I dragged him into a stupid adventure. And about the meat... It's like when you want to do something good, but in the end, your involvement has an unexpected effect, like a chain reaction. How do you say... The butterfly effect, right? That's what happened to me. A unified end is good, but some people don't deserve it so soon. They definitely don't deserve it. Don't you think so? - he looked at the foreigner with a slightly hesitant gaze.

why did I pick up the turtle if we stayed in Sugaria...

- Good afternoon, Mr. Abazhur. I just stopped by to see how things are going here, if there are any tasks. I haven't been here in a while, I was in the Calcite pit, and then I was recovering in the capital hospital...
- But I also have one question... A year ago, we had a shop called "Mysterious Star," whose owner disappeared because of church agents. Can you tell me how long ago and under what circumstances it appeared? And can you tell me anything about the magic that teaches mushrooms to talk??? I haven't seen any talking mushrooms anywhere except in that shop. Until last night...

- The Calcite Pit? - The mage raised an eyebrow, and the smile on his face vanished. - I'm afraid I don't know much about that witch and her shop. Hmm. That's strange. I can't remember her name or even the approximate date she appeared in our city. As for the talking mushrooms... I'm not familiar with such magic, unfortunately.

-- What's our plan, commander? -- Ushumgallu isn't just some ordinary soldier; he won't march and introduce himself according to protocol. -- What about the reconnaissance data, the battle formation, and coordination with other units?

- Never mind, I have an important meeting scheduled for tomorrow, so it wouldn't be appropriate to indulge in alcohol right now.

- I... - The foreigner had many different philosophical thoughts from an "objective" point of view, but in this situation, he didn't deem it necessary to voice them. - Yes, perhaps they don't deserve it.
... Whether it was due to the difference in the degree of alcohol intoxication, or a cultural barrier, or perhaps different personalities, the conversation between the two didn't go very well.
- Tell me, do you happen to know the way to the Temple of Mirrors? - Shiki decided to break the silence with an unexpected question on a completely different topic. - I wouldn't want to be late tomorrow.

Had a good vacation. Found some money – and immediately died!

– So, Lord Faineant had two excellent bodyguards, a considerable amount of money, and a complete lack of self-preservation instinct, – Camistella sighed. – His chances of staying alive are still not zero, but they are depressingly close to it. And why did he have to go to Shin specifically...

Judging by the lunar elf's face, she was expecting either sympathy or a deep analysis of the possible scenarios for the fate of the famous Enlil artist from Erish.

– Yeah, in a pit. I guess that's the prize I got for being the runner-up in the tournament at the Citadel, – Erika smirked.
– After the tournament in Shin, one witch was kidnapped. She was selling flowers there. And she somehow reminded me of our mushroom-loving friend. That shop was in the forest in the middle of nowhere, and the flower shop was in the middle of the desert. I didn't actually get to go into the shop, so I don't know if the flowers there can talk. But the florist didn't seem to hide her name.
– So, that witch was kidnapped, and all of us who didn't manage to run away were thrown into a pit. And the kidnapper, you know who? The newly-minted "Calcite King"! In the end, we were released without explanation, and while I was recovering in the hospital, an attack from Calcite occurred.
– In general, this thief and kidnapper's marriage is the result of some kind of magic, I think...

- ...Each squad will need to attack its designated location... Our target is the entertainment citadel, which the enemy is currently using for military purposes... At 8:00 PM, we gather on the wall and complete our preparations... At 10:00 PM, we launch under the cover of night... We eliminate everyone who poses a threat... I will set the explosives... After that, we regroup with the other squads and retreat back to Sugaru... If necessary, we will help other squads complete their tasks... According to intelligence reports, the enemy is not expecting a counterattack... Morale is low due to past failures... The main part of the reinforcements has not yet arrived from other regions of Calcite...