Posts from RPG on the Portal.

Beautiful stranger, would you mind answering a few of my questions?

As soon as Almaren spoke these words, a quiet but powerful laugh echoed from Saruman's refuge...:D

Ignoring Saruman, who was laughing so hard he was about to burst, Almaran followed the ghost. As he passed the mage's refuge, he spitefully tossed a small spider (no bigger than his palm) inside.

- Yes, there's a merchant here. He has all sorts of stones – from cobblestones to sapphires. Ha-ha! But what kind of stone do you need?

- Actually, I wasn't asking about the merchant. This stone is unusual because there are no others like it. Maybe you know of any mages or alchemists, I said. The atmosphere became tense. "A strange mage. His voice is cold and steely," I thought, "but perhaps that's how a mage should be. After visiting the elves, he's the first person I've spoken to."

I looked at the stranger and decided to talk to him; he hasn't done anything wrong to us (at least not yet), and my dead little soul missed interacting with a full-fledged representative of the grave so much that I cast aside the remnants of my suspicion and spoke: "My name is Adelaide. I, Smoke the Barbarian, and Knight the Dark Elf are searching for fragments of an ancient artifact key; we need the key to open the gates of ..., but let's not get too far ahead. The wizard is called Saruman; we met him... no... we found him in a bag; as long as his goals align with ours, we are together. We arrived in this city in search of a magic agate; it is needed for ... well, anyway, it doesn't matter (off, really, why do we need this tear?). For now, I would advise you to stick with us, at least until we make our way into lands that are safe for you. And what brought you here?"

- So, this merchant is also an alchemist! His shop is right there, around the corner. He can find any stone for you! Well, if he can't find it, he'll at least show you where to look. Ha-ha!

The secret knowledge of the dwarves draws me in. I have studied the experience of mages, delved into necromancy, but it is not enough for me. I want to master the secrets of the mountain people. I needed to get to the city, so I climbed into a crack in the wall, and there, apparently, was a teleport, and I found myself near an altar. You know what happened next. Regarding artifacts, keys, and gates – that's interesting. I hope that no one has been behind these gates yet? Is there still much unexplored there? If so, then I'll go with you. Great discoveries await us! (While saying this, he glanced at Saruman's refuge, where laughter suddenly stopped).

...and it was replaced by a cry of "HELP ME!!"

Well, a mage, and he's afraid of spiders. He could have used his transformation spell. (Almaren thought). I need to save Saruman. He approached the booth, reached into the doorway, and grabbed a spider, which was just as scared. Oh, you little scaredy-cat? Did that big mage frighten you? Well, come to me. (He puts the spider inside his huge cloak).

- And what's the point of all this charade?! - I wondered, seeing Ta Kotoraya, - alright, get yourself together, and I'll go grab some weapons.
I looked at the dwarf who was carrying the money to me; he stood there with his mouth open, but when he caught my eye, he snapped out of it and handed me the reward.
- Well, where's your storage room? - I asked the dwarf.
And the dwarf led me down the stairs...

- So, this merchant is also an alchemist! His shop is right around the corner. He can find any stone for you! Well, if he can't find it, he'll at least show you where to look. Ha-ha!

"Well, thank you. I'll go talk to him." I go to the merchant-alchemist and show him the stone that the fellow traveler asked me to deliver. "What do you think about this?"

Gvozdy, the old alchemist, examines your stone through an ocular microscope for a long time.- Hmm... hmm... interesting, very interesting... And where did you get it, young man?

Added 18 minutes later
Verdan, Sage, Givi, Joe, Artes, under the pretext of an order from the emperor, you take items from the warehouse that were confiscated from you during the search. And you head towards the exit of the castle...

Not surprising. But he made me an outcast, and therefore an enemy. Oh god, I served him faithfully for 5 years like an idiot! And before that, I served his father for 8! I became a Paladin when he was still a baby.

Verdan, Sage, Givi, Joe, Artes, under the pretext of an order from the emperor, you take items from the warehouse that were confiscated during the search. And you head towards the exit of the castle...

Hooray! My dagger! And my favorite crossbow! Let's take everything! Hmm, I'll take off the armor, and I don't need the sword either.

So far, everything was going well, and there was no sign of pursuit. Something about this felt familiar: the chase, the need to leave Irrilot, the city gates – it even seemed like the guards at the gate were the same as last time, I thought as I walked towards the city exit with my hands symbolically tied behind my back. Suddenly, a horn sounded behind us, announcing our escape, and the city gates, which had already been open, began to close. We needed to decide quickly, and I looked questioningly at my "escorts," as if to say, "What are we going to do?"

- Givi, hold off on revealing everything about the armor; we haven't even left the castle yet.

Added 5 minutes later
- Don't worry. The date of his death has long been written in the book "Ara-te-Moro." It's not very far off. The emperor has a wonderful son who will take his place and become a worthy ruler of his country. And for now, you can live here. If you need anything, feel free to ask; I'm always happy to help a worthy person. One piece of advice: be careful with vampires; they still feed on human blood... - the necromancer said all this in a completely calm tone. No, not cold-blooded or indifferent, but simply calm, as if it were an ordinary, everyday, but entertaining conversation.