Excerpt from the Book "History of the Kingdom of Men. Silverlane", Chapter VIII "A New Threat" Our merchants travel throughout the world, and it is not uncommon for them to make significant discoveries during their journeys. One such discovery has forced us once again to reconsider the security of our borders.
According to the words of the expedition participants:
I: Having received information about a planned attack on our caravan, we decided to veer off the south-eastern direction and take a detour. Few people travel along the road we chose; movement upon it is very difficult. By morning, we reached the Gorge of Oblivion. That morning was very foggy, with almost nothing visible around us. In essence, we were walking by touch. The horses constantly stumbled over sharp stones protruding from the ground, and we had to unload them.
II: I know that place well, as I have passed through it more than once. We were on the right path. Suddenly, to my right, I noticed a large dark strip, as if it were the top of a cliff. This seemed very strange to me, because in theory, there should have been a plain here, surrounded by high mountain ridges. I headed toward this cliff. Through the fog, the outlines of a colossal... wall began to emerge! Yes, it was a huge wall 60 feet high, no less!
III: We followed a stone road to massive gates. I have never seen such massive gates in any fortress! The entire structure looked very imposing. Walls that seemed endless, studded entirely with high towers... What people could have created this?!
IV: What struck us most was the dead silence that reigned there. And such an oppressive atmosphere... It seemed that rays of sun never penetrated there. Pure horror, in general. Someone shouted something, but no answer followed...
V: While we were admiring these majestic structures, one of our guides stepped off the stone road. His legs were immediately entangled by some plants; the poor fellow began to sink rapidly into the ground, as if he were drowning in a mire! We rushed to help, but it was already too late... ...well, if any army decides to storm this fortress, the attackers risk simply not reaching its walls...
VI: At that moment, somewhere in the distance behind the wall, a terrible roar sounded, which plunged us into complete numbness for a while. Unwilling to tempt fate further, we tried to leave this place as quickly as possible!...
To say that the king was horrified by everything he heard would be an understatement! This news leaked to the masses, causing considerable panic among the population. Everyone was concerned with only one question—what lay hidden behind that wall?
***
FATAL FLIGHT
Not a trace of yesterday's festive mood remained. The only topic for discussion today was the merchants' tale of the mysterious fortress. The "Dead Fortress," as they called it themselves. To be honest, I myself burned with desire to learn as many details as possible. I headed toward the main square. Approaching the notice board, I found nothing that interested me. Only the text of one of the signs amused me:
«
- Well then,
Ment, you've been caught! Tell us, did you swear an oath of loyalty to our king?!
- To be honest, I do not consider it necessary for myself to give oaths to anyone...
- You scoundrel! Perhaps you arrived here from that fortress everyone is talking about now, just to spy on us?!
- I only heard about this fortress for the first time today myself!
- And did YOU plant that envelope with threats at the royal palace?
- As far as I know, that letter was written in rare red ink. I don't have any, and never have!»
Out of the corner of my ear, I heard one passerby telling another that the king had another guest at the palace today. This time
oven666 had been invited. Strange, why are people being brought to the king one after another...
Finally arriving at the tavern in hopes of hearing as many details as possible about the previously unknown fortress, I saw familiar faces. It seems
Alexeagle has run into trouble again. He sat silently with a swollen face. I asked him what happened?
«Damned wasps! What did I even do to them?! I'm never leaving this tavern again!»
Asking others about the news of the day, I still heard nothing new. But I was pleased by the news that our young prodigy received a new order today!
Suddenly, I remembered yesterday's story from the lumberjack. In a state of mental vacancy, I decided to go into that forest and personally verify the plausibility of the story. I didn't have to search for confirmation long—uprooted trees lay everywhere. I headed deeper into the forest in hopes of finally finding the body of that girl. What if she is still alive?
My thoughts were interrupted by a sharp gust of wind. I looked up and saw... A Black Dragon!!! I'm not lying, it was definitely him! He circled over the forest as if searching for something. My God, a black dragon! They have been considered extinct for 10 years!... The dragon flew in close proximity to me again (thank goodness I was safely hidden under the tree canopies!) In the next second, something happened that I could not have expected... Some monster suddenly towered over the trees. It ripped up a tree by its roots and launched it high into the air! The dragon, noticing the log flying toward him, tried to dodge, but the flying beast was still hit in the right wing. Alexeagle crashed to the ground about 10 meters from me; the monster immediately rushed toward him! Before the dragon could even properly recover, the huge hairy beast struck him again, shattering the tree trunk into small splinters. After that,
Alexeagle was no longer able to get up, and the monster quickly disappeared into the thicket of the forest. I don't know what guided me then, but I approached the dragon, drowning in a pool of its own blood, to examine it. It was definitely already dead. I spent a long time examining this behemoth and was about to go home when I suddenly noticed something shiny on one of its claws. It was a giant ring. Engraved on it was "5 4 3 _ 1". 5 4 3 _ 1? Is that the dragon's serial number?...
Approaching my house, I saw a crowd of people. They wanted to lift someone from the ground, but he managed to jump back onto his feet without one's help. He held an arrow in his hands, which he had pulled out of his left shoulder a second earlier.
«Now you have seen for yourselves how strong the armor I make is!», - he said, - «The arrow didn't go far, only slightly cutting my skin!»
Just as he finished his speech, this guy collapsed to the ground again and began to have convulsions. He was rushed to the physician, but the latter only shrugged. Perhaps the elves can help the lad, but it might already be too late...
Near my house, I ran into
KindShaman, who recommended an elder who quickly relieves any pain. Well, I should pay him a visit tomorrow...
Living:
1.
Neyra Drake2.
SnowmanV2 4.
mika 6.
oven666 7.
KindShaman8.
Gekasan_RU9.
Ment10.
Vall d'Emerol 11.
Mona12.
Kostyakkk13.
Angry Lizard14.
Olam Hevel16.
Heroist17.
Larisa/
NephelaDead:
3.
Alexeagle5.
Nephela15.
ArandorTHE DAY BEGINS