Three men lay on the cold, damp ground, covered with their gray cloaks, all patched and cut. Each had a tattoo with two numbers and a sign on their shoulders. One of them, the older one, had the numbers 1 and 5 and a sign that looked like water sign, and two of the younger ones had the numbers 1 and 4 and signs that looked like fire and earth signs. The man with the water sign was the first to get up, checking to see if the others were asleep. He walked a little further up the hill and looked around at what was happening to the north of them. Not a soul, not a sound, not a single trace of the existence of a human being in this world. He was silent, his body trembling from the cold, and his soft blue eyes were still peering into the distance. When he was sure they were safe, he headed back. The other two were already awake. The youngest was twirling a crystal in his hand.

Blue as the sky, and so beautiful, he thought, but so many problems.

He squatted down, laid down the crystal, folded his hands in a prayer pose, and said softly:

“Earth. Crystal transformation.” (Rank 1)

The blue crystal began to fill with the color of the earth, until it was filled to the brim. He waited a moment, then picked it up. The older man came up to him, squatted down, and asked:

"Are you running out of VV?"

“Yes, the last battle has worn me out.”

“You did a good job. We’ll be arriving at Agernox soon. There we’ll find shelter and rest.”

He nodded in agreement. He concentrated the remnants of the VV in his hand, the crystal cracked, and brown dust began to fly out of the cracks. He inhaled it. The crystal emptied. He put it in the ground and buried it.

The one with the fire sign tattoo and the numbers 1,4 snapped his fingers and a small fire lit up on the ground. They warmed up the rest of the food, and then the older man poured a little water from his finger into each of the glasses. They drank it, covered their tracks, and went ahead.

Daylight was already breaking through the night, and the sky was turning a deep blue. The red and yellow leaves on the crowns of the trees, in the light of the moon, that had not yet gone over the horizon, were scattered all over the area, and those that had already fallen to the ground, with the first gust of wind, began to spin in a fleeting tornado and lay down again for the eternal rest. A huge rat ran across the road until it was hit by a water beam that sliced it in half. The man with the 1,5 tattoo and the water sign bent down and looked at the rat, which was no longer breathing or twitching in its death throes. He said, " Water. Ice freeze" (Rank 3). And the rat's body was covered with an icy crust. He put it in a small bag on his belt and began to look at the road, saw the fresh tracks of a carriage and horses.

They went on, and saw the traces of a battle. However, what happened didn't bother them much, and wouldn't have bothered them any further if they hadn't found a huge goblin in steel armor and a one-handed hoe dead three hundred meters away. One eye was missing from his face, his armor was pierced through, and black liquid dripped from holes on his body. The goblin's veins bulged, blackened, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Poor guy," one of them said. “Did the Inquisitors do that to him?”

“No doubt about it. It's definitely them, we need to stay alert. The wounds are fresh.”

"How are you guys?" the older man asked.

"We're fine," they answered.

They walked forward on the mud road along the boundless autumn forest, relying only on themselves. A kilometer from the main gate of Agernox, they saw two inquisitors in black robes and a red sign on their cloak. They stood over an old man lying in the mud, begging for mercy. And to their right was a carriage and two horses. One of these angels of darkness, which was illuminated by the faint morning rays of the sun, had a sword burning with a black flame in his hands. He aimed at the old man and said:

"Where did you put those diamonds?"

“They were stolen from me. How many times should I repeat it? There were four of them. I don't know who they are, I couldn't even see their faces in the dark.”

"Then go to void, for the glory of God," said the second man, and he raised his hand to cast a spell, as one of the three metentises, the older one, shouted:

“Water prison!” (Rank 4)

Under the feet of both inquisitors, huge water balls burst out of the ground and captured them. They could not move, and began to twitch in convulsions. Like trapped mice in a mousetrap.

“Fire. Vaporizing hand.” (Rank 4)

The water balls suddenly bubbled under the high temperature and twenty seconds later the two inquisitors were boiled alive. They went to them to examine the bodies, tore the robes and saw the numbers 4,2 and an incomprehensible element.

“What is this element?”

“I don't know, but judging by the numbers, we were lucky to catch them off guard.”

"What do we do with the old man?"

"Leave me alone, I'm just a coachman. God, what a fucking day! Please, I won't rat on you. I swear on my children. I'll go back to my village and forget what I saw!" he muttered, with shaking hands.

"Go," said one, and the coachman got into his carriage without question, pulled the reins, and drove away.

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When the three of them were left, The Metentis with the numbers 1.5 and the water sign asked the Metentis with the numbers 1.4 and the earth sign to bury the corpses of the inquisitors and the goblin, just in case. He agreed.

“We’ll wait for you at the main gate, there my friend will meet us and take us to a secret place.”

He nodded in agreement. They were gone, and he was left alone in the vastness of these endless, dense forests. He looked around and saw the morning light shining through the empty space among the dense crowns of the trees, illuminating the edge ahead, a light blue color. The grass on the ground was already discolored and looked like the remains of scorched earth. He stretched out his arms, picked up the first body of the inquisitor, and walked forward into the thicket. A few meters from the edge of the forest, he stopped and placed the body in the grass so that it would not be noticed by a casual passer-by. He did the same with the second body. Then he went back and tried to drag the goblin away with his own strength – but it didn't work.

"Earth pedestal." (Rank 3), he said, and a small earth platform formed from the ground beneath the goblin's body. Like a springboard, it threw the goblin into the thicket. The Metentis went to the spot where the body had been thrown and said:

“Burial.” (Rank 2)

After these words, the ground under the goblin's body seemed to come alive and pulled his body into its depths. He went back and managed to bury the first inquisitor in the same way, when he felt someone's breath behind him.

He turned and saw another inquisitor, with a smiling mask on his face:

"What’s up, boy," he said, " what are you doing in this dark forest alone?"

***

Ofir, as inconspicuously as possible for the people passing by on the street, that tried to drag the wounded Guillotine. However, he did not understand that dragging a friend on the ground, holding him by one hand is a bad idea. But despite his efforts to stay in the shadows of the dilapidated houses, almost everyone was watching him go, and the children around the corner were giggling softly and pointing at him.

"Fuck," Ofir repeated every few minutes, like some ancient spell that could save him and hide him from the eyes of locals.

He turned onto Third Street, threw his friend's arms around his neck and dragged him on his back, walked through two cross-roads until he met a policeman. He stopped Ofir and asked:

"Man, what fuck is going on here?"

"My friend is dying, that the fuck is going on."

"Your handiwork?"

"Yes, I just love raping and beating people half to death, and then dragging them down the street in full view of everyone. Especially when their ass bleeds so much that it leaves a trail of blood on the road."

"Okay, what really happened?"

“We got the crystals for the steam generator last night and started unloading them. Well, this weirdo, accidentally tripped and fell ass first on the crystal, bled, bled, then shit himself and lost consciousness. The doctor said he tore his whole ass off. In general, the sight is unpleasant, but there is a positive side, now he will shit very quickly until end of his days. And I, instead of going to bed after a sleepless night, drag him home.”

The policeman stared at him in silence for another minute before Ofir continued:

"I'd like to continue my journey, if you'll let me."

Suddenly the policeman regained focus, nodded, bowed for some reason, and ran off in the opposite direction. Ofir spat and continued his struggle. He reached Forty-third Street, which was at the intersection of Eighth and Twentieth, turned off the street, and walked to where the two-story brick houses had been replaced by small wooden huts that looked no better: most of the paint had peeled off, and what was left was already discolored, some of the houses were already completely rotted, and some were half buried in the ground. The village itself was located in the most southeastern part of the capital, near the wall. Garbage and leaves were flying along the road, and huge bonfires were burning somewhere in the distance, with children shouting nearby.

He stopped in front of a dim green hut and dropped Guillotine by the fence. His back ached terribly, his hands were numb, and his eyes were closed. He stretched his limbs a bit, and lit his last cigarette. He threw the pack somewhere in the bushes, and while he smoked, he looked at the road. All the people were running somewhere with their heads down. The crows sat on the posts, looking for something to eat. And a goat came running out of one of the plots, the one next to the road, and bleated, and tried to run on, until its owner jumped up on his horse and threw a lasso around its neck. Ofir liked to watch everything, but business was business, so he threw away his cigarette butt, raised Guillotine, opened the gate – which was not closed – and went into a small area with a lawn where raspberry and strawberry bushes still grew. It was about 8: 30 in the morning, and the light was already on in the window.

Ofir placed Guillotine in front of the door and knocked. Nothing. He knocked again. A key turned in the lock of the door and a small girl, about five feet tall, with long blond hair and green eyes, appeared on the threshold.

"Ofir, what do you want so ear... -" she had no time to finish, as under her feet she saw Guillotine lying unconscious with a bandaged ass and blood all over it. “What the… is this?" She shouted.

"This is Guillotine," Ofir replied.

The girl stood with her mouth agape and didn't know what to say next.

"Anyway," Ofir continued, “he got an arrow in his ass, you're a seamstress, so please mend his wound or finish him off, I don't know. Egon left his fate in your hands.”

He was about to turn and walk away when the girl screamed:

"Ofir, come back and take this inadequate man off my doorstep! If you won't, I'll stick another arrow in your friend's soft spot!"

"Stick," Ofir shouted without turning around, opened the gate, and was about to leave when he heard the girl run into the house, then return with a quiver of arrows. Out of the corner of his eye, he began to watch for further developments. She pulled out one arrow and shouted again:

"I'm not joking, come back and take him!"

Ofir stopped and looked at her from afar, but said nothing. So, they looked at each other for a few seconds, and the girl took and stuck the point of the arrow to the other part of Guillotine’s ass. Ofir laughed and ran away.

"Come back, you bastard!" she shouted, but he couldn't hear her anymore.

She sighed and looked at Guillotine. He was a young man, about her height, with short, dirty hair, white skin, a ragged raincoat, long rubber boots, skin and bones. A two-handed sword peeked out from under his cloak.

"What am I going to do with you?" she asked herself, and looked at the road, where several men were standing and watching what was happening.

“What are you looking at? Get out of here!” she shouted and dragged Guillotine inside the house, complaining to herself, parading Ofir's voice, “hey, mend my friend, you're a seamstress, I'm stupid, I don't understand that seamstresses don't mend people, but I don't care, my friend Egon told me, whom I kiss ass every day.” Then she dropped Guillotine on the floor of her little room and continued in her own voice. “And the fact that I'm not a doctor doesn't bother any of them at all! If you want me to mend him, I'll mend him like this! I'll patch him up for all the hurtful things he said to me! You better not wake up, Guillotine.”

She rolled him onto his back and saw that he was trembling from the heat. She put the back of her hand to his forehead, realized that he was burning. She turned him back over, struggled to get his pants off, and stared at the wound for another minute, then took off the bloody bandage and saw a small infection around the wound. Then she pulled out the arrow she had stuck into him, rolled her eyes, and said:

“It's going to be a tough day…”