servus [https://i.imgur.com/vYzOuwE.jpeg]

We drove, not hurrying anywhere. Fresh air, blue sky, clear sunshine, and a special aura of mood.

"Why be sad when you can be in an uplifting mood? I am a young man and I have my whole life ahead of me. Being young has its advantages. You have not drunk the cup of life to the end, have not experienced the whole gamut of feelings, and have every right to wear rose-colored glasses. Youth is often associated with high energy levels and liveliness. I feel I possess excellent physical strength and stamina, enabling me to engage in various activities and pursue new opportunities. My mind is flexible, which contributes to my ease of learning and adapting to new situations. I learn new skills and information. At a young age, I have time to correct mistakes and learn from them. I experiment, try different things, and build my life without fear of making mistakes. Youth is a time for recent adventures and experiences. I am open to new ideas, cultures, and traveling, which helps me expand my horizons and develop as a person. Now is the time for me to build a foundation for my future career, relationships, and life. Wizard’s Apprentice! Adept of Oceania! I am already known in several villages. Could I expect such fame in my world? Only if I ordered and placed self-promotions on TV and the Internet. Here in Orkvalia, I promote myself by doing things. I have several important things to accomplish, find and rescue Dionela. Finding a meteorite that fell from the sky and bringing it to Maleus’ forge. I need to destroy the Pyronax dragon family. I had already met his younger brother and let’s be honest, the outcome of the meeting was not in my favor."

Jurion was an excellent driver. The wagon traveled across open ground, following the tracks left by the caravan. The merchant told me that after the fair he would travel to the city of Forbant. I had to trust his words and move in the same direction. The caravan was a few days ahead of us and, according to calculations, could reach the limits of the city. Given the speed of the caravan, it could still be on the road.

The trail left by the oxen and wagons was a long flat line, like a railroad track. Tired of the monotonous movement, I dozed off, thinking of putting Tush on a bench and appointing him a lookout ahead. The little beast, who had made a bed in the basket, was asleep. He should have moved and ceded some of the space to me.

The abrupt stop of the wagon broke the semi-sweet slumber. I almost fell out of my seat and jerked forward. The most surprising thing was that Fluffy woke up at once. His look was not one of surprise at the abrupt stop but of concern. Jurion said something in his rough throaty voice, my pet translated:

“The caravan has changed direction abruptly, the trail goes off to the side.”

“If you see tracks, follow them. They must lead somewhere. Maybe the merchant has a new customer in this place.”

“I don’t think so,” the furry animal shook his head. - “I sense fear and despair. I think that's where the caravan got into some kind of trouble."

“The caravan had guards, the men were ready to fight back. What misfortune can we speak of?”

We reasoned aloud and moved along the trail, which looped and took us into a deep ravine. We saw what had happened to the caravan as we went down the ravine. Broken wagons, scattered burning stones, a few dead oxen. We saw no sign of a fire and no place to sleep. Just a lot of blood. I walked around the caravan site, examining it from all sides, and trying to find any of the men killed or wounded. Other than large bloodstains I never found anyone.

“Maybe they’re all alive,” Fluffy shared his musings. - “I can’t sense the thoughts of dying people, only animals.”

“You don’t sense the villains who committed this heinous crime?”

“If you scrutinize the footprints on the ground, you’ll realize for yourself how silly your question looks.”

Embarrassed, I took a closer look at the footprints. Paw prints. They belonged to Servus, the dragon’s servants.

“Freaks!” I couldn’t contain my emotions. - “Why kill the bulls? If they wanted to rob them, they would have taken everything. They could have gotten good money for the same wagons. And the burning stone? It was meant for someone! By the way, I know his name. Maleus the blacksmith. Without coal, the merchant won’t go to the blacksmith, and won’t show us the way. Bastards!”

There was no limit to my anger. I circled the scene of the caravan looting and chopped the innocent thistle thickets with my sword. Jurion and Tush watched me, not even trying to calm me down. They realized that if I vented my anger, I would think more constructively. And they were not deceived by their expectations. I soon calmed down and began to think.

“Let’s go to town.”

We climbed out of the ravine, found the steep trail of the caravan, and continued traveling towards the town. The sight we had seen depressed our mood. We expected to meet our fellow travelers alive and well. Seeing a robbed caravan was not in our plans.

“I’ve never been to cities,” Jurion confessed. - “I’m afraid of enormous crowds, especially like this. If you don’t mind, I’ll stay outside the city.”

“If you’re afraid, I can shrink you down and carry you like a fluffy little thing in my arms.”

“No need,” the centaur was relentless. - “My power among crowds is useless. I would do more harm than good. We’ll arrange a time and place to meet. I’ll be waiting. You can break your spell on us and then we can accompany you even into the city.”

“I had forgotten that Centaur Jurion is two men, two brothers punished by me for their behavior. During my time on the road, the centaur showed good behavior. He obeyed my commands, was not capricious, and was worth forgiving. I’m not ready to say goodbye to a creature that is useful to me.” - I did not share my thoughts with my companions. Catching Fluffy’s gaze, I realized he knew my thoughts.

“Jurion, you have yet to redeem yourself, not even a tenth of your guilt. Even now you’re bickering with your master, even though you shouldn’t,” Fluffy helped me hold the centaur in his unusual manner. - “Oris is not convinced that you have reformed. Therefore, you may not enter the city, but don’t leave it for a long distance, or I, Tush, won’t be able to summon you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Jurion nodded his head. It was clear from his darkened gaze and evil smile that he was not happy with this decision. He moved forward, trying to keep to his chosen direction. The surrounding terrain was changing. The open space blended with the forest plantings, and we returned to the dry woods. The centaur avoided collisions with trees and kept to the open space.

Fluffy pointed out the tracks left by the previous travelers, hammered into the ground. They differed from those of our group, but the direction was the same. A spark of hope flared in my heart that we would meet people who could guide us to the nearest town.

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My companion tugged at the edge of my cloak, his gaze wary, as if he sensed the danger that lay ahead. I had to stop the centaur, realizing that Fluffy had picked up on something invisible to me, but frightening. Looking at the centaur, I let it move freely, preparing for the unexpected attack that seemed to await us ahead. We saw a fire burning and heard loud, obnoxious voices indicating that we had encountered servus who had decided to rest and dine. They had started a fire pit and were roasting a future meal over an open flame. There was nothing to indicate that these were the same scum who had destroyed the caravan. The smell of the roast tantalized our sense of smell, whetting our appetites. Jurion would have liked a piece of forest kebab cooked over an open fire. As for me, I was as hungry as the other companions. Only a small furry animal reacted calmly to the delicious smells.

Taking my sword in my hand, I turned to my companions and put my finger to my lips, ordering them to be quiet and careful. The coming battle required careful reconnaissance, so I let my Long Eye out of my hand. The thin, almost invisible scout reached toward the campfire. It clung to the ground, allowing me to see stalks of dry plants, fallen dry tree branches, and footprints left by vicious creatures.

The Servus were around the fire, eating roasted meat, slurping and belching constantly. I counted only five dragon servants and one tufton slowly chewing its endless gum. One of the servus sat on a log, next to the fire. In his clawed hands, he held a large, juicy piece of meat. Two others were standing around dividing the meat between their friends. The fourth Servus I saw near the wagon. He was counting the bronze swords. There were a dozen or two new bronze swords in the cart. My long eye also noticed among the bundles of arrows, some oddly shaped armor, a leather sack, and a club with sharp spikes in the thickened part. It was the same baton that the caravan guard, Crybaby, always carried with him.

A fifth Servus emerged from the bushes, adjusting his pants as he went. He joined his companions and, having received his portion of roast meat, began to devour it. The reconnaissance was complete, I knew the number of the enemy and could see that they were unaware of our presence.

I decided that I wouldn’t be so ceremonious with the bloodthirsty human killers. The image of a typhoon sweeping away everything in its path appeared in my mind. Its power was indefinable.

“Vortex!” - I cast a spell and flew into the robbers like a whirlwind. The spell I cast kicked those standing by the fire into the fire, instantly igniting the clothes on the servus soaked in animal fat. They screamed, and two fiery torches spun in place. I took off the head of the dragon’s servant, sitting by the fire with one blow of the sword, and stabbed the remaining two. The Servus died, without feeling pain. The speed of the attack discouraged Yurion, who rushed to my aid, He paced around the cart for some time, thinking that one or two servus could hide in ambush. Fluffy reassured us, saying that in this area, apart from Tufton and other animals, he felt no one else.

I searched the motionless bodies. Trot, my rival in the competition, was not among the corpses. The burnt servus smelled of burnt meat and scorched wool. They turned black and no longer looked like formidable warriors. I did not touch them, thinking that without searching the two bodies, there would be no loss. Those servus that I stabbed had nothing interesting besides swords. The fifth body, covered in blood, made me feel nauseous. I’ve never stained my hands with blood before. The dragon’s servants were not human in my mind. Bipedal, upright, disgusting creatures, killers of people. I felt neither pity nor remorse. They would not have spared us if they had seen us before the attack began.

We found a rough copy of a wooden shovel in the cart, and the soil in the dry forest turned out to be very pliable. I dug a deep hole, threw the bodies of the creatures into it, and buried them. I let Tufton go free to graze; I didn’t need him. We burned the cart, and hid all the property under the bushes, making a small hiding place. There were many copper coins in the leather bag. Five hundred coins or six hundred, I didn’t count. I became rich. In the cart, we also found several jugs of honey drink, dried meat, and pieces of green-dyed fabric.

They designed the armor for the torso of the servus. The armor looked disgusting because someone made it with rough leather and sewed it with thread. I just threw the armor I found into the bushes. I pulled the cart away from the road and burned it. I didn’t want the cart to find an owner.

Together, we cleared the area around the fire and covered the thickening blood with earth. The fire, not fed by dry branches, went out; we didn’t need it. We cut off a few pieces of fried meat and dined with appetite. I even allowed myself a few sips of the honey drink. They did not consider the drink to be alcoholic. Its pleasant taste of honey and fragrant berries overwhelmed the taste of animal fat in the mouth. Even Fluffy, who found two fresh mushrooms in the forest, did not refuse the honey drink. He ate the mushrooms raw, saying that they tasted better without fire.

The tall trees whispered sadly to each other:

“When will the creature free us from the dragon’s threats?”

“I want to bloom, I need new branches.”

“I’m tired of looking dry. A creature with an ax will come and chop me down to the very roots.”

If the forest had thick green foliage, and young bushes, if the ground around the trees were decorated with thick silky grass, it would be extraordinarily beautiful. It would be inhabited by equally beautiful birds singing charming songs. No less charming animals would be hiding in the thicket. Someday this will happen, you just have to wait a little.

After a hearty lunch, I wanted to take a little nap. I asked Yurion if he wanted to get some sleep. The centaur was surprised:

“It’s the second half of the day, a little more and night will come. If you go to bed now, what will you do at night?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it.”

“Harness me and go to sleep in the carriage, I will drive you. Perhaps we will reach the city faster this way.”

That’s what I did. Harnessed Yurion to the cart, made himself comfortable in the cart, and fell fast asleep. Without any dreams or travel outside the body. A little fluffy was sleeping nearby, we disturbed each other in our sleep. The centaur drove us all night and as soon as the sun illuminated the edge of the sky he saw the outlines of the city. He stopped and stood until we woke up.

The cart had to be hidden in the forest, its contents in a separate hiding place. If someone finds the cart, then all my things will remain safe and sound.

All that remained was to give Yurion the last instructions:

“I don’t know how long it will take me to find a guide. As soon as I know the way or find a person who can lead us to the village of the blacksmith Maleus, we will return immediately.”