The vision.

Two warriors fought in a green, slightly crushed meadow, surrounded by three dozen unshaven and unwashed brigands. They were swordsmen, equal in strength, agility, and courage.

"Kill him, Darkblade!"

"Cut the scoundrel down!"

The brigands, excited by the fight, cheered their leader, a tall, strong man, with loud shouts of encouragement. His opponent was a young, seemingly inexperienced boy who had dared to challenge a group of armed men.

"Darkblade, put down your sword! I don't want to fight you!"

"You a coward!" - There was a sneer in the leader's voice. His cronies burst out laughing uncontrollably. - "Now I understand why you are so pale."

"My pallor has nothing to do with our conversation. You know our abilities are equal. You, like me, are a magician of the highest level, wielding a magic sword. My advantage is that I am much younger than you, so I have much more strength."

"I don't care," - Darkblade knew that he would disappoint his accomplices if he lowered his sword. - "I'll kill you anyway."

"And what will that change?!" - his rival smiled. His steadfastness and courage surprised even the old warriors. The bandits gathered in the gang were used to seeing ordinary people surrender almost without a fight, valuing their own lives. A fighter who fought against the leader was not afraid of a clear advantage and set his terms. - "You know what this world needs: prosperity and well-being!"

"A little war wouldn't hurt either," - the leader advanced on his rival without lowering his sword. - "Go away, boy, and don't you dare come back. Make your sculptures, organize exhibitions, and live. I'll give you your freedom now, but the next time I see you, I'll kill you!"

"If I leave here, it will only be with you," the young man lowered his sword and bravely faced his enemy. - "If you want to kill me, kill me now, I will not resist. Let my death be on your conscience. You must live with it."

"Conscience?" - Darkblade grinned, kicking up the loose earth with the toe of his boot. Tears glistened at the corners of his eyes. - "Since then, I lost my family my conscience has been silent. Who are you?! A sculptor or a preacher? Did you come here to tell me what's right and wrong?!"

"No, it's not! I came to save people whose lives are in danger because of your greed and cruelty. What's stopping us from talking in a calmer atmosphere?"

"If you want me to kill you, I will!" - Darkblade shouted, losing his patience. With lightning speed, he thrust his sword at his opponent, aiming for his heart. The sharp sting pierced through the leather armor and into his chest. The young man shuddered and fell silently to the ground, his blood spilling onto the mown grass. The young man's death had made a deafening impression on the bandits.

"Master," - a scruffy, bearded brigand approached Darkblade from the thick ring of men, - "let me cut off his head and take his clothes."

The leader swung his sword without taking his eyes off the body of his dead rival. The impertinent man, who wanted to enrich himself with the loot, was cut in two.

"Who else wants to take clothes?" - asked the leader in a deaf, threatening voice. The answer was silence.

"I should have killed you sooner," Darkblade said to the boy lying on the grass. - "Before you started talking. Now you will never leave this land".

Darkblade carefully examined the body of the dead youth. His gaze fell on the backpack, which immediately caught his attention. It was an object that did not belong to this world, with unusual stitching and fabric that Darkblade had seen before, in another life. Before he became a bandit.

Darkblade did not allow his subordinates to even approach the body of the youth, sensing that there was more hidden here than just trophies. Taking the backpack, he felt its weight and at first assumed that there was gold or other valuables inside. To his surprise, there was no gold in the backpack. The bandit carefully, with an inscrutable expression on his face, began to take out the contents. The first thing that caught his eye was a flask of water, then a bag of bread and dried meat. He also found several small bottles of dark glass, the contents of which remained a mystery to him. Further in the backpack were clean shirts, underwear, and spare socks - all of this looked quite ordinary. However, Darkblade felt that the most important thing was yet to come. And he was right. At the bottom of the backpack, carefully wrapped in clean canvas, lay an object that was immediately unrecognizable. When he unwrapped it, his face changed. Confusion and anxiety flashed in his eyes. He looked at the find for a long time, unable to tear his gaze away. And suddenly it dawned on him: he was wrong. Having struck the young man in the heart and believing in victory, Darkblade lost. This object, simple in appearance, but possessing deep symbolism, changed the outcome of their meeting, turning his entire understanding of what had happened upside down.

The meeting.

I was preparing to commit a crime and no one could stop me, not even my conscience. I was sitting in a cozy coffee house, waiting for my friends and choosing my victim. Sitting at the table, waiting for the waiter, I felt like a predator in ambush, ready for a decisive blow. The future victim did not suspect my true intentions, she was only to be a pawn in this dark game. My conscience was silent, dwarfed by the excitement of the adventure. I suppressed the last glimmer of doubt and swallowed it like a bitter pill. All that was left for me to do was to wait for my friends to arrive to begin my ruthless game. Gathering friends by calling them on my cell phone proved to be easy. High technology makes it possible to reach everyone without sending messengers, speedsters, or carrier pigeons. You don't have to write letters and wait a week or a month for an answer. Press a few buttons and your friend, relative or employer is breathing into the phone, eager to communicate.

Having arranged a meeting place, a cozy coffeehouse with tables under a thatched roof, I ordered a cup of strong coffee and waited for my friends to arrive. One of them would be my victim.

"The long-awaited meeting turned out to be a great opportunity to recapture that unique childhood atmosphere that once united us. Our last chance meeting had been a long time ago, but even then, during the entire five-minute interaction, we managed to feel the thread that bound our past friendships together.

We were old friends, not because we had known each other for years, but because we had been friends since childhood. Memories of fights, peace, and games made us smile as we recalled them now as adults.

As we grew older, we decided that our friendship deserved a special title and declared ourselves a "Society of Noble Knights. We even came up with appropriate names. Michael remained Michael, and Vasilen became Basil. We decided to turn Tederico into Theodore by adding another "o". Sometimes we just called him "Ted". He didn't mind, our Tederico.

But the most interesting thing was about the Alexanders. There were two of them in our company, and long arguments resulted in one becoming Alex and the other Sasha. Our mutual friend Nikolas declared that he would be called Nikos, referring to his Greek roots in his family tree. It was our way of keeping a piece of our childhood in our friendship, a piece of that unique atmosphere that made us who we are now.

The hardest part was changing my name, Arian, which was the name of a French rocket ship or a woman's name. There were two other versions of what my name meant. According to one, I was a "bearer of peace," and according to the other, I belonged to Ares, the god of war. I liked the first, unproven version of my name. I don't like war.

I dislike war because of the indescribable pain and suffering it brings with it. The death of children and adults, the destruction of lives - all this causes deep pain in my heart. We all want to live in peace, without fear of being killed or maimed. War deprives us of security and confidence in the future, and I seek peace and harmony, where everyone can live in safety and dignity.

The second name, Oris, I used very rarely, as needed. But my friends couldn't change it either. Or maybe they just didn't want to...

Rare drops of August rain fell on the bundled thatched roof of the café, playing a romantic melody on this temporary stage. The sounds of the divine Vanessa Mae's violin complemented the rain symphony, filling the air and space of the café with anticipation and magic. In such a magical environment, one could expect not just a guy, but a real princess. Slender, long-haired, faithful - the kind each of us dreamed of meeting.

My friends appeared as I finished my first cup of coffee and ordered a second. They came one after the other, not all at once, but without any time-lapse. They shook off the cold drops and hurried to hide under the waterproof roof of the café. Michael, Theodore, Nikos, Alex, Basil, and Sash, members of our "Society of Noble Knights", sat down at the table I had reserved.

"I've been thinking about getting everyone together for a long time," - Michael started the conversation after the warm greetings. - "But our Michelangelo beat me to the punch."

A brown-eyed waitress brought six mugs of frothy beer for my friends and hot coffee for me.

"But I'm not a sculptor yet, I'm just learning," - I said slowly, looking at Michael with some irritation. "Don't call me that, I have a name."

"Oh, no offense, it's supposed to liven you up a bit, otherwise you're sitting in some kind of oblivion," - Michael teased, squinting at the raindrops laughing at us as friendly witnesses of our meeting.

"I'd like to share my thoughts," - I mumbled, a little embarrassed by the silence between us. - "Maybe you haven't noticed, but our 'society' is slowly disintegrating. We meet less often, we don't socialize much."

"And what do you suggest?" - Nikos inquired. - "We get older, our interests change, and we spend our time in different ways."

"Yes, Arian is right," - Basil interjected. - "Sometimes it feels like we are becoming strangers to each other. Maybe one day we can meet at the bowling alley and spend some time rolling balls together?"

"I don't know," -Our Chief scratched the back of his head. - "I'm spinning like a squirrel in a wheel. I need to be everywhere and the time to fulfill all the tasks is catastrophically short. Right now I'm having accounting problems. I can't leave in the middle of the week. Maybe some Saturday, for an hour, an hour and a half, I could give you some time?"

"That's what I was talking about," - I was very nervous, not knowing what would come out of my scheme.

"I don't have the opportunity to go anywhere. Preparing for the exam is time-consuming," - Basil supported Michel.

"And I'm not a free man," - Theodore said.

"That's it," - I sighed heavily. The crime had failed, the victim slipping from my grasp.

"What's that supposed to mean? Our friendship is ending?! Because all you "knights" can't manage your time?! Is the picnic canceled?!" - "Rook" Nikos, a short, stocky youth with a cropped haircut and a sharp nose, was indignant. Because of his nose and round, almost black eyes, Nikos was nicknamed "Rook". - "I don't have time to finish all my chores either. But, Arian called me and I forgot about my problems for a while and came here. You're all here, too. So your time is temporarily delayed."

My friend Nikos, without realizing it, was becoming my accomplice.

He turned to Michel as the mastermind of our company:

"Remember how you used to complain that your work was draining you of all your strength and that your household chores were killing you? That you needed to relax. And you need to get all your friends together and go on a picnic. The guys took your words as an order to be ready for a vacation. You said to that we need money for the picnic, and we're going somewhere for two days."

"I've got the money ready," -Theodore announced in his gruff voice, wiping the foam from his upper lip with a napkin. "I would rest for a week, but not two days."

"I forgot," - Michael smiled and asked the waitress to take another order. - "Now I understand why the word "picnic" is written in the reminder. Well, I'm willing to give you a few hours of my valuable time. But you should know that the slightest delay will cause my employees to leave, my wife to marry my competitor, and my daughter to grow up quickly."

"It slipped my mind too. And the girl is nice," - Basil gave the waitress a long look. - "Maybe we should invite her to our table?"

"She's at work," - Nikos grinned, "there's no way she'll sit down.

"And you," - Nikos, looked at me, - "Аre you going to act like a girl again? Again, you have good reasons."

"No," - I nodded my shoulder slightly. - "No reason this time. That's why I called everyone together."

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"But you didn't call me," Sash muttered. - "If it wasn't for Basil, I wouldn't be here."

"I called you, and you were 'out of range'. Shall I send you a telepathic message?"

"Well, let's continue. Let's not argue, let's decide what we're going to take with us, and make a rough list," - Michael addressed us, changing the subject, and they immediately supported him. I stared into their faces and thought about the past few days. I had to make an important decision - "Аmong my six friends to find the one who would be the most faithful and reliable. Remembering all their deeds and character traits, I tried to analyze each of them carefully to make the right decision."

The event I envisioned before meeting up with friends didn't fit my usual lifestyle. The Dark Blade couldn't kill me. His sword - cutting through stone like a red-hot knife cuts butter - pierced my armor and stopped an inch from my heart. Seeing that I was dead, the bandits left the scene, and I was rescued by Pete, my loyal friend and squire. It has been a long time since the wounds, both mental and physical, have healed. I'm ready to travel again to a land of danger and adventure. I am not alone but with a trusted and faithful companion, with one of my current friends. Before making a decision, I wanted to look at these people with a fresh, unbiased eye. So I called them.

I mentally recalled the words, actions, and attitudes of my comrades, trying to find in them something solid, something real, something that would allow me to hold on to these people, to lean on them. I was interested in whether they had a fighting spirit or a strength of character. If there was a male friendship between us. It was the support, a firm comradely elbow, that I was lacking in the upcoming venture. And it did not promise to be an easy walk, judging by previous journeys. If I followed the rules I'd made in the past, the journey would leave many fond memories.

- I need such a companion so that Ocean will believe in the friendship that exists between us. If he feels our affection, then my idea will be a success," I looked at my companions, not knowing whom to choose.

I had six companion candidates at my disposal and only one vacancy. If only we knew what qualities оcean would be most interested in. Take Theodore, for example. Tall, lean, strong. In his seventeen years, he was so strong that he could break any of our arms. All his desires and thoughts are on the surface, and the concept of "depth of soul" is unknown to him. For some reason, he always looked unkempt, and despite his young age, he smelled like a beer barrel. How he was perceived by the students with whom he studied together is left to speculation. At the same time, the Тed is good-natured and not vindictive.

Which can't be said for his peer Basil. As tall as Ted, broad-shouldered, smiling blond. We nicknamed him "Storm". He likes branded clothes, always fresh and fragrant like a May rose in bloom. Smiling and witty, he loves a good meal. Basil told me he was a college student, but I didn't believe him much. Several times, looking into his eyes, I found myself thinking that all his good-naturalness was an act. Sometimes he could boil up in an instant, lashing out at the offender, and then immediately cool down with a generous smile. If it were not for this small, very insignificant point, I would have taken Basil with me unconditionally. I couldn't have found a better companion. If only I knew what was in his heart.

"You could drink a beer with us? You only drink coffee," - Nikos interrupted me. He's a good man, of course. He's a good man, of course. Always protecting the weak. He was a student somewhere, like all of us. He worked part-time for Michael sometimes. He is a handsome, stocky young man of nineteen, with a growing tummy. But he's very prickly. Like a cactus or an untamed hedgehog. You stumble upon his touches of sarcasm at the most inopportune moments, when it seems like the world was made for you and everything in it is perfect. That's what Nikos is all about with his sarcasm and sharp jokes. companions, not knowing whom to choose.

He seems to be joking, but his jokes only make the mood worse. Maybe I don't understand him. I wouldn't take such a joker with me. Even if he had some kind of friendly sympathy for me.

"Are you forgetting us," - Nikos continued, - "or don't you consider yourself our friend?!"

He said that, and it hit me. Why are his needles hurting me so much?

I liked Alex, the student who was a biology major, the best. He looked like Theodore, but his character was completely different. Quiet, calm, sensitive. He was often called Lexus, although he was better known as "The Botanist". He was very fond of plants. There was always some fertilizer, pots, and seedlings in his car. Perfect for an upcoming trip. You can take him with you and go, but only in the desert or in an area devoid of any vegetation, otherwise, Botanists will not move away from some flowers. Lexus enjoyed nature, walking from one tree to another, gently caressing the grass, and listening to the sound of rustling leaves.

"I don't distance myself from you. I just don't like beer. I can have something stronger than beer with you. But I'm not here to get drunk."

"Oh! Our man," - Basil, patted me on the shoulder with his huge paw. - "Was it just me, or did someone say: "Let's get drunk"?"

There were two more people on my list. Michael and Sash. The last candidate didn't suit me at all. He never told us, but we knew Sash worked in the kitchen somewhere. Even more unkempt than Theodore, lazy, a big drinker. It's not just traveling with him, sitting at the same table is not comfortable. His whole vocabulary consists of the words "get drunk", "bottle", "hangover", and "borrow till payday".

He once managed to surprise me by quoting a rubai of Giyasaddin Abu-l-Fath Omar ibn Ibrahim al-Khayyam Nishapuri:

"You do not ask the ball for permission to throw.

On the field, it runs, pursued by the player.

Only the One who once brought you here, -

He knows everything, he knows everything."

At first, I thought I had met a lover of Khayyam's work, and I was very disappointed to learn that Sash did not know the author of the verses and was unaware of the existence of other quatrains.

How do you lead a man with no imagination to the ocean?

The last candidate was Michael, the only family man in our company. Average height, not thin, and not fat Michael was a young man, who was intelligent and enterprising. He was a few years older than the rest of us and had founded a small company, where he acted as director. Although we jokingly referred to him as 'director', 'boss', and even 'master', Michael never took offense and always responded to his nicknames. Despite being my friend, I was a little intimidated by him. A lover of books and movies, the Chief, as we called him, was able to verbally persuade the debauchee to calm down, and he could also calm him down with his fists. A perfect candidate, if it weren't for one “but.” His young wife and young child. If Michael got into trouble, who would support his family?

I'm confused in my thinking. None of the candidates fit the parameters I needed, and going alone would be a failure of a carefully thought-out strategy. There must be a companion, at least one. A friend, a companion, a squire. Not a relative. My little brother was enough. He was supposed to accompany me last time, but something went wrong and my brother disappeared.

"You won't change your mind?"-Nikos came back to me. - "Are you sure you're going?"

"Of course, I'm with you. Just where can we spend two unforgettable days? Don't tell me bowling." - I had a bold and seemingly unbelievable idea in my head. — "I want to go to a place where it is possible to have a decent rest. Fresh air, unearthly silence, no phones or internet."

"So you want to end up on a desert island? Away from civilization?"-Nikos snorted unhappily. — "We can't find places like this in the city. We'll go where we went last time. To a city park, near a body of water. The fish were no bigger than my little finger, but they pecked with gusto. Ask Lexus where to pick mushrooms, he knows all the places."

"Plenty of booze?" — Sash asked in a husky voice.

"Shall we invite the girls?" - Basil, a big fan of girls, asked. — "At least a couple?"

"To spoil our whole vacation?" — Michael frowned. — "Besides, the presence of extra people will entail unforeseen expenses."

"Don't have girls, it's better to have a lot of vodka," — supported Sasha Theodor. — "And I'll cook you fish soup like in the best restaurants in the city!"

"Just like last time," — Basil smiled, - "with a frog."

Nikos grinned, remembering last year's soup. Teo was beginning to prove that the meat of the lake frog was not inferior to that of the chicken, which the French had long considered a delicacy.

"Yes," — Michael sighed heavily, — "there are fewer and fewer unspoiled places for recreation every year. Despite the crisis, despite the falling standard of living, there are closed areas, and private lands where not only fishing is allowed, to stop for a short vacation, but not everyone is allowed to. I too would like to vacation in a decent place. Do such places exist today?"

"There is one place" - I replied as indifferently as possible, looking out the window at the endless stream of cars. . — "A kind of VIP zone, closed to the public."

"How much will this trip cost us?" — The director looked in my direction, suspecting some kind of trick. Well, Michael was forgiven. If he didn't know how to count, his little company would have gone bankrupt long ago.

I rejoiced. A crime was being committed, and the victim was about to be hooked. However, there was a small problem: one of my friends, my future companion, would have to ask for it himself instead of waiting for me to invite him. This was one step in a plan I had developed. As a result, my companion's visit to the closed area would turn out to be an indifferent event, done at his request and as a favor.

"Just like a normal, planned trip. No more, no less."

"And where is this place?" — Basil, who had stopped smiling, stared at me as if he was seeing me for the first time. — "Somewhere far out of town, I suppose?"

"No," — I bravely withstood his gaze, not embarrassed, not blushing, — "it's not far. Within the city limits."

Basil came out from behind the table and stepped from foot to foot as if he were warming up for a fight. He stood behind me put his strong hands on my shoulders and squeezed a little. As if he wanted to see if I was lying. Yeah, you can't argue with a lie detector like that, it'll break you in a heartbeat before you know it. — I know the city like the back of my hand, there are no closed places to rest, believe me.

"Okay," - I tried to free myself, but it wasn't so easy to get rid of the strong arms. — "Have you been to the Kovalevsky estate?"

Interested glances stopped at my opponent, and it was his turn to feel uncomfortable.

"I passed by, several times," — the white-headed giant honestly admitted, - "And he also paid attention to the old wrought-iron fence. Someone said that the city had bought this land to build a residential area."

"I heard a different story. Supposedly, the heirs of the old count have found the place and are trying to create a botanical garden."

"So we're going to have a picnic right in the botanical gardens?" — Alex rubbed his hands together happily, — "I agree!"

"It's a huge area that was abandoned a hundred years ago. She is closed, but you can visit it if you wish. There is untouched nature, a pond, and a stream. It's all we need," - I gave out some "useful" information.

There was a minute's pause. The interlocutors analyzed the information they had heard and related it to their feelings.

"On the one hand, it seems to be true, but on the other hand — I can't believe that there are such places in the city, where there is green untouched by dust, where there is no household garbage, where bushes and trees are filled with the magic of the mysterious forest. Maybe there are, but not for us, mere mortals." - Michael said incredulously.

"Why didn't you tell us about this before?" — Nikos asked, grimacing in disbelief. He thought I'd be afraid of his look and tell him everything I had planned. Not so! I've been stared at in more ways than one, and I survived. The only way I'll be able to tell him is when we get home. If we all come back!

I didn't misspeak when I said “we.” Putting aside my fears and doubts, I've decided that all the candidates are worthy of the journey. Including Theodora and Sasha. Let them come with us too. I won't drag them on my back. They will come to the place where I need them. And there, on the spot, we'll figure out what to do! If only "Python" would understand me.

That's a strange name for a grown man, isn't it? Pete's parents, that's what I called him, didn't realize that the word could have a completely different meaning. But when they heard that he responded to “Pete,” they started calling him by that name, which I had shortened.