The nameless man walked through a field that was turning yellow from the countless amount of wheat planted on it. A pleasant summer breeze ruffled the man’s long hair, which tried to fall over his eyes. Having straightened his hair once again, he looked around: in addition to the wheat, there were lonely five-meter trees nearby, the leaves of which resembled twisted white tubes.
- Peloton... - the man thought, stopping. - My grandmother once told me about these trees. It is said that an alchemist can brew a healing decoction from Peloton leaves that can heal even a badly wounded warrior.
The man moved on. To his right were high mountains covered with snow on top. It seemed that with their sharp peaks they were breaking through the clouds, rushing somewhere upward towards the sun. This is where our main character came from. For two days he descended from the top of one of the mountains, and for another day he walked through the fields of the kingdom, heading straight to the city. Or rather, to the castle to the king himself. The man went to the top of the mountain for a reward - the king promised him a new sword, which would be enchanted personally by the Chief Magician of the kingdom, who was also the “right hand” of the king. The Chief Mage, judging by the legends, was so old that he managed to see the foundation of the kingdom. No one knew where he was from, no one knew how old he was, no one knew his name.
Adjusting his Raider uniform, the traveler skirted the thorny plants, walking along the winding paths of the fields.
- I want to look into the eyes of the one who developed this variety of wheat. This is how you have to dislike people! - The man was indignant for a completely understandable reason - More recently, researchers managed to develop a new variety of wheat, which was no different from ordinary wheat. Except that it could be planted on almost any terrain, from clay to swamps. As one might guess, they decided to plant the “test” variety in impassable swamps among bushes and various thorny plants, whose thorns could easily pierce a durable leather jacket.
He stopped, opened his backpack and took out something that knew how to determine the cardinal directions. Everyone called this miracle of technology Storoscope. Few people knew the principle of operation of this device, but this bothered few people. At the time of sale, they were also given a leaflet where it was written how to use it. Following the storoscope, the man took out a sheet of instructions and looked at what was written there:
- The first is to open the lid, the second is to scroll the wheel from top to bottom, the third is to put it on the ground. I think I understand. - The traveler followed the instructions and walked away a couple of steps. After a couple of seconds, the device glowed a barely noticeable blue color, and something resembling steam escaped from somewhere in the center. The steam slowly swirled around the round metal surface, forming an intricate dance. Then a pair of red, green and yellow colors appeared. After a couple of seconds, our colors are in their place. Somewhere below, somewhere on the right, somewhere below, somewhere on the right.
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- So, what does this mean? - The man looked at the leaflet again. - Blue points to the North, red to the South, green to the West, yellow to the East. - The castle is in the West, it’s big, so I’ll go there and won’t get lost. - The wanderer thought, took the storoscope and moved on.
After some time, he managed to get out of the maze of wheat. Pushing away the last shoots with his right hand, he walked out into a lonely clearing where bushes with sour wild berries grew. Coming closer to the bush, he picked a couple of pieces and began to chew. A pleasant sour, but at the same time tart taste filled my mouth. The wanderer could not say why, but this taste was associated with spring, with pleasant memories from childhood, when he and his friends caught water creatures from a deep lake that was close to his grandmother’s house. Looking around, he noticed something strange - the grass nearby was slightly crushed, as if someone had recently passed here.
- And who was brought into such wilderness? - Thought the traveler. - Bending down, he examined more traces. But what was distinctive was that they were different sizes. Doubts immediately disappeared. Someone was here, and quite recently. Taking a fighting stance, the wanderer pulled out his sword, custom-made by a famous blacksmith, from its sheath. The man gave almost all his money for it, but in return received a weapon made of a rare alloy of metals, which, according to the blacksmith, could withstand an oncoming blow, the force of which could cut a stone the size of a man in half. Looking at the blade, the man noticed the seal and painting of the blacksmith, which shimmered in different colors. The handle was braided with good durable leather, which did not even think of tearing, and seemed to give strength. The weight of the sword was impressive, as was its size. It was hardly possible to hold it in one hand, but it was difficult to call the weapon two-handed. At first it seemed strange to the wanderer, but after a little practice, he liked the sword. But it is worth saying that the great master’s creation has not yet had to be used in real combat.
- Look, it turns out he’s smarter than I thought. - A rough male voice came from somewhere to the right.
Turning around, he saw three people standing next to each other. One of them was quite tall, broad-shouldered, and overall looked very intimidating. The second was the most ordinary - of average height, average build. And the third... At first the wanderer thought it was a woman, but he could not say for sure.
- Come on, tell me how you got here. - The “middle” man stepped forward, reaching for the sheath.