- That's the way it is, guys," he said to his friends looking at him, "That's the way it is.
The local light was deadly to the aliens from the other world.
A few people walked confidently down the road. It was a fine, clear day that lifted their spirits. People put their faces to the rays of the luminary when the turns of the road gave Demur the opportunity to light their children. At the same time, no one forgot to look carefully around, and it didn't even occur to anyone to take off their armor.
The baron's squadrons, sent to find out the fate of a dozen of their comrades who had gone on a scouting mission and disappeared without a trace, did not want to share their fate at all. Along with the five soldiers was a paladin, a mercenary who happened to be in Savoyardi during this festive month.
Upon learning of his men's disappearance, the Baron had splurged and temporarily hired him to reinforce the squad sent to search for the missing. The main force of three dozen vigilantes and the knight with his spear followed the same road, but a half league behind the sentinel warriors ahead. It was up to the paladin to allow them to avoid dying in battle with a possible enemy and give time for the main force to approach.
(* lance - a small group consisting of a knight, his squires, swordsmen, archers and servants)
(* a league is a local unit of distance, equal to about seven hundred meters)
Uncle Mih, who was walking first, stopped and pointed to the side of the road with his dagger. The bushes were badly broken, as if someone had walked there more than once. Inspecting the road a little further, the warriors found traces of a fight that had happened here a couple days ago. The paladin raised his horn and blew into it, signaling the main squad to move closer, but indicating that there was no danger.
The search in the forest quickly yielded results. Goblin tracks were everywhere. As was the most important trace of all, the gnawed bones of a human. The only odd detail was the lack of traces of any clothing, which the goblins did not value at all and usually abandoned at the sites of their horrible feasts.
The knight and the paladin looked at each other. In principle, the task at hand had been accomplished. The missing troop had been found. Chasing the goblins after such a long time was a senseless idea, they had long ago reached their caves, and if any of the vigilantes had survived, now there was only to pray for his quick and painless death.
- Let's go back. There's nothing more for us to do here.
Oleg kicked all the guards out of their hiding places and placed them around the perimeter of the camp, instructing them to be as vigilant as possible, and then he went around constantly checking. The complete helplessness and vulnerability of most of the vampires made them easy targets, and he just couldn't let himself or his men relax.
Sergei, Eugene, and Alexander were running around the camp. The trio of clothed men, more tired in the few hours while the rays of the local star pierced the foliage of the trees than they had been in the previous two days of misadventure. Someone needed to be taken out for necessities and was given a set of clothes. Someone asked for water. Someone had discovered holes in their shelters.
A few dozen at a time decided to experiment and exposed unprotected body parts to the light and howled from the burns. And strangely enough, but most of all the "rescue team on duty" was fed up with Alexey Gennadyevich, who kept calling them to him and demanding reports.
Why he needed it, he probably couldn't explain it himself, but more than a dozen times each duty worker visited him in his hut, reporting almost every sneeze. And statements that everything was normal did not suit him.
Sitting in the dugout and did not receive their sets of clothes, people were at first confused, looking at the terrible burns that Sergei received. But he had to run away at the first call for help, and Olga pulled herself together.
- Mash (Maria), and well take those clothes that we have left, we'll rule them with magic!
They still had several sets of clothes left, especially badly damaged during the battle on the road. The lack of sewing supplies turned them essentially into rags, but magic made it possible to repair them. That was exactly what Olga intended to do. Though she soon changed her mind. Looking at how skillfully Maria dealt with the torn holes, she left all the rags to her responsibility, and began to dress the hides, which were also stored near the dwelling.
The men also joined her in this endeavor. In a couple of hours a spare set of clothes was already in the possession of each of the three men on duty who were milling about the camp. A pair of luxurious blankets made of hare skins and the skins of bear and wild boars were also made. Some of the skins were placed on the floor under the sly glances of the inhabitants of the dugout, creating very comfortable, soft and warm sleeping places.
The only inconvenience of such a significant use of magic was hunger. As soon as the demur bowed to the ground and disappeared behind a dense wall of woods, the creatures that were experiencing wild hunger rushed out to hunt. The other men, coming out of their hiding places, stared at them in bewilderment.
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