"This place is just as lousy as it used to be," said Petrov, the ambassador from the Stronghold, as he stepped out of the cabin and was immediately hit by the stench of rotten wood. Sinking in the moist and dull atmosphere that discomforted him from head to feet, he sniffed and looked up to the sky where the clouds were gathering. They were a sign of heavy rain that drew near.
"It's been a year since your last visit," said the assistant as he wrapped his boss in a wool coat. "There is nothing here except stones."
"It's been one and a half years," stated Petrov. "Every season the Lord Duke sends a different person here and the last time I came here was in summer. Apart from stones, there were other kinds of things here like fine furs and… "
"What?" the assistant said with a dazed look.
