Novel 1. Mercenary Company Bright Heads. Story 3. Where all paths converge

— Let me advise you, lady... — Carlon said politely, standing beside the guardswoman. The ensuing quarter of an hour was a battle, where the wizard had to use all his knowledge of alchemy, herbology, and continental pricing. Even so, the only thing that saved him was the fact that the elfess was slightly older than Valria, and not yet very experienced in her craft. In the end, the price for the Lady Maria was tripled, and the master had enough money to buy the rare toadstool root of the north. Outside, the Lady Mary, clutching the bundle of purchases to her chest, said to Carlon:

— Please accept my gratitude, Master. I... don't know much about trade. We rarely have to buy things ourselves. You've just helped me out.

— It was nothing, — the mage smiled. — Pleasure to help. What do you want with the alchemical goods, by any chance?

— They are not for me. Sir Roland has a stomach ache, but he tries to hide it. I noticed, so I thought I'd sneak him a potion at the next resting place. Let him drink it while no one's looking.

The two old guardsmen from the dead duke's guard were now leading a cavalry escort. Each led half a hundred reithars — heavy riders, armed and trained at the expense of the duchy's treasury. Reitars were the pride of Elvart, in the last war the duchy fielded two cavalry corps of five hundred men each.

— And who will prepare the medicine? — The mage inquired as he and the girl made their way toward the inn, which was occupied by Christina's retinue. — Ask the court healer?

— If Sir Roland does not wish to involve him, neither will I. — A faint smile crossed the guardsman's pale lips. The mage barely noticed it. — It is not difficult for me to do myself. There will be time at night, after duty...

— You can make potions? — The wizard raised his eyebrows. His surprise might have offended the girl, but he could not help it. It was seldom that Carlon encountered a man capable of something of the sort, and who had never been to a medicine school.

— Only the healing ones. — Fortunately, Lady Mary paid no attention to his tactlessness. — All Guardsmen are taught the basics of first aid from childhood, but I have studied medicine a little deeper than my sisters. I had no magical gift, of course. Combinations of herbs, potions, that sort of thing. It's even more interesting that way. Christina always encouraged my hobby.

In the lobby of the hotel, the wizard and the guardsman went their separate ways. However, when the cortege set off, they met again at the duchess's carriage. All the way down the pass, Carlon and Lady Maria rode head to head, chatting under Valria's mocking gaze. They had many topics in common. Both were self-taught in the healing arts, the difference being that the girl learned more from books and the wizard from the military healers of various regiments. Several medical treatises from the palace library the guardswoman carried with her, in her swag bags. She turned out to be a wonderful companion — more reserved than Lady Emilia, but well-read and friendly.

A day later, Carlon saw Lady Mary in the dining hall of another inn and invited her to share the table with him. Over tea and cookies they again talked about potions, herbs and decocts, but by the end of the meal they moved on to more personal topics. As a matter of fact, the Duchess' bodyguard had almost no personal topics, and Karlon was the main one to talk about — fortunately, he had something to tell. Before going to bed, Lady Maria looked into his room and left the magician a book on the treatment of skin ulcers. They discussed it all the next day as they rode side by side again behind Christina's carriage. Valria, who had been fidgeting nearby, listened for about ten minutes to what they were talking about and left with her face turned green and her ears pressed to her head. That same evening, the mage and the guardsman dined alone, not in the common room, but in the room assigned to the master. Day after day, Carlon found himself spending more time in the company of the duke's bodyguard than with the mercenaries. And when it became clear that the lady who was in charge of the duty Emilia specifically assigns Maria only day watch that she remained free in the evenings, the magician felt uncomfortable. Not for long, though. Valria and Dallan kept each other company, and evenings with Lady Maria brightened the mage's monotonous journey. At the end of the day that the elfess lost her wager, the train reached the borders of the Empire, and overnighted in a border town. The Burgomaster had set aside his own mansion for Christina's companions, and in the late afternoon, having finished setting up the alarms, Carlon secluded himself and Maria in a cozy room on the second floor. They were reading a book, sitting on the sofa and touching each other's shoulders, when the girl guardsman suddenly asked, without taking her eyes off the book pages:

— Carlon, do I seem beautiful to you?

— You seem beautiful to me, lady, — the mage replied without hesitation. In the first place, that's the only way to answer such questions, and secondly, he was telling the truth. Lady Mary carefully removed the book from her lap, laid the desired page with a cloth strip, and then hugged the master by the shoulders and drew him to her. Their first kiss was brief — the girl pulled away almost immediately, said earnestly, looking Carlon in the eyes:

— Please don't take this too seriously. We can have a good time, that's all. But it will all be over when the road separates us. We won't owe each other anything. I won't forget about you, of course. You're defending Christine, too...

— Don't tell me that's what you liked about me, lady, — Carlon grinned crookedly, feeling like a teenager on a first date again.

— Not only that, — the lady bodyguard answered him with a faint smile. — Don't you worry. But again, don't think about love. If it's difficult for you, we'd better not go on.

— Everything is all right. — The magician gently stroked the soft hair of the girl, not taking his eyes off her bright eyes. — I am hard enough to fulfill your request. But...

A new kiss prevented him from speaking. Carlon had only time to think that the sofa was too small for two, when Lady Maria yanked him to the floor, on the fluffy white carpet...

* * *

— Knowledge of medicine can be useful not only to cure people, — Lady Maria whispered in Carlon's ear as they lay, tired and happy, snuggled together on the carpet. — By studying anatomy, you learn how best to hurt a man, to kill him, to disarm him... or how to make him feel good.

— You should know, lady, how people sometimes use magic for purposes other than its intended use... — smiled the master. Even now they addressed each other formally — so that they wouldn't make the mistake later, in public.

— It will be an interesting experience for me. Shall we try something? — The girl's pale lips also touched a smile. The guardswoman always smiled the same way, barely noticeable. Not particularly pretty, not too warm — a world away from Lady Emilia's sunny smile. Carlon didn't care. He admired Maria's face in the moonlight falling from the high window. And he thought that Valeria was perhaps prettier, Dallan brighter, Emilia sweeter, and there was some special attraction in Lady Jana, unusual and exotic. But not one of them did the mage ever want to kiss. Especially Valria. But Maria did. And he kissed her immediately, since nothing prevented him from doing so. For a while, they found themselves busy again. Afterwards, the mage dozed off, hugging the girl from behind, his nose against the back of her neck. He had no recollection of the Guardsmen visiting the baths during their stops, but the Lady Maria appeared fresh and clean, as if just out of a hot bath, and her hair smelled faintly of something floral. The girl's blue beret, tossed on the couch, glowed faintly with magic when Carlon closed his eyes — it probably explained everything...

The guardswoman left an hour before dawn. She gave the master a long kiss and dressed very leisurely, giving him the last chance to admire her thin frame, long slender legs, and high firm breasts. Carlon did not lie down on the couch, being left alone, but instead opened the window and looked at the fading stars until he was completely frozen. The mage could not read the constellations, but it seemed to him that the stars were winking and trying to say something — but the voices were inaudible because of the distance. In the morning, when the cortege set out on the road, he and Maria acted as if nothing had changed. They still tried to ride side by side whenever possible, still chatted about magic and healing. But the sleepless night was taking its toll — the Master was finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the conversation, his thoughts confused. The girl noticed this and delicately put the conversation to rest. It was her turn to ride at the door of the duke's carriage, so Carlon fell a little behind. Rocking his saddle, he began to doze off, but Valria, riding quietly up behind him, folded her palms into a funnel, whistled right into his ear. The wizard, who had not expected such treachery, almost fell at his own horse's feet, but the elfess caught his elbow in time. She said, smirking:

— You've relaxed. And if an enemy had attacked?

— I would have died, — Master did not argue.

— But happy, at least. — The captain pushed him on the shoulder. — Traitor.

— I don't understand. Do you have plans for me, or are you jealous? — Carlon raised his eyebrows.

— I want my personal mage to be able to sleep and fight. Once, all right, but don't go back to sleep every night. — Valria wagged a finger at him. — Well, I'm jealous, too. When a pretty girl has such long legs, and at that height, she can use them...

Dallan, who had joined the mage and the elfess, silently reached out and snatched the hat from Valria's head and placed it in her lap.

— Hey! — the elf said indignantly. The sergeant clutched the hat with her palm, not letting her take it back. And Carlon thought that they all got a little too relaxed. Even the perpetually collected and serious Dallan. A brief raid in the Deadlands came to his mind. Back then, all three of them had been alert, day and night, and had behaved very differently. The trip in the duke's cortege, with overnight stays on padded beds, surrounded by a crowd of soldiers, had stripped them of all vigilance. It was not perceived as a mission — more like entertainment. It could have ended badly.

Meanwhile, Christina's escort doubled in size. The caravan was met by a squadron of clibanaries, imperial raiders who had not only their riders armored, but their horses as well. The squadron had left Garlont, the Imperial capital, a few days ago, and was carrying a cage of carrier pigeons. One pigeon headed back immediately, carrying a letter from the commander of the clibanarians to the imperial palace.

A final stop awaited the train a day's march from its destination. In the sunset rays before the travelers grew a black-stone castle — judging by the architecture, built centuries ago, when guns did not yet reign on the battlefield.

— This is the property of Count Cyril Konstaninakis, — said Duchess Christina, looking out the carriage window. — My kinsman by father. That's someone I don't want to visit, but I have to.

— Did something happen between you two? — Valria asked in her most polite tone a tactless question.

— Not personally, — the Duchess sighed. — The Earl's sons were all officers in the Reithar corps and died in the war. He quarreled with my father, sold all his possessions in Elvart, and left here. I don't think he would be happy to see me. But I can't ignore him, it would be too rude. Besides, Cyril is in his seventies. After his death, the castle will go to me — the Count has no closer relatives. The castle, as far as I know, is dilapidated, but Elvart could use a piece of land in the Empire.

As it turned out an hour later, Her Highness was even understating it. There was a village leaning against the black walls, surprisingly small and impoverished, given the proximity of the capital. The castle itself, to all appearances, was supported solely by the talent of ancient architects. There were no sentries visible between the scratched battlements, the chains of the folding bridge were covered with rust, except that the ditch with water was kept in good order. It was not even the seneschal of the castle surrounded by guards who rode out to greet the honored guests, but a lonely elderly servant. Stammering and forgetting words, he handed the young duchess an invitation to a dinner in her honor. However, the servant added, the count has to apologize — he has very little money, so the table can be covered only for a few people.

— His lordship need not be alarmed. — Christina the Second gave the servant a gracious smile. — My men will stand at rest in the village and provide for themselves.

Letting the old man go, she turned to Valeria and Carlon and said:

— Well, that's what I was talking about. Father's cousin is no more excited about our meeting than I am. Let's not make him angry. I'll take three of you, four guardsmen and Sir Roland. You're not going as guards, you're going as my guests. Lady Valria is a noblewoman without a title, as I recall?

— Imperial, — the elfess nodded. — A personal noblewoman without the right to inherit nobility.

— Well, you will be my companion tonight, and the master and sergeant are your entourage.

— You won't even take your maid of honor and secretary, Your Highness? — Carlon inquired.

— If the Earl has no men to serve at the table, one of my guards will handle it. — Christina II squinted. — My girls have not only been trained to fight, Master. They know etiquette, and the Lady Maria, for instance, dances beautifully. Invite her over sometime, if you get the chance, and see for yourself.

Carlon had enough self-control not to blush. But he breathed a sigh of relief when the Duchess left.

— I think Her Highness seriously expects her cousin to try to stab her during dinner. — Valria snorted, rubbing her chin. — I'll change my gloves for parade gloves...

Konstantinakis' castle looked even worse from inside. Some time ago it was rebuilt inside, adding a stone staircase and two four-story wings to the round central tower-donjon. These rectangular buildings, which were connected to the donjon, were not yet dilapidated, and the tower itself loomed menacingly over the courtyard. But the rest of the castle was in danger of crumbling to rubble or wood chippings at the blast of the wind. Carlon lowered his eyelids and began to see a greenish glow along the walls. The fortress amulets were still working, though they could use a boost. A fading greenish glow was visible through the thick walls of the main tower, which were probably the Earl's chambers, additionally protected from magic and otherworldly foes.