Part 2. - Chapter VI. In captivity

Nea opened her eyes with difficulty. Her head ached so much that it hurt to look at it. The girl at first thought that it was already night, because it was dark around, but when she looked up, she realized that it was not evening, just the crowns of the trees are so tangled that they do not allow sunlight to reach the roots. The trees were all covered with nasty moss and hanging lichen. In the roots were huge mushrooms with a blue, conical cap, which gave off a terrifying and intoxicating smell. It was very cold to lie on the damp ground, but Nea realized that she couldn't move, couldn't move at all. She looked down at her fur coat, and saw that it was tied with some kind of gray, strong rope.

Nea raised her head again to see what was happening around her. But there was no one there. Nea turned her head in the other direction and saw a mysterious cave, from which a terrible green light was pouring. Soon strange drums began to sound, a menacing rumble at regular intervals. Nea's head began to spin, and she fell back into a deep sleep.

It is not known how long the girl slept, but she woke up in a ghostly green light, in a cage made of very strong rods. There was a human skeleton hanging outside the cage, its clothes almost rotted away, indicating that the skeleton had been hanging there for a long time. The cage was suspended by thick chains and lifted into the vaults of a mysterious cavern, which was illuminated by green crystals that grew in abundance on the walls and floor of the cave. Nea peered into the dim light below and saw dead candles and the outline of rough furniture. Soon there were shuffling footsteps, and they stopped somewhere in the middle of the room. A moment later, there was a sound of matches and candles being lit at once, lighting up the dirty table and old wooden chairs, as well as the man who had entered the room. Nea covered her mouth with her hands to keep from screaming. It is a creepy creature, completely shaggy, with red eyes and a strange protrusion on its chest. It was a bit like a Snowman, but this creature had scary red eyes of irregular shape and 3 pairs of shaggy hands.

The girl did not see what the terrible creature was doing, but it did not pay attention to the captive. Soon it spun around, pulled a lever, and the cage sank almost to the floor. The terrible red eyes were in front of the girl's face. The creature stared at her in silence, and then he placed a wooden bowl of fried mushrooms through the bars. The girl suddenly realized that she was very cold, hungry and thirsty. The creature made no attempt to frighten the girl or harm her. So Nea grabbed a bowl containing a wooden spoon and began to gulp down the food. Nea is very tired with a wooden spoon, it is quite uncomfortable to eat, it is huge and the sides prevent you from swallowing food normally. Some of the mushrooms fell past the mouth and Nea, not disdaining, picked up the fallen pieces of mushrooms from the bottom of the cage. Later, the creature brought a wooden mug with a yellow liquid that was hot and gave off a wonderful aroma, a mixture of cinnamon and caramel. Nea took a chance and drank a hot drink that warmed and calmed her instantly. Then the strange creature came up to her again and put a very soft pillow stuffed with bird feathers and a beautiful knitted blanket through the bars. And then without a sound, the bars rose to the ceiling, which excluded the possibility of escape.

Nea, having quenched her thirst and hunger, and warmed by the wonderful drink, laid her head on a soft pillow, covered herself with a blanket, and fell asleep. When morning came, the light in the cave did not change, the light did not reach this part of the forest, and it was impossible to tell whether it was morning or evening. However, the creature came again and unceremoniously shoved the captive. It set before her the same hot drink as the day before, along with coarse bread cakes and a red berry ground with sugar. Nea ate Breakfast and felt more confident. She decided to speak first.

"Who are you?"

"Don't you know?" - the creature asked. His voice was deep, rumbling, but with a soft timbre that did not match his wild appearance.

"No," - the girl said.

"You are a descendant of one of the Damir brothers. You must have heard of my tribe. We are in your legends.

"Well, I'm from Damir's tribe, but I didn't grow up here. I know just a little bit of the legends of this world. I haven't heard of you. My name is Nea.

"Interesting! - the creature said thoughtfully. – I'm from The wild Leshak tribe. We are not exactly friends to the descendants of our brothers. You came to our land and drove us into the wild. You have killed us one by one and in whole tribes, just because we are not like you."

"This is terrible! - Nea frowned. – But I may be a descendant of these cruel people, but I'm not like them. I wouldn't do anything wrong."

"But it's all gone back to that time. Now it's happening, too. We are killed, we are deceived, we are caught and exposed."

"Is that why you caught me? To get revenge or to show off?"

"No," - said Leshak, and shook his shaggy head. – "Not for that."

"Do you have a name?"

"Of course I'm not an animal. My name is Bagarat."

"So why do you need me, Bagarat?"

"Your parents will buy you out."

"No, they won't," - the girl said, shaking her head. – "My father died before I was born, and my mother doesn't live here. She doesn't know where I am and won't be able to find me. Most likely, I will be declared missing forever."

"But you have Damirian blood..."

"So what? I have no one to redeem me, no close relatives in this world. Can we agree on something else?"

"I can give you Kamarian."

"What? Who is it? The Descendants Of The Camar? Are they here? Why do they need me?"

"They're here. For many years. They get rid of the blue-eyes. Didn't you know that?"

"No," - Nea said. - "I thought that the Dark Queen is engaged in the extermination of the descendants of Damir."

"Well, it's the same thing. Is not it so?"

"I don't know, - the girl shrugged. – Is that so?"

"Then there are only 2 options left. The first option: I will give you to the tribe and you will be the eternal servant of the chief, and the second option - we will make a contract."

"Will my choice be obvious?" - Nea asked carefully.

"Don't you want to ask about the terms of the contract?"

"I agree without looking."

"You can't do that," - Bagarat replied without emotion. – "This agreement is sealed with a magical blood oath. You just need to know all the details, because you can not break this agreement."

"A blood contract?"

"It is the custom of our tribe. If we make a contract, it's only one that can't be broken. You, the descendants of four brothers, cheat at every turn. There is no trust in you, so the contracts with you are only based on blood."

"Don't start nagging," - grumbled the girl, who had completely lost her fear of the furry man. - "Tell me the terms. I would like to get to the Middle Kingdom as soon as possible."

"The terms are simple. I suggest a prenuptial agreement," - leshak replied.

"What?" - Nea exclaimed. – "What kind of nonsense? Marriage? You mean married? I will only be 14 years old in 2 weeks!"

Bagarat laughed, and it was like the sound of rustling leaves.

"A prenuptial agreement is not a marriage. A prenuptial agreement is a promise to marry when it expires."

"What do you mean?"

"We will sign a contract with you for a period of 5 years. In exactly 5 years, you will find me and fulfill your promise to marry me."

"What's the catch?"

"The agreement can't be broken. Even if you fall in love with a man from your own tribe, it won't save you from getting married."

"And if something prevents you from fulfilling the contract?"

"That won't happen," - leshak said with a grin. – "The contract is magic, on blood, it means I can't be killed, your blood will protect me from everything. And you can't be killed – my blood will protect you. Nothing will prevent you or me from fulfilling the contract."

"And if I don't come? If I marry someone else? Die?"

"No," - seriously replied the Bagarat. – "Your husband and children will die. No matter how many times you get married, all your husbands will die. You will lose all the people you love. And if you break the contract, the payment can't be stopped. This is the price for breaking the magic contract."

"So, in order to gain freedom, I need to agree to marry you in 5 years? And if I agree, how will it be? Is marriage possible between our species?"

"This is a tradition-our tribe always chooses a wife from your tribe."

Nea heaved a sigh of doubt.

"I'll give you time to think," - leshak said. - "Lunch in 2 hours. I'll return the cage to the ceiling and let you think."

With these words, the cage soared up to the vaults of the cave and the candles went out, leaving the soft, ghostly, green light of the cave's crystals. Nea lay with her eyes open and tried to find a way out. The girl tried to figure out what would be the best solution for her. It is impossible to escape from here, no one will look for her, because her grandfather does not know about her return, there is only one way out. What was she afraid of, though? Her grandmother is the Darkest witch of all time, and her grandfather is also not an ordinary person. The girl thought that it would probably be possible to come up with something to terminate the contract. But, thanks to this magic, Nea could not fear enemies, because she would be invulnerable to death! In addition, she finds freedom, and 5 years will not pass soon, and she will definitely be able to get rid of the hairy groom in 5 years. Nea's spirits rose; it seemed so simple and natural to her. Both sides will benefit from this. So when Bagarat brought food to the captive, she told him that She agreed to the marriage contract. Leshak was happy and said that he would prepare everything for the ritual.

By evening, the cave was light, the light of candles mixed with the light of green crystals. The table in the cave was filled with ritual candles that burned green and their wax sizzled as it melted. There was a mysterious goblet on the table. Its pattern was a pattern that glowed with a mysterious green light. It was a convex pattern: a strange man without clothes was bound by some strange plants, like a bond, before him stood a mysterious stone with a Cup and some writing in an unfamiliar language. On the other side of the stone stood a woman in a dress, with a strange tattoo on her arm. From the man and the woman, unifying runes and symbols of a foreign language were drawn, which were mixed into something and a mysterious spell appeared. Also on the table lay a silver ritual knife with the head of some deity on the handle, and on the blade itself were carved intertwined serpents with inscriptions in runic, the common language of the Midlands, and in an unknown language with strange rounded symbols. This means that the blade was also stamped with a spell. And also on the table lay an old scroll with a spell, and a brand-new black-and-white pen. Leshak was standing next to the table. There were strange leather belts crisscrossed across his chest, and a scabbarded blade was strapped to his belt. The entire body of the leshak was covered with a thick gray-brown coat with a white undercoat. On the chest, where the growth was, the straps were attached to some kind of protective rectangular plate, with embossed patterns.

Bagarat lowered the cage and opened the door to the captive. Nea went to the table and asked:

"What should I do?"

"I'll tell you," - leshak said. – "First we need to call our witness."

"A witness?"

"The one who will witness our agreement is a special spirit," - Bagarat explained.

He threw a pinch of some kind of powder into the green flame of the candle, which hissed and began to emit a huge amount of smoke, from which appeared the glowing outlines of eyes. It was as if the spirit was made of this smoke. The smoke began to move consciously, and became like a white shroud, the eyes began to rise up, and the smoke thickened, becoming a smoky figure with burning eyes. There was nothing but eyes, no nose, no mouth, no full face.

"You have called me to witness the marriage contract," - the disembodied spirit said in a ghostly voice that echoed through the cavern.

"Yes, aku-darz," - Bagarat bowed. - " I, Bagarat of The wild Leshak tribe, am entering into a marriage contract with a descendant of Brothers from the tribe of Damir, named Nea."

"The marriage contract is entered into with the good will of both parties?"

"Yes," - said leshak.

Nea paused for a moment and wondered what would happen if she said she was being forced? Probably, the deal with Bagarat will not be valid and she will not get freedom.

"Yes," - the girl said firmly.

"Hold out your hands over the ritual Cup," - the spirit said.

Nea and Bagarat held out their hands over the Cup, palms up, and a silver ritual knife flew up above them, slicing through their palms, and their blood, mixing in flight, began to drip into the marriage Cup.

"Now you can join hands," the spirit said.

Nea and Bagarat crossed their fingers, and the knife pirouetted in the air and came to rest over their hands. From the tip of the ritual knife suddenly stretched a thin burning thread. The thread split and both ends touched Nea and Bagarat at the same time. Nea felt a strong burning sensation on her ring finger, and a faint smoke rose from her skin. Bagarat was much more painful, because the beam burned out his fur, leaving not a tattoo, but a brand. Soon Nea and Bagarat had rings of strange symbols and patterns on their fingers, which burned with a bright fire for a while, and then went out. On Nea's finger was a tattooed, indelible, magic ring, the same one that had been burned into leshak's finger.

"Your contract says that in exactly 5 years, you will seal this contract with marriage ties. If one of you tries to break the blood oath, then he will face terrible consequences, up to the death of the perjurer. Read your vows written on parchment aloud, take a pen, dip it in the ritual Cup and sign it, " - the spirit commanded.

"I, of Bagarat, of the Tribe of Wild Lesakov give the oath of allegiance to his future wife, daughter of Damirian, Princess Nea. I swear that in 5 years I will be married to her. No one and nothing will break my agreement. I swear by blood that I will fulfill the marriage contract, and if my bride becomes a perjurer, I swear to execute the sentence and punish for violating the magic oath on blood."

Bagarat dipped his pen in the blood and signed the roll of oaths.

"I, Princess Nea of Avernas, descendant of Damir, give my consent to the marriage of my future consort, bagarat, of the Wild Leshak tribe. I swear by my blood that in 5 years I will fulfill this marriage contract and marry Bagarat, from the tribe of Wild Leshaks. I swear by my blood that I will keep my word. If I break my magic blood oath, I know that I will suffer terrible punishment for it, as will all my blood relatives.

Nea picked up her pen and signed the marriage roll. Their signatures lit up with the same fire as the tattooed rings on their ring fingers.

- I witnessed the marriage contract and exactly 5 years later, on January 1, I will appear at the marriage stone, which is located in the Leshakov Forest. I will be the spirit who will be a witness at your wedding. If one of you is not at the stone this day, I will be a witness of perjury, " the spirit said, and was gone.

Bagarat looked at Nea and said:

"Will you leave right now, or will you have lunch with me?"

"I think I'll have lunch."

Leshak smiled and went to the next corridor of the cave, where a fire was lit. Bagarat brought bread, cheese, that delicious hot drink, and boiled potatoes with fresh vegetables. Bagarat took care of Nea, and gathered a bundle of supplies for her journey. Leshak gave her dried berries that looked like huge blueberries, cheese, bread, lard, salt, onion feathers, and well water. Also Bharata was in stock, parchment card Igirmah and parts of the Middle Kingdom. The way to Avernus it was possible for her to find.

"If you want, I'll take you to the edge of the Shagan range." Nearby is the Outpost of the Markhan and fortress Catonmar, but they are busy Kamarian, and there they will try to kill you. You need to secretly sneak over the border Igirmah. The problem is that the border of the two kingdoms is river - Left Alatyrka and Right Alatyrka. One way or another, you need to pass the river patrols unnoticed. I didn't investigate the situation, but you now have a special ability – you can't be killed, but you can be injured. My blood will save you from mortal wounds. Therefore, try to cross the river on the bottom, you can do without air for a long time. I have heard that there is only one city left free in your Kingdom – Tirren. Tirren is a special magical place at the confluence of the Left and Right of Alatyrka. This is a special part of the river where the waters join to form white water and then split into 2 different streams. Left Alatyrka has blue water and the Right Alatyrka becomes colorless. Right Alatyrka flows into the White ocean, it is believed that she and discolor. But this way is protected, in addition, Tirren is in for a long siege. I don't think you can get help there. I think they need help now."

"Wow, how many difficulties," - the girl whined.

"What did you think? Will you get on your horse and be home for dinner? Our world is at war. I will only help you to the edge of the forest. I can't leave the leshak reservation, or I'd walk you straight to Avernas. If you decide to go straight to his Kingdom, then the safest route along the river Left Alatyrka. You need to go to the West and before Reaching the lake of Souls turn to the South. There, between the rivers Left Alatyrka and Kazareta is the forest of Fieri. In this forest is the Partisan region, where the remnants of the Royal army, which turned into partisans. Only they will help you to avoid roadblocks Kamarian and Dark people. They will help you get to Avernas. If everything goes well in 3 days you will get to the partisans, and together with them you will get to the desired city in a day.

"I've never traveled alone. I'm just scared."

"Then why did you come here? You went through the portal, I saw."

"I am looking for my grandfather, who is now in Avernas."

"Did you know that this world has been at war for more than 30 years?"

"I knew," - Nea said. – "My grandfather told me stories about this world, but I never thought they were true. I never thought about the dangers I might encounter here."

Bagarat frowned and narrowed his eyes.

"Can you...? are You from the Prophecy?"

"I'm sick of this Prophecy! Everyone talks about it, but no one can really tell you what it is about. What is this Prophecy?" - Nea asked, pursing her lips.

"You know, you should have considered that your very presence could endanger a lot of people. Because of you, the partisans of the Middle Kingdom and the secret resistance of Avernas may suffer."

"I hear familiar words," - the girl said. – "A friend of mine also said that I put everyone in danger, but only my grandfather is in danger!" For some reason, no one thinks about it!"

"Your grandfather is much older than you are. He knows the danger well enough to be here. But you, how can you help him?"

"Well, I'll think of something!" - Nea said stubbornly.

"Can you fight?" – strictly asked of Bagarat.

"No."

"Can you do magic?"

"No," - I said.

"Do you know the secret knowledge?"

"No," - I said.

"What can you do?"

Nea lowered her eyes. And really, what can she do? How is she going to save her grandfather?

"I'm sure you're hoping to find your grandfather and pass it on to him. In the end, it's not you who will save him, but he who will save you. It turns out that instead of helping you, you only bring additional problems."

Nea felt her cheeks burn.

"Why didn't you tell me what you thought of me before?"

"I didn't know. I recognized you through your blood. About who you are and what you can do. And I really want to help you, I understand you like no one else, but according to the laws of the Brothers, I can't leave the Leshak reservation."

"That's enough pressure on your sore calluses. Come on, you can take me to the border, because I don't know how to navigate in the woods. This is another thing to add to the list of things I can't do."

Bagarat laughed softly and led the way. While they were walking together, leshak told the girl about the basic rules of orientation in the forest. He said that the Sun always rises in the East and sets in the West, so at exactly 13: 00 the sun is always on the South side. Also, the South can be identified by ant hills and nests of zhezkents (small gray birds), which are always built and woven on the southern side of trees. In the Leshakov forest and on the Shagan mountain range, there are lichens and mosses that grow exclusively on the Northern side.

"Now the growing moon, so it will always be in the West. Remember this, and you won't get lost even at night. Try to sleep only in trees. It's North here, and the land is too cold to sleep. Building a fire is not worth it, when around the prowl Kamarian in search of new victims."

So, while they were talking, they quietly approached the border of the Leshak Forest. This border was invisible to Nea, but Bagarat suddenly stopped and said:

"Well, here we are at the border of my domain. I can't go any further."

"I don't understand," - Nea said, frowning. – "Why not?"

"Edigar did his best in the old days. Leshak forest is a small area that is enclosed by a spell. None of the forest people can cross the invisible borders of their cage," - with these words Bagrat took a step and it was as if someone invisible knocked him down, and he flew 2 meters back.

"How barbaric!" - Nea demanded.

"Edigar and his descendants called it the Leshak reservation. They said that this way they preserve our "independence" and "identity".

"Is there no way to fix it?"

"No. Witchcraft always has consequences, not all spells can be undone, and magic cannot be considered exclusively light. White magic does not exist, what is good for one spell can become black evil for another. The consequences are something that none of the brothers, and now their descendants, think about!"

"I can't do magic," - Nea said.

"Are you sure? Look at your family. They all did magic. They all had magic powers. How can it be that you don't have it?"

"I don't know," - Nea said sadly. – "Maybe it's magic, too. Maybe my magic is that it doesn't exist? It seems to me that the world, which is full of magic, just needs heroes without magic. Perhaps I am the medicine for this world?"

Bagarat looked in surprise at Nea, who had grown in his eyes in an instant, despite the fact that she was a descendant of Damir.

"Maybe," - Leshak agreed. – "Well, let's say good-bye..."

Suddenly Leshak became alert. His ears picked up something. Someone was approaching them. Leshak suddenly bared his teeth and began to chatter threateningly. Nea was startled and also looked in the direction from which the stranger had come. He was a stalking man, dark and brown-haired, with swamp-colored eyes. His appearance was not hideous, but something about him was so repulsive that Nea's nose wrinkled. Hair and eyes, Nea was determined that one of the descendants of Kamarian, a descendant of the traitor brother. He saw Nea, narrowed his eyes, and drew his sword, and without noticing it, he crossed the forest border. Of Bagarat whirred to life, his eyes were filled with red fire.

"Run..." - barely heard whispered leshak girl, and he rushed at the enemy. Nea darted between two rocks and disappeared behind ancient pines.

A descendant of Kamarian tried to wound leshak with a sword, but Bagarat, who received the power of a marriage contract, became invulnerable to any weapon. Leshak easily repelled the blows of the sword and returned blows with 6 hands. The enemy was hit by a shower of blows that he could not repel. After a couple of minutes, the opponent received a strong blow with his hand, he spun around, and fell on his own knife, which pierced his heart. The enemy died quickly, and Bagarat seized his body and threw it into a deep cleft. He knew that Kamarian do not go alone, and somewhere out here is a whole squad of enemies. Leshak decided to distract all at once and issued a battle cry leshak. He called his tribe to help to destroy Kamarian. If you're honest, Bagarat is the only leshak who couldn't hate people. All other leshakov not makes the difference between the descendants of Damirian, Edigarian, Ibralimian and Kamarian. They were all enemies of the forest people, so Bagarat was sure that they would respond to his call.