Ash. The Legends of the Nameless World. Progression Gamelit Story, Kirill Klevanski [great reads .TXT] 📗

The lady, whose callused hand resembled a branch of a dead tree, held out the flower to the healer with trembling fingers. He carefully took it, checked it with magic to make sure that it was authentic, and turned to the king.

“Sire, I must warn you that there could be aside effects and—”

“By the Gods!” Garangan’s roar was almost like that of a lion. “If you don’t do what you have to do right now, I’ll send your entire family to the mines and leave you to rot in a dungeon!”

“Of course, sire,” the healer said. “I shall do as you ask.”

Turning to the side, he added the flower to some kind of a solution, which he then carefully poured into the princess’s small mouth. For a moment, nothing happened. And then the terrible fever began to subside, the girl began to breathe more evenly, and her face assumed its former soft pink hue.

“Thank the Gods!” Elassia exclaimed and rushed to her daughter but was stopped by the healer.

“The side effects,” he said.

Before their eyes, the girl began to change. Her limbs stretched out, her face and torso morphed, and where a moment before lay a girl of three, now there was a young maiden of sixteen. Her beauty was ballad-worthy — her eyes were as blue as the skies, eyebrows thin as fine threads, eyelashes long as a butterfly’s wing, lips read and full as cherries, and complexion as that of the morning of a winter day.

But there was no intelligence in the azure eyes. Growth did not bring wisdom with it.

“Dad?” the princess called.

Now the king wanted to rush to his child, but someone got to her before him. One of the robed figures walked over to her, sat on the edge of the bed, and handed her a blue ribbon.

“Do you like it?” the person asked.

“I do!” she replied with a childlike smile.

The person leaned forward and put their arm around the girl. They smoothed out her tangled golden locks and tied them with the blue ribbon.

“I got it for you.”

“Thank you.”

The king wanted to order the person to be seized and dragged away immediately, but something stopped him from doing so. Whether it was amazement or shock, even the storytellers of this story didn’t know.

“You know that a gift must be returned in kind, yes?”

“Of course!” The girl nodded, face as serious as that of a child could be. “Mommy told me. She reads a lot.”

“Then I’d like a gift as well.”

The person threw back the hood, and the king felt his heart leap. Even with his hair covered with a scarf, even in the beggar clothes, even with a lens over his eye, Garangan recognized the monster that he had created.

“Get him!” he shouted, but it was too late.

The mage pulled the girl’s face close to his and kissed the cherry lips. The courtiers gasped, and the lady gave a startled squeal and recoiled. The guards burst into the room, but Ash was already standing on the windowsill, his black robe thrown off.

“Lords and ladies!” he shouted with a smile. “Remember this day as the day when the most wanted criminal, Ash, stole Princess Elanor’s first kiss!”

Dodging an arrow, the mage turned around, and ran. The gray cloak fluttered behind him like wings, and he ran through the air as if he were climbing a ladder, getting higher with each step.

“Maybe some bits of the legends are true,” one of the cloaked figures said, raising their hands in surrender.

EPILOGUE

Six months later, 7th day of the month of Parel, 323 A.D., Mistrit

M ary followed the king’s secretary. Six months ago, she thought that if they weren’t executed, they’d be thrown into prison for an indefinite amount of time, but here she was. Not only were the Stumps paid an impressive bonus to the already agreed amount, but they were also awarded a medal of honor in the center of the city square.

A smile appeared on her face.

However, the king’s generosity didn’t end there. Each of the Stumps was blindfolded and had their ears covered, and then taken to the royal treasury where they were allowed to take one item for themselves. Blackbeard, of course, took a new shield, Alice — a wand, and so on. Mary now sported a legendary rapier that used to belong to Kasius the Lisping, a ballad-sun swordsman of the Era of the Dancing Dragon. Despite him being a hero of the old, his skill was still considered unsurpassed.

As for Ash’s escapade, a new bounty was placed on his head, raising the sum to a total of fifty thousand gold. Mary knew that none of the Stumps would betray their new friend. Then again, they wouldn’t be able to even if they wanted to, as no one knew where the mage had run off to.

The secretary opened the doors of His Majesty’s private office.

“Thank you.” Mary bowed, and went inside, sporting her polished medal.

Six months ago, Garangan looked like an aging man, caving in under the weight of time and sorrow, and now he looked at least ten years younger. There was still a hint of concern in his eyes, though.

“Lady Mary Birch has arrived,” the lady announced, dropping a deep curtsy.

“Dismissed,” the king said without looking up from his papers. “Forget about the ceremony. Time is running out. I have another errand for you.”

Mary held her breath. Admittedly, in the last six months, new missions have been scarce. Potential customers, having learned that the Stumps were somehow connected with Ash, no longer gave big and profitable missions. The squad’s savings couldn’t be salvaged even by trading and selling looted monster parts.

“Whatever His Majesty wishes.” Mary bowed.

“I must warn you, this will be the most dangerous mission you have embarked upon.”