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SPLINTERS OF FAIRY TALES: DRAGON’S STAR CLAW
Е. Григ
Tattooed pilfering dwarves, quirky wizards, troublesome citizens… Talestone's small guard squad has plenty to do. And then there are a stranger from another world, murder and kidnapping! Chief Guard Jorro and his friends must find the evil forces that have attacked the town. And where would we be without dragons?* The text was created without the use of artificial intelligence.
Е. Григ
SPLINTERS OF FAIRY TALES: DRAGON’S STAR CLAW
Prologue
Sorcerers have a legend about Storyteller. The greatest wizard who could enchant the imagination.
Writers believed: if you see the shadow of Storyteller, you will create a wonderful fairy tale.
At all times, wizards valued fairy tales.
After all, fairy tales are imagination.
And imagination is magic.
Powerful sorcerers stood on the seashore. Nobody in the world without magic knew about this enchanted land where they met. The wizards looked at each other expectantly.
“What do you say, Danarion? It’s a beautiful place, isn’t it?” a cheerful voice broke the silence.
The wizard who spoke was a head taller than his interlocutor, his soft dark beard with hints of gray fluttered in the sea wind. Folds of a luxurious green robe, embroidered with gold threads, hid the impressive belly of rich meals’ lover. Everything in this magician was round. He looked as if nature had used bow compasses to create him.
“I don’t understand why you’re so happy, Emmerond,” the other sorcerer answered grumpily. “We filled our land with magic, and now crowds of wizards will gather here. This is dangerous and wrong! Someday everything will collapse with a loud crash. Can you imagine how much noise will be here? And it’ll be our fault!”
The man who came to meet Emmerond raised his long, sharp nose and glared at his interlocutor. Unlike the first wizard, he seemed to be created with nothing but corners. His short gray hair stuck out in all directions. He wore a ridiculous long black mantle that looked like a shabby robe. There was a worn belt with a scabbard over the mantle and his short, massive staff stuck out there like a sword.
“We have accomplished something that wizards have never achieved before! And you are behaving like a naughty and guilty dog. Look around!” Emmerond pointed to the sky, where a huge dragon was circling with majestic grace. “We no longer need to hide in the world without magic. This land will become our asylum, our reward for years of wandering and secret life. That world no longer needs wizards, and we’ll be free here!”
“You have always been a speechifier, Emmerond!” a broad-shouldered girl with a short haircut approached them, beaming with a dazzling smile. Her plump figure was covered with a silver silk vest over a blouse with puffy sleeves, and her tight trousers were tucked into high boots. She leaned on a long, thin staff decorated with tiny diamonds.
Gloomy, pale young man with a mane of curly hair trudged behind her. He seemed to come here reluctantly. He looked like a man who didn’t sleep enough. Wrapped in a purple cloak, the young man stood at a distance and casually nodded greeting Emmerond and Danarion.
“Finally! Wizards in love, here they come!” Emmerond announced in the voice of an entertainer.
“Stop it, father! You’re talking like we perform in a circus.”
“You’re too gloomy for the circus,” Emmerond replied, grinning. “What’s happened, my eternally displeased son?”
The young man cast a fierce glance at his father and turned away.
“Raeghar doesn’t like our idea,” the girl answered instead of him. “He’s sure we created the wrong land.”
“You know, Karilla, it’s funny that some mediocre wizards have the same thoughts,” Emmerond responded. “I just heard the same words from Danarion.”
Raeghar snorted loudly.
“Who will rule this land? Did you think about it?” Raeghar asked caustically, narrowing his eyes.
“Rule?” his father was surprised. “Why do sorcerers need rulers? We have Optium.”
“We do. But the more powerful the wizard, the greater his influence in Optium. While we lived separately, it did not affect us much, but now everything will change. We’ll depend on decisions of mighty sorcerers. It’s very unfair, father! Why will they get more power just because they have better magic skills than others? We need a ruler approved by everyone!”
“We can’t rely on Optium, Emmerond,” Karilla supported him. “I agree with Raeghar.”
“We shouldn’t change anything, Karilla! Wizards have never had rulers.” Emmerond replied, giving full value to each word. “We created our land as the asylum. We have no right to force wizards to obey. We don't have kings. We wanted to protect the sorcerers, but not rule them. Look what we did! Aren't you proud of our strength? This is the best place that has been created by wizards of all times. Any of us who needs protection will find it here. We must take care of this land and not let in those who do not belong here. Nothing else.”
“You’re too sure that we did everything right, Emmerond,” Karilla sighed.
“Not just me,” Emmerond shrugged his mighty shoulders. “Axandor is on my side. He enjoys. He says this is the best place he has seen.”
“Isn’t he going to turn back?”
“I don't think so. He seems to enjoy being a dragon more than a human. He adores dragons to the point of madness and constantly extols these creatures. He convinces me that dragons should live next to us. How can we allow flocks of such monsters to fly around here?”
All four wizards looked up at the sky. A dragon soared above the sea, flapping its huge leathery wings. Falling down like a stone, he flew up to the water so close that his mighty paws with yellow claws touched it, and then sharply soared up. They stood and looked at him as if enchanted. The most powerful magicians who performed the unprecedented miracle.
The clock on the rock tirelessly counted down the time that passed since that meeting. The wizards protected their precious land and kept its secret. Soon, the dragons came here. They also looked for asylum, and even Emmerond could not refuse them. Dragons lived on one side of the sea, wizards lived on the other. It was a peaceful neighborhood, because people and dragons did not need anything from each other.
Any uninvited guests have never been here. But one day the killers came.
And time was enveloped in chaos.
Chapter 1
Prince had no idea where he found himself. He was flying somewhere and could not stop. He remembered that he sighed, prepared to kiss the captivating scarlet lips of a beautiful girl, and suddenly an unknown force lifted and threw him into the darkness. Prince rolled head over heels down the hill, and the hares ran away from him in fear. Finally he ended up at the bottom of a ravine, shook his head in shock and carefully stood up.
Prince looked around himself. Magnificent velvet doublet with “peacock tail” embroidery seemed to have collected all the branches and leaves in the forest. Frowning in annoyance, Prince began to shake himself off. He did not like nature. Rescuing princesses from various dangerous places was his main occupation, so the young man had to travel a lot. But he didn’t get used to sleeping in the open air, dirt, dust, insects and other features of nomadic life. In addition, Prince was upset that, despite his long wanderings, princesses in trouble rarely got in the way.
“Hey! Will you be preening for a long time?” a mocking voice came from above.
Prince carefully raised his head. He fought enough in recent days and was quite tired of any senseless rage. It seemed to him that there was a challenge in the stranger's voice. Prince extended his hand and sighed with relief when he found that his sword was in place.
“Are you talking to me?” Prince squinted, peering at the man standing on the edge of the ravine.
“Do you think I’m talking to hares?” the stranger asked ironically. “Of course they can listen. But they are terrible interlocutors.”
The stranger went down to Prince. Fallen autumn leaves flew from under his boots.
“Welcome, lad!” he said, approaching Prince.
“Your Highness,” said Prince, wincing.
“Well, what are you talking about! You can accost me easily, without ceremony,” the cheerful answer came.
“Yes, very funny. I mean, I'm Prince.”
“As you say,” the stranger answered carelessly.
Finally Prince was able to get a good look at him. A tall, wiry man. His long chin was covered with stubble, and his dark, gray hair was tousled. Deep-set gray-green eyes look with slyness. Under a shiny leather vest covered a gray shirt made of rough linen. The pants were tucked into high boots. A short sword on his belt.
“My name is Jorro,” the stranger extended his hand to Prince.
Prince looked at the chapped hand with dirty nails and arrogantly ignored the greeting.
“Are princes being raised to be rude now?” Jorro sadly shook his head.
Prince's face became flushed with blood, and he pulled out his sword with lightning speed. Jorro sighed and tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose. He didn't even take a step back, which impressed Prince.
“It’s the same thing every time,” Jorro muttered. “Listen, you rode for many days, fought with wild animals, robbers, ate overcooked meat… And suddenly you flew halfway through the forest, counted the trees and hummocks with your head and ended up here. You're tired and don't want to fight me. Your Highness,” he added ironically.
“Yes, that’s how it was,” Prince answered in surprise. “But how?.. How do you know?”
“I pulled half a dozen princes out of this ravine. They all stomped around here,” Jorro gestured the place. “And now you’ve shown up,” he added.
“Where’s this “here” exactly?” there was disaffection in Prince’s voice. He had to pull every word out of the stranger.
“In our forest. Don’t worry,” Jorro answered nonchalantly. “We're good. Let's get out of here first and I'll take you to the town.”
“What town?” Prince barked. “I was supposed to kiss the girl there,” he waved in the direction from which he came. At least he thought the side was right.
“You're too loud for a prince. As for kissing, you are free to do whatever you want. But here in the forest you’ll not find anyone suitable. And this is one more reason to go to the town.”
Jorro winked at Prince, turned around and walked up. The young man ran his hand through his thick hair in confusion, looked around and followed Jorro. Prince was not used to walking and regretted that his magnificent white horse remained next to the bulky crystal coffin. By the way, what idiot came up with the idea to create a crystal coffin?
Prince felt relieved, although he did not want to admit it. He rode to save the girl for a long time, and he was pretty tired of everything. And now he was walking through the forest, breathing the fresh air and enjoying the unexpected respite.
Jorro and Prince emerged from the forest and walked along a dirt road. Prince could barely keep up with the energetic Jorro, who walked ahead and whistled something cheerful. “He’s an old man!” Prince thought with annoyance. “How can he go faster than me?”
“Don’t lag behind, Your Highness!” Jorro shouted mockingly, turning around. Prince stumbled and almost fell. He cast an angry glance at Jorro.
“This is not a throne room, Your Highness! Be careful!”
Prince and Jorro approached a stone wall, which was accessible through a massive wooden gate. In some places, stones fell out of the wall, and the gates were askew. Even Prince, who had never worked, realized that the people who built the wall were poor craftsmen. There were guards at the gate. One, a large red-haired guy, was gnawing an apple, leaning against the wall. And the second, to Prince’s surprise, turned out to be… a cat. Yes, a large fluffy gray cat with white paws.
The cat noticed that Prince was staring at him, stretched, fluffed his tail and yawned widely, showing magnificent teeth.
“Guys, I brought another one. Lately we get as many new residents as peas in a pod.”
“Peas are more useful,” the red-haired guy said displeasedly with his mouth full. “Another highness or something?” he chuckled, looking Prince from head to toe.
“Be quiet, Thumb,” Jorro besieged him. “We’ll find the guy a job. We'll have use for him.”
“Thumb?” asked the offended royal heir. “At least I have a better name!”
To Prince's satisfaction, the red-haired boy frowned.
“Actually, he’s Tom Thumb,” Jorro explained, “but we call him Thumb.”
“Tom Thumb?” Prince was surprised. “The Tom Thumb? But shouldn't he be small?”
“He’s become a bit heavier here,” Jorro answered with a smile, glancing at Thumb. “And this,” Jorro turned to the cat, “is our beautiful Purrquise.” She was cat in boots, and now she serves in the guards.”
“I always thought that a he-cat walked in boots,” said Prince.
Jorro sighed and muttered:
“You shouldn’t have said that…”
Purrquise's green eyes flashed. She slowly walked up to the gate, jumped onto a wooden post and, clinging with her claws, climbed to the very top. Having settled down on the gate and hanging her fluffy tail, the cat coldly asked:
“Do you think that she-cats are dumber than he-cats?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
“Nobody believes that it was the she-cat in the boots!” Purrquise said angrily.
“Prince is new, my dear,” Jorro said conciliatoryly. “He’ll soon find out how smart you are.” And he can already see how beautiful you are.
The flattery calmed Purrquise a little. She stood up and said:
“My duty is over. I don't see any point in staying.”
The cat jumped down the other side of the gate.
“She never waits to be replaced,” Jorro sighed. “And I see, that you know how to make friends. Well, let’s go,” he made an inviting gesture.
Jorro and Thumb leaned on the gate and it opened with a heartbreaking creak. Prince and his new acquaintance went inside.
“Welcome to Talestone!” said Jorro. Prince looked at everything around him with curiosity as they walked through the streets. The pavement was uneven, and in some places there were not enough stones. The paint on the walls of some houses was peeling. The outfits of passers-by were bright and splendid, but were awkwardly sewn.
“We don’t have enough craftsmen,” Jorro explained, following the young man’s gaze.
“It’s strange, our kingdom is full of masters,” answered Prince.
But for some reason they rarely come here…”
“So that’s why everything is like this here?” Prince waved his hand around the street.
“Like what? Miserable? Unsightly?” Jorro asked with annoyance. “Not too graceful for Your Highness?”
“Listen, don’t pounce me!” Prince said conciliatory. “I remember how neat my native kingdom was… But here everything is so… different.”
“Because almost everyone who gets here does not know any necessary craft,” Jorro snapped. “For example, you are a prince… Purrquise is actually a cat… And there, in the castle on the hill,” Jorro waved his hand, “the magical people live.” All sorts of wizards and fairy godmothers.
“They don't help you?”
