A warm breeze blows pleasantly in the face, a view opens before the eyes of Chloe's slender figure and mane of blond hair, who is driving a cart pulled by a pair of horses. On the left, leaning against the side, Olga is snoring. The road to Feoh is often used, and therefore it is well rammed and practically without pits and bumps, so even the primitive design of the cart with horseradish depreciation does not prevent us from enjoying the trip. While there is an opportunity to enjoy the peace and quiet before the work that we have to do, it is worth taking advantage of this, which is what we are doing now. Moreover, there is not much time left: it is the morning of the third day, as we are on the road, and by late afternoon the walls of Feoh should appear on the horizon.

We worked out the action plan until late in the evening. My idea was to arrive in Feoh, so to speak, incognito, check into some tavern or inn, look around, figure out what's what and act based on what we see. The most difficult task was, oddly enough, to get inside. Our company is quite noticeable: that two dark elves who can't walk freely around human territories, that I'm with all my stuff and in clothes that don't even remotely look like something that locals can wear. Hence the question arises, and who should we introduce ourselves to be so beautiful so that they will believe us? There are few options, or rather only one: two slaves and a master. In no other case, according to the girls, two dark elves cannot be on human territory. So a young but successful trader Tom Cruise and two of his maids (yes, maids, because officially there are no slaves, but everyone who needs to think quite differently) will set foot on the territory of Feoh, whom he nobly bought out of slavery in Jaffa, a city of slavers, also located close to the border, but already with on the opposite side from the mountains, in the desolate territory of the former Dark Elf empire. According to my companions, this is still a hole where lawlessness and lawlessness flourish, and the main source of income for its owners is a two-legged reasonable commodity. Judging by the way Chloe's face twisted at the mention of this place, as well as if we recall what the Bespectacled Man said at our first meeting, she is quite familiar with the "hospitality" of the inhabitants there. She and I have managed to get a little closer over the past time, but not so much to touch on this topic in conversations, so I can only guess what the girl had to go through.

But I digress. So, after passing through the gate to Feoh, we occupy a room in a tavern or an inn and wait for the arrival of Vult with his army, simultaneously exploring the city and figuring out how they will attack it and what we can do to prevent them from achieving success. You may ask, what are the three of us able to oppose to an armed crowd of thousands? In fact, not so little as it may seem at first glance. Even at home, I am an extra—class fighter, an elite of elites, and there is nothing to say about the locals. I can easily stop at least a hundred, at least two people, if I choose the right meeting place. I don't fully know Olga's capabilities, but she promised that, having prepared herself, she would be able to give out fireworks even stronger and longer than last time in the tower. Well, Chloe, although she does not have magic and is not superhuman, and she is young by elven standards, some 40 years old (pf-f-f, you'd think ... although against the background of the queen, really consider that a child), is an experienced and skillful fighter, and if you give her a machine gun, things can get tricky not much less than myself. So it turns out that we have a small, but very toothy group that, under favorable circumstances and on the effect of surprise, will be able to take out a much larger number of the enemy.

Our legend is sewn with white threads and attentive people will quickly figure out that something is wrong with our company. At least because all rich and influential citizens, as a rule, are familiar with each other, and no one has ever seen Tom Cruise anywhere, and in communication I can easily slip up on well-known trifles due to ignorance of local realities. Some things, of course, were explained to me by the girls, but this is not all, since they themselves are carriers of a somewhat different culture, and in general ideological opponents of the local regime. But, on the other hand, we don't have to play spies for a long time and all the cards will be revealed during the assault, which will happen pretty soon. Therefore, our hastily invented deception is needed only for one time.

The only really weak point of our plan is the fact that I, as a trader, must have money with me, goods for sale and transport in which I will transport it, and if there are no problems with the first and second, there is a reserve of gold for a rainy day in the shelter, like all sorts of things, which can be presented as a commodity, then there is a problem with transport. It just doesn't exist. In theory, we can assemble a cart right on the spot, since there is nothing complicated in its design, we have nowhere to take the horses that will pull it. And here the question is not only in plausibility but also in banal convenience. I can walk as much as I want, but unfortunately, this cannot be said about my companions. Of course, they can travel on foot, but it will be too tedious and long, and we already spent a week on vacation and we absolutely did not want to waste time. The issue had to be solved somehow and we even figured out how: to steal horses. Olga placed her cache wisely, not in the depths of the forest, but closer to its edge, just not far from the road, half a day's journey along which there is a village in the direction of Feoh, where draft cattle are almost guaranteed. Stealing a couple of horses at night would not be difficult, and Chloe and I were ready to do it. Yes, it's not fair to the villagers, but who is it easy for now? Our conscience will definitely not torment us about this, and in general it's for their own good, yes.

It was decided to move out at dawn in order to arrive at the place by the middle of the day, reconnoitre the situation and, waiting for nightfall, get hold of transport under cover of darkness. It should have taken us about a day to do everything about everything, but it still comes out faster than walking, and for the reasons stated above, it's much better, so none of us had any doubts about whether it was worth it.

Fortunately for the poor villagers, we never had to steal anything from them…

Flashbakc. 3 days ago. Early morning.

"I can't believe we agreed to this ..." — Chloe muttered under her breath, stomping behind me. She didn't like the idea of stealing horses from peasants the most. And no, it's not because she sympathizes with them, or anything like that. She has no respect for humans, except for me, unless, and then because of exceptional circumstances. These circumstances, combined with Olga's urgent request, forced her to come to terms with the fact that she would have to become a thief for a short time. However, I didn't notice any stupidity or any squeamishness behind her and she understands why we are doing this, but no one can forbid her to grumble about it.

"Yes, I also somehow did not expect that I would ever steal horses in the village." — I half—jokingly encouraged the girl. — "But modern problems require modern solutions. And in general, take it not as theft of someone else's property, but as a walk in the fresh air."

— "I fucking hate gypsies"

What the fuck? I already lost my step when I heard this phrase in my head. One-on-one, like in an old movie that I once watched. Out of surprise, I even missed most of Chloe's answer.

"..and no one should ever find out about it! Nobody!" — The dark elf finished expressively the remark I hadn't heard to the end, after which she saw how I froze in place. — "Kay?"

"Martha ... — I drawled, turning to face the girl who was confused about my behavior and immediately became alert, starting to look around, periodically returning it to me and lowering her hand to the hilt of the sword. — "How do you know this phrase? And don't say it's by chance, I don't believe in coincidences."

"Is there no danger?" — Chloe asked, and when she got my nod, she stopped looking around. — "Then what phrase are we talking about?"

— "I used a well-known expression on Earth, suitable for the current situation, but I did not take into account the reaction of the carrier. Kay, I apologize."

"To hell with apologies." — I began to boil softly. — "Once scientists cut off half of my skull to install a brand-new neuroimplant directly into my brain, and I was quite conscious at that moment, and since then I have been very sensitive to the contents of my head. I barely got used to the fact that you can kill me at any moment, but if you also feel at home in my memory, then this already goes beyond all bounds of decency!"

— "…"

"What?!" — The elf was taken aback, having learned another interesting detail of my biography. — "But why?!"

She jerked in my direction, stretching out her hand to her head, no other way to check if all the "details" were in place. The concern in her gaze even made me feel good.

"To increase combat effectiveness, of course." — I shrug my shoulders, letting myself be felt, and when Inspector Chloe was convinced that my head was intact and the alarm could be canceled, he asked: — "Where did the information come from, Martha?"

"Portable computer. The one that is not with you now. I remotely connected to it and found a library of files of an entertaining nature. Once again, I apologize for not notifying you and for the fact that the joke was unsuccessful." — AI said guiltily. — "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, just to participate in the conversation. And I am not able to read your thoughts and memories, there are no such functions in nanorobots."

Inhale and Exhale, Kay.

Raise your eyes to the sky.

Well, I wanted to check the tablet, but I was too lazy, leaving it for later, but it was possible to avoid the hassle. A trifle, but still unpleasant. It seems to be relieved... if you do not remember that there is still zero faith in Martha's word, and her statement "artificial intelligence is not capable of lying" I have no way to check. I wonder if she is deliberately imitating emotions, trying to win me over, or is she really experiencing them? I don't like uncertainty, especially if it directly concerns my life and health. But in this case, at least there is evidence, nevertheless it is worth rechecking later. Eh, it would be possible to get rid of her somehow...

"Kay." — Chloe's voice brought me back to earth. — "I don't understand your artifacts very well, except for weapons, and even those are only a little. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, it's all right. Just a misunderstanding, we can move on. — And I continue my way first, and a second later my companion did the same. — "Apologies are accepted, Martha, but in the future, be sure to notify me of everything you do with me and my things, in order to avoid situations like this, agreed?"

"Agreed!" — Martha answered cheerfully.

"And you made a good joke." — I praised her.

"What's the joke?" — Chloe pricked up her ears curiously.

"Will you tell again?" — I asked Martha.

"I fucking hate gypsies," — the AI gave out in the same as an actor in movie, from which I raised an eyebrow and chuckled merrily.

"And? I don't understand what the joke is?" — The elf looked at me in bewilderment. — "And who are these "gypires" and why should they be hated?"

"Not gypires, but gypsies." — Smiling, I corrected the girl. — "You don't have to hate them, but a character in a fictional story doesn't really like them, I'll show it to you later if you want."

"Okay, but who are they?" — She continued to be curious.

"Nomadic people. They are very cunning and is famous for masterfully stealing other people's horses." — I finally explained.

"Tc... I fucking hate gypsies..." — Chloe said.

We reached the road by noon. Actually, it was not expensive, as such, in the understanding of modern man. It was rather a wide path running through the forest. We did not go out on it, but moved parallel fifty meters away. It is not profitable for us to meet someone on the way and it will be easier to avoid detection by those who will be moving along this road. We walked at this pace for another two hours until Martha spotted the movement.

"I'm recording movement. The road, two hundred meters ahead." — Martha reported by surprise.

I gave Chloe a sign to stop, and I looked in the right direction. The optical system of the implants automatically zoomed in on the picture, allowing a good look at two covered wagons accompanied by a dozen riders. Everyone, including the cabmen, in chain mail and with weapons: who has a sword, who has an axe or a spear, all have shields, except for three archers. Judging by the opening mouths, they are having fun talking about something, but it is not clear what exactly. Turning on my thermal vision, I noticed the outlines of five more humanoid objects in one of the carts, but they are in an obviously uncomfortable position: on the floor with their hands clasped behind their backs and their legs bent at the knees.I don't know, maybe they do yoga there, or play twister, but it's very unlikely. By all indications, this is not an entirely simple procession. It is necessary to decide what to do with them: to let them pass by or to say hello politely?

"We have tourists here." — I explained to the girl in a low voice the reason for the stop. — "Two carts, there are seven in them, five of which are connected. Accompanied by ten horsemen, all armed."

"What do you suggest?" — The elf immediately got close.

"Let's take a look first. We'll take cover over there." — I pointed my finger at the bushes covered with dense foliage a dozen meters away from us. — "And we'll see. And then we'll decide, okay?"

"Quite." — She agreed with me and we layed down in the place I suggested. A minute later, horse neighing and people's voices were heard from the side of the road, and two minutes later they themselves were heard.

"Slavers..." — Chloe almost growled when she saw who was coming, and it immediately became clear to me who they were carrying in one of the slave carts. Clenching her fists, she looked at them with eyes full of hatred and old pain. And somehow I immediately didn't want to just let them pass by. But what to do with the prisoners? Quit? It is, of course, possible, but Chloe, who has a thing for slavery, may perceive it negatively. On the other hand, there is nowhere to put them, except to drag them with us to the shelter. But they can try to escape. And then those who don't need to will find out about our shelter. Although... we're not there for long, which means there's nothing too dangerous in revealing that place, and I don't think we'll go back there at all. The plus to this is that these comrades just have what we need — transport. And since we will kill them, then the horses and carts can be safely taken away. And it wouldn't hurt for my partner to throw off stress and revenge in miniature. It's decided.

"We need horses and a cart, right?" — I ask the girl in a whisper.

"Yes." — She replied.

"So here they are." — I indicated the subject of discussion with a nod of my head. — "You just need to come and pick it up. Will you cover my back?"

"With pleasure." — The girl snorted, picking herself up, and after a second added: — "Thank you. It's important to me."

"Well, come on." — I smiled, taking a step towards the future corpses. — "We'll leave the lmain one to talk, and kill the others"

"Got it." — The girl said, getting up from the ground and joining me.

It's time to stretch a little.