So when it was discovered that the shuttle was all within reach, the men simply ran down the river, taking advantage of the confusion created by the massing of the other captives that had occurred during lunch. They weren't caught up right away. The guards were engrossed in suppressing the riot and didn't notice the small group leaving the village. When the riot had been put down and order restored, it was only then that the monk, paladin and three other men were discovered missing.
Only the monk had resisted capture...attempting to bite the gendarme. The vampire, the higher meaning of such an action did not understand and just in case with two precise blows knocked out the fugitive's teeth.
The mutiny did not pass without a trace - the time of all the day's events died Erich. The former convict had been working in the mess hall and the mob had torn him apart. The rebels were also instigated by a monk to kill both men, serving the non-humans of their own free will. Sophie was saved by her own reaction and the actions of the gendarme.
When the riot began, she managed to hide under the table and the people who rushed to her could not get to her at once, and the guard who noticed her quickly got to her and hid the girl behind his back. But Erich was so unlucky, the guy hesitated and instead of running away quickly, tried to fight back. His remains were buried according to all the rules with a ritual fire and a small grave.
Before sunset, a quick trial was held, consisting only of drinking a couple drops of each captive's blood and deciding on the punishment. At the end of such justice, seventeen death sentences were handed down. All those who participated in the murder of Erich or attempted to kill Sophie were sentenced to capital punishment.
They were not even given to Mary's experiments, but were hanged by their feet right in the square and had their throats slit, having all the blood drained from them. The last to be executed was a monk who had had his tongue cut off beforehand, as he could not hold his teeth, probably because they had been knocked out.
The surviving prisoners were sent away for the night in a depressed state of mind. Though there were similar sentiments among the vampires. For some reason, the death of an innocent young man had a depressing effect on everyone. And you could justify yourself by saying that it was his destiny to die, since he was walking under death so often, but it didn't help much. Sophie was taken away from any work with the prisoners and assigned to picking and sorting berries delivered from the Sands.
Toward morning the foothill expedition returned. Which at least lifted the vampires' spirits a little. There were more hugs and cheers than there had been when the sea expedition had met, as well as more squeals and noise. Well, that was understandable. In the first expedition there were three stern men, and in the second fifteen young beauties. When the chaos of the meeting passed, they immediately gathered another meeting. Now to discuss the results of the trip underground.
But there was no discussion as such. Those present performed a ritual and drank a few drops of blood of the expedition participants. And then Leonid stood up and summarized it.
- It is possible to live there, but not necessary. The conditions are unbearable for long-term existence. Goblins are too aggressive. If we move underground and all the surrounding clans will come to visit us and consequently die. And after that, we'll have no food left.
The Triumvirate unanimously rejected the idea of moving underground. Although it was decided to make expeditions to the abandoned dwarf cities permanent. After all, this way could hide not only books from the goblins, but also much more valuable things - weapons in arsenals and money in treasuries. It was only necessary to prepare well and get all the hidden treasures under the Nalim Mountains.
In the morning two scouts sent to Kas almost a month ago returned and brought news of strange murders in Kasia, where dead people were found without blood and with slit throats, almost a dozen a night.
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