- I am a supporter of humane methods, - the young man assured him, sitting down on his stallion, - A pair of bruises is nothing. Go!

Sowing Mi with him, he waved his hand, and the small detachment quickly disappeared into the dark, leaving the merchant standing in the middle of the courtyard with his mouth open. From the state, close to fainting it brought all the same slave gatekeeper. Crouching, he crawled over to his master and gently touched the floors of his tunic.

- What do you want, old? - Perlat snapped at him.

“Let me tell you, master,” looking at the gentleman, the old man stumbled with his toothless mouth.

“Not before you now,” the merchant said.

- As you say, master, - the slave crawled to the side, - It was not the same that the slave was stolen from me.

- What did you say, insolent? - the merchant with a force kicked the old man in the side.

“The slave was stolen,” repeated the old slave, “And now the whole city will make fun of my lord.” And I really do not want this.

- What is that supposed to mean? Why do you, the vile brute, dare to care for my well-being? “Perlat was starting to lose his temper,” Answer me, brute, or I command you to die!

“I have long and devotedly served my master,” the old man began in a tearful voice, “And until now I have only seen good from you.” Well, they hit me a couple of times, well, they called me bad words. This is - nothing. But I have shelter and food. I am grateful to your grace. But when your business is not going very well, we all have a hard time.

- Silence, slave, - a little cold, Perlat patted the old man on his thin shoulder, - Perhaps you are right.

Turning sharply, he walked toward the house. He did not want to search for traces of the kidnappers in the night. It is unlikely that he will find anything, and the rumor that they have robbed the most noble Perlat will spread throughout the city in the morning. Then surely the envious people will not miss the chance to laugh at the silly merchant.

“It is better to keep quiet,” thought Perlat, basking in a warm bath and enjoying the caresses of a dark-skinned slave, “Maybe no one will know about this late visit.” And I will live without a girl. All the same, it will not be possible to sell it for expensive, and keeping a former gladiator in the house, who will not be hard to break your neck with an opportunity, is not so useful.

In the meantime, the slaver reassured himself, friends without incident reached the Gant cave. Dorne was removed from the horse, untied and relaxed with the help of Primus summoned from his forge and given to the caring hands of the maids. Medea did not move a step from her friend, still reassuring her, but she did not tell about the plans of her friends. It was only after the slave was fed that Horn addressed the woman with questions concerning the labyrinth of the old arena.

Dorn, with quick, confident movements, drew a plan for the catacombs and pointed out the most dangerous places with crosses on it where, in her opinion, an ambush could be arranged.

- When will the meeting take place? The gladiator asked.

“Tomorrow night,” answered Gant.

“I will go with you,” said the woman.

“This is impossible,” Gorn protested, “The Kings are waiting for me alone, otherwise the conversation will not take place.”

- Nobody will see me, - the woman assured, - And in the meantime I will look around. If a threat arises, I can intervene. Glory to the gods, I still have not forgotten how to hold a sword and dagger.

The young man did not dissuade her. After discussing some little things, everyone went to bed. The next day promised to be difficult and eventful. It was necessary to gain strength.

“And you cleverly played this abduction!” - said Dorn Mdee, when they were left alone in a small nook, hung with coarse canvas.

“This is Mr. Horn at your own peril and risk,” the black woman explained confusedly. “But no one wanted to steal you.” It happened. It was just that everyone understood that Mr. Perlat would not allow us to talk to you, or later he would tell everything to Count Lazar or inform the city authorities.That played the abduction.

- And now what should I do? - Dorn was alarmed, - I am now outlawed. Fluent You know as well as I do what they do with runaway slaves.

“Do you like to wear a collar and chains?” - Squinting eyes, asked Mi.

- No, but ..., - the woman did not know what to answer.

- Then go to sleep and do not think about anything, - advised a friend.

The woman did not go into details. The events of this evening took away too much strength and nerves. And the friends, hugging each other and hugging tight, quickly fell asleep.

"KINGS" PUMP

No one knew the rulers of the city's slums. Except, perhaps, Gpnta. When the slave and her black girlfriend retired to the female half of the cave, the men, unpacking the keg of ale, sat around the stone table.

“Gant,” said the Horn thoughtfully, “Tell me about these persons.” You know a lot of things.

- So much, - grinned chieftain, - I do not know. Almost nothing, like everyone else. So, scraps. "Kings" jealously guard their secrets. Only their receiver can penetrate their secret. But, you know, it happens very rarely.

- And yet, - insisted the young man, - According to the old friendship.

“Okay,” Gant took a long sip and wiped his lips with his sleeve, “You're right, man.” Excess information does not hurt.

Having settled more comfortably into the unknown where the wicker chair came from, the leader of the gang slowly began to tell:

- These rulers appeared in the ruins of the city immediately after the war. It must be said that the enemy passed through the city like a tornado, leaving behind them mountains of corpses and solid ruins. Who could, fled from the city on the eve, taking with him his belongings, and the poor had nowhere to go. That fell under the millstones. The soldiers fought for at least a week. Killed all who can and can not. Even the children are not spared. "Lucky" only local beauties. They were sent straight to the slave markets.

Then the army moved on. There was a lull. Miraculously, the survivors crawled out of their cracks. Then the aristocracy returned. To his misfortune. The devastated city needed food, but they simply did not distribute it. Looking for money. Dashing guys began to go astray. Robbed, killed, burned. It was rumored that there was even a gang composed entirely of women, which in cruelty and deceit was not inferior, and sometimes even surpassed the men's gangs.

After the raids, naturally, the division began, which ended in fights and stabbing. And then came the call to the slums. I didn’t know who threw him, but only one night all the atamans gathered in a far wasteland and after long disputes they decided to choose a leader who would lead the others. Someone protested and made a proposal to divide the city into four parts: the Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern. And each district should be ruled by its “king”, and one will already rise above them, whose duties would include control over the entire city.

After disputes that lasted more than one night, such people were chosen. But soon they simply usurped power and besieged not only the wealthy, the artisans and merchants, but also the bandits. In the slums went a wave of indignation. And then, just, and the rebellion arrived. How it ended, you know. But, they say that the Great Massacre was arranged with the help of the "kings". Thus, they removed the discontented from their path and made friends with the city authorities.

Then they summoned all the chieftains and set the size of the tribute. In addition, the "kings" have created their own guards from selected thugs. And we, honest bandits, must now contain all this mob if we want to survive. Many of us have moved to other lands in the hope of getting out of the control of the "kings", but very few succeeded. Guard overtook them and cracked down mercilessly.

“Interesting things,” Kull grunted, when Gant fell silent.

“But without the“ kings ”we will not be able to destroy Lazar,” put in his word “Cyclops”, who until that moment had been sitting quietly in his corner, “We have few people.

- Tomorrow everything will be decided! - exclaimed Gorn, - We'll see, think about it.

Twilight enveloped the city, pleasant coolness came to ... Read more →