The Pearl Diver. Juriy Tashkinov

killed the monkfish! – Liton exclaimed. He fell to his knees. His example was followed by other pirates who had previously feared neither the devil, nor God, nor the king himself.

      – Get up, friends. Monkfish is just the beginning!

      Chapter 2

      The clouds hugged the sky like a raven wing, and there was no beginning or end to them. A bright flash illuminated the horizon for a moment, as if the hand of a dead man was trying to remove the veil from the heavens. And then came the thunder. And then the first drops fell from above. With every second the rain became stronger, until under its spell it became impossible to distinguish anything two steps away.

      – Are you snails or sailors! – Liton bawled. – Why so slow? Maybe I should stand next to you and start pouring water overboard? Just keep in mind that one of you will be dipping the water!

      The captain turned the rudder left and right, doing everything possible to keep the ship afloat and cope with the storm. Others ran, some with a bucket, some with a rag, pouring water overboard. The strength was running out, but it was impossible to give up. Nobody promised the sailor a sweet life. Then the storm calmed down. After a while, the clouds melted, and an arch of a rainbow hung over the «Soul of the Corsair.»

      – Phew, alive! – said the captain. – Although, what do we need a storm now, when the monkfish himself was killed? Let’s have fun now!

      The pirates drank rum, someone played dice. The rules are simple – you roll a few dice. Whoever gets the fewest points will spend the whole day scrubbing the deck. The other loser washes the dishes. So with passion it is very easy to prevent dirt on the schooner.

      – You cheated! I have seen! – Tart shouted.

      – If you’re a loser, what does it have to do with me?

      – Yes you are! How can you say that! I saw with my own eyes how you turned the bone over with your hand.

      – If you don’t want to scrub the deck, there’s no point in accusing honest people of deception!

      – Are you honest? Don’t make people laugh! My friend is wearing pants – even more honest! He always honestly gets up when he sees a woman. And you, star, are cheating!

      Tart grabbed Jim by the collar. Jim took out a dagger. A shot rang out.

      – Both! – said the captain. – Now throw the weapon on the floor. Now go out into the fresh air and decide there who is right and who is wrong.

      Tart and Jim came out. And after a while the door opened again with a creak, and the two pirates, like bosom friends, sang in an embrace:

      Yo-ho-ho! We are not afraid of the dead

      We love mermaids, we are bottomlessly drunk.

      We will be hanged – we will be finished!

      But while we are alive, you are doomed!

      – So at once! – Liton smiled.

      The captain approached Tram.

      – Why, my friend, aren’t you happy? I understand, it’s a burden and all that, but you need to relax at least sometimes. Come on, drink some rum!

      – Drank. Does not help.

      – Then hold the phone.

      Tram put the oak pipe to his lips. And he coughed.

      – What is this?

      – Hashish, of course. What did you think? Don’t worry, good one. From the Cayman Islands. The guys and I traveled halfway around the world – I’ve never smoked better.

      Not that Tram had never tried mixing shag with imp-grass, as the hallucination-inducing herbs were called. Anything happened during the hikes. The times when there were no states and people lived under the rule of Beelzuvik, the kingdom of magicians, are long gone. The last five or six generations have been fighting for their place in the sun. Morelia made constant raids on the northern outskirts of Eldoras, and the Ennians looked greedily at the southern ones. During frequent campaigns, it was necessary to somehow pacify the pain of the memory of fallen comrades. So the soldiers drank ale, and sometimes bought forbidden demon grass from merchants. It actually became easier for a while. Tram broke into an idiotic smile and began to sing along with the other pirates:

      Yo-ho-ho, the bottomless expanse sleeps,

      We know no peace, only rum and robbery,

      We don’t want to die here

      Have fun, friends, our motto is simple!

      But then oblivion came. Not for long. And behind him – again visions and memories.

      Then the governor Dust sent him to the west of Dragha. Officially, this island was an independent country. Although everyone understood that the savages had no power here. The King of Eldoras exiled here all those undesirable, exiles like Tram himself, whose path to the continent was henceforth barred. Tram rode west. The further he drove, the fewer trees he encountered along the way. Where, according to Dust, a rebellious tribe of savages lived, there was not a single tree at all – only some clearings. Tram didn’t have time to do anything when he was grabbed. The savages here were unusually disciplined. They were wearing armor and carrying swords and spears in their hands. It is completely unrecognizable to those naked-assed pagans who worshiped the spirits of the moon and thunderstorms and were not shy not only about nudity, but also about eating their fellow tribesmen. Now a real organized army appeared before the eyes of the Exile.

      He was brought to the fortress – what a miracle, another fortress besides the governor’s castle! From here there was a view of the Sea of Erin. Tram now understood why the trees were cut down – a whole fleet of freshly built ships of unusual shape stood at anchor. He was put in a cell. He did not understand the foreign language, so for some time he did not even know why he was not killed. It would be logical if he were made a slave – but no, he sat behind a wooden lattice, they even fed him well. He didn’t even want to think about what kind of meat they were giving him, being in captivity of the cannibals. On the third day, if Tram has not lost count, the head of the Inquisition came into his cell.

      – Holiness, you! You can’t imagine how glad I am to see you! Explain to me what’s going on here?

      – You have no idea how glad I am to see you! The governor served me well when he sent you to me.

      – Did Governor Dust know the secret of these places?

      – Of course I knew.

      – So what united the savages? Why do they gather an army and build ships?

      – Shamon is back. He came to life right here, where the savages built a sanctuary for him. And now he is building ships to cross the Sea of Erin and destroy Dream at its roots.

      – Your Holiness, you must help me escape from here! I must have time to do what is intended for me. I must get to Dream, the capital of Eldoras, before Shamon.

      Once upon a time, his ancestor was unable to complete the ritual, and now Evil is on the loose again.

      – Help me get out! You know I have to do this! I can stop Shamon before this plague spreads across the world again. I’m one of the Seven!

      – That’s why you’re here! – The Inquisitor burst out laughing. «I didn’t lay out the nets just to let you go now, Exile!» I woke up Shamon on this godforsaken island, and I don’t want him to fall asleep again!

      – But why? – exclaimed Tram. – Why do you need this? Rendell, you are the head of an organization that fights magic in all its forms! How can an anti-magician go over to the side of Darkness?

      – What do you actually know about the Darkness? What did your mentors tell you? They are lying. Or they are wrong. People do evil and injustice, and the Darkness becomes