The Edges of Power (Last Life Book #5) by Osadchuk Alexey

Author:Osadchuk, Alexey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Magic Dome Books
Published: 2024-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

WITHOUT SUSPECTING IT, Ulf brought Aelira on his tail as he entered the northern district of the Old Capital, where there was an artisan quarter lining one of the river’s banks. Most of the area’s occupants were tailors, dyers, and weavers.

But this was also the home of the wolf pack I was seeking, a place concealed for many years within a respectable community of weavers.

After listening to Aelira’s briefing with careful attention, I set out in the evening to do some scouting. My bodyguards reacted to my solo mission with understanding. I would need to be extremely careful. Unlike Sigurd, the werewolves wouldn’t recognize my scent. Plus, it would probably be best not to bring Aelira’s scent to their attention any more than we had to. Although she assured me that she had done everything possible to cover her tracks. But I decided to play it safe. True, I didn’t actually go on my own — the nisse was with me. But there was no reason my bodyguards needed to know about her yet.

Prior to leaving, I put on my snakeskin armor and armed myself with my “fangs.” I had already run a few experiments with my “invisibility mode” by walking through the streets of the capital at night. After each such outing, I made a few modifications to my armor, resulting in significant improvements to Albrecht Lothar’s creation. The effectiveness of my new “scout” armor was about 30% greater than it was originally.

These transformations were further enhanced by the duplicate energy system within my suit of armor, which functioned kind of like a huge amulet using the energy of lilac bruts. After several more outings, I realized that I could add three more energy nodes to the system. Although that would have to wait for the time being. That kind of detail work was best left to master artifactors, and I still had to find one in the capital.

We made it to our destination without incident. I set up an observation post on the roof of the building opposite, while the nisse disappeared into the night to sniff out the area.

The crafting district was sound asleep. Nobody here worked during the night. According to local belief, Materius — the god of craftspeople and master artisans, an inventor and the guardian of the secret knowledge of creation, who was often depicted with a hammer in his hand — frowned upon the idea of working at night. But I suspected the real reason was the cost of illuminating their premises. Working by the light of candles and torches was dangerous and expensive.

The “weavers” were based in a two-story stone building with an exit to the river, which was surrounded by a tall stone wall. And I have to admit — it was a pretty good cover. Who would ever guess that besides weaving, this little group of respectable traders also dabbled in sending people off to be reborn as shapeshifters?

The nisse returned in less than an hour, but didn’t come back alone; she was accompanied by an old, ragged-looking mongrel.

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