Prologue
France, 1449 (5 years ago)
- Selena!
- Huh? What happened, mother? - the girl's cheerful voice responded.
The mother squatted down and extended her hand. Several coins lay in her palm. The girl looked at her mother in confusion.
— Mother, why are you giving me this?
The mother laughed slightly and, smiling, looked at her daughter.
— My silly girl, I am giving it to you to make your own choice of what you want to buy here at the fair.
Selena was delighted, first thanked her mother and went to buy something for herself, but at the end she heard her mother’s voice:
— Just please don't go far from the fair, Selena!
Selena nodded and walked faster so as not to keep her mother waiting. She walked along the outskirts of the fair, looking for the cheapest items. The area was crowded with townspeople, and she was even afraid of getting lost, but she She tried not to give in to fear and walked on. When she saw a shop selling buns and cookies, she was glad she found them inexpensive.
— "Hello, little one. Where are you rushing off to in broad daylight?" - an unfamiliar voice asked.
The voice was calm and quiet, but she felt uneasy. The girl was worried about why he was sitting in the dungeon. Selena plucked up her courage and began to descend quietly, so as not to roll head over heels. When she descended I went down and was able to make out the stranger.
He looked to be about 30 or 35 years old. He was wearing black pants and leather boots, and his arms seemed thin. The clothes seemed foreign, and over them was a scarlet robe. The face was hidden by a mask.
— “Come here, little one, don’t be afraid,”- the stranger said in a soothing voice.
Selena approached and looked at him curiously. The stranger took a book and a quill from his bag.
— "Sir, what is this?" - the girl asked curiously.
— This, my dear, is a book about magic and a pen for taking notes, he explained.
— "A book about magic!?" - Selena asked in surprise.
— "Yes. With it, you can bring joy to people and help animals," - he answered calmly.
Selena took the book and pen, thanked him for the gift and turned to go back.
— "Goodbye, monsieur!"- she said as she left and went on her way.
The stranger sat there, grinning maliciously. This was all part of his plan.
"Mother will be so happy..."
Before she could finish speaking, she heard screams. The voice sounded like her mother's. Selena quickly ran there. When she arrived, she was in shock and, unable to hold herself back, fell to her knees.
— Mother?..
Her mother lay covered in blood on a stone slab. A knife was stabbed into her right chest. — very deep, right in the heart. Scarlet blood flowed beneath her. Selena remembered that when she left for a short time, her mother was fine. And now she's dead. The girl rushed to her mother's dead body in tears.
— "Hey! No children allowed here!" - the guard grabbed her sleeve.
— "But my mother is there! Let me in!"- she said through her tears.
Two young men in hooded robes observed the proceedings. They soon left to avoid being reprimanded by the guards.
— "Poor thing... to lose his own mother at such a young age," - said the man in the black robe.
- Yeah, I agree with you, buddy, - replied the second man in gray.
- Do you think there's magic or necromancy involved again? - he asked his friend.
The second one sighed heavily, looked at him and said decisively:
— Even if this is so, my friend, we must neutralize this unholy gang as quickly as possible.
