The grey stones of the old fortress of Acanton had seen many things, but none of the old residents of the town could remember such a storm. The wind roared and laughed like a mad beast, tearing tiles from the roofs. Broken glass flew with a mournful ringing, tree branches cracked and broke, and the trees themselves every now and then snapped in half with a deafening crack and flew somewhere into the darkness. The tall iron spire of the town hall was bent into an arc. Anyone who carelessly stepped out into the street was immediately knocked off their feet by the wind and rolled like a sack of rags, until at last the person, confused and dirty, found himself in the gutter.
Giant waves rose above the walls of the old fortress, flooding it. In fact, it began to seem that there were no waves at all, and the sea itself suddenly reared up, rose and rushed to attack. Unable to withstand its furious pressure, with a roar that for a moment drowned out even the noise of the storm, the walls of the Lighthouse Bastion collapsed.
People, white with fear, saw that very close, just a stone's throw away, a huge black triangle of a fin was flashing among the foaming waves. Sometimes the sharp snout of a shark appeared, and people swore that they clearly distinguished its burning eyes in the darkness.
However, the pier that protected the harbor held. Entirely enveloped in a cloud of foam, it stood unshakable. Each new wave rose above it, its crest bent, ready to splash over this insignificant obstacle, but, having encountered an invisible barrier, it crumbled into small splashes and flew back. A new wave rose to take its place, even more powerful and menacing - a black-green wall of muddy water - but it, too, retreated just as helplessly, thrown back by the power of the Charmed Stone.
How long will it last? - people asked themselves. Cautiously pressing against the walls, clinging to the cobblestones, they ran from house to house... Okay, this storm will pass by, like dozens of others, but they still saw how the bastion collapsed... Oh, you didn't see it? I didn't see it either, but they say, they say such things... I can only whisper, in your ear. Scary... But in reality it was even scarier... No, and don't suggest it, I'm not crazy to go there, my life is still dear to me... Yes, I'm afraid and I don't hide it. And you are afraid, even more afraid than me, because you are afraid to even admit your fear... Everyone who said that it was from the witch is right, a thousand times right... Everything is from her, from her, the damned one... They, the Masters of Fire, imagined that they can compete with the Sea King himself... No, friends, you know what you know, but I think that it is high time to tie her up and throw her into the sea... Who else? You will tie her up... Not me. I am just a simple peaceful citizen, selling buns... A-a-a!!! I don't want to!.. Look, look, there... behind the pier...
A huge swirling cloud appeared over the sea. It expanded and grew, filling the sky with solid blackness. Before it, the storm clouds, pierced by blinding zigzags of bluish-white lightning, retreated, through which individual sunbeams still somehow managed to break through. And if before it was simply dark, now real night was descending on the sea… And what about night! There were no words to describe the abyss of darkness that suddenly fell upon the city.
But the darkness was split by long, branched, pale lightning. They did not have the wild fury of ordinary lightning, these whitish lights smelled of deadly cold. A deafening crack rolled out, and suddenly somewhere in the depths of the cloud, in its very middle, a dim crimson spot lit up, like the reflection of a distant fire. It became brighter and brighter, and finally the first, still timid, tongue of flame burst out of the cloud. Then a second, a third... Soon the townspeople, numb with horror, saw that a gigantic fire was blazing in the sky, gaining strength with every minute.
The sea under the fire began to seethe, boil, swirl, clumps of white foam flew, a huge whirlpool formed, from which a rotating column of water as thick as a good tower began to slowly rise. The column grew before our eyes, then it ran into a cloud, and from this touch the fire blazed even more fiercely. From its black-crimson tongues slipped a long writhing body, shrouded in black haze. The water tornado began to settle slowly at first, and then faster and faster, clouds of steam poured out, as if the sea had boiled, and from the agitated, completely clouded waves emerged a gigantic head, similar to a crocodile. Blood-red eyes stared at the shore, fire blazed from the mouth, smoke poured out…
Chasing a high wave before it, the monster headed for the shore. Enormous scaly paws with long curved claws grabbed the pier, and everyone saw that the black blades of the claws pierced the thick stone slabs as easily as if they were cardboard. Again the dragon belched a cloud of black and yellow smoke with a crimson flame inside, pulled itself up, shaking itself like a dog, and its long, seemingly endless body began to crawl out onto the wet stones. The dark green scales covering the dragon's body merged with the cloudy waves, and it looked like the dragon was emerging, as if being born, from the water.
His paws twitched feverishly, scraping the stones, and white sparks flew from under his claws. With a grinding sound that could be heard even in the roar of the storm, the dragon's paws turned over huge boulders that had lain in place for centuries. The dragon flapped his wings, helping himself, and a swift, golden-clear light struck the city's towers. Those who dared to look later said that the dragon's wings were forged from pure gold, polished to a shine. However, in addition to the golden ones, the dragon also had four pairs of ordinary wings.
Ten-winged!
Yes, yes... The most faithful servant of the Sea King himself, fierce, irresistible, merciless... Don't tell me, he will devour everyone, to the last man... And don't think of saving yourself, don't even try, it's useless... Submit, just submit, while it's not too late... And you yourself know as well as I do what the Sea King wants... His will must be fulfilled immediately, and everything will be settled. Maybe... Otherwise they will ruin, destroy the city, burn it to the ground...
But the dragon did not crawl towards the city gates, which the venerable merchants and shop owners were already preparing to open; he headed towards the end of the pier, where the Charm Stone glowed brighter than before. The usually even whitish glow now became somehow alarming, intermittent, and a faint reddish tint appeared in it. Snorting heavily and roaring, the dragon began to tear apart the masonry. Enormous stones flew from under his paws like small grains of sand. And the Charm Stone glowed ever stronger. It dispelled the darkness that had reigned, but in this piercing, almost colorless light, people's faces became mealy-white and flat.
I wish all this would end soon, this horror. And then we will prove our loyalty to the ruler, we will be able to... Let them just give us the opportunity, we will not fail... But she is a sorceress too... We saw for ourselves what threatens us... But it is not the dragon who has to deal with her, but you and me, venerable sir... Yes, wherever you look, it is bad everywhere. There is a dragon, there is a witch... But as I understand it, of two evils...
Meanwhile, the dragon dug up the Charm Stone and tried to grab it, but immediately pulled back his paw, as if he had been burned. He roared so loudly that tiles flew off the roofs. Then the dragon took aim and grabbed the Charm Stone with his teeth. Something flashed blindingly, thundered. And only a melting stream of smoke, for some reason not subject to the wind, wavered in the place where the Charm Stone had recently lain.
And then those who had the courage not to look away earlier saw that the dragon, purring contentedly, plopped down into the sea, dived and did not appear again.
And immediately, as if on someone's command, the wind died down, the black thunderclouds were replaced by thick, grey clouds, and a dull, fine rain began to fall.