"Obsessions" by Max Fry, summary Automatic translate

This book is a fantasy detective story, created in 1997. The text is divided into two interconnected stories about the detectives’ ongoing struggle with magical illusions. They cause unwary people to forget reality in favor of deadly dreams. Sir Max continues to master his supernatural abilities in Secret Investigation. He gradually learns to control the immense power of the Executor, a unique individual whose wishes always come true, regardless of their absurdity or danger to others. The lives of the capital’s magicians are full of palace intrigues, amusing coincidences, and daily exploits accomplished between hearty dinners in their favorite city taverns.

This novel is the fifth in the popular "Labyrinths of Echo" series. This extensive cycle also includes the novels "The Outsider," "Volunteers of Eternity," "Simple Magical Things," "The Dark Side," "The Power of the Unfulfilled," "The Chatty Dead," and "The Labyrinth of Menin." An overarching plot unites the stories of Max’s adventures in the magical city. Each installment adds new details to the overall picture of a wondrous world where magic is closely intertwined with bureaucracy, and solving crimes often requires a philosophical approach.

Green waters of Ishma

The plot begins with mass insanity in the capital of the United Kingdom. Respectable residents of Echo suddenly and without reason throw themselves into the River Huron. They gaze at the swift current, become transfixed, and experience a powerful obsession. The victims constantly dream of the green waves of a distant sea bay. Sir Max also succumbs to the mystical spell, inadvertently gazing at the river during a police inspection of the Great Bridge. The young man suddenly begins hearing hypnotic verses about green water. The invisible sword of the legendary King Menin, hidden in Max’s chest, causes the detective acute physical pain. A sharp spasm instantly restores his sanity and saves him from the sad fate of the mad divers.

Colleagues are trying to save the victims, whose number is steadily growing by the hour. All of Master Listener Sir Kofa Yoh’s household servants suddenly disappear. A wealthy lady, Henna Kuta, arrives at the work office. The woman begs for help: her husband, Numminorikh, has fallen asleep for no apparent reason at the bottom of a deep pool. Max rushes to the scene and pulls the young man’s heavy body ashore. Sir Juffin Hally easily revives him. A strange characteristic of the rescued eternal student is revealed: Numminorikh has the ability to unerringly follow any scent. The chief of detectives immediately recruits the talented young man for search operations on the river.

A team of capital detectives works harmoniously and with the utmost method. Following a faint scent, Numminorikh locates numerous sleeping citizens in the murky river. Juffin Halli determines the true cause of the growing spatial anomaly. An ancient monster from the southern continent of Uanduk, the so-called Green Water Dweller, has taken up residence in the river. The invisible beast glided unnoticed on the bottom of a merchant ship from the Gulf of Ishma. It lulls passersby with vivid illusions, then slowly digests them. Sir Shurf Lonli-Lockli fearlessly dives to the bottom of the Huron. He kills the invisible monster with a targeted magical strike. The victims awaken safely, and Max recruits Numminorikh as a permanent member of the secret police.

Sweet Dreams of Gravvi

The second story begins with an unexpected tragedy in Sir Melifaro’s living room. Max’s boisterous colleague freezes in the middle of the room with a frighteningly happy smile. A metal box is clutched tightly in his left hand. Juffin Hally analyzes the object’s aura and explains to his subordinates the true nature of the magical phenomenon. The blue object is called Gravvi. It was crafted by skilled artisans of the distant Cuman Caliphate. The box grants its user unearthly bliss, but it also gradually drains their life. It is completely impossible to unclench the detective’s hand. Severing the injured limb would permanently deprive Melifaro of his innate magical power, cutting off his access to any miracles.

Numminorikh meticulously examines the scent of Cuman spices emanating from the mysterious box. The detectives deduce that the poisoned gift was brought by the careless Captain Kumuhar Manula. This fugitive guardian of the red sands wanted to ceremoniously present the item to Melifaro’s brother, the famous Ucumbian pirate Anchifa. Max and Kofa Yoh hastily set off for Kumuhar’s homeland. They sail on Anchifa’s fast ship, the "Filo." The pirate’s swank easily catches up with and boards the merchant Tasher fafun. Max watches the noisy robbery with complete indifference. He is openly bored and calmly reads an old newspaper. The pirate life seems unbearably routine to the detective.

Weary travelers arrive in Kaputta, a major port city of the Caliphate. They are formally greeted by armed local customs officers. Max and Kofa travel to the closed capital of the state on huge horned animals, kufags. The caravan slowly moves across the endless steppes towards an orange sky. Caliph Nubuylibuni Tsuan Afia receives the ambassadors of Gurig VIII. The ruler takes the sedated Kumuhar Manula away. The Caliph communicates with the guests exclusively in whispers through his personal servant, to emphasize the high status of the monarch. The ruler announces that Melifaro can be saved. They must wash their hands in the Well of Pain, hidden in Cherhavla, an enchanted city in the middle of the Great Red Desert of Khmiro.

Max and Kofa fly over the endless red desert in the obedient Buurakhri air bubble. The craft lands safely among the hot dunes. That night, Max goes for a walk, completely alone. He turns on some rhythmic music on a portable cassette player brought from the old world and suddenly stumbles into a white stone wall. Kofa flies up in the bubble, and the brave colleagues penetrate the high fence. The inhabitants of Cherhavla greet the lost guests quite warmly. These mystical beings are able to instantly change their gender and age. They proudly call themselves inhabitants of the World of Glare, and dismissively refer to Max’s homeland as the World of Spiders.

The enchanted city decides to keep Max forever. Ancient entities desire to feed on his dreams. They vie with each other to offer the young man unearthly pleasures in exchange for eternal sleep. Space loses its familiar shape, transforming into an endless cluster of flickering reflections of light. Max is unable to reach the basket of the rescue airship. Kofa Yoh quickly devises a daring plan for an exchange. Max struggles to pull the unconscious body of Kumuhar Manula from the basket. He strikes the captive with the Death Ball and commands him to sleep forever, broadcasting Max’s vivid dreams to the city. Cherhavla readily accepts this exchange, freeing the detectives from the dense captivity of illusions.

Max and Kofa fly away on an air bubble. Kofa first washes his right hand in a tiny puddle, which turns out to be the true Source of Pain. The travelers return to Echo, landing right in front of the work building. Kofa slaps the petrified Melifaro across the cheek with all his might. The powerful slap instantly breaks Gravvi’s deadly spell. His colleague wakes up alive, healthy, and utterly indignant. The entire team noisily celebrates their friend’s successful healing. The text concludes with a quiet nighttime conversation between Max and Juffin about the unpredictability of magical illusions, the dangers of human desires, and the value of returning to a warm home.