"Creatures on the Road" by Vladimir Torin, summary Automatic translate

"Beasts on the Road" is a dark fantasy adventure from 2018. The book’s most striking feature is its blend of the sultry oriental atmosphere of endless deserts and the cold Gothic of cursed lands. This authorial approach forces the heroes to fight for survival among demons and treacherous sorcerers. The work immerses the reader in an atmosphere of constant danger and hidden intrigue.

This book is considered the sixth part of the large-scale series "The Chronicles of a Broken Mirror".

Prisoner of the Dead Sands

The former Grand Master of the Knightly Order of the Sacred Flame, Ildiar de Not, awakens bound in the Dead Sands Desert. The knight’s companion, the Asar Sahid Aliri, turned traitor. He poisoned Ildiar with a potion that suppresses his magical gift of fire. Now the Asar is leading the captive to be sold at the slave market in the city of An-Har. The grueling journey lasts several days. The caravan escapes a sandstorm at the oasis of Anger-Sar. The oasis belongs to the wealthy vizier Alon-An-Salem. In the tent, the kindly slave girl Valerie cares for the ailing knight. The girl amazes the paladin with her unusual olive skin and black hair.

Soon, the slaves are driven across the dunes again as part of a large caravan. The path is beset by danger. The caravan is attacked by savage Bergar warriors in black robes. A bloody hand-to-hand fight ensues. Ildiar draws his weapon and defends himself. He saves Valerie’s life by fending off an attack from a dark-skinned savage. After the battle, the knight courageously refuses to flee, deciding to remain with the slaves.

The Curse of Thorn Hills

Far to the north, the young knight James Dawson sets out in search of his missing mentor, Ildiar. He is joined by the Old Testament paladin Procard Norlington. Having lost their way, the travelers find themselves in the Thorn Hills, a frightening land where the Everlasting Autumn reigns. Vast flocks of blackbirds obscure the sky. The knights find refuge in the gloomy inn, the Hungry Beast. The mysterious owners, the enormous, mute stable boy Tom and the pale girl Mot, sternly warn guests to lock the door at night.

After experiencing nightmarish visions, metallic clanking behind the door, and otherworldly screams, the paladins emerge. Sir Norlington suddenly appears younger, shedding the weight of years. They meet a mustachioed half-mouse named Krys. The creature promises to lead the knights safely out of this perilous place. The road through the withering forests is fraught with deception. The travelers see the castle of Verberin-tern fading in the distance.

Mutiny in An-Har

Ildiar finds himself in the underground dungeon of a slave market. The fetid cellar is filled with exhausted people. Among the prisoners, he meets the stern mountain dwarf Khvali and the black-skinned gerych Jan Ferah-Raud. The knight’s adopted son, Ronstrad, tells Ildiar his story. The bidding begins on the sunlit platform. Suddenly, An-Har is attacked by an army of Bergars. The savages are led by the monstrous sand demon Ifritum. Panic erupts, and the townspeople flee.

Khvali breaks Ildiar’s chains with his mighty hands. The fugitives fight their way through the horror- and blood-stained streets. During a fight with the demon, Ildiar regains the power of flame. With his flaming sword, he burns Ifritum to ashes. Having seized a magical flying carpet, Ildiar, Valerie, Jan, Khvali, and Sahid Aliri, who has joined them, safely escape the ruined city.

The Treachery of the Red Riding Hoods

In the Thorn Hills, James and Sir Norlington are captured by cruel Neifert goblins, known as Redcaps. Prince Streggi Quori-Tin leads a caravan of wagons through the dead wastes. Rat tricks the young knight into descending into a cursed well to retrieve poisonous water. There, James experiences visions of his beloved, woven from ash and dust.

After this, the half-mouse lures the caravan into a trap set by a giant monster, the Puppeteer. The Puppeteer takes control of the goblins’ minds with bloody threads. The creatures slaughter each other viciously. Taking advantage of the confusion, the knights escape into the darkness. They take refuge in a vast underground tomb beneath the hill. Ancient mages lie in crystal coffins. They once cast themselves into a magical slumber, wishing to survive the Eternal Autumn they had summoned. James and Norlington find two empty coffins with their names inscribed on them.

The sinister Abergie Mines

The magic carpet flies tens of kilometers over the lifeless sands. The heroes fend off an attack by a winged harpy high in the sky. Jan cuts off its wings with his swords. Due to damage, the carpet falls several meters near the Aberji gold mines. The fugitives are immediately surrounded by a cavalry detachment of Grand Vizier Alon An-Salem. The powerful sorcerer sends Ildiar, the dwarf, and the gerich to hard labor in the deep mines. He takes Valerie and Sahid Aliri with him to the Scarlet Palace.

In the dungeons, the slaves encounter the imprisoned djinn Rajadrim Sinha. Ildiar detonates a powerful explosion of accumulated sulfur dioxide gas, killing the overseers. Joined by the bergar Aerha, the friends break through the alchemical labs to the surface. In the labs, they see monstrous mechanisms transforming the dead into glass. The djinn regains his strength in the sun’s rays. He repairs the damaged carpet and prepares a rescue plan.

The Ending at the Scarlet Palace

Sahid Aliri miraculously escapes from the gloomy dungeons. He wanders the palace’s labyrinths, encountering terrifying creations of the vizier’s alchemy. The Fortune Seeker meets a crumbling golem named Mirati. Ildiar, Jan, Khvali, and Aerha infiltrate the palace. They seek to free their friends from captivity. The dwarf and the gerych find the treasury, where they are attacked by captive glowing stars.

The paladin and the bergar burst into the small sorcerer’s chamber. Alon-An-Salem summons a new ifrit to destroy the enemies. The djinn cunningly turns the sand demon against the vizier himself. The sorcerer quickly burns, leaving only ashes behind. The rescued friends reunite and fly away on the healed carpet.

Awakening of the Ancient Mages

Twenty mages awaken in a tomb on the Hills of Thorn. They engage in a brutal battle with the Overseer. The Wicker Man has guarded their slumber for centuries. Ultimately, he decided to betray his masters for sole power. The mages use blood threads to create a magical web. Taking advantage of the clash of monstrous forces, James and Sir Norlington search for a way out. With the help of the musical trau spirit Roffe, they escape through the stone walls of the dungeon.

Meanwhile, in the Scarlet Palace observatory, the alchemist Medin Amal calmly prepares a complex ritual. He is unaware of his master’s death. The Master of Transformation guides the small waabi spirits. The alchemist carefully scatters sapphires on the magical platform, completing the preparatory work.