10

In the morning, as planned, Karpov and Petrovich drove their old Niva to the district center. The unpaved road did not give much acceleration, and the driver spared the suspension, so he tried not to drive too fast. Trees were growing along the road behind the collective farm fields. After the May rains the ground was washed away in some places, but the all-wheel drive allowed to overcome the mud.

Soon the dirt track was replaced by an old asphalt surface. Petrovich stopped concentrating so much on the road and started a conversation out of boredom:

- Are you watching the new TV series?

Dima tore his curious gaze from the curb and ironically raised his right eyebrow.

- Oh, yeah, you don't have a TV. Yesterday, a child was stolen from a gypsy in a new episode.

- It's like a fantasy...

The old asphalt turned into a smooth highway. The car began to move more vigorously, at least some traffic, and before that the travelers had not met a single car.

On the roads there were mostly domestic cars of various brands: Zhiguli, Moskvich, Volga, UAZ, and ZAZ. There were foreign cars, too, but less often.

The village hadn't changed a bit since Linael had been discharged from the hospital. It still had the same old Soviet style buildings with a few modern materials: aerocrete, metal profile, and so on. Old wooden fences were next to new metal ones.

At the Sberbank, Dima withdrew his entire pension from his card. As expected, only seven thousand five hundred rubles were on the card instead of ten thousand. The rest of the amount was written off against debts for utility bills.

Petrovich also withdrew money from a nearby ATM, and from two cards at once: his and his wife's. Dmitri immediately handed the neighbor five thousand.

- The rest later," he said.

Petrovich saw how much Karpov withdrew. He pressed his lips and handed back the two thousand.

- Dima, what are you going to live on? Take it back. You'd rather pay back a little longer than starve to death.

Linael didn't accept the money.

- Petrovich, I won't die of hunger. There's a lot of food growing, running, swimming and crawling in the forest in summer. Flour and cereals I have a fair supply. So do not worry.

Petrovich hesitated, for some time he tried to hand the money back, but Linael was unyielding and stood his ground.

- All right, - Petrovich put the cash away in his wallet. - I hope that you are not lying. Dim, I need to go shopping. Will you wait?

- I also need to run to the store. You'll leave the car there, right?

- Yeah.

- Then I'll meet you at your car.

The men separated. Petrovich went to a grocery store, and Dmitry - to a fishing store. There he bought a birch coat (summer pants and jacket made of cotton, green with light brown spots) and good quality summer army boots. These acquisitions ate up his entire budget, but his forest clothes are vital. Walking through the woods in old clothes was uncomfortable, plus no camouflage. But these clothes are of good quality, from military warehouses - just the right thing to walk through the woods.

Money was important, of course, but you could live without it. So thought Linael. He could do without rubles to achieve his goal for the time being, so he didn't regret spending every penny of it. He did not like being in debt, much less being in debt through no fault of his own, so he rather tried to repay his neighbor's debt. He did not even think of cheating Petrovich, even if he was a Homan. In the elf culture it is customary to remember all favors and give appropriate reciprocation for them. But in the same way elves remember their mischief. They even have a popular saying: you will pay goodness in return for good, and you will pay evil for evil, but in double measure. In general, it is better not to become an enemy of an elf. They are vindictive and have long lifespans. They can nurture plans of revenge for centuries, and take their revenge at the most unexpected moment.

The journey to home was uneventful.

In the evening, after watering the vegetable garden, Dmitry went into the woods. He took homemade fresh flatbread with him and in addition to the usual set of backpack, knife, axe and bow with arrows brought a thin wool blanket.

Half a day's hike from the village, Linael had gathered all the chaga. Now it was necessary to go deeper into the forest to gather these mushrooms. So there would be no way to return home for the night. But nothing prevented an elf in a human body from spending the night in the woods. It was not difficult to build a tent or a shelter, it was even easier to make a fire, and the weather was good. And even if it rains, the current health allows enduring it without negative consequences for the body.