I follow Valerian into his office and hear the kettle already boiling. The stalker places two large, clear glasses on the table and fills them with aromatic black tea, then sits down in his chair. I sit opposite him and lift my mug, taking a cautious sip of the scalding liquid. After waiting a moment, I take another sip and set the tea aside.
"Why do you think I called you?" the stalker begins, smirking and taking a large gulp.
"You'll tell me anyway," I shrug, not quite understanding where he's leading.
"You're a strange man, Executioner," Valerian sighs, still holding his mug. "And many have noticed it."
"And what's so strange about me?"
"You act detached, you show almost no emotion," the stalker continues, taking another sip of tea. "And you've shown yourself in an exceptionally good light. And I can say for sure that you didn't come here for money or adventure. There's no romance in your eyes that the rookie stalkers are looking for here, nor is there a lust for profit. You handle anomalies well, you wield weapons excellently. Our whole clan has seen that."
"What's all this about?"
"Before all this hoopla with the case and that military rat," the stalker leans back in his chair, crossing his arms. "We had two stalkers in our clan who could be trusted to lead people into battle. One is Yakut, the other is the now deceased Berkut. As soon as we return the case to the trader, a full-scale war with the ghouls in the Swamps will begin. He and I discussed it and decided that you are a good candidate to lead a squad."
"I'm not that confident in my leadership qualities," I admit honestly, but Valerian's offer stunned me.
"But I am now absolutely sure, Executioner," the stalker leans forward, looking intently into my eyes. "Calm and rational, you understand your weaknesses and shortcomings and won't lead people to slaughter. And don't worry, no one will throw you into battle with your bare ass. Both I and Yakut will help you. So, do you agree?"
"I agree, but why me?"
"Because I know that you, kid, will go far," the leader replies calmly.
After talking with Valerian a bit more and finishing my tea, I leave his office with mixed feelings. On one hand, I'm glad that I've been so highly valued and entrusted with leading a hypothetical squad in the near future. It's a great chance to make a name for myself in stalker circles, and such a reputation will help me a lot. On the other hand, I'm still worried that such a responsibility has suddenly fallen on me. Well, I'll hope for the help of Yakut and Valerian, because I will make the most of this opportunity.
But I didn't have long to dwell on heavy thoughts. As soon as I left the leader's office, Pes called out to me. He was sitting on one of the bunks at the far end of the building. I walk closer and notice that he's much better now. His face isn't as pale and emaciated, it's clear the stalker has rested well, but he's far from fully recovered.
"Hey, Executioner," he begins, extending his hand for a handshake.
"And hello to you," I reply to the handshake and sit down on the bunk next to him. "How are you doing here?"
"Thanks to you," Pes smiles. "Everything's great, the guys here are kind, but I won't abuse Valerian's hospitality. It's time for me to go to the rookie village, to my brother."
"And you want me to escort you there?" I raise an eyebrow in surprise, as Pes is an experienced stalker and can get to the village himself.
"Don't be so surprised," the stalker sighs deeply, ruffling the black hair on the back of his head. "I'm scared. I listened to the guys here, you know. And I don't like the situation with the bandits. So I'll feel calmer if you escort me to the camp."
"Well, in principle," I pause for a moment. "It wouldn't hurt me to go there myself."
"Don't think I'm asking you to be a guide for free. I don't have money on me, but I can pay with information," the stalker says, pulling his PDA from his jacket pocket, which we found on one of the bandits, and turning on the map section. "Here, look. To the northwest of the Swamps, there's a trail that leads to the Wild Territory. The places there, I'll tell you, are truly wild, with countless mutants, but you can also collect a lot of artifacts."
"Did you find it yourself?"
"Nah," Pes shakes his head, continuing to talk. "We helped a Lonewolf who got into trouble. He told us about that trail. We went there with the guys once, barely fought off the mutants, but the haul was good. But that's not all, our group had a secluded spot at Agroprom. There's a large railway tunnel there, and in one of the walls, there's an iron door leading to a technical room. Nothing particularly valuable there, a bit of ammo, food, and water, maybe not much money either. In short, write down the code for that door on your PDA."
"It's even a bit suspicious," I look at the stalker doubtfully. "You're too generous just for escorting you to the rookie village."
"I owe you a lot," he says after a short pause. "If it weren't for you, how much longer would I have been a prisoner? If not with these thugs, then with others. And it's not certain that this story would have ended well for me. So, use it for your health."
"Thank you," I thank the stalker, patting him lightly on the shoulder. "We'll set off in the morning, and now I'll go rest."
Pes paid me back in full for his rescue. A little-known trail to a poorly explored territory, where with sufficient desire and skill, one can acquire a lot. I remember that in the game, the Wild Territory indeed had many artifacts, but no less mutants and mercenaries. But while
the stalkers figure out new trails, while they explore everything there, there are great chances to earn good money. Especially since the war with the bandits will take place in the Swamps, and it's a stone's throw from there.
Besides, Pes shared the coordinates of a good shelter with me, which would be difficult for uninvited guests to access. I don't remember if there was any door in that tunnel in the original, but oh well. It's better to have your own equipped resting place than not to have one. I will definitely visit it after the Swamps situation is over.
The next morning, having gathered our things, we set off for the rookie village. Pes's fears were in vain, there was no danger except for a couple of blind ones that jumped out at us. So we reached the camp without any adventures.
During the time I was away, the village had become much livelier, and I even saw a couple of familiar faces from the Predbannik. A small group of stalkers, standing by the dilapidated fence of one of the outlying houses, were chatting merrily. And as we passed by, one of them stepped forward, recognizing me.
"Oh, look who it is!" Vitya Rybak exclaimed joyfully, transformed since our last meeting. He still had the same bandana on his head, but now he was dressed in a gray stalker jumpsuit, and a short-barreled shotgun hung on his belt behind his back. "And I was wondering where you disappeared to from the Predbannik."
"Isn't that the guy who saved your ass from the zombies?" another stalker asked Rybak.
"The very same," I reply with a slight smile and shake the familiar stalker's hand. "What brings you here?"
"What do you mean, what brings us?" Vitya chuckles, stretching the corners of his lips. "There was a blowout recently, it even affected us at the Predbannik. So, the guys and I discussed it and decided it was time to stop drinking. And here we are, for loot. And what about you? Are you settled in well?"
"You could say that," I nod slightly. "Alright, guys, it's time for us to go. We came on business."
"Well, see you later, kid, maybe we'll sit by the fire again."
After saying goodbye to Rybak, we head to Volkov's house. I climb the cracked steps and knock on the wooden door, stepping aside slightly. After a few seconds, footsteps are heard, and the door opens. The stalker, who peered out onto the porch, froze for a moment and rushed to his brother, engulfing him in a strong embrace.
"I'm back," the stalker rasped, squeezed in his brother's grip, and hugged him back.
"Just don't finish him off completely, Volkov," I interject, leaning my shoulder against the house wall. "How long are we going to stand here?"
"If only you knew how worried I was when I got the ransom offer," the village leader exhaled quietly, releasing Pes from his embrace. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I wanted to surprise you," the stalker begins to say, but immediately receives a smack on the back of his head from his older brother. "Ow!"
"And without you," Volkov finally turns to me. "Of course, it wouldn't be complete, a finger in every pie. Glad to see you, Executioner. Come in, I'll set the table now."
I enter the house after Volkov and take off my boots, immediately heading to the kitchen. A few minutes later, the owner of the house enters the room, placing a full bottle of vodka, a plate of sliced food, and several shot glasses on the table. A little later, aromatic fried potatoes appear on the table.
"Just finished frying," Volkov explains, handing us cutlery. "Well, tell me, what's what."
But neither of us had a chance to open our mouths when there was a knock at the door. Cursing, the owner of the house gets up and goes to meet another guest. I only manage to pop a couple of forks of hot potatoes into my mouth before the stalker returns.
"Executioner, someone's here for you," Volkov says, sitting back in his place.
"Who?"
"A mercenary," he explains. "He came from the Swamps not long before you. I don't know what he wants from you, but be careful with him."
So, canon has arrived. Well, there's nothing to be done. I get up and go to meet Shram.
The same place, after the Executioner leaves.
After watching the stalker go, Volkov picked up the cold bottle, opened it, and poured the burning liquid into a couple of shot glasses. Setting the bottle aside, he silently raised his glass and drained it, winced slightly, and chased the vodka with a piece of fatty Krakowska sausage, then put it in his mouth, chewing thoroughly. Pes also silently drank a shot glass of vodka and immediately chased it with a slice of cheese. The stalkers were silent for a while, each thinking their own thoughts, until the older brother started the conversation:
"What happened?" he said hoarsely and coughed slightly.
"We heard from the guys that bandits are wreaking havoc in the Swamps right now. So we decided to go around, through the Gut," Pes said after a slight pause. "But we ran into an ambush by thugs. And you know the rest, they contacted me when you were with me."
"And your companions? What were their names... Blik and Korzh, what about them?" the older brother asks, peering at the crumpled and slightly pale face of his brother, who looked so much like him. Pes only shook his head at his question, and Volkov understood him correctly. "Let's remember the guys, may they rest in peace."
After drinking their second shot glasses, the stalkers fell silent again. The conversation didn't go well. The younger brother was ashamed that he had once again, for the umpteenth time, made Volkov worry about him. But he has no one closer than his brother; he'd followed him around like a shadow since childhood. And he went to the Zone for the same reason, wanting to prove to his older brother that he could be proud of him. But once again, he failed, putting himself in great danger.
"I'm glad you're alright, little brother," Volkov says, pulling Pes out of the abyss of sad thoughts.
"And you're not even angry?" the surprised younger brother says very quietly.
"Not at you," the older brother replies, moving closer and pushing a hot skillet towards his brother. "Eat up and tell me how you met our mutual friend."
"He and his squad saved me," the calmed Pes begins to recount, with a slight, sad smile on his face. "I was very lucky that he was there. You should have seen what he did there. They came there on a tip, saying that the bandits were preparing to attack Valerian's base. And then it turned out that the Witcher, who decided to defect to the bandits, wanted to eliminate his competitors through others..."
"S-son of a bitch!.." Volkov hissed, slamming his fist on the table, and explained to his brother's surprised look. "That old man was here a couple of days ago, visited Sidor and gave me sly glances. He KNEW, the scoundrel! And I didn't even suspect... I'll see that maggot and strangle him with my own hands!"
"Executioner already sent him to the other world," Pes said quickly, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder and calming him down. "When the guys dealt with my captors, the Witcher himself visited us with his lackeys. So Executioner gutted him right before my eyes, and then shot his thugs. Easy as pie."
"Well, I'll be," Volkov whistled. "I knew Executioner was a tough stalker, even a rookie, but this much?"
"Rookie?" the younger brother was surprised this time.
"Well, yes," the village leader nodded affirmatively. "He appeared at the Cordon about a month ago, I even taught him how to navigate anomalies. And he got his nickname from me."
"Tell me!"
The rookie village, the porch of Volkov's house.
I go outside and notice a stalker in a Clear Sky colored jumpsuit leaning against the wall of the house. I walk closer and carefully examine the first in-game character I've encountered. Short, light-colored hair, a long face, a broad forehead with a few wrinkles, blue eyes with a gray tint, a straight nose, a wide chin with stubble, and a large scar starting from the middle of his forehead, passing over the bridge of his nose, and ending on his left cheek, below his eye.
I walk closer and catch a sharp, heavy gaze from under his brows. The scar detaches from the wall and examines me from head to toe.
"Are you Executioner?" he asks me in a slightly hoarse but firm voice.
"I am," I reply with a nod. "Why were you looking for me?"
"On business," he says briefly, reaching into the wide pocket of his jumpsuit and pulling out a crumpled envelope. "Here, take it. A letter from Nik. And the trader told me that you would escort me to the neutral base."
"Let's go," I exhale in surprise, taking the letter from him.