68

A low tree freely spread its branches over the darkened walls. Powerful branches had long ago pushed aside the masonry of the stone fence, and the bricks, unable to withstand the pressure of nature and the past years, lay in piles on the ground. But here and there a dilapidated wall still stood, hiding from prying eyes a squat one-story house, immersed in the greenery of a wild garden.

This small plot with a house was located at the outer wall of Eleard and only huge gardens of neighboring estates adjoined it. It was believed that he had an owner and that's the only reason no one has touched him until now. Still, someone else's property, and no one knew where the owner himself was. And the guests here were not frequent, sometimes random travelers wandered in, turning in the wrong direction from a good road. Under their feet lay a path overgrown with thick grass, into which the once flat, stone-paved path had turned. The travelers looked in bewilderment at the branchy thickets, which