"David,.Peter.-.Sir.Apropos.3.-.Tong.Lashing" - читать интересную книгу автора (David Peter)

Peacelord. Nevertheless, we had to exercise great caution, and when supplies
were dwindling and water was becoming problematic, we found ourselves depending
more and more heavily upon Mordant and his resourcefulness. He always seemed
able to find a village or a nomad encampment that he could slip into and out of
without attracting attention, with a fresh round of minimal supplies clutched in
his claws or mouth.
In this way we managed to survive quite handily our trek across a land that,
once, might well have been the death of us. Even the horse survived, although it
did still tend to toss what appeared to be suspicious glances in Mordant's
direction every now and again.
Eventually, however, matters took an unexpected turn.
We made our way much farther north than even my peregrinations as the peacelord
had taken me. As a consequence, we were able to enter with impunity a
particularly sizable port city, Port Debras, renowned for having the largest
single dock in the entire land, known as the Grand Jetty.
Since it was a major port, few people there really paid attention to the faces
that passed by in crowds. That suited us just fine. It also seemed wiser to keep
Mordant out of sight, since there might be some who would associate the drabit
with the once-formidable peacelord. We needn't have worried, however. Mordant
assured us that he wouldn't be seen if he didn't want to be, and he was
absolutely true to his word. As we made our way through the many tents and
similar ramshackle structures of Port Debras, I would occasionally spot Mordant
flitting from one hiding place to another. But the only reason I saw him was
because I knew he was there. Once in a great while I'd see someone do a double
take, look again, and then shake their heads as if assuring themselves that they
had merely imagined... something. Quite the camouflage artist was Mordant.
It was our intention to try and get the hell out of Wuin while the getting was
good. The land certainly had nothing more to offer me, and it was just a matter
of time before our luck ran out and someone recognized me as the pillager and
plunderer of helpless cities all up and down Wuin... to say nothing of my
concerted campaign against the Thirty-Nine Steppes. Nor did Sharee have any
particular interest in staying. As a weatherweaver, she tended to have more luck
with her spells in a clime that wasn't as relentlessly arid. And Mordant hadn't
stated any preference one way or the other.
We wound up at a busy pub in the heart of Port Debras. We'd learned that it was
an excellent place to find ships and ship captains with whom we could book
passage. We were not exactly destitute. I had reluctantly left behind a small
fortune in gems, but I'd had access to a significant number of dead bodies
(which we'd dutifully torched) before setting out on our expedition, and I'd
taken the liberty of relieving quite a few of them of whatever monies they had
upon them. Sharee had stood there and scowled as I did so, but hadn't commented
beyond that, which I took to be a reluctant but mute admission that we might as
well take their valuables since they weren't going to be doing much of anything
with them.
Once at the pub, and after having tied the horse off at a hitching post, Sharee
and I went in two different directions, asking around, seeing what we could
find. Fortunately, I was, and am, a reasonably good judge of character. I was
certain that at least two of the men I spoke to were actually of a most
villainous nature, who would have been quite pleased to take us as passengers
and, during the night, relieve us of our valuables and our lives before tossing