"Troy Denning - Forgotten Realms - Empires Trilogy 02 - Dragonwall" - читать интересную книгу автора (Denning Troy)

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 Respectfully dedicated to Mr. Dallas,
and to all educators who care enough to make a difference.
Acknowledgements

Without the support of many close friends, writing this book might well have proven to be a task beyond
me. I would like to thank Jon Pickens and David "Zeb" Cook for granting access to their extensive libraries;
Jim Ward for his wonderful suggestions and comments; Jim Lowder for his insight and diligence; Curtis
Smith for advice on things oriental; Lloyd Holden of AFK Martial Arts in Janesville, WI for his expertise;
and most especially Andria Hayday, for her gentle critiques, constant support, and unending patience.
 1
The Minister's Plan
The barbarian stood in his stirrups, nocking an arrow in his horn-and-wood bow. He was husky, with
bandy legs well suited to clenching the sides of his horse. For armor, he wore only a greasy hauberk and a
conical skullcap trimmed with matted fur. His dark, slitlike eyes sat over broad cheekbones. At the bottom
of a flat nose, the rider's black mustache drooped over a frown that was both hungry and brutal. He
breathed in shallow hisses timed to match the drumming of his mount's hooves.
As he studied the horsewarrior's visage, a sense of eager-ness came over General Batu Min Ho. The
general stood in his superior's roomy pavilion, over a mile away from the rider. Along with his commander,
a sorcerer, and two of his peers, Batu was studying the enemy in a magic scrying ba-sin. Physically, the
barbarian looked no different from the thieving marauders who sporadically raided the general's home
province, Chukei. Yet, there was a certain brutal disci-pline that branded the man a true soldier. At last,
after twenty years of chasing down bands of nomad raiders, Batu knew he was about to fight a real war.
Batu forced himself to ignore his growing exhilaration and concentrate on the task at hand. Staring into
the scry-ing basin, he felt as though he were looking into a mirror. Aside from the barbarian's heavy-boned
stature and coarse mustache, the general and the rider might have been broth-ers. Like the horseman, Batu
had dark eyes set wide over broad cheeks, a flat nose with flaring nostrils, and a powerful build. The pair
was even dressed similarly, save that the general's chia, a long coat of rhinoceros-hide armor, was
no-where near as filthy as the rider's hauberk.
"So, our enemies are not blood-drinking devils, as the peasants would have us believe." The speaker was
Kwan Chan Sen, Shou Lung's Minister of War, Third-Degree Gen-eral, and Batu's immediate commander.
An ancient man with skin as shriveled as a raisin's, Kwan wore his long white hair gathered into a warrior's
topknot. A thin blue film dulled his black eyes, though the haze seemed to cause him no trouble seeing.
By personally taking the field against the barbarians, the old man had astonished his subordinates,
including Batu. Kwan was rumored to be one hundred years old, and he looked every bit of his age.
Nevertheless, he seemed re-markably robust and showed no sign of fatigue from the hardships of the trail.
Resting his milky eyes on Batu's face, the minister contin-ued. "If we may judge by the enemy's
semblance to General Batu, they are nothing but mortal men."
Batu frowned, uncertain as to whether the comment was a slight to his heritage or just an observation.
An instant later, he decided the minister's intent did not matter.
Settling back into his chair, Kwan waved a liver-spotted hand at the basin. "We've seen enough of these
thieves," he said, addressing his wu jen, the arrogant sorcerer who had not even bothered to introduce
himself to Batu or the oth-ers. "Take it away."
As the wu jen reached for the bowl, Batu held out his hand. "Not yet, if it pleases the minister," he said,
politely bowing to Kwan.
Batu's fellow commanders gave him a sidelong glance. He knew the other men only by the armies they
commandedтАФShengti and Ching TungтАФbut they made it clear that they felt it was not Batu's place to