"Dragonlance - Kang's Regiment 01 - The Doom Brigade - Margaret Weis & Don Perrin" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragonlance)

Draconians were dashing past, pulling on armor and hoisting weapons and heading to their assigned defense posts around the walled village. A sheep, separated from the herd and bleating in panicked terror, trotted past.
"Yes, sir. They're hitting us from the north."
Kang ran for the northern side of the wallЧa wall in which he took inordinate pride. Made of stone that had been blasted by magic from the side of Mount Celebund, the wall had been built by Kang's troopsЧthe former First Dragonarmy Engineering Brigade. The wall surrounded the draconians' village, kept the marauding dwarves out and the sheep in. At least, that's how it was supposed to work.
Somehow or other, the sheep kept disappearing. When that happened, Kang could often smell the savory scent of roast mutton, born on the night breeze, wafting from the direction of the hill dwarf settlement on the opposite side of the valley.
Reaching the wall, Kang clambered up the stairs, his clawed feet scrabbling on the stone, and took his place on the battlements. It was that smudgy time of morning, not dark, not light. Kang spotted the hill dwarves running across the open ground, heading for the north face of the village wall, but it was difficult to count their numbers in the half-light. The lead runners carried ladders and ropes, ready to scale the walls. The draconians manned the walls, swords and clubs drawn, waiting to knock some hill dwarf heads.
"You know my orders!" Kang shouted, drawing his sword. "Flat of the blades only! Make sure any magic you Bozaks use is harmless, just enough to throw a scare into them."
The draconians around Kang all "Yes, sirred," but it seemed to him that their voices were distinctly lacking in enthusiasm. The dwarves had reached the bottom of the wall and were flinging up their grappling hooks and
hoisting their ladders. Kang was leaning over the wall, preparing to fend off a ladder, when he was distracted from the coming battle by the sound of a commotion much farther down the wall to his right.
Thinking that this frontal assault might have been meant as a distraction and that the first wave was already over the walls, Rang left Slith in command and dashed in the new direction. He found Gloth, one of his troop commanders, shouting in loud/ angry tones.
A draconian was holding a crossbow, aiming it, ready to fire it at the dwarves.
"What in the Dark Queen's name do you think you're doing, soldier?" Gloth was yelling. "Put that bow down! You know the commander's orders."
"I know 'em, but I don't like 'em!" the draconian snarled sullenly, keeping hold of the crossbow.
Kang could have charged in, thrown his weight around, brought the situation under control. He restrained himself, however, waited to see how his troop commander handled the situation.
"You don't like mem, sir!" Gloth repeated.
From the north came shouts and howls and yells. The draconians, armed with sticks, were shoving the ladders, filled with dwarves, away from the walls. Gloth eyed the mutinous soldier grimly, and Kang waited tensely for his troop commander to lose control and start bashing heads together. That's what Gloth would have done in the old days.
But the draconian officer was evidently developing subtlety.
"Look, Rorc, you know we can't use crossbows, and you know why we can't use them. Do I have to go over this again?" Gloth raised his hand, pointed. "Now, take that dwarf right there, for instance. Sure, he's an ugly bastard, what with all that hair on his face and that potbelly and those little sfubby legs. But maybe, just maybe, Rorc, that mere dwarf is the very dwarfЧmaybe the only dwarfЧwho knows the recipe for dwarf spirits. You shoot him, Rorc, and, yes, you send another god-cursed dwarf back to Reorx, but what happens the next time we raid their village? We find a sign on the distillery saying 'Owner deceased. Out of business.' And where does that leave us, Rorc?"
Rorc glowered but did not respond.
"I'll tell you where that leaves us," Gloth continued solemnly. "Thirsty, that's what. So you just put down that bow and pick up your club like a good draco, and I won't say nothing about this breach of orders to the commander/'
Rorc hesitated, but finally threw down the crossbow. Picking up his club, he leaned over the wall, prepared to beat off the assault. Gloth grabbed the crossbow and marched off with it. Kang beat a hasty retreat to his command post.
It was a shame he'd have to pretend he hadn't seen any of this. He would have liked to have given Gloth well-deserved praise for his deft handling of what could have turned into an ugly situation.
Kang couldn't really blame the soldier. It was frustrating as hell having to put up with these annoying dwarven raids, when back in the old days the draconians would have just swooped down on the dwarves, killed them, and leveled their little village.
But the old days were gone, as Kang was constantly working to make his draconians understand.
Returning to his position, Kang surveyed the field of battle. The dwarven ladder bearers had planted their ladders, the dwarves were climbing up them. The draconians successfully pushed away four of the ladders over, but several dwarves scrambled over the remaining two ladders, dubs and fists swinging.
The dwarves were a tough target for the draconians to hit. Standing about four and a half feet tall, the dwarves ducked under the legs of the seven-foot tall draconians,
whose chibs and sword blades generally whistled right over the dwarves' heads.
Kang spotted six dwarves, who darted and weaved and jumped, eluding all attempts by the draconians to stop them. The dwarves leapt off the wall and disappeared inside the draconian village.
Kang swore.
"Damn! Slith, take the First Squadron and go after them. We've only got ten head of sheep left. I can't afford to lose any of them. Go!"
"First Troop, follow me!" Slith yelled over the din.
The draconians had pushed off the remaining two ladders, but the dwarves pnihe outside were keeping up a steady assault, hurling rocks and mud. The draconian next to Kang slumped to his knees, then pitched face first into the dirt. Kang rolled the draconian over to find him still breathing but with a large bump rising on his forehead. A clay brick, cracked in half, lay next to him. Kang left the unconscious soldier and descended the battlements. He went to find the Support Troop.
The draconians had maintained their military ranks and organization over the years, though there had really been no need for mem to do so. They had long ago left the army. But the discipline of the military unit worked well in times of emergency, such as mis. Everyone knew what to do and who to follow.
The Support Troop supplied the rest of the brigade (now only two hundred draconians strong), providing food, clothing, armor, weapons, and tools. During the raids, the Support Troop served as the reserve army. Rog, the commander in charge of Support, saluted as Kang approached.
"We're ready when you are, sir!" Rog announced.
"Good! Lef s go!" Kang responded and set the example by sheathing his sword.
With a yell, the forty draconians, each armed with a club and a shield, broke into a jog, heading for the gate.
The draconians manning the gate saw the Support Troop coming, flung wide the wooden doors.
On the other side of the gate, the dwarves, seeing their chance, made a rush on the opened portal. Kang and his Support Troop charged through the gate. Swinging clubs and fists, they surged headlong into the attacking dwarves.
The battle was brief. Several dwarves fell, their heads cracked by club or fist. Lightning crackled, a few Bozaks were using their magic. Mindful of their commander's order, they made certain that all it did was singe a few beards and set one dwarf's pants ablaze. After five of their number had either fallen or were smoldering, the hill dwarves withdrew, pulling back their forces into the sparse woods surrounding the village. The occasional projectile weapon whistled through the air or, in some instances, plopped.
Kang was just turning to assess the situation when he was struck on the snout by a rotten egg. The eggshell broke, the stinking yolk dribbled into his mouth and down his jaws. His stomach heaved at the foul smell and worse taste. He gagged and retched. He would have almost preferred an arrow in the gut.
Wiping the putrid missile from his face, Kang called for his forces to retreat. He heard his command, given in draconian, repeated in dwarven, shouted by the commander of the hill dwarves. The dwarves ran off, leaving their wounded on the field. Their wives would be around to collect them in the morning.
The draconians on the wall let out a victory yell. Once again they had pushed back the dwarves. Kang shook his head glumly. Six dwarves had made it through, however. He could only imagine what mischief they'd managed to do before being cornered. Kang ordered his men inside, and the gates closed.
Slith was waiting for him.
"Well?" Kang asked. "Did you catch them?"
Slith saluted. "Sir, we clobbered two of them, but at least four got away, and four of the sheep are missing."
Kang kicked the dirt with a clawed foot, sending up a cloud of dust in his frustration. "Damn! And nobody saw a thing? What did the sheep do, sprout wings and fly off with the dwarves on their backs?"
Slith could only shrug. "Sorry, sir. It was all pretty confused..."
"Yes, yes, I know," Kang sucked in a breath, tried to calm himself. "Hand me a rag to clean this filth off, will you? Deal with the wounded, then assemble the troops in one hour in the compound. I want to talk to them before it gets too hot"
Slith laid a conciliatory claw on Kang's scaled arm. "The boys are having a rough time of it now, sir. But we're still all behind you. Every one of us."
Kang nodded wordlessly, and Slith went off to carry out his orders. He and his soldiers hauled the unconscious dwarves outside the gate and left them there. By the next day, they would be gone. They would either wake up and stumble home, or their families would haul mem off the following day.