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

Auger copied this in a small bound book. Auger's mother, one of the Thane's scribes, had taught her son to read and write, skills Selquist found to be highly useful. Selquist could read, if he had to, but why bother when there was someone else to do it for you? He had never learned to write. He had better things to do with his hands, such as picking locks or pockets.
"We leave a week from tomorrow night," Selquist continued. He liked to have his plans in writing. Not that he ever forgot what he was doing, but it was pleasant to sit by the fire on winter evenings and hear Auger read the tale of their adventures together. "It will be quietЧthere's no raid plannedЧand there will be two full moons, making it easy to travel. We can cross Mount Celebund and be halfway to the South Gate by morning, The next day, we'll complete the journey and enter Thor-bardin."
Auger copied this down.
Selquist yawned, stretched, and stood up. "Time for bed, Auger. We'll continue tomorrow."
"Uh, Selquist." Reading back over his notes, Auger discovered a serious flaw in the plan. "How are we going to get into Thorbardin? I thought that the Hilar wouldn't let us Neidar inside."
Selquist patted his friend on the back. "You leave that to me. I have a way in."
"Selquist," said Auger, after a moment's hesitation, "aren't you worried about being Cast Out? I can't think of anything more terrible."
Selquist's heart did give a little flutter and an uncomfortable thump at the thought. He could not let his friend see him afraid, however.
"On the contrary," Selquist said lightly. "I'd welcome it. You don't mink I plan to spend the rest of my life in this sleepy old village, do you? Why, they'd be doing me a favor. I'd go off and become a hero like that other dwarf who was Cast Out of his clan. What was his name?..."
"Flint Fireforge," said Auger, impressed. "You'd help save the world like Flint Fireforge did during the War of the Lance?"
"I might not save the world," Selquist conceded. "But at least I could rescue a few valuables. Now get some sleep. We did a lot of work today."
Auger did as he was told. But he paused on the way to his bedroom, sniffed the air. "I smell roast lamb," he said wistfully.
"Get over it," Selquist advised.
On his way to bed, he put his hand into his pocket and felt the medallion, which he'd thrust in there, then forgotten. He pulled it out, regarded it with a certain amount of unease.
No one had ever threatened to have him Cast Out before now. Perhaps the Dark Queen ...
"Oh, don't be silly!" Selquist admonished himself and thrust the medallion back into his pocket.
It had to be worth at least five steel, easy.

Chapter Five


Eight days after the dwarven raid on the draconian village, Kang entered the command post's conference room. The six officers of his brigade were inside, ready and waiting.
These included the First, Second, and Support Squadron commanders, as well as- his chief engineer, chief supply officer, and Slith, his second. They sat around a central tableЧa large table, made of wood, finely crafted and polishedЧa prize stolen early on from the dwarves. It had taken quite a bit of skill and muscle to haul the table through the valley, but the draconians had accomplished it. They had been young back then.
Now, just looking at the massive table made Kang's back ache.
"Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you for coming. As you know, we're on the verge of a crisis situation. Our supply of dwarf spirits is running low. By the quartermaster's calculation, we have only enough for tomorrow's ration. It's time we paid the dwarves a visit. I've been talking with the chief engineer, and tonight appears to be an ideal night for our raid on Celebundin. I'll let the chief engineer elaborate."
Fulkth, the chief engineer, spoke up. "Sir, we're expecting two full moons tonight. That will make it easier for us to navigate. We haven't had an opportunity like this for the past three years."
"That was the time we stole their ox-cart and loaded it with so much ale and dwarf spirits that we almost didn't make it back home," Slith recalled. "We cleaned 'em right out! Remember the party afterward? Dark Queen alive, but that was something special!"
The other draconians began to jabber. Kang rapped his knuckles on the table, reminded them of their duty. They fell silent, gave him their full attention.
"We have work to do," he told them sternly. "If we reminisce all day, we'll be here until nightfall and miss the raid. Does anyone have any problems with going tonight?"
No one did. All of them were grinning eagerly at the prospect.
"Very well, then. We'll get down to the specifics. The First Squadron has gone on the last two raidsЧ"
"Damned right, sir! We're the best at it!" Gtoth said, poking the leader of Second Squadron, who looked glum, in the ribs.
"Yes, as I was saying"ЧKang glowered at them, bringing them once again to orderЧ"I think that the Second Squadron should take the lead in this raid. First Squadron will be held in reserve, ready to respond if something goes wrong."
Now it was Cloth's turn to look dejected. He scraped his claws across the wood, bringing a sharp reprimand fromSHm.
"Look at the marks you've made! Keep doing that and we won't have any table left!"
"Sorry, sir," Gloth muttered.
Kang continued. "This time we'll take our own wagon. We'll stash it behind the stand of trees to the south of Celebundin. Yethik, can you have your supply boys ready to move before sundown?"
Yethik nodded. He was the chief supply officer, and his job was to quartermaster air of the goods and keep the food stored. He was in charge of the wagons and the oxen needed to pull them.
"Right, then," Kang said. "Be ready in eight hours. Second Squadron will move out one hour after sundown, and the First will move out half an hour after them. Support Squadron will man the battlements for the duration. That is all."
The officers stood, saluted, and marched out of the room, hastening to their other duties besides raiding.
First Squadron provided the maintenance of the village, from the upkeep of buildings to the sweeping of the dirt streets. Second Squadron was responsible for the meatЧall livestock, including chickens and sheep. The df aconians' creators had certainly never intended them for shepherds, but Kang's troop had proved fairly good at it. Support Squadron was responsible for farming; a disheartening task, one no one liked. But grain was necessary to keep the livestock fed, and bread was needed to supplement their meager diet of meat. All agreed, though, that it was a lot easier to steal food man to grow it.
The rest of the draconians were organized into a Headquarters Troop. These included Kang and Slith, all of the specialists such as Fulkth, Yethik and his supply soldiers, and a section of Baaz who were trained as cartographers.
Kang marched down the hallway back to his own quarters. He was in a good mood today. He always enjoyed this time, just before a raid. It took him back to the old daysЧback when being a soldier meant something, back when he could feel proud to command combat troops.
Certainly he was proud of the accomplishments he and his draconians had achieved in their village, but it wasn't the same. Being able to feed his draconians another day didn't offer the same thrill as charging headlong into a pack of elves, slicing their pointy-eared heads from their skinny little shoulders. If it weren't for the dwarves, the draconians would have had no excitement at all.
In fact, Kang was forced to grudgingly admit, if it weren't for the dwarves, the draconians could not have survived this long. Not only did the dwarves provide much-needed food, they served as an outlet for the draconians' inborn aggression. The potent drink known as dwarf spirits, which was said to be made from some sort of fermented fungus, brightenedЧ-at least temporarilyЧ the bleakness and emptiness of the draconians' daily lives. If it weren't for the dwarves, the draconians would have torn each other apart years ago.
Kang was feeling almost brotherly toward his be-whiskered adversaries.
Opening the footlocker at the end of his bed, he took out his battle harness, checked all of the buckles and straps. Next, he drew his sword from its sheath and examined the blade. No rust was ever allowed to taint the blade, but a few dents had pocked its cutting edge years ago.
Each The draconians always went into the raids hoping for the best but prepared for the worst. They fought with wooden practice swords, but they carried steel. If the raid ever turned ugly, they would have to escape fighting.
Kang returned the whetstone to the locker and put on his harness. He strapped the sword's sheath to the harness and inserted the sword into the sheath. Weapons ready, he removed a felt bag from the locker and carefully poured out its contents on the floor. These included a candle, a small pot of a gray powder, and a holy symbol of the Dark Queen.

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