"Dragonlance - Preludes 2 Vol 2 - Flint The King" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragonlance) most black, towered over the forest floor-. Huge, musty
oaks, draped with thick vines and feathery moss, and even an occasional looming vallenwood trunk that rose to disap- pear among the foliage, prevented a single sunbeam from reaching the ground. The forest was not huge, but Flint knew that it sheltered a number of dangerous denizens. Some years earlier, a small party of mercenaries had entered Solace bearing an unusual trophy - the head of a troll slain in these woods. Bands of hobgoblins and worse reputedly still dwelled among the an- cient trunks of Darken Wood. The feeling of potential danger brought Flint a keen sense of awareness even as his mind wandered. The narrow trail twisted among the tree trunks, enveloped by ferns and great, moist growths of mushrooms and other fungus. The scent of warm earth, heavy with decay, overwhelmed the dwarf with a thick, cloying presence. Flint did not find the odor unpleasant. Indeed, after his long residence among humans, not to mention the constant presence of kender, elves, and other races, this dominance of nature refreshed his spirit and lightened his step. There was something joyful in this solitude, in this pastoral adven- ture, that brought a forgotten delight to Flint's soul. For many hours he made slow progress, not from any within him. His hand stroked the smooth, worn haft of his axe. Absently, his ears and eyes probed the woods, alert, al- most hoping for a sign of trouble. The trail forked and he paused, stark still for a moment, listening, thinking. He sensed the earth, the twists and turns in the surrounding land - as only dwarves could - through his thick-soled boots. Soon he learned what he needed to know, and he chose a direction. Toward the south for a while. Flint followed no map and needed no compass to maintain the route he had selected. It would lead him the length of the woods, and avoid both the lands of the Qualinesti elves to the south, and the seeker- ruled city of Haven to the northwest. The seekers, he thought with a mental grimace, I would walk to the ends of the earth to avoid. Those pesky "prophets" had made life in Solace unpleasant enough. But in Haven - the city that was their capitol and the center of their arrogant worship - their presence was sure to be un- bearable. The region of Qualinesti was different, though. Flint had actually entertained thoughts of going there, into that nest of elves, to see his old - and unlikely - friend, the Speaker of the Suns. Flint remembered fondly the time he had spent in Qualinost some years back. He was still one of the few |
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