"02 - Faery Lands Forlorn 1.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Duncan Dave)

lot of those stories that Andor told you were really of the others. We share
memories, remember."
Rap growled angrily at the thought of Andor and his lies. "They ... we ... can't
help it," Thinal said, whining as he did if Rap so much as frowned at him. "I
mean ... Well, he remembers Sagorn being here, so when he talks about it, he
would say it was him. " He fell silent for a while, then added, "It doesn't make
any difference, really. "
It did make a sort of sense, though. Sagorn had spent a lifetime in search of
magic, seeking to understand the workings of the words of power. If Faerie had a
reputation for being somehow uncanny, then he might very well have decided to
visit it. "How far is Faerie from Zark?"
Silence.
"Thinal," Rap said gently, "I'm not going to bite you. I won't even shout. But I
do need your help! You know so much more than I do."
Thinal was flattered. "Well ... Faerie's 'way west. Krasnegar's north. And
Zark's east ... and south, I think. "
After a minute he whimpered, "Sorry, Rap."
"Not your fault. We didn't have much choice, anyway, did we?"
"But I should have known. Where Inos went there was daylight, wasn't there? And
here was still dark. So she went east and we went west. "
"Huh?" Rap was only an ignorant clerk, a glorified stableboy. He wondered if
Thinal could read and write, and reminded himself that there was probably more
to the little thief than he showed, or perhaps believed himself. His despicable
whimpering was pure habit, part of his professional expertise.
"Pandemia's very big, see?" Thinal sighed. "Dawn doesn't come at the same time
everywhere. Must get to Zark long before it gets to Faerie. "
Much worse! So the problem was not just how to find Inos and help her. The
problem was how to get to Zark, and then find Inos and help her. So now there
was no great urgency, and Rap was furious to discover that just knowing that
made him feel much sleepier. Waves fell and rushed up the gleaming sand and died
with a tiny hiss. Then the next ... It was hypnotic, soporific.
"But why would Bright Water have brought me here?" he demanded.
But it had been Little Chicken the goblin witch had rescued; Thinal and Rap had
merely come along for the ride.
"How should I know?" Thinal sniffed. "I'm dumb, Rap. Just a dumb cutpurse. A
city slicker, an alley thief ... useless in the wilds. You wanna talk smart
stuff, I'll call Sagorn."
"No, don't! I don't trust Sagorn."
The surprise of Thinal's face was visible even to mundane vision now-a
nondescript imp face, young and unpleasantly spotted with acne; a pinched face;
ratty and worried. His ribs stuck out. He was skinny as a ferret, but what would
a professional thief know of honest labor? He was as puny beside Rap as Rap was
beside the husky goblin.
"You can trust Sagorn! The king told Inos that. Andor's a twister, and Darad
would tear you apart. But Sagorn has honor. "
"No!" Rap shouted. Lack of sleep was making him shorttempered, and that sudden
insight made him angrier still. He lowered his voice. "Maybe the king could
trust Sagorn. They were old friends. Maybe Sagorn wouldn't cheat Inos, for her
father's sake-but he's got no scruples about me. "
Thinal mused for a moment. "No, he hasn't. Sorry, Rap. I didn't think. I'm a