"Books - David Eddings - Belgarath the Sorcerer" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

Belsambar, suggested something so horrible that we were all taken
aback.

"Belmakor," he said in that self-effacing tone of his, "do you think
you can really devise something that would throw things long
distances?"

"Of course, old boy," Belmakor replied confidently.

"Why should we throw things at the walls, then? We have no quarrel
with the walls. Our quarrel's with Torak. I'm an Angarak, and I know
the mind of Torak better than any of the rest of you. He encourages
his Grolims to sacrifice people because it's a sign that they love him
more than they love their fellow man. The more the victim on the altar
suffers, the greater he views it as a demonstration of love for him.
It's the specific, individualized pain of the sacrificial victim that
satisfies him. We can hurt him best if we make the pain general."

"Exactly what did you have in mind, brother?" Belmakor asked him with
a puzzled look.

"Fire," Belsambar told him with dreadful simplicity.

"Pitch burns, and so does naphtha. Why should we waste our time and
the lives of our soldiers attacking walls? Use your excellent engines
to loft liquid fire over the walls and into the cities. Trapped by
their own walls, the Angaraks will be burned alive, and there won't be
any need for us even to enter their cities, will there?"

"Belsambar!" Beltira gasped.

"That's horrible!"

"Yes," Belsambar admitted, "but as I said, I know the mind of Torak.

He fears fire. The Gods can see the future, and Torak sees fire in
his.

Nothing we could do would cause him more pain. And isn't that our
purpose?"

In the light of what happened later, Belsambar was totally correct,
though how he knew is beyond explanation. Torak did fear fire--and
with very good reason.

Although Belsambar's suggestion was eminently practical, we all tried
to avoid it. Belmakor and Beldin went into an absolute frenzy of
creativity, and the twins no less so. They experimented with weather.
They spun hurricanes and tornadoes out of clear blue skies, hoping
thereby to blow down the Angarak cities and towns. I concentrated my