"David Eddings - Malloreon 3 Demon Lord of Karanda" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

slush-covered deck, heedless of his highly polished boots.
"Good morning, gentlemen," he greeted them with a stiff,
military bow. "I trust you slept well?"
"Tolerably," Silk replied.
"It seems to be snowing," the general said, looking about
and speaking in the tone of one making small talk for the sake
of courtesy.
"I noticed that," Silk said. "How long is it likely to
take us to reach Rak Hagga?"
" A few more hours to reach the coast, your Highness, and
then a two-day ride to the city."
Silk nodded. "Have you any idea why your Emperor wants to
see us?" he asked.
"He didn't say," Atesca answered shortly, "and I didn't
think it appropriate to ask. He merely told me to apprehend
you and to bring you to him at Rak Hagga. You are all to be
treated with utmost courtesy as long as you don't try to
escape. If you do that, his Imperial Majesty instructed me to
be more firm." His tone as he spoke was neutral, and his face
remained expressionless. "I hope you gentlemen will excuse me
now," he, said. "I have some matters that need my attention."
He bowed curtly, turned, and left them.
"He's a gold mine of information, isn't he?" Silk noted
dryly. " Most Melcenes love to gossip, but you've got to pry
every word out of this one."
"Melcene?" Garion said. "I didn't know that."
Silk nodded. " Atesca's a Melcene name. Kal Zakath has
some peculiar ideas about the aristocracy of talent. Angarak
officers don't like the idea, but there's not too much they
can do about it -if they want to keep their heads."
Garion was not really that curious about the intricacies
of Mallorean politics, so he let the matter drop, to return to
the subject they had been discussing previously. "I'm not
quite clear about what you were saying, Grandfather, " he
said, "about our going to Rak Hagga, I mean."
"Cyradis believes that she has a choice to make," the old
man replied," and there are certain conditions that have to be
met before she can make it. I've got a suspicion that your
meeting with Zakath might be one of those conditions."
"You don't actually believe her, do you?"
"I've seen stranger things happen and I always walk very
softly around the Seers of Kell."
"I haven't seen anything about a meeting of that kind in
the Mrin Codex."
" Neither have I, but there are more things in the world
than the Mrin Codex. You've got to keep in mind the fact that
Cyradis is drawing on the prophecies of both sides, and if the
prophecies are equal, they have equal truth. Not only that,
Cyradis is probably drawing on some prophecies that only the
Seers know about. Wherever this list of preconditions came