"David Eddings - The Dreamers 01 - The Elder gods" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

quite well - except that it took the creature two days to finish dying. Then
I pulled it up out of the pit and boiled all the meat off its bones so that we
might better see its peculiarities.тАЩ One-Who-Heals shrugged. тАШAfter weтАЩve
learned what we need to know, you might want to take the skull to Misty-
WaterтАЩs grave as a gift to her spirit.тАЩ
LongbowтАЩs eyes, which had seemed almost dead, suddenly brightened.
тАШThat might please her spirit,тАЩ he conceded, тАШand more of these heads
might please her spirit even more.тАЩ
тАШItтАЩs quite possible, my son,тАЩ Old-Bear agreed.
тАШNow, then,тАЩ the shaman said, picking up the skull, тАШnotice that this
creatureтАЩs fangs are folded back to keep them concealed -much in the
same way that the fangs of a venomous snakes are hidden. The fangs
spring forward when the creature strikes. This is how it hides its weapons
until it attacks.тАЩ He set the skull aside and picked up the bones of one of
the creatureтАЩs arms. тАШAs you can see, the creature has sharp spines along
the outer sides of its arm from the wrist to the elbow. The spines are
much like the stings of wasps or hornets. The spines, like the fangs, are
venomous, and they also remain out of sight until the creature wishes to
attack. Then they spring forward. Be wary when you approach one of
these creatures, Longbow, for they can move very fast. That-Called-the-
Vlagh has made a very effective killer, but it has to be close to kill. It
cannot kill from any great distance.тАЩ
тАШThatтАЩs a useful thing to know,тАЩ Longbow said, his voice coming to life
now. тАШDoes this venom cause pain?тАЩ
One-Who-Heals nodded. тАШUnbearable pain, I think.тАЩ
тАШAnd is it even able to kill creatures of its own kind?тАЩ Longbow
pressed.
тАШIтАЩm certain that it can.тАЩ
тАШThen if I were to smear the venom of one of them on the point of my
arrow, it would carry pain and death to any other one I happened to meet,
wouldnтАЩt it?тАЩ
One-Who-Heals blinked. тАШWhy would you need to do that? IтАЩve been
told that you donтАЩt know how to miss when you shoot one of your
arrows.тАЩ
тАШThe creatures of the Wasteland have caused me much pain, and I think
I owe them a great deal of pain in return. An honest man always pays
what he owes.тАЩ
тАШBe careful, Longbow,тАЩ the shaman cautioned. тАШThese creatures hunt
by concealing themselves, and they strike only when their intended prey
is close.тАЩ
тАШIтАЩm a hunter, One-Who-Heals,тАЩ Longbow reminded the shaman.
тАШNothing in the forest can hide itself from me. The servants of That-
Called-the-Vlagh have been sent into our lands because the Vlagh
hungers for information. I think it will be my lifelong task to make certain
that the VlaghтАЩs hunger remains unsatisfied, for I will kill all the servants
it sends here and deliver their heads to Misty-WaterтАЩs grave as gifts to her
spirit as a sign that I love her still.тАЩ
тАШAnd will you now go to the hunt, my son?тАЩ Chief Old-Bear asked.
тАШIf it pleases you, my father.тАЩ
тАШIt pleases me very much, Longbow.тАЩ