"Eddings, David - Malloreon 02 - King Of The Murgos" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

weakly clung to life. Prince Kheldar arrived and was able to identify the comatose
assassin as a member of the Bear-cult. New evidence revealed that the cult was
massing an army at Rheon in Drasnia and was building a fleet at Jarviksholm on the
coast of Cherek.
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EDDINGS, David - Malloreon 2 - King of the Murgos.txt
Now King Belgarion declared war upon the Bear-cult. Upon the advice of the other
Alorn monarchs, he moved first against the shipyards at Jarviksholm to prevent the
threat of a hostile fleet in the Sea of the Winds. His attack was quick and savage.
Jarviksholm was razed to the ground, and the half-built fleet was burned before a
single keel touched water.
But victory turned to ashes when a message from Riva reached him. His infant son had
been abducted.
Belgarion, Belgarath, and Polgara turned themselves into
DAVID EDDINGS 5
birds by sorcery and flew back to Riva in a single day. The city of Riva had already
been searched house by house. But with the aid of the Orb, Belgarion was able to
follow the trail of the abductors to the west coast of the Isle. There they came
upon a band of Cherek cultists and fell upon them. One survived, and Polgara forced
him to speak. He declared that the child had been stolen on the orders of Ulfgar,
leader of the Bear-cult, whose headquarters were at Rheon in eastern Drasnia. Before
Polgara could wrest further information from him, however, the cultist leaped from
the top of the cliff upon which they stood and dashed himself to death on the rocks
below.
Now the war turned to Rheon. Belgarion found his troops badly outnumbered and an
ambush awaiting his advance toward the city. He was facing defeat when Prince
Kheldar arrived with a force of Nadrak mercenaries to turn the tide of battle.
Reinforced by the Nadraks, the Rivans besieged the city of Rheon.
Belgarion and Durnik combined their wills to weaken the wails of the city until the
siege engines of Baron Mandorallen could bring them down. The Rivans and Nadraks
poured into the city, led by Belgarion. The battle inside was savage, but the
cultists were driven back and most of them were slaughtered. Then Belgarion and
Durnik captured the cult leader, Ulfgar.
Though Belgarion had already learned that his son was not within the city, he hoped
that close questioning might drag the child's whereabouts from Ulfgar. The cult
leader stubbornly refused to answer; then, surprisingly, Errand drew the information
directly from Ulfgar's mind.
While it became clear that Ulfgar had been responsible for the attempt on Ce'Nedra's
life, he had played no part in the theft of the child. Indeed, his chief goal had
been the death of Beigarion's son, preferably before its birth. He obviously knew
nothing of the abduction, which did not at all suit his purpose.
Then the sorcerer Beldin joined them. He quickly recognized Ulfgar as Harakan, an
underling of Torak's last living disciple Urvon. Harakan suddenly vanished, and
Beldin sped in pursuit.
Messengers now arrived from Riva. Investigations following Beigarion's departure had
discovered a shepherd in the hills who had seen a figure carrying what might have
been
6 KING OF THE MURGOS
a baby embark upon a ship of Nyissan design and sail southward.
Then Cyradis, a Seeress of Kell, sent a projection of herself to tell them more. The