"Elenium 02 - The Ruby Knight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

cloaks, since formal armour attracts attention out in
the countryside. Their armour, however, was carefully
stowed in packs on the string of a half-dozen horses
Kurik would lead. They mounted, and the armoured
men formed up around them. Olven made a signal to the
men at the windlass that raised and lowered the drawbridge,
and the men slipped the rachets, allowing the
windlass to run freely. There was a noisy rattle of chain,
and the drawbridge dropped with a huge boom. Olven
was galloping across it almost before it hit the far side of
the fosse.
The dense fog helped enormously. As soon as he had
galloped across the bridge, Olven cut sharply to the left,
leading the column across the open field towards the
Demos road. Behind them, Sparhawk could hear startled
shouts as the church soldiers ran out of their tents to stare
after the column in chagrin.
'Slick,' Kalten said gaily. 'Across the drawbridge and
into the fog in under a minute.'
'Olven knows what he's doing,' Sparhawk said, 'and
what's even better is that it's going to be at least an hour
before the soldiers can mount any kind of pursuit.'
"Give me an hour's head start, and they'll never catch
me,' Kalten laughed delightedly. 'This is starting out
very well, Sparhawk.'
'Enjoy it while you can. Things will probably start to go
wrong later on.'
'You're a pessimist, do you know that?'
'No. I'm just used to little disappointments.'
They slowed to a canter when they reached the Demos
road. Olven was a veteran, and he always tried to
conserve his horses. Speed might be necessary later, and
Sir Olven took very few chances.
A full moon hung above the fog, and it made the thick
mist deceptively luminous. The glowing white fog
Page 19
Eddings, David - Elenium 2 - The Ruby Knight.txt
around them confused the eye and concealed far more
than it iluminated. There was a chil dampness in the air,
and Sparhawk pulled his cloak about him as he rode.
The Demos road swung north towards the city of
Lenda before turning south-easterly again to Demos,
where the Pandion Mother-house was located. Although
he could not see it, Sparhawk knew that the countryside
along the road was gently rolling and that there were
large patches of trees out there. He was counting on
those trees for concealment once he and his friends left
the column.
They rode on. The fog had dampened the dirt surface
of the road, and the sound of their horses' hooves was