"Raymond E. Feist - Riftwar Legends - Honoured Enemy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Feist Raymond E)

If we and the Tsurani were fighting a battle here, Dennis thought, both sides would most likely be
rushing up reinforcements even now. They'd reach the clearing and stop, the same way we did.
Dennis wondered if at this very second there were other eyes, Tsurani eyes, gazing at the fort and
wondering what to do next. Curiosity, however, would lead most finally to venture in. Once out in
the open the trap would be sprung. He realized with a cold certainty that the moredhel heading up
the trail to Mad Wayne's were not a force heading out on an additional raid, or fleeing. They were
an anvil, waiting for the trap to be sprung and for those fleeing the trap to run straight into
them. It could be that they were less than a couple of hundred yards off, and no more than a
quarter of a mile. As certain as he was of anything, Dennis knew that he was being watched by
moredhel scouts. If they hadn't seen Tinuva or Gregory, they might think him an advance
trailbreaker who would soon return the way he had come to carry word to his commander; they would
wait until the Kingdom soldiers returned in force, then spring their trap.
Now what?
Trap the trappers most likely deployed on the far side of the clearing, go after the smaller group
circling behind him, or get the hell out now?
Use caution when dealing with their kind, Jurgen had always said. His old friend would have told
him to get the hell out. If Brendan and the Tsurani had been wiped out by them, there were
undoubtedly enough moredhel nearby to annihilate Dennis's small command. Had the moredhel scout
who was surely watching him known that a short distance down the trail sixty-odd cold, tired, and
hungry Kingdom soldiers waited, he would be carrying word at this moment. Dennis knew what he must
do.


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Get out, circle around, then warn off any Kingdom troops that might be approaching from the south.
He knew he would have to stand up, glance around as if satisfied that no danger lingered and move
quickly back to where his command waited. Let the moredhel think him a solitary scout. Dennis
would not be returning this way, and neither would any Kingdom force if he could intercept them.
Let the Dark Brothers and the Tsurani fight with each other for a while. The moredhel would not
linger to occupy a human stockade, and if the Tsurani managed to drive them away, Duke Brucal,
Earl Vandros of LaMut, and Baron Moyet could decide how to drive them out of here and Mad Wayne's
next spring.
Dennis and his scouts had signals to use in these situations. He would remove his heavy cloak,
shaking it as if he was trying to rid it of excess water. That would let Tinuva and Gregory know
he was under scrutiny and they needed to withdraw without being seen. Dennis was on the verge of
standing up to do just this when he saw the enemy. Stepping out of the forest, down on the south-
west side of the clearing, a lone Tsurani appeared, easily picked out by his bright blue lacquered
armour.
Dennis grinned. Damned fool, typical of them. Make a big show of bravado. A new plan instantly
formed in Dennis's mind. Except for a couple of their best units the Tsurani were blundering fools
in the forest compared to his Marauders. The moredhel had to know additional Tsurani were here. In
fact, it lessened the likelihood the moredhel knew that Dennis's unit was nearby. The trap was set
for the Tsurani. Let the two sides slaughter each other while we slip away, or luck the Tsurani
will so weaken the moredhel we might even finish them both off and reclaim the fort for ourselves.
This might actually get amusing, he thought with a wolfish smile, and then he heard the crack of a
branch.
It is a trap,' Force Leader Asayaga hissed, gesturing towards the smoking ruins of the stockade.
Sugama said nothing, but Asayaga could already read what his second-in-command was thinking, and