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

his castle at Crydee. Later, word had been brought by the Elven Queen of aliens in the forests
that lay between her own Elvandar and the Duchy of Crydee.
The world had changed: the fact of an alien invasion from another world via a magic gate was no
longer a source of wonder. Borric had a war to fight and win. He had added some marks with brush
and ink to the campaign map.
'What's this?' asked Brucal, pointing to a notation Borric had added earlier in the morning.
'Another migration of Dark Brothers. It looks as if a fairly large contingent of them are moving
down the southern foothills of the Great Northern Mountains. They're treading a narrow path near
the elven forests. I can't understand why they'd come over the mountains at this time of year.'
'Those blackhearts don't have to have a reason,' observed Brucal.
Borric nodded. 'My son Arutha reported a large force tangled with the Tsurani while they were
besieging my castle five years ago. But those were Dark Brothers driven from the Grey Towers by
the Tsurani; they were striking north to join their kin in the Northlands. They've been quiet


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since then.'
'There's one possibility.'
Borric shrugged. 'I'm listening, old friend.'
'That's a bloody long trek for nothing,' observed Brucal, as he wiped his nose with the back of
his hand. 'They're not fools.'
'The Dark Brotherhood is many things, but never stupid,' agreed Borric. 'If they're moving in
force, it's for a reason.'
'Where are they now?'
Borric said, 'Last reports from the scouts near the Elven Forest. They're avoiding the dwarves at
Stone Mountain and the elven patrols, heading east.'
'Lake of the Sky is the only destination,' said Brucal, 'unless they're going to turn south and
attack the elves or the Tsurani.'
'Why Lake of the Sky?'
'It makes sense if they're trying to get up to the eastern side of the Northlands. There's a spur
of mountains that runs north-east out of the Teeth of the World, hundreds of miles long and
impassable. Over the Great Northerns, past the Lake of the Sky, and up a trail back north over the
Teeth of the World is a short-cut, actually.' The old duke stroked his still-wet beard. 'It's one
of the reasons we have so much trouble with the bastards up in Yabon.'
Borric nodded. 'They tend to leave us alone in Crydee, compared to the encounters your garrisons
have with them.'
'I just wish I knew why they were out in force, heading east, this close to winter,' muttered
Brucal.
'Something's up,' said Borric.
Brucal nodded. 'I've been fighting Clan Raven since I was a boy.' He fell silent for a moment.
'Their paramount chieftain is a murderous dog named Murad. If this bunch from the Northlands is
looking to join with him ...'
'What?'
'I don't know, but it'll be bad.' Looking over the rest of the map, Brucal asked, 'Do we have
anyone in that area now?'
'Just the garrison forts along the Tsurani front, and a few last patrols before winter,' Borric
replied.
Brucal leaned close to inspect each of the small ink marks on the map, then made a sound half-way