"Raymond E. Feist - Riftwar Saga 1a - Magician Apprentice" - читать интересную книгу автора (Feist Raymond E)

тАЬI don't think so,тАЭ Pug yelled back, taking account of himself. His right side smarted, and his legs felt
equally bruised. With his ankle still tender, he was feeling ill-used today, but nothing seemed broken or
permanently damaged.



Large, meaty hands lifted him to his feet. тАЬHere,тАЭ the man commanded, handing him his staff and the
bow. Pug took them while the stranger quickly gutted the boar with a large hunter's knife. He completed
his work and turned to Pug. тАЬCome with me, boy. You had best lodge with my master and me. It's not
far, but we'd best hurry. This storm'll get worse afore it's over. Can you walk?тАЭ
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Taking an unsteady step, Pug nodded. Without a word the man shouldered the pig and took his bow.
тАЬCome,тАЭ he said, as he turned toward the forest. He set off at a brisk pace, which Pug had to scramble
to match.



The forest cut the fury of the storm so little that conversation was impossible. A lightning flash lit the
scene for a moment, and Pug caught a glimpse of the man's face. Pug tried to remember if he had seen
the stranger before. He had the look common to the hunters and foresters that lived in the forest of
Crydee: large-shouldered, tall, and solidly built. He had dark hair and beard and the raw, weather-beaten
appearance of one who spends most of his time outdoors.



For a few fanciful moments the boy wondered if he might be some member of an outlaw band, hiding
in the heart of the forest. He gave up the notion, for no outlaw would trouble himself with an obviously
penniless keep boy.



Remembering the man had mentioned having a master, Pug suspected he was a franklin, one who
lived on the estate of a landholder. He would be in the holder's service, but not bound to him as a
bondsman. The franklins were freeborn, giving a share of crop or herd in exchange for the use of land.
He must be freeborn. No bondsman would be allowed to carry a longbow, for they were much too
valuable-and dangerous. Still, Pug couldn't remember any landholdings in the forest. It was a mystery to
the boy, but the toll of the day's abuses was quickly driving away any curiosity.



AFTER WHAT SEEMED to be hours, the man walked into a thicket of trees. Pug nearly lost him in
the darkness, for the sun had set some time before, taking with it what faint light the storm had allowed.
He followed the man more from the sound of his footfalls and an awareness of his presence than from
sight. Pug sensed he was on a path through the trees, for his footsteps met no resisting brush or detritus.
From where they had been moments before, the path would be difficult to find in the daylight, impossible