"R A Salvatore - Icewind Dale Trilogy 2 - Streams of Silver" - читать интересную книгу автора (Salvatore R. A)

Entreri kept to the shadows, the dilated orbs of his eyes focused on the
narrow path he must take to accomplish his latest mission.
He truly was a professional, possibly the finest in the entire realms
at his dark craft, and when he sniffed out the trail of his prey, the
victim never escaped. So the assassin was unbothered by the empty house
that he found in Bryn Shander, the principal city of the ten settlements in
the wasteland of Icewind Dale. Entreri had suspected that the halfling had
slipped out of Ten-Towns. But no matter; if this was indeed the same
halfling that he had sought all the way from Calimport, a thousand miles
and more to the south, he had made better progress than he ever could have
hoped. His mark had no more than a two-week head start and the trail would
be fresh indeed.
Entreri moved through the house silently and calmly, seeking hints of
the halfling's life here that would give him the edge in their inevitable
confrontation. Clutter greeted him in every room - the halfling had left in
a hurry, probably aware that the assassin was closing in. Entreri
considered this a good sign, further heightening his suspicions that this
halfling, Regis, was the same Regis who had served the Pasha Pook those
years ago in the distant southern city.
The assassin smiled evilly at the thought that the halfling knew he was
being stalked, adding to the challenge of the hunt as Entreri pitted his
stalking prowess against his intended victim's hiding ability. But the end
result was predictable, Entreri knew, for a frightened person invariably
made a fatal mistake.
The assassin found what he was looking for in a desk drawer in the
master bedroom. Fleeing in haste, Regis had neglected to take precautions
to conceal his true identity. Entreri held the small ring up before his
gleaming eyes, studying the inscription that clearly identified Regis as a
member of Pasha Pook's thieves' guild in Calimport. Entreri closed his fist
about the signet, the evil smile widening across his face.
"I have found you, little thief," he laughed into the emptiness of the
room. "Your fate is sealed. There is nowhere for you to run!"
His expression changed abruptly to one of alertness as the sound of a
key, in the palatial house's front door echoed up the hallway of the grand
staircase. He dropped the ring into his belt pouch and slipped, as silent
as death, to the shadows of the top posts of the stairway's heavy banister.

The large double doors swung open, and a man and a young woman stepped
in from the porch ahead of two dwarves. Entreri knew the man, Cassius, the
spokesman of Bryn Shander. This had been his home once, but he had
relinquished it several months earlier to Regis, after the halfling's
heroic actions in the town's battle against the evil wizard, Akar Kessell,
and his goblin minions.
Entreri had seen the other human before, as well, though he hadn't yet
discovered her connection to Regis. Beautiful women were a rarity in this
remote setting, and this young woman was indeed the exception. Shiny auburn
locks danced gaily about her shoulders, the intense sparkle of her dark
blue eyes enough to bind any man hopelessly within their depths.
Her name, the assassin had learned, was Catti-brie. She lived with the
dwarves in their valley north of the city, particularly with the leader of