"R A Salvatore - Icewind Dale Trilogy 3 - Halfling's Gem, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (Salvatore R. A)

But things had been very different since Drizzt Do'Urden came to possess the
figurine. Here was a being of conscience and integrity, and an honest bond of
love had developed between Guenhwyvar and Drizzt.
The cat slumped against a star-trimmed tree and issued a low growl that
observers to this astral spectacle might have taken as a resigned sigh.
Deeper still would the cat's sigh have been if it knew that Artemis Entreri,
the killer, now possessed the figurine.
Book 1:
Halfway to Everywhere
1
Tower of Twilight
"A day and more we have lost," the barbarian grumbled, reining in his horse
and looking back over his shoulder. The lower rim of the sun had just dipped
below the horizon. "The assassin moves away from us even now!"
"We do well to trust in Harkle's advice," replied Drizzt Do'Urden, the dark
elf. "He would not have led us astray." With the sunshine fading, Drizzt dropped
the cowl of his black cloak back onto his shoulders and shook free the locks of
his stark white hair.
Wulfgar pointed to some tall pines. "That must be the grove Harkle Harpell
spoke of," he said, "yet I see no tower, nor signs that any structure was ever
built in this forsaken area."
His lavender eyes more at home in the deepening gloom, Drizzt peered ahead
intently, trying to find some evidence to dispute his young friend. Surely this
was the place that Harkle had indicated, for a short distance ahead of them lay
the small pond, and beyond that the thick boughs of Neverwinter Wood. "Take
heart," he reminded Wulfgar. "The wizard called patience the greatest aid in
finding the home of Malchor. We have been here but an hour."
"The road grows ever longer," the barbarian mumbled, unaware that the drow's
keen ears did not miss a word. There was merit in Wulfgar's complaints, Drizzt
knew, for the tale of a farmer in Longsaddle - that of a dark, cloaked man and a
halfling on a single horse - put the assassin fully ten days ahead of them, and
moving swiftly.
But Drizzt had faced Entreri before and understood the enormity of the
challenge before him. He wanted as much assistance as he could get in rescuing
Regis from the deadly man's clutches. By the farmer's words, Regis was still
alive, and Drizzt was certain that Entreri did not mean to harm the halfling
before getting to Calimport.
Harkle Harpell would not have sent them to this place without good reason.
"Do we put up for the night?" asked Wulfgar. "By my word, we'd ride back to
the road and to the south. Entreri's horse carries two and may have tired by
now. We can gain on him if we ride through the night."
Drizzt smiled at his friend. "They have passed through the city of Waterdeep
by now," he explained. "Entreri has acquired new horses, at the least." Drizzt
let the issue drop at that, keeping his deeper fears, that the assassin had
taken to the sea, to himself.
"Then to wait is even more folly!" Wulfgar was quick to argue.
But as the barbarian spoke, his horse, a horse raised by Harpells, snorted
and moved to the small pond, pawing the air above the water as though searching
for a place to step. A moment later, the last of the sun dipped under the
western horizon and the daylight faded away. And in the magical dimness of