"01 - Azure Bonds - Jeff Grubb & Kate Novak [4.0]" - читать интересную книгу автора (Finder's Stone)

Azure BondsAzure Bonds
By Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb

Map 1 Map 2
The Sigils
1
The Hidden Lady
She woke to the noise of dogsЧtwo distinct barkings beneath her open inn window.
A high-pitched yip confronted a deep, throaty growl. Alias lay on the
tan-stained cotton sheets and pictured a long-haired puppy cast out from its
wealthy owner's household, fending off some huge boxer or Vassan wolfhound.
As with men and other savage races, the show of force was as important to the
dogs as force itself. The yipping canine was overmatched, yet its barking went
on for what seemed to Alias an eternity. Finally, the dog with the deeper growl
reached the end of its patience and snarled savagely. The sound of toppling
trash brought Alias fully awake.
She opened her eyes, listening for a dying squeal from the smaller dog, but
surprisingly the next thing she heard was a series of deep yelps from the large
dog. The sound faded away as the large dog fled from the window.
Alias threw off the light blanket and swung her feet to the floor. She rose and
immediately regretted it. Her head felt as though molten lead had been poured
behind her eyes, and her mouth was as dry as the sands of Anauroch.
She blinked in the reddish light. Is it dawn or twilight? she wondered. Pressing
the heels of her palms into her eyes, she yawned. Through the open window, the
sea breezes from the Lake of Dragons wafted into the room, along with the
far-off cries of fishermen returning with their catch.
Twilight, then, she decided. She shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs.
Must have slept through the day, she thought. When did I get here? For that
matter, where's here? And what was I doing before I came here?
Alias snorted derisively. What she'd been doing was obvious. This wasn't the
first time she'd awakened in a strange place after a drunken celebration.
Nonetheless, her surroundings seemed familiar. The inn was built in the same
fashion as a hundred others at this end of the Sea of Fallen Stars, and her room
held the typical trappings: a bed cobbled together of a mixed pile of wood,
topped with a straw tick and sheets that hadn't been aggressively washed in
months; a small second-hand dressing table; a single straight-backed chair
draped with her armor and clothing; a small rag rug at the foot of the bed; a
brass oil lamp chained to the table; a chamber pot; and a single door. The
window, inset with colorless circles of crown glass that let in the light of the
setting sun, opened inward on side hinges that creaked lightly in the breeze.
Alias got out of bed and padded barefoot to the chair. She furrowed her brows,
trying to remember the last few days. There was a sailing trip. Something went
wrong and I had to get out of a seaport quickly, she thought.
Random images of lizard men, shadowy swordsmen, and magic-users blurred in her
memory. She shrugged. It couldn't have been too important. I wouldn't get drunk
if there was trouble, she assured herself.
She reached for her tunic and suddenly realized that this was important, that
she was in trouble. Serious trouble.
Along the inside of her sword arm, from wrist to elbow, writhed an elaborate
tattoo unlike any she had ever seen before. A pattern coiled about five large,