"01 - A Difficulty With Dwarves" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gardner Craig Shaw)

All five demons turned to regard the Dealer.

The man in black gasped. His face turned bright red and steam shot from his ears. Blecch gave him a gentle push. The Dealer collapsed on the ground.

'Now we can get on with our own attack,' the gavel demon remarked.

'I think not!' Blecch countered as it massaged its throat.

'We still have not resolved this important procedural issue. To recklessly continue without putting this matter to rest would be a breach of authority one might expect of Guxx Unfufadoo!'

'What?' the gavel demon blustered.' You dare compare me with the ex-Grand Hoohah? Justforthat, Blecch, I'll -'

We never found out what the demon would do, for that was the moment my fellows and I attacked.

'Point of urk!' Blecch yelled as the dread warclub Head-basher came squarely down upon his purple head.

I swung my stout oak staff at the demon on the table's far end.' Point of order!' it cried as it deftly ducked the bio w. The staff bounced harmlessly off the table, forcing me to stagger back a pace.

'I think we should vote on retreat!' the ducking demon continued.

The demon at table's center lifted its gavel to pound for order, but found the wooden mallet burnt from its fingers by Hubert's dragon fire. 'Show of hands!'thedemon yelped. It didn't wait for any response from its fellows, who were busy fending off Snarks, myself, and the unicorn. 'Majority rules! the ex-gavel demon shrieked.

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The table and its occupants disappeared in apuf f of smoke.

'Doom,' Hendrek muttered as his enchanted club swept the air where a demon had sat scant seconds before.

'What an exit!' Snarks whistled in admiration. 'Unfortunate, wasn't it, that it was the only successful part of their attack?'

I turned to Norei, who knelt over the prostrate Dealer of Death. He lay so still. A chill slithered down my spine.

'Is he -' I began in trepidation.

'I feared the same,' Norei replied quickly. 'But there is still a spark left deep within him. The demons' attack appears to have put him in a deathlike trance. And who | knows how long that life spark will last?'

'Doom,' Hendrek intoned, echoing the sympathies of all those assembled.

The chill I had felt when I had seen the stillness of the Dealer had stayed with me. We seemed to be facing a new and very different strategy from the Netherhells. As ineffectual as their first attack had been, the threat somehow seemed much more sinister.

I heard a nose blow behind my right shoulder. My master stepped forward.

'Indeed.' He spoke as if he had read my thoughts. 'An attack of this nature can be truly serious. I have never before seen this particular Netherhells strategy, but I have read about its devastating effect in my ancient wizardly lore.' He paused to blow his nose a final time. He wiped his mustache clean and redeposited the kerchief in one of his voluminous sleeves.

'From observation,' the wizard resumed, 'it appears that this particular plan of attack has fallen out of use among the demons as well, for the proficiency of the strikes against us has so far been somewhat lacking. However, we should

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not let this temporary incompetence lull us into complacency.' He extended his foot to gently nudge the still form of the black-clad assassin. 'We have seen from the current condition of the Dealer of Death that this new strategy can be devastating. The forces of the Netherhells are stubborn. They will come against us again and again, until they get their attack right. When that happens, I fear we are all doomed, for there is no Netherhells strategy deadlier than the one we saw today: Conquest by Committee!'