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

askew and torn.

But wait! One man strode through the wizardтАЩs ragged ranks, a look of grim determination on his
dark-skinned face. Two arms clad in brilliant silver rose above the sneezing mass as this magnificent
wizard, this mage among mages, cried тАШEnough!тАЩ

The wizards nearby held their noses and turned to watch their fellow.

тАШThis will happen no more!тАЩ The silver-clad wizard cried in a voice as deep as the farthest depths of the
Inland Sea. тАШI will banish this curse, as I call upon the spirits!тАЩ

His hands wove a pattern through the air too fast for the eye to see. тАШCome forth, oh mighty waa ...тАЭ He
paused. тАШCome forth, oh mighty waa . . . waa . . . WAAAA . . . .тАЩ His voice seemed to rise with every
word. He stopped and swallowed, his dark brows furrowed in concentration.

тАШEnough!тАЩ he began again. тАШThis will happen no . . . WAAAACHOOO!тАЩ

His sneeze tore his silver robes in half as the multitude of mages about him answered in kind. The entirety
of the Great Hall trembled with their distress. The silver wizard was soon lost beneath the sneezing mass.

Something must have gone horribly wrong. My master and I had traveled here, to far and fabled Vushta,
the city of a thousand forbidden delights, in hopes of ending our quest - a quest that began when my
master was forced into battle with the dread rhyming demon Guxx Unfufadoo! My master won that first
battle, but discovered that he suffered from a sinister aftereffect. From that moment onwards, whenever
the wizard Ebenezum was even in the presence of magic, he would begin to sneeze uncontrollably!

Now, a malady of this sort might have driven a lesser magician to despair, but not my master! Ebenezum
set out to find a cure, even if it meant traveling to far and fabled Vushta, seat of wizardly learning for all
the Western and Central Kingdoms!

So travel to Vushta we did, learning on our way of a sinister plot by the forces of the Netherhells led by
the dread rhyming Guxx! We redoubled our efforts to reach our destination, only to discover that the
demons had spirited away the very city that was our goal and hidden it deep within their dwelling place
beneath the earth, the dreaded Netherhells!

Well, there was nothing to do then but rescue Vushta as well. Since there was no legitimate hero handy,
I was sent in the heroтАЩs stead, and with the help of good luck and noble companions, Vushta was
rescued at last. In return for my service, the greatest wizards of the greatest city on the face of the globe
had gathered together, all for the sake of Ebenezum. Now my masterтАЩs malady would be cured, and all
set right with the world.

Or would it?

Wizards were still emerging from the room at the far end of the hall, climbing over the bodies of their
fallen comrades, the latter now convulsed with sneezing fits. It was a gruesome sight. I swallowed hard
and turned back to my beloved.

тАШYes,тАЩ I replied, looking once again deep into NoreiтАЩs eyes.
тАШIt is truly -тАШ