"David Gemmell - Winter Warriors" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gemmel David)

The two men made an incongruous pair as they walked off together, Nogusta black and powerful,
Kebra wand slim, white-haired and pale. Cutting through the

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narrow streets they reached a small eating house overlooking the river. They took a table by the
fire and ordered a meal. Nogusta removed his cloak and the sheepskin jerkin he wore below it and
sat down, holding his hands out to the blaze. 'I, for one, will be pleased to say farewell to this
frozen country. Why is Bison so depressed? Does he not have three wives waiting for him back
home?'

'That's enough to depress anyone,' replied Kebra, with a smile.

They ate in companionable silence and Nogusta added another log to the fire. 'Why is he
depressed?' he asked again, as they finished their meal. 'There must come a time when a man is too
old for soldiering, and we are all way past that. And the king has offered every soldier a pouch
of gold, and a scrip to give them land when they return to Drenan. The scrip alone is worth a
hundred in gold.'

Kebra thought about the question. 'There was a time,' he said, 'when I could outshoot any archer
alive. Then, as the years went by, I noticed I could no longer see quite as clearly. When I turned
fifty I could no longer read small script. That was when I began to think of going home. Nothing
lasts for ever. But Bison is not a thinker. As far as he is concerned the king has just told him
he is no longer a man. And he is hurting.'

'There is some pain for all of us,' said Nogusta. 'The White Wolf will be leading almost two
thousand men home. Every one of them will feel some sense of rejection. But we are alive, Kebra. I
fought for the king's father - as you did - and I have carried my sword through thirty-five years
of warfare. Now I am tired. The long marches are hard on old bones. Even Bison must admit to
that.'

Kebra shook his head. 'Bison admits to nothing. You

should have seen his face when they called the roll. He could not believe he had been chosen. I
was standing beside him. You know what he said? "How can they send me back with all the old men?"
I just laughed. For a moment I thought he was joking. But he wasn't. He still thinks he's twenty-
five.' He let out a soft curse. 'Why did he have to hit a Ventrian? And what if the man dies?'

'If he dies they will hang Bison,' said Nogusta. 'Not a pleasant thought. Why did he hit the man?'

'He made a joke about Bison's age.'

'And the others?'

'I have no idea. We'll ask him when we find him. The officer was one of Malikada's men.'

'That makes it worse,' said Nogusta. 'He might demand a hanging, regardless. He's a hard man.'

'The White Wolf would never allow it.'