"Ed Greenwood - Band of Four 04 - The Dragon's Doom" - читать интересную книгу автора (Greenwood Ed)

side by side and glare at him. After a long, unwilling time of glancing up
into their hard gazes and shrinking away and then looking up again to find
their stares still fixed on him, Thuldran said reluctantly, "IтАФI like this
not. We're to invite an outsider to power over us? Risking possible betrayal,
and a rule none of us may favor?"
"Well said," Raunthur replied. "Of course none of us welcomes this
situation. 'Tis right not to want or trust an outsider as our Great Serpent.
To avoid disaster, all of us elder priests know very well that we must choose
the right outsider. Finding and guiding him into office over us will be
neither swift nor easy."
"In the meantime," Caronthom added, "be aware that we shall be ruthless in
purging all misdirected ambitions from the Brotherhood. We elders are mages of
some accomplishment; those who were not were the ones who perished. We may
cower before the Thrael, but until it has been raised anew by a Great Serpent,
we shall rule the Brotherhood. Speak freely, dispute freelyтАФbut obey when we
speak orders, or we shall strike you down. In this leaderless time, treachery
and internal strife are weaknesses we can neither afford nor tolerate. Heed my
words, or die."
There was a stillness along the benches now that sang with tension. Raunthur
smiled softly into it. "That's not to say we desire any of you to sit in
hiding and wait for a new Great Serpent to come calling. Far from it. As we
sit gathered here, we're still the strongest, smartest force in Aglirta, and
we shall not be idle. If blustering idiot barons can hold power in the Vale,
so can we."
"And so," the Fangmaster added smoothly, "we desire every one of you to aid
in our chief plot to bring down the boy king. Some few among you, I've no
doubt, have already gained hints of what this is. More than one of you is
guilty of excessive prying in this regard that I'll henceforth reward with
death. To quell consuming curiosity, know that before departing this place
you'll be furnished with a spell. Others will follow, brought by fellow
Brothers of the Serpent along with strict instructions as to when to use them
and when they are not to be employed."
For the first time, the old priest who'd taught so many of them allowed a
smile onto his face. "The first spell infects drinkables with something akin
to the venom of some rare sorts of snakes, but stronger. Most who imbibe
succumb to 'the Malady of Madness' told of in ancient times, the Beast Plague
that makes victims lash out at others ere they die. Spread among Aglirtans
with the words of 'divine punishment for misrule' you shall whisper, this will
serve to weaken the rule of Flowfoam. When the time is right, all of you shall
be properly placed, up and down the Vale, to supplant the local authority of
the boy king."
Raunthur spoke up. "So much is the planтАФso let your various spyings cease.
You shall all hear the unfolding details anyway. Salaundius?"
An old priest with a scarred face rose from the benches, nodded respectfully
to Raunthur and Caronthom, cleared his throat, and said stiffly, "My tests
have been a success. The spells I've worked with can now break the effects of
the venom-spell, repeatedly and reliably. IтАФahтАФthere is no more to say." He
sat down again.
The Fangmaster nodded. "Arthroon?"
 A darkly handsome priest rose, smiled coldly, and announced, "Belgur