"Ed Greenwood - Spellfire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Greenwood Ed)

just where and how far away something you hear isтАФbut listen hard to us
SPELLFIRE
and the horses first, mind you, and get to know the sounds, and then listen
for sounds that aren't us."
Shandril stared at his red, gnarled face for a moment. "All right," she said,
drawing her blade. "Here?"
The dwarf, already sitting on his cloak with legs outstretched, the axe in his
lap warded from the dew with a fold of his cloak, rumbled affirmatively.
Shandril sat down against his rounded, hard hack, feeling the cold touch of
his mail, and laid her own blade across her knees. She said no more, and
around them the camp settled down into steady breathing, muffled snores, and
the occasional faint, heavy thud of a shifting hoof. Shandril peered into the
night, blinking dry eyes,
A long while passed in silence. Shandril felt a yawn coming. She tried to
stifle it, and failing, tried to yawn in utter silence, but she felt the firm
pressure of Delg*s axe-butt driving against her flank immediately. Grinning in
the darkness, she elbowed him back and was rewarded with a gentle squeeze of
her elbow.
Shandril could visualize his stubby, iron-strong fingers pressing on the point
of her elbow, and was reassured by the veteran's presence. His eyesight was
far better than hers in the near-darkness, she knew, and she trusted his years
of calm experience. What seemed like hours later, he squeezed her elbow gently
again; she extended it in firm reply, grinned again, and so they passed the
night.
Suddenly Delg shifted. "Sleep now," he said into her ear. "I'll wake Rymel and
Ferostil." Shandril nodded automatically. The gruff warrior clasped her
shoulder and was gone. Sleep now? she thought. Just like that? What if I
can't?
Shandril rolled over, pulling her cloak up, and stared into the dank darkness.
Where were they? How would she know which way to walk if she awoke and her
companions were all gone? Suddenly she felt lonely and very homesick. Shandril
felt the sting of tears, but she bit her lip fiercely. No! This was her
decision, for the first timeтАФand it was right! She settled her head on her
pack and thought of riches and fame ... and if not, an inn of her own,
perhaps?
31
Eo GREENWOOD
A gentle hand on her shoulder shook her slowly but insistently awake. Shandril
blinked btearily up at Rymel. The bard smiled a wordless greeting and was
gone. Shandril sat up in the dripping grass and looked around. The world was
still thick, white, and impenetrable. She could see her companions as gray,
moving shadows, and a larger bulk that must be one of the horses, but little
else. By all the gods, was there no end to this mist?
The patient, gray-white cloak of vapor stayed with them as the Company of the
Bright Spear followed the Sem-berflow's banks away from the unseen lake until
Thail recognized a certain moss-covered stump and directed them to cross. The
wizard stepped down into the dark river confidently, the water swirling around
his ankles and then rising to near his bootstops. Rymel followed, just as
matter-of-factly, leading his horse. But Shandril noticed that he kept his
blade ready in his other hand and looked at the waters steadily and narrowly.