"Lyndon Hardy - The Master of Five Magics" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hardy Lyndon)

marksman good enough for this task among them."

A small group of archers formed a single file; as they passed the cowled figure, he deftly chipped
a fragment from each rock and gave it to one of the bowmen. After each had received his charge, he
bound it to the shaft of an arrow and let fly at the catapult in the cliff above.

Alodar watched the ledge as the missiles hurled upwards. Most were wide of the mark, splintering
against hard rock and falling back to the floor of the pass. Several minutes passed as volley
after volley did no harm. But



finally one shot struck the frame of the catapult and held fast.

"Quickly!" Alodar shouted. "Signal them to remove the shaft before he can complete the
incantation."

"But a single arrow does them no harm, journeyman. Let them use their time to continue firing
while it is still light," the sergeant said. "You remain with your craft and I will manage mine."

"Get it removed or they will hurl nothing more today. See, they have the other stone in the acid
already,"

As he spoke, the master cracked one of the remaining untouched rocks in two and dropped one half
into the cauldron steaming atop a hastily constructed fire. The brew frothed like storm-driven
surf as three heavyset men slowly tipped the contents of the huge crucible onto a pile of
artillery stones stacked at their feet. The crews from the siegecraft each retrieved one hot wet
stone and loaded and cocked their engines. The thaumaturge held his hands high overhead. In one
was the stone from which the chip now affixed to the catapult had been cleft; in the other was the
remains of the one consumed in the acid bath. Alodar held his breath, knowing what was to come
next. A mailed figure astride the horse surveyed the ready engines and the waiting craftsman. He
signaled the crews to fire and the projectiles sprang from their beds in unison. An instant later,
with the missiles already rising high into the air, the thaumaturge brought the two small stones
swiftly together.

The flying rocks wrenched out of their natural trajectories; Hke sunlight focused with a glass,
they converged simultaneously on the ledge. The catapult exploded in a mass of ragged timber,
splinters, and dust. The bombarding rock shattered into an avalanche of gravel against the cliff
face and cascaded to the plain. The hills rocked with the violence of the impact and the shock



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threw Alodar nearly to his knees. Where once there had been form was now a shattered ruin of
timber and flesh.

The scene was quiet, attacker and defender alike shaken by the force of the blow. Alodar looked
back at the enemy camp and noticed only a few wisps of smoke where the fire had raged but moments