"Paul S. Kemp - Erevis Cale 3 - Midnight's Mask" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kemp Paul S)

From the crumbling cavern near Skullport, they had tele-
ported to the surface, mentally communicated with their
master, the Sojourner, and from there teleported to. . . .
Here, Riven thought.
The foppish slaad Azriim, in his preferred half-drow
form, stood to one side of him, and the dull slaad, Dolgan,
stood to the other. Both seemed to have already recovered
from the wounds inямВicted on them at the SkullsтАЩ tower.
тАЬWhere are we?тАЭ Riven asked.
тАЬHome,тАЭ Azriim answered.
They were in the center of a smooth-walled, hemispher-
ical chamber. There were no windows and the stone, while
smooth, was not masonry, so Riven assumed they were
underground. The dry air smelled faintly of medicines
or perhaps alchemical preparations. The smell made his
nose tingle.
A thick carpet covered the ямВoor, and a single, dim
green glowglobe on the far side of the chamber provided
the only light. The globe cast only enough illumination
to raise shadows in the room. Riven could see little.
Irregularly-shaped mounds dotted the ямВoor and it took
Riven a momentтАЩs study to recognize them as cushions
and furniture. In better light, the place must have looked
like a Calishite CaliphтАЩs harem room.
Riven saw no means of egress, no doors or archways of
any kind. That made him uncomfortable, and he let his
hands fall to the hilts of his sabers. It would have been
ridiculous for the slaadi to have brought him all the way
here only to ambush him, but. . . .
They are unpredictable, he thought. And itтАЩs better to
be cautious than dead.
He decided to take steps to ensure a means of escape,
should he need it.

MidnightтАЩs Mask тАв 13
 тАЬHome is dark,тАЭ he said. тАЬHow about a light? I canтАЩt see
past my hands.тАЭ
He deliberately stepped on a cushion at his feet and
feigned a stumble into Dolgan. Cursing, he intentionally
entangled himself in the slaadтАЩs cloak and limbsтАФthe
slaadтАЩs form looked fat but his body was as solid as a treeтАФ
and used the short-lived tussle to lift the teleportation rod
from the slaadтАЩs cloak pocket.
тАЬWatch where you step, human,тАЭ the big slaad said,
dislodging Riven and shoving him away.
тАЬI canтАЩt watch anything, oaf,тАЭ Riven answered. тАЬI said I
cannot see.тАЭ He feigned a second stumble on another cush-
ion and used the movement to secrete the rod in his cloak.
тАЬThere are cushions all over the ямВoor and walking on this
ridiculous carpet is like moving through mud.тАЭ