"Keyes,.Greg.-.Kingdoms.Of.Thorn.And.Bone.02.-.Charnel.Prince.V1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Keyes J Gregory)

УI believe you call Сem crow-woodpeckers,Ф Ehawk replied. УNothing frightens them.Ф
УAh.Ф Oneu frowned. УThen letТs have quiet, while Brother Martyn listens more closely.Ф
Ehawk did as he was told, straining his own ears to the limits, feeling an unaccustomed chill as the hush of the forest sank in. It was strange.
But these were strange days. Only a fortnight before, the crescent moon had risen purple, a dire portent indeed, and a weird horn had sounded on the wind, heard not just in EhawkТs village but everywhere. The old oracle-women muttered prophecies of doom, and tales of awful beasts roaming and slaying in the KingТs Forest grew more common each day.
And then these men had come from the west, a knight of the Church, resplendent in his lordТs plate, and five monks of the order of Saint MamresЧwarriors all. TheyТd arrived in EhawkТs village four days ago and bargained for a native guide. The elders had appointed him, for though Ehawk was scarcely beyond his seventeenth summer, there was no man more keenly gifted at hunting and tracking. HeТd been excited to go, for strangers were uncommon here near the Mountains of the Hare, and heТd hoped to learn something of foreign lands.
He hadnТt been disappointed. Sir Oneu de Loingvele loved to talk of his adventures, and he seemed to have been everywhere. The monks were quieter and somewhat frighteningЧexcept Gavrel, who was outspoken and frighteningЧand Martyn, who was kind in his own brusque way. If he spoke laconically of his training and his life, what he did have to say was usually interesting.
But one thing Ehawk had not learnedЧwhat these men were searching for. Sometimes he thought they themselves did not know.
Sir Oneu doffed his conical helm and rested it under one arm. A stray beam of sunlight glinted from his steel breastplate as he patted the neck of his warhorse to calm it. He shifted his gaze back to Martyn.
УWell, Brother?Ф he asked. УWhat are the saints whispering to you?Ф
УNo saints, I think,Ф Martyn said. УA rustling, many men moving over the leaves, but they pant like dogs. They make other strange sounds.Ф He turned to Ehawk. УWhat people live in these parts?Ф
Ehawk considered. УThe villages of the Duth ag Pae are scattered through these hills. The nearest is Aghdon, just up the valley.Ф
УAre they warriors?Ф Martyn asked.
УNot usually. Farmers and hunters, same as my people.Ф
УAre these sounds drawing nearer?Ф Sir Oneu asked.
УNo,Ф Martyn replied.
УVery well. Then weТll go on to this village and see what the local people have to say.Ф
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УNot much to look at,Ф Sir Oneu observed half a bell later, when they reached Aghdon.
To EhawkТs eyes, Aghdon wasnТt that different from his own villageЧa collection of small wooden houses around a common square and a high-beamed longhouse where the chieftain lived.
The greatest difference was that his own village bustled with people, chickens, and pigs. Aghdon was empty as a SefryТs promise. УWhere is everyone?Ф Sir Oneu asked. УHallo? Anyone there?Ф But there was no reply, and not a soul stirred.
УLook here,Ф Martyn said. УThey were trying to build a stockade.Ф Sure enough, Ehawk saw that a number of fresh-cut timbers had been erected. Other logs had been cut, but never set up.
УOn your guard, fellows,Ф Sir Oneu said softly. УLetТs ride in there and see what happened to these folk.Ф
But there was nothing to be found. There were no bodies, no signs of violence. Ehawk found a copper kettle with its bottom scorched out. It had been left on the cookfire, untended, until its contents had boiled away.
УI think they all left suddenly,Ф he told Martyn.
УYah,Ф the monk replied. УThey were in a hurry for certain. They didnТt take anything.Ф
УBut they were afraid of something,Ф Ehawk said. УThose wreaths of mistletoe above their doorsЧthatТs to ward against evil.Ф
УYes, and the stockade they began,Ф Sir Oneu said. УThe praifec was right. Something is happening here. First the Sefry abandon the forest, now the tribesmen.Ф He shook his head. УMount up. WeТll continue. I fear our mission is more urgent than ever.Ф
They left Aghdon and struck off across the uplands, leaving the largest of the ironoaks behind them and entering a forest of hickory, liquidambar, and witaec.
Still they rode in eerie silence, and the horses seemed nervous. Brother Martyn wore a slight but perpetual frown.
УRide up with me, lad,Ф Sir Oneu called back. Obediently, Ehawk trotted his own dun mare until he was abreast of the knight.
УSir Oneu?Ф
УYes. Now would you like to hear the rest of that story?Ф
УYes, sir. Indeed I would.Ф
УWell, youТll recall that I was on a ship?Ф
УYes, sir. On the Woebringer.Ф
УThatТs right. WeТd just broken the siege at Reysquele, and what was left of the Joquien pirates were scattering to the sea winds. The Woebringer was badly damaged, but so were a lot of ships, and no dearth of them ahead of us for repairs at Reysquele. The weather was calm, so we reckoned we could make Copenwis, where fewer ships go for dry-dock.Ф He shook his head. УWe didnТt make it to Copenwis, though. A squall came up, and only the favor of Saint Lier brought us to a small island none of us knew, somewhere near the Sorrows. We made land in a longboat and gave offering to Saint Lier and Saint Vriente, then sent out parties to search for habitants.Ф
УDid you find any?Ф
УIn a manner of speaking. Half the pirate fleet was camped on the leeward side of the island.Ф
УOh. That must have been trouble.Ф
УIndeed. Our ship was too badly damaged for us to leave, and too big to hide. It was a matter of little time before we were discovered.Ф
УWhat did you do?Ф
УI marched over to the pirate camp and challenged their leader to a duel of honor.Ф
УHe accepted?Ф
УHe had to. Pirate chieftains must appear to be strong, or their men will not follow them. If he had refused me, the next day he would have had to fight ten of his own lieutenants. As it was, I relieved him of that worry by killing him.Ф
УAnd then what?Ф
УI challenged the second-in-command. And then the next, and so on.Ф
Ehawk grinned. УDid you kill them all?Ф
УNo. While I fought, my men took possession of one of their ships and sailed away.Ф
УWithout you?Ф
УYes. IТd ordered them to.Ф