"Richard A. Knaak - The Kingdom Of Shadow" - читать интересную книгу автора (Knaak Richard A)

atop the makeshift desk his hired crew had put together early on. He seemed especially interested this
day in peering through an eyeglass pointed at the very tip of Nymyr, then consulting a tattered scroll. As
they approached, Kentril heard him chuckle with glee, then resort to the scroll again.

The Vizjerei reached for a device that most resembled to the mercenary a sextant, save that the sorcerer
had clearly made some changes in the design. As his bony fingers touched the object, Quov Tsin noticed
the pair.

тАЬAh! Dumon! About time! And has your latest dayтАЩs labor born any more fruit than the previous?тАЭ

тАЬNo . . . itтАЩs just as you said. So far, weтАЩve found little more than junk.тАЭ Kentril chose not to mention the
brooch. With his luck, Tsin would have found some relevance in the artifact and therefore confiscated it.

тАЬNo matter, no matter! I let you and your band search mostly to keep you out of my way until the final
readings could be made. Of course, had you found anything, that would have been a plus, but in the long
run, I am not bothered by the lack of success.тАЭ

Perhaps the sorcerer had not been, but the mercenariescertainly grumbled. Kentril had promised his
companions much based on the words of the Vizjerei, and the failure would hang more around his neck
than even TsinтАЩs.

тАЬListen, sorcerer,тАЭ he muttered. тАЬYou paid us enough to get this madness underway, but you also made
promises of a lot more. Myself, I could go home right now and be happy just to be out of this place, but
the others expect much. You said that weтАЩd find treasureтАФample amounts of itтАФin this ancient ruin, but
so far weтАЩveтАФтАЭ

тАЬYes, yes, yes! IтАЩve explained it all before! It is just not the proper time! Soon, though, soon!тАЭ

Kentril looked to Gorst, who shrugged. Turning his gaze back to the slight mage, Captain Dumon
snarled, тАЬYouтАЩve told me some wild things, Vizjerei, and they keep getting wilder the longer this goes on!
Why donтАЩt you explain once more to Gorst and me what youтАЩve got in mind, eh? And make it clear for
once.тАЭ

тАЬThat would be a waste of my time,тАЭ the diminutive sorcerer grated. Seeing KentrilтАЩs expression darken
further, he sighed in exasperation. тАЬVery well, but this is the last IтАЩll speak of it! You already know the
legends of the piousness of those who lived in the city, so IтАЩll not bother with retelling that. IтАЩll go straight
to the time of troublesтАФwill that do?тАЭ

Propping himself against a large chunk of rubble once forming part of the great wall, Kentril folded his
arms, then nodded. тАЬGo from there. ThatтАЩs when your story starts getting a little too fantastic for my
tastes.тАЭ

тАЬThe mercenaryтАЩs a critic.тАЭ Nonetheless, Quov Tsin paused in his tasks and began the tale that Captain
Dumon suspected he could hear a hundred times and still not completely fathom. тАЬIt began during a time .
. . a time known to those of us versed in the arts and the battle between light and darkness . . . a time
known as theSin War.тАЭ

Hardened as he had become over the years, Kentril could not help but shudder whenever the short
Vizjereimuttered those last two words. Until he had met Tsin, he had never even heard such legends, but
something about the mythic war of which his employer spoke filled the mercenaryтАЩs head with visions of