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

тАЬThat should assuage your anger a bit, Captain Dumon,тАЭ Quov Tsin suddenly remarked, eyes fixed on
the sight before them. тАЬQuite a bit.тАЭ

тАЬWhat do you mean?тАЭ Lowering his sword, Kentril eyed the ruins with some discomfort. He felt as if he
had just intruded upon a place where even ghosts moved with trepidation. тАЬIs that it? Is thatтАФтАЭ

тАЬ тАШThe Light among LightsтАЩ? The most pure of realms in all the history of the world, built upon the very
slope of the towering mountain called Nymyr? Aye, captain, there it standsтАФand, for our needs, just in
time, if my calculations hold true!тАЭ

Gasps came from behind Kentril. The other men had finally caught up, just in time to hear the sorcererтАЩs
words. They all knew the legends of the realm called the Light among Lights by the ancients, a place
fabled to be the one kingdom where the darkness of Hell had feared to intrude. They all knew of its
story, even as far away as the Western Kingdoms.

Here had been a city revered by those who followed the light. Here had stood a marvel, ruled by regal
and kind lords who had guided the souls of all toward Heaven.

Here had been a kingdom so pure, stories had it that it had at last risen whole above the mortal plane, its
inhabitantstranscending mortal limitations, rising to join the angels.

тАЬYou see a sight worthy of the loss of your men, captain,тАЭ the Vizjerei whispered, extending one bony
hand toward the ruins. тАЬFor now you are one of the few fortunate ever to cast your eyes upon one of the
wonders of the pastтАФfabulous, lostUreh!тАЭ

TWO




She had alabaster skin devoid of even the slightest imperfection, long chestnut-red hair that fell well
below her perfectly rounded shoulders, and eyes of the deepest emerald green. If not for the eastern cast
of her facial features, he might have taken her for one of the tempestuous maidens of his own highland
home.

She was beautiful, everything a weary, war-bitten adventurer like Kentril had dreamed of each night
during the innocence of his youthтАФand still did to this very day.

A pity she had been dead for several hundred years.

Fingering the ancient brooch he had almost literally stumbled upon, Kentril surreptitiously studied his
nearby companions. They continued their back-breaking labor in complete ignorance of his find,
searching among the crumbled, foliage-enshrouded ruins for anything of value. So far, the treasure hunt
had been an utter failure as far as Kentril had been concerned. Here they worked, fifteen men strong, in
the midst of the remains of one of the most fabled cities of all, and the sum total for three days of hard
effort had been a small sack of rusted, bent, and mostly broken items of dubious value. The intricately
detailed brooch represented the greatest find yet, and even it would not pay for more than a fraction of
their arduous journey to this bug-infested necropolis.

No one looked his way. Deciding that he had earned at least this one token, Kentril slipped the artifact