"Lawhead,.Stephen.-.Dragon.King.01.-.In.The.Hall.Of.The.Dragon.King.v1.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lawhead Stephen)

The three dined on a thick, tasty soup and black bread, washed down with a heady nut-brown ale which Durwin brewed to perfection. After the dayТs exercise, Quentin held his own in appetite with the two men and remarked on several occasions that he had never tasted food so good.
After they had eaten they talked. The wandering conversations roamed the length and breadth of the world. It seemed to Quentin that no subject, from bees to bodkins and books, was left untouched. Never had Quentin been party to such fellowship; the templeТs strict regulations kept contact between priests very formal and extremely refined. Although he mostly just listened, Quentin found this new realization of friends around the board with good food and conversation fairly intoxicating. He reveled in it and soaked it up. He wished in his heart the night would stretch on forever.
At last Durwin stood and shook his tired head. УGood friends! We must go to bed. We will talk some more tomorrow.Ф
УI must leave tomorrow,Ф said Quentin, having entirely forgotten his mission. He peered apprehensively into the faces of the two men who regarded him carefully.
УSo soon?Ф replied Durwin. УI thought you would stay a little. I would like to show you what I have been doing since I left the temple.Ф
УAnd how will you be going?Ф Theido asked.
УMy horse!Ф Quentin shrieked. He had also cleanly forgotten about his animal in the friendly interchange around the hermitТs table. He dashed to the door and heaved it open, peering outside into the frigid, black night. There was nothing to be seen of the horse. With a look of horror he turned to the men. УI have lost him!Ф
УCan you describe him?Ф asked Theido.
УHe was a chestnut; the most beautiful horse I have ever seen. Now I have lost him.Ф
УFollow me,Ф Durwin commanded lightly. УI think we will find he has not wandered far.Ф The hermit turned and disappeared behind a standing partition lined with scrolls. Quentin ducked behind the partition and discovered that it concealed another room, the entrance of which was draped over with an immense bearskin. The room was dark and quiet, but warm and smelling strongly of hay and horses. Durwin carried a stubby candle and with it lit a pitch torch leaning in its holder on the wall. The sooty flame guttered and smoked furiously, then took hold and threw a steady light into the room.
This annex to the hermitТs lodge was a small cave. DurwinТs house had been built right up against the caveТs entrance, which explained the smooth stone floor of the hermitТs cottage. In the pale light of the torch Quentin could see his steed alongside two other slightly smaller animals, nose down in a heap of sweet fennel that had been thrown down for them. Relieved and somewhat embarrassed, Quentin thanked his host for his thoughtful-ness.
УWe guessed you were no true horseman,Ф remarked Theido good-naturedly, Уwhen we saw him standing in the yard untethered. A lesser animal would have wandered off for good. Your horse is well-trained, and I surmise you are not his master.Ф
Quentin shook his head sadly. УHe belongs to anotherЧor did...Ф
УEnough! We will sleep now and talk of these things in the morningЧwhich, unless I miss my guess, is soon upon us.Ф


FOUR

IT HAD been decided, quite without QuentinТs opinion but not altogether against his approval, that Theido would accompany him on the remainder of his journey. This had been discussed over a cheerful breakfast of hot porridge and milk, with bread dipped in honey. Quentin ate with unusual alacrity, his high spirits charged by a renewed sense of adventure.
The two men had shown considerable surprise that Quentin had made it this far through the forest without incident. Theido had said, УHereabouts, Pelgrin shelters outlaws of every description. Some there are who might set a high value on your horse,Ф he chuckled, and Durwin added, УAnd not so much on his rider.Ф
УThey wouldnТt dare touch me,Ф Quentin announced carelessly, full of himself and his own high spirits. УI carry a letter for the Queen.Ф
At this news, the first bare hint of QuentinТs clandestine errand, both men nearly jumped from their seats. QuentinТs jaw snapped shut in alarm when he realized he had ruined his secret. УThe Queen?Ф said Theido, recovering himself instantly. УWhat business might you have with the Queen, boy?Ф Now Quentin became guarded and secretive. УThat is my affair, and none of yours,Ф he said a little angrily, though the anger was for his own carelessness and not his questioner.
УThis letter might not be from the King?Ф Theido pursued.
УIТll tell you no more about it, six,Ф Quentin retorted.
Here Durwin interposed. УMy boy, while it may not occur to you at once, my friend and I have known for some time that you were about an errand of some importance. Your horse, for example, is the mount of a champion, and not the nag of an acolyte. IТll wager that your expulsion from the temple was due not to the willful breach of your sacred vows, but rather out of necessity to the task you have undertaken.Ф Durwin paused to regard Quentin carefully. Quentin colored somewhat under the hermitТs scrutiny and the sudden knowledge that he was so transparent. УI see that I have struck close to the mark.Ф
УLad, you can trust us. We mean you no harm. I think you will find no two better men who would hold your secret as their own though their lives were forfeit.Ф Theido spoke quietly and with deep assurance. Quentin believed the tall stranger, but sat in sullen silence, not knowing whether to speak further or hold.
УYou possess a strength of purpose and bravery enough for any two your size,Ф Durwin continued. УBut there are events afoot against which bravery and strength alone are no match. I think Biorkis realized this and sent you to me, hoping I would guess the seriousness of your mission and help you if I could. Perhaps the god himself prompted you to spill your secret in our hearing just now, to save you from harm.Ф
УIs it so dangerous, then, for a subject to confer with his Queen?Ф Quentin asked sullenly.
Both men nodded in silence. Theido replied, УSeeing the Queen is but a trifle, providing you were able to obtain entrance to the castle alive. There are those who would keep her ignorant of outside affairs, the better to plant their own evil seeds.Ф
УWithout our help you might never reach the Queen. Prince Jaspin would get you if an outlaw band did not.Ф
УPrince Jaspin?Ф Quentin wondered that he had never heard the name.
УPrince Jaspin,Ф Durwin explained, Уis King EskevarТs younger brother. He desires the throne of Askelon; he incites treason and treachery with increasing boldness. Honest men are afraid for their lands and lives if they dare stand against nun. Many nobles have lost everything to Jaspin for refusing to join in his intrigues.Ф
Quentin turned all this shocking information over in his mind, but found himself at a loss to know what to do. He at last decided to trust the former priest and his unusual friend and share with them the rest of his secret.
УI am going to see the Queen,Ф he stated slowly, Уto give her a message of importance. Two days ago a wounded knight came to the temple demanding our aid. He had been set upon by outlaws and was dying. I volunteered to take the message which was written in secret and sealed. It is his horse I ride, and this is his dagger.Ф Quentin drew back his cloak to reveal the knifeТs gold handle.
УThe knightЧdo you know his name?Ф Theido asked quickly.
УIt was Ronsard.Ф
УRonsard! You can be certain?Ф
УYes, I saw everything. He said his name and asked for someone to take the message to the Queen. I volunteered.Ф
УThen you are even braver than we thought,Ф said Durwin.
УThe messageЧit comes from the King, then,Ф said Theido. УRonsard is one of his personal bodyguards; a knight unequaled in strength and valor.Ф He looked at Quentin sadly. УHe is dead, you say?Ф
УYesЧthat is,Ф Quentin hesitated, УI think so. I dared not wait to see the end, but he was very near death when I left.Ф Quentin fell silent remembering vividly the events that had brought him hither. He felt afraid and very alone. УI can trust you ... youТll not deceive me? I promised not to tell...Ф
Durwin rose from his seat and came around the table and placed his hand upon QuentinТs shoulder. УMy son, you have done the Queen a great service by sharing your secret with us. Quite possibly yon have rendered your King an even greater service. Ronsard, I think, would be no less pleased with this outcome if he had thought of it himself.Ф
УThe hermit speaks the truth,Ф said Theido. УBut now we must make plans to deliver your message. The outlaws will be the least of our worries.Ф
Theido and Quentin left the hermitТs cottage about midday as a light snow of fitful flakes drifted down to lose themselves in the whiteness already deep upon the ground. Durwin remained behind to tend to his usual affairs saying, УI shall be waiting with hot soup and a cold drink when you return; I would only slow you down otherwise.Ф As they led their horses back along the narrow track to the road they heard his voice loud in the winter stillness calling, УThe god go with you, and keep you, and speed your safe return.Ф
УWho is the god Durwin serves?Ф Quentin asked after they had ridden several minutes in silence, each lost to his own thoughts.
Theido seemed to consider this question and answered at length, УI do not know that Durwin has ever spoken his name-it may be that he does not have one.Ф
A nameless god? The thought occupied Quentin for a long time.
They rode through the forest, a dense, old tangle of ancient oaks that wove huge branches overhead in a stark, intertwining canopy of bare limbs. Here and there a stand of finger-thin pines shot upward through the spreading branches of the oaks to find the light above.
The horses moved easily through the snow which had not drifted to any depth upon the forest floor. Theido rode ahead on his quick, brown palfrey and Quentin, astride the mighty Balder, followed not far behind at his right shoulder. Quentin listened to the forest sounds: snow sliding off the branches of trees with a soft plop, the creak of a bough shifting in the cold, a lone bird call sharp and distinct in the distance. Even the quiet was full of sounds when one listened.
УDo you think we will meet with any outlaws?Ф Quentin asked after awhile, remembering what had been said earlier.