"Jeffrey Lord - Blade 09 - Kingdom of Royth" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lord Jeffery)

moment in a new Dimension. Lord Leighton of course found it a fascinating psychological and
physiological phenomenon and had once devoted several hours to an enthusiastic and, to Blade, totally
unintelligible consideration of the various possible explanations for it. He shouted back.
"Friend!"
There were audible mutterings in reply to this, followed by another moment's silence. Then someone
shouted an order and the boat swung back on course towards Blade, the oars splashing away as busily
and as sloppily as before. In five minutes the boat was close enough for Blade to make out its occupants
clearlyтАФand for them to make him out also. At that point the boat stopped again. Blade grinned as he
realized that this must be the result of his own appearance. If these were the survivors of the battle, the
sight of a huge man whose near nakedness revealed massive muscles and whose hand held a long and
businesslike rapier would understandably be enough to make them hold back. He lowered the rapier to
the raft and spread both hands out in a conciliatory gesture.
"I said 'Friend,' damn you! What do I look like?"
That started the mutterings off again. He even heard one or two laughs. Apparently they couldn't
make up their minds. Finally, one man, bare to the waist but with the air of a leader about him, stood up
and shouted across.
"What was your ship, fellow?"
"None of these." Blade gestured at the hulks. "I hail from the south. My ship sank two days ago."
"Howfor it sank? No storms this part of t'ocean of late. Or did ye meet pirates too?"
"Pirates?"
"By Druk's sea-green beard, you're from a distant land if ye've no heard o' the pirates of Neral." The
man's eyes narrowed. "Less'n ye be one yourself. ForbyeтАФ" and he began to rattle off a stream of
words that Blade guessed must be some sort of slang. He went on until the blank
incomprehensionтАФpartly natural, partly assumedтАФon Blade's face brought him to a stop. Then he
shrugged. "If ye be not knowing the Neralers' cant, ye be none of them, tho' who ye be else I know not.
Throw me over that pigsticker ye be wavin', and then swim over to us bare as a babe. I'll be leavin' no
seaman here for the Neralers if they come back. But I'll not be riskin' my men either."
Blade complied. When he was safely in the boat, the man looked him over again carefully and said,
"Ye look like no man I've ever seen, but Druk's not a liker of sailors who abandon a man to the sea or
the Neralers. Still, ye'll be sittin' quiet and makin' no moves for a weapon, or ye'll be spitted and fed to
the fishes. IfтАФ"
"Brora! Look!" somebody behind them shouted. Blade and the other man spun about to see two
low-slung boats swing out from behind the abandoned galley and move towards them. Blade knew
instinctively that these were the Neral pirates Brora had mentioned. He also realized that if they found him
in a boatload of their enemies, they would kill him along with the rest before he could explain who he
was. Even a chance to explain might not do him any good. It was time to fight.
Brora was shouting to his men. There were clatters and scrapings of metal as swords and daggers
were drawn. He raised his hands to heaven and bellowed, "Druk, save us now!" and muttered under his
breath, "Why did we come back like a pack o' fools?" Blade took advantage of the distraction to snatch
up his rapier. Brora turned, started, glared at Blade.
"Damn it, Brora, I told you I was a friend! The pirates will kill me just as readily as they will you!
Don't waste your time distrusting me!" Brora frowned, but then nodded and handed Blade a dagger. The
pirates were almost up to them now. There was no room to run, only to fight.
 If the pirates had had arrows, the fight would have been hopeless. But they had only the same
swords and knives as their opponents, so they had to close. As the two pirate boats moved in, oars
thumping in a trained rhythm, Blade rose from the bottom of the boat to a half crouch and stared at them,
trying to guess their tactics.
One boat was going to cut off their retreat; it was swinging around behind them. The other was
coming straight in at full speed. In a moment Blade knew it was going to plough into them, trying to
capsize them. But Brora knew his business. He yelled to the oarsmen, and they snatched up the oars.