"Jeffrey Lord - Blade 25 - Torian Pearls." - читать интересную книгу автора (Lord Jeffery)

Blade suddenly felt almost friendly toward the leader. The man had pride, but it was the pride of a
warrior who knew he was so good that he didn't have to prove it by meaningless bloody little fights. It
was also the pride of a warrior whose followers knew that he was good. He could refuse a fight in full
sight and hearing of the other three men without losing their respect.

He looked like a good man to have on one's side in a new Dimension. Other warriors of the Kargoi
would listen to him and his judgments. They might not obey him or follow him in battle, but they would
hardly slip a knife into a stranger under his protection. Without shedding a drop of anyone's blood, Blade
had won his first victory in this Dimension. To win the same victory in other Dimensions he'd had to kill as
many as a dozen men.

The leader crossed his arms on his chest. "Who are you, and what do you seek in this land where the
Kargoi have left their trail?"

"My name is Blade. I seek the Kargoi."

"I am Paor. You seek us alone and naked?"

"I have not heard that one needs to come to the Kargoi with an army, if one does not wish them harm.
Their warriors can tell an enemy when they see one and do all that is needed. But those who are not
enemies ...." Blade shrugged.

Paor smiled. He obviously recognized the flattery, but still enjoyed hearing it. Few men can resist being
praised for their honorable behavior.

"Indeed, you know the ways of the Kargoi," said Paor blandly. "I think the time has come for you to
know them better. You shall come to the camp of the Red People and speak before their baudzi." He
turned to one of the other men. "Agik, join Bayus on his mount. Blade, mount upon Agik's drend and we
shall take you with us."

In a minute the two warriors were doubled up on one drend. In another minute Blade was mounted on
the back of the vacant one. Paor took the reins of Blade's mount and tied them with a length of rope to
his own straps. Then he remounted and dug his heels into the flanks of his drend. The beast grunted
irritably, then lurched into motion. The other warriors fell in behind Blade, and the little party trotted off
across the plain, through the twilight.

Minute by minute, the drends slowly increased their pace from a leisurely walk to the rolling trot Blade
had seen first. Soon they were moving fast enough so that a man would have had to run in order to stay
ahead of them. More important, it seemed as though the drends would be able to keep going long after
most men had run themselves breathless and collapsed, to be trampled underfoot.

Blade now understood why the mounted warriors of the Kargoi carried bows and swords, but no
lances. The drends were too slow and solid. Even the best warrior mounted on one could hardly press
home a charge against an opponent who was free to move.

On the other hand, this same slowness and solidity made the drends excellent platforms for archery and
swordsmanship. Did the Kargoi rain arrows on their opponents from a distance, then close in and go to
work with their swords? Blade was intrigued by the idea. He'd never fought a cavalry battle in slow
motion before!