"Boreal Moon - 02 - Ironcrown Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (May Julian)

His second dream of Beynor had hardly faded, and he woke with difficulty. Someone was shaking his arm. He opened his eyes and saw the forbidding face of Vra-Ligorn, the Hebdomader or superintendent of discipline at Zeth Abbey. He was at first unable to stir, as sometimes happens when one is roused from deep sleep. Then the blankets were stripped away and he was hoisted to his feet. Two husky Brother Caretakers manhandled him into his clothes. Two more held heavy staves and lighted lanterns, even though they had opened the opaque drapes to allow the early-morning twilight of Solstice Day to enter his bedroom. The caretakers of the Order of Zeth wore brown robes. Although they possessed talent, it was too weak to generate important magic, so they devoted themselves to serving the ordained Brethren through manual labor or domestic duties.
Kilian found his voice at last. УVra-Ligorn, where are you taking me?Ф
УTo a cell on the sump-pit level, my lord. And you must submit to being chained while we convey you there.Ф
The last remnants of sleep evaporated in a burst of dismay as Kilian finally realized what was happening to him. The comfortable little apartment where he had lived for four years under open detention was to be exchanged for a windowless dungeon.
УDoes Prior Waringlow know of thisЧthis highly eccentric order?Ф he protested. УYou know how ill Father Abbas has been. At times he even shows symptoms of dementia. I canТt believe he was in his right mind when he issued this order. IТve done nothing to provoke such punishmentЧФ
УAbbas Noachil is as rational as you or I,Ф the Hebdomader said without emotion. УThe command for your close confinement came directly from High King Conrig, via the Royal Alchymist, Lord Stergos. ThereТs no mistake.Ф
УI see.Ф He extended his wrists for the fetters, and said not another word as they conveyed him into the bowels of the abbey, down to the third basement, where the drains from the upper floors debouched into an evil-smelling underground watercourse. There were only a handful of dismal cells down there, reserved for the most heinous sinners. Usually, no prisoner remained there long before being handed over to the secular authorities for execution.
Is this to be my fate, he wondered, only hours from the coup that was to have liberated DarasiloТs Trove, set me free, and restored my lost powers? What could have happened to make Conrig do such a thing? Had Vitubio, Felmar, and Scarth revealed their intentions through some blunder? Has my nephew Feribor implicated me in his political intrigues? OrЧworst thought!Чis Beynor responsible for this, playing some treacherous double game in hopes of eliminating me before I can take possession of the trove?
УIn here, if you please, my lord.Ф
They had reached the dungeon. Vra-Ligorn unlocked a cubicle carved from solid rock that was hardly two ells wide and three ells long, and motioned for him to enter. As a wearer of the iron gammadion of shame, stripped of every talent and privilege of the Mystical Order, Kilian was no longer honored with the title of УBrotherФ or УVra.Ф But no one could deny his noble Blackhorse blood, and so his gaolers had called him Уmy lordФ during his period of detentionЧalbeit with an ironic inflection.
The cell door clanged shut behind him. It was iron, with a rotary hopper through which food and other items might be passed and an observation slot covered with metal mesh. Dim light from the corridor illuminated a narrow cot and a heap of blankets, a large covered water-jar, and a tiny table that held a pottery basin with a block of soap and two rough towels. A wooden stool stood beside the table.
УFather Abbas has graciously consented to leave a lighted lantern outside your cell,Ф Ligorn said, Уso you and your fellow-inmates need not suffer the added privation of utter darkness. Your meals will also be as usualЧnot bread and waterЧand you have warm bedding.Ф
Fellow-inmates?
УHow long must I remain here?Ф Kilian asked.
УUntil it pleases Father Abbas to release you. If you are well behaved, you will be given books to read and candles later. There is a latrine beneath the stone lid in the cellТs far corner, and a box of green leaves for your comfort. If you urgently require anything else, inform the Brothers who will bring your breakfast.Ф
The Hebdomader and the others went away then, and Kilian called out softly through the door slot, УWho else is here?Ф
УNiavar.Ф
УRaldo.Ф
УCleaton.Ф
So the three close associates who had been convicted of treason along with him were also imprisoned. But clever young Vra-Garon Curtling, who had joined KilianТs cause hoping to escape his vow of celibacy, was evidently still free. More importantly, so was Prior WaringlowЕ
УMy poor comrades,Ф he said. УI fear that King Conrig has roused Father AbbasТs suspicions of us. Our mutual friend may find it more difficult to aid our escape, but IТm confident that heТll still find a way to carry out the plan.Ф
УMaster, something must have gone seriously awry down in Gala,Ф said Niavar. He had been KilianТs principal deputy and Keeper of Arcana. Diminutive stature and an eyeball that wandered grotesquely around in its socket had made him an object of ridicule when they were both novices; but the handsome, imposing Kilian had unaccountably befriended clever little Niavar and thus earned his undying loyalty. УI warned you not to trust Vra-Vitubio. The man was eager, but too slow-thinking to be reliable. ItТs possible that his clumsiness has undone us all.Ф
УWeТre finished!Ф RaldoТs voice was shrill with terror. He had been the Palace Novicemaster, a stout, deceptively jolly-faced man notorious for savagely punishing the slightest infraction of the Rule. УConrig has discovered everything and weТre dead men!Ф
УNonsense,Ф said Kilian.
But Raldo persisted. УMaster, youТll only have your head chopped off because youТre noble. But we commoners will be hanged, cut down alive, drawn, and quartered. Oh, I canТt bear the thought of it. My poor entrails hacked out and held up dripping before my eyesЕ my limbs severed while IТm still conscious!Ф
УBe silent, you silly bag of guts,Ф growled Cleaton. He was a burly man with a swarthy, pinched countenance who didnТt suffer fools gladly, the former Hebdomader of the Palace Brethren. УYou only make things worse with your futile imaginings. We canТt be sure that weТve been condemned. Vra-Ligorn didnТt say so. In fact, he sounded almost apologetic when he locked us up. Why would he be so solicitous of our comfort if weТre going to die? HeТs hardly known as a font of kindliness. NoЧmark my words, thereТs something odd going on. LigornТs caught in the middle, and he wants to save his arse by obeying old Noachil at the same time that he preserves Lord Kilian and us from the worst hardships of this putrid hellhole.Ф
Until the downfall of their master, the trio had enjoyed high positions at Gala Palace, where courtiers, servants, and the younger Brothers forced to endure their petty tyranny had dubbed them Squinty, Butterball, and Vinegar-Face. They had not endured their captivity well. Being stripped of magical power and authority had turned Niavar sullen and Cleaton quarrelsome, while Raldo had grown morose and added another six stone to his already considerable weight. There were times when Kilian regretted having included the three of them in his escape plans. But they were his oldest friends in the Order, who had served him faithfully for nearly thirty years.
And two of them, at least, might still play useful roles in the adventure to come.
УI urge you not to lose heart, Raldo,Ф he said. УCleaton is quite right. We have no solid reason to believe that weТre compromised. If the king had certain knowledge of our conspiracy, he would have taken much more drastic action against us.Ф
УBut why else would he suddenly command that we be shut up in a dungeon?Ф the fat man asked querulously. УThe smell of this awful place! I nearly swooned away when we first arrived.Ф
Someone gave a snort of derision.
Kilian responded with patience. УWhatever King ConrigТs reason, it likely has nothing at all to do with our plan of escape. Now listen to me, comrades:
At this very moment, our friend Vra-Garon is on his way back to the abbey from Elkhaven, on the great lake. While there on an errand for the abbas, he collected horses and lay clothing for us at Ironside Manor, the home of Lady Sovanna, who is a close friend to my sister, the Queen Mother. What Garon doesnТt know is that the lady also holds in safekeeping for me a large sum of money, which will finance our flight to Didion.У
УYou told us that Queen Cataldis had balked at sending the gold,Ф Niavar said. УWhat made her change her mind?Ф
УI sent a secret letter to Duke Feribor, my nephew, who foolishly expects me to help him become High King. He has his own special methods of persuasion.Ф
УI hear he used them to excess on his late wife,Ф Cleaton said with heavy sarcasm.
Kilian said, УThe money will be sufficient to pay for everything we need on our journey, with plenty left over to bribe Somarus of Didion, who has agreed to put us under his protection.Ф
УThe rebel prince?Ф Niavar was hesitant. УMaster, he and his followers are little more than a ragtag gang of brigands!Ф
УSo Conrig and Honigalus would have everyone believe. But things are not always what they seem. Somarus has a wide base of support among the barons of that kingdomТs remote hinterlands, who give only lip-service to the Sovereignty and consider King Honigalus a craven traitor for having submitted to vassalage. If Honigalus and his heirs were eliminated, Somarus would inherit DidionТs throne. And a person who was in a position toЕ assist the new king in a significant manner would share his power.Ф
УDo you speak of yourself, Lord Kilian?Ф Cleaton asked. УAnd is the elimination of DidionТs Royal Family mere wishful thinking, or something more?Ф
Kilian did not reply to the questions. УAfter we escape from the abbey, weТll ride directly to Elkhaven. It will be arranged so that no one notices that weТre missing for many hours. Vra-Garon has hired a cattle-transport boat and crew to carry us and our horses north to Roaring Gorge, at the head of the great lake. About thirteen leagues up the gorge is a cave that almost no one knows about. There weТll take shelter, and wait for certain companions whoТll travel with us over the Sinistral Range. We will follow tracks known only to shepherdsЧand to Vra-Garon, who spent his boyhood in the border high-lands. Eventually weТll come to the Lady Lakes region of the Elderwold, where weТll join Prince Somarus and his men.Ф
Raldo said, УMaster, I always presumed that Great Pass was the only safe way to cross the Sinistrals.Ф
УItТs the first place ConrigТs troops would look for us.Ф
УRiding through high mountains on backcountry tracks sounds very difficult and dangerous,Ф Raldo protested. His high-pitched voice trembled with anxiety. УAnd the Elderwold is said to be full of fierce creatures and Green Men! Who will cook our food and care for the horses? Where are we to spend the nights? I donТt think I could bear sleeping on the ground.Ф
УBazekoyТs Burning Brisket!Ф growled Niavar. УStay here in the dungeon, then, Butterball, and enjoy the food and warm bed. After a few weeks, you wonТt even notice the stench.Ф
УMaster, it wonТt just be soldiers hunting us.Ф Dour Cleaton was deadly serious. УYou said weТd have magic to shield us from windsearchers. But howЧФ
УAnd so we will. The person who will release us from this prison has promised to unlock our iron gammadions as well.Ф
Niavar and Cleaton uttered oaths. Raldo quavered, УMy talents? IТll have my talents back?Ф
УOnly those we were born with,Ф Kilian said, Уnot the additional powers we gained when we were ordained. The combined magic of the four of us should be sufficient to defend us from ordinary pursuers and all but the most powerful wind adepts. And I have conceived a new cover spell of peculiar efficacy, which I shall erect over us as soon as my talent recovers from the years of disuse.Ф
УWho in GodТs name is this collaborator within the abbey?Ф Niavar asked. УAnd why is he willing to break his vows to Saint Zeth and commit treason against the Sovereignty in order to help us?Ф