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

УI remember. The bastard convinced Lord Feribor to remove me from the mission at the last minute.Ф He rolled his eyes. УOf course, if IТd gone along, IТd be dead in battleЧlike Mero and the other two luckless sods who accompanied you. All heroes, to be sure, but IТd as lief be unheroic and abide among the living.Ф
УThe armigers Saundar and Belamil were not killed in battle, as was said at the time. Mero slew them foully after we secured the bridge for ConrigТs army.Ф
УNo!Ф Gavlok lowered the bread and meat from his mouth and quenched the fire of the mustard with a gulp of beer.
УYes. He committed murder because he coveted this.Ф Snudge wiped his greasy hands on the tablecloth and opened the front of his shirt, extracting a small square carving of milky stone hung on a golden chain. In the shadowed room, it shone with a greenish inner radiance. УDo you remember this amulet of mine?Ф
Gavlok nodded. УThe lucky charm you wore when first you joined the Heart Companion company of armigers. I remember Mero teasing you about it. I donТt remember it glowing, though.Ф
УIt wasnТt alive then. Now it isЧand itТs not a lucky charm. ItТs a powerful magical tool, a moonstone sigil named Concealer, able to render a man invisible. I took it from the body of BeynorТs agent Iscannon, the one I killed in Castle Vanguard.Ф
УBloody hell! How does it work?Ф
УAll I do is command it. The sigil obeys only me because IТm its rightful owner. I can also use it to hide other persons who stick close to me, and even conceal things such as the horse IТm riding or a small boat that I sit in, if theyТre within about four ells of me and the stone. On the Mallmouth mission, I made all four of us armigers invisible. This is how we gained access to the drawbridge tower and opened the way for our army.Ф
УPutter me blind! And you say Mero wanted to steal this sigil from you?Ф
УYes, and when it seemed he would fail in the attempt, he tried to smash it with his broadsword, not knowing that a sigil can defend itself from one who would separate it from its bonded owner. My Concealer burned Mero to ashes and was unharmed by his blow. I told King Conrig that the moonstone was lost during our fight to secure the bridge. IТve maintained this fiction ever sinceЧalthough His Grace suspects the lie.Ф
УBut why deny the sigilТs existence? The ability to go invisible would be a priceless asset forЕ one who is a kingТs man.Ф
УYou mean a spy,Ф Snudge said without rancor. УI declined to use Concealer anymore because it draws its power from the Beaconfolk, those terrible entities who masquerade as the Northern Lights.Ф
Gavlok looked at him askance and quaffed more beer. УIЧI thought they were only a tale told to frighten naughty children.Ф
УHere in Cathra, where the Brothers of Zeth practice an orderly and scientific form of magic and influence the beliefs of the people, the true nature of the Beaconfolk has been nearly forgotten. But the people of Didion, Tarn, and Moss know full well that the ones they call the Great Lights or the Coldlight Army are very real. The Beaconfolk had a shadowy relationship with the Salka, the spunkies, and other inhuman beings who inhabited this island long before BazekoyТs conquest. Through moonstone sigils like this Concealer, the Lights are capable of exerting a malignant influence on humankind as well.Ф
Gavlok eyed the thing with apprehension. УBut only if you use its magic, right?Ф
УYes. The Great Lights share their power with sigil owners, and extract a price in return. Each time one uses a sigil, one suffers subsequent pain during sleep until the debt is repaid. The suffering is proportional to the type of sorcery produced by the stone.Ф
УButЕ why should this be so?Ф
УThe Beaconfolk have still another name: theyТre the Pain-Eaters. Ages ago, they encouraged the Salka and some other inhuman creatures living on our island to make sigils so they could satisfy their diabolical hunger. Much later, a few human beings also used the stones. I was told by Lord Stergos that the Beaconfolk are both irascible and capricious. If they become angeredЧor sometimes for no good reason that people can fathomЧthey may abruptly condemn a sigil user to death, or even damn his soul to the Hell of Ice, where he lives and suffers forever.Ф
УBlessed Zeth, what a horror! I marvel that youТre willing to dare such peril by using that thing.Ф
Snudge replaced the moonstone inside his shirt. УConcealer is deemed a very minor sigil, and the pain it gives is not so severe, nor is there much danger of insulting the Beaconfolk through its use. But there exist so-called Great Stones, such as those owned by the Conjure-Queen, that inflict a prolonged and debilitating agony upon the owner and place the person using them in a more precarious position. One sort of Great Stone is called Weathermaker. Both Ullanoth and her brother Beynor used Weathermakers during the war with Didion to create strong winds and storms. Even worse is a sigil called Subtle Loophole, also owned by the Conjure-Queen. This kind of stone is capable of scrying anyone or anything in the world, given proper instruction.
Ullanoth has used her Great Stones overmuch in the service of our High King, out of besotted love for him, and greatly injured her health. I think the woman must be daftЕ but then, IТve never been in love myself.У
УSo itТs true,Ф Gavlok whispered. УConrig gained his Sovereignty through high sorcery, even though he publicly denies it.Ф
УI believe that our kingТs own bravery and intelligence played a greater role in his triumph. That is why I remain his faithful servant. But the magic of the Beaconfolk also aided his cause, and so my conscience has been torn between loyalty to my liege lord and certain knowledge that sigils are evil and canТt help but ruin the souls of those who use them. Queen Ullanoth may do as she pleases with her own awful stones. But I faced a moral dilemma with my lesser one. I still donТt know if IТve made the proper choiceЧbut after thinking the matter over, I decided I would use Concealer again if it became absolutely necessary. I do this only because IТve judged King ConrigТs cause to be worthy.Ф
УI understand.Ф
УOn the Mallmouth Bridge mission, I didnТt tell my companions the true nature of Concealer: its link to the Beaconfolk. They knew only that it was a magical thing IТd taken from a Mosslander wizard. They were unaware that it could kill. They were also unaware that if I had died, its bond to me would have been severedЧwhereupon some foolish or wicked person might seize the inactive sigil with impunity and perhaps bring it to life again. There is a particular danger of this happening in Tarn, where weТre headed, because the shamans of that nation are both powerful and resentful of the Sovereignty. To prevent my sigil from falling into the wrong hands, I ask a boon of you. If I should perish on this mission, take Concealer from my body and smash it to dust. YouТll know itТs harmless if the pale inner glow disappears. But if I only seem to be dead, or am separated somehow from the sigil and it still glows, then beware. The thing will harm you or even kill you if you touch it. Scoop it up instead with a metal implement and bury it deep where no man will ever find it. Will you do this for me, Gavlok?Ф
УI will.Ф
УMy friend, I thank you.Ф
Snudge frowned as an unpleasant notion came to mind. There was small chance that their party would stumble upon the two thieves carrying the Trove of Darasilo. HeТd windsearched for them on the journey from Gala to Teme as the king had commanded him, finding nothing. He thought it probable that the pair were well hidden by some sort of strong magic and traveling nowhere near the Great North Road, which was alive with royal troops and reevesТ deputies who stopped and questioned anyone fitting the fugitivesТ description. Nevertheless, Snudge decided Gavlok had to be warned, in case the unlikely should happen.
УThereТs something else I must tell you. Concealer isnТt the only moonstone sigil in existence. Will you swear to similarly dispose of any others you may happen to findЧwhether they be alive or dead?Ф
УOf course IТll swear, Deveron, if you really believe itТs necessary.Ф
УThe notion of acquiring the powers of high sorcery doesnТt tempt you, then?Ф
УGreat God, no!Ф The young knight was aghast. УIt scares me stiff.Ф
Snudge released a long breath and slumped back in his chair. УYouТre a fortunate man. Pronounce the solemn oath.Ф
After Gavlok did so, the two of them ate ravenously. They were finishing jam tarts and the last of the beer when there came a scratching at the chamber door.
УEnter!Ф said Gavlok.
The apprentice windvoice Vra-Mattis poked his tousled head in. His face glowed with excitement. УSir Deveron, IТve been bespoken by Vra-Sulkorig. ItТs an important message for you from the High King.Ф
Snudge felt the food in his belly congeal into an indigestible lump. In his fatigue, and his anxiety at confiding in Gavlok, heТd forgotten that Conrig had promised to transmit his decision about seeking help from the Conjure-Queen and her Loophole.
Gavlok climbed to his feet. УI must visit the jakes anyhow. I hope the news is good.Ф He pushed past the little Brother and disappeared.
Snudge said, УCome in, Mat, and close the door. The beerТs gone, or IТd offer you some. Have a tart, if you wish. I hope you and the others ate well.Ф
Mattis shrugged off the irrelevancy. УThe High King wishes to inform you that there is fresh word of Princess Maudrayne.Ф
УWhat!Ф
УA witch of Donorvale in Tarn bespoke a blanket windcall to the Brethren at Gala Palace. This person, whose name is Yavenis, is an unsavory character who peddles nostrums and spells to the lower orders in the Tarnian capital. Nevertheless, she claimed to have important information about the princess, which she said sheТd reveal in exchange for a large reward. The king authorized payment through the SovereigntyТs ambassador in Donorvale, and Yavenis related the following tale, which she supposedly received from an outlaw shaman of Northkeep called Blind Bozuk.Ф
He recited an abbreviated version of MaudrayneТs escape from the sea-hag, her arrival at Northkeep Castle with her maid Уand the maidТs small son,Ф and her subsequent abduction by Ansel Pikan.
УBut this Blind Bozuk has no notion of where Ansel may have taken the princess and the others?Ф Snudge asked.
УYavenis says he told her that he didnТt know. He may have lied. Bozuk is apparently a talented spell-weaver who cannot be controlled by Ansel, hence his designation as an outlaw. His windsearching ability is exceptionally keen even if his eyesight is not. He was obliged to use Yavenis to bespeak his message to Gala Palace, since he lacks the ability to converse across great distances. Thus the two magickers will split the reward. Yavenis suspects that Bozuk will hold back any further information he may have about the princess until he can be sure of receiving a larger reward that he can keep all for himself.Ф
УHmph.Ф Snudge nodded with grudging respect. It was the sensible thing for the rogue to do.
УYavenis threw in another piece of intelligence for free. High Sealord Sernin set sail from Donorvale in the wee hours of this morning, accompanied by a fleet of fifteen swift warships. He was said to be en route to Northkeep, which is ruled by MaudrayneТs brother. All of the windvoices in the vicinity of that castle save Bozuk have been bound to silence by Ansel Pikan. ItТs possible that the Lord of Northkeep intends to meet Sernin at sea and discuss his sisterТs visit with him. Vra-Sulkorig said you would understand the potentially flammable political repercussions of this.Ф
Snudge groaned. УGodТs Blood! If only we had set out to Tarn by ship! ItТll be more than ten days before we can reach the Tarnian coast traveling overland. Vra-Sulkorig gave no order for us to turn back?Ф
УNay. As a matter of fact, we are instructed to ride north with all speed this very night.Ф
УWhatТs that?Ф Snudge leapt to his feet, his face suffused with incredulous anger. УYou silly knave! Why didnТt you tell me this before?Ф