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

УPerfect,Ф Felmar said. УUnsaddle your beast and bring your things inside. We have a little while before anyone thinks to look here.Ф
From the beginning, theyТd been prepared to take on new identities if conditions warranted it. They carried beggarТs rags and peasant clothing, among other things; but the magnitude of the search presently being organized suggested that only the most ingenious disguise was going to get them safely out of Pikeport.
Hence Pregnant Goodwife and Worried Woodsman Husband.
Scarth, who was tall and brawny and lantern-jawed, portrayed the male member of the duo. Felmar, being small of stature and fine-featured, was to be the woman. He needed his companionТs help to get the bodice laced over his hugely augmented chest and stomach. Then he shaved so closely that his face was nearly scraped raw and arranged his wig and linen cap. All the time this was going on, Scarth suppressed snorts of laughter.
УYouТll laugh out of the other side of your face,Ф Felmar snarled, Уif thereТs a more competent resident wizard in the next town, and he puts up decent pictures of us.Ф
УDonТt bother your pretty head, Felmie dear,Ф Scarth chortled. УNo one will recognize us in this get-up.Ф He began converting his own neat beard into a scruffy stubble, adding smears of grime to his features.
УThey damned well better not,Ф muttered Felmar. If the pair came under the close personal scrutiny of law officers, they were bound to be recognized. The cover spellТs eye-clouding aspect was only effective beyond a distance of five feet.
Kilian had given instructions to divide the trove into two portions in case they became separated, so each Brother had carried a fardel holding a single ancient book and a leather pouch with fifty-odd inactive moonstones. Now that they were obliged to go on foot, this arrangement was no longer practical.
They wrapped the loot in a few pieces of spare clothing and shoved the bundle inside the foldable wicker cage that swelled FelmarТs front. Scarth sorted out food and other supplies and put them into a saddlecloth that he gathered into a pack. This he tied to a thick cudgel that could be carried over his shoulder. In his woodsman disguise, he wore a cased hatchet at his belt, along with a large hunting knife; but their suspiciously fine swords had to be concealed beneath FelmarТs voluminous skirts, where the scabbards knocked against his legs with every step.
After they had weighted the saddles and the rest of the discarded baggage with stones and sunk them in the lake, the two fugitives led their mounts along the shore until they came to another path that was at least half a league distant from the shed. There they stripped off the horsesТ bridles and turned them loose. The animals began to graze unconcernedly on the lush grass.
УUp to the highroad now,Ф Felmar said, Уand back to the Pikeport jetty, bold as brass. ThatТs the safest course. This village is one of the stops for the ferry that serves shore towns between Beech River and Elktor. The boatТll be here early in the morning. WeТre lowly folk now, you and me, not high-flown royal dispatch riders, so we donТt want to waste silver taking a room for the night. The weatherТs fine after the early rain. What we do is find a place to snooze at the ferry dock, as is perfectly natural, and stay there till the boat for Elktor comes by tomorrow.Ф
УWouldnТt it be safer to buy passage on some other vessel with fewer passengers?Ф Scarth said.
Felmar shook his bewigged head. УNo. The more folk around us, the better. Your nameТs Hoddo and mineТs Juby. Anybody questions us, IТll snivel and bewail my lot like preggie women do. You act short-tempered and distraught, and scold me for wanting to go to my mother at Elktor instead of having the babe in our hut down in the Beech Swamp. Trust me: none of the other ferry riders will want to have anything to do with us. Once we reach the city, weТll buy horses and new clothes and head for Roaring Gorge. If all goes well, we should reach the rendezvous with Lord Kilian in a couple of days.Ф
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The wind on the lake was light and variable after the early-morning rainstorm passed, less than ideal for the livestock boat Vra-Garon had hired to take Kilian and his party to the head of the lake. They had left Elkport at dawn, but after several hours under sail, the boat had traveled less than five leagues. The surly crew were disinclined to man the sweeps until Kilian promised to pay an extra fee, but even then the craft made a slow go of it, creeping northward along the rugged western shore of the lake at a relative snailТs pace throughout the first part of the day.
Kilian spent most of his time in the cockpit, pumping the skipper for local information. His natural talent had recuperated to the extent that he was capable of distorting his facial features. That and the lay garb he now wore would make him unrecognizable to casual windwatchers. He still lacked the ability to screen the other four members of his party, however, so they were forced to stay inside the boatТs deckhouse, where they were less likely to be noticed. The cabin was cramped and odorous, even with its door and two tiny portlights open, because the doorway faced astern and the feeble breeze came from the starboard quarter. The only furniture consisted of bench lockers with torn leather padding that doubled as bunks, a cold cookstove sitting in a tray of sand, a woodrack, and a splintery table.
УIt wouldnТt be so bad,Ф Raldo fretted, Уif the boat werenТt utterly filthy! The deck outside is so crusted with manure that I canТt bear the thought of setting foot on it.Ф
Garon, a handsome young man with chestnut curls and a cleft chin, whose fondness for female company had undermined his acceptance of a celibate lifestyle, only laughed. УItТs a cattle transport, Brother Butterball. What dТyou expect? Drifts of rose petals?Ф
УI donТt see why we couldnТt leave our horses behind and secure new ones at the head of the lake,Ф the fat man grumbled. УThen we might have hired a faster and more comfortable boat.Ф
Cleaton had been sitting in gloomy silence, mending a split seam in his new riding gauntlet. He lifted his saturnine face and gave Raldo a sour look. УIf youТd taken the trouble to study the terrain as the rest of us have done, youТd know that thereТs no settlement at the place where we intend to disembarkЧ and certainly no seller of decent horseflesh.Ф
УAccording to the maps I saw at the abbey, thereТs nothing at the mouth of the gorge,Ф Niavar said. УNothing inside it either, except a skimpy path above the river that seems to peter out well before it reaches the border divide. But itТs still the safest route out of Cathra for the likes of us. Right, Garon?Ф
УOh, yes,Ф the young Brother agreed. УThereТs a game trail that goes over the top into Didion. I herded the family sheep up Roaring Gorge in summertime when I was a boy and explored all its nooks and crannies. We may have a few sticky moments in places where we have to ford torrents or cut around landslides or washouts, but at least we donТt have to worry that Count Elktor will lead his troops very far in there after us.Ф He laughed. УLike most folk of the region, Lord Olvan has a superstitious dread of the deep interior of the gorge. Thinks itТs crawling with demons, the simpleton! What a disappointment he must be to his father, Duke Parlian. Members of the Beorbrook family have been Earl Marshals of the Realm forever, but Parlian knows his lummox son lacks the stones to inherit the office. When the old man can no longer serve, the Sovereign is sure to bypass Ollie Elktor and install another clan in Beorbrook Hold.Ф
УLook!Ф said Cleaton, who had ignored the dynastic discourse. УThe boat crew have pulled in their oars. I think thereТs a fair breeze filling the sail again.Ф
УWell, thanks be to Zeth,Ф muttered Niavar. УMaybe weТll reach the lake-head later tonight after all.Ф
УThe very idea of sleeping aboard this floating dunghill turns my stomach,Ф said Raldo.
A coarse joke at the stout BrotherТs expense occurred to Garon, but before he could get it out of his mouth, the tall form of Kilian appeared at the deckhouse door.
УGood news, comrades,Ф he said. УA breeze is rising now that the sun is lowering behind the mountains. WeТll move along a little faster from here on, and enjoy more fresh air as well.Ф
The others murmured gratefully.
Kilian said, УIТve been exploring the windworld very cautiously, trying to sharpen my disused talent, and I discovered some interesting things. ThereТs a great to-do going on, with windspeech threads filling the air like spider gossamer. Searchers from Zeth Abbey are raking both shores of the lake.Ф
УLooking for us?Ф Niavar inquired grimly.
УItТs possible, although Abbas Waringlow promised to deflect the hunt away from vessels on the lake. I rather suspect the surge of magical activity involves Brothers Felmar and ScarthЧthe two coming up from Gala to meet us.Ф
УWith the treasure?Ф Raldo blurted.
Kilian stared at him wordlessly for a long minute. УThey carry an important collection of arcana, which I was forced to leave behind in the palace when I was sent to the abbey. ItТs hardly a treasure, since it has no value to anyone but me. Still, if my property is safely returned, all of us will be immeasurably better off in our new lives at the Didionite court.Ф
УAh!Ф said Garon, his eyes narrowing with interest. УWill you tell us more about this arcana collection, my lord?Ф
УNot until itТs safely in my hands.Ф
УHave you bespoken these other Brothers to see how they fare?Ф Garon persisted.
УThat would be the height of foolishness, since my windspeech thread might be backtracked to me by an expert practitioner, revealing my own location.Ф
УOh.Ф Garon was abashed. УI didnТt think of that.Ф
УA person who was rash enough to attempt to contact those men before weТve reached the safety of the mountainsЧor windsearch for themЧwould jeopardize all that weТve accomplished so far. Is this clearly understood?Ф
They murmured in unison, УYes, Lord Kilian.Ф
УGood.Ф He went to the table and unrolled a small map. УCome close and study this. It was procured for me by my sister, Queen Mother Cataldis, and shows the region between Roaring Gorge and the Lady Lakes of Didion, according to the best of current knowledge. Of course, much of the high-mountain area is still unknown territory, but we must trust that our Brother Garon will be able to guide us through it safely.Ф
УAbsolutely, my lord!Ф Garon bent over the sheet. УWell, just look here: The good queenТs mapmaker is evidently unaware of the cave where weТre to rendezvous with our two other companions. ThatТs fortunate. I havenТt been there for nearly ten years, and I feared the hole might have been discovered by others. ItТd be a nasty surprise, wouldnТt it, if we got there and found someone else besides our friends waiting for us.Ф
The others looked at him, appalled.
УDonТt worry, IТll go on ahead and scout it out,Ф Garon reassured them. УAnd Lord Kilian can give the cave a good scry before we venture inside. We wouldnТt want to meet a bear!Ф
УA bear?Ф Raldo wailed.
УSome Tarnian shamans can windsearch through solid rock,Ф the alchymist said in a distant voice. УAnd certain conjurers of Moss are also said to have that ability. But I do not. So you see, Vra-Garon, our security will rest entirely in your hands.Ф
УYou can depend on me.Ф The young Brother gave him a confident smile. УDonТt worry about bears. They leave signs of their presence and theyТre afraid of fire, like all animals. If I find that one is living in our cave, IТll roust him out. We may end up having him for dinner!Ф
УZeth forfend,Ф Kilian snapped. УGaron, I want you to explain the details of the gorge travel route to our comrades while I go back to the captain. IТve decided that itТs most important that I understand how this boat is steered.Ф He set a tall glass bottle that he had been carrying onto the cabin table. УHereТs a treat for all of you to share laterЧa magnum of vintage Stippenese Moen Valley wine, courtesy of my sisterТs friend, Lady Sovanna, whose hospitality we enjoyed last night in Elkhaven. IТve already given the crew members and the captain a taste, and they were very appreciative of its quality. You may finish it off with your supper before settling down to sleep.Ф
Warm cries of gratitude.
Raldo asked timidly, УMaster, is there no hope that we might reach our destination tonight?Ф