"Boreal Moon - 02 - Ironcrown Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (May Julian)
I spent a good part of my earlier life as teacher to a king. Until His GraceТs son, out of jealousy and spite, named me a traitor and cast me down. This is why I now seek a new position with a more congenial liege lord, whom I will gladly instruct as he bids me.
УHow soon can you reach Boarsden Castle?Ф
It may take as long as four days. I travel afoot through rugged mountains, with a few trusted companions. But our not-quite-friend is capable of reaching you much sooner. He may already he in the vicinity of the castle, waiting upon developments.
УThen IТll keep him waiting a little longer! Come and talk to me, Kilian Blackhorse, and weТll see whether congeniality prevails. Now, I bid you farewell.Ф
Tesk lifted his head and opened his eyes. УThe alchymist responds: Until our meeting.Ф
УWhat did you think of him?Ф the prince asked. УWell-spoken sort of fellow, wasnТt he?Ф
УIТm sure he could serve you better than I,Ф the little wizard said humbly. УIf he really was Royal Alchymist to the Cathran king, he must be a very powerful sorcerer indeed.Ф
Somarus grinned and clapped Tesk on the shoulder. УBut is he trustworthy? ThatТs the real question. I know I can trust you, old friend.Ф
УThank you, Your Highness.Ф
Somarus turned to the Green Woman, who had been listening with a grave expression on her face. УMistress Cray, will you tell me what you thought of this KilianТs proposalЧand the man himself?Ф
УWhy should my opinion matter to you?Ф
The prince persisted. His tone was light and bantering, but nonetheless fraught with intensity. УYouТve insisted on attaching yourself to my entourage. Only God knows whyЧor maybe your Source! You warned me to be cautious while bespeaking this man, and you seem like a person of great good sense. Please do me this small courtesy. Tell me what you think of Kilian Blackhorse.Ф
УHe will never be any manТs friend,Ф she said, not meeting the princeТs eye. УThere is no true loyalty in him, only expediency. He would serve you well in time of war, but not in peace. More I cannot tell you.Ф
УSo Kilian would serve me well in time of war, eh?Ф The prince urged his horse forward with a body movement. УThat sounds good enoughЕ Baron Cuva! WeТll ride on now.Ф
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Well concealed in a green cave of dense, overhanging branches at the riverТs edge, Beynor crouched in his boat and called down silent imprecations on his wily confederate. So Kilian had regained his talent! HeТd managed to rid himself of the iron gammadion without the help Beynor had promised him. And now the perfidious alchymist made bold to foment doubt in the mind of Somarus concerning BeynorТs integrity, apparently unconcerned about his windspeech being overheard.
That Kilian would act against him so blatantlyЧand so soon!Чwas ominously significant. It seemed plain that the alchymist felt himself in real danger of being denied a position of power in SomarusТs new regime, and knew he had to act swiftly. He was attempting to bolster his prospects at BeynorТs expense because he had precious little else to bargain with.
No trove.
Beynor realized that Kilian must have found out that most of the sigils and both magical books had been unaccountably lost by Felmar and Scarth. HeТd know that both thieves were dead, because they would have failed to respond to his windspeech. But had he been able to oversee Scarth on his final journey? Did he know that the lesser sigils and one of the books had vanished into thin air, but that three Great Stones and the other magical book were hidden in a bearТs cave on the wrong side of the mountains?
Neither Kilian nor Beynor would be able to go after the things now. The alchymist would not dare to reenter Cathra while he was being actively hunted, even if he had some notion of the place Scarth had hidden them. It was imperative that Kilian respond immediately to SomarusТs rather halfhearted invitation if he hoped to obtain a place in the new kingТs court. HeТd worm himself into a position of influence, too; Beynor had no doubt of that.
As for me, the young sorcerer thought, I have more urgent business to look after! Earlier, Lady Zimroth had bespoken him the welcome news of UllanothТs enchantment and the secreting of the queenТs own collection of active sigils in RothbannonТs tomb. Beynor had been hard put to damp the elation in his windspeech as he responded to the news. It could not have fallen out more perfectly, had he planned it so! Moss was left vulnerable to a massive invasion by the Salka, and his sisterТs stones lay in a place that he alone might easily access.
The remnant of DarasiloТs Trove was still vitally important to him because it contained the Destroyer sigil, the key to ultimate power. But one step at a timeЧthe Great Stone would keep. All he need do was make certain that Kilian never tried to approach itЕ
He spent some time observing the slow progress of the royal barge up the river. Its enormous square sail was furled because there was little wind; the boatТs motive power through the strengthening current was supplied by the laboring oarsmen.
He called out quietly on the wind. УEminence, are your warriors arrayed in position yet?Ф
He wasnТt. HeТd been absorbed in thought and had noticed nothing. Without acknowledging the fact to Ugusawnn, he scried across the water. On the southern shore, a league or so upstream, Boarsden CastleТs gilded gatehouse ornamentation, window-frames, and tower finials gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. It was an impressive pile, more lavishly furbished than any other Didionite ducal fortress to reflect the wealth and political importance of its lord. In honor of the royal visit, its battlements and the balustrade rail along the riverbank esplanade were decorated with colorful banners and swags of bunting. BoarsdenТs urban precincts lay further upriver, where the Malle made its Big Bend to the north. Behind and below the castle, an extensive marshy area threaded by Boar Creek provided a natural water defense. The Boar Highroad from Castlemont crossed the morass on a broad causeway before coming to a Y-junction. The left branch went north to Boarsden Town. The right, now called Malle Highroad, continued east to the Firedrake Bridge and the large valley towns before ending at Holt Mallburn.
The party coming out from the castle did not take the highroad, but instead followed a lesser track along an earthen dike much closer to the river. As Beynor scrutinized the nearly two dozen richly dressed riders and their entourage, he was gratified to discover that they included Duke Ranwing, Duchess Piery, and the Archwizard of Didion himself, Fring Bulegosset, seeming to be completely recovered from his diplomatic illness. Trailing the nobles was a gaggle of liveried servants on mules, bearing hampers of food and drink, folding stools and tables, and poles and bundles of gaily painted canvas that would soon be converted into awnings sheltering the privileged picnickers from the glaring sun. The destination of the procession was obvious: a few hundred ells above a stout timber bridge at Boar Creek, where the river rapids were at their most dramatic and a great eddy added to the navigation challenge, the dike widened and formed a perfect observation platform where those onshore could view boats struggling upstream through the surging Whitewater.
The witnesses were gathering.
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At the age of seven summers, Crown Prince Onestus of Didion was still too young to appreciate the richness of the countryside through which the royal barge now traveled, nor could he understand how such wealth made the great landholders prickly and independent-minded in their relations towards the Crown. In this region west of Mallthorpe were ripening fields of barley and oats, orchards that would produce pears, plums, and apples, and lush meadows where large herds of shaggy long-horned cattle grazed and fattened. As the barge passed each prosperous shore village, the prince and his royal father and mother stood together on the boatТs ornate sterncastle, beneath a sun-cover brave with colored pennants, and waved to the yeomen and villeins who had gathered to watch their passage. Some of the villagers cheered and called out blessings, as the citizens of the large cities had done earlier in the progress; but most were silent, only holding high the white banners with DidionТs heraldic Black Bear as they had been commanded to do by the overlords of their districts.
The single exception to the tepid welcome vouchsafed the royals by the countryfolk of the upper Malle came late in the afternoon, as the barge passed beneath the high-arched Firedrake Bridge that lay about ten leagues downstream from Boarsden. Several hundred spectators crowded the decorated span, waving banners of the timberlords of the north, and shouting, УLong live Queen Bryse Vandragora!Ф Bouquets of roses were tossed down onto the main-deck, and Onestus was kept busy retrieving the flowers and heaping them into the arms of his mother. Each time she inclined her head in a gesture of thanks to those on the bridge, they responded with a roar of applause.
The prince said in a low voice to his parents, УI wish people at the other places had been so friendly.Ф
УThese are free northern folk loyal to my family,Ф the queen told him, Уwho have come a long way of their own will to show their loveЧunlike the others, who were compelled to show homage.Ф
УI see,Ф the boy said somberly.
УTake the roses down to the cabin and ask the ladies to put them in water,Ф the king said. УSoon weТll come to the lively section of the river. Your little brother is already on the foredeck, where the view is best. Why not join him? IТll be there shortly myself.Ф
The boy bowed. УYes, sire.Ф
When he was gone, Honigalus and Bryse watched the crew raise the great sail again. The oarsmen would need all the help they could get as they strove against the force of the swift-flowing water.
The queen said, УNesti is beginning to understand the reality of our situation, poor lad, for heТs wise beyond his years. Yet how I wish his childhood could be as carefree as mine wasЧand yours.Ф
Honigalus sighed. УIt was a simpler age. All we can do is pray that by the time he wears the crown, the old enmities will be forgotten and he will have won the love of his subjects.Ф
УYou have long years ahead of you to accomplish the same thing,Ф Bryse said gently. УYour reign has only just begun.Ф
In spite of the dayТs warmth, the king felt a sudden chill, but shrugged away the portent with a defiant smile and rose to his feet. УAh! Look down there on deckЧCaptain Peel has come to supervise the helm as we breast the rapids. I think IТll have a word with him. Shall I summon a few of your ladies to keep you company here?Ф
УNay,Ф said the queen. УIТll join them and our daughter in the grand saloon. My presence will have a calming effect on the fainter of heart. It would be a pity if dear little Casya should be frightened by the hysterics of a few silly women. SheТs a brave girl, but some of my younger ladies are as timid as sheep-Чand you know how infectious fear can beЧeven when thereТs no good reason for it.Ф
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Prince Bartus knew enough to stay out of the way of the boatmen while they attended to their duties, so he had climbed into the pulpit just behind the bowsprit, where he amused himself by tossing leftover bits of bread roll into the water, pretending they were men overboard and seeing how long it took them to drown or be devoured by some hungry fish.
Then the big thing had come swimming along and finished off the last victim, and heТd pointed it out excitedly to the men and asked what it might be.
УA water-kelpie, I reckon,Ф said the sailor named Zedvinus, winking at his mate, while the two of them checked the headstay. УMy great-great-grandad got dragged off the deck of his lugger by one when he was fishing by Tallhedge. Terrible monsters, they beЧainТt that right, Dagio? Bite a man clean in half.Ф
УOh, aye,Ф muttered the other man, not bothering to glance over the side. УFearsome critters, water-kelpies. You want to be careful when theyТre about, Prince Bart.Ф
УReally?Ф The five-year-old princeТs eyes were wide with interest, but the sailors had failed in their attempt to frighten him.
УAll deckhands to the mainsheet!Ф cried an authoritative voice. УDouble-man the sweeps! Coxswain, beat to cadence! Secure the waist ports and stow all loose gear!Ф
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