"Douglas Niles - Forgotten Realms - Viperhand" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niles Douglas)

here. We have the hakuna, the fire lizard, and other dangers. But for a lack
of ogres and ores, it seems we should be grateful."
Erixitl listened to the men talk of monsters and warfare, feeling the
weariness creeping over her even before the sky had completely darkened. She
wished that these minutes of peace might last into hours, or days, though she
feared this was impossible. Nevertheless, the prospects of future dangers
could not overcome her present contentment.
In minutes, she slept. But sleep offered no peace on this night.
19
DOUGLAS NILES
Erixitl became a bird, soaring above the expanse of Maz-tica. Or perhaps she
was the wind itself, the warm embodiment of life-giving air, sweeping across
the True World with a cleansing caress. She swirled above snowy peaks, whisked
among green forests and heavy jungles. She knew a sense of freedom and power
that had never been hers before.
Across Maztica she soared, over the lands of the Payit and the Kultakans, and
finally, at the center of the continent, the realm of mighty Nexal. The twin
volcanoes of Zatal and Popoi barred her way, but the wind broke up and over
the massif unchecked. She swept into the streets of the city of Nexal, and
though she had never seen the great city, she recognized itтАФindeed, she knew
it well. Beneath the cool wash of a full moon, hanging low against the eastern
horizon, she darted around towering pyramids, along myriad canals, until
finally she soared into the palace of Naltecona himself.
But here something was wrong.
Growing chill, she glided up the walls, onto the roof of the palace. There she
saw the Revered Counselor, resplendent in a feathered headdress and his cape
of many colors. Men of the Golden Legion surrounded Naltecona. In alarm,
Erixitl coursed closer, noting the sharp shadows cast by the moon. The figures
stood in a circle, a tableau for her inspection.
She saw a metal-helmed figure with steely hard black eyes, and she knew this
was Cordell. With vague surprise, she noticed that Halloran, too, stood among
them, though his former comrades did not desire his presence. She understood
these things, even as she witnessed the frozen scene.
And around the palace, across the floor of a broad, enclosed plaza, glowered
thousands of warriors. Upon the chests of many, Erix saw, was the pulsating
crimson head of a living snake. The forked tongues of these vipers flickered
forth, sensing blood in the air.
Then the stillness on the palace roof broke as, with slow but deliberate
movements, the players came to life.
Under the glaring moon, slowly rising in the east, Naltecona fell dead. Erix
swept forward, too late for aught but a final circle around the bleeding
figure of the greafr ruler.
VlPEHHAND
The men of the legion staggered back in consternation at the killing. The
world turned dark, and chaos fell from the skies. The looming volcano rumbled.
And then black shadows spread across the face of Maztica. The land became a
great, gaping sore, and poison poured forth. It spread in a growing circle, to
the horizons of her vision, and it kept growing.
Erix knew that she was seeing the end of the world.
"It's called' steel,1" Halloran explained, showing Poshtli the gleaming edge