"Douglas Niles - Druidhome 2 - The Coral Kingdom" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niles Douglas)

sahuaginтАФravenous predators, ever eager to serve his cause. The most faithful of these was the king of
the fishmen, Sythissal.
Aided by the fierce and bloodthirsty sahuagin, the forces of evil had assailed the Moonshaes. Talos
quickly neared complete mastery of the isles. Only the tattered remnants of a dying faith and a dead
goddess had stood in his path.
But then those remnants had flared to life. The goddess Earthmother, hallowed mistress of the
Moonshaes, surged into the world from an absence that had been perilously near, but not quite, permanent.
The goddess reborn infused the land with vitality, and Sinioth, the agent of Talos, had been banished to a
nether plane.
There, in the few short weeks that had passed, the avatar of evil had suffered what seemed to be an
infinity of torture and suffering, punishment for his failure, meted out to him by his dark master. Now,
however, Talos summoned Sinioth to face him. The avatar appeared immediately, assuming the body of a
withered old man as he stood trembling beneath the wrath of his awful god.
"Coss-Axell-Sinioth! You failed me once. Do you dare attempt my works again?"
"Please, Master, I beg for a chance to redeem myself!" wheezed the frail form, his voice tremulous.
"Dare I trust you?"
"I beseech you, O Mighty One, allow the chance to prove my worth! It is true that I failed to succeed in
your name and deserve nothing more than your immortal scorn, your disgust and loathing! But remember, O
Master!"тАФhere the voice became more courageous, wheedling persuasivelyтАФ"I planted the tool, the mirror
of scrying, that still allows you to witness the world, to spy on your enemies!"
"Bah!" snorted Talos haughtily. "I have seen naught of that glass!"
"Time, O Great One ... it will take only a short time, I am certain, before the Kendrick princess
discovers it. She will cherish the mirror, Master, and through it, you will see all that she beholds! She will
give you a window into the lives of your greatest enemies!"
"You may speak the truth," mused the god, considering the possibility that this time Sinioth's plan would
succeed. Talos also had another source of good fortuneтАФa piece of luck that encouraged him to quickly
reenter the fray.
"There is a toolтАФa bargaining chipтАФthat has come into my hands," he informed his avatar, "that will
prove an even greater asset than the mirror! It is for this purpose I have summoned you!"
Talos sent Coss-Axell-Sinioth back to the Realms, for he needed the avatar to carry word of that asset
back to the Ffolk. Talos wanted them to sufferтАФvery much indeed.
 2
Council In Corwell
The fields and moors around Corwell teemed with tents, makeshift pastures, and practice yards. Riders
galloped here and there, and dozens of banners, denoting all the major lords of the Ffolk, streamed from the
peaks of the grandest of the tents.
Many of the nobles themselves had been given lodgings in Caer Corwell, or located accommodations in
the many inns of the town, all of which charged top price for the several weeks of this unprecedented
midsummer court. But teeming Ffolk quickly overran the relatively small community, and thus the sprawling
tent city had soon claimed Corwell's environs.
The Ffolk came from all across Gwynneth, and many ships had arrived from the islands of Snowdown,
Moray, and of course Alaron. Several tall galleons and a number of tublike curraghs bobbed in the harbor,
although the Coho was the only longship present.
Jousts and tourneys occurred daily throughout the gathering. Even now, in the morning, both male and
female warriors trained vigorously in dozens of impromptu practice yards. Minstrels plied the crowds, while
bakers and brewers did a season's worth of business daily. An occasional thief slipped his way among the
populace, slicing a purse string here or picking a pocket there, but the Ffolk were an alert and frugal people,
not prone to carelessness with their precious coins. Those dishonest rogues unfortunate or careless enough
to be apprehended were divested of their belongings and locked up until they could be placed aboard a ship
departing for the Sword Coast. Repeat offenders were hanged.