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

you, Sythissal, are to assume personal command of the prisoner.
"And you, my favorite pet"тАФthe voice of Talos lowered to an affectionate growlтАФ"are to prepare my
minions for mastery of the Moonshaes!"
 5
Pawldo of Lowhill
Keane was the first to attack, spurring his horse into a charge across the meadow with reckless
abandon. The others raced behind him as the magic-user raised his hand and started barking the commands
to a spell.
The awful appearance of the monster before them belied any kind of rational explanationтАФfrom its
three legs, to its monstrous size, to the lack of any apparent face, except for the fluid opening and closing of
its grotesque mouth. Two humanlike figures, barely visible below the banks of a nearby stream, took
advantage of the momentary distraction to scramble away from the horror.
The beast turned slowly through a full circle, waving long, whiplike tentacles in the air, as if seeking
some clue to the approaching party.
Alicia's first thoughts about the monster told her that the thing was impossibly hugeтАФtoo big to fight,
much less hope to kill. Her second thoughts followed closely as she understood that this was not a beast of
this world. But even as these apprehensions whirled through her brain, she spurred her horse to join the
thundering charge of her companions trailing after Keane.
The lanky wizard, his robes flapping from the speed of his horse's gait, extended his right hand, pointing
a finger toward the monstrosity looming over the riverbank. He shouted hoarsely, his words blurring with
the pounding thunder of his suddenly animated steed. In fact, the gelding seemed to have abruptly come to
life, throwing every ounce of its strength into a desperate and surprisingly fast gallop.
A crackling bolt of energy exploded from Keane's hand, slashing through the air like a flaming spear to
impact against the monster's bony carapace, hissing for a split second as sparks flew from the wound. The
domed monster bellowed in a droning, almost metallic sound and reared backward. Tentacles lashed the air
before it as it sought the source of the painful attack.
But Keane reined in, well back from the monster's clutching tendrils. The muddy figures in the
streambed dropped out of sight, but Alicia caught a glimpse of their wide eyes staring at the fight in the
field. One of them wore a steel helmet, its silvery sheen streaked brown with mud.
Robyn joined Keane, leaping down from her saddle to stamp the end of her staff on the ground before
her.
" CaorralisтАФEtrai!" she shouted, summoning the power of the goddess from the earth itself.
Immediately a mound of dirt began to rise from the ground, ripping itself free from the surrounding soil,
tearing away a great patch of sod and rising into a giant, vaguely human form. Clumps of grass clung to its
back and shoulders, for the creature had been formed from the earth itself. Growing steadily, it soon
towered like a giant over the heads of the mounted Ffolk. It was an earth elemental, a creature summoned
by the power of a druid and sent by the goddess to aid a cause in the world of men.
The elemental tore its great feet free from the ground and clumped toward the monster. A tentacle
lashed across the elemental's face, and the creature of earth seized the tendril in hands the size of boulders,
planting its feet and tugging. The strand grew taut, and for a moment, the two creatures held in equilibrium,
each struggling to dislodge the other.
Warlike chords of music rang through the air as Tavish took up her harp. The music infused the humans
with courage. Suddenly Alicia found her fears vanquished, replaced by a grim determination to smite this
horrific creature. Hanrald and Brandon urged their horses toward the monster, shouting challenges and
raising their weaponsтАФBrandon, his great, double-bladed axe and Hanrald his immensely long sword
wielded in both his metal-gauntleted hands.
Even Pawldo darted forward, spurring his pony into a gallop while he drew a shortsword from a sheath
on his saddle. Whooping savagely, he dashed up to one of the monster's legs and chopped with all the
strength in his small, tough body. The pony skipped nimbly away as the beast swiveled toward the annoying
attack.