"Douglas Niles - Forgotten Realms - Moonshae 02 - Black Wizard" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niles Douglas)

Slowly the tension seemed to drain from his body, and he closed his eyes. His
breathing slowed from frantic panting to a steadier rhythm. After a moment, it
seemed that he had fallen asleep. She wished she knew how to aid himтАФhe
*┬г┬г*
BLACK WIZARDS
seemed so frail and weak. At the same time something about him frightened her.
"Who are you?" she whispered, examining the man.
His skin was cracked and dry, as if it had been exposed to extended periods of
savage weather. His hair and beard were thin, but long. Branches and thorns
had tangled them into mats. His fingernails were filthy and worn all the way
to the skin. Did he find food by scratching at the ground for roots and grubs?
Robyn wondered.
His only garment was a leather cloak that barely covered his nakedness. A
crude fur belt stretched around his waist to hold the cloak. His thin brown
hair and beard were long and matted with burrs.
But it was his eyes that drew her attention and frightened her. They stared
fiercely one moment, then darted frantically about like a madman'sтАФdriven by
some mysterious combination of fear and pain.
Robyn noticed that the man sprawled at an odd angle, with his hips raised
slightly off the ground, as if he lay upon a sharp rock. She tried, gently, to
move him, and she discovered that he had a small pouch tied to his belt,
concealed by his buttocks beneath the ragged cloak. It was a filthy object,
barely worthy of notice. Yet she found her eyes drawn to itтАФcompelled to look
at the pouch, and frightened by that compulsion at the same time.
Carefully, she reached for it, trying to pull the pouch from beneath the man.
Her strong fingers felt a hard object, like a fist-size stone. As soon as she
touched it, however, the man sat up, opening his eyes wide. Never had the
woman seen such stark panic before.
The man screamed, and his voice shocked her ears. It was a piercing, monstrous
sound, reminding her of some hulking reptile, ready to strike. But then he
scuttled away from her like a crab, clutching the pouch to his breast. Robyn
jumped up at the same time, stunned at the man's reaction, but then she held
her hands up and gestured that she would not touch the stranger's possession.
But what could this man be carrying that was of such incredible value?
"Come with me" she said quietly. "I'll take you to a place where you can rest
and eat."
DOUGLAS NILES
Slowly, Robyn reached for the man's arm, helping him stagger to his feet. He
was very weak, swaying drunkenly. He certainly would have fallen if not for
Robyn's supporting arms. He weighed little, however, and she had no difficulty
holding him upright. Newt crept out of the leaves and buzzed warily behind.
Carefully she led him through the grove among the broad oak boles. They
approached a vast tangle of brush beside the ring of stone arches that marked
the Moonwell.
As Robyn approached the clump its thickly intertwined branches parted
silently, creating a rounded arch that was slightly higher than her headтАФand
revealing the tangle as a ring of brush, not a solid clump. Within the ring,
she could see the tiny building that was the Great Druid's cottage. With its
thatched roof and vine-covered walls, it looked like it had sprouted from the
ground itself.