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

Robyn stopped abruptly, remembering that her teacher was taking a
well-deserved nap. She decided to tell Genna about the stranger after she
awakened. For now, she could tend to the man herself.
"Come this way," she said, changing course. "Through these trees." She led him
between sheltering aspens, into a shaded area of lush grasses and soft
flowers. "You can rest in the bower."
She helped the man into the meadow, leaning against a sturdy aspen to rest. A
sudden growl erupted behind her, and she whirledтАФnearly dropping the
strangerтАФto see a small mountain of brown fur rise from the grass. A huge
creature snarled and bared its white fangs in annoyance.
The man cried out in fright and shrank against the tree trunk. His eyes nearly
popped from his head at the sight of the huge bear.
"Grunt, stop it!" Robyn scolded, waving a hand at the animal. "Shame on you!"
The bear growled again but settled to all four feet and shambled across the
meadow, disappearing into the aspens on the other side.
"I'm sorry," she explained, laying a hand upon the man's trembling arm. "He's
very grumpy when he's awakened suddenly. Just ignore himтАФhe wouldn't hurt you.
Besides,
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BLACK WIZARDS
the animals are forbidden to attack other creatures within the grove. You're
safe here!"
She doubted that the stranger understood her, but he seemed soothed by her
tone, for he clung tightly to her arm and allowed her to lead him further into
the bower.
The bower was actually a grassy meadow, surrounded and covered by a converging
tangle of trees. It was small, for they kept no animals and only used it for
those periods when some injured creature of the wild needed the grove as a
haven while recovering from wounds.
She helped the man, who seemed to grow weaker with every step, to a bed of
lush grasses. Lowering him gently to the ground, she offered him more water.
Gradually his trembling subsided, and finally he slept. Even in
unconsciousness, however, he clutched the tattered pouch and its rocklike
contents tightly to his chest.
She rose silently when his breathing became deep and even, slipping through
the curtain of aspens to leave him to his rest. There she found Newt perched
suspiciously upon a low branch, waiting for her.
"Now, can we go swimming?" he asked.
"They were Calishites," reported Daryth. "At least, they learned their trade
in CalimshanтАФat the Academy of Stealth." The Calishite's brown face was taut
with anger, and his black eyes blazed.
"How can you be sure?" asked the prince. He shook his head, trying to clear
away the grogginess of his short sleep. Suddenly, he remembered his father's
body in the next room, but he clenched his jaw to stifle any display of
emotion. Inwardly, he wanted to shout his grief at the heavens, to cry aloud
for vengeance. Daryth had awakened him after what seemed like scant moments of
sleep, although he could now see the sun outside the window.
"Their garments, for one thing," Daryth continued. The prince knew that his
friend had studied at the Academy of Stealth, but Daryth rarely spoke of those
experiences. It was not, Tristan sensed, something the houndmaster was proud