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

Another dagger flashed, but this one remained in the assassin's hand. He
casually spitted the bat upon the thin blade and flicked the carcass to the
tabletop before Cyndre. He could sense Cyndre's eyes upon him, boring from the
depths of his hood.
For a moment the room remained frozen, the wizards intent upon their leader.
The assassin stood stock-still before the table. The black wizard gestured
casually, and the dead bat instantly disappeared. A smooth, amused chuckle
emerged from the dark hood, and the tension in the room slowly drained away.
"Now, Razfallow," continued the wizard, his voice as pleasant as ever, "you
will soon be free to return to Calim-shan. However, one more king upon the
Moonshaes threatens the dominance of our . . . liege.
"You will take your band to Caer Corwell. The prince of that realm is
something of a local hero, and he is a menace to our ambitions. The cleric,
Hobarth, has warned us that we must act quickly, for the prince has a beloved
who is equally dangerous.
"You are to kill them, and the king, as well. The fee will be twice your
usualтАФthrice if you can return the prince's sword to Caer Callidyrr. Above all
else, this prince must die."
A DRGtid of Mj/Rlocta Vale
"Let's go swimming now! Can't we, Robyn? It's so hot, and we've been working
so hard. . . ."
"You mean I've been working so hard!" said the young woman, pausing to push a
sweat-soaked strand of black hair back from her face. "All you've done is get
in the way!"
Her companion, a two-foot-long orange dragon that buzzed like a hummingbird
around her, turned his scaly snout away in momentary indignation.
"Besides, Newt," Robyn continued, "I've got to sort out this tangle of vines
before we do anything else. They seem to grow thicker every day! I don't know
how Genna tended this entire grove by herself." Once again, she pried the
vines away from the trunk with a heavy stick, grasping one and pulling it free
from the ground. She tossed the vine onto a pile of its fellows, destined for
an evening fire.
"Why do you have to sort these stupid old vines anyway?" the dragon sulked.
"Let them grow the way they want toтАФ and let us go swimming the way we want
to."
"I've told you a hundred times, Newt. This is the sacred grove of the Great
Druid of Gwynneth, and she is training me in the ways of our order. Part of my
training is to obey her instructions and to aid in caring for the grove."
The explanation sounded a little hollow even to Robyn, who had, for nearly a
year, dutifully followed the instructions of her aunt and tutor, Genna
Moonsinger. Today was not the first time the Great Druid had rested peacefully
in the shady comfort of the cottage while her erstwhile student toiled away in
the summer heat.
Still, Robyn was a devout pupil. She paused and drew a
DOUGLAS MILES
deep breath, relaxing as she exhaled. She repeated the process as her teacher
had shown her, and soon she felt the annoyance pass away. Robyn turned again
to the thick vines that threatened to strangle the trunk of an ancient oak.
She even felt guilty about her doubts. Genna always works so hard, she
reminded herself. She certainly deserves the rest.