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

"Especially from a killer of children!"
The monster chuckled, and then, before Tristan could react, he flicked one of
his daggers straight at Daryth's heart. The silver scimitar moved very
slightly, however, to knock the weapon harmlessly to the ground.
Razfallow obviously sensed that the battle was lost. Before Tristan could
react he sprang to the window, thirty
DOUGLAS MILES
feet above the courtyard. He turned once to stare at the prince, hate spilling
almost palpably from those crimson eyes, and then he leaped into the darkness.
"Guards!" shouted the prince, racing to the window. "Intruder in the
courtyard! Take him alive!"
Already the black figure had disappeared into the night, but the cry of alarm
was taken up throughout the castle. TUrning, Tristan saw Daryth gently
cradling the king's head. The great moorhound Canthus stood next to him,
gently nuzzling the still form. The only wound upon Tristan's father was the
little pinprick, barely bleeding, in his shoulder. Nevertheless, the
houndmaster looked at the prince with deep pain and shock in his eyes.
"The King of Corwell is dead."
Like all of the gods, Bhaal communicated his will to his worshippers via his
clericsтАФpriests, priestesses, holy (or unholy) people. These clerics drew
their strength from their gods, and many were capable of feats of magic
rivaling those of the mightiest wizards.
As a powerful god, Bhaal numbered a great many clerics among his faithful. It
so happened that one of the most powerful of these was on the Moonshaes. This
one would serve his purpose now.
Bhaal decided, slowly, upon a scheme. It would entertain him, and it could
enhance his status among all of the gods of the Forgotten Realms. It was a
complex plan, but he had numerous willing hands to aid him.
Tb start, he would send the cleric of the Moonshaes a dream. He could regard
it as a prophecy, or a commandтАФin any event, it would be the will of Bhaal.
The cleric, Bhaal knew, would obey.
18
The Council of
Lengthening shadows extended the towers of Caer Calli-dyrr into needlelike
spires that reached ominously across the city of Callidyrr, and beyond, to the
waters of Whitefish Bay. Evening brought an end to the bustle and barter of
vigorous trade that characterized this, the largest city among the lands of
the Ffolk. Night came with its own forms of barterтАФsale of the ginyak weed
imported freely from Calimshan, or even in the darkest of alleys, the trading
of young slaves from Amn or Tethyr.
The wizard moved among these alleys, intimately familiar with them.
Eventually, after night had fallen completely, he stepped down a stairway into
a low cellar, ignoring a slumbering old man who reeked of cheap wine. He
pushed through a curtain that masked one wall of the cellar, and entered a
wide, round room. The chamber was illuminated by great pots of hot coals that
gave the place a hellishly red glow and keept it uncomfortably warm.
A huge skull sat upon an altar in the center of the room. Carved from white
marble, it was perhaps four times the size of a human head. Red streaks, which
could only have been fresh blood, ran from the eyes of the skull across its
cheekbones in a garish caricature of tears.