"Douglas Niles - Forgotten Realms - Moonshae 03 - Darkwell" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niles Douglas)

usual raiding seasonтАФbut they would doubtless welcome one last prize before
making port for the winter.
"The standard of Norland" grunted Dansforth. "That one, to starboard, would be
the king's own vessel."
"Grunnarch the Red. I have fought him before," mused Tristan.
"So the stories say. And bested him." The captain looked at the king with just
a hint of amusement in his gray eyes. Dansforth was not yet middle-aged,
though his hair and beard had silvered until they matched his eyes. Yet he had
an enigmatic manner of speaking that reminded Tristan of an old, but very
smug, man.
"Can we aher course?" asked Robyn quickly. "Tb there?" She pointed straight
toward one of the advancing longships.
"Why?" Dansforth was mildly incredulous. "They're cutting too wide. They
underestimate our speed, I think. With a little luck, we can dash between
them."
"We wont need luck if you can get close to one of those ships." Robyn spoke
quietly, but there was a hint of great power in her voice.
"Do as she says," said Tristan.
DOUGLAS NILES
"Very well," Dansforth said with a shrug. He stepped to the steersman,
standing at the huge wheel amidships, and ordered the change in course. Then
he hurried back to the bow as the Defiant heeled over with the turn.
The trio was joined by another pair. One was Tristan's friend Daryth, the
swarthy, handsome Calishite who had become the king's chief adviser. Now he
carried his gleaming scimitar lightly in his hand, awaiting battle with a
half-smile across his dark brown face. The other was the halfling, Pawldo of
Lowhill, a middle-aged adventurer whose wrinkled face and graying hair belied
his vitality.
"What are you trying to do?" demanded Pawldo incredulously. "Let's make a run
for it!" The diminutive con man had been a friend of the Prince of Corwell's
for even longer than Daryth, and he now took it upon himself to protect the
young king from the influences of others of a similar moral caliber.
"I hope you know what you're doing," grumbled Dansforth. "My men will stand by
to repel boarders, but the crew of that one ship alone outnumbers us two to
one!"
Robyn did not turn to look at the captain. "They'll not get near enough to
throw a line."
Still skeptical, the captain turned to his crew while Daryth, Tristan, and
Pawldo stood protectively around the druid. She closed her eyes in
concentration and calmly caressed the smooth wood of her staff. The others
held their swords ready. Tristan's own blade gleamed in his hand. The
legendary Sword of Cymrych Hugh was a symbol of the ancient glory of the
Ffolk. The fact that THstan had discovered the potent blade after it had been
missing for centuries explained to a great extent why the lords of Calli-dyrr
had been so willing to extend to him the kingship.
The longships raced toward them with startling rapidity. One came head-on,
closing rapidly. The other tried to veer in from downwind, battling the gusts
to close with her intended victim. Soon they could make out ranks of
axe-wielding northmen standing along the hulls, ready to leap into the
Defiant. Others stood ready with lines and grapples, though the closing speed