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

But now Hobarth sensed something mightier, more dynamic than the gate
connecting his god's world to his own. In a flash of understanding, he
understood, and as he understood he dropped to his knees.
Bhaal was here!
Hobarth shivered, a strange mixture of ecstasy and fear. He knelt, closed his
eyes, and prayed with all his heart.
"O mighty Bhaal, Reveler in Blood, master of my destiny ..." The cleric moaned
his prayer softly, wondering at the presence of his god. Was Bhaal angry? Was
he pleased? What was the purpose of this visitation?
Approach the well.
Hobarth froze for a moment as the god's command grasped his heart. He felt
cold fingers engulf his soul, only to let it free again after a glimpse of
something awesome and terrible. Numb, he stood and stepped slowly toward the
Darkwell.
The Great Druid.
Hobarth understood the command instantly and stopped
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beside the Great DruidтАФor rather, the statue that had been Genna Moonsinger,
the mistress of Myrtoch Vale and Great Druid of the isles. Now she stood
frozen as a white stone sculpture, lifelike in every detail. Many times had
Hobarth stood before her and cursed her defiant expression.
He saw the challenge still lurking in her eyes, and in the firm set of her
jaw. Her wrinkled skin and tightly wrapped hair might have given her a
grandmotherly look, but instead she looked more like a warrior.
The Heart.
This command brought a glimmer of defiance, for just a brief moment, to the
cleric. Hobarth kept the Heart of Kazgoroth in a pouch at his side, and he was
most reluctant to remove it for anyone or anything. The stone was black,
shaped more like a lump of coal than a heart, but it was a talisman of great
evil. In the cleric's hands, the Heart of Kazgoroth had brought death and
decay to the formerly pastoral vale.
But Hobarth overcame his reluctance instantly and hastened to obey the word of
his god. He removed the stone from its pouch and held it out before him. It
seemed to absorb the rays of the sun, already dimmed by the pale haze. In its
own shadow, the cleric reached forward to touch the heart against the cold
stone of the statue.
Bhaal must be very near, Hobarth thought, for it seemed to the cleric that the
god leered over his shoulder. Hobarth acted as if by instinct, performing a
ritual he had never seen, yet one that he knew without question or doubt. He
sensed that Bhaal was pleased, and his god's pleasure was a thrill unlike any
the cleric had ever known.
The black surface of the heart touched the white stone of Genna's breast.
Yellow smoke hissed at contact, and trickles of clear liquid ran down the
statue's stony robe. Where the stone was wet, it became a bright red, like
freshly spilled blood.
Hobarth stared into the statue's eyes, and he saw the defiance that had been
etched there begin to fade. He pressed his hand against her and was gratified
to feel the Heart of Kazgoroth sink into the stone. More smoke spewed, nearly
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