"Kate Novak - Finders Stone 1 - Azure Bonds" - читать интересную книгу автора (Novak Kate)

nodded, and he lowered his ponderous weight into the chair, which groaned
under
the load.
"One o' my regulars, Mitcher Trollslayer," he continued, "stumbled over you
that
evening after the last call. You wuz laid out on my front stoop like a
sacrifice
to Bane."
The barkeep drew the circle of Tvinora on his chest to ward off any trouble
uttering the evil name might bring. "Anyway, there you wuz with this sack o'
money alongside. I put you up. using the money in the sack to cover your tab.
Here it is, too, with only the cost o the room deducted." From his apron
pocket
he fished out a small satin sack "Doesn't count the beer, o course."
Aliais shook the contents from the sack. A small, greenish gem, a couple of
Lantan trade bars, some Waterdeep coinage, and a scattering of Cormyrian
coins.
She shoved a silver falcon at the barkeep. "I don't remember coming here.
Someone must have left me. Did you see anyone?"
"I figgered you must have been carousing with a bunch o' mates who, when the
effects caught up with you, left you on mv doorstep with enough cash to
guarantee your comfort. No one told us about you until Mitcher found vou on
his
way out. You wuz alone."
Aiias looked at the mug as the foam on top diminished to reveal a watery amber
liquid. It smelled worse than the rubbish outside. "Why wouldn't my 'mates'
bring me inside?" she asked.
The barkeep shrugged. The mates-leaving-the-lady-on-the-doorstep theory was
apparently his favorite, and it was obvious that he had been telling and
retelling it over the past few evenings. He was reluctant to change what
seemed
to him a concise and well-rounded tale.
"No one has asked after me?" Alias pressed.
"Not a one, lady. Perhaps they forgot about you."
"Perhaps. No lizards?"
The barkeep sniffed. "We keep the premises clean. We wuz waiting for you to
wake
before cleaning your room."
Alias raised a hand. "No lizard-creatures, then? Something that looks like a
lizard-creature?"
The barkeep shrugged again. "Perhaps the last brew you had haunted you some.
You
recall what you wuz drinking?"
"I recall precious little, I fear. I don't even know what town I'm in."
"No mere town, but the gem of Cormyr, the finest city o' the Forest Country.
You
are in Suzail, lady, home o' His Most Serene and Wise Majesty, Azoun IV."
Alias had a mental map in her head of the region. Cormyr was a growing nation,
sitting astride the trade routes from the Sword Coast to the Inner Sea. The
name