"Christopher Rowley - Bazil 07 - Dragon Ultimate" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rowley Christopher)

bashed in their skulls before they could get themselves onto their
ponderous feet and seize their weapons.

The slaughter of imps, trolls, and mercenary men had continued fitfully
through the day as pockets of resistance were taken, sometimes in fierce
fighting. But by then the Argonathi soldiers were assisted by the dragons
of the 66th, 59th and 120th Dragon Squadrons, and this kept the
casualties down to a minimum.

The city of Marneri was decked out in bunting and flags for the
occasion, and the taverns were dispensing free wheat beer, and feasts were
being held on every street and every corner.

Folk had flocked in from all the surrounding provinces. Men of Seant,
Lucule, and Blue Hills, were there in great numbers. But they also came
from places much farther away, like the village of Quosh in Blue Stone,
which was a good five days' ride to the south.

There were even folk from Aubinas, the great wheat-growing province
in the west. The rebellion there had subsided to a sputtering guerrilla
conflict, consisting for the most part of raids by night riders. The towns
were pacified, and the chief rebels were either in custody or had fled. The
common folk of Aubinas had not been altogether behind the rebellion,
except when inflamed by the burning of Redhill a much-misunderstood
event during the early fighting. Now the common folk of Aubinas were
there in the city to celebrate alongside their fellow citizens.

For once, the 109th Marneri Dragons were not in the ranks of the
marching victors. Following their special service in the Aubinan fighting
of the previous summer, they had been put on reserve duty. Since then the
109th, the most famous dragon squadron in the Legions, had been cooling
its heels up at Dashwood Camp.

During that time there had come a move to disband the unit and
disperse its members to other, newer dragon squadrons. Voices high in
the army command claimed that the unit was too famous, too well known,
and too prone to insubordination. All sorts of rumors abounded about
what had happened at the battle of Avery Woods as well as in Aubinas.

The fighting 109th broken up? Never! Roared their supporters. A fierce
bureaucratic struggle was joined.

Meanwhile the winter passed, then the spring and the summer. Again
and again they received word that they were about to be sent to Axoxo.
Again and again the final order never came. Officers relaxed, dragonboys
wearily gave back all the extra freecoats and other equipment they'd
accumulated for the arctic conditions to be expected in the White Bones
Mountains, and dragons cheerfully took up their axes and marched out to
the woodlots to cut and haul firewood.