"Christopher Stasheff - Rogue Wizard 07 - A Wizard In Midgard" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stasheff Christopher)

Behind and between the circles were lines of dots, again straight as though
drawn with a ruler. The two sets of lines faced one another between the river
and the forest.
"Hold this view on one screen and have the other zoom in," Magnus directed.
On the right-hand screen, the dots swam closer. The ends of the lines swept out,
and the dots resolved themselves into Vikings on one side, charging with waving
axes and mouths open to shout. Across from them were three circles of armored
warriors with crossbows, marching around and around. The ones in front aimed and
discharged their weapons as they paced along the front arc, then wound back
their bows and reloaded as they marched along the back arc. Between them stood
other warriors with long shields and short swords. Long spears thrust out
between sword-wielders from the second line of warriors.
As the Vikings came closer, the crossbowmen kept up a continuous field of fire.
The Vikings charged straight into their storm, horn-helmeted men falling left
and right, but the rest running on, shouting. Half their number survived to
reach the stariding warriors. They pushed the spears up with their shields so
that they could chop at the swordsmenwhose heads were scarcely waist high.
Magnus stared in amazement. "The spearmen are dwarves!"
"Relative to the Vikings, yes," Herkimer agreed.
Looking more closely, Magnus could see that the warriors in the formation had
legs and arms that were shorter in proportion to their bodies than those of the.
Vikings-but their shoulders were almost as wide, and their heads almost as
large, as those of their bigger opponents.
Magnus gave a long, low whistle. "No wonder they're fighting with such iron
discipline! It's the only way they can stand against men twice their size!"
"And who outnumber them," Herkimer pointed out. There did seem to be twice as
many Vikings as dwarvesbut that appearance changed as the taller men tried an
outflanking maneuver. On the left-hand screen, the overview of the battle,
Magnus saw the ends of the second line of Vikings split and swing out, to try to
catch the circles of dwarves from the flanks-but as they did, archers rose from
the bushes at the sides and filled the air with arrows. A number of Vikings
fell, and the rest retreated back to the battle line. They found themselves
racing the center, who were fleeing from the crossbow fire. The dwarves,
apparently moved by a chivalrous impulse their larger foes lacked, held their
fire. They seemed to feel no need to kill as long as their enemies were
retreating.
"Reserves hidden in ambush." Magnus stared. "Some of them are almost as big as
the Vikings!"
"They would seem to be traitors," Herkimer commented. "They must certainly seem
that way to the Vikings! Of course, I suppose they could be fugitives given
sanctuary by the dwarves-or even political dissidents." Magnus compared the two
screens. "Still, the Vikings outnumber them by half."
"At least," Herkimer agreed.
The dwarves held their ground, not taking the bait to chase-but a final flight
of crossbow bolts filled the air, hurtling toward the fleeing Vikings. Several
more of them fell. Their comrades scooped them up and carried them back to the
river. There, they slowed to cross a bridge made up of low boats with decking
laid across their centers. The Vikings tramped over those decks, carrying their
dead and wounded, and as soon as the last one passed, the sections of bridge
broke away and began rowing back to the eastern bank of the river. The water was