"Roger Taylor - Hawklan 4 - Into Narsindal" - читать интересную книгу автора (Taylor Roger)

Despite ArinndierтАЩs succinctness, it proved to be a long telling, and the bringing of food and drink for the
latest arrivals proved a timely interruption.

At the end there was a murmur of general satisfaction at the news of the defeat and flight of Dan-Tor,
but it was Tirke who yielded to temptation.

тАШHeтАЩsreally gone?тАЩ he exclaimed, unable to restrain himself. тАШWeтАЩre free of him? ThatтАЩs . . .тАЩ He
clenched his fists and looked upwards for inspiration. тАШIncredible . . . marvellous,тАЩ he produced, rather
inadequately. тАШIтАЩm only sorry I missed the battle.тАЩ

Arinndier gave him a stern look for this breach of etiquette. тАШDonтАЩt be, Fyordyn,тАЩ he said grimly, pulling
his rebuke into the last word. тАШThere was no joy in it, and thereтАЩll be others that you wonтАЩt miss, I fear.
ThatтАЩs why weтАЩre here. WeтАЩre not truly free of him. HeтАЩs alive and unhurt and ensconced in Narsindalvak
with a large part of his Mathidrin intact. I doubt he intends to stay there long, and I doubt itтАЩs in our
interests to leave him there unhindered too long, though what we should do remains to be decided.тАЩ

Hawklan lifted his hand to speak. Arinndier acknowledged him.

тАШWe must talk further about these blazing wagons that Dan-Tor used,тАЩ Hawklan said thoughtfully. тАШAnd
the materials that were in the warehouse that Yatsu fired.тАЩ

тАШIndeed we must,тАЩ Arinndier said. тАШThey were terrifying. With a little more thought, he could have
destroyed us.тАЩ He frowned as he tried to set the thought aside. тАШStill, there are many things we need to
discuss in due time, but tell us of your journey now, Hawklan, and your illness and your apparently
miraculous recovery.тАЩ

Hawklan shrugged apologetically. тАШWhat happened to me after I struck Oklar and until I was awakened,
I havenтАЩt the words to tell. IтАЩm sorry,тАЩ he said, holding out his hands towards Dacu.

It was thus the Goraidin who told the tale of their journey from EldricтАЩs stronghold and of their strange
encounter with the Alphraan and the mysterious awakening of Hawklan. His spare, unadorned, Fyordyn
telling forbade interruption, but a deep, almost fearful, silence fell over his audience as he described
HawklanтАЩs brief but terrible battle with the monstrous remnant of SumeralтАЩs First Coming.

Then he was concluding his tale. Telling how, after leaving the AlphraanтАЩs strange caverns, they had
found the gully that had led them safely across the shoulder of the mountain, and how their journey
thereafter, though slow, had become gradually easier as they moved south and away from the premature
snowfalls.

тАШWe have the route well mapped now,тАЩ he said casually to Arinndier. тАШBut itтАЩll need a lot of work тАУ
roads, bridges and so on тАУ to make it suitable for use by a force of any size.тАЩ

He finished his telling with the mysterious and sudden disappearance of the Alphraan in the last part of
the journey тАУ if, as he wondered, disappearance were the correct word for the sudden absence of beings
they had never actually seen.

тАШThey used to join in our conversations, just as if they were with us,тАЩ he said. тАШThenтАЩ тАУ he snapped his
fingers тАУ тАШthey were gone. Silent. It was very strange. WeтАЩd grown used to this disembodied voice
talking to us, but there was nothing until we walked into your . . . army and that . . . whatever it was . . .
that great clamour.тАЩ