"Paul Thompson - [Elven Nations Trilogy 2] - The Kinslaye" - читать интересную книгу автора (Thompson Paul B)

two commanders were excessive baggage on this, the Boy General's first great
expedition. The older generals fumed; the implication was not lost on them.
Nor on the emperor. Quivalin V smiled at the plans of his generals. Beyond the walls
of the cavernous library, within the vast palace, the roar of the admiring crowd could still
be heard.
Abruptly the emperor clapped his hands, the sound echoing sharply through the large
chamber. A side door to the room opened, and a woman advanced across the gleaming
marble. Even the two older generals, both of whom distrusted and resented her, would
have admitted that her beauty was stunning.
Her hair, of coppery red, spiraled around a diamond-encrusted tiara of rich platinum.
A gown of green silk conformed to the full outline of her breasts and hips, accented by a
belt of rubies and emeralds that enclosed her narrow waist. But it was her face that was
most striking, with her high cheekbones and proud, narrow chin and, most significant, her
eyes. They glowed with the same vibrance as the emeralds on her belt, the almost
unnatural green of the Quivalin line.
Suzine Des Quivalin curtsied deeply to her uncle, the emperor. Her eyes remained
downcast as she awaited his questions.
"What can you tell us about the state of the enemy's forces?" asked the ruler. "Has
your mirror been of use in this regard?"
"Indeed, Excellency," she replied. "Though the range to the elven army is great,
conditions have been good. I have been able to see much.
"The elven general, Kith-Kanan, has deployed his forces in thin screens throughout
the plain, well forward of the fortress of Sithelbec. He has few horsemenтАУperhaps five
hundred, certainly less than a thousand. Any one of your army's wings will outnumber his
entire force, perhaps by a factor of two or three."
"Splendid," noted Quivalin. Again he clapped, this time twice.
The figure that emerged from a different door was perhaps as opposite from the
woman as was conceivable. Suzine turned to leave as this stocky individual clumped into
the room. She paused only long enough to meet Giarna's gaze, as if she was searching for
something in his eyes. Whatever it was, she didn't find it. She saw nothing but the dark,
insatiable hunger for war. In another moment, she disappeared through the same door she
had entered.
In the meantime, the other figure advanced toward the four men. The newcomer was
stooped, almost apelike in posture, and barely four feet tall. His face was grotesque, an
effect accentuated by his leering grin. And where Suzine's eyes crowned her beauty with
pride and dignity, the mad, staring eyes of the dwarf showed white all around the tiny
pupils and seemed to dart frantically from person to person.
If he felt any repugnance at the dwarf's appearance, the emperor didn't show it.
Instead, he simply asked a question.
"What is the status of Thorbardin's involvement?"
"Most Exalted One, my own dwarves of the Theiwar Clan offer you their
unequivocal support. We share your hatred of the arrogant elves and wish nothing more
than their defeat and destruction."
"Nothing more, unless it be a sum of profit in the bargain," remarked the emperor,
his voice neutral.
The dwarf bowed again, too thick-skinned to be offended. "Your Eminence may take
reassurance from the fact that loyalty purchased is always owed to the wealthiest
patronтАУand here you have no competition in all of Krynn."
"Indeed," Quivalin added dryly. "But what of the other dwarvesтАУthe Hylar, the
Daergar?"