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

Yet the dwarves were a necessary evil, Sithas admitted with a sigh. The war with the
humans called for extremely careful negotiations with powerful Thorbardin, the dwarven
stronghold south of the disputed lands. The power of that vast and warlike nation, thrown
behind either human Ergoth or elven Silvanesti, could well prove decisive.
Once, a year earlier, the Speaker of the Stars had assumed the dwarves were firmly
in the elven camp. His negotiations with the esteemed Hylar dwarf Dunbarth Ironthumb
had presented a unified front against human encroachment. Sithas had assumed that
dwarven troops would soon stand beside the elves in the disputed plainslands.
Yet, to date, King Hal-Waith of Thorbardin had not yet sent a single regiment of
dwarven fighters, nor had he released to Kith-Kanan's growing army any of the great
stocks of dwarven weapons. The patient dwarves were not about to be hurried into any
rash wars.
So a dwarven diplomatic mission was a necessity in Silvanost. And now that war had
begun, such missions required sizable escortsтАУin the case of the recently arrived dwarven
general Than-Kar, some one thousand loyal axemen.
Surprising himself, Sithas thought with fondness of the previous dwarven
ambassador. Dunbarth Ironthumb had fully possessed all the usual uncouthness of a
dwarf, but he also had a sense of humor and was self-effacing, traits that had relaxed and
amused Sithas.
Than-Kar had none of these traits. A swarthy complected Theiwar, the general was
rude to the point of belligerence. Impatient and uncooperative, the ambassador actually
seemed to act as an impediment to communication.
Take, for example, the messenger who had arrived from Thorbardin more than a
week ago. This dwarf, after his months'-long march, must certainly have brought important
news from the dwarven king. Yet, Than-Kar had said nothing, had not even
requested an audience with the Speaker of the Stars. This was the reason for the
conference Sithas had scheduled for the morrow, peremptorily summoning Than-Kar to
the meeting in order to find out what the Theiwar knew.
His mood as thick as the night, Sithas let his gaze follow the dark outlines of the
river Thon-Thalas, the wide waterway surrounding Silvanost and its island. The water
was smooth, and he could see starlight reflected in its crystal surface. Then the breeze
rose again, clouding the surface with ripples and washing the chant of the dwarven
axemen away.
Seeing the river, the Speaker's mind filled with a new and most unwelcome memory,
a scene as clear in its every detail as it was painful in its recollection. Two weeks ago or
more it was now, yet it might as well have been that very morning. That was when the
newly recruited regiments had departed westward, to join Kith-Kanan's forces.
The long columns of warriors had lined the riverbank, waiting their turns to board
the ferry and cross. From the far bank of the Thon-Thalas, they were about to begin their
long march to the disputed lands, five hundred miles to the west. Their five thousand
spears, swords, and longbows would prove an important addition to the Wildrunners.
Yet, for the first time in the history of Silvanesti, the elves had needed to be bribed
into taking up arms for their Speaker, their nation. A hundred steel bounty, paid upon
recruitment, had been offered as incentive. Even this had not brought volunteers flocking
to the colors, though after several weeks of recruitment regiments of sufficient size had
finally been raised.
And then there had been the scene at the riverbank.
The cleric Miritelisina had just recently emerged from the cell where Sithas's father,
Sithel, had thrown her for treason a year earlier. The matriarch of the faith of Quenesti
Pah, benign goddess of healing and health, Miritelisina had voiced loud objections to the