"James M. Ward - The Pool 3 - Pool of Twilight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ward James M)

old mas-ter, but after his death Shal had taken it over. While Shal insisted that the rest of the tower be
spotless, this room was always cluttered. Shelves lined the walls, sagging under their load of leather-bound
books and rune-sealed jars. Countless tables were strewn with crisp rolls of parchment, bright purple quill
pens, and crystal pots of invisible ink. Bunches of dried herbs hung from the rafters, lending the air a sweet,
dusty scent.
"Sit," Shal said briskly. Kern did as ordered. His mother approached him with a clear crystal in hand, her
violet robe whispering against the stone floor.
"What is that?" Kern asked, eyeing the crystal warily. He was more than a little suspicious of his
mother's magic powers. He had seen her cast a spell and engulf entire bands of attacking orcs in searing
flame. It was generally a good idea to avoid being on the receiving end of her incantations.
"It's a test. I want to find out why your father's spell failed to heal you. Now stop squirming and hold
still."
She spoke several strange words. Suddenly the crystal glowed with a crimson radiance. The scarlet
glow reached out to envelop a heavy spellbook on a nearby table. The sorceress nodded in satisfaction.
"Does it detect magic?" Kern asked tentatively.
"That's right," Shal said. "Now it's your turn." She brought the crystal closer to Kern. The scarlet glow
reached out for him, probing. But as soon as the radiance touched his chest, it abruptly vanished. The
crystal went dark, disintegrating into a fine gray powder that trickled from Shal's hand.
She raised an eyebrow, gazing speculatively at her son.
"What?" Kern asked defensively. "What is it?"
"This is a problem," Shal said. She took a troubled breath. "Oh, I've suspected it for some time now.
Why do you think I always tell you to stay away from my chamber when I'm working on a spell?" She
dusted the remnants of the crystal from her hands. "This confirms everything."
"Confirms what?" Kern asked in utter desperation.
"You are unmagic, Kern." Her face grew serious. "It's my fault, of course. I cast a number of powerful
spells while I was pregnant with you. I would have rather not cast them but was forced to in order to save
your father, as well as the city of Phlan. Now it seems they have affected you, though I'm not yet sure if
the effect is per-manent, or even if it will be consistent from one day to the next."
Kern's head was spinning. "Affected me in what way?"
"Magic doesn't work on you, Kern. Now, this might not actually be all bad. It means you're immune to
harmful spells. But it also means you're immune to magical heal-ing as well, like the spell your father tried
to cast on you after your strange nightmare,"
Kern groaned in dismay. "Isn't there something you can do to fix things?"
"Well, we can help you practice lowering your magical guard." Shal smiled reassuringly at her son. "It
won't solve the problem, but it may help."
Before Kern could reply, Listle burst into the room. A flurry of silver sparks followed in her wake. Shal
scowled at the elf's flagrant use of her swiftness spell.
The elf grinned sheepishly. "I know I wasn't supposed to cast another one," Listle said excitedly, "but I
thought this was too important to wait"
"What is it, Listle?" Kern asked.
Her silvery eyes were positively glowing. "It's the cler-ics at the temple," she exclaimed. "They've
solved Bane's riddle!"
Kern stared at the elf uncomprehendingly.
 She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Don't you see, you ogre-brained oaf? They've discovered where
the Hammer of Tyr is hidden!"
 2
A Riddle Answered
Weighted down by his heavy armor, Kern hurriedly descended the tower's central staircase. As a
paladin-aspirant, tradition required that he don full armor before visiting the temple of Tyr. That included a
heavy shirt of chain mail, a breastplate of beaten steel, and greaves to match. Over this he wore the tabard