"Lawrence Watt-Evans - Dragon Weather" - читать интересную книгу автора (Watt-Evans Lawrence)

The dark clouds hung heavy in the western sky
for the next three days, creeping very slowly nearer,
spreading across the sky like a stain. The water
wagons were brought to the cisterns above the
village and emptied into the great stone basins, and
water was doled out carefully to each family,
enough to keep both crops and people alive, but still
thirsty.
The mountain above the village continued to
smoke and steam; the air now had a very noticeable
sulfurous stench to it, and the sun, when it could be
seen through the haze at all, was as orange as a
pumpkin.
Despite the oppressive heat and gloom the young
men of Obsidian returned to their usual tasks,
working the mines, carving the black glass, tending
the crops. The women kept house, cooked and
cleaned, wove and sewed, minded the livestock and
the children. The old men thatched roofs, polished
brightwork, and took care of the other less urgent,
less strenuous jobs.
And the children ran errands and helped out as
required, but still found time to play and explore.
On the third morning after the water run Arlian
climbed up to the top of the great black rock north
of the village; at the top, sweaty and filthy, he
settled down cross-legged and looked out over the
countryside.
Up here it was just as hot as in the village, but
the air seemed not quite so still and thick. From
here he could see for miles upon miles, out across
the Lands of Man, across fields and forests, from
the Sandalwood Hills to the Bitter Lake, from
Skygrazer Peak back to Tara Vale, miles in every
direction but southeast, where the mountain
blocked his view.
To the north, far off on the horizon, beyond the
lowering clouds and the pall of mountain smoke, he
could see a dull line of blue sky. At one point, to the
northeast, that blue was marred by a smudge of
smoke; his father had once pointed it out and told
Arlian that that was where the great city of Manfort
lay, where humans had first resisted, and finally
broken, the dragonsтАЩ hold on the worldтАФManfort,
where the great lords and ladies lived in their stone
palaces, in their fine clothes and fancy coaches,
with their dress balls and formal duels, amid
rumors of secret societies and elaborate intrigue.
Arlian stared at the smoke for a long time, trying