"David Weber - Empire of Man 02 - March to the Sea" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weber David)

valley, they had yet to find a spot the packbeasts couldn't negotiate, but this was pushing it.
"You think they can get through?" Dokkum asked. The little Nepalese was taking the slow, steady
steps he'd taught the others when they tried to take off like jackrabbits. The simple method of one step
per breath was the only way to move in serious mountains. Anything else would wear humans to the bone
between the thin air and steep slopes.
 Kosutic measured the defile with the range finder in her helmet and looked at the ground. "So far.
Much worse and the answer would be no."
"Heya!" Gronningen shouted. "Heya! By Jesus-Thor!" The big Asgardian was perched at the top of
the slope, shaking his rifle overhead in both hands.
"Well, I think we found our pass," Kosutic said with a breathy chuckle.
***
"Damn," Roger said, looking at the view spread out below the company.
The last of the flar-ta were scrambling up the defile as he stepped aside to get a better look. The
broad, U-shaped valley at their feet was clearly glacial shaped, and in the center of the deep bowl
directly below them was an immense tarn, an upper mountain lake.
The water of the lake, still several thousand meters below their current altitude, was a deep, intense
blue, like liquid oxygen. And it looked just about as cold. Given their surroundings, that was hardly
surprising. What was a surprise, was the city on its shore.
The town was large, nearly as large as Voitan once had been, and did not fit the usual
huddled-on-a-hilltop pattern of every other Mardukan city the humans had yet seen. This town frankly
sprawled around the shores of the lake and well up the valley slopes above it.
"It looks like Como," Roger said.
"Or Shrinagar," O'Casey added quietly.
"Whichever it is," Pahner said, stepping out of the way of the beasts as well, "we need to get down to
it. We've got less than a hundred kilos of barleyrice left, and our diet supplementals get a little lower
every day."
"You're always such an optimist, Captain," Roger observed.
"No, I'm a pessimist. That's what your mother pays me to be," the Marine added with a smile. The
smile quickly turned to a frown, however. "We have a smidgen of gold and a few gems left after we paid
the mahouts. Oh, and some dianda. We need barleyrice, some wine, fruits, vegetablesтАФeverything. And
salt. We're almost out of salt."
"We'll figure it out, Captain," the prince said. "You always do."
"ThanksтАФI think," the commander said sourly. "I guess we'll have to." He patted a pocket, but his
store of gum was long gone. "Maybe they chew tobacco down there."
"Is that why you chew gum?" Roger asked in surprise.
"Sort of. I used to smoke pseudonic a long time ago. It's surprising how hard it is to kick that habit."
The last of the flar-ta was trotting by, and the captain looked at the line passing down the defile. "I think
we'd better hurry to get in front of the band."
"Yep," Roger agreed, looking at the distant city. "I'm really looking forward to getting to civilization."
"Let's not go too fast," Pahner cautioned as he started forward. "This is liable to be a new
experience. Different hazards, different customs. These mountains are a fairly effective barrier, especially
for a bunch of cold-blooded Mardukans, so these folks may not take all that kindly to strangers. We
need to take it slow and careful."
***
"Slow down," Kosutic called. "The city isn't going anywhere."
The company had been moving through the twisting mountain valleys towards the distant city for the
last two days. It turned out that the pass they'd exited from was on a different watershed, which had
required some backtracking. The delay meant that they'd run out of fodder for the packbeasts, who were
becoming increasingly surly about life in general.
Fortunately, they'd recently entered a flatter terrain of moraines and alluvial wash. It was well