"Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman - Legends 03 - Test Of The Twins" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weis Margaret)

here."
"Sure," said Tas cheerfully, slipping his small hand into Caramon's large one.
"And Tas . . . "Yes, Caramon?"
"This time-think of the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth! No moons!"
"Yes, Caramon," Tas said with a profound sigh. Then he smiled again. "You know," he said to
himself as Caramon began to recite the chant again, "I'll bet Caramon would make a whopping big
bat-"
They found themselves standing at the edge of a forest. "It's not my fault, Caramon!" Tas said
quickly. "I thought about the Tower with all my heart and soul. I'm certain I never thought once
about a forest."
Caramon stared intently into the woods. It was still night, but the sky was clear, though storm
clouds were visible on the horizon. Lunitari burned a dull, smoldering red. Solinari was dropping
down into the storm. And above them, the starry hourglass.
"Well, we're in the right time period. But where in the name of the gods are we?" Caramon
muttered, leaning on his crutch and glaring at the magical device irritably. His gaze went back to
the shadowy trees, their trunks visible in the garish moonlight. Suddenly, his expression cleared.
"It's all right, Tas," he said in relief. "Don't you recognize this? It's Wayreth Forest-the magical
forest that stands guard around the Tower of High Sorcery!"
"Are you sure?" Tas asked doubtfully. "It certainly doesn't look the same as the last time I saw it.
Then it was all ugly, with dead trees lurking about, staring at me, and when I tried to go inside it
wouldn't let me and when I tried to leave it wouldn't let me and-"
"This is it," Caramon muttered, folding the sceptre back into its nondescript pendant shape again.
"Then what happened to it?"
"The same thing that happened to the rest of the world, Tas," Caramon replied, carefully slipping
the pendant back into the leather pouch.
Tas's thoughts went back to the last time he had seen the magical Forest of Wayreth. Set to guard
the Tower of High Sorcery from unwelcome intruders, the Forest was a strange and eerie place. For
one thing, a person didn't find the magical forest-it found you. And the first time it had found Tas
and Caramon was right after Lord Soth had cast the death spell on Lady Crysania. Tas had wakened
from a sound sleep to discover the Forest standing where no forest had been the night before!
The trees then had appeared to be dead. Their limbs were bare and twisted, a chill mist flowed from
beneath their trunks. Inside dwelt dark and shadowy shapes. But the trees hadn't been dead. In fact,
they had the uncanny habit of following a person. Tas remembered trying to walk away from the
Forest, only to continually find himself-no matter what direction he traveled-always walking into it.
That had been spooky enough, but when Caramon walked into the Forest, it had changed
dramatically. The dead trees began to grow, turning into vallenwoods! The Forest was transformed
from a dark and forbidding wood filled with death into a beautiful green and golden forest of life.
Birds sang sweetly in the branches of the vallenwoods, inviting them inside.
And now the Forest had changed again. Tas stared at it, puzzled. It seemed to be both forests he
remembered-yet neither of them. The trees appeared dead, their twisted limbs were stark and bare.
But, as he watched, he thought he saw them move in a manner that seemed very much alive!
Reaching out, like grasping arms....
Turning his back on the spooky Forest of Wayreth, Tas investigated his surroundings. All else was
exactly as it had been in Solace. No other trees stood at all-living or dead. He was surrounded by
nothing but blackened, blasted stumps. The ground was covered with the same slimy, gray mud.
For as far as he could see, in fact, there was nothing but desolation and death....
"Caramon," Tas cried suddenly, pointing.
Caramon glanced over. Beside one of the stumps lay a huddled figure.
"A person!" Tas cried in wild excitement. "Someone else is here!"
"Tas!" Caramon called out warningly, but before he could stop him, the kender was dashing over.