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

The Portal opened.
Raistlin started to enter, but a magical, time-traveling device being operated by the mage's twin
brother, Caramon, and the kender, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, interfered with the archmage's powerful
spell. The field of magic was disrupted ...
... with disastrous and unforeseen consequences.
Chapter
"Oops," said Tasslehoff Burrfoot.
Caramon fixed the kender with a stern eye.
"It's not my fault! Really, Caramon!" Tas protested.
But, even as he spoke, the kender's gaze went to their surroundings, then he glanced up at Caramon,
then back to their surroundings again. Tas's lower lip began to tremble and he reached for his
handkerchief, just in case he felt a snuffle coming. But his handkerchief wasn't there, his pouches
weren't there. Tas sighed. In the excitement of the moment, he'd forgotten-they'd all been left
behind in the dungeons of Thorbardin.
And it had been a truly exciting moment. One minute he and Caramon had been standing in the
magical fortress of Zhaman, activating the magical time-traveling device; the next minute Raistlin
had begun working his magic and, before Tas knew it, there had been a terrible commotion stones
singing and rocks cracking and a horrible feeling of being pulled in six different directions at once
and then-
WHOOSH-here they were.
Wherever here was. And, wherever it was, it certainly didn't seem to be where it was supposed to
be.
He and Caramon were on a mountain trail, near a large boulder, standing ankle-deep in slick ash-
gray mud that completely covered the face of the land below them for as far as Tas could see. Here
and there, jagged ends of broken rock jutted from the soft flesh of the ash covering. There were no
signs of life. Nothing could be alive in that desolation. No trees remained standing; only fire-
blackened stumps poked through the thick mud. As far as the eye could see, clear to the horizon, in
every direction, there was nothing but complete and total devastation.
The sky itself offered no relief. Above them, it was gray and empty. To the west, however, it was a
strange violet color, boiling with weird, luminous clouds laced with lightning of brilliant blue.
Other than the distant rumble of thunder, there was no sound ... no movement ... nothing.
Caramon drew a deep breath and rubbed his hand across his face. The heat was intense and,
already, even though they had been standing in this place only a few minutes, his sweaty skin was
coated with a fine film of gray ash.
"Where are we?" he asked in even, measured tones. "I-I'm sure I haven't any idea, Caramon," Tas
said. Then, after a pause, "Have you?"
"I did everything the way you told me to," Caramon replied, his voice ominously calm. "You said
Gnimsh said that all we had to do was think of where we wanted to go and there we'd be. I know I
was thinking of Solace-"
"I was too!" Tas cried. Then, seeing Caramon glare at him, the kender faltered. "At least I was
thinking of it most of the time...."
"Most of the time?" Caramon asked in a dreadfully calm voice.
"Well"-Tas gulped-"I-I did th-think once, just for an instant, mind you, about how-er-how much
fun and interesting and, well, unique, it would be to-uh-visit a-uuh ... um......
"Um what?" Caramon demanded. "A... mmmmmm."
"A what?"
"Mmmmm," Tas mumbled. Caramon sucked in his breath. "A moon!" Tas said quickly.
"Moon!" repeated Caramon incredulously. "Which moon?" he asked after a moment, glancing
around. "Oh"-Tas shrugged-"any of the three. I suppose one's as good as another. Quite similar, I
should imagine. Except, of course, that Solinari would have all glittering silver rocks and Lunitari