"Bard's Tale 06 - Escape from Roksamur - Mark Shepherd UC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bard's Tale)

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ESCAPE FROM ROKSAMUR
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events por-
trayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to
real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 1997 by Mark Shepherd
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this
book or portions thereof in any form.
A Baen Books Original
The Bard's Tale characters and descriptions are the sole
property of Electronic Arts and are used by permission.
The Bard's Tale is a registered trademark of Electronic
Arts.
Baen Publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
ISBN: 0-671-87797-6
Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet
First printing, August 1997
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Typeset by Windhaven Press, Auburn, NH
Ckapter One
Home, at last, Bard Alaire thought as he rode his mare
through the open gates of Silver City. The searing sum-
mer heat wrapped its arms around him even now, as the
sun set behind the great capital of Althea. Despite the
bandana wrapped around his head, sweat dripped onto
his already perspiration-drenched clothing.
Shade and water will come soon enough, he thought,
as the closing gate's shadow passed over him.
Exhausted and thirsty, as was his mare, he made for
the nearest well. Alaire shared a bucket of water with
her before proceeding to the palace, wishing the news
he'd gathered for his brother, King Derek of Althea,
had been more helpful than it was. It did little for his
spirits to deliver more evidence of the Althean drought,
as the kingdom already had other problems.
Better to present my report now and get it over with,
Alaire thought grimly.
The Bard led his mare to a stable and started off
towards the palace, an ominous, square structure domi-
nating the horizon. Merchants and tradesmen waved
greetings but did not attempt conversation.
The guards at the front door bowed as they recog-
nized him, allowing him to enter the palace unchal-