"part3" - читать интересную книгу автора (Keith Brooke - Lord of Stone)

[Winter: The Year of Our Lords, 3963]

1

'Stone is born of the Fire of the Earth ... but by a ring of
Stone is Fire contained.'
- The Book of the World, ch.2, v.21.

As the morning light intensified, evaporating away a light
hill mist, Bligh saw the layout of Pigeon Ravine for the
first time. The land dropped away for a short distance,
levelling out to form an uneven valley bottom through which
ran a trickle of green water. He could see the enemy defences
at his own level about 200 yards away on the far slope. He
saw movement and immediately someone fired from nearby. The
enemy soldier waved his hand in defiance and dropped out of
sight. A good rifle, fired well, might stand some chance at
this range, Bligh thought, but he knew better than to try it
for himself.

For lunch they chewed on strips of leathery meat peeled one
by one from a thick wad one of the men had produced. The meat
was bitter and tough and Bligh was cautiously chewing a
stringy mouthful when Bernie Rayner came along the trench and
treated them all to his best expression of disdain.

"Try some?" said an old Traian called Roca Fesh, knowing that
Rayner was vegetarian.

"I saw enough dead meat at Caspe," said Rayner, softly.
"Bligh, you might like to come along with me. I've been
studying the map and I want to take a look at the lie of the
land in daylight."

Bligh and Rayner were accompanied by Erin Panniker and an
experienced Feorean by the name of Oori Campion. Campion was
an introspective, stout man in his forties, with lank
chestnut hair and the droopy moustache that was popular
amongst the older soldiers. Even Panniker had started to grow
one during his short time in the 34th.

They stepped out onto the open road and Rayner said, "You'd
be unlucky to be hit out here. It'd have to be a stray."

"What would it matter, if the bastard hit you?" said Campion.

They followed a rough track up the hill, leaving the road and
the shallow trenches behind and below. Eventually Rayner took
a map from his pocket and squinted at it while the others
beat their hands against their sides in an effort to warm up.