"David Eddings - The Dreamers 01 - The Elder gods" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

Did he have any weapons aside from that bow, Cap’n?’ Ox asked when
Sorgan returned to the Seagull.
‘He had a bundle of arrows, and a spear in the bottom of the canoe,’
Sorgan replied. ‘He didn’t touch it, but it was right out in the open where
I could see it. I’m pretty sure he wanted me to know it was there. The
funny thing about it was that the spear-point wasn’t iron. It’d been made
from stone instead.’
‘The people who eat other people in the Land of Shaan make their
tools and weapons out of stone, too,’ Ox said. ‘That don’t make me feel
none too comfortable, Cap’n. Just the idea of getting et makes me go cold
all over.’
‘I don’t think these people are that kind, Ox,’ Sorgan said. ‘The fellow
in the canoe seemed to be almost friendly. He knew my name, and he
wanted to be sure we had enough food and water on board. There’s a
place called Lattash about three days south of here, and there’s a woman
named Zelana there who wants to talk with us. Longbow told me that
there might be gold involved in the discussion. That sort of suggests that
the Zelana woman wants to hire people who know how to fight, and
she’ll pay good gold to get them.’
‘I ain’t about to start taking no orders from no woman, Cap’n,’ Ham-
Hand protested.
‘Don’t worry about it, Ham-Hand,’ Sorgan told him. ‘You’ll take your
orders from me, just like always. I’ll be the one who deals with this
Zelana woman. Hoist up the sail, and let’s go south. There’s a lady down
there who wants to talk to me about gold, so let’s not dawdle.’
Once the Seagull was clear of the inlet, a good following breeze came
up, and Sorgan’s ship was soon skimming lightly over the waves a league
or so out from the coast of Dhrall. By evening the Seagull was a goodly
distance south of Longbow’s village, and Sorgan prudently hauled in on
the leeward side of a small islet and dropped anchor. Nobody in his right
mind sails through strange waters after dark.
 Sorgan rose at first light and went up on deck to have a look at the
weather. He found Ham-Hand and Rabbit leaning over the rail on the
starboard side. ‘What’s afoot?’ he asked them.
‘There’s some real strange critters in these here waters, Cap’n,’ Rabbit
replied. ‘I’ve seen dolphins and porpoises afore, but I ain’t never seen
any of them as was pink.’
‘You’re not serious!’ Sorgan said.
‘Strike me dead iff’n I ain’t,’ Rabbit said. ‘I heered them splashin’ an’
gigglin’ out there afore it got light, an’ I couldn’t believe my eyes once it
got light enough for me to take a good look.’
‘He’s right, Cap’n,’ Ham-Hand said. ‘The little rascals is as pink as a
new sunrise and they’re skipping around out there on the water like little
children having a good time.’
‘There’s one right now, Cap’n,’ Rabbit said, pointing off to starboard.
Sorgan stared. The creature was definitely a dolphin, and it really was
pink.
Then there were others swarming around the Seagull, leaping and