"ClaytonEmery-Netheril01-SwordPlay" - читать интересную книгу автора (Emery Clayton)

Sword Play
Book 1 of The Netheril Trilogy
By Clayton Emery

Ebook version 1.0
Release Date: November, 21th, 2003


In the road ahead shimmered a gilt-edged portal like a ring around the sun.
Swooping from the middle came a huge yellow glob only vaguely man-shaped. Its
jellyfish arms had enfolded Ruellana and were dragging her toward the shining portal.
Unsheathing Harvester as he ran, Sunbright dove and grabbed Ruellana's boot
with his free hand. He stabbed at the creature, but to no avail. The woman was
hauled steadily into the glittering portal.
Greenwillow ran to the barbarian's side, grabbed his arm, and tugged. "Let go!" the
elf shrilled. "You can't help her!"
"I can't desert her now! I didn't desert you!"
"But she's not what she seems!" the elf wailed. "Don't—"
"Get to Dalekeva!" Sunbright roared. "I'll meet you there!"
Then, hanging on to only a foot, the barbarian lunged headfirst at the portal, now
no bigger than his hips. With a twinkle of golden light on his hobnailed boots, he was
gone.


The Netheril Trilogy
Sword Play
Clayton Emery
Dangerous Games
(available November 1996)


Dedicated to Hunter, My Best Bud



Chapter 1
They'd seen him climbing, and he'd seen them following. He'd scaled as high and
fast as he could, but they'd pursued, and now he was trapped.
Making the best of a bad situation, the young barbarian selected a pocket in the
sheer wall of red-gray granite. The pocket curled around to his left, then broke off
jaggedly. A trail trickling through the mountains kissed the jagged edge, but after that
descended into a gorge full of shadows. The shadows he could have used to hide in,
despite the midday sun, but he'd peered over the edge and seen the trail was too
steep. He'd be tripping down it, wary of breaking his neck and unable to turn around,
his back a perfect target when his enemies arrived. He settled for rolling a round
boulder into the trail as a temporary barricade. Then he stayed put. They could attack
only from the front and the left, and would have to mount a short slope to do it, so
they couldn't flank him. As long as they didn't have missile weapons—arrows or
slings—he could fight hand to hand to match any warrior.
The sunny cliff was warm against his back as he waited—perhaps to die. It was