"Raymond E. Feist - Kingdom of the Isles 2 - The King's Buccaneer" - читать интересную книгу автора (Feist Raymond E)

sunset sparkling atop emerald waters, as seabirds squawked and dove for their
supper. The heat of the day had gone, leaving a soft cool breeze off the bay,
faint with the tang of sea salt, and for a moment he wondered if life could be
better for one of his low station. Then he squinted against the glare of the
sun as it touched the horizon, for out of the west came a figure purposefully
marching down the road toward the little inn.

At first it was nothing more than a black speck against the glare of the
setting sun, but soon it took on detail. Something about the figure set off an
itch in the back of Ghuda's brain, and he fixed his gaze upon the stranger as
he came clearly into view. A slender, bandy-legged man wearing a dusty and
torn blue robe, tied above one shoulder, approached. He was an Isalani, a
citizen of Isalan, one of the nations to the south within the Empire of Great
Kesh. He carried an old black rucksack over one shoulder and used a long staff
as a walking stick.

When the man was close enough for his features to be clearly identified, Ghuda
said a silent prayer: "Gods, not him."

A walling cry of anger came from within the building as

THE KING 's BUCCANEE K

3

Ghuda stood up. The man reached the porch and un-shouldered his bag. A ring of
fuzz surrounded an otherwise bald head; a face resembling a vulture looked
solemn as he regarded Ghuda, then broke into a wide smile. His black eyes were
narrow slits as he grinned at Ghuda. He opened the dusty old bag. In a
familiar, gravelly tone he said, "Want an orange?" He reached into the bag and
withdrew two large oranges.

Ghuda caught the fruit that was tossed to him and said, "Nakor, what in the
Seven Lower Hells brings you here?"

Nakor the Isalani, occasional card sharp and con man, wizard in some sense of
the word, and undoubted lunatic in Ghuda's estimation, was a onetime companion
of the former mercenary. Nine years before, they had met and traveled with a
young vagabond who'd convinced Ghuda—Nakor needed no persuading—to travel on a
journey to the City of Kesh, a descent into the heart of murder, politics, and
attempted treason. The vagabond had turned out to be Prince Borric, heir to
the throne of the Kingdom of the Isles, and Ghuda had emerged from that
encounter with enough gold to travel and find this inn, the previous owner's
widow, and the most glorious sunsets he had ever seen. He wished never again
to experience anything like that journey in this life. Now, with sinking
heart, he knew that wish was likely to be a vain one.

The bandy-legged little man said, "I came to get you."

Ghuda sat back down in his chair as an ale cup came sailing through the door.