"Roland Green - Conan and the Gods of the Mountains" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Roland)

He told of wondering if accursed Xuchotl might be safe to approach, with its

guardian dragon dead. All life seemed to have fled the city—human life, at

least. He spoke of an open gate through which the jungle was already creeping,

to claim Xuchotl the Accursed for its own.

"How far did you go?" the leader asked.

"Not as far as I wished," the hunter admitted. "I, too, had heard the tales of

the fire-stones within the city. I sought them and found—" He swallowed. "—I

found that Xuchotl's curse had at last destroyed its own people."

He spoke of the bodies of men and women slain no more than a handful of days
before. Some bore the wounds of human weapons, swords and spears and knives, or

even of teeth and nails. Others seemed to have been struck by lightning, and

this in an underground chamber where no lightning could reach save by sorcery.

"It was then that I knew Xuchotl was still accursed, and that I might join the

dead if I stayed longer within its walls," the hunter concluded. "I ran from the

chamber and from the city. Yet as I ran, I saw that others had come forth by the

same gate not long before."

"The slayers of the folk of Xuchotl?" It was the man who had been silenced who

spoke. Now his tone held respect and curiosity, as well as more than a little

fear. The hunter's pleasure at having won over his listeners almost made him

forget the pain in his ankle.

"That I do not know. I can only say that one was a giant, another as large as a

common warrior of the Kwanyi. Both seemed well-laden, and both wore boots."

The Monkey warriors stared at one another, then at the jungle around them. It

seemed to the hunter that he could see into their very thoughts as he spoke.

"I think that is why the talking drums have not spoken of this. The sorcerers