"Robert Jordan - Conan The Indomitable" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jordan Robert)

had slain, the young Cimmerian and Elashi had agreed to travel together until their paths parted. Conan
intended to visit the wicked city of Shadizar, in Zamora, to ply the trade of thief, while Elashi's plans
would take her farther south, to her native Khauran. From inquiries along the way thus far, Conan had
learned that the route would not be direct; the best road detoured into Corinthia for perhaps several
days' journey before looping southeast into Zamora again. Even as he recalled this, the path upon which
they trod turned to the west and began to angle down the mountain.

Perhaps there was a village or town ahead in which he could practice his thievery and obtain enough
silver for two horses, thereby putting an end to Elashi's constant carping. He certainly hoped it would be
so.

Snow lay thick upon the land save for the path, where it had been trodden down. It was winter but
clear, the blue skies sharp, the air cold and clean. Conan much enjoyed such places; towns offered much,
but the air inside a city stank of odors unknown in the mountains. A man had to balance these things, of
course. Meat and wine and lusty companions were more apt to be found in civilization than along a
snow-covered trail in the middle of nowhere. While Conan's god Crom lived inside a mountain, he had
never ordained that men were supposed to do the same.

From ahead on the trail there came a noise.

It was a small thing, the sound, and ears less sharp than Conan's would have dismissed it as perhaps a
breeze-inspired shrub's rustling or a small rock dislodged by some tiny animal. The big Cimmerian
stopped, and listened intently.

"What are you—?"

Conan waved Elashi to silence. When he spoke, his voice was a deep whisper. "Someone waits just
ahead, around that large boulder."

Elashi glanced at the house-sized rock Conan had just indicated. "I see no sign of anyone," she said,
matching his whisper.

"There was a noise," Conan insisted.

"I heard nothing. And I am a woman of the desert, do not forget."

How could he forget? She reminded him of it at least once daily. "Perhaps you need desert sand for your
ears to work properly. I heard a cough."

That earned him a glare that, had it been a blade, would have left him in small and bloody chunks upon
the snowy ground. "Listen, you barbarian oaf—"

"No more time for games," he cut her off. He drew his sword. "I sense that we are in danger."

Elashi nodded. Despite her verbal abuse of her companion, she had been with him long enough to
understand that his senses were indeed sharper than those of ordinary men. She drew her own sword.
"What should we do?"

"You circle behind the rock while I proceed along the trail to draw their attention. That way, you can
take them unaware while they watch me."