"Greg Keyes - The Python King's Treasure" - читать интересную книгу автора (Keyes J Gregory)

water. "If I have to take a hand in this myself, I will be most displeased,"
Fa murmured. "I detest the sea. You understand the consequences if I am forced
to do something I hate?"
"Of course, Prince Fa," Fool Wolf said, wondering what the consequences
were, imagining they were unpleasant.
"Good. One of my yachts is prepared to leave."
It occurred to Fool Wolf that a trip by boat would at least get him far from
the city. After that-well, there would surely be opportunities.

A week later, he was still watching for the first of those hypothetical
opportunities. More specifically, he was gazing at the horizon, wondering how
big the ocean could be.
Too big to swim, he kept coming back to. So even though he was unwatched by
the crew-somewhat avoided, even-there was no place to escape to.
Kreth-the black-saronged warrior from the apartment- joined him at the rail.
"Not much farther," Kreth said, spitting onto the sky-dressed sea, watching
the little foam island thus created break up in the ship's wake. "Can you
really do it?"
"I've never failed before," Fool Wolf assured him.
"Obviously. But you've never been to Ranga Lehau before, either," Kreth
grunted. "Still, the prince seems pretty sure of you. He read one of your
treatises or somesuch. How will you do it?"
"How do you imagine I will do it?" Fool Wolf asked.
"You don't have to be mysterious," Kreth replied, a bit sulkily. "If you
can't tell me, just say so."
"I can't tell you, but you can guess, and I can nod yes or no."
"Never mind then. I'm not good at such games, and I shall see shortly, yes?"
He reached over and gave Fool Wolf a slap on the back that clacked his teeth
together. "But you can do it?"
"Of course." Fool Wolf glanced over at Kreth. "What's your part in all of
this? Aside from making sure I do my part?"
"I'm the hunter," Kreth replied. "I will find the Python King's treasure,
never fear. He cannot hide it from me."
"I don't doubt that for a moment," Fool Wolf replied.
That's all Fool Wolf got from Kreth, and the hunter was too smart to push
any further. Fool Wolf didn't want to ask a question that raised even minor
suspicion-he didn't know what Lohar Pang was supposed to know. As long as he
was on this boat, with nothing but sea around, he might as well be in Prince
Fa's palace.

Thus it was, two days later, when Kreth came to Fool Wolf's cabin and said,
"It is time," he still didn't have a fart's whisper of what it was time for.
Up on deck, Kreth pointed to the first land Fool Wolf had seen since the
coastline of Fanva faded in the west. It was an island, looking something like
a giant black horse tooth sticking up out of the water, with its sheer black
cliffs and flat top.
"That is Ranga Lehau," Kreth commented. "According to our charts, we cross
the tapu when we pass those rocks."
Fool Wolf saw the rocks he meant, two pillars of stone jutting up from the
water, perhaps three ship's lengths apart. They looked manmade. At the rate