"Dixie Lee McKeone - Tales of Uncle Trapspringer" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKeone Dixie Lee)

the Core of All Worlds, " He gasped out the beginning of his tale. With it went the image of the serpents.
With them went the pain. He touched his face to assure himself of what he knew. The torture had been an
illusion; his skin was whole. Draaddis took a deep breath and went on with his story.
"The red robe had some garbled tale of stones that could be gathered there. He claimed they would open
a portal to any plane-"
"Bring him to the orb, I will question him, " Takhisis demanded, but Draaddis shook his head.
"I fear, my queen, to learn even the little I did, I was forced to strip him of his knowledge. " Draaddis
shrugged. "He was a fool, with more courage than strength, and as I said he was young, still learning his art.
He did not survive my entry into his mind. I have his knowledge, but it was incomplete. For the past ten days I
have been searching out the mysterious red robe who has a set of these gate stones. "
"Did you find him?"
"I have found him, my queen, and more. I have used a construct to place a viewing disk in his work
chamber so we can judge for ourselves the worth of his find in the Core of Worlds. "
Draaddis waved a hand in the direction of the largest table, where a red-eyed rat sat scratching his ear. A
closer look showed a pair of wings pressed flat to its back. When the eye of the dread queen turned in its
direction, the rat backed up to hide behind a stack of books.
"You have done well, " Takhisis said, momentarily drawing back from the globe. When he could see her
entire face, Draaddis trembled even more violently. In her human form, the Dark Queen's beauty was
incomparable. Her perfect features and eyes held more allure than any mortal face. Her sensuous mouth,
even in repose, gave promise of delights no mortal woman could offer. Just gazing at her made Draaddis
forget the danger inherent in the presence of the ruler of the Abyss.
"Show me!" With the command she put her eye to the globe again and all he saw was the dark pupil that
followed his movements around the chamber.
"The seeing disk is mated to this one, " Draaddis told his queen, opening his hand. He showed her a
small, intricately carved disk of gray-green glass. A tail of carved magic runes, individually too small for the
unaided eye to discern, swirled out from a small carving in the center to the edge of the glass. Draaddis
placed the disk on a round, unadorned mirror that lay flat on the table.
The stile that held the black globe disappeared, along with the black-robed wizard, the shelves, the grisly
experiments, and the dusty murkiness of Draaddis's work room. It seemed as if they had instantly been
transported into another underground chamber. By the barely discernible odor of vegetable decay, it had in
the past been used as a huge food larder. This, too, was a wizard's laboratory and held all the clutter of
alchemy, save the experiments were not of such a grizzly nature. The chamber was cleaner and
clean-burning torches purified the air. Old carpets of intricate design covered the floor, and the wall sconces
that held the torches were ornate enough to have graced a lord's dining hall.
Two people were in the room. Orander Marlbenit, a master wizard in red robes sat at a table, pouring over
a book. Across from him, what Draaddis first thought was a child of four or five years, stood on a bench,
pouring tea into a cup. The pot was too large for her tiny hands. The little figure also wore a red robe, and
beside her a short staff leaned against the bench. Thick, curling black hair framed her face and tumbled down
her back. When she turned to put the pot back on a tray, they saw her face. The diminutive size was at odds
with the maturity of a young woman in her twenties.
"At least have a cup of tea before you begin, " she said. Her voice was highly pitched and childlike, but
the tones were that of an adult. When the wizard continued reading she became exasperated.
"Master Orander!" she spat. "You need strength for your studies, and even more if you try the experiment.
"
The larger figure raised his head. White hair peeked out from under his hood and bright blue eyes sparkled
beneath a pair of heavy white eyebrows. His beard, also white, had been inexpertly cut short, a concession to
convenience rather than style. He smiled at his companion.
"You make too much of it, Halmarain. I won't be in any danger, and I won't be gone long. I'll just test the
stones on a benign plane. " He pointed at a passage in the book he was reading.
"Alchviem says here that the tone is everything. Once the vibration starts if we keep the note soft and