"Vance Moore - Magic The Gathering - Masquerade Cycle 03 - Prophecy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moore Vance)

Sergeant Atul spoke with no perceptible malice, but the
pair instantly started inspecting the condition of the
draft beasts and the wagons. Haddad and Natal split and
went down opposite sides of the line, checking the cargo
and the beasts. They peered uncertainly into the dim
light, hoping no problems would be found.
The sergeant continued to converse with the other
veteran soldiers. Bad luck and poor communications had
delayed the unit's departure far longer than anyone
planned. Unsure of the road, the technical unit had set
out into the wilderness. The combat troops were far ahead,
and most of the unit wondered if they could find them.
The Kipamu League's punitive strike had left at its
best speed in response to rumors of a Keldon raiding
party. The barbarians were supposedly encamped only miles
away, resting their beasts before returning to their base
across the desolate plain. The Keldons were warriors and
slave takers. They had swept over the world in ages past,
though it had been decades since any League city had
suffered a serious attack. Now the Keldons were once again
raiding Jamuraa, and the League was eager to test its
strength. Friendly forces had failed to catch the raiders
during the past three incursions. The lack of success
against raiders was a source of embarrassment to the army
and the League leaders. Some civilians said that the army
was scared to attack figures from childhood nightmares.
The news that a target might still be within striking
distance of the Kipamu barrack provoked an immediate
response. A force of war machines and mounted infantry was
dispatched. The mechanical forces were steel ants, the
weakest and most common element in the Kipamu arsenal.
However, the high speed of the waist-high metal insectoids
made them the quickest force the army could field.
Besides, the commanders said the low quality of their foes
presented no real challenge to the League, just Keldon
trash raiding small farms.
Haddad wondered if bravado ruled the army now. Seeking
to crush their own fears, the combat troops had raced out
into the field. The need for speed left the support troops
exposed and without escort as they followed, chivvying
their plodding oxen into the cold darkness. The support
troopers carried supplies and maintenance equipment, but
as noncombat troops they had none of the rashness burning
in the commanders who raced to fight. The veterans looked
for machines or cavalry for protection, but they found
none. Sergeant Atul had said if he had a choice between
shivering naked with a proper column of security or
maintaining the current situation, he would risk
frostbite.
"Natal!" Atul called, "come here."