"Andre Norton - WW - Estcarp Cycle 04 - Warlock of the Witch World" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

mountains I had stumbled upon a curious piece of know-
ledge. Which was this—though those of Estcarp knew the
south of their long enemy Karsten, and the north of Arizon,
greedy too for their downfall, the western seas where their
long-time allies, the Sulcar seamen, cut wave and harried
shores halfway around our world, yet of the east was no men-
tion among them. It was as if the world ended at a chain
of mountains we could see on clear days. And in the minds
of those with whom we rode there was, I came to be sure, a
block against that direction, so for them the east did
not exist.

Lormt was very old, even for Estcarp which has a his-
tory so buried in the dust of years that no modern search-
ing can disinter its beginnings. Once perhaps it was a town,
though for what purpose one should be set in that bleak
country I could not guess. Now it is only a moldering hand-
ful of buildings, surrounded by crumbling ruins. But in it
there are records of the Old Race, long forgotten; though
there are those who tunnel mole-wise among them, copying

and recopying what seems to them worth the preserving,
the choice of what to save, theirs alone. When, perhaps in
the next cupboard may lie, in near tattered scraps, some-
thing far more worth renewing.

There I sought out an answer to this mystery of the un-
known east. For Kyllan and I had not surrendered (though
outwardly those about us might have believed that we
did) our hope of bringing Kaththea forth and reuniting
our company of three. But to escape the wrath of the
Council we needed a refuge—and this eastern mystery might
offer such.

So in Lormt I found two tasks to occupy me through
the months; one the searching of ancient manuscripts; the
Other of learning to be a warrior once again, though now
my left hand must curve to the sword hilt. For in the twi-
light world in which we lived, when the sun of Estcarp
was red on the horizon, half-slipped into the dark of night,
no man could ride unarmed.

I discovered enough to make me sure that in the east
did indeed lie our salvation—or at least a chance of es-
caping the wrath of the witches. Also, I became once more
a warrior—of sorts.

The final blow, decided upon by the Council, to finish
Karsten, gave us our chance. While the Witches drew all
power to their bidding—to stir the mountains of the south