"Roger Taylor - Hawklan 2 - Fall Of Fyorlund" - читать интересную книгу автора (Taylor Roger)

here these days’.

‘You must be my guests for the day then,’ he said, to salve his conscience. ‘And tonight you must join in
our little celebration.’

Jaldaric seemed taken aback by this offer and protested that he and his friends did not wish to be a
burden to the smith.

‘Nonsense,’ said Loman. ‘We take a pride in our hospitality in Pedhavin. And, as it’s unlikely that you’ll
come here again for a long time, if ever, you’ll need someone to show you round or you’ll miss a great
many interesting sights.’

In common with most of the other people of the village, Loman felt he was emerging from the dark cloud
that the tinker and his tainted wares had cast over the village, and the feeling of lightness, of returning to a
welcome normality, had made him quite loquacious. Jaldaric’s half-hearted protestations were easily
swept aside.

‘I’ve one or two things to do up at the Castle. Join me there in an hour and I’ll show you round. Well,
I’ll show you a little of it anyway. It’s a very big place.’

The young men were amazed by the Castle and plied Loman endlessly with questions, many of which he
could not answer.

‘I’m a humble castellan and smith, not a warrior lord – or a builder,’ he said eventually.

Jaldaric laughed. ‘A child could defend a castle like this,’ he said. ‘It’s the most incredible place I’ve
ever seen. You can see for miles and miles, and you’re completely unassailable behind walls like these –
and this gate.’

They all expressed surprise that the occupant of such a castle was not a great lord, but simply a healer –
and a healer who had just decided to travel on foot all the way to the Gretmearc. But Loman just
laughed.

‘We’ve no lords in Orthlund,’ he said. ‘We just tend our crops and practice our simple crafts.’

Jaldaric looked troubled. Loman thought he understood.
 ‘There’s a Great Harmony in Orthlund, Jaldaric,’ he said, ‘which most people from other lands can’t
understand, even though they might sense it. No one knows why it is. Perhaps we’re a special people in
some way. We accept Hawklan for what he is. Whatever he might have been once, he is beyond doubt a
very special man, and a great healer.’

Jaldaric nodded vaguely.

Loman was spared further questioning by the appearance of Tirilen. Her presence took the young men’s
minds well away from matters military. Loman smiled to himself as he watched his daughter’s light grace
draw the satellites away from his own more solid presence. He wondered what her new-found escorts
would think if they had seen her in the not-too-distant past when she would crash down the stairs three at
a time, or wrestle a village youth to the ground for some slight, real or imagined.

Strangely, Jaldaric did not lead the admiring throng, but kept himself a little aloof, and Loman noticed