"Lawrence Watt-Evans - Dus 1 - Lure Of The Basilisk" - читать интересную книгу автора (Watt-Evans Lawrence)

made good time, considering the fact that Garth was on foot, as here on the
open plain there was no mistaking the road. Further, Elmil was thoroughly
familiar with the terrain, having spent most of his life riding across it with
his fellow bandits.
Shortly before sunset, Garth noticed that several sets of hoofprints had
converged on the road, bound in the same direction that he and his captive
were taking. His suspicions were corroborated when Elmil remarked, "These are
left by my comrades; I recognize the bent horseshoe mark that Dansin's mount
Eknissa makes"
Garth made no reply for several minutes. Then he asked, "Does this road
lead to your home?"
"No; our village is well to the south, along the old highway to Kholis.
This road leads only to the Annamar Pass."
"Then why would your band take it?"
Elmil looked troubled, though Garth did not recognize what the change in
expression signified. He replied, "I don't know. The Pass leads down through
the hills into Orûn, through the valley of Mormoreth, and we have sworn not to
trespass there. Perhaps they will turn aside, seeking a cache of supplies such
as we have secreted along all the roads."
"Do you know of such a cache between here and this pass you have
mentioned?"
The bandit's worried look deepened. "No."
The overman made no further comment. In renewed silence the trio of man,
beast, and overman continued into the gathering darkness.
They made camp late that night and arose early, getting underway once
more while dawn was still a pale glimmer in the east. Elmil wondered as to the
reason for this, but decided against asking. He had begun to realize that
Garth was reluctant to speak with him, though he had no idea why this was the
case. He put it down to his status as a captive.
Garth, meanwhile, was wondering whether it was really worth keeping this
foul little thief around. He could make much better time without him; also,
the human had a rather unpleasant odor, and his appearance was hardly
endearing. The overman wondered what use a nose was, and how men saw through
such pale little eyes. He had never had much contact with humans, and was not
particularly enjoying it. His brief stay in Skelleth had given him a very low
opinion of humanity, and this barbarian had done little to raise it. However,
he had wounded the man and separated him from his people, which obligated him
to look after his welfare, at least until the broken leg was healed; and the
man could provide much useful information about the area, as well as being a
possible hostage should his tribesmen attack again. This last item seemed
important, since it, appeared that the bandits did indeed intend to ambush
him, probably in the Annamar Pass. Why else would they take this road? He
considered altering his route to avoid such a possible ambush, but decided
against it; he had no desire to get himself lost in strange country, and
doubted that Elmil would be much use as a guide once they were off the plain.
Another possibility was to attempt to use the talisman he had taken from
Khand's corpse, which Elmil called the Jewel of Blindness; but that held
little appeal. Garth distrusted all magic, as he distrusted anything he didn't
understand, and did not care to risk the possible consequences of misusing
such a powerful charm without a much better reason than the possibility of an