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

undoubtedly a door. The stone ended, there was a wooden frame, and set in a
few inches was a wooden panel studded with iron spikes such as were used to
discourage trespassers from attempting to break doors in with their shoulders.
It was the first trace of anything other than solid stone he had found
anywhere in the walls. Investigating further, he felt what were undoubtedly
hinges. Although he knew it was useless, he pushed against the opposite edge.
It refused to yield. It would seem, he decided, that now was the appropriate
time to try and turn himself visible once more. He reached into his belt-pouch
and found the gem. Carefully, he tried to pull it out.
It caught; one of it edges had snagged in the pouch's lining.
Annoyed, he tugged at it. At first it held, then suddenly it sprang free
and flew out of his grasp. Panicstricken, Garth fell on his knees and groped
for it, but found only dust. Without thinking, he yanked out his flint and
steel and tinder and struck a spark, forgetting that the flame and light would
be invisible.
The tinder caught and flared a bright yellow in Garth's perfectly
normal, visible hands. He snorted with relief as he realized that he had
somehow broken the enchantment while fumbling with the gem.
Quickly, before the flickering tinder could die, he pulled out his torch
and held it to the flame; the oils, sooty and no longer fresh, took several
seconds to catch, but flared up at last in smoky red light.
Pocketing flint and steel with one hand while the other held the torch,
Garth saw that he had used the last of his tinder; he could not afford to lose
the torch, his only source of light. A glance around showed him that there
were other torches, long unused and covered with dust and cobwebs, mounted
high along the cellar walls. He lit the nearest one, so as to have a second
flame if he lost his first, then systematically collected himself an armload
of unlit brands from the other brackets and distributed them about his person.
This done, he turned his attention to the door he had found.
It was a massive thing, with three heavy black hinges supporting what
appeared to be braced and layered oak, fit to withstand a siege and studded
with a myriad of inch-long spikes. It was held shut by a heavy latch, secured
with a massive bolt lock-to which Shang undoubtedly held the key.
Reminded of the wizard and his works, he glanced around for the Jewel of
Bilndness, but didn't see it. He shrugged. It had served his purpose, and he
didn't care to spend the time to search for it; he wanted to get the basilisk
above ground before Koros became hungry enough to go hunting. He turned his
attention to the latch and lock, holding the torch as close as he could
without igniting anything.
The latch was of little consequence; it could be worked from either
side, apparently. The lock was the only difficulty. Nor did he have to worry
about bars or locks on the other side, as Shang would be as unable pass them
as he-probably. He was unsure as to whether such things could be manipulated
magically. There was the possibility of a protective spell of some sort, but
he would deal with that if it became necessary and not before.
The door fit its frame reasonably well, but close scrutiny revealed a
narrow crack an inch or two above the lockbolt; through it Garth could see
light glinting on the shiny metal of the bolt itself, proof that it had been
recently worked and the rust scraped off. Putting aside the torch, he drew his
dirk and found that the narrow blade fit into the opening. He forced it down