"Dan Parkinson. The Gates of Thorbardin ("DragonLance Saga Heroes II" #2) (angl)" - читать интересную книгу автора

"Sorry about that." Chess waved at him. "I guess what-
ever this was, it doesn't work any more."
With a warning scowl, the dwarf went back to what he
was doing. Chess continued his exploration. Near one
edge of the mound, tugging away a rock, he found a
thick, ragged sheet of green-black stuff that might once
have been bronze. Wiping it with his tunic, he saw letters
on its surface and sat down to read them aloud. Most
were corroded beyond recognition, but here and there a
few words could be partially deciphered:
"... velous Wallbreacher, equipped with secondary
ar ... iple-geared self-propel ... ba ... not
included..."
And elsewhere, "... Model one of -"
"Gnomes," Chess said, nodding at the revelation. He
climbed to the top of the mound. Beyond, Chane was
moving stones around, arranging them in a circle. Chess
cupped his hands and shouted, "Gnomes!"

The dwarf raised his head. "What?"
"Gnomes!" the kender repeated. "This was a gnomish
machine of some kind. I found its label."
"What was it supposed to do?"
"I don't know. But gnomes built it, so it probably
didn't do anything right."
Chane turned away and resumed the moving of
stones.
For a bit longer, Chess explored the ancient wreckage,
then he brushed down his tunic, shouldered his pouch,
picked up his staff, and went to find the dwarf. "This was
interesting," he said. "Now let's go on, and see what else
there is to find."
"I'm busy," Chess grunted, setting a block of stone atop
another.
"What are you doing?"
"I found some usable metal. I'm setting up a forge to
work it."
"Oh." The kender walked all the way around the circle
of stone, wide-eyed. "What do you want to make?"
"A hammer, of course. The only thing I know of that
can be made without a hammer is a hammer, though it
won't be a very good one, without a hammer to work
with."
"A hammer," Chess nodded, taken with the logic of it.
"Then what?"
"What?"
"What are you going to make once you've made your
hammer?"
"Another hammer. Once I have a rough hammer to
use, I can make a perfectly good hammer with it. Then, if