The Serpentwar Saga. Raymond E. Feist

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      After a few minutes. Dawar stood up and left the game. He came over to Erik and said, ‘Got a minute?’

      Erik motioned to the barkeep for another cup and filled it. Dawar sipped and made a face. ‘Nothing like the wine from the grand vineyards of home, is it?’ he said.

      ‘Where’s home?’ asked Erik.

      Dawar said, ‘Far from here. Let’s go outside for a minute.’

      Erik picked up the bottle and let Dawar lead him outside into the fresh, cold night air. The man looked one way, then the other, and signaled for Erik to follow him around the corner, into a dark place next to the wall, sheltered above by the palisades.

      ‘Look, Corporal,’ began Dawar. ‘Let’s have an end to the mummery. You’re the company Nahoot was sent to keep from coming this way.’

      ‘What makes you think that?’ said Erik. ‘You’re the ones that jumped us.’

      ‘I wasn’t born this morning,’ said the man with a grin. ‘I know your Captain’s not your Captain, but the slender blond fellow is.’

      ‘What do you want?’

      ‘A way to get rich,’ said Dawar, a greedy glint in his eye.

      ‘How do you propose to do that?’ said Erik, moving his hand slowly down to his sword.

      ‘Look, I could maybe get myself a gold coin or two for telling Murtag you’re not who you say you are, but that’s a gold coin or two, and then I’m back looking for a company to join.’ He glanced around. ‘But I don’t like what I’m seeing lately, with this grand conquest. Too many men dying for too little gold. There’s not going to be much left of use to anyone if it keeps on, don’t you see? So I’m thinking I might be a help to you and your captain, but I’ll want more than wages and found.’

      ‘You’ll get ample chance for loot when we take Maharta,’ Erik said noncommittally.

      Dawar took a step forward, lowering his voice. ‘How long do you think you can keep this up? You lot are not like any company I’ve seen, and I’ve been around more than most. You talk funny and you have the look of … I don’t know … some sort of soldiers, without the parade ground nonsense, but tough, like mercenaries. But whatever you are, you’re not what you want people to think you are, and it ought to be worth something for me to stay quiet.’

      ‘So that’s why you covered for us at the gate?’

      ‘Sure. Most of us look alike to the Saaur and Murtag’s pretty stupid – don’t make that mistake about most Saaur – which is why he’s stuck out here running this garrison and not with the main host. I figure I can turn you in any time, but I thought I’d first give you a chance to make me a better offer.’

      ‘I don’t know,’ Erik said, holding his wine cup to his lips with his left hand, while his right moved to the hilt of his sword.

      ‘Look, von Darkmoor, I’ll stick with you until the end, if the pay’s right. Now, why don’t you talk this over with Captain Calis –’

      Suddenly a figure loomed up behind Dawar in the darkness, and large hands reached around and gripped him by the shoulders. They jerked him around, and as he spun, they grabbed the back of his head and his chin and forced it in the opposite direction, and with a loud crack, his neck was broken.

      Erik had his sword out as Biggo stepped forward. ‘We found a spy,’ he whispered.

      ‘How could you be sure?’ hissed Erik, his heart pounding as he returned his sword to the scabbard.

      ‘I’m pretty sure no one’s called you von Darkmoor since we met up with this lot, but I damn well know no man’s called the Captain by name since then.’ Erik nodded. Strict orders had been passed not to mention Calis by name. ‘How would he know who you were?’

      Erik’s heart sank. ‘I didn’t even notice.’

      Biggo grinned in the faint light. ‘I won’t tell.’ He picked up Dawar’s body and hoisted it across his shoulder.

      ‘What are we going to do with him?’ asked Erik.

      ‘Why, we’re going to take him back to the camp. It wouldn’t be the first drunk carried out of here by his friends, I’m certain.’

      Erik nodded, picked up the fallen wine cups and bottles, and motioned for Biggo to leave. Erik set the cups and empty bottle down next to the door and hurried after the large man.

      For a tense moment Erik expected a challenge at the gate, but as Biggo had predicted, the guards thought nothing of one drunk cheerfully carrying another back to the camp.

      They rode out at first light. Erik had told de Loungville and Calis of the encounter with Dawar. They had disposed of the body down in a wash, not too far from their campsite, making sure it was fully hidden by rocks. There had been a brief discussion after that and Calis had said whatever they chose to do, they’d do it far from the Saaur and the other mercenaries.

      The only attention they received as they got ready to depart was one Saaur warrior who came down to ask what they were doing. De Loungville merely repeated they had been ordered to rejoin the host and the warrior grunted and returned to the fortress.

      As Calis had suggested, this fortress was as much for keeping deserters from heading south as it was to keep the main army’s flanks free from attack.

      At noon, while the men rested and ate trail rations. Calis told Erik to get five of the men from Nahoot’s company and bring them over to where he waited with de Loungville. When they appeared, Calis said, ‘One of your companions, Dawar, got into a fight last night over a whore. Got his neck broken. I don’t want to see any repeat of that stupidity.’

      All five men looked baffled, but nodded and left. Another group of five was brought up to Calis, then another. At last the final four men were fetched to Calis and he repeated the admonishment. Three of the men looked blank, but one of them tensed at news of Dawar’s death and instantly Calis had his dagger out at the man’s throat.

      De Loungville said, ‘Take them away,’ to Erik as he and Calis, with Greylock, led the man away to be questioned.

      As Erik escorted the two men back down the line, several of the men asked what was going on. Erik said, ‘We caught another spy.’

      A moment later a scream cut through the air, from behind a small rise some distance away. Erik looked over while the scream lingered, and when it ceased, he let out his breath.

      Then it started up again, and Erik found every man looking off at the ridge. A few minutes later, de Loungville, Calis, and Greylock returned, all with grim expressions. De Loungville looked around and quietly said, ‘Get them mounted, Erik. We have a lot of ground to cover and little time to do it.’

      Erik turned. ‘You heard the sergeant! Mount up!’

      Men scrambled and Erik found the sudden motion a release. The sound of the spy dying under torture had set his nerves on edge and made him angry. The sudden movement seemed to lift that anger from him, or at least give him a place to focus it.

      Soon СКАЧАТЬ