LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

Now his fear of the storm outweighed his fear of imagined brigands and goblins. He decided to walk among the trees near the road; the wind would be lessened somewhat by the boles of the oaks.

      As Pug closed upon the forest, a crashing sound brought him to a halt. In the gloom of the storm he could barely make out the form of a black forest boar as it burst out of the undergrowth. The pig tumbled from the brush, lost its footing, then scrambled to its feet a few yards away. Pug could see it clearly as it stood there regarding him, swinging its head from side to side. Two large tusks seemed to glow in the dim light as they dripped rainwater. Fear made its eyes wide, and it pawed at the ground. The forest pigs were bad-tempered at best, but normally avoided humans. This one was panic-stricken by the storm, and Pug knew if it charged he could be badly gored, even killed.

      Standing stock-still, Pug made ready to swing his staff, but hoped the pig would return to the woods. The boar’s head raised, testing the boy’s smell on the wind. Its pink eyes seemed to glow as it trembled with indecision. A sound made it turn toward the trees for a moment, then it dropped its head and charged.

      Pug swung his staff, bringing it down in a glancing blow to the side of the pig’s head, turning it. The pig slid sideways in the muddy footing, hitting Pug in the legs. He went down as the pig slipped past. Lying on the ground, Pug saw the boar skitter about as it turned to charge again. Suddenly the pig was upon him, and Pug had no time to stand. He thrust the staff before him in a vain attempt to turn the animal again. The boar dodged the staff and Pug tried to roll away, but a weight fell across his body. Pug covered his face with his hands, keeping his arms close to his chest, expecting to be gored.

      After a moment he realized the pig was still. Uncovering his face, he discovered the pig lying across his lower legs, a black-feathered, clothyard arrow protruding from its side. Pug looked toward the forest. A man garbed in brown leather was standing near the edge of the trees, quickly wrapping a yeoman’s longbow with an oilcloth cover. Once the valuable weapon was protected from further abuse by the weather, the man crossed to stand over the boy and beast.

      He was cloaked and hooded, his face hidden. He knelt next to Pug and shouted over the sound of the wind, ‘Are you ’right, boy?’ as he lifted the dead boar easily from Pug’s legs. ‘Bones broken?’

      ‘I don’t think so,’ Pug yelled back, taking account of himself. His right side smarted, and his legs felt equally bruised. With his ankle still tender, he was feeling ill-used today, but nothing seemed broken or permanently damaged.

      Large, meaty hands lifted him to his feet. ‘Here,’ the man commanded, handing him his staff and the bow. Pug took them while the stranger quickly gutted the boar with a large hunter’s knife. He completed his work and turned to Pug. ‘Come with me, boy. You had best lodge with my master and me. It’s not far, but we’d best hurry. This storm’ll get worse afore it’s over. Can you walk?’

      Taking an unsteady step, Pug nodded. Without a word the man shouldered the pig and took his bow. ‘Come,’ he said, as he turned toward the forest. He set off at a brisk pace, which Pug had to scramble to match.

      The forest cut the fury of the storm so little that conversation was impossible. A lightning flash lit the scene for a moment, and Pug caught a glimpse of the man’s face. Pug tried to remember if he had seen the stranger before. He had the look common to the hunters and foresters that lived in the forest of Crydee: large-shouldered, tall, and solidly built. He had dark hair and beard and the raw, weather-beaten appearance of one who spends most of his time outdoors.

      For a few fanciful moments the boy wondered if he might be some member of an outlaw band, hiding in the heart of the forest. He gave up the notion, for no outlaw would trouble himself with an obviously penniless keep boy.

      Remembering the man had mentioned having a master, Pug suspected he was a franklin, one who lived on the estate of a landholder. He would be in the holder’s service, but not bound to him as a bondsman. The franklins were freeborn, giving a share of crop or herd in exchange for the use of land. He must be freeborn. No bondsman would be allowed to carry a longbow, for they were much too valuable – and dangerous. Still, Pug couldn’t remember any landholdings in the forest. It was a mystery to the boy, but the toll of the day’s abuses was quickly driving away any curiosity.

      After what seemed to be hours, the man walked into a thicket of trees. Pug nearly lost him in the darkness, for the sun had set some time before, taking with it what faint light the storm had allowed. He followed the man more from the sound of his footfalls and an awareness of his presence than from sight. Pug sensed he was on a path through the trees, for his footsteps met no resisting brush or detritus. From where they had been moments before, the path would be difficult to find in the daylight, impossible at night, unless it was already known. Soon they entered a clearing, in the midst of which sat a small stone cottage. Light shone through a single window, and smoke rose from the chimney. They crossed the clearing, and Pug wondered at the storm’s relative mildness in this one spot in the forest.

      Once before the door, the man stood to one side and said, ‘You go in, boy. I must dress the pig.’

      Nodding dumbly, Pug pushed open the wooden door and stepped in.

      ‘Close that door, boy! You’ll give me a chill and cause me my death.’

      Pug jumped to obey, slamming the door harder than he intended.

      He turned, taking in the scene before him. The interior of the cottage was a small single room. Against one wall was the fireplace, with a good size hearth before it. A bright, cheery fire burned, casting a warm glow. Next to the fireplace a table sat, behind which a heavyset, yellow-robed figure rested on a bench. His grey hair and beard nearly covered his entire head, except for a pair of vivid blue eyes that twinkled in the firelight. A long pipe emerged from the beard, producing heroic clouds of pale smoke.

      Pug knew the man. ‘Master Kulgan . . . ,’ he began, for the man was the Duke’s magician and adviser, a familiar face around the castle keep.

      Kulgan leveled a gaze at Pug, then said in a deep voice, given to rich rolling sounds and powerful tones, ‘So you know me, then?’

      ‘Yes, sir. From the castle.’

      ‘What is your name, boy from the keep?’

      ‘Pug, Master Kulgan.’

      ‘Now I remember you.’ The magician absently waved his hand. ‘Do not call me “Master,” Pug – though I am rightly called a master of my arts,’ he said with a merry crinkling around his eyes. ‘I am higher-born than you, it is true, but not by much. Come, there is a blanket hanging by the fire, and you are drenched. Hang your clothes to dry, then sit there.’ He pointed to a bench opposite him.

      Pug did as he was bid, keeping an eye on the magician the entire time. He was a member of the Duke’s court, but still a magician, an object of suspicion, generally held in low esteem by the common folk. If a farmer had a cow calve a monster, or blight strike the crops, villagers were apt to ascribe it to the work of some magician lurking in nearby shadows. In times not too far past they would have stoned Kulgan from Crydee as like as not. His position with the Duke earned him the tolerance of the townsfolk now, but old fears died slowly.

      After his garments were hung, Pug sat down. He started when he saw a pair of red eyes regarding him from just beyond the magician’s table. A scaled head rose up above the tabletop and studied the boy.

      Kulgan laughed at the boy’s discomfort. ‘Come, boy. Fantus will not eat you.’ He dropped his hand to the head of the creature, who sat next to him on his bench, and rubbed above its eye ridges. It closed its eyes and gave forth a soft crooning sound, not unlike the purring of a cat.

      Pug shut his mouth, which had popped open with surprise, then asked, ‘Is he truly a dragon, sir?’

      The magician laughed, a rich, good-natured sound. ‘Betimes he thinks he is, boy. Fantus is a firedrake, cousin to the dragon, though of smaller stature.’ The creature opened one eye and fastened it on the magician. ‘But of equal heart,’ Kulgan quickly added, and the drake closed his eye again. Kulgan spoke softly, in conspiratorial tones. ‘He is

Скачать книгу