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.Abdel had been on both sides of sieges many times during his years as a sword for hire.He knew most sieges were bloody, costly—yet inevitably successful—exercises.Inside the defenders would be whittled down by the unending barrage of missile fire and weakened by starvation and the spread of disease amid the accumulating filth and refuse within.The invaders would keep up the attack, grinding the will of their enemy down and occasionally sending a suicidal rush of ladders and grapplinghooks against the walls in the vain hope that their own soldiers would somehow be able to scale the walls and unseat the defenders from the battlements.Of course, the hooks and ladders would be easily dispatched by those inside, and most of the would-be invaders would come crashing to their deaths.The few lucky enough to reach the top would be butchered by the overwhelming number of enemy soldiers gathered against them, their corpses tossed back over the walls in wordless defiance to the attackers.Eventually, Abdel knew, the town would be forced to surrender because of famine or pestilence.Or a boulder from one of the trebuchets would collapse a large section of the wall and the enemy would pour in through the breach.Or a battering ram would smash the front gates, tearing the wood from its hinges and leaving a gaping hole too large to be defended for long.In rare circumstances the reckless efforts to scale the wall would actually result in victory, if enough soldiers miraculously reached the top of the battlements and were able to hold their position long enough for reinforcements from their own army outside to scramble up and join them.In the end, Abdel knew, it was always the same.Without outside aid, Saradush would fall."You lied to me, Sarevok," Abdel said angrily."Or you're leading us into a trap."In the week they had spent traveling to Saradush, Abdel had not said above a dozen words to his half brother.Wisely, Sarevok had not tried to make conversation with either the big sellsword or his half-elf companion.Occasionally he would speak to Imoen, but the cold stares of Jaheira and Abdel kept the young woman's answers brief, and eventually Sarevok had ceased his efforts and continued on in silence.At night Abdel, Jaheira and Imoen alternated shifts watching over the other two as they slept.None of them trusted Sarevok enough to go to sleep in his presence without having a vigilant guard on duty.For his own part, Sarevok would pass the entire night standing motionless in one place, his face invisible behind his dark visor.Abdel often wondered if the big man's armor supported him in that position, allowing him to sleep standing up—or if the physical form Sarevok had been resurrected in didn't need to sleep at all.He didn't eat, at least not that the others ever noticed, and he never removed his armor."I did not lie to you, brother," Sarevok replied."And I have no desire to betray the one who has given me another chance at life.""Then why did you bring us to this doomed town?" Jaheira demanded."I did not know Saradush was under siege.If you are afraid of a trap, you need not enter the city." After a brief pause, the armored warrior added, "But then you will never learn the secrets Melissan holds, Abdel.The secrets of our father.Melissan has the answers, Abdel.""Even if you speak the truth, there is no way into the town!" Jaheira said."That is not true, half-elf.My brother could walk through the front gates uninjured, if he chose.He could slaughter the entire army and save the town, if that was his wish." '„"No," Jaheira spat."More lies! We do not know the limits of Abdel's healing powers, and he will not risk his life against an entire army to test them.""Besides, he isn't invulnerable.That lady with the arrows hurt him," Imoen said.Abdel didn't say anything at first.He knew both Jaheira and Imoen had valid points, he knew what they said was true.But he also knew, deep down, that Sarevok was right.If he unleashed his full fury on the army gathered on the plains below, no one could stop him from entering the city gates.Any who tried would surely end up dead.If the defenders inside the walls tried to keep him from entering, they would end up dead too, and if this Melissan refused to help him he would probably slay her, as well.He was the son of a god, a Child of Bhaal.If he wanted to, he could get inside the town.All he had to do was set the essence of his father loose and immerse himself in an orgy of bloody slaughter.But if he did that, Abdel knew, he would be lost.The part of him that was Abdel Adrian would be gone forever, swallowed by the ravaging beast that was the Lord of Murder reborn."If massacring an entire army is the only way in," the big sellsword said, "then I will have to learn to live without any answers."The familiar shriek of Sarevok's armor as he shrugged set Abdel's teeth on edge, as it always did."I did not say that was the only way in," Sarevok answered [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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