（外文电子版资料）Richard Lee Byers - The Rogues 02 - The Black Bouquet.pdf

The Black Bouquet Book 2 of The Rogues series A Forgotten Realms novel By Richard Lee Byers Proofed by BW-SciFi Ebook version 1.0 Release Date: August, 10th, 2004 CHAPTER 1 Aeron sar Randal grinned as the caravan came through the gate. Hed spent tendays preparing for that moment, and he could hardly wait to watch the trick unfold. The travelers cloaks were brown with dust, and their boots, caked with mud. They looked weary from tendays on the road. Or was it months? Aeron, whod never in his life ventured more than two days walk from Oeble, was vague on matters of geography. No matter. The important thing was that the wayfarers had spent the journey watching for ban冒dits, orcs, and all the other perils infesting the Border Kingdoms, finally swinging wide around Oeble itself, a notorious nest of robbers and slavers in its own right. Having finally reached the Paerad冒dyn, a walled compound on the southern edge of town that was supposedly the citys only safe inn and marketplace, they were starting to relax. It was natural, inevitable, and he could see it in their faces. Clad in a beggars rags, vile-looking sores made of tallow and paint mottling his legs, Aeron sat on the ground near one of the horse troughs. From there, he could survey the entire bustling courtyard, and every member of his crew could see him. He turned toward the inn and nodded. Slouching and scratching, Kerridi came through the door a moment later. She was a big, brawny woman, but pleasant of face, and possessed of a merry, generous nature. Aeron thoroughly enjoyed the occasional nights he spent in her bed. Beholding her there, though, few would have envied him the experience. The brown stain on her teeth and layers of padding around her middle made her uglier than nature intended, but it was primarily her ferocious scowl that transformed her into the very image of a shrewish wife. She cast about until she seemingly spotted Gavath sit冒ting at one of the outdoor tabl