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I dropped the useless weapon in the snow and stood, lungs screaming for the air that I gulped, my raw hands braced on my knees. When I could straighten up and look around me, I found all my companions standing in an awestruck circle, at a very safe distance away.

“Fitz?” Riddle’s voice was soft.

“What?”

“Why don’t you step back from that axe?”

Instead I stooped down and picked it up. I examined the peened-over edge, and then returned it to my back sling. I crouched, scooped up a handful of snow in my raw palm, and ate it. The moisture eased my throat. “I’m done,” I told them wearily.

“What happened?” Lant demanded.

“Stupidity happened,” I told him. “I drank elfbark tea so their wizard could not use the Skill to hide Bee from me, and I deadened my Skill to the point where I can’t use a portal. She might be only two steps away, and I cannot take them!”

“What now, sir?” It was one of my Rousters.

What now? I sank down and sat in the snow. It was cold. I didn’t care. I tried to master my thoughts. It seemed to take a long time. I looked up at Riddle, who was still keeping his distance.

“I’m staying right here. Perseverance, take Fleeter. She’s fast. Ride ahead to Buckkeep Castle. Riddle and Lant, follow as swiftly as you can, but I’ll wager the boy will get there first. Go straight to Skillmistress Nettle. Tell her what has happened and ask her to send me Skilled ones who are experienced at using the stones to travel and who know how to use a blade. Riddle and Lant, if you will, give a full report to King Dutiful.”

Per spoke up fearfully. “Sir, I don’t know the fastest way.”

He still held the horses’ reins. I looked at Fleeter. Do you know the swiftest way to the stables at Buckkeep? Can you run that far?

I do. Her Wit was contained. You still claim we cannot bond, and you ask this of me?

I do.

Then you will grant me a boon. When I ask it.

I promise it will be so, I replied humbly. She owed me nothing and I needed this so desperately. I held my breath.

I’ll take the boy there.

Bear him well, Fleeter.

I know no other way. She tossed her head, dismissing me.

Thought is swift. The bargain was sealed in that moment. I met Per’s gaze. “Trust Fleeter. She knows the way. Go now.”

For an instant our gazes held. Then Per passed the reins of the other horses to Lant. He mounted Fleeter, turned her head, and she bore him away. I spoke to the others. “Sawyer and Reaper. You ride back to Captain Foxglove. Tell her that she and my guard are to take Lady Shine to Buckkeep as swiftly as they can. Sawyer, pick the six best soldiers in the Rousters. Bring them back here, with whatever supplies you can muster for spending the night in the open.” I looked at Riddle, to see if I’d missed anything.

He was scowling. “I don’t like leaving you here.”

“There’s nothing you can do for me by remaining.”

He tipped his head. “The body?”

I just looked at him.

“We’ll take it. Foxglove can sling her over the white horse and take her back to Buckkeep.”

I didn’t care. Riddle turned away from me and began to give his orders.

The forest seemed a different world after they had left. I’d sent my lightest follower on my swiftest horse. Per would reach Buckkeep before nightfall. I believed Nettle would listen to him. If not, Lant and Riddle would not be far behind. By tomorrow afternoon, someone should arrive who could use the stone. Someone else would go through the portal and face for me whatever lay on the other side. I might be sending them into an ambush, or into a scene of people deranged by a Skill-passage. They might find my child with her mind forever scrambled and leaking. They might find only tracks leading away. Had Dwalia known where she was taking them, or was it a random escape? Did she know how to use the pillars, and was she strong enough with her wizard to take that many followers through safely?

If she was, we were up against an incredibly powerful opponent. If she wasn’t, my quest might end with a child who would never recognize me again.

I knew I should build a fire and prepare for the oncoming night. The falling snow was not yet penetrating the interlaced evergreen boughs overhead, but it would. Colors were already fading from the day in the dimmer light of the forest. Pale gray, gray, dark gray, black. I watched it get darker and did nothing. More than once, I set my hand to the runes on the pillar, and hoped. In vain.

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Все книги серии The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy

Fool’s Assassin
Fool’s Assassin

Nearly twenty years ago, Robin Hobb burst upon the fantasy scene with the first of her acclaimed Farseer novels, *Assassin's Apprentice,* which introduced the characters of FitzChivalry Farseer and his uncanny friend the Fool. A watershed moment in modern fantasy, this novel—and those that followed—broke exciting new ground in a beloved genre. Together with George R. R. Martin, Robin Hobb helped pave the way for such talented new voices as Scott Lynch, Brandon Sanderson, and Naomi Novik.Over the years, Hobb's imagination has soared throughout the mythic lands of the Six Duchies in such bestselling series as the Liveship Traders Trilogy and the Rain Wilds Chronicles. But no matter how far she roamed, her heart always remained with Fitz. And now, at last, she has come home, with an astonishing new novel that opens a dark and gripping chapter in the Farseer saga.FitzChivalry—royal bastard and former king's assassin—has left his life of intrigue behind. As far as the rest of the world knows, FitzChivalry Farseer is dead and buried. Masquerading as Tom Badgerlock, Fitz is now married to his childhood sweetheart, Molly, and leading the quiet life of a country squire.Though Fitz is haunted by the disappearance of the Fool, who did so much to shape Fitz into the man he has become, such private hurts are put aside in the business of daily life, at least until the appearance of menacing, pale-skinned strangers casts a sinister shadow over Fitz's past . . . and his future.Now, to protect his new life, the former assassin must once again take up his old one. . . .**Praise for Robin Hobb and the Farseer Trilogy**** **"Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb's books are diamonds in a sea of zircons."**—George R. R. Martin **"A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies . . . a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne."**—*Publishers Weekly****,* on* Assassin's Apprentice*"This is the kind of book you fall into, and start reading slower as you get to the end, because you don't want it to be over."**—Steven Brust**, on *Assassin's Apprentice*"[Robin] Hobb continues to revitalize a genre that often seems all too generic, making it new in ways that range from the subtle to the shocking."**—*Locus****, *on* Royal Assassin*"[*Royal Assassin*] reaches astonishing new heights. . . . The Farseer saga is destined for greatness—a must-read for every devotee of epic fantasy."**—*Sense of Wonder***"An enthralling conclusion to this superb trilogy, displaying an exceptional combination of originality, magic, adventure, character, and drama."**—*Kirkus Reviews* (starred review)**, on *Assassin's Quest*"Superbly written, wholly satisfying, unforgettable: better than any fantasy trilogy in print—including mine!"**—Melanie Rawn**, on *Assassin's Quest***### Review**Praise for Robin Hobb and the Farseer Trilogy**** **"Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb's books are diamonds in a sea of zircons."**—George R. R. Martin **"A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies . . . a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne."**—*Publishers Weekly****,* on* Assassin's Apprentice*"This is the kind of book you fall into, and start reading slower as you get to the end, because you don't want it to be over."**—Steven Brust**, on *Assassin's Apprentice*"[Robin] Hobb continues to revitalize a genre that often seems all too generic, making it new in ways that range from the subtle to the shocking."**—*Locus****, *on* Royal Assassin*"[*Royal Assassin*] reaches astonishing new heights. . . . The Farseer saga is destined for greatness—a must-read for every devotee of epic fantasy."**—*Sense of Wonder***"An enthralling conclusion to this superb trilogy, displaying an exceptional combination of originality, magic, adventure, character, and drama."**—*Kirkus Reviews* (starred review)**, on *Assassin's Quest*"Superbly written, wholly satisfying, unforgettable: better than any fantasy trilogy in print—including mine!"**—Melanie Rawn**, on *Assassin's Quest*### About the Author**Robin Hobb **is the author of the Farseer Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Trilogy, the Tawny Man Trilogy, the Soldier Son Trilogy, and the Rain Wilds Chronicles. She has also written as Megan Lindholm. She is a native of Washington State.

Robin Hobb , Робин Хобб

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Fool’s Quest
Fool’s Quest

**Ranking alongside George R. R. Martin as a groundbreaking master of fantasy, *New York Times *bestselling author Robin Hobb delivers the second book in her long-awaited Fitz and the Fool trilogy.**The harrowing adventures of FitzChivalry Farseer and his enigmatic friend the Fool continue in Robin Hobb's triumphant follow-up to *Fool's Assassin*. But *Fool's Quest* is more than just a sequel. With the artistry and imagination her fans have come to expect, Hobb builds masterfully on all that has gone before, revealing devastating secrets and shocking conspiracies that cast a dark shadow over the history of Fitz and his world—a shadow that now stretches to darken all future hope.Long ago, Fitz and the Fool changed the world, bringing back the magic of dragons and securing both the Farseer succession and the stability of the kingdom. Or so they thought. But now the Fool is near death, maimed by mysterious pale-skinned figures whose plans for world domination hinge upon the powers the Fool may share with Fitz's own daughter.Distracted by the Fool's perilous health, and swept up against his will in the intrigues of the royal court, Fitz lets down his guard . . . and in a horrible instant, his world is undone and his beloved daughter stolen away by those who would use her as they had once sought to use the Fool—as a weapon.But FitzChivalry Farseer is not without weapons of his own. An ancient magic still lives in his veins. And though he may have let his skills as royal assassin diminish over the years, such things, once learned, are not so easily forgotten.Now enemies and friends alike are about to learn that nothing is more dangerous than a man who has nothing left to lose.**Praise for Robin Hobb and *Fool's Assassin***"Fantasy as it ought to be written."**—George R. R. Martin**"Hobb knows the complicated workings of the wayward human heart, and she takes time to depict them in her tale, to tell her story sweetly, insistently, compellingly. . . . A book meant to be inhabited rather than run through."**—*The Seattle Times***"[FitzChivalry Farseer is] one of the best characters in fantasy literature."**—*Fantasy Book Review***"[Hobb's] prose sparkles, her characters leap off the page."**—*Tor.com***"Modern fantasy at its irresistible best."***—The Guardian***"Fantastic . . . emotionally rich storytelling."***—Library Journal *(starred review)***From the Hardcover edition.***

Робин Хобб

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