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“No. They can’t. So let us not try.”

“Very well.” Subdued.

Bee. Bee. Bee. Bee. Think of something else. “I was glad to see you up and out of this room yesterday.”

“It was frightening for me. I wanted to come to you. To speak to Elliania. But . . . well. Not yet. I know that I must push myself. I cannot be a rat in the walls. I need to become lithe and strong again. So we can go back to Clerres, and end that place. Avenge our child.” Like a suddenly billowing flame, his fury, hatred, and pain erupted in his voice.

I could not take him with me. I told him the truth in a way that seemed a lie. “I have no stomach for plotting just now, Fool. All I can feel right now is sorrow.” And shame. I knew this stillness. I recalled it from Regal’s torture chamber. One becomes motionless, assessing how badly one is hurt. One asks, Can I move without dying?

“I understand, Fitz. Mourn you must. Your mourning is the seed that will grow into fury. I will wait for you to be ready. Though it grieves me to think of those who suffer there, waiting for us.”

The eyes he turned toward me were blind but I still felt the rebuke in his gaze. I spoke flatly. “It’s no good, Fool. You are putting the spurs to a dead horse.”

“You have no hope, then?”

“None.” I did not want to talk about it.

“I thought that surely you would go after her.” He sounded as hurt as he was puzzled by my lack of fire.

“I would have if I could. I took the elfbark tea to be proof against their fogging magic. It has blanketed my Skill. I can no more go through a Skill-stone now than you can.”

His fingers paused in their dancing. He rubbed the scarred tips of those fingers together and said, “Ah, but once I could.”

“And now neither of us can.”

“But your limitation will pass. Your Skill will return.”

“I believe it will, though even that is not certain. Some of the older scrolls speak of quenching forever the Skill in those who used it for ill purposes. And they used elfbark to do it.”

“How much did you take?”

“Two doses. One of weak elfbark here. And one of delvenbark as I got closer. I believe it will pass. What I cannot predict is how long it will take.”

He was silent for a time. “I had intended that the first part of our journey to Clerres would be made through the stones, as when Prilkop and I traveled there.” He was subdued.

“It seems you have it all planned out.”

The firelight glinted oddly on his skin as he shook his head. “No. I have planned only the possible. The impossible I have yet to map out.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. We will leave from the dungeons of Buckkeep. I have learned from Ash that several times he was ordered to await the return of Lord Chade in a certain corridor. Once he crept forward, peered around a corner, and saw his master emerge from a stone wall. A wall with a rune on it.”

“It goes to Aslevjal.”

The Fool made a sound of exasperation. “You might at least pretend to be surprised.”

It came to me like a curtain parting. He was trying to distract me from my mourning. Trying to lift me from a pain we shared. I tried to find something new to tell him. “It was part of Chade’s downfall. His curiosity. He traveled by the stones too often, creeping off to Aslevjal to prowl the corridors there in search of more Skill-knowledge. Nor did he follow the precaution of waiting at least three days between journeys. He would go and return in a single night, and sometimes do so for several nights in succession.”

“No amount of curiosity could lure me back to that place,” he said, and there was a shadow of old dread in his voice. The fire crackled and we both recalled our torments there.

“Yet you would go back there as the first part of your journey to Clerres?”

“I would. Such is my determination. Such is my need.”

I said nothing. The fire spoke in the silence, hissing and popping when it hit a pocket of sap.

“Very well, then,” he said at last. “If you will not plan this with me, then what will you do, Fitz? What are your plans for the rest of your life?” He made a small dismissive sound and asked, “What will you do tomorrow?”

His question was a dash of cold water in my face. What would I do? I had no woman to care for and protect, no child to raise. “I just woke up. I don’t even know what I’ll do today.”

He frowned. “It’s morning? Not late at night?”

“Morning. Dawn.” Another day of Bee being gone. Tonight would be another night of the same. And tomorrow would be another empty dawn. What would I do with my life now? I knew. But it was not a choice I intended to share with anyone.

I became aware of her an instant before the tapestry moved. I was looking at it as the corner lifted and Spark appeared in her tidy dress of Buckkeep blue. She wore a little white cap on her head today, edged with lace and decorated all round with horn buttons steeped blue. A pretty girl who would grow to be a lovely woman.

As Bee never would.

“Excuse me, sir. I went by your room with a breakfast tray and left it there for you. But . . .”

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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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