The Hag's Contract (John Betancourt) читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги (ч. 19)

The Hag’s Domain, lad? Never been there m’self, and I reckon no sane man would go there unless he had to. It’s a barren place, they say, with no people except the Hag and her minions. Aye, there’s a few old towns and hunters’ camps, all abandoned when the Hag took power. Sometimes the Hag uses ’em herself. Rumor says she has dozens of lairs, and that’s where she hides her treasure.

What treasure? Why, the gold she takes from fool adventurers, of course. That’s where she gets her gold. Aye, and I bet she takes tribute from the goblins and the orogs and the trolls in her mountains, too. They all know better than to take her on!

What else is there? Well, forests and mountains, a lake or two, and lots of snakes—the Hag has a particular kinship with snakes, I hear. They answer her when she calls. She’s half snake herself, ye know….