"Cook,.Rick.-.Wizardry.02.-.Compiled" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cook Rick)

improvement to his magic compiler. It wasn't easy, especially
since every so often he would be called on to say something and
he had to keep at least one ear cocked to the conversation.

The Council had been arguing over the same point for the entire
morning. Everyone knew that eventually they would do it, just as
everyone knew the idea was good as soon as it had been
proposed. But Agricolus had to get his opinions on record, Juvian
saw an opportunity to snipe at Pelus and Honorious was
constitutionally opposed to anything that looked like action. The
result was a three-hour wrangle over nothing much.

For Wiz, who had made a career out of avoiding bureaucracy in all
forms, it was sheer torture.

And I thought ANSI standards committee meetings were bad. He
tried to shut out the incessant droning and concentrate on the idea
he was developing.

A shimmering green shape began to form in the air in front of him.
Wiz realized he had been moving his lips and that was enough to
start the spell up. The wizards on either side of him glared and he
quickly wiped out his unintentional handiwork, flushing under their
eyes.

"Come, My Lords," rumbled Bal-Simba from the head of the table.
The enormous black wizard was clad in his usual leopard skin and
bone necklace. Somehow he had managed to seem interested
through the entire morning. "The hour draws nigh. Let us decide."
He gestured to a ray of light moving along a design inlaid in light
wood in the darker wood top of the table. The spot of light was
almost at the end of the design.

That was one merciful feature of the Council meetings. By custom
and for arcane magical reasons they lasted no longer than it took
the sun to traverse a certain arc in the sky. That meant about four
hours.

So Honorious grumbled, Juvian sniped and Agricolus had one
more thing he wanted to make clear, but they voted nonetheless
and of course they decided to act.

Wiz stood with the others while Bal-Simba led them through the
closing ritual. Another morning shot to pieces, he thought as they
filed out of the council chamber. He sighed to himself. It could
have been worse. All the Council members could have been
present.