"Gordon R. Dickson - Dragon Knight 04 - The Dragon At War" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dickson Gordon R)

тАЬIтАЩm-IтАЩm sorry,тАЭ he stammered, тАЬbut I donтАЩt speak-тАЬ
The giant interrupted him, talking now in the same language everyone else did.
тАЬOf course!тАЭ he boomed. тАЬBeen two thousand years, if me memory serves-or was it three? A long time,
anyhow, since last I was here. The way folk speak was bound to change. No, itтАЩs all right, wee man, I
can also speak the way you little folk do. Easy as that!тАЭ
тАв And he snapped the thumb and middle finger of his right hand together, with a noise like that of a
cannon going off.
Jim shook the ringing out of his ears, and broke out with the first thought that came into his still-stunned
mind. He looked from the inversely pyramidal giant to the lake, which now seemed, by comparison, very
small indeed.
тАЬBut-тАЬ he said. тАЬWhereтАЩd you come from? How did you get-тАЬ
тАЬLost me way!тАЭ boomed the giant, interrupting him again. тАЬMany centuries it is since my last faring hither.
Mislaid me way among the underground waters of this isle.тАЭ
JimтАЩs only thought was that now the other was beginning to sound even more like Beowulf-but Beowulf
translated, with a sort of old-seamanlike flavor.
Standing only a dozen feet apart as they were, Jim had to crane his neck to look up at the giantтАЩs face;
and he got a very foreshortened view of it, even at that. To see the other more fairly, he backed off
about twelve paces.
тАЬFear not!тАЭ boomed the giant. тАЬKnow that I am Rrrnlf, a Sea Devil. Call me тАШRanulf,тАЩ as you wee folk
did the last time I was here. As then, by the Sirens, I mean you and your kind no ill. ItтАЩs another I seek.
How do call yourself, lad?тАЭ
тАЬI-er-тАЬ Jim, on the verge of introducing himself simply as тАЬJim Eckert,тАЭ caught himself just in time, тАЬam
Sir James Eckert, Baron of Malencontri-тАЬ
тАЬStrange names you small folk do have!тАЭ rumbled the giant. тАЬOnly one тАШRтАЩ and no тАШLтАЩ anywhere.
However, no matter. WhereawayтАЩs the sea?тАЭ
Jim pointed westward.
тАЬAh,тАЭ said the Sea Devil with satisfaction, тАЬthen IтАЩm lost no longer.тАЭ His speech was becoming more
normal with every sentence. тАЬFrom here I can go anywhere beneath the ground and not be lost again.
But why hold those-whatever they be?тАЭ
тАЬFlowers for my wife,тАЭ Jim told him.
тАЬShe eats flowers?тАЭ boomed Rrrnlf, staring.
тАЬNoooo...тАЭ said Jim, wondering how to explain himself. тАЬShe just likes to keep them-to look at them,
you know.тАЭ
тАЬWhy doesnтАЩt she come here, then, to get them?тАЭ demanded Rrrnlf.
Jim was beginning to get a little annoyed with all this questioning. What blasted business of this
human-shaped mammoth was it anyway about Angie and the flowers?-On the other hand, no point in
making someone his size angry.
тАЬBecause sheтАЩd rather have them close at hand!тАЭ he said.
At the same moment, an idea exploded in his mind like a shower-of-stars rocket on the Fourth of July.
He had been completely forgetting the-admittedly limited-magical ability he had picked up in coming to
this feudal world. What was the use of being able to do magic, if a magician like himself couldnтАЩt use
magic to take care of a little situation like this?
Quickly, he wrote a spell on the inside of his forehead.

MAKE ME AND MY CLOTHES ? SEA DEVIL SIZE
Immediately he found himself looking into the giantтАЩs face on a level. As usual there had been no
particular sensation; but he was now thirty feet or so tall himself and gazing at the other from what
seemed to be only a couple of feet away.
Seen straight on this way by someone the same size, the Sea Devil appeared rather a pleasant-faced, if
still heavy-boned, blond character, with only the shape peculiarity about him, except the intense, deep