"Kerr, Katharine - Westlands 02 - A Time Of War v1.1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

СJust so. Now hush.Т
"There are some of them in the dun right now, Jahdo.Т Jill smiled, attempting to be kind. СYouТll see them sooner or later. IТve made it my affair to gather as much information as I can, you see, about both the Rhiddaer and the Gel daТThae - not that itТs been much of a harvest.Т
СIndeed? But what about your name?Т
СJust a nickname my father gave me, but I wouldnТt be at all surprised to find it goes back to some ancestor of mine who was a bondwoman. Jahdo, from what IТve been able to learn, while your people may have adopted the Deverry language, your names spring from the old tongues of your ancestors, not from ours, because people cling to their names and pass them down. And not all your ancestors escaped Deverry entirely. Many years ago, when we were having some horrible wars, a lot of bondfolk found themselves without masters. Some claimed their land as freedmen and stayed where they were, others went to other provinces to settle down and farm there.Т
СNo one made them go back?Т Jahdo asked.
СThey were too valuable where they were. The noble-born learned an interesting lesson, back in those days of civil war. If there werenТt any farmers to give them food in taxes, theyТd have to farm themselves if they were going to eat, and well, now, they wouldnТt have been very noble, then, would they?Т
Jahdo laughed.
СNow we come to my case,Т Jill went on. СI was as aminheddic as a lass can be. Do you know that word? You look puzzled.Т
СI donТt, my apologies.Т
СWell, a binheddic man is a man with a pedigree, a man who knows who his ancestors were, a noble-born man. When you donТt know and care a fair bit less, then youТre aminheddic, lacking a family tree, common-born.Т
СOh. And that matters?Т
СIt matters a great deal, here in Deverry. Never forget that. Your life might depend on it, remembering that the noble-born see themselves as a good bit more valuable, like, than the aminheddic. But anyway, IТve got a bondwomanТs name, sure enough, and so IТm guessing that somewhere back in my family there were freedmen.Т
СAnd that doesnТt ache your heart?Т Meer said with some surprise.
СNot at all, good bard, not at all. All souls are the same to me, noble or common, human or otherwise. I was given the dweomer to serve them all.Т
Meer sucked his fangs as he thought this over.
СI have never heard of a sorcerer who used her tricks to serve anyone or anything but herself.Т
СThen IТll wager you never heard of a sorcerer who had anything more than tricks at her disposal.Т
Meer seemed to be about to speak, then sat back. Out of sheer nerves Jahdo giggled, which earned him a cuff on the shoulder.
СMy apologies, Meer. I wasnТt mocking you or anything.Т
СGood. DonТt.Т
СMeer, bard, loremaster,Т Jill said, СI truly believe that we must be allies, not enemies, in this time of danger. Pooling what I know with what you know will be of great profit to both our peoples.Т
СYou believe so, do you?Т Meer paused for a sip of milk. СStrange stuff, this cowТs milk you people drink. ItТs so thick and oily.Т
Jill smiled at the evasion, then merely waited, letting Meer drink his cup of milk as the silence grew thicker in the room. All of a sudden Jahdo wasnТt hungry any more, though he couldnТt say why. He laid his half-eaten piece of bread down on the wooden trencher. From outside and down below came noises, horsesТ hooves clopping on stone, people laughing and talking, the rumbling bump of a barrel being rolled, but they all seemed to be sounding from a great distance away. In the chamber the silence seemed so thick that Fie felt heТd touch it if he reached out a hand. Meer handed Jahdo the cup, then wiped all round his mouth with the back of his hand in case heТd spilled a drop or two. Jill merely waited, her hands folded in her lap.
СAh well,Т Meer said at last. СI do happen to know why Thavrae led his men east to your country.Т
Jill smiled again.
СThavrae?Т she said. СThatТs your brother, isnТt it?Т
Meer growled.
СMy apologies,Т Jill said and quickly, "The man who used to be your brother.Т
Meer grunted, satisfied.
СIТd very much like to know that,Т Jill went on. СIf you could bring yourself to tell me.Т
СI might, mazrak, but in return, IТll want a promise out of you, that youТll do everything you can to make sure young Jahdo here returns to his homeland before heТs much older. What happens to me now is of little moment, but I made his mother a promise.Т
Jahdo felt his eyes fill with tears, which he wiped away as unobtrusively as he could.
СDone, then.Т Jill reached out a hand and touched MeerТs arm. СYou have my sworn word.Т
They clasped hands for a brief moment.
СAnd you have mine that this is the truth, as much as I know of it,Т Meer said. СWhen the man who once was my brother fled our city with his band of soldiers, because by our laws heТd be strangled for heresy should he stay within the city bounds, the high priestess came to my mother, and my mother in turn sent for me. The priestess swore that the god Evandar the Far Archer, he who serves the goddess Rinbala, had appeared to her while she did vigil in the temple and had delivered unto her tidings of great import. The man my mother had birthed before me was fleeing east on his false goddessТs bidding, to fetch some valuable thing for the demoness. The Alshandra creature had charged him with the returning of this precious object to her. As to what it is or was, none of us knew, except that she claimed it was hers and that it had been stolen from her.Т
СEvandar?Т Jahdo broke in. СHeТs the one who did tell us which road to take!Т
СSo he did,Т Meer said. СNow donТt interrupt.Т
Jill sat watching them with an expression of stunned surprise.
СI see,Т she said at last. СAnd we know that Thavrae failed.Т
СJust so, mazrak, just so. I think it likely that this pus-and-pride-swollen false goddess will send others after the thing, donТt you? I was present when some of these heretic prophets were put to the torture in our public square. All claimed their demoness was implacable and unyielding. She is a goddess of war, they cried, not of mercy, and she will revenge us upon you for this torment. Those were their exact words. You may trust that, being as IТm a bard and trained to remember such things.Т
СSo you are, though itТs an ill-omened thing youТve remembered this time, I must say.Т Jill paused, thinking for a long moment. СI think IТd best have a word with the gwerbret.Т
СHeТs likely to see more raiders on his lands, truly.Т
Jill nodded, distracted. Jahdo suddenly wondered if she knew what Thavrae had been sent to fetch, simply because she looked so troubled.
СMeer, you have my profound thanks for this information. I can only hope youТll tell me more if I should need to ask more. I promise you, I swear to you on my honour, that if you do so, youТll be helping your own people, not betraying them in any way at all.Т
СListen, mazrak. Fair words mean little between those who have just met.Т
"True enough, bard.Т Jill seemed more amused than insulted. СAs time goes on, I hope we come to know each other better.Т She rose, nodding at Jahdo. СIТll speak to Rhodry and the gwerbret on your behalf. I see no reason for you two to stay penned up like hogs.Т
СWell, neither do I. ItТs not like we could escape without any food and stuff.Т
СJust so.Т
Jill walked across the room, opened the door, then turned back for one last look JahdoТs way. He felt that she was appraising him the way a man might judge a horse at a market fair, and for a good long time that morning, he was afraid, just from remembering her cold stare.
СSomeoneТs meddled with that ladТs mind,Т Jill said.