"Watt-Evans,.Lawrence.-.Ethshar.5.-.Taking.Flight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

They reached the town of Amramion a little over two hours after crossing the border.
It was quite a pleasant and interesting town, as far as Kelder was concernedthe largest he had ever seen, though the village surrounding Elankora Castle had come close. The castle that stood at its center, atop a low hill just south of the Great Highway, was rather larger and more sprawlingand less fortifiedthan the ones he had seen back in Shulara and Elankora. It had four small towers and no keep that Kelder could spot; it had a dozen half-timbered gables, and no curtain wall.
Around it were scattered scores and scores of houses and shopsthe shops of wheelwrights, wainwrights, blacksmiths, poultrymen, and more. And all along the highway there were carts and stalls where the locals offered for sale all their best producefine dyed wool, and smoky-scented hams, and early vegetables of half a hundred varieties, most of which Kelder had never seen before. The earthy smell of fresh produce and the tang of the hams reached his nose and set his mouth watering.
Irith seemed unaffected.
At either end of the town were inns, standing close by the roadside and marking the ends of what was, in effect, a long, narrow open-air market. Four inns stood at the west end, where Kelder and Irith entered; Irith told him there were three more at the far eastern end.
Kelder, now ravenous, didnt care to walk that far for his breakfast. He strolled perhaps a hundred feet along the market, weaving through the crowd and looking over the merchandise. He bought himself a slightly underripe orangeobviously imported, as the Amramionic climate was clearly unsuitable for orangesand headed for the nearest inn, hoping that the fantasies he had had about life along the highway might yet come true, at least in part.
Irith stopped him.
Not that one, she said. Its second-rate.This one!
She pointed to one of the others. The signboard depicted a robed man sitting cross-legged, holding a staff and hanging his head heavily. Its called the Weary Wanderer, Irith told Kelder. They make the best biscuits on the entire Great Highway here.
Kelder followed her inside.
Ten minutes later he was glad he had, because if the biscuits were not the best on the Great Highway, then Kelder had spent his life with some very wrong ideas about biscuits. He had never encountered any so tasty. In fact, his entire breakfast was phenomenally good.
Of course, hunger makes the best sauce; he knew that. Even so, the food at the Weary Wanderer was exceptional.
Although Irith had insisted she wasnt hungry, she, too, ate and drank eagerly. Besides the famous biscuits, the specialty of the house was a thick, frothy lemonade which obviously contained more than just the usual water and lemons and honey, and Irith and Kelder each downed several mugs of the stuff.
Somehow, Kelder was not particularly surprised when the innkeeper greeted Irith by name. She didnt intrude on the meal, however; once she had delivered their breakfast she returned to the kitchen and left the travelers in peace.
The only drawback to the meal came at the end, when Kelder, who had offered to pay the bill, discovered that he owed about twice what he had expected. He had made the offer partly because to do so was the traditional male role when courting, and partly because he had seen no sign that Irith had any money. Now, though, he almost regretted it.
Thats a lot, he said.
Irith shrugged. Only a fool sells the best for less, she quoted. Besides, prices are always higher along the highway.
Kelder grimaced, but he paid.
Thus fortified, the two of them continued on their way, strolling onward through the town of Amramion and out into open farm country again. Traffic was heavier now; they encountered an occasional wagon, and entire parties of travelers. One red-dressed woman had a dulcimer slung on her back, and Kelder brightened at this sighta minstrel, surely, the first he had ever seen.
It was about noon when they passed another isolated guard tower. Irith identified this one as marking the border between Amramion and Yondra, and this time the guard let them pass without comment.
Theyre Amramionic, Irith explained when Kelder asked why the guard had ignored them. They monitor the trafficinto Amramion, but notout. If it were a Yondran guard hed have asked us questions, but Yondra doesnt post guards at the borders.
They walked on.
Irith seemed tireless, and after a time Kelder found himself trudging wearily along while she scampered ahead, looking at flowers and butterflies. Stones and dust didnt trouble her at all, even though she was barefoot, and he marveled at that. His feet ached, and his own half-boots, new a sixnight before, were visibly worn, yet she was scampering about like a squirrel, her feet in nothing but her own skin.
Kelder wondered again just who she wasandwhat she was. Her story about being a wizards apprentice made sense enough on the surface, but no matter how he figured it, the times were all wrong. She was only fifteen; how could she possibly have done and seen everything she claimed?
There was a mystery here, and if Kelder was going to fulfill his destiny and marry Irith, he would have to unravel it.
How could a girl younger than himself have traveled so widely? Why was she roaming about by herself, with no family or friends, yet apparently known everywhere she went? How did she keep from tiring? Was that more magic, perhaps?
She was a marvel in many ways, certainlyher wings and her beauty were merely the most obvious. When he brought back to Shulara as his bride, when his family and his friends saw her, that would surely put an end to any teasing about his desire to see more of the World and his belief in Zindrщs predictions. If there were creatures like Irith to be found, then obviously the World was worth seeing.
He was tempted to simply ask her, right now, to turn back and go to Shulara with him and marry him, but he didnt dare.
For one thing, she would almost certainly say no; while she was friendly enough, he didnt think she was so carefree, or so fond of him, that she would abandon her own planswhatever they might beto accompany him. And surely, she would have more sense than to marry a stranger she had just met. She had no reason to do so save to please him, and she had no reason to care that much about pleasing him.
Better to wait and let their relationship grow naturally.
And he didnt really want to go back home yet, anywaynot while there were more wonders to be found and the rest of his destiny to find. Great cities, vast plains, strange beasts, more magicthey were all out there, still waiting for him.
And now he had a guide to show him the way. He would never have found the Weary Wanderer and its almost miraculous food without Irith, and she might show him other marvels, as well. He wasnt sure whether those biscuits qualified as a wonder, but they certainly came close.
So for now he resolved to carry on, to try and impress Irith in any way he could, and to learn whatever he could about the World.
Another hour or so brought them to Yondra Keep, a small, old, vine-grown and weather-battered castle atop a hill, with a quiet little village clustered about its walls. Irith looked up at it, and a faintly worried expression crossed her face.
Kelder, she said suddenly, maybe we should stop here for the night.
But its scarcely mid-afternoon, he said, puzzled. Why stop so early?
Well, its a good four or five leagues yet to Angarossa Castle, thats why, she explained. We couldnt possibly get there before dark, or at leastyou couldnt, and I dont want to fly on ahead without you,that wouldnt be any fun. And Angarossa isnt ... well, there are other places Id rather be after dark than on the road in Angarossa, lets just put it that way.
Oh, Kelder said. Ah ... why? Are there dragons or something?
Dragons? Irith asked, startled, turning to stare at him. On the Great Highway? she smiled, then giggled. Oh, Kelder, youre sosilly! No, of course there arent any dragons. Her smile vanished, and she said, quite seriously, But thereare bandits.
Oh, Kelder said again. While the prospect of meeting bandits might have seemed exciting once, right now, footsore as he was, it didnt have any appeal at all. He looked up at Yondra Keep and its surrounding village. All right, lets stop here.
Good! Irith said, clapping her hands gleefully. I know just the place!
Chapter Four
The inn was not on the Great Highway itself, but tucked back in a corner of the village, behind a row of houses that was itself behind a row of shops. It was a very small inn, with only four rooms upstairs and one of those occupied by the innkeeper himself, and a dining room that held only a single large table, with seating for a dozen or so.
The food and accommodations were excellent, though. Kelder shuddered to think what the bill would be.
And of course, as he had half-expected, everyone knew Irith by namenot just the innkeeper, but the steward and the scullery boy and the other guests, as well. Irith introduced Kelder to them all. He bowed and nodded politely, quite sure he wouldnt remember all the names and faces.
The other guests, half a dozen in all, were traveling merchants, which was, when one thought about it, hardly surprising. Kelder sat and listened to them swap stories about remarkable deals they had made; the merchants found this endlessly amusing, but Irith politely excused herself and spent the remainder of the afternoon playing with the kittens in the kitchen, instead.
Kelder thought that Irith had probably made the better choice; half the time he didnt even know what the merchants were talking about, with their mark-ups and discounts and percentages.
At least everyone along the Great Highway seemed to speak Traders Tongue. Kelder had heard other languages spoken, but only in the background; travelers and strangers always seemed to be addressed first in Traders Tongue.
Which, of course, was why it was called Traders Tongue, and why it was such an easy language to learnthis was what it wasfor.
It was after dinner that nighta good but unremarkable dinnerthat Kelder discovered one great advantage of staying in so small an inn. With only three rooms, he and Irith had to share.