"Esther M. Friesner - Troll By Jury" - читать интересную книгу автора (Friesner Esther M)

call that exceptional, all right." Zoli adjusted the set of her armored bodice and spat into the reeds.
"The richest twelve-year-old in Overford and half the dukedom 'round," the wizard added.



"Maybe she's doing it because someone promised her a nice Maiden Morn present," Garth conjectured.



Zoli stopped, spun around, and hollered in his face: "Would you listen to yourself? She can buy her own
presents! There's no reason she has to endure this stupid Midden Morn nonsense ifтАФ"



"Maiden Morn," Dean Porfirio corrected her, steepling his fingertips and nodding in that sage manner that
so many wizards affected. Even while matching Garth and Zoli stride for stride, he still managed to
convey the impression that he was back in his office, sunk deep in a comfortable armchair, delivering an
instructive speech to wayward students. "A singular, local custom whose origins are lost in the mists of
antiquity."



"Like us," Zoli grumbled. It was that legendarily darkest of all hours, the one that came just before the
dawn, and nature had decided to add to the travellers' problems by casting a thick blanket of fog across
their path. "We never should've agreed to call for you this morning. A wizard ought to be able to get
himself out of bed and off to his appointments. I know the path from our house to the Iron River
blindfolded, but from Overford Academy it's another story." She scowled at Dean Porfirio. "The only
way we're going to find the river now is if we fall into it."



"We can't be late," Garth said. He sounded worried. "We've got to find the toll bridge, or at least the
ford. The ritual's going to be held on the town side, and if we're not there soon, we won't be able to see
a thing!"



"What's there to see?" Zoli wanted to know.



"Ah, I can answer that!" Dean Porfirio said. "First, the girl herself wades into the river and as soon as she
sees the sunrise touch the water, she recites the Prayer for a Prosperous Husband. ThenтАФ"



"Prayer for a what?" Even through the fog it was possible to tell that Zoli was looking at the wizard as if
he'd broken out in a rash of parsnips.