"01 - A Difficulty With Dwarves" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gardner Craig Shaw)

'Yes, yes,' the other man responded impatiently. 'I can see from your clothes you are a wizard, a man of learning. But I must have the toll. Unless, of course,

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you want to conjure up a broom and fly away from this road entirely.' The toll collector allowed himself a little smile.

The wizard sighed. Still, he was in a strange land, full of strange customs, and one had to expect to put up with a little inconvenience now and then. He pulled his large and heavy money sack from his belt and handed a piece of gold to the other man.

'A wise man,' the toll collector remarked, 'for if you had not paid, I would have ordered the army to come out of the woods and kill you.'

So that was the way of it, the wizard thought. Of course, he couldn 't see an army. But the trees were so tall and close together that they could have hidden anything. The wizard loosened his belt so that he might once again tuck away the money pouch.

'Not so fast!' the other man demanded. 'You have paid the toll, but you have completely forgotten the occupation tax!'

'Occupation tax?' the wizard replied.

'Another piece of gold,' the toll collector said, smirking. 'Unless, of course, you would like to call up a great storm to wash the road away.'

'I see.' The wizard recalled sadly how much he had wished to witness local custom. He reached back into his large and heavy purse.

'Ah, you have once again saved yourself from the army,' the crimson-clad official drawled. 'Oh, but I didn 't mention, did I? That will be two pieces of gold. The occupation tax is double for wizards.'

'The occupation tax is double for wizards?' the magician repeated in disbelief. He had to admit, by now he was getting a bit too much of a taste of local

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custom. Still, he did want to see the wondrous sight up ahead. He reached once again into his purse.

'What'II you do?' The other man sneered. 'Turn me into a frog? But then there's the army, isn 't there?' He jabbed the magician in the ribs. 'Of course, that means you'll have to turn all of us into frogs, doesn't it? Oh, I forgot. While you have the purse open, there's one more tax you 'II have to -'

There was a pause in the man's conversation.

'Ribbit, ribbit,' the toll collector remarked at last.

And the wizard was on his way, and was soon marveling at great length at the wondrous sight, proud now of all he'd learned about local custom, and reveling in the newfound silence, which was only broken at nightfalls from the direction of the lily pads.

- THE HOUSE AT WIZARD'S CORNER

(fourth edition)

by Ebenezum,

Greatest Wizard in the Western Kingdom

I turned the corner, onto the narrow street that led into the heart of Vushta.

But my way was blocked by three young men, all close to my own age and all dressed in brown. Two of them were very large, perhaps taller than even Hendrek or the Dealer of Death. One of the tall ones smiled in my direction, his grin missing a couple of teeth. The other big fellow seemed to hardly notice me at all. He appeared instead to focus all his attention on a long, slightly curved knife which he twirled absently between his palms.