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

'Wuntvor's not that handsome, he's a hero all the

same! It's not just that he's awkward, it's his face that

takes the blame! For you can't see his dimples, Beneath those mounds of pimples. We've got a hero, and Wuntvor -'

Their voices cut off abruptly as I walked from the theater into the street. It didn't matter. I wasn't really listening to

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the words. I was hoping to hear another sound, like the light, rapid footsteps of a young woman, returning to seek me out again, or mayhaps that same young woman's voice, saying she forgave me.

There was a noise ahead of me, a cart being pulled across the cobblestones, a man's voice crying cheerfully through the afternoon air. I looked ahead, full of the faint, foolish hope that where there was activity, there might also wait my beloved. Alas, it was naught but a costermonger going about his business. He tried to draw my attention to his wares, but I had no heart for it. He could go on mongering his costers around me for the rest of time, it made no difference. My thoughts would forever be elsewhere.

'Norei,' I whispered to the empty street.

But enough was enough. I drew a ragged breath and reestablished a firm grip upon my stout oak staff. This mooning over lost love would do nothing to save us all from the clutches of the Netherhells. I had to return to the willow outside the Wizards College in time for the meeting. I had managed to gather all our allies - well, almost all.

I moved quickly to perform my final errand. It was on my way, at the corner of the field that the college used for their sorcerous athletic activities.

Dozens of furry faces seemed to light up as I approached their pen.

'Eep!'

'Eepeep!'

'Eepeepeep!'

I opened the door and was immediately surrounded by adoring ferrets. I worried sometimes, what with the way I had produced them - quite by accident, out of this old magic hat - that they all thought I was their mother. Their affection, especially right after I opened their pen, could

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sometimes be quite overwhelming. Still, I had grown rather attached to them on our travels to rescue Vushta from the Netherhells, and I admit that there had been one or two occasions when the hustle and bustle of Vushta had grown too much for me, and I had come to tend these cages, seeking solace.

'Come on now,' I called softly, although I doubted that they really understood me. 'It's time for us to go to a meeting.'

'Eep!' they cried. 'Eep eep! Eep eep eep!'

I laughed despite myself. They milled about me as I turned to lead them to the willow. What use had I for love? What need had I for human companionship? I had my ferrets to keep me warm!

Still, I didn't recall producing quite this many of them. They rubbed against my ankles and rose upon their hind legs to nuzzle my knees. A few of them, even merrier than their brothers and sisters, leapt joyfully for my head and shoulders so that they might rub their cold noses against my forehead and ears. There was a good score of them before me on the path, and two score of them to either side, while even more were emerging from their pen at a rapid rate.

Exactly how many were there? A momentary thought chilled me: Could magically produced ferrets reproduce magically as well?

'Come,' I repeated, 'there is no time to lose.' I brushed the overenergetic creatures off my person and strode in the direction of the willows, being especially careful not to tread on any ferret parts as we made our way to the meeting. We skirted the large building that contained the Great Hall, and stepped into the college's main courtyard.

'Doom!' Hendrek hailed me, waving his warclub so that I might better see him beneath the willow. The ferrets all

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