"Robin Hobb - Assassin 1 - Assassin' s Apprentice" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hobb Robin)

leg. Despite his knowledge of poultices and bandaging, he could not seem to work
the healing on himself that he so routinely served to his beasts. Once or twice
I saw the injury unwrapped and winced at the ragged tear that refused to heal
smoothly but remained swollen and oozing. Burrich cursed it roundly at first and
set his teeth grimly each night as he cleaned and redressed it, but as the days
passed he regarded it with more of a sick despair than anything else. Eventually
he did get it to close, but the ropy scar twisted his leg and disfigured his
walk. Small wonder he had little mind to give to a young bastard deposited in
his care.
So I ran free in the way that only small children can, unnoticed for the most
part. By the time Springfest was over, the guards at the keep's gate had become
accustomed to my daily comings and goings. They probably thought me an errand
boy, for the keep had many of those, only slightly older than I. I learned to
pilfer early from the keep's kitchen enough for both Nosy and myself to
breakfast heartily. Scavenging other food-burned crusts from the bakers, sheet
and seaweed from the beach, smoked fish from untended racks-was a regular part
of my day's activities. Molly Nosebleed was my most frequent companion. I seldom
saw her father strike her after that day; for the most part he was too drunk to
find her, or to make good on his threats when he did. To what I had done that
day, I gave little thought, other than to be grateful that Molly had not
realized I was responsible.
The town became the world to me, with the keep a place I went to sleep. It
was summer, a wonderful time in a port town. No matter where I went, Buckkeep
Town was alive with comings and goings. Goods came down the Buck River from the
Inland Duchies, on flat river barges manned by sweating bargemen. They spoke
learnedly about shoals and bars and landmarks and the rising and falling of the
river waters. Their freight was hauled up into the town shops or warehouses, and
then down again to the docks and into the holds of the sea ships. Those were
manned by swearing sailors who sneered at the rivermen and their inland ways.
They spoke of tides and storms and nights when not even the stars would show
their faces to guide them. And fishermen tied up to Buckkeep docks as well, and
were the most genial of the group. At least so they were when the fish were
running well.
Kerry taught me the docks and the taverns, and how a quick-footed boy might
earn three or even five pence a day, running messages up the steep streets of
the town. We thought ourselves sharp and daring, to thus undercut the bigger
boys who asked two pence or even more for just one errand. I don't think I have
ever been as brave since as I was then. If I close my eyes, I can smell those
glorious days. Oakum and tar and fresh wood shavings from the dry docks where
the shipwrights wielded their drawknives and mallets. The sweet smell of very
fresh fish, and the poisonous odor of a catch held too long on a hot day. Bales
of wool in the sun added their own note to the scent of oak kegs of mellow
Sandsedge brandy. Sheaves of fevergone hay waiting to sweeten a forepeak mingled
scents with crates of hard melons. And all of these smells were swirled by a
wind off the bay, seasoned with salt and iodine. Nosy brought all he scented to


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