"Tanya Huff - Kigh 1 - Sing the Four Quarters" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

"Kigh," Annice repeated, pulling her dripping wool back on board.

"You usually have this much trouble with air?"

"It's usually my best Song. I can't understand why they're being such a pain lately."

"I've heard," Jon said as he smoothed his ruffled beard, "that across the border in Cemandia
there're those that say the kigh aren't in the Circle at all. And there're some people even here in
Shkoder that say the bards should have nothing to do with the kigh."

Annice snorted. "Have these people got a way to convince the kigh to have nothing to do with
bards?" There'd been enough lanolin in the wool to prevent much water from being absorbed, but
it was still too wet to use. "Because if they do, I'd love to hear it."



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 Huff, Tanya - Sing the Four Quarters


Jon spread his hands. "Just repeating what I heard."

"Sorry." Annice felt herself flush. She'd had no call to snap at the merchant, especially not when
he was passing on exactly the kind of things that bards were expected to listen for. As the crown's
conduit to the people, it could be vitally important that they hear what some people say. "They
weren't saying it when I was in VidorтАж" She let the end of the sentence trail off; not quite a
question but definitely an invitation to talk.

"I'm not actually in Vidor much," Jon admitted. "I spend the late spring and summer collecting
fleece from the small holders in Ohrid and SibiuтАФmountain fleece can toss lowland fleece right
out of the Circle as far as I'm concerned."

"You do the traveling yourself?" While she wanted to know, it was more interesting to learn that
Cemandian ideas seemed to have crossed into at least two of the mountain principalities.

He laughed. "I don't trade for anything I can't touch and I probably travel as much as you do. My
family lives in Marienka, at the head of the lake. We weave for the local trade, but every fall I
bring our extra fleece to the Weavers' Guild in Vidor, pick up the fabric from last year's extra,
minus their percentageтАж"

Annice made a mental note to have the Guild's percentage checked into. While traders
traditionally complained about the percentages they had to pay in order to deal with the larger
guilds, the Council had asked that bards keep an eye out for price gouging.

"тАж and then I continueтАФusually a little farther from freeze-upтАФdownriver to Elbasan."

Merchants said that in Elbasan they could trade for the world. As a child, Annice had loved to be
taken to the harbor to watch ships unload strange and exotic goods. While the captains had
entertained one or another of her older siblings, she'd run about the docks poking her nose into
odd corners and driving her nurse to distraction. As an adult, she often thought about petitioning