"Katherine Kerr - Deverry 06 - A Time Of Omens" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kerr Katherine)

As Bardekian merchantmen go, the ship was a good one, soundly built and deep, with room enough in
the hold for the troupeтАЩs gear and room enough on deck twixt single mast and stern for them to camp
under improvised tents. The troupeтАЩs horses had a comfortable place up on the deck tethered by the
bow rather than in the stinking hold. During the crossing Jill spent most of her time in their equine
company. Even in normal circumstances the troupe lived in a welter of spats and jests, gossip and
sentiment, outright nghts and professions of undying loyalty, and now that they were sailing off to
unknown country, they were as tightly strung as the wela-wela. Tucked in between the horses and the
bow rail, Jill could have privacy for her meditations. Every now and then Keeta joined her, for a bit of a
rest as the juggler put it.

тАЬI donтАЩt know how you stand this lot sometimes,тАЭ Jill remarked to her one morning.

тАЬNeither do I.тАЭ Keeta flashed a grin. тАЬOh, theyтАЩre all good people, really, and the only family IтАЩve ever
had or am likely to have. But they do carry on so. ItтАЩs MarkaтАЩs marriage, you see. She started out as
nothing, the apprentice, the waif we all pitied, and now here she is, the leaderтАЩs wife. EveryoneтАЩs all
stirred up and jockeying for position.тАЭ

тАЬAnd SalamanderтАЩs really become the leader, hasnтАЩt he?тАЭ

тАЬOh, yes. No doubt about that, my dear, none at all.тАЭ

At that moment Jill realized why sheтАЩd objected to SalamanderтАЩs marriage. HeтАЩd so loaded himself up
with responsibility for other peopleтАЩs lives that she couldnтАЩt possibly reproach him for letting his dweomer
studies lapse. She said nothing, merely watched him over the next few days as he busied himself with the
troupe or sat grinning beside his new wife. Perhaps he knows best, she would think. Perhaps he simply
doesnтАЩt have the strength of will, perhaps heтАЩs too weak, somewhere deep in his heart, to take up his
destiny. Yet, despite this sensible reasoning, she felt that she was mourning a death. For NevynтАЩs sake,
she would do her best to keep him from squandering his talent, but a crowded ship was no place to
confront him.

From the moment the troupe landed, Jill hated Anmurdio. While Orystinna was every bit as hot, it was a
dry heat there, thanks to the way the mountains channeled and deflected the prevailing winds. Anmurdio,
the collective name for a group of volcanic islands, caught the tropic-wet winds full in the face. It seemed
that if it wasnтАЩt actually raining, then the wind was howling round, or if the air was still for a brief while,
then it became so humid that everyone wished it would rain. The townsтАФrandom clusters of wooden
housesтАФsagged in the ever-present mud between stretches of primal jungle. The water wasnтАЩt safe to
drink without a good dollop of wine in it; beef was unknown, and bread rare. Yet all of these
aggravations might have been bearable if it werenтАЩt for the mosquitoes, drifting in twilight clouds as thick
as smoke.

Traveling in heavy wagons would be impossible, but fortunately all the hamlets in the archipelago lay right
on the ocean. Swearing and sweating over the expense, Salamander made a bargain with the owner of a
little coaster that would just barely hold the troupe. The wagon horses, which Marka loved like pets, had
to be stabled at a further cost in the main townтАФcity being far too dignified a word for Myleton
NoaтАФrather than merely sold and abandoned.

Just when all these expensive arrangements were concluded, it began to rain, a dark sodden pour that
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