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

тАЬNot until IтАЩve put my scheme to the test, O Monarch of Might Mysterious. And tonight, here in the very
marketsquareofMyleton Noa, will the test come!тАЭ
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The market square in question was a big sprawl of mud in the center of town. All round the edge stood
such civic buildings as the town could muster: a customs house, an archonтАЩs residence, a barracks for the
town guard, and a money changer, who supported a small guard of his own, according to the wine seller.

тАЬHeтАЩs a shrewd one, old Din-var-tano,тАЭ he remarked to Jill. тАЬAnd as honest as the sea is deep, too. But
a miser? Ye gods! He lives like a slave, and he wonтАЩt have a wife because of the expense of keeping
one, you see. IтАЩll wager we wonтАЩt see him tonight at this here show. HeтАЩd feel obliged to part with one of
his precious coppers! But it looks like everyone else in town is here, thatтАЩs for certain.тАЭ

Jill and the wine seller were standing on the wooden steps of the archonтАЩs palace, a little above the
crowd swarming round the muddy square. The old man had set up his little booth on the top step, and as
they talked, he was busily chaining wine cups to the rail. In the velvet twilight, the troupe was raising
crossed pairs of standing torches round the stage while Salamander himself stood underneath the slack
rope and pulled on it to make sure it was secure.

тАЬWeтАЩve never had a show through here before,тАЭ the wine seller went on. тАЬI wager IтАЩll do good business
after itтАЩs over.тАЭ

тАЬNo doubt. I take it things are lonely in Anmurdio.тАЭ

тАЬAs lonely as the sea is deep, thatтАЩs for certain. Sometimes IтАЩm sorry I came, I tell you, but then, a man
can live his life as he likes out here without a lot of city clerks laying down the law and grabbing his coin
for taxes.тАЭ

тАЬAh. I see. Tell me something. Do you ever hear of ships sailing south?тАЭ

тАЬSouth? What for? Nothing out there but sea and wind.тАЭ

тАЬYouтАЩre sure?тАЭ She paused to kill a particularly big mosquito that had landed on her wrist. тАЬYouтАЩve
never heard of any islands lying far to the south?тАЭ

He sucked his stumps of teeth while he considered.

тАЬNever,тАЭ he said at last. тАЬBut I can tell you who you want to ask about that. See over there, that great
big fellow standing in the torchlight? The one with the red tunicтАФthatтАЩs right, him. DekkiтАЩs his name, and
heтАЩs quite a sailing man, goes to all sorts of places, and not all of them are on maps, if you take my
meaning.тАЭ

Jill sighed, because she did see. A pirate, most likely, and not her favorite sort of person in the world.
Before she could ask the wine seller more, on the stage drums boomed out and flutes sang. In a
pleasurable shudder of applause, the crowd surged closer. The show had begun.

From the very first moment, when the youngest and clumsiest acrobat cartwheeled across the stage, Jill