"I - Odyssey" - читать интересную книгу автора (McGough Scott)

wagons into the city. An elevator dropped cargo from the staging
area just inside the guardhouse to the bottom of the depression.
Once relieved of their loads, merchants could then safely take
the horses down the slope. Traffic headed into the city rode the
brakes all the way to the flat at the bottom, using the animals
just to steer. The elevator had just broken, however, and the
snapped cable had beheaded a mule, overturning a wagon and
blocking the causeway.
Kamahl drew a dagger, holding its blade against his arm. He
used the hilt to prod people out of the way, ignoring angry
words. The decapitated beast lay tangled in its traces, its blood
pouring down the steep roadway. Kamahl gathered a whisper of
power and wrapped it around the dagger's blade. He shoved aside
the owner and guardsmen and skimmed his blade along the beast's
side with a single stroke. Harness leather and chains parted like
air before the blade, singing as tension released. Kamahl shoved
the corpse hard with his boot. The barbarian's physical power
became plain to the angry guardsmen. The donkey shot down the
ramp lubricated by its own blood. The animal hit the railing,
wood coming apart in a spray of rotten timbers. The remains of
the beast and fence fell to the ground below with a heavy thud.
Kamahl withdrew power from the blade and continued down the road,
walking just along the bloodied skidway.
"The Cabal pit masters bought that carcass!" bellowed
someone. Kamahl's ears picked up the conversation even as he
continued away.
"Leave it alone," he heard someone else hiss. "Jacks are all
crazy; just consider the meat tenderized."

* * * * *

Fighters from throughout the continent moved in the streets.
Kamahl saw races of all descriptions-faerie, human, dwarf,
centaur, and others that he could not name. They came to the pits
to compete for their own glory and the prizes offered. Everywhere
in the land the contest between warriors played out every day,
but it was in the pits that jacks of known mettle found opponents
worth the sweat of battle. Kamahl came for worthy adversaries and
to prove his mastery. Most of his opponents were there for more.
The Cabal had opened up its vaults to supply the prizes.
Booty from centuries of collecting and a thousand battlefields
was available. Sages and historians were nearly as prevalent as
fighters in the city. All converged to see the treasures drawn
from the rock deep below the pits. With the fighters and the
learned men, an influx of gamblers and enthusiasts filled the
avenues. Moving among the throngs worked pickpockets, whores, and
sellers of the forbidden. The barbarian sauntered over the
cobblestones, seeing unfamiliar sights. Tents stood with ragged
and dirty men calling for custom. Though from the sparsely
settled mountains, Kamahl was completely civilized in his