"Joel Rosenberg - 04 - The Heir Apparent" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rosenberg Joel C)

a few meters.

*Tennetty says that I'm right, as usual, by the way.*

"Be quiet, all of you. We've got a job to do."

"Your majesty," Garavar whispered, "I say again: Emperors don't do this sort of thing."

"I said to shut up. I don't want to attract attention." Yet.

Garavar was a soldier of the old school, Bieme style, where loyally counted more than obedience.

Still, when Karl glared as Garavar opened his mouth again, Garavar shut up.

Karl had to admit that Garavar did have a point. A good one, at that. Not that this was particularly a bad


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idea, but it shouldn't have been Karl Cullinane leading it.

It shouldn't be me, Karl thought. It should be someone good at a quiet sneak, it should be somebody like
Walter Slovotsky trying to creep in close. This was Walter Slovotsky's sort of thing, not Karl's.

*There is nobody like Walter Slovotsky. I take it you miss him.*

Good guess. Slovotsky would already be well inside the castle, have seduced one or more pretty girls,
filled his pockets with coins and jewels, set himself up with another bed partner or two for later, stuffed
himself on rich food in the castle kitchen, uncorked and imbibed the best bottle of wine available, and
had the baron up against the wall, fully frisked and intimidated by now. Without raising a sweat,
probably.

*Hmmm... I wonder if he has such an overinflated opinion of your abilities. By the way, you could have
done this like a normal kind of person. You have heard of normality?*

The standard way to get a recalcitrant baron out of his castle was for a detachment of his neighboring
barons to show up at his door and invite him to accompany them to the capitol.

That was almost completely safe: no baron would want open combat with his neighbors unless he was
certain his life was already forfeit; fighting his neighbors was certain to get him killed. Even if he did
order his men to attack such a delegation, his soldiers would be likely to mutiny; princes and emperors
tended to frown on such attacks and express their disapproval with axe and gibbet.

Relay to Garavar, Karl Cullinane thought. I didn't get where I am today by doing things the standard
way. And speaking of which, it's my understanding that generals don't usually go creeping around
through the grasses, either.

There wasn't an answer to that.