"Patrick Rothfuss - Kingkiller 01 - The Name of the Wind" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rothfuss Patrick)

of luck," Cob tapped the side of his nose knowingly. "Or maybe it had some-
thing to do with the amulet he was wearing under his shirt."
"What amulet?" the boy asked eagerly through a mouthful of stew.
Old Cob leaned back on his stool, glad for the chance to elaborate. "A
few days earlier, Taborlin had met a tinker on the road. And even though
Taborlin didn't have much to eat, he shared his dinner with the old man."
"Right sensible thing to do," Graham said quietly to the boy. "Everyone
knows: 'A tinker pays for kindness twice.' "
"No no," Jake grumbled. "Get it right: 'A tinker's advice pays kindness
twice.' "
 The Name of the Wind 5

The innkeeper spoke up for the first time that night. "Actually, you're
missing more than half," he said, standing in the doorway behind the bar.

"A tinker's debt is always paid:
Once for any simple trade.
Twice for freely-given aid.
Thrice for any insult made. "

The men at the bar seemed almost surprised to see Kote standing there.
They'd been coming to the Waystone every Felling night for months and
Kote had never interjected anything of his own before. Not that you could
expect anything else, really. He'd only been in town for a year or so. He was
still a stranger. The smith's prentice had lived here since he was eleven, and
he was still referred to as "that Rannish boy," as if Rannish were some for-
eign country and not a town less than thirty miles away.
"Just something I heard once," Kote said to fill the silence, obviously em-
barrassed.
Old Cob nodded before he cleared his throat and launched back into the
story. "Now this amulet was worth a whole bucket of gold nobles, but on
account of Taborlin's kindness, the tinker sold it to him for nothing but an
iron penny, a copper penny, and a silver penny. It was black as a winter night
and cold as ice to touch, but so long as it was round his neck, Taborlin would
be safe from the harm of evil things. Demons and such."
"I'd give a good piece for such a thing these days," Shep said darkly. He
had drunk most and talked least over the course of the evening. Everyone
knew that something bad had happened out on his farm last Cendling night,
but since they were good friends they knew better than to press him for the
details. At least not this early in the evening, not as sober as they were.
"Aye, who wouldn't?" Old Cob said judiciously, taking a long drink.
"I din't know the Chandrian were demons," the boy said. "I'd heardтАФ"
"They ain't demons," Jake said firmly. "They were the first six people to
refuse Tehlu's choice of the path, and he cursed them to wander the
cornersтАФ"
"Are you telling this story, Jacob Walker?" Cob said sharply. "Cause if you
are, I'll just let you get on with it."
The two men glared at each other for a long moment. Eventually Jake
looked away, muttering something that could, conceivably, have been an
apology.