"Jack vance - Tschai 2 - Servants of the Wankh" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vance Jack)

By morning Reith had recovered his equanimity, and was even able to find
grotesque humor in the situation. No good reason to change his plans suggested
itself, and the sky-raft limped south as before. The forest dwindled to scrub,
and gave way to isolated plantings and cattle-runs, field huts, lookout towers
against the approach of nomads, an occasional rutted road. The raft displayed an
ever more aggravated instability, with an annoying tendency for the stern to
sag. At mid-morning a range of low hills loomed ahead, and the raft refused to
climb the few hundred feet necessary to clear the ridge. By the sheerest luck a



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cleft appeared through which the raft wobbled with ten feet to spare.
Ahead lay the Dwan Zher and Coad: a compact town with a look of settled
antiquity. The houses were built of weathered timber, with enormous high-peaked
roofs and a multitude of skew gables, eccentric ridges, dormers, tall chimneys.
A dozen ships rode to moorings; as many more were docked across from a row of
factors' offices. At the north of town was the caravan terminus, beside a large
compound surrounded by hostelries, taverns, warehouses. The compound seemed a
convenient spot to set down the raft; Reith doubted if it could have held itself
in the air another ten miles.
The raft dropped stern first; the repulsors gave a labored whine and went
silent with a meaningful finality. "That's that," said Reith. "I'm glad we've
arrived."
The group took up their meager luggage, alighted and left the raft where it
had landed.
At the edge of the compound Anacho made inquiries of a dung merchant and
received directions to the Grand Continental, the best of the town's hostelries.
Coad was a busy town. Along the crooked streets, in and out of the
ale-colored sunlight, moved men and women of many casts and colors: Yellow
Islanders and Black Islanders, Horasin bark-merchants muffled in gray robes;
Caucasoids such as Traz from the Aman Steppe; Dirdirmen and Dirdirmen hybrids;
dwarfish Sieps from the eastern slopes of the Ozanalai who played music in the
streets; a few flat-faced white men from the far south of Kislovan. The natives,
or Tans, were an affable fox faced people, with wide polished cheekbones,
pointed chins, russet or dark brown hair cut in a ledge across the ears and
foreheads. Their usual garments were knee-length breeches, embroidered vest, a
round black pie-plate hat. Palanquins were numerous, carried by short gnarled
men with oddly long noses and stringy black hair: apparently a race to
themselves; Reith saw them in no other occupation. Later he learned them to be
natives of Grenie at the head of the Dwan Zher.
On a balcony Reith thought he glimpsed a Dirdir, but he could not be certain.
Once Traz grabbed his elbow and pointed to a pair of thin men in loose black
trousers, black capes with tall collars all but enveloping their faces, soft
cylindrical black hats with wide brims: caricatures of mystery and intrigue.
"Pnumekin!" hissed Traz in a something between shock and outrage. "Look at them!
They walk among other men without a look aside, and their minds full of strange
thinking!"