"Lawrence Watt-Evans - Dus 2 - Seven Altars of Dusarra" - читать интересную книгу автора (Watt-Evans Lawrence)

apprentice, "Tand, you start spreading out our wares. Get Larth to help you if
you can, but don't start an argument. I'll be back in a moment." He gathered
up the lead ropes from the six harnesses and began coaxing the yackers down
the narrow street, out of the market. The beasts were not actively
uncooperative, but it was still difficult to manage all six of them, so that
he was several minutes at the task. Finally he managed to get them arranged in
a circle, their lead ropes tied together. Although they could still move
about, they were far too stupid to move all in the same direction; this
arrangement should keep them more or less in the same place for quite some
time. It did block the street, but Galt hoped that wouldn't matter much. It
didn't look like a major thoroughfare. Besides, that meant that the overmen
could not be taken from behind by enemies coming up this street; even if they
got past the yackers, the inevitable noise would serve as a warning. The
yackers were a new problem for him. Though he was a master trader, all his
previous experience had been gained on expeditions to Lagur, since that was
the only place the overmen of the Northern Waste currently traded. There were
no yackers used on such expeditions, since all trade with Lagur went by sea.
Once the beasts were taken care of, he returned to the square. He could hear
the sounds of furs being unpacked; either Tand was working incredibly fast, or
he had gotten Larth to help him, judging by the noise. Then, just as he
was about to turn the corner into the market, the sounds stopped abruptly. So
did he. Something was happening, obviously. Peaceful, peaceful, he reminded
himself; he fixed his most nearly human smile upon his face and strolled
forward as casually as he could. Larth and Tand knelt motionless amid heaps
of furs and carved whalebone, staring off to their right. Following their gaze
he saw a ragged human farmer, pulling a rickety cart half-full of squash,
standing motionless in a street opening into the eastern end of the market.
The farmer's mouth hung open and his eyes were wide, the whites palely visible
in the first light of morning-light which had crept up while Galt was securing
the yackers without his noticing it. It appeared very much as if this man had
never seen an overman before, and quite possibly he hadn't. Larth and Tand
were also staring, and it occurred to Galt that it might well be that neither
of them had ever seen a human being before. This, Galt knew, was the
decisive moment. Secrecy was gone. Now, if their mission was to succeed, they
needed to convince the humans that there was nothing out of the ordinary about
overmen trading in their marketplace. Garth had hired him as an expert on
dealing with humans, and he knew that humans could be convinced of anything if
only approached properly. He waved gaily, broadened his smile, and called,
"Greetings, good sir! Would you care to see our wares?" The man turned his
gaze from the others to Galt, but his mouth remained open and his eyes wide.
Galt gestured at the heaps of trade goods. "We have fine furs, such as are
rarely seen in these lands; we have fine carved implements of use in any home.
Come and look, friend!" The man's mouth slowly closed. He swallowed, and
looked back and forth between the overmen. His eyes roved around the market
square and found no one else and nothing out of the ordinary-except the party
of overmen. Galt judged him to be recovered from his shock and considering the
situation. He would not turn and run, because that would mean abandoning his
cart; it had been a stroke of luck that the first human to find them had been
so encumbered. He had two sensible options; he could behave as if the overmen
belonged there, or he could raise an alarm. It was Galt's job to convince him