"Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman - Rose of the Prophet 02 - The Paladin of the Night" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weis Margaret)

were thin and bloodless. Trimmed moustaches shadowed the upper lip, extending
down the lines of the unsmiling mouth to join a narrow black beard that
outlined a firm, jutting jawline.
The man in black bowed. Placing a white-skinned, slender hand over his heart,
he performed the salaam with grace. The Captain returned the bow, far more
clumsilyтАФhe was a big, awkward man. Raising his head, he met the gaze of the
man in black and flinched involuntarily, as if the penetrating glance of the
two dark, cold eyes had been living steel.
Instantly on his guard, the Captain cleared his throat and launched into the
formalities. "I see by the lowering of your standards that you come in peace,
Effendi. Welcome to the city of Idrith. The Sultan begs to know your names and
your business that we may do you honor and lose no time in accommodating you."
The expression on the face of the man in black remained grave as he replied
with equal solemnity and politeness. "My
WEIS AND HICKMAN
name is Auda ibn Jad. Formerly a trader in slaves, I am now traveling eastward
to my homeland of Simdari. I wish only to stop over in your city for a day and
a night to replenish .my supplies and give my men some rest. Our journey has
been a long and a sad one, and we have still many hundreds of miles to go
before its end. I am certain that you must have surmised, Captain," the man in
black said with a sigh, "that we are a funeral cortege."
Uncertain how to respond, the Captain cleared his throat noncommittally and
glanced with lowering brows at the number of armed men he was being asked to
let into his city. Auda ibn Jad appeared to understand, for he added, with a
sad smile, "My goums would be most willing to surrender their swords to you,
Captain, and I will answer for their good conduct." Taking hold of the
Captain's arm with his slender hand, Auda led the soldier to one side and
spoke in a low voice. "You will, however, be patient with my men, sUU. They
have the gold of Kich in their purses, gold that melancholy circumstances
prevented them from spending. They are excellent fighters and disciplined men.
But they have suffered a great shock and seek to drown their sorrows in wine
or find solace in the other pleasures for which this city is well-known. I
myself have some business to do"тАФibn Jad's eyes flicked a glance at several
iron-bound wooden chests strapped to the camelsтАФ"with the jewel merchants of
Idrith."
Feeling the cold sensation spread from the man's eyes to die fingers that
rested on his arm, the Captain of the Sultan's Guard drew back from that icy
touch. Every instinct that had made him a good soldier for forty years warned
him to forbid this man with eyes like knives to enter his city. Yet he could
see the heavy purses hanging from each gown's sash. The merchants of Idrith
standing upon the city walls could not detect the money pouches from that
distance, but they could see the heavy chests on the camels' backs, the gold
that glittered around the necks of this man's slaves.
On his way out of the city gates, the Captain had seen the followers of
Kharmani, God of Wealth, reaching for their tally-sticks, and he knew very
well that the proprietors of the eating houses, the tea shops, and the arwats
were rubbing their hands in anticipation. A howl of outrage would split the
Sultan's eardrums if this woolly sheep all ready for the shearing were driven
from the city gatesтАФall because the Captain did not like the look in the
sheep's eyes.