"Elgin,.Suzette.Haden.-.Ozark.-.01.-.Twelve.Fair.Kingdoms" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elgin Suzette Haden)

"A Quest, I expect, Jubal," I said, straight out. I had been *
dunking while they were talking, and level for level, that
seemed right to me. And the women nodded all around the
table.

"In this day and age?" sputtered Donald Patrick, and threw
up his hands. "Do you realize the antiquated set of hidebound
conditions that go with mounting up a Quest? Responsible,
you can't be serious about this'"

"Well, it is fitting," said his mother saving me the trouble.
"As Responsible and Patience have pointed out, the entire
campaign against us to this- time has been a single symbol,
what would be referred to in classical terms as a Challenge.
OUR MAGIC IS BETTER THAN YOUR MAGIC, you see.
No harm has been done, where obviously it could have been,
had they been so minded. Very well, then—for an old-
fashioned Challenge we shall offer an old-fashioned Quest. It
is appropriate; it has the right ring to it."

"Foof." said Donald Patrick. "It's absurd."

"Indeed it is," I agreed, "and that's the whole point."

"We might should ignore the whole thing," he said. "For all
we know."

"We do, and there will be no Grand Jubilee of the
Confederation of Continents of Ozark, Donald Patrick Bright-
water—and yes, I do know, down to the penny, what all this
has been costing us. Nor will we have another meeting of the
Confederation, I daresay, for a very long time. Whoever is
doing this, they would be delighted to have us ignore it all, and

SUZETTE HADEN ELGIN

everybody snickering behind their hands at us for cowards and
weaklings . . . and it is in the hope that we will be fools
enough to do that that they've kept every move to pestering
only and not gone forward to injury. If they can bring us down
for two cents, why spend two dollars?" I was completely out
of breath.

"They have overplayed their hand," said Patience, "with
this matter of the McDaniels baby."

"I believe so," I said. "It was a mistake of judgment. They
should of kidnapped one of Jubal's Mules instead."