"Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon - Mage Wars 03 - The Silver Gryphon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

with minimal effort. Outpost Five was the most remote and isolated of all of the border posts. Because of
that, it was hardly the most desirable position so far as the Silvers were concerned.
For most Silvers, perhaps, but not for Blade and Tadrith. This meant three whole months in a place
so far away from White Gryphon that not even a hint of what transpired there would reach the city unless
he or Blade sent it by teleson. There would be no watching eyes, waiting to see if he could replicate his
legendary father. There would be no tongues wagging about his exploits, imagined or real.
Of course, there would also be no delicious gryphon ladies for three months, but that was a small
price to pay. Three months of chastity would be good for him; it would give him a rest. He would be able
to use the leisure time to invent new and clever things to do and say to impress them. He would have all
that time to perfect his panache. By the time he returned, as a veteran of the border, he should be able to
charm any lady he chose.
Outpost duty was a long assignment, in no small part because it was so difficult to get people to the
outposts. Even though magic was now working reliably, and had been for several years, no one really
wanted to trust his body to a Gate just yet. Too many things could go wrong with a Gate at the best of
times, and at the moment the only purpose anyone was willing to put them to was to transport unliving
supplies. The consumables and their mail and special requests would be supplied to their outpost that
way; a mage at White Gryphon who was familiar with the place would set up a Gate to the outpost.
Workers would then pitch bundles through, and the mage would drop the Gate as soon as he could.
No one wants to leave a Gate up very long either. You never know what might go wrong, or
what might stroll through it while it's up.
"You know, of course, that there's a great deal of uninhabited and poorly-surveyed territory in
between Five and home," Blade went on with relish. "We're going to be completely on our own from the
time we leave to the time we return."
"What, no lovely gryphon ladies and human stallions to wile away your time of exile?" jibed
Keenath, and shuddered realistically. "Well, never mind. I can guarantee that in the case of the ladies, I
can make certain that they will not notice your absence, twin."
"They are more likely to cry out in pain at your I poor attempts at gallantry, Keeth," Tadrith told him
and turned back to Blade. "You realize that this shows a great deal of trust in our abilities, don't you? I
mean, the usual first assignment is something like—"
"Like guarding the farms, I know," she replied smugly. "That must have been why they kept us
behind the others, training and overtraining us. They wanted to be sure we were ready, and I bet they
decided to send us out there because we're the only people who really want to go. In fact, I would bet
my favorite armband that Aubri plans to send us out on long outpost duty every chance he can get!"
They grinned at each other with relish, for there was another aspect to outpost duty they both
anticipated with pleasure. Those so posted were expected to do a certain amount of exploring, and
sometimes the explorers found something valuable. The Emperor Shalaman got a share, of course, as did
the treasury of White Gryphon, but the generous portion remaining went to the intrepid explorers who
made the discovery. Not that Tadrith was greedy, of course, but he did have a certain love of
ornamentation, a pronounced interest in the finer things of life, and finding something extremely valuable
would make it possible for him to indulge his interests. And it didn't hurt to have the wherewithal to
impress the ladies, either, and ornament them a bit now and then.
"Just how much exploring has been done up there?" he asked.
Blade's eyes widened knowingly. "Not all that much," she replied. "And there are more ways to
explore than sailing over the tree-canopy, hoping something on the ground will show itself."
He nodded, following her thoughts. Probably most of the Silvers assigned to Outpost Five in the
past had been gryphon teams; that made sense, although it probably wore them down terribly, not having
humans and hertasi to tend to them. A human on station, though, could make a detailed survey of a
particular area, including the smaller animals and plants living there, and take mineral samples. That was
something a gryphon was ill-suited or, for that matter, ill-inclined, to do.
"There's been no trouble from that sector for years," she mused. "We should have plenty of time for