"L. E. Modesitt - Recluce 11 - The Death of Chaos" - читать интересную книгу автора (Modesitt L E)

She represents arms, and the people with the coins to buy them. She also likes to play marine
leader in her spare time. I also represent coins, the traders with coins, and I detest playing
with blades. You represent the order-masters of the Brotherhood, who have few coins, but the black
iron warships and the power of wizardry. Arms, coins, and power, that's what we represent, and
you've got two votes in real terms because no one can make the Brotherhood do anything. But you
need our coins, and I need your visions." Marts pauses and sips from his goblet. "I can see that
there will be problems in Candar, but exactly where? I can also see that we're back to the problem
of chaos focuses again. Chaos focuses disrupt things in Candar, and that disrupts trade-every
time. But when? And in what market?"
"It doesn't seem to hamper the Hamorian traders," observes Heldra.
"They deal in mass-produced, low-cost goods, and that's what people buy in troubled times. We
deal in quality goods, and those are what people don't buy when there's trouble."
"Maybe you traders should take the words from the Hamorians' scrolls."
"Heldra, you can't be that stupid..." Mans fails to keep the exasperation from his voice. "The
only true commodity we could produce and export is iron, and you and Talryn have-"
"Enough," rumbles Talryn. "You were speaking about the problem of chaos focuses." His eyes
flicker toward the water beyond the harbor where the Gulf and the Eastern Ocean run together. His
fingers twist around the stem of his goblet. "We don't have a problem with chaos focuses right
now. The last one was Antonin, and young Lerris took care of him. Rather neatly, I might add."
"Too neatly." Heldra's sharp green eyes swing from Talryn to Maris and back to Talryn. She
purses her lips. "He cannot have been as ignorant as he seemed when he left here. No one could
have been that ignorant, not with Gunnar as his father."
"He was," insists Talryn. "You didn't teach him. I did."
"You said we don't have a problem with chaos focuses now. That would indicate that we might
before long." Maris fingers his beard again.
"All that chaos that Lerris released has to go somewhere." Talryn's fingers leave the stem of
the goblet.
"Have you talked to the Institute?" pursues Heldra.
"Gunnar, you mean? He may be a weather mage, but he's not a real part of the Brotherhood,"
points out Talryn. "The Institute-Gunnar, anyway-hasn't exactly been an ally of the Council, even
if he hasn't ever actively opposed the Council. If I asked, all he'd do is quote the Balance.
Besides, his son is part of the problem-his son and his brother."
"That's what I mean. Gunnar's the one who pushed his son into early dangergeld. Why?"
"Heldra..." Maris offers an exasperated sigh.
"He sent his son into dangergeld long before we detected his power. The boy didn't really even
know why he was going, for darkness's sake." Talryn clears his throat. "And Gunnar told us that
Lerris could be a danger to Recluce if he didn't undertake dangergeld early. That doesn't exactly
sound like favoritism, even from the head of the Institute."
"Yet, barely two years after Lerris completed dangergeld training, he took on and defeated a
white master who was also a chaos focus? We didn't train him as an order-master. So who did?"
Heldra sets down the goblet. "The whole thing is still hard to believe."
"You're both forgetting one thing," suggests Maris."Who did young Lerris just happen to run
into within an eight-day of arriving in Candar?"
"Justen." Heldra nods. "It was no accident."
"Maybe not," responds Maris, "but you haven't answered my question. Are we going to have
problems with another chaos focus? How soon? It might be nice for us traders to know where we
could run into trouble-before it happens."
"Trade, always trade," mutters Heldra.
"Trade pays the bills, and supports the trio, not to mention the Council and a lot of the
Brotherhood's expenses."