"Modesitt, L E - Recluse 12 - The Wellspring of Chaos" - читать интересную книгу автора (Modesitt L E)

^ ale than sense, and didn’t know it.“
“Will the Watch catch them?”
‘’They settled down,“ Kharl said, after taking a mouthful of the stew, still
Warm and peppery, despite Charee’s comments about it getting cold. ”Good stew.“
He broke oft a chunk of the crusty bread, then dipped it into the stew before
chewing off the dipped end. ”Good bread.“
“They’d better settle down,” offered Arthal. “Lord West likes Brysta peaceful.”
“The justicers worry inore about thieves and killers,” Kharl said, taking a
swallow of the warm ale, really only about half a mug for each of them, but that
had been #H that was left in the quarter barrel in the cellar, and he couldn’t
afford any more—not until Korlan paid him for the wine barrels.
“Cossal said they hung three brigands in the Justicers’ Hall on two-day,” added
Warrl. “He was there.”
“They hung three men. That’s true. They might even have been guilty.” Kharl had
his doubts that everyone hanged was as guilty as charged.
“Does it matter, if one brigand is strung up for something he didn’t do?” asked
Charee. “Anyone they catch has done more than enough anyway. Weren’t for Lord
West, we’d have thieves overrunning Brysta, like in his sire’s time.”
“That was a different time,” Kharl said. “Fairven had fallen. The more powerful
steam engines had exploded. Many trading ventures had failed. People were
starving, and white wizards were everywhere.”
“Better the whites than those blackstaffers from Reduce,” Charee sniffed. “Them
and their fine clothes, and their noses in the air. Think they know everything.
Father Jorum says that we’re all equal in the eyes of the Sovereign-”
Kharl wasn’t about to get into debating the opinions of the priest of the
one-god believers. “I can’t see as they harm anyone, but it’s better that they
stay i*1 Reduce.‘’ He took another chunk of bread and wiped out his empty bwith it. ”Good dinner, dearest.“
“How would we kn^w? j^e lords won‘t touch ’em, not unless they’re caught a°*ng
son^j^g right awful. Merayni, she listened to one of ‘em, last v ^ter’s e^^ y.
wag^ ancj ^e was telling terrible tales. Terrible tales.”
“What kind of tales?” asked Kharl, in spite of himself. He had his doubts about
Charee’s older sister Merayni, although Merayni was certainly good-hearted, and
she and her consort were more than successful with the pearapple and peach
orchard that Dowsyl had inherited from his father. He paused. “Didn’t know
blackstaffers got so far south as
Peachill or Eolya.“
“They get everywhere, Merayni was saying, and the tales he told! Terrible, she
said. About how a body can’t even walk across some hills in Candar without
turnin‘ black and shriveling up and dyin’ right there on the spot.”
“That may be,” Kharl replied. “That’s Candar, and not Nordla. Lord West is lucky
to have one or two wizards that he can count on. Rather have him with wizards
than some of the other Lords of the Quadrant.”
“This young blackstaffer, he said that the lord’s wizards weren’t proper mages.
‘A course, Father Jorum says all wizardry is evil.”
“I wouldn’t know if they’re proper wizards.” Kharl tilted his mug to get the
last drop of ale. “I’m a cooper, not a wizard or a lord. That’s their business.
Mine’s barrels. Solid barrels.”
“Terrible stuff, magery.” Charee sniffed again. “As bad as thieves and brigands,
if you ask me.”