"Роджер Желязны. Lord of Light (Лорд Света, engl) " - читать интересную книгу автора

within earshot might know the identity of his guest. "Welcome to this
well-nightingaled vicinity, and to the perfumed gardens and marble halls of
this humble establishment! To your riders welcome also, who have ridden a
goodly ride with you and no doubt seek subtle refreshment and dignified ease
as well as yourself. Within, you will find all things to your liking, I
trust, as you have upon the many occasions in the past when you have tarried
within these halls in the company of other princely guests and noble
visitors, too numerous to mention, such as - "
"And a good afternoon to you also, Hawkana!" cried the prince, for the
day was hot and the innkeeper's speeches, like rivers, always threatened to
flow on forever. "Let us enter quickly within your walls, where, among their
other virtues too numerous to mention, it is also cool."
Hawkana nodded briskly, and taking the mare by the bridle led her
through the gateway and into his courtyard; there, he held the stirrup while
the prince dismounted, then gave the horses into the keeping of his stable
hands and dispatched a small boy through the gateway to clean the street
where they had waited.
Within the hostel, the men were bathed, standing in the marble bath
hall while servants poured water over their shoulders. Then did they annoint
themselves after the custom of the warrior caste, put on fresh garments and
passed into the hall of dining.
The meal lasted the entire afternoon, until the warriors lost count of
the courses. At the right hand of the prince, who sat at the head of the
long, low, serving board, three dancers wove their way through an intricate
pattern, finger cymbals clicking, faces bearing the proper expressions for
the proper moments of the dance, as four veiled musicians played the
traditional music of the hours. The table was covered with a richly woven
tapestry of blue, brown, yellow, red and green, wherein was worked a series
of hunting and battle scenes: riders mounted on slizzard and horse met with
lance and bow the charges of feather-panda, fire-rooster and jewel-podded
command plant; green apes wrestled in the tops of trees; the Garuda Bird
clutched a sky demon in its talons, assailing it with beak and pinions; from
the depths of the sea crawled an army of horned fish, clutching spikes of
pink coral in their jointed fins, facing a row of kirtled and helmeted men
who bore lances and torches to oppose their way upon the land.
The prince ate but sparingly. He toyed with his food, listened to the
music, laughed occasionally at the jesting of one of his men. He sipped a
sherbet, his rings clicking against the sides of the glass.
Hawkana appeared beside him. "Goes all well with you, Lord?" he
inquired.
"Yes, good Hawkana, all is well," he replied.
"You do not eat as do your men. Does the meal displease you?"
"It is not the food, which is excellent, nor its preparation, which is
faultless, worthy Hawkana. Rather, it is my appetite, which has not been
high of late."
"Ah!" said Hawkana, knowingly. "I have the thing, the very thing! Only
one such as yourself may truly appreciate it. Long has it rested upon the
special shelf of my cellar. The god Krishna had somehow preserved it against
the ages. He gave it to me many years ago because the accommodations here
did not displease him. I shall fetch it for you."