-
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Grolims with him?" he asked Garion.
"I think I saw a couple."
"That's going to complicate things. Translocation makes an awful noise. We'll
have Taur Urgas right on our heels when we leave."
"Do you have any other ideas, father?" Aunt Pol asked.
"Let me work on it," he replied. "At any rate, we can't do anything until it
gets dark."
A low whistle came from some distance down the gully.
"Who's that?" Barak's hand went to his sword.
"Ho, Alorns." It was a hoarse whisper.
"Methinks it is the Nadrak Yarblek," Mandorallen said.
"How did he know we're here?" Barak demanded.
There was the crunching sound of footsteps, in the gravel, and Yarblek came
around a bend in the gully. His fur cap was low over his face, and the collar of
his felt overcoat was pulled up around his ears. "There you are," he said,
sounding relieved.
"Are you alone?" Barak's voice was heavy with suspicion.
"Of course I'm alone," Yarblek snorted. "I told my servants to go on ahead. You
certainly left in a hurry."
"We didn't feel like staying to greet Taur Urgas," Barak replied.
"It's probably just as well. I'd have had a great deal of trouble getting you
out of that mess back there. The Murgo soldiers inspected every one of my people
to be sure they were all Nadraks before they'd let me leave. Taur Urgas has
Silk."
"We know," Barak said. "How did you find us?"
"You left the pegs pulled up at the back of my tent, and this hill's the closest
cover on this side of the fair. I guessed which way you'd go, and you left a
track here and there to confirm it." The Nadrak's coarse face was serious, and
he showed no signs of his extended bout at the ale barrel. "We're going to have
to get you out of here," he said. "Taur Urgas will be putting out patrols soon,
and you're almost in his lap."
"We must rescue our companion first," Mandorallen told him.
"Silk? You'd better forget that. I'm afraid my old friend has switched his last
pair of dice." He sighed. "I liked him, too."
"He's not dead, is he?" Durnik's voice was almost sick.
"Not yet," Yarblek replied, "but Taur Urgas plans to correct that when the sun
comes up in the morning. I couldn't even get close enough to that pit to drop a
dagger to him so he could open a vein. I'm afraid his last morning's going to be
a bad one."
"Why are you trying to help us?" Barak asked bluntly.
"You'll have to excuse him, Yarblek," Aunt Pol said. "He's not familiar with
Nadrak customs." She turned to Barak. "He invited you into his tent and offered
you his ale. That makes you the same as his brother until sunrise tomorrow."
Yarblek smiled briefly at her. "You seem to know us quite well, girl," he
observed. "I never got to see you dance, did I?"
"Perhaps another time," she replied.
"Perhaps so." He squatted and pulled a curved dagger from beneath his overcoat.
He smoothed a patch of sand with his other hand and began sketching rapidly with
his dagger point. "The Murgos are going to watch me," he said, "so I can't add
half a dozen or so more people to my party without having them all over me. I
think the best thing would be for you to wait here until dark. I'll move out to
file:///F|/rah/Dave%20Eddings/Eddings,%20Davi...%20Belgariad%203%20-%20Magicians%20Gambit.txt (112 of 144) [1/17/03 2:45:47 AM]
file:///F|/rah/Dave%20Eddings/Eddings,%20David%20-%20Belgariad%203%20-%20Magicians%20Gambit.txt
the east and stop a league or so on up the caravan track. As soon as it gets
dark, you slip around and catch up with me. We'll work something out after
that."
"Why did Taur Urgas tell you to leave?" Barak asked him.
Yarblek looked grim. "There's going to be a large accident tomorrow. Taur Urgas
will immediately send an apology to Ran Borune - something about inexperienced
troops chasing a band of brigands and mistaking honest merchants for bandits.
He'll offer to pay reparation, and things will all be smoothed over. Pay is a
magic word when you're dealing with Tolnedrans."
"He's going to massacre the whole camp?" Barak sounded stunned.
"That's his plan. He wants to clean all the westerners out of Cthol Murgos and
he seems to think that a few such accidents will do the job for him."
Relg had been standing to one side, his large eyes lost in thought. Suddenly he
stepped across the gully to where Yarblek's sketch was. He smoothed it out of
the sand. "Can you show me exactly where this pit in which they're holding our
friend is located?" he asked.
"It won't do you any good," Yarblek told him. "It's guarded by a dozen men.
Silk's got quite a reputation, and Taur Urgas doesn't want him to get away."
"Just show me," Relg insisted.
Yarblek shrugged. "We're here on the north side." He roughed in the fair and the
caravan route. "The supply station is here." He pointed with his dagger. "The
pit's just beyond it at the base of that big hill on the south side."
"What kind of walls does it have?"
"Solid stone."
"Is it a natural fissure in the rock, or has it been dug out?"
"What difference does it make?"
"I need to know."
"I didn't see any tool marks," Yarblek replied, "and the opening at the top is
irregular. It's probably just a natural hole."
Relg nodded. "And the hill behind it - is it rock or dirt?"
"Mostly rock. All of stinking Cthol Murgos is mostly rock."
Relg stood up. "Thank you," he said politely.
"You're not going to be able to tunnel through to him, if that's what you're
thinking," Yarblek said, also standing and brushing the sand off the skirts of
his overcoat. "You don't have time."
Belgarath's eyes were narrowed with thought. "Thanks, Yarblek," he said. "You've
been a good friend."
"Anything to irritate the Murgos," the Nadrak said. "I wish I could do something
for Silk."
"Don't give up on him yet."
"There isn't much hope, I'm afraid. I'd better be going. My people will wander
off if I'm not there to watch them."
"Yarblek," Barak said, holding out his hand, "someday we'll have to get together
and finish getting drunk."
Yarblek grinned at him and shook his hand. Then he turned and caught Aunt Pol in
a rough embrace. "If you ever get bored with these Alorns, girl, my tent flap is
always open to you."
"I'll keep that in mind, Yarblek," she replied demurely.
"Luck," Yarblek told them. "I'll wait for you until midnight." Then he turned
and strode off down the gully.
"That's a good man there," Barak said. "I think I could actually get to like
him."
"We must make plans for Prince Kheldar's rescue," Mandorallen declared,
beginning to take his armor out of the packs strapped to one of the horses. "All
else failing, we must of necessity resort to main force."
"You're backsliding again, Mandorallen," Barak said.
"That's already been taken care of," Belgarath told them.
Barak and Mandorallen stared at him.
"Put your armor away, Mandorallen," the old man instructed the knight. "You're
not going to need it."
file:///F|/rah/Dave%20Eddings/Eddings,%20Davi...%20Belgariad%203%20-%20Magicians%20Gambit.txt (113 of 144) [1/17/03 2:45:47 AM]
file:///F|/rah/Dave%20Eddings/Eddings,%20David%20-%20Belgariad%203%20-%20Magicians%20Gambit.txt
"Who's going to get Silk out of there?" Barak demanded.
"I am," Relg answered quietly. "How much longer is it going to be before it gets
dark?"
"About an hour. Why?"
"I'll need some time to prepare myself."
"Have you got a plan?" Durnik asked.
Relg shrugged. "There isn't any need. We'll just circle around until we're
behind that hill on the other side of the encampment. I'll go get our friend,
and then we can leave." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
- doc.pisz.pl
- pdf.pisz.pl
- zambezia2013.opx.pl