[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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Dark One." He shrugged, suddenly tired.
"Then too, it is not hard to imagine the creature Ro-Vijar offering this
creature Rakossa a share in
Arsudun's offworld trade. So he is safe both ways, to his way of thinking. He
strikes me as ambitious and a bit mad."
"He doesn't need to do even that," September said. "Rakossa already has gained
the
Slanderscree
. Oh, Ro-
Vijar will argue that it's rightfully his, but he'll let Rakossa argue him out
of it, in return for killing us.
He's after bigger stakes, Ro-Vijar is. Don't forget, he's got three modern
hand beamers. They're worth a damn sight more on this planet than two ice
riggers."
Hunnar crawled over to the bars, stood, and kicked at them. His sharp chiv
barely produced three parallel
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Fos...%20-%20Mission%20to%20Moulokin
(1979)[v1].html (70 of 166) [10/15/2004 12:52:51 PM]
Alan Dean Foster - Mission to Moulokin scratches in the wood. There were many,
similar sets of scratches.
"What do we do now?" Ethan couldn't stand to watch Hunnar stubbornly,
hopelessly expending his strength on the bars.
"Young feller-me-lad, I don't know."
The giant moved to a back corner. Though of con-siderable size, the cell floor
had been well matted with pika-pina fragments. September stretched out on
them, put his hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling.
"Fer now, I'm going to sleep."
"How is it," Ethan said wonderingly, "that you can always sleep when your
life's in danger?"
September closed his eyes, shutting out cell and com-panions. "Well for one
thing, lad, if they chose that time to kill you, you'd never know it
happened."
Ethan would have argued, but he was as exhausted as he was discouraged.
The old matting proved unexpectedly comfortable.
IX
"Wake up."
Rolling over, Ethan opened one eye. He was lying by himself near the bars. Who
could be talking to him in the middle of the night?
"Wake !" The voice was more insistent.
up
Dried pika-pina fiber crackled like burning bugs as he got awkwardly to his
knees and stared out into the dim light of the passageway. Torches illuminated
cells and walkway between.
The voice hadn't sounded like that of the cellkeeper, a phlegmatic Tran who
appeared periodically to make certain the outland daemons hadn't burrowed free
of their prison by some unknown magical means.
But a dimly silhouetted shape was pressing against the bars close by. It was a
Tran, which was expected.
It was also female, which was not. Yellow cat eyes glowed by torchlight.
"Please," the voice said anxiously, the eyes turning briefly to glance down
the corridor. "There will be a change of cellmaster before too long. We must
use every minute."
Having decided that he was not dreaming, Ethan climbed to his feet. As he
approached the bars, he finally recognized the speaker.
That gave him his biggest shock yet.
"But you're Rakossa's queen ?& "
The girl expectorated, following it with a degrad-ing word. "He calls me his
concubine. The court n re-fers to me as royal consort. I am his chiv-stool,
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
for he wipes his feet on me." Her voice held more hatred and bitterness than
Ethan imagined possible. Each word was soaked in vitriol, every sentence
washed with venom. Yet she spoke quietly and with control.
"I hight Teeliam Hoh, outlander. I was purchased to be less than a pet.
Queen?" Fury kept her from laughing. "I am a thing he uses, plays with, like a
favorite sword, yet the sword is cared for and treated better than I."
Ethan was looking down the corridor himself now. "You mentioned a change of
cellmaster. What about the one on duty now? He'll be coming "
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Fos...%20-%20Mission%20to%20Moulokin
(1979)[v1].html (71 of 166) [10/15/2004 12:52:51 PM]
Alan Dean Foster - Mission to Moulokin
"Nowhere," she finished for him. "He and the other guard are dead. I cut their
throats."
Her hands fumbled at the old metal lock which sealed the cell. Mumblings and
questions sounded be-hind
Ethan as the noises and activity woke others.
"Then you believe us," Ethan said excitedly, watch-ing her hands work the
heavy, ornate key. "You know
Ro-Vijar for the liar he is."
"I do not know the Landgrave of Arsudun for any-thing but the trail a dung
crawler leaves behind itself after a meal."
"If you don't know whether he's lying or not, then why are you doing this for
us?"
Her bared teeth shone at him. "You think I do this for you? I do it for her."
She gestured up the corridor, returned to the lock and key.
Ethan looked in the indicated direction, made out the shape of a second [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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Page 72
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Dark One." He shrugged, suddenly tired.
"Then too, it is not hard to imagine the creature Ro-Vijar offering this
creature Rakossa a share in
Arsudun's offworld trade. So he is safe both ways, to his way of thinking. He
strikes me as ambitious and a bit mad."
"He doesn't need to do even that," September said. "Rakossa already has gained
the
Slanderscree
. Oh, Ro-
Vijar will argue that it's rightfully his, but he'll let Rakossa argue him out
of it, in return for killing us.
He's after bigger stakes, Ro-Vijar is. Don't forget, he's got three modern
hand beamers. They're worth a damn sight more on this planet than two ice
riggers."
Hunnar crawled over to the bars, stood, and kicked at them. His sharp chiv
barely produced three parallel
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Fos...%20-%20Mission%20to%20Moulokin
(1979)[v1].html (70 of 166) [10/15/2004 12:52:51 PM]
Alan Dean Foster - Mission to Moulokin scratches in the wood. There were many,
similar sets of scratches.
"What do we do now?" Ethan couldn't stand to watch Hunnar stubbornly,
hopelessly expending his strength on the bars.
"Young feller-me-lad, I don't know."
The giant moved to a back corner. Though of con-siderable size, the cell floor
had been well matted with pika-pina fragments. September stretched out on
them, put his hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling.
"Fer now, I'm going to sleep."
"How is it," Ethan said wonderingly, "that you can always sleep when your
life's in danger?"
September closed his eyes, shutting out cell and com-panions. "Well for one
thing, lad, if they chose that time to kill you, you'd never know it
happened."
Ethan would have argued, but he was as exhausted as he was discouraged.
The old matting proved unexpectedly comfortable.
IX
"Wake up."
Rolling over, Ethan opened one eye. He was lying by himself near the bars. Who
could be talking to him in the middle of the night?
"Wake !" The voice was more insistent.
up
Dried pika-pina fiber crackled like burning bugs as he got awkwardly to his
knees and stared out into the dim light of the passageway. Torches illuminated
cells and walkway between.
The voice hadn't sounded like that of the cellkeeper, a phlegmatic Tran who
appeared periodically to make certain the outland daemons hadn't burrowed free
of their prison by some unknown magical means.
But a dimly silhouetted shape was pressing against the bars close by. It was a
Tran, which was expected.
It was also female, which was not. Yellow cat eyes glowed by torchlight.
"Please," the voice said anxiously, the eyes turning briefly to glance down
the corridor. "There will be a change of cellmaster before too long. We must
use every minute."
Having decided that he was not dreaming, Ethan climbed to his feet. As he
approached the bars, he finally recognized the speaker.
That gave him his biggest shock yet.
"But you're Rakossa's queen ?& "
The girl expectorated, following it with a degrad-ing word. "He calls me his
concubine. The court n re-fers to me as royal consort. I am his chiv-stool,
Page 73
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
for he wipes his feet on me." Her voice held more hatred and bitterness than
Ethan imagined possible. Each word was soaked in vitriol, every sentence
washed with venom. Yet she spoke quietly and with control.
"I hight Teeliam Hoh, outlander. I was purchased to be less than a pet.
Queen?" Fury kept her from laughing. "I am a thing he uses, plays with, like a
favorite sword, yet the sword is cared for and treated better than I."
Ethan was looking down the corridor himself now. "You mentioned a change of
cellmaster. What about the one on duty now? He'll be coming "
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Fos...%20-%20Mission%20to%20Moulokin
(1979)[v1].html (71 of 166) [10/15/2004 12:52:51 PM]
Alan Dean Foster - Mission to Moulokin
"Nowhere," she finished for him. "He and the other guard are dead. I cut their
throats."
Her hands fumbled at the old metal lock which sealed the cell. Mumblings and
questions sounded be-hind
Ethan as the noises and activity woke others.
"Then you believe us," Ethan said excitedly, watch-ing her hands work the
heavy, ornate key. "You know
Ro-Vijar for the liar he is."
"I do not know the Landgrave of Arsudun for any-thing but the trail a dung
crawler leaves behind itself after a meal."
"If you don't know whether he's lying or not, then why are you doing this for
us?"
Her bared teeth shone at him. "You think I do this for you? I do it for her."
She gestured up the corridor, returned to the lock and key.
Ethan looked in the indicated direction, made out the shape of a second [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]