[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
to scar theland and leave it that much less able to support the humans
andWizards of the Citadel was unthinkably stupid. No matter what else she was,
she hoped that even her own worst enemies wouldnever think of her as that
stupid.
A great deal of work was required to produce a few ingots ofiron. In
the pit below her, twenty or thirty quite burly men,broad shoulders and backs
pouring sweat, labored with picks and shovels to fill crude wheelbarrows. The
barrows were in their turn trundled up a dirt ramp to the rim of the pit by
lessburly men, some women, and even a few adolescent boys with the muscle to
make the grueling trip over and over.
At the opposite rim of the pit stood their primitive smelter, the
mysteries of which were of no interest to Shana. That wasZed's purview, and so
far as Shana was concerned, as long ashis fuel-cutters and charcoal-burners
cut their timber selec- tively and replanted where they cut, she didn't care.
Her con-cern was for the iron to trade with and the land it came out of, not
for how the iron was produced.
It was the number of people at work here that surprisedher and their
ages.She had sent Zed and his would-be miners off with the young dragon who'd
found this place, and therehadn't been a single one of them much over the age
oftwenty nor were any of them particularly muscular. But down there in the pit
were men that could have been labor-slaves foran Elvenlord
"What do you think of my crew?" called Zed, as he waved ather from
across the pit. The miners looked up, glanced fromhim to Shana, and grinned
broadly. Fire and Rain! They looked like labor-slaves and were scarred like
gladiators!
Not a familiar face among them....
Page 160
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"I think they're very impressive," she called back, as she and her
guide made their way around the edge of the pit. "But what I'd really like to
know," she continued, as she came closer anddidn't have to shout, "is where
they came from "
Zed laughed. "They're slaves ex-slaves actually. The sameex-slaves
that old Caellach drove away from the New Citadel by treating them as slaves
rather than our fellow-creatures."
"But..." She wrinkled her brow, puzzled. "They're workingjust as
hard harder than they would have if they'd stayed at the Citadel."
"But I'mnot treating them as slaves," Zed pointed out. "I don't
expect them to work here for the sheer gratitude of serv-ing a wizard and
getting nothing more generous than food andshelter. They each get a fair share
of the iron we smelt; they cantrade it back to me for whatever we Wizards have
that theywant, or for what I've gotten from the Traders or the Iron Peo-ple.
That way the actual iron stays in our control, butthey get afair wage for
their work." He raised an eyebrow. "We're great believers in wages here."
She shook her head in admiration. "Zed, that's brilliant! Arethey
settled here? Do they want to stay? Can they build a villageor something?" It
would be wonderful to have these strong folknearby there was so much they
needed simple laborers for,and Shana didn't in the least object to bartering
for work done.
"They want to know whether Caellach is likely to poke hisnose in
here first, before they actually build a settlement," Zed replied with a
grimace.
Shana glanced down, and saw that all work had stopped, while the
former slaves all listened for her reply.
She was not at all loath to give it, pitching her voice so that the
workers could hear it as well as Zed.
"Caellach Gwain is about as likely to appear here as I am to be
welcomed into the ranks of the Elvenlords," she said, with a touch of acidic
humor. "He's gotten so bad about having thetiniest bit of iron near him that
we've taken to wearing thefalse-gold pendants when we aren't working magic.
Lorryn calls them 'Caellach-chasers.'"
Zed's guffaw drowned anything from the workers, but Shana saw plenty
of grins as they bent back to their work.
"I think you can count on a settlement going up here, then," Zed
replied. "There's enough iron ore here to keep the smelter going for years and
years, and more than enough work foreveryone. Whoever isn't mining, smelting [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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to scar theland and leave it that much less able to support the humans
andWizards of the Citadel was unthinkably stupid. No matter what else she was,
she hoped that even her own worst enemies wouldnever think of her as that
stupid.
A great deal of work was required to produce a few ingots ofiron. In
the pit below her, twenty or thirty quite burly men,broad shoulders and backs
pouring sweat, labored with picks and shovels to fill crude wheelbarrows. The
barrows were in their turn trundled up a dirt ramp to the rim of the pit by
lessburly men, some women, and even a few adolescent boys with the muscle to
make the grueling trip over and over.
At the opposite rim of the pit stood their primitive smelter, the
mysteries of which were of no interest to Shana. That wasZed's purview, and so
far as Shana was concerned, as long ashis fuel-cutters and charcoal-burners
cut their timber selec- tively and replanted where they cut, she didn't care.
Her con-cern was for the iron to trade with and the land it came out of, not
for how the iron was produced.
It was the number of people at work here that surprisedher and their
ages.She had sent Zed and his would-be miners off with the young dragon who'd
found this place, and therehadn't been a single one of them much over the age
oftwenty nor were any of them particularly muscular. But down there in the pit
were men that could have been labor-slaves foran Elvenlord
"What do you think of my crew?" called Zed, as he waved ather from
across the pit. The miners looked up, glanced fromhim to Shana, and grinned
broadly. Fire and Rain! They looked like labor-slaves and were scarred like
gladiators!
Not a familiar face among them....
Page 160
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"I think they're very impressive," she called back, as she and her
guide made their way around the edge of the pit. "But what I'd really like to
know," she continued, as she came closer anddidn't have to shout, "is where
they came from "
Zed laughed. "They're slaves ex-slaves actually. The sameex-slaves
that old Caellach drove away from the New Citadel by treating them as slaves
rather than our fellow-creatures."
"But..." She wrinkled her brow, puzzled. "They're workingjust as
hard harder than they would have if they'd stayed at the Citadel."
"But I'mnot treating them as slaves," Zed pointed out. "I don't
expect them to work here for the sheer gratitude of serv-ing a wizard and
getting nothing more generous than food andshelter. They each get a fair share
of the iron we smelt; they cantrade it back to me for whatever we Wizards have
that theywant, or for what I've gotten from the Traders or the Iron Peo-ple.
That way the actual iron stays in our control, butthey get afair wage for
their work." He raised an eyebrow. "We're great believers in wages here."
She shook her head in admiration. "Zed, that's brilliant! Arethey
settled here? Do they want to stay? Can they build a villageor something?" It
would be wonderful to have these strong folknearby there was so much they
needed simple laborers for,and Shana didn't in the least object to bartering
for work done.
"They want to know whether Caellach is likely to poke hisnose in
here first, before they actually build a settlement," Zed replied with a
grimace.
Shana glanced down, and saw that all work had stopped, while the
former slaves all listened for her reply.
She was not at all loath to give it, pitching her voice so that the
workers could hear it as well as Zed.
"Caellach Gwain is about as likely to appear here as I am to be
welcomed into the ranks of the Elvenlords," she said, with a touch of acidic
humor. "He's gotten so bad about having thetiniest bit of iron near him that
we've taken to wearing thefalse-gold pendants when we aren't working magic.
Lorryn calls them 'Caellach-chasers.'"
Zed's guffaw drowned anything from the workers, but Shana saw plenty
of grins as they bent back to their work.
"I think you can count on a settlement going up here, then," Zed
replied. "There's enough iron ore here to keep the smelter going for years and
years, and more than enough work foreveryone. Whoever isn't mining, smelting [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]