[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
thanked them, Harmakros was on his feet.
"Then, to show that we are all in loyal support of our Prince, let us all vote
that whatever decision he may make in the matter of our dealings with Sask,
with Beshta, or with Nostor, either in making war or in making peace
afterward, shall stand approved in advance by the Full Council of Hostigos."
"What? " Ptosphes asked in a whisper. "Is this some idea of yours, Kalvan?"
"Yes. We don't know what we're going to have to do, but whatever it is, we may
have to do it in a hurry, and afterward we won't want anybody like Sthentros
or Euklestes whining that they weren't consulted."
"That's probably wise. We'd do it anyhow, but this way there'll be no
argument.
Harmakros's motion was also carried unanimously. The organization steamroller
ran up the table without a bump.
VERKAN, the free-trader from Grefftscharr, waited till the others-Prince
Ptosphes, old Xentos, and the man of whom he must never under any
Page 69
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
circumstances think as Calvin Morrison-were seated, and then dropped into a
chair at the table in Ptosphes's study.
"Have a good trip?" Lord Kalvan was asking him. He nodded, and ran quickly
over the fictitious details of the journey to Zygros City, his stay there, and
his return to Hostigos, checking them with the actual facts. Then he
visualized the panel, and his hand reaching out and pressing the black button.
Other Paratimers used different imagery, but the result was the same. The
pseudo-memories fed to him under hypnosis took over, the real memories of
visits on this time-line to Zygros City were suppressed, and a complete
blockage imposed on anything he knew about Fourth Level Europo-American,
Hispano-Columbian Subsector.
"Not bad:'he said. "I had a little trouble at Glarth Town, in Hos-Agrys. I'd
sold those two kegs of Tarr-Dombra fireseed to a merchant, and right away they
were after me, the Prince of Glarth's soldiers and Styphon's House agents. It
seems Styphon's House had put out a story about one of their wagon-trains
being robbed by bandits, and everybody's on the lookout for unaccountable
fireseed. They'd arrested and tortured the merchant; he put them onto me. I
killed one and wounded another, and got away."
"When was that?" Xentos asked sharply. "Three days after I left here."
"Eight days after we took Tarr-Dombra and sent that letter to Sesklos,"
Ptosphes said. "That story'll be all over the Five Kingdoms by now."
"Oh, they've dropped that. They have a new story, now. They admit that some
Prince in Hos-Harphax is making his own fireseed, but it isn't good fireseed."
Kalvan laughed. "It only shoots half again as hard as theirs, with half as
much fouling."
"Ah, but there are devils in your fireseed. Of course, there are devils in all
fireseed-that's what makes it explode-but the priests of Styphon have secret
rites that cause the devils to die as soon as they've done their work. When
yours explodes, the devils escape alive. I'll bet East Hostigos is full of
devils, now."
He laughed, then stopped when he saw that none of the others were. Kalvan
cursed; Ptosphes mentioned a name.
"That story has appeared here," Xentos said. "I hope none of our people
believe it. It comes from Sask Town."
"This Sthentros, a kinsman by marriage of mine," Ptosphes said. "He's jealous
of Kalvan's greatness among us. I spoke to him, gave him a good fright. He
claimed he thought of it himself, but I know he's lying. Somebody from Sask's
been at him. Trouble is, if we tortured him, all the other nobles would be
around my ears like a swarm of hornets. We're having him watched '" they move
swiftly," Xentos said, "and they act as one. Their temples are everywhere, and
each temple has its post station, with relays of fast horses.
Styphon's Voice can speak today at Balph, in Hos-Ktemnos, and in a moonquarter
his words are heard in every temple in the Five Kingdoms. Their lies can
travel so fast and far that the truth can never overtake them."
"Yes, and see what'll happen," Kalvan said. "From now on, everythingplague,
famine, drought, floods, hailston-ns, forest-fires, hurricanes-will be the
work of devils out of our fireseed. Well, you got out of Glarth; what then?"
"After that, I thought it better to travel by night. It took me eight days to
reach Zygros City. My wife, Dalla, met me there, as we'd arranged when I
started south from Ulthor. In Zygros City, we recruited five brass-founderstwo
are cannon-founders, one's a bell-founder, one's an image-maker and knows the
wax-runoff method, and one's a general foundry foreman. And three girls, wood-
carvers and pattern makers, and -two mercenary sergeants I hired as guards.
"I gave the fireseed secret to the gunmakers' guild in Zygros City, in
exchange for making up twelve long rifled fowling-pieces and rifling some
pistols. They'll ship you rifled caliver barrels at the cost of smoo'thbore
barrels. They'd heard the devil story; none of them believe it. And I gave the
secret to merchants from my own country; they will spread it there' "
Page 70
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"And by this time next year, Grefftscharr fireseed will be traded down the
Great River to Xiphion," Kalvan said. "Good. Now, how soon can this gang of
yours start pouring cannon.
"Two moons; a special miracle for each day less."
He started to explain about the furnaces and moulding sand; Kalvan understood.
"Then we'll have to fight this war with what we have. We'll be fighting in a
moon-quarter, I think. We sent our Uncle Wolf off to Sask Town today with
demands on Prince Sarrask. As soon as he hears them, they'll have to chain
Sarrask up to keep him from biting people."
"Among other things, we're demanding that Archpriest Zothnes and the Sask Town
high priest be sent here in chains, to be tried for plotting Kalvan's death
and mine," Ptosphes said. "If Zothnes has the influence over Sarrask I think
he has, that alone will do it."
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]