[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
the accounts, either. She s the best chief assistant to the High Alector of
Finance that I ve known.
How long have you been in your position?
Twenty-five years and a quint.
You have seen a few.
Five. The last one.... Kaparyk shook his head. He got dizzy and fell off a
pteridon on the way to somewhere Arwyn, as I recall. Poor fellow, it was
prob-ably better.that way. He d made a terrible mess of the au-dit of the
engineering accounts. Took your wife a quint to set it right.
The unfortunate assistant hadn t made a mess, Dainyl recalled. He d tried to
conceal the theft of certain engineering equipment that had been under his
wife s su-pervision. When she had disappeared, her successor dis-covered the
discrepancies. Then Davalt had had his accident.
But enough of that, Kaparyk went on. What can I do for you?
I don t know. Not in a definite way, that is. Dainyl quickly explained his
tour and concluded, So I m intro-ducing myself and asking if there s anything
I should
know that would benefit the Myrmidons and the High Alector of Justice in
carrying out our duties.
Kaparyk s eyes twinkled. I imagine you know that al-ready, from Lystrana.
Dainyl shrugged. Certainly about finance, but she wouldn t see what you do
here in Alustre on matters im-pacting finance indirectly that might also
affect the Myr-midons.
I can t imagine any of that being very useful. There are more Cadmians in
Norda, Dulka, and Lysia, and none left at Scien, and that s probably a good
thing. The win-ters at Scien meant that the maintenance and supply costs there
were a third again that of any other Cadmian com-pound of equivalent size.
There are still more at Lysia, offered Dainyl.
Seems strange to me, said Kaparyk. Do you know why there are more forces
there?
It was ordered long before I became submarshal. Ear-lier, Dainyl had checked
the records to see if he could dis-cover why there were two full battalions of
Cadmians in Lysia, as well as a Myrmidon company, when Lysia was a relatively
isolated seaport, serving an area with little his-tory of unrest and no
particularly remarkable resources. He had found nothing, except spare
directives ordering various unit transfers. In that light, the continued
buildup in Lysia worried at him, but Kaparyk had effectively ad-mitted he
didn t know why. Was it because it was isolated enough that Brekylt could
build a power base there?
Dainyl asked a handful of other questions, all an-swered easily by the eastern
regional alector of finance.
Oh, interjected Kaparyk, I almost forgot. You might mention to Lystrana
that chief engineer Rensyl in Fordall has adopted the same accounting systems
as Azerdyl once used, in dealing with the transport and road mainte-nance
accounts of the eastern region.
Noting the slightest emphasis on the words accounting systems, Dainyl
replied, I ll be sure to pass that along.
is mis someinmg iiKeiy to oe or interest to the marshal?
It s rather complex, and I m certain that your talented wife will be able to
explain it far better than I ever could.
Dainyl feared that Lystrana could indeed, and that Ka-paryk had doubtless
survived by such indirection. Then I will let her. He smiled.
Kaparyk had little else to offer, and after leaving the fi-nance alector s
ample study, Dainyl walked to the nearest archway and then created his
Talent-based sightshield, the ability he was not supposed to have, before
making his way to the staircase that led down to the Table cham-ber. While he
kept the sightshield around him, he also walked along the side of the
Page 30
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
corridor.
The staircase and the lower hallway leading to the Table were so deserted he
scarcely needed the sightshield not until he reached the pair of guards
sta-tioned outside. Neither of the two young alectors looked in his direction.
Nor did either say anything for a time.
Quiet morning.
Always quiet here.
Dainyl waited, listening, but neither spoke. Finally, he dropped the
sightshield and cleared his throat.
Both alectors stiffened.
Sir! We didn t see you.
That was obvious, Dainyl replied dryly.
Ah ... sir?
Dainyl stepped forward and released the Talent-lock on the outer doorway, then
opened the door and stepped into the foyer, closing the door behind him.
He remained in the foyer, extending his Talent-senses back into the corridor
in order to listen.
That s the other submarshal?
He s the one.
Swear he wasn t here, and then he was.
They re like that. You don t want to cross them.
What do you do if one s after the other?
There was a low laugh. Do as little as you can, and stay out of the way.
Josaryk s wagering on this one.
Majer Noryan is backing the other one.
That s because
Enough. Shouldn t be talking about it. Not really.
The guards were silent, and Dainyl released the second Talent-lock and stepped
into the Table chamber. For a time, he stood there, just letting his senses
range over the Table, trying to get a feeling of how the Table felt. Lystrana
had told him that the Tables could also be used for communications, and Asulet
had suggested that uhey had other purposes as well.
Dainyl could sense a node of something within the Table, and he probed
slightly with his Talent. Abruptly, a purple glow appeared above the black
surface of the Table.
Dainyl leaned forward. Was someone about to arrive? From Elcien?
A vague and indistinct image appeared, seemingly within the Table, of gray
walls. He squinted and found himself viewing the outer walls of the Myrmidon
head-quarters in Elcien. But, while he could see a carriage pass by the front
gates, he did not see any Myrmidons, not a one, nor any pteridons.
The glow above the Table intensified, and a rush of chill air cascaded over
Dainyl as an ugly pink-purple mist expanded above the middle of the Table. He
stepped back, his hand dropping to the lightcutter at his side. Ab-sently, he
noted that the image of headquarters had van-ished.
With another wave of chill air, a ... creature that was the only word for
it appeared on the Table, a composite of alector and pteridon, alector from
the mid-chest down, and pteridon above that, with crooked and truncated wings
that barely fit within the chamber. Without warn-ing, it lurched toward
Dainyl, blue crystal beak jabbing downward.
Dainyl yanked out the lightcutter and fired, throwing up Talent-shields in
front of himself. The lightcutter beam shimmered and reflected off the
pteridon-like head
of the creature. It slashed forward with its beak, striking his
Talent-shields. The impact hurled Dainyl back into the stone wall.
The creature whirled, looking for others. In diat mo-ment, Dainyl used the
lightcutter beam to aim for the middle of the chest the human part of the
monster.
A sharp hiss followed, and the monster collapsed in a heap.
Holding die lightcutter ready, Dainyl looked at the corpse, a twisted figure
with the head and winged shoul-ders and beak of a miniature pteridon. Beneath
Page 31
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
the head was an alector s body in die green trousers and purple tu-nic usually
worn by senior fieldmasters. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl szkicerysunki.xlx.pl
the accounts, either. She s the best chief assistant to the High Alector of
Finance that I ve known.
How long have you been in your position?
Twenty-five years and a quint.
You have seen a few.
Five. The last one.... Kaparyk shook his head. He got dizzy and fell off a
pteridon on the way to somewhere Arwyn, as I recall. Poor fellow, it was
prob-ably better.that way. He d made a terrible mess of the au-dit of the
engineering accounts. Took your wife a quint to set it right.
The unfortunate assistant hadn t made a mess, Dainyl recalled. He d tried to
conceal the theft of certain engineering equipment that had been under his
wife s su-pervision. When she had disappeared, her successor dis-covered the
discrepancies. Then Davalt had had his accident.
But enough of that, Kaparyk went on. What can I do for you?
I don t know. Not in a definite way, that is. Dainyl quickly explained his
tour and concluded, So I m intro-ducing myself and asking if there s anything
I should
know that would benefit the Myrmidons and the High Alector of Justice in
carrying out our duties.
Kaparyk s eyes twinkled. I imagine you know that al-ready, from Lystrana.
Dainyl shrugged. Certainly about finance, but she wouldn t see what you do
here in Alustre on matters im-pacting finance indirectly that might also
affect the Myr-midons.
I can t imagine any of that being very useful. There are more Cadmians in
Norda, Dulka, and Lysia, and none left at Scien, and that s probably a good
thing. The win-ters at Scien meant that the maintenance and supply costs there
were a third again that of any other Cadmian com-pound of equivalent size.
There are still more at Lysia, offered Dainyl.
Seems strange to me, said Kaparyk. Do you know why there are more forces
there?
It was ordered long before I became submarshal. Ear-lier, Dainyl had checked
the records to see if he could dis-cover why there were two full battalions of
Cadmians in Lysia, as well as a Myrmidon company, when Lysia was a relatively
isolated seaport, serving an area with little his-tory of unrest and no
particularly remarkable resources. He had found nothing, except spare
directives ordering various unit transfers. In that light, the continued
buildup in Lysia worried at him, but Kaparyk had effectively ad-mitted he
didn t know why. Was it because it was isolated enough that Brekylt could
build a power base there?
Dainyl asked a handful of other questions, all an-swered easily by the eastern
regional alector of finance.
Oh, interjected Kaparyk, I almost forgot. You might mention to Lystrana
that chief engineer Rensyl in Fordall has adopted the same accounting systems
as Azerdyl once used, in dealing with the transport and road mainte-nance
accounts of the eastern region.
Noting the slightest emphasis on the words accounting systems, Dainyl
replied, I ll be sure to pass that along.
is mis someinmg iiKeiy to oe or interest to the marshal?
It s rather complex, and I m certain that your talented wife will be able to
explain it far better than I ever could.
Dainyl feared that Lystrana could indeed, and that Ka-paryk had doubtless
survived by such indirection. Then I will let her. He smiled.
Kaparyk had little else to offer, and after leaving the fi-nance alector s
ample study, Dainyl walked to the nearest archway and then created his
Talent-based sightshield, the ability he was not supposed to have, before
making his way to the staircase that led down to the Table cham-ber. While he
kept the sightshield around him, he also walked along the side of the
Page 30
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
corridor.
The staircase and the lower hallway leading to the Table were so deserted he
scarcely needed the sightshield not until he reached the pair of guards
sta-tioned outside. Neither of the two young alectors looked in his direction.
Nor did either say anything for a time.
Quiet morning.
Always quiet here.
Dainyl waited, listening, but neither spoke. Finally, he dropped the
sightshield and cleared his throat.
Both alectors stiffened.
Sir! We didn t see you.
That was obvious, Dainyl replied dryly.
Ah ... sir?
Dainyl stepped forward and released the Talent-lock on the outer doorway, then
opened the door and stepped into the foyer, closing the door behind him.
He remained in the foyer, extending his Talent-senses back into the corridor
in order to listen.
That s the other submarshal?
He s the one.
Swear he wasn t here, and then he was.
They re like that. You don t want to cross them.
What do you do if one s after the other?
There was a low laugh. Do as little as you can, and stay out of the way.
Josaryk s wagering on this one.
Majer Noryan is backing the other one.
That s because
Enough. Shouldn t be talking about it. Not really.
The guards were silent, and Dainyl released the second Talent-lock and stepped
into the Table chamber. For a time, he stood there, just letting his senses
range over the Table, trying to get a feeling of how the Table felt. Lystrana
had told him that the Tables could also be used for communications, and Asulet
had suggested that uhey had other purposes as well.
Dainyl could sense a node of something within the Table, and he probed
slightly with his Talent. Abruptly, a purple glow appeared above the black
surface of the Table.
Dainyl leaned forward. Was someone about to arrive? From Elcien?
A vague and indistinct image appeared, seemingly within the Table, of gray
walls. He squinted and found himself viewing the outer walls of the Myrmidon
head-quarters in Elcien. But, while he could see a carriage pass by the front
gates, he did not see any Myrmidons, not a one, nor any pteridons.
The glow above the Table intensified, and a rush of chill air cascaded over
Dainyl as an ugly pink-purple mist expanded above the middle of the Table. He
stepped back, his hand dropping to the lightcutter at his side. Ab-sently, he
noted that the image of headquarters had van-ished.
With another wave of chill air, a ... creature that was the only word for
it appeared on the Table, a composite of alector and pteridon, alector from
the mid-chest down, and pteridon above that, with crooked and truncated wings
that barely fit within the chamber. Without warn-ing, it lurched toward
Dainyl, blue crystal beak jabbing downward.
Dainyl yanked out the lightcutter and fired, throwing up Talent-shields in
front of himself. The lightcutter beam shimmered and reflected off the
pteridon-like head
of the creature. It slashed forward with its beak, striking his
Talent-shields. The impact hurled Dainyl back into the stone wall.
The creature whirled, looking for others. In diat mo-ment, Dainyl used the
lightcutter beam to aim for the middle of the chest the human part of the
monster.
A sharp hiss followed, and the monster collapsed in a heap.
Holding die lightcutter ready, Dainyl looked at the corpse, a twisted figure
with the head and winged shoul-ders and beak of a miniature pteridon. Beneath
Page 31
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
the head was an alector s body in die green trousers and purple tu-nic usually
worn by senior fieldmasters. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]