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Harad in exchange for cola nuts whose import was the Republic s monopoly. Cola was very
expensive stuff, so the return shipments were typically small (no more than ten grain sacks)
and it was a task of two or three minutes to heave them overboard in case of trouble, so the
emptiness of the Flying Fish s hold did not surprise the Vice-Director. The strange thing
was that the guardsmen s specially trained dog had not detected any cola smell on board,
which prompted him to give his full attention to the idea that the felucca s only cargo had
been an unknown passenger. At any other time this would have been a trifle  but not now,
when the Department was carefully cutting off all of the 12 Shore Street s possible
communication channels and looking for Gondorian illegals from Mongoose s team.
Jacuzzi decided that any leniency was inappropriate at that crucial juncture and ordered a
vigorous interrogation of the captured smugglers. A couple of hours later one of Sarrakesh s
 nephews broke down and described their escaped passenger; Jacuzzi had no trouble
recognizing Baron Tangorn from the description.
Upon such recognition he cursed, shortly but colorfully, like a sailor, as he realized that he
could not get to Tangorn any time soon. Sarrakesh was from the Peninsula; undoubtedly he
sent Tangorn to his relatives in one of the mountain villages. Even if Jacuzzi found out
exactly which one (which would be very tough), it would not do him any good  the
mountain men never surrender a fugitive to the police. To them, the law of hospitality is
sacred and inviolate, and there can be no negotiation on that point; to arrest Tangorn by
force he would need a minor army operation, rather than a couple of gendarmes, which no
one would authorize. Send nin yokve assassins to the mountains? That would work as an
extreme measure, but& All right, let s risk a little wait until the baron tries to get back to
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The Last Ring-bearer
the Islands  he did try to get straight into the Kharmian Bay last night despite an obvious
danger. For a while he has no contact with Vittano s smugglers, so the sea route is closed to
him, whereas to seal off the Long Dam is easy as pie.
 Find me everything we have on Uncle Sarrakesh s relatives and friends, the Vice-Director
ordered his assistant.  I doubt he has a separate dossier, so you ll have to comb all the
materials on Lame Vittano s zamorro. Now: who s in charge of agents among the
Peninsula s mountain men  Ras-shua, was it?
Chapter 48
Umbar Peninsula, near Iguatalpa Village
June 24, 3019
The chestnut tree in whose shade they camped was at least two hundred years old. All by
themselves, its roots were holding together a huge chunk of the slope above the path leading
from Iguatalpa to the pass, and doing it well: the spring rains, unusually heavy this year,
have not left any landslides or fresh holes in it. From time to time a breeze rustled the
luxurious crown of leaves, and then sunspots would drop silently through it down on the
yellowish-cream fallen foliage that had accumulated at the foot of the trunk between the
mighty roots. Tangorn stretched pleasurably on this wonderful bed (after all, the local paths
were not kind on his wounded leg), leaned back on his left elbow and immediately felt some
discomfort under it. A bump? A stone? For a couple of seconds the baron lazily considered
his dilemma: should he disturb this thick elastic carpet in search of the problem or just move
himself a bit to the right? He looked around, sighed, and moved  he did not feel like
disturbing anything here, even such a trifle.
The view he saw was amazingly serene. From here, even the Uruapan waterfall (three
hundred feet of materialized fury of the river gods trapped by their mountain brethren)
looked simply like a cord of silver running down the dark green cloth of the wooded slope.
A little to the right, forming the centerpiece of the composition, the towers of the Uatapao
monastery rose above the misty abyss  an antique candelabrum of dark copper all covered
in the noble patina of ivy. Interesting architecture, Tangorn thought, everything I ve seen in
Khand looked totally different. Nor is that surprising: the local version of Hakimian faith
differs substantially from Khandian orthodoxy. Honestly, though, the mountain men have
remained pagans; their conversion to Hakima two centuries ago  this most strict and
fanatical of world religions  was nothing but another way to distinguish themselves from
the mushily tolerant Islanders, all those nothings who have turned their lives into a constant
buy-sell litany and who will always prefer profit to honor and blood money to vendetta&
Here the baron s leisurely musings were rudely interrupted: his companion, who had already
emptied his knapsack and spread the still-warm morning hachipuri and wineskin right on it,
like on a tablecloth, suddenly put down his dagger (which he had been using to slice the
basturma, hard-dried to the consistency of red stained glass), raised his head, staring at the
turn in the path, and pulled his crossbow closer in one habitual movement.
This time the alarm was false, and two minutes later the newcomer was sitting cross-legged
by their spread backpack and saying a toast, long and convoluted like a mountain path. He
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The Last Ring-bearer
was introduced to Tangorn tersely as a  relative from Irapuato, across the valley (the baron
just shrugged: everyone in these mountains is related somehow). Then the mountain men [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]