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.Alodar knelt before Vendora and kissed her offeredhand and she immediately bade him rise.The fantasies raced on as Alodar continued his pacing, unmindful of the time.Finally, as the moon rose against the gatehouse of the east, he broke out ofhis reverie as he saw Morwin's lazy shuffle coming his way."Ah, there you are, Alodar.Thinking of another scheme to get the attention ofthe lords on the morrow?"Alodar wrinkled his brow and his eyes shot flame at the apprentice."Listen,Morwin, I strive to break this ring of siege as much as anyone, but by thelaws, I will no longer abide some popinjay taking more credit than is his due.I tell you this, the battle is not yet over and we shall see who is mostdeserving of the chant of the crowd and who the ridicule." He paused,recalling his newly found resolve."And yes, the hand of the fair lady."Without waiting for a reply, he stomped off to seek sleep in what remained ofthe night.CHAPTER THREE The Castle s SecretTHE next morning Alodar again was roused out of deep slumber, but this timethe figure bending above him was shrouded in black cape and hood."Master Periac?" Alodar squinted through sleep-filled eyes."I had almostgiven you up for lost in the underground chambers.We have not seen you fordays.""Yes, it is I," Periac said, pushing back his hood and patting into place hisruffled black hair.His temples were bare; but, by judicious positioning, hewas able to cover the bald spot on the top of his head.His watery, pale blueeyes straddled a nose too small for the blocky face, and his mouth was hiddentop and bottom by white flecked hair."I have been busy with contemplation, Alodar, busy with contemplation.A wellturned thought may save the fevered activities of many.In any event, I trustyou have conducted yourself to credit our craft in my absence.A goodreputation goes a long way towards unlocking the next door, as Ihave often instructed you.But there is no time for lecture now.We must go atonce for audience with the queen."Alodar immediately sat up, eyes wide awake.A chance for information, hethought.Information for the plan that I must soon put into shape."But Morwin and I are assigned to aid Feston's men on the west wall, master,"he said with distaste, "and should prepare for the bombardment soon to begin.""There is no time for that; it will wait.The queen summons and we will go.Itis an opportunity, and we must use it as best we can for advantage.A queen'sPage 18ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlgratitude goes even further than reputation."Alodar smiled and Periac's brows knit into a frown."Do not presume you know already the full value of what I instruct, Alodar,"he said."You are quick to learn, yes, and have experienced more of the craftthan those who have spent twice thefile:///F|/rah/Lyndon%20Hardy/Hardy,%20Lyndon%20-%20Master%20of%20Five%20Magics,%20The.txt (17 of 207) [6/4/03 9:25:35 PM]file:///F|/rah/Lyndon%20Hardy/Hardy,%20Lyndon%20-%20Master%20of%20Five%20Magics,%20The.txt time as journeymen.The best that I have had, I truly admit.Butthe practice of thau-maturgy and living with profit from it can come only frompatiently following what a master has to pass on to you.""But have I not correctly performed whatever you have asked of me?" Alodarasked, rising to his feet."And then eagerly pressed for more?""It is exactly that impatience of which I speak, Alodar," Periac said,stroking his goatee."One evening's discussion on the weaker similarities ofform, the next day a single trial with stream-rounded pebbles and a few acorns, and then you are done with it.Why, when Istudied, I spent more than a year on that one subject alone.You seem lessinterested in learning thaumaturgy than in just getting through it.But as Ihave often said, there is no great mystery revealed at the end.You become a master by solid progress, not by superficial dabbling or suddenrevelation.""I do not fault your methods, master," Alodar said."The haste comes frombeyond the boundaries of the craft.Look, when you were a journeyman, how surewere you to dedicate your life to the art?""Why, there was no question," Periac said."My father and uncles were mastersbefore me.From their hands I learned my trade.No other calling did Iconsider.""And had I come to manhood a nobleman and a nobleman's son, then I think Iwould have felt the same," Alodar said."Content with my lot, not questioningwhat else could be.But instead, I have raced through thaumaturgy as I havethe rest, seeking the mystery that you say is not there, the feeling that thisindeed is what I really am."Periac stared at Alodar for a moment in silence."You have the makings of amaster in you, Alodar," be said."But that feeling will come only when you aretruly worthy of it."He paused again, and then suddenly drew his cape around him."But enough ofthis for now.The business of the moment is the audience with the queen."Periac started for the keep in the center of the courtyard.As the barragebegan, Alodar ran to catch up with his mentor.Once inside the keep, they spiraled several times around the staircase alongthe inner wall before they arrived at the level of the queen.One of the twoguards with crossed halberds at the doorway checked a list with his free handand motioned them to enter.Beyond the doorway, Alodar found himsetf in a large, quiet anteroom, withsmooth stone walls hung with tapestries that damped the battle's din.Lowbenches and stools, covered with rich velvet and scattered about Uke a child'scast of jackstones, cluttered the entire floor.Two more men guarded a smallarchway draped with a thick curtain, and from time to time a page emerged andcalled out a name to the group sitting or pacing about.In response, one ofthe waiting men would spring up and fol-low the page when he just as quickly disappeared.No one ever returned;presumably they all left after their conference by some other door.From timeto time, additional messengers burst into the room and proceeded uncheckedthrough the curtain, waving hastily scrawled notes on the progress of thefighting down below.Time passed, and Alodar saw Periac settle into a comfortable introspection,staring off into space.He tried to imitate the master as best he could, butPage 19ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlthe anticipation made the time crawl.The shadow from the window to the east diminished to nothing, and the one fromthe west had grown nearly full length when finally the page motioned them tocome forth [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]