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.She set the box down and the pack next to it and prostrated herself before the Artifice Qadir.“I bring you greetings, O Master of the Desert and now Master of the Sea,” she said, rising without waiting for him to command it.“I thought I had banished you,” said Mishra grimly.“I said I would have you slain if you were found within my territories again.”“So you did, Most Sage and Just One,” said Ashnod, hewing to the formal modes of address until she could discern Mishra’s temperament.“And if you truly held this land, I would never choose to risk your wrath by appearing before your court.But it seems there is some doubt about that control at the moment, and I offer my aid to make this land yours.”She looked at Mishra’s face, seeking some smile, some recognition that he was glad to see her back.All she saw was a grim fire burning behind his eyes.“What offer of aid is this?” he said.“I have wandered far during my … extended leave,” said Ashnod, opening the top of the chest.“I’ve learned many things and found many items that may be of use to you.”She pulled a copperish bowl from the chest.“I believe I can use this simple sylex to determine our future,” she told him with a smile, holding it aloft.Mishra did not shift position as he regarded Ashnod and her gift.“You bring me metal dishes?” he said.“Have you become a coppersmith in your absence?”Ashnod lowered the bowl, disappointed.“More than just a serving dish, Most Powerful One.There are forces in the world beyond those of our mere machines.I have endeavored to master those forces.”“Magic,” interrupted Mishra.“Pardon?” asked Ashnod, startled.“Magic,” repeated the qadir, “like the fools of the Union of Terisia City believed in.”“For want of a better word-” began Ashnod, but Mishra cut her off.“Magic,” he said a third time, “does not exist.It is all tricks, done with smoke, mirrors, and other devices.I have done such tricks.So have you, to fool the credulous.Magic is not real.Do not bother me with such trivialities.”“Most Comprehending One,” said Ashnod, “I do not think that the power of the scholars of the ivory towers is trivial-“Mishra laughed.It was a sharp, barking laugh that Ashnod did not like at all.“I never thought I would live to see the day the great and powerful Ashnod, Ashnod the Uncaring, would become a simple trading-camp charlatan, seeking to con her way back into my good graces.”Ashnod felt her face redden at the rebuke.This was not going the way she had expected at all.She said, “I can offer some small demonstration-“Again Mishra interrupted.“Save your demonstrations for the gullible, Ashnod.I know your patter well.And I have missed it.But I have changed in your absence, even if you have not.” He looked at her, long and hard, and Ashnod, for the first time in many, many years, wondered what he was thinking.Finally Mishra said, “You are welcome to remain with my forces, Ashnod, or go as you see fit.I lift your banishment.But know that your actions will be watched.” There was a slight bob of his head toward one of the priests.“If there is any sign of betrayal, I will personally turn you into a transmogrant.Am I clear?”“As glass,” said Ashnod, frowning.“But may we at least speak in less formal surroundings?”“You will come when I call,” said Mishra, “or you will not come at all.You are brilliant in your own way, Ashnod, and I am sure that, returned to true work, to building artifacts, your talent will blossom again.You may go.”Ashnod hesitated a moment, and Mishra said again, “You may go.” There was granite in his voice.Ashnod bowed again, and retreated from the room.Hajar followed her.“Well, that went badly enough,” she said, then turned to Hajar.“Things have gone downhill around here while I was gone.”“It has been so noted,” said Hajar simply.Ashnod wanted to ask more, to find out how influential the Gixians were, who really ran things behind Mishra’s throne, when the door behind them opened.The priest with the steel-plated eyes emerged and bowed, slight and perfunctory, before Ashnod.“We are interested in your bowl,” said the priest.“That trivial piece of magic?” said Ashnod, raising an eyebrow, “Magic your lord does not believe in?”The priest bowed again, and Ashnod swore she heard something click and whine as he did so.“The brotherhood is always open to new avenues, and, if they prove true, can present them properly to His Most August and Serene Personage.The bowl, please.”“I think not,” said Ashnod.The priest stared at her, if an eyeless thing could be said to stare at anyone [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]