JК
The Floodgate :: Каннингем Элейн
Страница: 146 из 212After a few moments, the cloudy surface of the stone cleared to reveal the face of the jordaini headmaster.
The headmaster's jaw fell slack as he discerned the identity of his caller. Matteo wondered if that surprise was due to this infraction of jordaini rules or because Ferris Grail had assumed that he'd fallen to the icehouse thugs.
Matteo put this question squarely on the table. "You didn't expect to see me, Lord Ferris, and not just because of the order's restraints."
The wizard's dark brows pulled down into a stern V. "If you've a question, speak it. I haven't leisure for games and puzzles."
"No doubt you are a very busy man, with the demands of landlord added to your duties at the college," Matteo retorted. "Imagine my surprise when I learned that your name is inscribed on the deed to an icehouse in the king's city."
"What of it?" Ferris demanded. "Though I am headmaster of the college, I am a wizard, not a jordain. No laws forbid me to own property."
"That is sophistry."
"That is practicality," the headmaster countered. "Most of Halruaa's wizard-lords amass fortunes. A headmaster's wages are sufficient for my current needs, but what of the future? I make such purchases as I feel will increase in value, so that I may live comfortably once I leave the college. Not that I need explain my business to you."
"Actually, there is one small thing that does require explanation," the jordain shot back. "When thugs attacked me and a companion, why did they take us to your icehouse to dispatch us?"
The surprise on the wizard's face seemed too genuine for pretense. Perhaps, Matteo admitted, Ferris Grail didn't know about the attack. "Would you like to hear of it?" he asked in a milder voice.
"I think I'd better," the headmaster said grimly.
Matteo told the story in a few words. "You will no doubt receive a notice of my complaint from the city officials."
"If several men died in the icehouse, I will expect more than that! You know that if there is a legal inquiry into your actions, you will have to appear before the Disputation Table. For the third time this year, I might add."
"There will be no inquiry, as there were no bodies." Matteo described how their attackers, slain or injured, had simply faded away.
The headmaster's face turned nearly as pale as the moonstone globe. "The girl you were with-was she the same who fought with you in Akhlaur's Swamp?"
"Yes," Matteo said curtly, anticipating the now-familiar lecture.
Ferris sent him a long, speculative look. "You spend a considerable amount of time with this wench.
The headmaster's jaw fell slack as he discerned the identity of his caller. Matteo wondered if that surprise was due to this infraction of jordaini rules or because Ferris Grail had assumed that he'd fallen to the icehouse thugs.
Matteo put this question squarely on the table. "You didn't expect to see me, Lord Ferris, and not just because of the order's restraints."
The wizard's dark brows pulled down into a stern V. "If you've a question, speak it. I haven't leisure for games and puzzles."
"No doubt you are a very busy man, with the demands of landlord added to your duties at the college," Matteo retorted. "Imagine my surprise when I learned that your name is inscribed on the deed to an icehouse in the king's city."
"What of it?" Ferris demanded. "Though I am headmaster of the college, I am a wizard, not a jordain. No laws forbid me to own property."
"That is sophistry."
"That is practicality," the headmaster countered. "Most of Halruaa's wizard-lords amass fortunes. A headmaster's wages are sufficient for my current needs, but what of the future? I make such purchases as I feel will increase in value, so that I may live comfortably once I leave the college. Not that I need explain my business to you."
"Actually, there is one small thing that does require explanation," the jordain shot back. "When thugs attacked me and a companion, why did they take us to your icehouse to dispatch us?"
The surprise on the wizard's face seemed too genuine for pretense. Perhaps, Matteo admitted, Ferris Grail didn't know about the attack. "Would you like to hear of it?" he asked in a milder voice.
"I think I'd better," the headmaster said grimly.
Matteo told the story in a few words. "You will no doubt receive a notice of my complaint from the city officials."
"If several men died in the icehouse, I will expect more than that! You know that if there is a legal inquiry into your actions, you will have to appear before the Disputation Table. For the third time this year, I might add."
"There will be no inquiry, as there were no bodies." Matteo described how their attackers, slain or injured, had simply faded away.
The headmaster's face turned nearly as pale as the moonstone globe. "The girl you were with-was she the same who fought with you in Akhlaur's Swamp?"
"Yes," Matteo said curtly, anticipating the now-familiar lecture.
Ferris sent him a long, speculative look. "You spend a considerable amount of time with this wench.