JК
Faith of the Fallen :: Goodkind Terry
Страница: 569 из 617"
That meant the brothers would all be busy-too busy to come out to the site for the trivial task of checking a statue one of their slaves had carved. In the scheme of things, Richard's statue was insignificant. It was only the starting point of the stately tour of the miles of walls displaying extensive scenes depicting the grand cause of the Order, as dictated by the brothers, under Narev's leadership.
If the officials and the brothers were too busy to come today, the people of the city were not. Most would probably attend the events of the next day, but they wanted to get a sense of the place for themselves, first, without the boring speeches that would drag out the ceremony. Richard watched many of those people go from one scene on the walls to another, their faces stricken with the desolate emotion of what they were seeing.
Guards kept people at a respectful distance, and out of the labyrinth of rooms and hallways inside, now enclosed by upper floors, and in some places, roofs. Now that the statue was set in place, those guards moved in to clear the plaza entrance.
Richard had only gotten a few hours of sleep in the last week. Now that the statue was in place, exhaustion overwhelmed him. With all the work on top of so little sleep, and little to eat, he was almost ready to drop where he stood.
Victor appeared out of the long shadows. Some workers were leaving, but others would still be at it for several more hours. Richard hadn't even realized that it had taken the better part of the day to move the statue.
With the heat of the work over, his sweat-soaked shirt felt like ice against his flesh.
"Here," Victor said, handing Richard a slice of lardo. "Eat. In celebration that you are done."
Richard thanked his friend before devouring the lardo. His head was pounding. He had done all he could do to show people what they needed to see. With the work done, though, Richard felt suddenly lost. He realized only then how much he hated having finished, to be without the noble work.
It had been his reason to go on.
"Ishaq, I'm dead on my feet. Do you think you could give me a ride in your wagon partway to my house?"
Ishaq clapped Richard on the back. "Come, you can ride in the back. I'm sure Jori would not mind. At least he can save you part of your walk. I must stay here and see to the teams and wagons."
Richard thanked the smiling Victor. "In the morning, my friends, in the full light, we will remove the cover and see beauty one last time. After that. . well, who knows."
"Tomorrow, then," Victor said with his sly laugh. "I don't think I will sleep tonight," he called after Richard.
The months of effort seemed to all come down upon him at once.
That meant the brothers would all be busy-too busy to come out to the site for the trivial task of checking a statue one of their slaves had carved. In the scheme of things, Richard's statue was insignificant. It was only the starting point of the stately tour of the miles of walls displaying extensive scenes depicting the grand cause of the Order, as dictated by the brothers, under Narev's leadership.
If the officials and the brothers were too busy to come today, the people of the city were not. Most would probably attend the events of the next day, but they wanted to get a sense of the place for themselves, first, without the boring speeches that would drag out the ceremony. Richard watched many of those people go from one scene on the walls to another, their faces stricken with the desolate emotion of what they were seeing.
Guards kept people at a respectful distance, and out of the labyrinth of rooms and hallways inside, now enclosed by upper floors, and in some places, roofs. Now that the statue was set in place, those guards moved in to clear the plaza entrance.
Richard had only gotten a few hours of sleep in the last week. Now that the statue was in place, exhaustion overwhelmed him. With all the work on top of so little sleep, and little to eat, he was almost ready to drop where he stood.
Victor appeared out of the long shadows. Some workers were leaving, but others would still be at it for several more hours. Richard hadn't even realized that it had taken the better part of the day to move the statue.
With the heat of the work over, his sweat-soaked shirt felt like ice against his flesh.
"Here," Victor said, handing Richard a slice of lardo. "Eat. In celebration that you are done."
Richard thanked his friend before devouring the lardo. His head was pounding. He had done all he could do to show people what they needed to see. With the work done, though, Richard felt suddenly lost. He realized only then how much he hated having finished, to be without the noble work.
It had been his reason to go on.
"Ishaq, I'm dead on my feet. Do you think you could give me a ride in your wagon partway to my house?"
Ishaq clapped Richard on the back. "Come, you can ride in the back. I'm sure Jori would not mind. At least he can save you part of your walk. I must stay here and see to the teams and wagons."
Richard thanked the smiling Victor. "In the morning, my friends, in the full light, we will remove the cover and see beauty one last time. After that. . well, who knows."
"Tomorrow, then," Victor said with his sly laugh. "I don't think I will sleep tonight," he called after Richard.
The months of effort seemed to all come down upon him at once.