Glen Cook The Tyranny of the Night

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Principal, toadying up, than did any three other captives. But he would not
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surrender his right to criticize.
Ghort said, "You need to work on Doneto more, Pipe. You're never gonna get
another chance like this. Remember, we could be out of here tomorrow. They
won't give us any warning."
This was a unique opportunity to position himself. Doneto had offered him
work in Brothe already.
Doneto's notion was to pretend to keep Else at a distance, then ease him
into a position where he could keep an eye on Bronte Doneto's enemies.
Ghort had snapped up the plum, commanding Doneto's lifeguard, already.
Else told him, "Don't let it go to your head, Pinkus. You're the third one
this year. A whole lot of people don't like this guy."
"Oh, I'll be careful. This is the kind of job I've been angling for all my
life. This is Easy Street. No way I'm not gonna do the best job anybody ever
did. And if we can get you set up in the right place, you can warn me whenever
some shit is about to happen."
"I've been thinking about mat."
"I don't like your tone, Pipe. It means I'm probably not gonna want to hear
what you're gonna say."
"That wouldn't surprise me. What I'm thinking is, if we do find ourselves in
the situation the Principat6 wants to set up, then the information has to go
both ways."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that if I'm going to be your guy on the inside, you're going to be
my guy on the inside. I'll need to look good sometimes, too. Unless you think
you have to be one way about the whole thing."
"Not me. God forbid. I'm just trying to set myself up with a comfortable
life."
"If we do it right, we can write both of us letters of marque."
Ghort chuckled. "You ain't as simple as you let on, are you, Pipe?"
* * *
BEFORE THEIR QUARTERS WERE CONVERTED THEY HAD EN-joyed an incarnation at the
palace lumber rooms. There were heaps of tattered old books and records left
over from the last century. Many dealt with the Truncella family, histories of
generations long gone. They were of little use to anyone but Else, who used
them to study western manuscript styles.
There were a few actual books mixed into the mess. Else found those
educational. In a professional development sort of way.
Those written in the modern vernacular were not interesting. Mainly, they
delved into the lives of Chaldarean saints, of which there were hosts.
Information useful if you wanted to fit in, but of no practical value
otherwise.
The majority of the real books were in Old Brothen, meticulously copied from
texts first set down in classical times and interesting now because they
opened marvelous windows into pasts never rewritten by the prejudices and
ambitions of intervening ages.
Else got help from Bronte Doneto, who enjoyed teaching when he could find no
loftier target for his energies. Doneto told Else, "These are copies of texts
set down before the Chaldarean Confirmation. They're in the formal Brothen of
their time. Which is lucky for us. The formal language didn't change as fast
as the vulgate. But these are treatises on technical things. How to manage
vineyards and wineries. How to manage lati-fundia, which were large commercial
agricultural enterprises that included fig, olive, and citrus orchards, along
with grain and vegetable crops. They weren't big on meat in those days, except
for seafood. This one is a treatise on how to construct various engines, from
wine and olive presses to artillery and siege machines. This one concerns the
conduct of war. These are about the lives of the emperors and key
personalities of their times."
Doneto taught Else a smattering of classical Brothen. Else then spent most
of his waking hours puzzling his way through the old books.
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He set a precedent. He started a fad. Captivity was so dull
that even Bo Biogna and Just Plain Joe were ready to do any
thing to stave off the boredom. Even if that meant learning,
with the Principate doing most of the teaching. i
"Pig Iron will be next," Else predicted. "And he'll learn faster than die
rest of us." He told an old Dreangerean story about teaching a camel to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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