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.”Lucoyo stared.“Fish-bone bows? Nay, this I must see!”“Do you think they will shoot as far as the ones you speak of?” the king said anxiously.“I will delight in discovering the answer!” Lucoyo caught Ohaern’s arm.“Come, smith! There is much to do!”But the king caught Ohaern’s other arm, staying him long enough to stare into his face with a sudden wild hope.“Smith? You are a smith, then?”Ohaern nodded.“I am.”“Do you know magic?”“Only a few spells, and those for proving and tempering the iron and bronze,” Ohaern cautioned.“That may be enough.” Noril came forward, eyes glowing.“In the temple of Ranol, that may be more than enough.”Chapter 19The fishermen, of course, knew how to use a spear, though theirs had three prongs—they were accustomed to spearing fish, with a cast rarely longer than two yards.A spear cast is a spear cast, though, and they learned quickly to hurl a leaf-bladed spear—but more importantly, to thrust with it.Ohaern and Lucoyo discovered that, because of the old art of fishing with a bow, the people of Cashalo were skilled archers; in fact, it was their favorite sport, and evenings saw men and women alike assembled in the parks, shooting at straw targets tied cleverly to resemble huge fish.Lucoyo had only to stand the fish upright, and it approximated the shape of a man.He was quite pleased with their bows, too—apparently the whales who had contributed so generously from their rib cages had exceptionally long, limber ribs, and the bows were naturally curved at the ends.Their range, though not as good as Lucoyo’s bow, was nonetheless far greater than that of the compound bows of the Vanyar.They were also avid wrestlers, almost as enthusiastic about grappling one another at close range as they were at shooting straw fish at long range.But that was the extent of their fighting skills; they knew nothing of any other forms of combat.Ohaern taught them the use of the staff which, when combined with thrusting, made excellent spear-play—but he shied at the thought of these peaceful fishermen and merchants, with only a few days’ training, bearing swords against seasoned warriors.Instead he taught them how to turn aside a sword stroke with their staves, and he set the smiths to shoeing and binding those staves with iron.That was all the time he could spare before he went into seclusion with Noril, learning magic.Lucoyo stifled the urge to protest, and went on training archers.By good fortune, Cashalo had many experienced builders, with warehouses full of tree-trunk logs from the north mixed with costly rare woods and building stone from the south.The king silenced his merchants’ cries of distress by reminding them that they would have nothing left at all if the Vanyar took the city—nothing, most likely including their lives, and their wives and children’s virtue.They opened their warehouses, grumbling about repayment and recovering their goods when the crisis was past.So the merchants, fishermen, and laborers alike took their turns on the archery field, then on the wall, and the builders directed them in raising what was surely the most expensive barrier ever to surround a city—the bulk of it being ordinary fir and pine, mixed in with granite and basalt from the nearby quarries—but adorned here and there with marble and cedar and ebony.All this time, the king’s agents were very busy, though seldom seen.Many of Ulahane’s worshipers disappeared—they were later found, outraged but unharmed, in the cellar of the king’s hall—and the one priest of the scarlet god who set foot outside the temple was found lying in an alley, his own blood pooled about him.The other priests showed very little desire for an outing after that.While all this went on about them, Ohaern and Noril were seen only as passing silhouettes behind the columns of Rand’s temple.Clouds of vapor issued from those colonnades, though.Odors sharp and pungent alternated with exotic perfumes.Everyone wondered what magic the sage and the smith were brewing together, but the only people curious enough to sneak close to look, disappeared into the shadows.They were in the forefront of those later found in the king’s cellar, still loudly protesting their innocence—but since they bore the jackal’s-head tattoo of Ulahane’s ardent worshipers, the king heard their pleas with a skeptical ear.When the scouts reported the Vanyar horde only a few day’s march from the new city wall, Ohaern left the magic to Noril and Rahani’s priestess—who had joined them because Noril trusted her, and she had offered to help [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.”Lucoyo stared.“Fish-bone bows? Nay, this I must see!”“Do you think they will shoot as far as the ones you speak of?” the king said anxiously.“I will delight in discovering the answer!” Lucoyo caught Ohaern’s arm.“Come, smith! There is much to do!”But the king caught Ohaern’s other arm, staying him long enough to stare into his face with a sudden wild hope.“Smith? You are a smith, then?”Ohaern nodded.“I am.”“Do you know magic?”“Only a few spells, and those for proving and tempering the iron and bronze,” Ohaern cautioned.“That may be enough.” Noril came forward, eyes glowing.“In the temple of Ranol, that may be more than enough.”Chapter 19The fishermen, of course, knew how to use a spear, though theirs had three prongs—they were accustomed to spearing fish, with a cast rarely longer than two yards.A spear cast is a spear cast, though, and they learned quickly to hurl a leaf-bladed spear—but more importantly, to thrust with it.Ohaern and Lucoyo discovered that, because of the old art of fishing with a bow, the people of Cashalo were skilled archers; in fact, it was their favorite sport, and evenings saw men and women alike assembled in the parks, shooting at straw targets tied cleverly to resemble huge fish.Lucoyo had only to stand the fish upright, and it approximated the shape of a man.He was quite pleased with their bows, too—apparently the whales who had contributed so generously from their rib cages had exceptionally long, limber ribs, and the bows were naturally curved at the ends.Their range, though not as good as Lucoyo’s bow, was nonetheless far greater than that of the compound bows of the Vanyar.They were also avid wrestlers, almost as enthusiastic about grappling one another at close range as they were at shooting straw fish at long range.But that was the extent of their fighting skills; they knew nothing of any other forms of combat.Ohaern taught them the use of the staff which, when combined with thrusting, made excellent spear-play—but he shied at the thought of these peaceful fishermen and merchants, with only a few days’ training, bearing swords against seasoned warriors.Instead he taught them how to turn aside a sword stroke with their staves, and he set the smiths to shoeing and binding those staves with iron.That was all the time he could spare before he went into seclusion with Noril, learning magic.Lucoyo stifled the urge to protest, and went on training archers.By good fortune, Cashalo had many experienced builders, with warehouses full of tree-trunk logs from the north mixed with costly rare woods and building stone from the south.The king silenced his merchants’ cries of distress by reminding them that they would have nothing left at all if the Vanyar took the city—nothing, most likely including their lives, and their wives and children’s virtue.They opened their warehouses, grumbling about repayment and recovering their goods when the crisis was past.So the merchants, fishermen, and laborers alike took their turns on the archery field, then on the wall, and the builders directed them in raising what was surely the most expensive barrier ever to surround a city—the bulk of it being ordinary fir and pine, mixed in with granite and basalt from the nearby quarries—but adorned here and there with marble and cedar and ebony.All this time, the king’s agents were very busy, though seldom seen.Many of Ulahane’s worshipers disappeared—they were later found, outraged but unharmed, in the cellar of the king’s hall—and the one priest of the scarlet god who set foot outside the temple was found lying in an alley, his own blood pooled about him.The other priests showed very little desire for an outing after that.While all this went on about them, Ohaern and Noril were seen only as passing silhouettes behind the columns of Rand’s temple.Clouds of vapor issued from those colonnades, though.Odors sharp and pungent alternated with exotic perfumes.Everyone wondered what magic the sage and the smith were brewing together, but the only people curious enough to sneak close to look, disappeared into the shadows.They were in the forefront of those later found in the king’s cellar, still loudly protesting their innocence—but since they bore the jackal’s-head tattoo of Ulahane’s ardent worshipers, the king heard their pleas with a skeptical ear.When the scouts reported the Vanyar horde only a few day’s march from the new city wall, Ohaern left the magic to Noril and Rahani’s priestess—who had joined them because Noril trusted her, and she had offered to help [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]