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."Wasss this?" He stirred the fallen man with his foot."I'll tell your commander.Trust me, hell want to see this one right away."The Zhents exchanged glances, then turned away.One turned back, while the other disappeared into the tent."Well get Lieutenant Thass.""I want to see the commander, not some lieutenant.""You'll see Thass.Hell 'tide who you see next.He'll be here in m'nit." He slumped back down on the cask he'd been sitting on.The tall man looked beyond the guard tent at the rest of the oasis.It was bustling with activity.A long line of Bedine tribesmen were passing buckets filled with sand from hand to hand, supervised by purple-robed Zhents, many of whom bore whips or clubs.The sand was being drawn from a central excavation, perhaps fifty feet wide.Even from a distance, the visitor could see a network of ladders and ropes descending into it.A heavy wooden framework had been erected over it with a wheel to haul up the buckets of sand from the shovels of unseen diggers.The air was full of the groan of the wheel, the creaking of the wooden supports, the moaning of the tribesmen, and the shouts and curses of the Zhents.A Black Robe with an air of authority strode toward the guard tent, his clothing snapping with impatience.He glanced at the sentries then dealt one of them a slap that spun the man around and knocked him bleeding to the ground."Fool! Drunk on duty!"He lifted a hand and inscribed a gesture in the air.The guard screamed, and his hand came up to one cheek.A thin stream of smoke spurted between his fingers as he shrieked with pain.When he brought his hand down, the visitor could see the raw, red mark of the brand that had been magically inscribed on the guard's skin.The lieutenant turned his attention to the two men before him, while the other guard splashed liquor on his companion's wound and led him back into their tent."Who are you, and why are you traveling this way? It's prohibited to come near this place, on pain of death.By rights, I should flay the flesh from your bones here and now, but I'm in an exceptionally good mood today, so I'll listen to your story before I kill you both."The tall man did not back down."I think you'll be happy to have custody of this one." He kicked the recumbent figure before him.This is Avarilous, a so-called merchant.In fact, he's a spy.He was paid by the Bedine to come here and find out what you're up to."The lieutenant looked at him in astonishment then burst into a bray of laughter."A spy! A nice job he seems to have made of it.What did the Bedine scum offer to pay him with? Camel dung? Goat meat?" His eyes narrowed as he looked at Garmansder."Who are you, and why are you telling me this?""I am Garmansder of Luskan.I'm a mercenary, hired by this fool to be his guard.When I found out what he was up to, I thought I'd get a better price from the Zhentarim for his head than anything the Bedine-or he-might pay me." He shrugged."So here he is for you to play with."Lieutenant Thass crouched by Avarilous's head and stared thoughtfully into the merchant's eyes, which were reddened from the blowing sand of the desert."So the little Bedine fools are getting worried about what we're doing here," he said, as if to himself."Good.Good.Fear will feed on itself.Especially when I send their spy back to them in a basket, or several baskets." He chuckled."Perhaps they'll pass on their concerns to the Shadovar, who will be more willing to deal with us."What's that?" He bent his ear near Avarilous's cracked, bleeding lips."Shadovar.would never.deal with Zhentarim.crush you first." The words dropped like tears in the dust.The lieutenant chuckled and rose to his feet."Well see, fool."He twisted his hand, and Avarilous's body was jerked to its feet.The rope binding the merchant flew from Garmansder's hand to that of the lieutenant."Drashka! Get your lazy carcass out here this instant, unless you want to wear your entrails for a necklace!"From a shelter farther within the encampment, another guard emerged cautiously and saluted [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]