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." TheWise held out a tray of sweetmeats."Eat a little, smoke a little, and ifyou're posing as Stavros Kechiroski at the moment, have a nice glass ofretsina; if you're being Nissim al-Farat in this instance, perhaps some otherintoxicant."Stavros hadn't noticed the glass of retsina on the table before him before;he downed it in one quick swallow.He had instructions as to what to do if his disguise was discovered; therewas a capsule still hidden beneath his clothing.His fingers fondled it.Noreason not to take advantage of it; he had filed his most recent report in ahidden nook at the port.His death would be a loss to his brothers but perhapsthey would find a way to make some gains out of it."Go ahead." The Wise made an expansive gesture that would have been entirelyin character for the shayk he was imitating."In fact, I'll promise you this:if you do not swallow that capsule immediately, I'll reveal your identity toall of the others, immediately.And give them cause to believe me.I can bevery persuasive, when I'm of a mind to."Kechiroski retrieved it, brought it to his mouth, and shattered the glassbetween his teeth.The end would come soon, butBut no.Instead of the expected sharp shards of glass in his mouth in abitter taste on his tongue, it was merely an Injan candy, redolent of honeyand persimmon.Page 239ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Well, so much for that." The Wise shook his head."Yes, you've eaten foodI've provided you, and you'll remain here as long as I choose.This is myplace, and that we shall proceed here, you and me, as I choose, not you.Shallwe talk openly now?"There was no point in evasion; the Wise knew much.He might as well but hefelt a sense of triumph that his work for the committee had been done in faithand ignorance, not knowledge that could be extracted from his body withtorture, no matter how long the torture, nor from his mind.Why was the Wise being so helpful? Could it be that"No, it couldn't be.I tried to stay out of human affairs, and the battlebetween Crown, Empire, and the Dar are entirely human affairs, from my limitedpoint of view.If I were to show a favorite, it would be well, leave that be;I have no favorites among you.A certain amount of fear of some of the toolsthat some of you wield, yes, but fear and favor are such.differentwords, don't you think?"If the Wise was not involved in the affairs of this world, then why thehesitance? Why project such an image of disinterest when he or she, or it, orthem, or whatever it was was passionately interested in staying out ofwhatever was going on?Why?"It's something not quite human," he said, throwing away half a lifetime ofhabit, letting himself think aloud."Amadan Dubh, swords, darklings, and allthe rest it isn't just the Empire, or something similar.It's something muchlarger."Not a challenge to the Dar, not the Empire tentatively seeking out weaknessin both Crown and Dar but a distraction to all, that's what it was.That'swhat it had to be.Setting off a war between Dar, Crown, and Empire, and whowould benefit?Kechiroski didn't know, but he had a suspicion.More: the Wise knew precisely what it was.And, for whatever reason, was notonly disinterested in it disinterest could be mended with a threat but wasterrified of it, and feared getting involved in it.By the BeardHe rose to his feet."Gray! Sir Joshua Grayling!"Page 240ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThe Wise smiled."He can't hear you.Nobody can hear you.Nobody will everhear you.It's all happening right now." He shook his head."You've beenlooking in all the wrong places, all of you, and he's quite effectivelydistracted you.All of you." He cocked his head to one side."And for his nextmove, it's precisely too late to stop it.I'm sorry.Not very sorry, but sorrynonetheless."* * *"It's an apple tree," Black said.Others could call him the Wise; Graypreferred the name that had been given to him.Black hadn't been waiting on the steps of the main building of the keep; Grayhad gone around back to the plaza behind, to find Black half sitting on awaist-high stump of a branch, half leaning against the bole of the tree."I've seen apple trees before," Gray said.As before, Black looked familiar, but disturbingly different [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]