[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.By screwing up her eyes Granny could just make outsome dots on the river.Occasionally some sort of lighting would sparkle briefly inside the gently turn-ing funnel of motes.Granny blinked and looked up.The room seemed very dark. Odd sort of weather, she said, because she couldn t really think of anythingbetter.Even with her eyes shut the glittering motes still danced across her vision. I don t think it s weather, said Hilta. I don t actually think people can seeit, but the crystal shows it.I think it s magic, condensing out of the air. Into the staff? Yes.That s what a wizard s staff does.It sort of distils magic.Granny risked another glance at the crystal. Into Esk, she said, carefully. Yes. There looks like quite a lot of it. Yes.Not for the first time, Granny wished she knew more about how wizardsworked their magic.She had a vision of Esk filling up with magic, until everytissue and pore was bloated with the stuff.Then it would start leaking  slowly atfirst, arcing to ground in little bursts, but then building up to a great discharge ofoccult potentiality.It could do all kinds of damage. Drat, she said. I never did like that staff. At least she s heading towards the University place, said Hilta. They llknow what to do. That s as may be.How far down river do you reckon they are? Twenty miles or so.Those barges only go at walking pace.The Zoons aren tin any hurry. Right. Granny stood up, her jaw set defiantly.She reached for her hat andpicked up her sack of possessions. Reckon I can walk faster than a barge, she said. The river s all bendy but Ican go in straight lines. You re going to walk after her? said Hilta, aghast. But there s forests andwild animals! Good, I could do with getting back to civilisation.She needs me.That staffis taking over.I said it would, but did anyone listen?68 Did they? said Hilta, still trying to work out what Granny meant by gettingback to civilisation. No, said Granny coldly.His name was Amschat B hal Zoon.He lived on the raft with his three wivesand three children.He was a Liar.What always annoyed the enemies of the Zoon tribe was not simply their hon-esty, which was infuriatingly absolute, but their total directness of approach.TheZoons had never heard about a euphemism, and wouldn t understand what to dowith it if they had one, except that they would certainly have called it  a nice wayof saying something nasty.Their rigid adherence to the truth was apparently not enjoined on them by agod, as is usually the case, but appeared to have a genetic base.The average Zooncould no more tell a lie than breathe underwater and, in fact, the very conceptwas enough to upset them considerably; telling a Lie meant no less than totallyaltering the universe.This was something of a drawback to a trading race and so, over the millennia,the elders of the Zoon studied this strange power that everyone else had in suchabundance and decided that they should possess it too.Young men who showed faint signs of having such a talent were encouraged,on special ceremonial occasions, to bend the Truth ever further on a competitivebasis.The first recorded Zoon proto-lie was:  Actually my grandfather is quitetall, but eventually they got the hang of it and the office of tribal Liar was insti-tuted.It must be understood that while the majority of Zoon cannot lie they havegreat respect for any Zoon who can say that the world is other than it is, and theLiar holds a position of considerable eminence.He represents his tribe in all hisdealings with the outside world, which the average Zoon long ago gave up tryingto understand.Zoon tribes are very proud of their Liars.Other races get very annoyed about all this.They feel that the Zoon oughtto have adopted more suitable titles, like  diplomat or  public relations officer.They feel they are poking fun at the whole thing. Is all that true? said Esk suspiciously, looking around the barge s crowdedcabin. No, said Amschat firmly.His junior wife, who was cooking porridge over atiny ornate stove, giggled.His three children watched Esk solemnly over the edgeof the table. Don t you ever tell the truth?69 Do you? Amschat grinned his goldmine grin, but his eyes were not smiling. Why do I find you on my fleeces? Amschat is no kidnapper.There will be peopleat home who will worry, yesno? I expect Granny will come looking for me, said Esk,  but I don t think shewill worry much.Just be angry, I expect.Anyway, I m going to Ankh-Morpork [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]