Quag Keep by Andre Norton Read Free Book Online Page A

began to glow. He did not try to command any set sum from such dealing, only sent a wordless order to produce the largest amount the dice might yield.
    Dice spun—glowed. As they became again immobile, a drawstring money bag lay at the swordsman’s feet. For a moment or two the strangeness, the fact that he had been able to command the dice by thought alone, possessed him. Then he went down on one knee, jerked loose a knotting of strings, to turn out on the floor what luck had provided. Here was a mixture of coins, much the same as any fighter might possess by normal means. There were five gold pieces from the Great Kingdom, bearing the high-nosed, haughty faces of two recent kings; some cross-shaped trading tokens from the Land of the Holy Lords struck out in copper but still well able to pass freely in Greyhawk where so many kinds of men, dwarves, elves, and others traveled. In addition he saw a dozen of those silver, half-moon circles coined in Faraaz, and two of the mother-of-pearl disks incised with the fierce head of a sea-serpent which came from the island Duchy of Maritiz.
    Yevele, having witnessed his luck, was the next to concentrate on her own bracelet, producing another such purse. The coins varied, but Milo thought that approximately in value they added up to the same amount as his own effort had procured. Now the others became busy. It was Deav Dyne, who through his training as a clerk was best able to judge the rightful value of unusual pieces (Gulth had two hexagons of gold bearing a flamingtorch in high relief—these Milo could not identify at all) and tallied their combined wealth.
    â€œI would say,” he said slowly, after he had separated the pieces into piles, counted and examined those that were more uncommon, “we have enough, if we bargain skillfully. Mounts can be gotten at the market in the foreign quarter. Our provisions—perhaps best value is found at the Sign of the Pea Stalk. We should separate and buy discreetly. Milo and—shall we say you, Ingrge, and Naile—to the horse dealers, for with you lies more knowledge of what we need. Gulth must have his own supplies—” He looked to the lizardman. “Have you an idea where to go?”
    The snouted head moved assent as the long clawed hand picked up coins Deav Dyne swept in his direction, putting them back into the pouch that had appeared before him. Unlike those of the others it was not leather, but fashioned of a fish that had been dried, its head removed, and a dull metal cap put in its place.
    Milo hesitated. He was armed well enough—a sword, his shield, a belt knife with a long and dangerous blade. But he thought of a crossbow. And how about spells? Surely they had a right to throw also for those?
    When he made his suggestion Deav Dyne nodded. “For myself, I am permitted nothing more than the knife of my calling. But for the rest of you—”
    Again Milo was the first to try. He concentrated on the bracelet, striving to bring to the fore of his mind a picture of the crossbow, together with a quota of bolts. However, the dice did not fire with life and spin. And, one after another, saving onlyWymarc and Deav Dyne—the bard apparently already satisfied with what he had—they tried, to gain nothing.
    The wizard once more favored them with grimace of a smile. “Perhaps you had already equipped yourselves by chance before
that
summoned you,” he remarked. “I would not waste more time. By daylight it would be well for you to be out of Greyhawk. We do not know what watch Chaos may have kept on this tower tonight, nor the relation of the Dark Ones to our enemy.”
    â€œOur enemy—” snorted Naile, swinging around to turn his back on the wizard with a certain measure of scorn. “Men under a geas have one enemy already, wizard. You have made us
your
weapons. I would take care, weapons have been known to turn against those who use them.” He strode toward