The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett Read Free Book Online Page A

by the ornamental rug draped roguishly over it, nor by the thief hanging by one arm from the lid. It was, in a very real sense, a dead weight. Further along the lid were the remains of two fingers, owner unknown.
    The Luggage halted a few feet from the wizard and, after a moment, retracted its legs. It had no eyes that Rincewind could see, but he was nevertheless sure that it was staring at him. Expectantly.
    'Shoo,' he said weakly. It didn't budge, but the lid creaked open, releasing the dead thief.
    Rincewind remembered about the gold. Presumably the box had to have a master. In the absence of Twoflower, had it adopted him?
    The tide was turning and he could see debris drifting downstream in the yellow afternoon light towards the River Gate, a mere hundred yards downstream. It was the work of a moment to let the dead thief join them. Even if it was found later it would hardly cause comment. And the sharks in the estuary were used to solid, regular meals.
    Rincewind watched the body drift away, and considered his next move. The Luggage would probably float. All he had to do was wait until dusk, and then go out with the tide. There were plenty of wild places downstream where he could wade ashore, and then – well, if the Patrician really had sent out word about him then a change of clothing and a shave should take care of that. In any case, there were other lands and he had a facility for languages. Let him but get to Chimera or Gonim or Ecalpon and half a dozen armies couldn't bring him back. And then – wealth, comfort, security . . .
    There was, of course, the problem of Twoflower. Rincewind allowed himself a moment's sadness.
    'It could be worse,' he said by way of farewell. 'It could be me .'
    It was when he tried to move that he found his robe was caught on some obstruction.
    By craning his neck he found that the edge of it was being gripped firmly by the Luggage's lid.
    'Ah, Gorphal,' said the Patrician pleasantly. 'Come in. Sit down. Can I press you to a candied starfish?'
    'I am yours to command, master,' said the old man calmly. 'Save, perhaps, in the matter of preserved echinoderms.'
    The Patrician shrugged, and indicated the scroll on the table.
    'Read that,' he said.
    Gorphal picked up the parchment and raised one eyebrow slightly when he saw the familiar ideograms of the Golden Empire. He read in silence for perhaps a minute, and then turned the scroll over to examine minutely the seal on the obverse.
    'You are famed as a student of Empire affairs,' said the Patrician. 'Can you explain this?'
    'Knowledge in the matter of the Empire lies less in noting particular events than in studying a certain cast of mind,' said the old diplomat. 'The message is curious, yes, but not surprising.'
    'This morning the Emperor instructed ,' the Patrician allowed himself the luxury of a scowl, ' instructed me, Gorphal, to protect this Two Flower person. Now it seems I must have him killed. You don't find that surprising?'
    'No. The Emperor is no more than a boy. He is – idealistic. Keen. A god to his people. Whereas this afternoon's letter is, unless I am very much mistaken, from Nine Turning Mirrors, the Grand Vizier. He has grown old in the service of several Emperors. He regards them as a necessary but tiresome ingredient in the successful running of the Empire. He does not like things out of place. The Empire was not built by allowing things to get out of place. That is his view.'
    'I begin to see—' said the Patrician.
    'Quite so.' Gorphal smiled into his beard. 'This tourist is a thing that is out of place. After acceding to his master's wishes Nine Turning Mirrors would, I am quite sure, make his own arrangements with a view to ensuring that one wanderer would not be allowed to return home bringing, perhaps, the disease of dissatisfaction. The Empire likes people to stay where it puts them. So much more convenient, then, if this Two Flower disappears for good in the barbarian lands. Meaning here,