Lord Of The Libraries - Hardcover

Buch 3 von 4: The Rover

Odom, Mel

 
9780765307248: Lord Of The Libraries
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0765307243 ISBN 13: 9780765307248
Verlag: Tor Books, 2005

Inhaltsangabe

Working as a master librarian at Great Library 100 years after the events of The Rover, Edgewick Lamplighter takes on inexperienced apprentice Juhg to help acquire volumes for the Vault of All Known Knowledge, a task that is compromised by dark forces. 17,500 first printing.

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Mel Odom is a bestselling writer for hire for Wizards of the Coast's Forgotten Realms, Gold Eagle's Mack Bolan, and Pocket's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel book lines. His debut SF novel Lethal Interface made the Locus recommended list. The Rover was an Alex Award winner. He has also written a scientific adventure of the high seas set in the 19th century entitled Hunters of the Dark Sea.

The Lord of the Libraries is the second book (the first was The Destruction of the Books) in a duology sequel to The Rover.
He lives in Oklahoma.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Lord of the Libraries
1
"They're Our Monsters!"
One-Eyed Peggie lurched hard over to starboard and a horrendous scraping noise drawn out like a banshee's wail filled the ship's waist from prow to stern.
Only quick reflexes, a determination not to mar pages, and years of experience aboard a sailing vessel allowed Juhg to keep the freshly dipped quill from the paper before he could render a mistaken stroke. His other hand slapped at the papers, pinning them in place and managing to hang on to the inkwell.
Then the fear set in as he, like all the dwarves gathered in the galley, waited expectantly for the sound to be repeated. Or for someone to scream that the ship's hull had been ruptured and she was sinking.
He sat alone at a table in the pirate ship's galley working on the journal. Lanterns filled the area with golden light. He was the only dweller among the group seated at the tables. Brown breeches and a maroon shirt, his clothing marked him as different from the others as much as his smaller stature. His fair hair and light-complexioned skin spoke of a life spent mostly indoors with some time outside. He was also, despite a month of travel aboard the vessel, cleaner than most of the crew.
One-Eyed Peggie was a pirate ship, one of those given the duty of patrolling the Blood-Soaked Sea so that no ships from the mainland sailed out to discover Greydawn Moors and the Vault of All Known Knowledge hidden there. Juhg had sailed aboard her before, but never with such grim purpose as he did now.
"That weren't just me, were it?" a dwarven pirate asked in the tense silence that followed the noise. One-Eyed Peggie still rocked as she leveled out again. "I mean, I've had a little grog to drink, but I didn't think I just imagined that kind of cauterwaulin'--"
"We've run aground," another dwarven pirate cried out in a trembling voice. "We've been skirtin' too near the coast. I knew this was gonna happen. There's too much broken rock and reefs there. The cap'n knew that, too. He knew he orter be more careful."
"I didn't think that were just me," the first one replied. He finished his cup of grog and glanced anxiously around.
"Stow that bilge," another pirate growled. His name was Starrit and he'd been with One-Eyed Peggie under the old captain as well. Most of his life had been spent tending the pirate ship. "Cap'n Hallekk knows whereat he's a doin'. I'll not suffer ye to be a-talkin' behind his back."
The accuser glared at the other pirate, but said nothing more.
Captain Hallekk, Juhg knew, had the respect of his crew.
The other pirates got up from their meals, automatically picking up their plates and cups so they wouldn't slide around unattended if the ship should hit again. Gradually, the ship righted herself, pulled back into position by the ballast she carried.
Juhg allowed himself a deep breath as he waited, as every pirate in the galley did, for the fear-filled cry that One-Eyed Peggie had been holed. He'd spent enough time aboard ships while journeying with Grandmagister Lamplighter on errands for the Vault of All Known Knowledge that he felt certain he'd know if the vessel had been damaged and was now taking on water. In years past, he'd gone down in both ships and boats while adventuring with the Grandmagister.
I know this ship, Juhg told himself nervously. I've sailed on her many times. If she weren't all right, I'd know.
In fact, the Grandmagister had gotten shanghaied aboard One-Eyed Peggie all those years ago and set upon the path that had led him to his destiny.Edgewick Lamplighter had learned to wash dishes and peel potatoes in this very galley, something only cooks did at the Vault of All Known Knowledge.
Juhg had seen dozens of drawings and sketches of the galley in the books that the Grandmagister had written that detailed his adventures with the pirates then and later. A lot of time at sea the galley had been a place where councils of war met, where wounds were tended, and where the pirates came for safe harbor during fierce storms or lulls in hot seas.
"Wasn't a sandbar or a reef," another pirate said. "Woulda hit again if'n it was."
"Unless we just got lucky," said a third.
Without warning, One-Eyed Peggie lurched again, turning even harder to port than she had to starboard. All of the dwarves who had been standing ended up on the floor, squalling and hollering.
"Topside!" a raucous voice screeched from the companionway leading to the deck. "Topside! Topside, ye scurvy dogs! Cap'n's orders! Squawk!"
In the next instant, one of the ugliest and most malignant birds Juhg had ever seen flapped into the kitchen. The bird was a crimson horned rhowdor, intelligent as any being, some said. Of course, Critter, the bird, maintained that he was more intelligent than most.
The bird's harsh hatchet face, bearing its cruelly curved beak, looked merciless. The features matched their owner's disposition perfectly. Bright pink horns, one of them broken off midway, thrust up four inches, each of them curled. He only had one bright emerald eye. The other was covered with a fierce black leather eyepatch that featured a skull made up of shiny brass studs. A gold earring dangled from one feathered eartuft.
With a graceful flap of wings, Critter landed on the table where Juhg worked. That was impressive considering that One-Eyed Peggie still lurched back and forth. The effort was doubly impressive because the rhowdor had only one leg. The other was a wooden fork carefully whittled to size and fitted to his leg stump.
Whatever we hit, Juhg thought as he held on to the table, or Whatever hit us, was huge. The pirate vessel was large and wide-bodied to handle a lot of cargo and men.
"Avast there, ye miserable flea-biters!" Critter screamed, flapping his wings menacingly and limping on the fork as he walked across the table."Get yer fannies to movin', ye goldbrickers! Cap'n's orders! Peggie's takin' on water, she is, an' I'll have everyone of ye topside fer orders or I'll keelhauls ye meself!"
The dwarven pirates scrambled up and made for the door immediately. Despite the fact that he was a bird, Critter enjoyed all the rank and privileges of a member of the crew. Currently he served as Third Mate under Captain Hallekk.
Critter turned his one-eyed attention to Juhg. "Squawk! Ye get movin', too, ye mangy cur!" The rhowdor had few true friends on this ship, but he was a fine Third Mate, proving himself both irascible and unyielding. "Cap'n needs ever' hand. Ever' able body he can get. We're even takin' dwellers."
Juhg capped his inkwell, placed his quill into the box of writing instruments he had, closed his book and tied it shut, then shoved everything into the waterproof rucksack hanging from the back of his chair with his traveling cloak. He pulled on the cloak, then hoisted the rucksack over his shoulder.
"Ye think ye remember how to handle yerself?" the rhowdor challenged.
"Yes," Juhg answered, loath to get into an argument with the meanspirited bird. "It hasn't been overlong since I was aboard this ship."
"Then why are ye here a-jabberin' to me when ye should be topside?"
Exasperated, tense, and fatigued from not sleeping well and worrying about the Grandmagister's whereabouts for the last month, Juhg stared at the short-tempered and unkind bird. He was tired of getting pushed around. For the last month, Craugh the wizard had kept Juhg with his nose buried in work, penning one book and making copies of it. The wizard had also ducked every question regarding how the Grandmagister had ended up in the hands of their enemies...

„Über diesen Titel“ kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Verlag
Tor Books
Erscheinungsdatum
2005
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0765307243
ISBN 13 
9780765307248
Einband
Gebundene Ausgabe
Anzahl der Seiten
384
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, Braun
https://in.pg.com/contact-us/

Sulzbacher Str. 40-50
Schwalbach/Ts.
65824
Deutschland

Weitere beliebte Ausgaben desselben Titels

9780765346506: Lord of the Libraries

Vorgestellte Ausgabe

ISBN 10:  0765346508 ISBN 13:  9780765346506
Verlag: Tor Books, 2006
Softcover