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merchant dared to inspect the sensitive region yet again.
 The dark gap appears to be gone.
 It is gone! Emitting a roar of pure delight, the Guardian leaped into the
air, turned a complete somersault, and landed effortlessly on all fours. The
light in his eyes burned as brightly as before: Only the motivation had
changed.
Neena considered the sabertooth thoughtfully.  Mate, you really ought to learn
to walk on your  hid legs, proper like.
The Guardian nodded.  I know that s how it s done these days, but I m one of
the Forgotten, or soon-to-be. Many of the old ways are still mine. I m
comfortable with them. He rubbed his jaw.  More comfortable than I ve been in
some time.
 Let him be, Snaugenhutt advised her.
 Some of us just ain t inclined to walk vertical.
 I keep my word. The sabertooth pointed toward his cave.  It s just inside.
Don t want to trip over it in the dark.
Duncan turned to gaze at the cave.
After all they had been through, it seemed impossible they d actually achieved
their goal. More important, if
the Guardian was not lying, it seemed that there was actually a goal to
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achieve. The Grand Veritable was real.
Real what remained to be seen.
 You ve done so much for me, the sabertooth was saying.  Wait here and
I ll bring it out to you. Springing from the rock on which he d been sitting,
he loped into the cave.
Buncan waited; they all waited. Even
Gragelouth, who had to restrain himself from following the Guardian into his
lair.
 Can t be very big, Neena observed.
 Not if the cat can drag it out all by
 imself.
 Maybe  tis a pink diamond the size o
 is  cad, Squill commented hopefully.
 Or a wand. Now that they were actually about to encounter the mysterious
source of legends, Buncan recalled the odd mixture of disdain and apprehension
with which Clothahump
had treated the subject.  No matter how innocent or harmless it looks, we need
to be careful with it.
  Ell, you worry too much, mate.
Squill twisted completely around to groom his tail. A human attempting the
same move would have to dislocate his spine.  Wotever it is, it ain t  art
this
 ere kitty-cat none. I d say  e s  ad plenty o time to play with it, and if
it couldn t cure  is bloomin toothache, then I says there can t be much power
in it.
 Perhaps it is possessed of a different sort of power. Gragelouth s gaze was
fixated on the cave mourn.
All speculation aside, there wasn t one among them who wasn t surprised when
the sabertooth finally reemerged with the object held firmly but respectfully
in his mouth.
 Well, I ll be orificed. Neena sat down right where she d been standing.
A puzzled Snaugenhutt simply smiled and shook his great head, while Viz let
out a series of bemused whistles.
 What s that! A wary Buncan bent for a better look as the Guardian carefully
placed the object on a smooth-surfaced boulder.
 The Grand Veritable, the sabertooth replied.  It s what you wanted, isn t
it?
What you traveled all mis way to find?
 Righty-ho, said Squill, frowning at the subject under discussion,  but wot
is it? Wot do it do?
 Do? The Guardian was openly bemused.  Why, it doesn t  do
anything. It just is. Truth, that is. The
Grand Veritable is truth, just as its name implies. That s what the Ancient
Ones who set my kind to watch over it said.
Gragelouth sat down heavily, moaning.
 Solipsisms. All mis way come, all this
distance traversed, great dangers and perils overcome, for that.
The rejuvenated sabertooth growled.
 Don t underestimate it. Truth is the most valuable of all commodities . . .
and the most dangerous.
Squill gave the object a tentative kick.
It did not react.  Don t look so dangerous to me.
The Guardian grinned.  You can t hurt the truth that way.
Gragelouth put one hand to his forehead.  What good is truth to me?
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I m a merchant, a trader. You can t sell truth.
Neena let out a derisive bark.  Why not? I thought the stuff were always in
short supply.
The sloth looked up at her.  Tram s an intangible. I do not deal in
intangibles.
She knelt next to the object.  Looks kind of . . . broken.
 I assure you it s not. Bright green eyes studied Gragelouth.  I owe you
much. Had I eaten you, there s no telling how long I d have continued to
suffer. So you are a merchant in
 tangible things? I know about merchants. I ve had several for dinner.
There exists a base for the Grand
Veritable. Maybe you d find it of more interest than the Veritable itself.
The sloth blinked slowly.  I do not understand.
 Come and have a look-see. The sabertooth started toward the cave. So
despondent was Gragelouth that he followed without thinking.
Time passed while Buncan and the others studied the Grand Veritable closely.
Their examination left them no less baffled than when the Guardian had first
presented it to mem.
A voice shouted from the lip of the cave.  Hoy, Snaugenhutt! Come give
us a hand here, would you? The rhino shrugged and ambled over. As it
developed, the assistance of Duncan and the otters was required as well.
Deeply graven with cryptic inscriptions, the ancient pedestal was as tall as
Neena. Poured in the shape of a pyramid with the top sliced off to form a
resting place for the Veritable, it was so heavy it required their combined [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]