The previous post might have implied that Targovi's intelligence-gathering was both quick and easy but that is because I quoted only the significant points. He also had to be patient and to be prepared to talk as well as to listen.
Asked to talk about Imhotep, he relates anecdotes that lead to the subject of smuggling. Pretending to know of no way to smuggle anything onto Daedalus, he gets Combaralles to say that the way to do it is to land at a port with no inspectors, like Zacharia.
When she again says, "'No more!'," this is followed by "'Say on, Targovi.'" (p. 226) He does say on about Tigery-Seafolk relations and this in turn leads to discussion of the care and feeding of Merseians, i.e., of the current prisoners of war who must be the next item on Targovi's intelligence-gathering agenda. Like Dominic Flandry, Targovi is working all the time even when relaxing and spinning yarns.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
For fairly obvious and practical reasons of plot development, we never see any of the Starkadian Sea People who were settled by the Empire on Imhotep. But it would have been good to see a bit about how these exiles adjusted to their new homes.
Ad astra! Sean
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