Myth-Fortunes

The rest of the court appreciated the entertainment, though. The nobles pounded on their chair arms or waved their wine glasses. A few got up and danced with the girls, singing and whooping along with the music. Far from the city of the dead this resembled when I first saw the Necrops, they were a happy, lively folk.

Still, I couldn't stay to enjoy it for long. I sat through the first round of entertainment. I stood up and tried to get the king's attention after the girls ran off, to loud applause and shouts from the audience, but he pointed and shouted as another group came on, these dressed in loose-fitting trousers and vests.

"See my acrobats, Overworlder! They are the finest in Upper or Lower Aegis!"

One of the rail-thin Necrops knelt almost at my feet, stuck a torch in his mouth and blew a stream of fire. I jumped backwards. The king laughed.

"Good, isn't he?" See-Ker yelled. "I would get indigestion if I did that!"

The nobles laughed.

Reluctantly, I sat down again. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the fun or the honors. I really needed to get back to the surface. I tried to look as if I was having a good time. I pi

I guess I wasn't as subtle as I thought. Aswana slipped away from my side and made her way to the king's side. She leaned up and whispered in his ear. The shiny black eyes grew wider, and the dried-out face nodded once or twice. Aswana smiled, bringing out those prominent cheekbones.

As soon as the thirty-piece orchestra finished their concert, the king clapped his hands. "Come here, Visitor Skeeve."

I approached the king. The musicians made way for me.

"Are you not happy here in my kingdom?" See-Ker asked. "Have we not provided all that you need? Clothing, food, amusements, friendship?"

I bowed low. "I'm sorry. King See-Ker, but an accident brought me here. My friends are probably worried sick! I have to get back as soon as I can."

"We will bring you home as soon as may be," the king replied. "It would be our pleasure."

I brightened. "Can I go now?"

"I am afraid not," See-Ker said. "It is bright daylight above us at the moment. We ca

"Your majesty, my friend... he probably thinks I drowned. I want to get back before he gets too upset."

"I'm afraid that he will already have had much time to be upset," See-Ker said gently. "What was the hour of your departure from them?"

"Late afternoon," I said, thinking back.

"You have been with us a day and a night and a day again," See-Ker said.

I felt as if I had been struck in the chest. I had been unconscious that long?

See-Ker gestured, and the servants ran to bring my chair around. I sat without really feeling it underneath me. The king regarded me sympathetically.

"I am sorry for the shock. It lacks a few hours yet until we may safely travel on the surface. Please accept my assurances that we will go as soon as it is possible. In the meantime, try to enjoy yourself. I offer you anything that Necropolis has to make your stay enjoyable."

With that, the king clapped his hands again.

"The entertainment will continue! I summon the players to perform the royal Chi-Kin dance!"

A group of Necrop men in woven kilts ran out on the floor and began a rhythmic performance of clapping and posturing. Everybody in the audience, noble and commoner alike, joined in. They were

having fun, but I just couldn't concentrate.

I also sat through fourteen rounds of Name that Glyph. I got tired of listening to unsuccessful contestants boast, "I can name that glyph in two strokes" because they never could. Next up came a drinking game wherein each member of the audience was furnished with a beaker of wine and a glass. A bard took his place on the stage to tell a story of a long-ago hero. Every time he said the words, "And would you believe it?" they had to drain their glasses of wine. For such thin people, they put away food and drink in quantities a Pervect would envy. I refused to drink myself into inebriation.

"Why are you so troubled, O Skeeve?" Aswana asked.

"I'm concerned for my friend," I said. "I'm afraid he's going to try and go up against a magician named Diksen. He was responsible for me falling down here into your kingdom. Have you ever heard of him?"

Aswana looked astonished. "But of course! His mother, Maul-De, comes from our people. He loves her dearly. His Mumsy is the most important person in his life."

I remembered the shadow cast upon the curtains in Diksen's ball of water, and realized that the woman had the silhouette of a Necrop. "Does his mother live with him?"

"Oh, yes. He would not have it any other way. What a good son. Any Necrop would be proud to call him hers. He is a veritable Te-di!"

I knew the Aegistian word for soft, cuddly person. "That's not how he struck us," I said. My bruises had been healed by the Necrop magik, but I remembered vividly where they were. The Dorsals had pummeled me thoroughly.

"Oh, well, he will only be harsh upon those he feels have slighted Maul-De," Aswana said. Groups of people were leaving their seats to take papyrus sheets and reed pens from a scribe. "Look, they are begi

"I suppose so," I said, without enthusiasm.

"It lacks yet another hour or more until we can take you home," Aswana said. "Please. It is so seldom we have visitors from the surface!" She gave me such a winsome look that I relented.

"All right," I agreed. She ran to get the list, and we set off.

We left the palace and entered the city's main street. Other teams started out ahead of us, but zipped off into side streets, leaving only a few on the main thoroughfare. I was surprised how gaudy everything was. The buildings had been painted all over with glyphs and pictographs. Except for merchandise hanging up outside the shops or in the windows, I could never have guessed from the exterior what any of them sold. The Necrops loved bright colors and brilliant white. They were the liveliest people I had ever seen who looked as if they had been dead for centuries. There was a tavern or an i

And drinking. A sozzled Necrop staggered out of the nearest and almost into my arms.

"Happy days, friend!" he cried. He patted me on the back and staggered for support from lamp post to statue to planter to lamp post down the street. Aswana smiled after him. She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to one side of the road to consult the list.

"We are to find the painting of a tomb of a Ghord who serves ice cream to the Ancients," Aswana said,

consulting the glyphs on the unrolled papyrus. "This way! I know where that lies!"

I followed her past many squared and triangular buildings.

"Are these tombs? I thought they were houses."

"Our houses are side by side with those who have passed," Aswana said cheerfully. "We feel less lonely knowing they are near us. We also give homes to those who fell through the sands but were not as lucky as you, O Skeeve. Like that one."

She pointed to a small building indistinguishable from the houses to either side, except that the door and windows were sealed up. Statues stood outside every building, some with their left feet forward, others with their right feet ahead. This house had the figure of a Ghord with his left foot out. I could only imagine what Deveels would have thought of wasting so much real estate. I already knew what my fellow Klahds would feel about it. I shivered as we went past.