The River of Dancing Gods (23 page)

"I'm more concerned with that horrible monster part," Houma put in. "So we fight or sneak our way through this horde— and once we go in, this thing just gobbles us up..

"That's a possibility," Ruddygore agreed. "But I didn't form Page 115 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods this Company for an easy job..

"All the while the Baron sends a small army," Macore added. "Less and less do I like this..

"That is not a concern—at least the army part," the sorcerer assured him. "First of all, it' s no mean trick to cross the Dancing Gods below the River Tasqom, particularly with a large force.

Second, such a force would be set upon by Marquewood and would have a hard fight through Stormhold, only to have to climb and pass through the Vale. Not likely. No. He will send a small company, somewhat under cover. They won't be pleasant folk, but they, too, will know they have to get there by stealth, not a fight..

"Okay, so that puts 'em in the same shape as us," Joe said.

"It still don't sound like a picnic..

"Neither was the Circean, and you managed," Ruddygore noted. "You, Joe, and you, Marge, are particularly well prepared.

Dacaro has a great deal of knowledge to aid you, should it be necessary, and Marge has the means to use that knowledge..

"Okay, so we won't be completely disarmed," Joe responded.

"Still, the odds look pretty bleak..

"As bleak as escaping from Circe's grasp and regaining humanity?" the wizard teased. "Joe—all of you—trust me a bit. We are not alone in this fight, you know. The Baron has 134 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS the forces of Hell, but the other side is pretty effective, too.

They told me that you were the one, Joe. They sent me over to get you. I did—and at the time, I didn't even know why.

Frankly, I still don't—but I know you're their choice. Your very survival the past few days proves it. You know you were very, very lucky, Joe. Lucky the Circean came along just when she did to save you from the water sprite. Lucky to have succeeded in your crazy scheme to steal the rod and escape.

Well, Joe, there's no such thing as luck. Not really. Good luck and bad luck are the terms we lesser ones give to angelic and demonic forces. For some reason, Joe, you have friends in high places. They'll help you out..

Joe chuckled dryly. "Friends in high places. Guardian angels.

Man! I sure ain't no saint!.

"There's no way to understand them—they are beyond us and very alien from anything we know or understand. But they're real. It's how they've operated the past two millennia.

Why they choose one over the other, why they let good men be tortured and killed and evil ones march, I can't begin to understand. But I go with the flow, Joe, because it's also in my best interest. And you're it..

Joe sat back, trying to accept what he'd been told and having trouble with it. "Well, I'll be damned—uh, I guess if you're right, maybe 1 won't be, huh?.

Ruddygore laughed. "Maybe you will, maybe you won't.

Page 116 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods Dante put most of the popes in Hell, remember. So don't let it go to your head. And don't count on it. They can drop you, or make you a sacrifice, as easily as they can take you all the way. But they have forearmed you a bit..

"Huh?.

"You have a Company of brave men. You picked up this young woman on the road, and she has proved a talented adept.

You have—by chance?—Dacaro's knowledge and understanding of the magical arts. And these three men know the territory, more or less. One has been near there; the other two still are more accustomed to this world and are valuable as, say, native guides. And I'll add one additional factor before we leave here tonight. For now—any more questions?.

"I think I have a bundle," Marge said. "For one thing, why is this Lamp so vital?.

JACK L. CHALKER 135 "Surely you recall the legends of magic lamps," the sorcerer replied. "What were those magic lamps like in the old stories?.

"Grant wishes," Grogha said brightly.

Ruddygore nodded. "Yes. Grant wishes. With this Lamp you can more or less suspend both Laws and Rules, magical or physical .Within limits, of course, or the Lamp could destroy the structure of the universe. Still, whatever mortal holds the Lamp of Lakash has the wishing power. And contrary to all those stories you may have heard, one wish and one wish only is what you get..

Marge frowned. "Only one? Isn't it always three?.

The sorcerer smiled. "That is the curse of the Lamp. Almost everyone believes it that way, and there are few to tell you different. And so, consumed by power, you make a second wish, secure in the old tales that you will get it..

"And what happens?" Houma asked, breathless and fascinated.

"Interestingly, you get it. But you get something else as well. Come! Come! What is the other thing that comes with the Lamp?.

Marge thought a moment. "A genie?.

"Exactly!" Ruddygore cried. "A genie! But what is the nature of this genie? What sort of being is he, and whence does he come? The answer is rather simple—the genie is the last person to use the Lamp more than once!.

"But they always called the genie the slave of the lamp in my old stories," Grogha noted. "What does he do, anyway?.

"He is, in every respect, the slave of the Lamp, bound to serve whatever mortal next possesses it. And I do mean slave.

You must do whatever the possessor commands. And you're stuck that way until somebody else makes the same stupid mistake you did and replaces you. Now you see the greatest curse of the Lamp. If you don't get rid of it—literally give it Page 117 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods to somebody else—you'll eventually be trapped. And if you do, then they will have a wish—so you had better trust them absolutely, since you no longer may use the Lamp. Of course, no matter what, the Lamp's possessors eventually run out of a chain of people they can trust. And that's why it's best in the hands of somebody like me. I can not use it and, therefore, can not be cursed by it. And I will seal it away so that no one will get to it unless there is dire need—and under my control..

136 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS "Hey, now! Wait a minute!" Joe jumped in. "If you can't use it, then neither can this Baron, right?.

Ruddygore nodded. "That's correct..

"So what harm is it just to let him have it?.

The sorcerer sighed. "Joe, surely your own experiences show that mortals can be placed under a ton of spells and told to do just about anything at all. Remember your cherubs? The Baron wouldn't need to use it himself—but he has an endless supply of people he owns and controls body and soul to make wish after wish/or him..

"Yeah, I guess he could just wish he'd win the war and that'd be that," Houma speculated.

"No," the wizard assured him. "I said the Lamp was quite limited—and it is. First, the wish must be personalized, and confined to a specific localized magical event. So all right, he could wish for a fog before the battle, or that our horses take sick. Even for an earthquake, if he were losing. But a battle has too many people, human and nonhuman, with too many variables for the Lamp to handle it properly. He couldn't even wish for the enemy army to turn to stone, since that wish would affect only the mortals in the army and would be limited to his specific area of battle. It would allow him to escape a desperate situation, but not to win or lose. It could, however, tip the balance in his favor..

"If it works only on mortals, does that mean we can't wish this monster somewhere else?.

The sorcerer shrugged. "Probably you could. I doubt if you could wish it dead, though. And you can never be sure if you' ve properly phrased your wish. That's another little curse. For example, saying 'I wish we didn't have that monster to worry about any more' gives the Lamp a lot of leeway. It could allow you to die—and then you wouldn't worry. If / wanted a sure thing, I would wish that the monster was friendly toward me and my companions and would not bother us in any way. That would be pretty sure..

"/ see," Marge nodded. "Make the wish about us and our relationship to the threat..

"Man! You could still wish yourself filthy rich! Or maybe immortal!.

"'Filthy rich' is an interesting term," Ruddygore noted.

"Knowing the Lamp, I imagine it would probably put your gold JACK L.CHALKER 137 Page 118 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods at the bottom of a great cesspool. Yes, you could wish for wealth—but even there you must be careful. Being rich or noble does you no good if your riches and title are in some far-off land. As for immortality—I suspect that that wish would be a real curse, particularly if you could never remove it. And once you make that wish, beware of any loopholes you leave, such as about whether or not you'd age. The rules are basic.

Keep it simple, very specific, and very personal. And be careful about random wishes. The possessor of the Lamp has only to preface a statement with 'I wish' and it is one. So, saying 'I wish I had a drink' or something like 'I wish I were dead' can at best be wasteful and surprising—at worst, fatal. Even something as simple as 'I wish I knew' would do it..

"You seem pretty confident of us," Macore noted. "What makes you think we won't be corrupted by that power?.

"Oh, some of you probably will," he responded cheerfully.

"However, I have laid a geas on you that will require you to get the Lamp back to me..

Marge thought a moment. "Can't we just wish us all back here as soon as we have the Lamp?.

Ruddygore sighed. "I wish it were that simple. Unfortunately, the Lamp's transportability is somewhat limited. A rule of thumb would be that, if you can't see it, you probably can't reach it. Actually, the possessor alone could wish himself anywhere at all and probably get there—but only the possessor.

For a group, its power is limited—more or less to line of sight.

Say, fifty miles..

Joe sighed. "Oh, great. One of us can escape, but we'd leave the others stuck. So we have to make a run for it, anyway..

"That's about it," the sorcerer agreed. "In and out. Unless, of course, there is only one of you left..

That thought sobered them. "I wish you were coming with us," Grogha.said. "Then it would be easy..

"Not so easy, with me or not, for there are some things beyond my powers," he replied. "In any event, I am needed to aid and coordinate the battle that must come, no matter who wins the Lamp—if anyone does. But regardless of what else may happen, I must be assured that the Lamp either is in friendly hands or is impossible to get by either side. If the Baron gets it, we may fail. I think we have forces that are a 138 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS match for him. It is much better to defend than attack. But if I must spend all my time negating the Lamp, the Baron will be free to aid the battle. The Lamp's power is considerable, no matter what I've said. I think I can cancel or negate anything it does, if I work fast and furiously—but I can not handle the Baron and the Lamp. Better we have the Lamp and the Baron have the problem. See?.

"Negate..." Marge repeated, thinking. "You mean we might get the Lamp and then find the Baron lousing us up?.

Page 119 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods "You could. And a negated wish still counts. Remember that." He sighed and got up. "Well, I have done what I could.

Dacaro can help with advice, although he can't use the Lamp himself." Again he paused. "You understand now why I had to be so harsh with Dacaro? He was—is—very, very much like Sugasto. I simply could not take the chance with him after he, too, violated a sacred trust. Come..

They walked out into the darkness and to Ruddygore's library.

He went over to a wall, pressed a hidden stud, and the bookcase moved back and then to one side, revealing a small chamber. He entered, then returned with a long, heavy object wrapped in silk cloth. He went to the table as they all watched and carefully unwrapped it.

They crowded around and gasped when they saw what the silk masked. It was a sword—a great, magnificent sword. Its fancy hilt looked like polished gold, and its blade was sharp and shone with an unbelievable brightness. The blade, however, was totally encased in a solid block of what looked like transparent amber.

"Long ago I did a service for one incredibly high," Ruddygore told them. "This was a reward, of sorts. A true magic sword, forged by the ancient dwarf kings thousands of years ago. It's one of a number of such swords, all made during that time and all given only through supernatural will. It's rare, though, in that it remains as it was when forged. It has never been used. I had no need of it, and nobody before was worthy enough of it. Now, I think, Joe, it is time to put it to use..

Joe looked down at the sword. "It's beautiful," he breathed.

"But why is it magic?.

"First, the blade is an alloy of steel better than any ever seen. Most blades here are bronze, as you know. Steel contains iron, which means the blade is fatal to most fairy folk except 139 JACK L. CHALKER dwarves. Just a wound, the merest prick, would do it." He turned to Marge. "Don't you touch it, either! Even if it's necessary!.

"I'll remember," she assured him, looking at the beautiful sword nervously.

"Additionally, such swords as these are harder than diamonds.