The River of Dancing Gods (30 page)

"I think I've had enough of monsters for a while," she remarked. She suddenly had a thought. "Uh—Dacaro. That big spell took a lot out of me, right?.

"Yes. All you had, really..

"And—it's being replaced slowly out of faerie?.

"Um, yes. I was wondering when you'd think of that..

"Have I—changed?.

"A little," he answered honestly. "But it will be gradual in any event..

"Will it be—enough? To push me over the edge, that is?.

"I can't say. The external changes first, though, that much I know. But you won't be beyond mortality until your wings grow out, so you can at least tell from that..

She thought about it. "Wings. You mean like those the little fairies had on the boat?.

"Perhaps. There are lots of wings. I don't expect you to shrink much, since that would have been among the first things to notice. So the wings would have to be different—they have to support a different mass. Why? Having second thoughts.

Nervous?.

Page 154 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods "Nervous? Yeah. Because I don't know what to expect, what price I'm paying. Sort of like selling your soul to the devil. At the time you don't even realize it's gone, but when the time comes, you sure miss it..

"Perhaps, when this is over, you can talk with some of the fairies," he suggested. "But, regardless, you either stop or go on..

"It's not that much of a choice, really. Like last night. It was me or nobody..

"I think I might have done it—differently—through Macore.

He has the sense of the art, but absolutely no knowledge or training. It might have killed him, but I could have done it..

She sighed. "Some choice. But that's not the only factor, Magic's my edge. It's what I do here. If I give it up, I might as well open a stall and sell potions..

"Suit yourself. I wouldn't get so worked up about this changeling business, anyway. We'll probably all die in this mission..

She chuckled. "Optimistic, aren't you?.

"We'll see..

178 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS JACK L. CHALKER 179 The pass through the mountains showed clearly now. The slope was steep, but gentle enough for horses and perhaps a wagon team if need be. The pass itself was quite wide, although it looked to be a very slow and relaxed climb of a couple of thousand feet, at least. They started up and were soon surrounded by high mountain walls.

Within the first couple of hours the temperature had dropped considerably, and they all were feeling chilled. Although there was no snow evident in the pass, it was all around not too far above them.

"We're going to have to buy some warmer clothes for this place, if we don't freeze to death right here," Joe muttered.

"Near naked's all right for the hot stuff, but it's nothin' to be in a snowstorm..

The others, who were dressed better than he but not for this, could only nod in agreement. Making matters worse, the sun was already low enough to be masked by the surrounding mountains.

Marge shivered and called to Macore, "How much longer to this town of yours? Will we make it before nightfall?.

Page 155 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods "Hard to say," the little thief called back. "Remember, I never came in this way before. But I do know that it's in a glacial valley just below this pass on the other side. It will be touch and go between us and night, but we'll have to do what we can..

It was early evening, and there were flecks of snow in the air when they finally made the summit of the pass and could look out to the other side. There was little sun left, but it was still light enough for them to see, and the village just below was as Macore had promised.

Kidim was set inside a U-shaped glacial valley carved out long ago. The valley was almost a bowl set in the mountain, not terribly deep but about a mile and a half wide. Its water was glacial melt, which formed a formidable lake in about half the depression; but while it was fed by mountain snows, it overflowed away from the village part of the bowl, over in an imposing, tall waterfall that dropped into another bowllike lake several hundred feet below. That lower lake was in turn the source of the River Sik—incredibly, navigable from that point all the way down to the River of the Sad Virgin and eventually to the great Dancing Gods itself. The lower pool was fed not only from the waterfall but also from countless rivulets and small streams, some gushing right out of the mountain.

Kidim, however, was above all that, in the best defensive position. It reminded Marge of nothing so much as a Swiss village, the kind they used for the Olympics or bobsled runs.

It was a town of perhaps seven or eight thousand living in elaborately painted and decorated clapboard and gingerbreadstyle houses, and it was alight with life.

Joe looked around. "Not bad. They could hold that pass back there with a relatively small force; nobody would be safe charging up here from down there. It's almost a perfect natural fortress..

Macore nodded. "And those walls are heavily fortified. They can close it off in a moment and withstand a tremendously long siege. It is said, too, that caves in the mountain itself, known only to the townspeople, are stocked with food and weapons— and even offer escape routes. Their treasures are stored somewhere back there, which makes them so hard to get at..

Cold and miserable, they anxiously headed for the town gates, the pillars of which were carved out of the natural granite.

The gates were open. Although there were guards atop the walls looking down on them, there was no challenge or attempt to stop them.

The town was busy at dusk. Sidewalk cafes were filled, and from the various brightly lighted buildings that so resembled chalets could be heard the sounds of entertainment, eating, dining, and general merrymaking.

"Now this is more like it!" Marge exclaimed. "I'd begun to give up on High Pothique!.

"It varies widely," Macore responded. "This little City-State is extremely rich and fat. But it gets that way because of its position here. Anyone who wants the valued raw materials of Page 156 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods High Pothique's interior deals through here. Anybody wanting to sell anything to the remote tribes and nomads of the interior has to go through here. This is a classic case of geographic greed in action!.

First they found the stables and, for a very high charge, got the horses and mule taken care of and the supplies stored in a bonded and guarded storage area. It was clear from the almost ten grains they were charged, though, that Kidim knew it had travelers where it wanted them.

180 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS JACK L. CHALKER 181 At Macore's urging, they decided they would splurge for this one night, staying in the highest-class inn—actually called a hotel—in the town. Each would have a separate bed this night—a soft, down-filled, luxurious one with silken sheets and fine wool blankets. Again they took two rooms, using the same arrangement as before.

They skipped the hotel dining room, though—it looked a bit too posh for such burned and unwashed travelers as they— and opted instead for a small, friendly restaurant down the street. The food was wonderful, the wine choice, and when Macore got the bill and told them what it was, they could only wonder what the hotel dining room would have cost.

Afterward, since they wanted to walk off their stuffed feelings, Macore counted out some money to each of them so they could wander about and perhaps pick up some warmer clothing.

They walked around together for a while, but Marge got interested in a clothing store with exotic fashions, Macore wanted to check out some old haunts, and that left three. Grogha and Houma were soon at home in a bar with the promise of live female fairies performing erotic, unnatural acts on stage, and that left Joe.

He wandered down the street, stopped in a clothing store for men, and finally found a wool jacket and high-top, furlined boots that would be good in mountain country. Feeling wanner and much, much poorer, he just ambled around for a bit. He was feeling lonely again, and there wasn't much he could do about it.

A young woman—she couldn't have been more than sixteen or a few months older—approached him coyly. She looked too clean and well dressed to be a prostitute, but here one never knew.

"Sir?" she whispered conspiratorially.

Well, maybe they were clean and well dressed here. "Yes?.

"Sir—you look like a gentleman. Would you care to seduce Page 157 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods and abandon me tonight?.

He chuckled over the phrasing. "Sed—how much?.

She looked shocked. "I'm not a common whore!" she snapped. "I would not dream of charging!.

He was immediately suspicious in the extreme. It sounded like one of those too-good-to-be-true offers—which they always were. Sure, honey. Go with you, then get waylaid by thugs, robbed, and maybe murdered.

"Uh-uh, honey. Not tonight," he told her regretfully and walked on.

He hadn't gone another block when a totally different woman, perhaps even younger than the first, beckoned and made the same offer. Again he refused, although she almost pleaded with him.

Finally he said, "All right—what's this all about? Why does every young girl in this town want to-be—seduced and abandoned —tonight?.

She looked a little apprehensive, then pulled him gently into an alleyway right off the street. "You have been propositioned before tonight?.

He nodded.

She sighed. "We're all trying it on every stranger we meet.

It is impossible to get anyone local to do it. They would insist on marriage or we'd be dishonored because it would be found out. But a stranger could do it—and no one would know. Lots of girls have done it. What's wrong with we?" She pouted almost like a small child.

He stepped back a moment, still confused. "Let me get this straight. Are you telling me you're a virgin?.

"Of course!" she came back proudly. "Otherwise, what would be the point of this?.

He coughed and swallowed back a snappy reply to that one.

Only a virgin would make that kind of a comment.

"What is it—some kind of bet? Or maybe some magic spell?.

"Oh, of course not! It's the dragon!.

That stopped him. "Dragon? What dragon?.

"You are new here. Just a little over four weeks ago a dragon was spotted flying to and from a new eyrie in the high mountains just behind us. It's been seen almost every night since, flying to and fro, probably establishing its nest. Once it does, it will— hunt." She looked up at him desperately, and there were actually tears in her eyes. "Don't you see? Dragons are attracted to virgins!.

He leaned back against the building wall, feeling the need for support, an expression of utter disbelief on his face. "Let Page 158 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods 182 JACK L. CHALKER THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS 183 me get this straight," he said again. "There's a dragon in the area?.

She nodded. "First one in more than a century in these parts..

"And dragons eat virgins?.

"Everybody knows that..

Well, everybody didn't, but.. ."Are you trying to tell me that every virginal girl past puberty is sneaking out at night in this town and begging to be—" He groped for a word she'd understand instead of the ten that came immediately to mind.

"—violated by every strange man she meets?.

"Well, of course! Why else would we be doing this?.

He broke into a big grin. "And about how many of you virgins are there?.

"A couple hundred a month ago," she told him. "Maybe half that now. It's kind of—hard—to bring yourself to do it.

But the Books of Rules state that the dragon could start hunting any time after establishing its eyrie, and that takes thirty days.

So you see why....

He shook his head in wonder. A trucker's paradise, he thought. As if you died and went to heaven... Not, he told himself, that he didn't feel sorry for the poor girls. He understood their fears—he thought. But—a town full of willing virgins whose honor would force them never to tell? It was the most absurd thing he'd ever heard. Funny, too. He no longer felt very tired at all...

It was quite late when Marge got back to the hotel room, and she was surprised to find none of the men there as yet.

She sighed and shook her head. She felt really done in and about as grimy as she ever had.

She spread out the garments she'd bought with almost all her money. They were practical ones, good for mountain work, but the fur was soft and fitted snugly about her. She couldn't be certain what the fur was—the term used by the saleswoman had been unfamiliar to her—but she decided it was probably better not to know. Still, with these clothes, she'd be extremely warm; and with the small, pointed-toe boots and tight-fitting gloves, she'd look almost like an elf.

Like an elf She wondered about that. Casually she un- Page 159 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods dressed and went to the full-length mirror in the luxury room and looked at herself once more. Had she changed.

The image looking back at her from the mirror was not really a familiar one, of course, but it had changed since she'd last examined it. Her ears, for example, which Ruddygore had noted were turning back and changing, had changed more. They were fully pointed now and sharply back on her head. Elflike ears that looked fine, even exotic, with her streaked hair—but were definitely not human in the slightest. Her eyes, too, seemed huge, sad, and teardrop-shaped, with unnaturally long lashes.