Hugh Cook - The Witchlord and the Weaponmaster

"It is a demon," said the Witchlord Onosh, whose attention was given not to the Great God but to Ungular Scarth. "But it is short for its kind."

"Because," said Guest, heavily, "it is standing in water."

So it was, as Lord Onosh saw a moment later. The demon Ungular Scarth was half-buried in oily sewer waters. For the octagonal chamber in which the demon and the Great God were imprisoned was awash with sewer-water.

Fortunately, a metal grille reached from wall to wall, and looked as if it would allow the intruders to dare the approach to demon and god without getting their feet wet. Guest tested the grille, found that it bore his weight, and advanced to the base of the demon. The grille appeared to have been custom-made, and to have been installed long after the demon took up residence in this octagonal chamber, for the demon rose up from a neatly-edged square hole in that grille. Guest Gulkan glanced down into the oil sewer waters, where hunks of unidentifiable material floated on the surface. The water was still, unmoving, fetid. In the chamber's sullen silence, Guest heard his father's breathing, which was uncommonly labored. He guessed that Lord Onosh was distressed by this place, and found its silence hard to bear.

To break that silence, Guest Gulkan addressed the demon Ungular Scarth.

"I am the Weaponmaster, Guest Gulkan by name," said he. "I am here to rescue the Great God Jocasta in fulfillment of my oath."

"Greetings, Guest Gulkan," says the demon, speaking to him in his native Eparget.

"And to you, greetings," said Guest politely. "Okay, what do we do now?"

"You cut through the fields of force which have trapped my master," said Ungular Scarth.

"Okay then," said Guest.

Then Guest drew his sword, and, striking with all the confidence of a hairy-arsed barbarian who has hacked off more heads than the world has fingers to count, he struck. He hacked with his sword, striking a mighty blow, a blow sufficient for the decapitation of dragons, the rupture of chains, or the lopping off of the limbs of a giant. But that blow availed the Weaponmaster not, for his sword bounced off the bubbles of force as if off the celestial armor of the greater war-gods.

"Gods!" said Guest.

"Come," said Ungular Scarth. "You did but tickle it. You can do better than that."

"Better!" said Guest. "I have struck with force sufficient for the murder of ten men simultaneously."

"Then strike again," said the demon.

So Guest struck. But his metal bounced from the blue-burning force field which imprisoned the Great God Jocasta.

"What are you?" said Ungular Scarth. "Are you a child? I thought you a man!"

At which Guest was enraged, and hacked again at the force field. Again his metal bounced harmlessly from the sphere of force.

"Let me," said Lord Onosh.

Upon which Guest stepped aside, with hot sweat dripping down his forehead – sweat which was consequent upon the combination of exertion and embarrassment.

Lord Onosh hacked at the force field. But, just like his son, the Witchlord made no impression on that blue-burning armor.

"It is too much for us," said Lord Onosh.

Upon which the demon laughed.

"Ah," said Ungular Scarth, "but what did you expect?"

"We expected to be able to cut it," said Guest, starting to lose his temper. "Iva-Italis told us that steel would be ample for the purpose."

"And you believed my dear friend Italis?" said Ungular Scarth. "Of course you did. For you are but a naive barbarian.

Italis has told me of you. Often. And in detail."

"Naive!" said Guest. "Why am I naive? Am I not your ally? I came to save the Great God!"

"Then save the Great God," said Ungular Scarth.

"How?" said Guest. "We have tried to cut the force field, but we cannot."

"Of course you can't," said Scarth. "For your swords are not metal but wood."

"Wood!" said Guest, in renewed fury. "I'll show you what kind of wood this is!"

Then Guest chopped at the demon Ungular Scarth. But his blade bounced harmlessly from the demon's jade-green flanks.

"Cool yourself," said Scrath. "Cool and calm. Enough of jokes. If you would liberate the Great God Jocasta, then you must first secure a tool which is ample to your purpose. There is a kind of knife. Two specimens are known to me. One is carried by Anaconda Stogirov, the High Priestess of this temple. The other is in the possession of Aldarch the Third, the Mutilator of Yestron.

You will know these knives – "

"Knives!" said Guest. "I was told that a sword – "

"Italis lied," said Sken-Pitilkin. "I suspected as much. I told you so."

"True," said Ungular Scarth. "A sword is useless for the liberation of the Great God. To cut through the force field, you must first procure this special knife of which I have spoken."

"There are two spheres of force," said Guest. "The outer blue and the inner red. Will one knife cut through both?"

"You need only cut through the outer," said Ungular Scarth.

"The shell of blue-burning light was put there by Anaconda Stogirov. It keeps the Great God a prisoner. The inner shell of red light is a field of force which is generated by the Great God itself. That inner shell has preserved the Great God from all attack by the evil Stogirov."

"So the inner shell is armor," said Guest, "and the outer shell a cage."

"Precisely," said Ungular Scarth. "Now if you will but listen, then I will describe to you the knife which you must win to cut through the outer shell. The knife is small. It is curved.

It ends not with a point but with a bead. Stogirov has one, and the Mutilator has the other."

"There are only two?" said Guest.

"There was once a third, a fourth and a fifth," said Ungular Scarth. "But three are lost, and only two remain."

"Very well," said Guest, with some bitterness, realizing he was so deeply embroiled in this adventure that there was no easy way out. "Then tell me. Which of these knives is closest?"

"That which is closest is that which is carried by Anaconda Stogirov," said the demon. "For she dwells nearby."

Then the demon directed Guest Gulkan to her chambers, and so to her chambers the adventurers went. They quit the octagonal chamber which was home to the Great God Jocasta, exiting from that chamber by means of an arch set in its northern wall. The arch admitted them to another black tunnel, a tunnel which terminated in a stairway. Up the stairway they went, expecting to find Stogirov's bedroom at the top.

But they were far from the top when Guest – who was in the lead – unexpectedly stepped on a man who was sleeping on the stairs. Guest tripped, and went down. The man awoke with a bellow, and his bellow woke a dozen of his fellows.

Were these sleeping men guards, petitioners or exhausted lovers of the evil Stogirov? Guest had no time to ask, for the men did not stand still for questioning. Rather, they drew weapons and attacked the adventurers.

Such was the disorder of the dark that the men who guarded the stairs were soon hacking at each other in their blindness, while the adventurers tumbled back down the stairs.

"I am wounded," gasped the Witchlord Onosh.

And Guest Gulkan saw it was true. His father had been sorely wounded in the gut. Pain was clearly writ on his face, and Guest doubted him able to run.

"Guest," said Zozimus, speaking with harsh directness. "We must run. If your father cannot run with us, then you must make a choice."

"You could choose to put him in a time pod," said Thayer Levant.

"In a time pod?" said Guest, in amazement.

"Why not?" said Levant. "He'll be perfectly safe there."

"Your servant Levant speaks with good reason," said the demon Ungular Scarth. "Nobody in Obooloo has a ring apt for the opening and closing of these pods, not to my knowledge. Look! To your left! The pod nearest the exiting archway is empty!"