'Here, big boy,' said Guest.
Then tossed the head to one side. It flew, it fell, it hit, it rolled. It rolled in the direction of the totem pole, leaving a splattering of blood upon the sand.
As the crocodile hesitated, Guest hacked off a hand, and threw it so it fell a little nearer the totem pole than the head.
At which the savage who was standing on the sands in the shadow of the totem pole waited no longer. He saw what must inevitably happen. There was no room for him upon the totem pole, therefore he must inevitably meet his doom when the Weaponmaster's treacherous tactics betrayed him to the arena's monsters. Choosing to meet his dead as a hero, the savage screamed, and charged toward the crocodiles.
Inspired by this example – and perhaps realizing that some adroit flesh-hacking and flesh-throwing could disperse their small-minded enemies so as to make them easy game for organized human onslaught – his comrades came scrambling down from the totem pole to join him in his efforts.
Now it happens that the crocodile is a very expensive beast, for Dalar ken Halvar lies in the heartland of the great continent of Parengarenga, and the crocodile must be brought there at enormous cost from the Crocodile Coast, which lies some 1500 leagues to the west of the city. There are in Dalar ken Halvar people who devote their entire lives to this business of bringing crocodiles from the sea to the city for the annual gladiatorial games. Consequently -
As Guest and his de facto allies started scattering the crocodiles by the simple process of throwing lumps of dead meat in all directions, those in charge of the arena started doing their calculations.
The crocodile is a beast of very little brain, and knows not the virtue of alliance. So, compelled by simply hunger, the brutes were already scattering to glut themselves on the chunks of ragged meat which Guest and his savages were so freely delivering. It was inevitable that Guest and his well-armed little army would soon start the slaughter of the beasts.
This would have been a disaster for Dalar ken Halvar's entertainment industry, since the Arena's schedule called for those very crocodiles to eat a great many unarmed slaves, heretics, common criminals and juvenile delinquents in the days which yet lay ahead.
So, fearful of their investment and the despoilment of their timetable, those who commanded the Grand Arena threw open the gates which led to the burning sands, and crocodile-handlers poured out in force to defend the poor animals against the merciless Weaponmaster and those with whom he had leagued himself.
Even as the crocodile-handlers started pouring out onto the sands, the silver screen of the Door hummed into life again. The savages cried out in excitement. Abandoning their corpse-hacking efforts, the savages fled for the Door, and vanished through it.
But Guest stood his ground, for he thought himself as safe in Dalar ken Halvar as anywhere.
Or was he?
As Guest was rethinking it, the Door snapped out of existence once again – and he realized the decision had been made for him.
Chapter Fifty-Three
The Penvash Circle: the Circle accessed by the Door in the Old City of Penvash runs thus: – the Old City of Penvash – an unmapped forest of eucalyptus – an ocean cay at anchor in Moana – the fringes of Defelfankarzosh – an unmapped mountainside – the Plain of Tazala – a jungle a night away from the Old City's Penvash day – the Grand Arena of Dalar ken Halvar – a cold cannibal beach – and back again to the Old City of Penvash.
So the bewilderments of rescue brought Guest Gulkan to the city of Dalar ken Halvar. In later conference with Plandruk
Qinplaqus, the Silver Emperor who was master of Dalar ken Halvar and lord of the Empire of Greater Parengarenga, Guest eventually decided that Thayer Levant must have escaped from the Old City with both the star-globe and the secret of the Doors.
'That,' said Guest, 'would explain why I was found by a gang of bandits. For Levant must have sold them the star-globe and the secret of the Doors.'
Being thus satisfied that he had fully and properly explicated the manner of his rescue, Guest debated long and diligently with Plandruk Qinplaqus, endeavoring to decide what he should do next.
The Weaponmaster still wished to make himself master of the Circle of the Partnership Banks.
'But,' said he, 'the last time I tried to make alliance with the demons of the Banks, they betrayed me.'
'Of course,' said Qinplaqus. 'For they had Shabble. But it seems Shabble has lost itself, so now they have the bubble not. If you can win the star-globe and make your return to Alozay, then you may find Italis and its kind more amenable to your discipline.'
If.
Could Guest find the star-globe? Could he return to Alozay?
Could he find a way to break Italis to his will?
He could only try, for, as he saw it, he had precious little by the way of alternative.
So Guest Gulkan sat with Plandruk Qinplaqus, endeavoring to chart out his destiny, and, by application of cunning and intelligence, to find a steady course into the future – a course which he would be able to hold regardless of the buffets of fortune.
In order to minimize his liabilities as he ventured to Argan to pursue the star-globe, Guest Gulkan decided to leave the yellow bottle in Dalar ken Halvar. It had saved his life during his maroonment on a desert island; but, during his brief travels with Rolf Thelemite and his fellow bandits, Guest had realized the bottle to be as much of a danger as it was an asset. It was such a prize that it could not be openly held by anyone less than an emperor.
So Guest divested himself of the bottle and the ring which commanded it. Plandruk Qinplaqus declared that the bottle would, in future, be used for the transportation of crocodiles from the coast to the city. This would allow great economies, and give a valuable boost to the city's entertainment industry. The Silver Emperor even drew up a formal contract under which Guest leased the bottle to Dalar ken Halvar for that purpose.
'So,' said Qinplaqus, 'you now have a source of earnings here, which will guarantee your financial security during the years of your retirement if you meet with failure in your quest.'
This was all very reasonable, but it dismayed Guest thoroughly. Retirement! Was he to think of retirement? He was in his maturity, was at his peak, was ready for the rule of the Circle, the rule of the world! How then could he think of retiring to Dalar ken Halvar? To live by the Yamoda River; to swim in the waters of Lake Shalasheen; to eat polyps and soy beans; to live in a bamboo hut… no, it was scarcely a vision of paradise.
Having divested himself of the yellow bottle and its controlling ring, Guest then decided to leave his mazadath in Dalar ken Halvar. He knew what it was for, and knew it was no good to him.
This left Plandruk Qinplaqus holding the profits of the struggles of Guest Gulkan's life. The Silver Emperor had become the guardian of the yellow bottle and its controlling ring; the mazadath; and the cornucopia, which steadfastly refused to generate anything whatsoever except black slime. The Silver Emperor was ruler too of the x-x-zix, the fabled wishstone of Untunchilamon, which still refused to control the Hot Mouth.
Despite all the efforts of a team of mad scientists supervised by Asodo Hatch, this weather machine remained beyond human control, and it was supposed that it might take two or three generations to discipline the thing. Guest thought of these treasures as tokens of defeat. Rightly or wrongly, he had derived one great lesson from their possession: he was not adequate to the difficulties of contending against demons and gods. The great error of his life had been when he had first trusted the demon Italis.
Icaria Scaria Iva-Italis, demon of Safrak and Guardian Prime, had promised Guest that he would be granted the powers of a wizard if he would only liberate the Great God Jocasta from imprisonment in Obooloo's Temple of Blood. But the demon had been lying. The Great God Jocasta had been lying. At great personal cost, Guest had succeeded in liberating Jocasta from the Temple of Blood – and Jocasta had immediately possessed him, and had tried to make him kill his father.
Thanks to the intervention of Anaconda Stogirov, Guest lived free of possession, his father yet survived, and a badly damaged Jocasta was hiding out in the nethermost depths of Cap Foz Para Lash. In preparation for his
