as the greatest of my enemies, but I have heard nothing of these Ethnologists.'
'They are a new and horrible kind of evil,' said Guest. 'They are a cabal of wizards which specializes in the destructive interrogation of selected individuals from every race and nation.
They seek to gain intimate knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of each breed of men, so that by possession of such knowledge they can conquer the world.'
This news was of intense interest to Elkor Alish, who was widely famed for his hatred of all wizards. So the mighty Rovac warrior demanded a full account of Guest's experiences at the hands of the Ethnologists, and Guest happily obliged, ending with a graphic account of the heroic manner in which he had finally fought his way out of the Castle of Controlling Power, leaving seven wizards dying in his wake.
'All this is well and good,' said Alish, pleased to hear a tale so greatly to his taste. 'But you have yet to explain why I should hire you as my bodyguard. I am of the Rovac and have others of the Rovac in my entourage.'
'Yes, my lord,' said Guest. 'And my father was of the Yarglat, and had many mighty Yarglat warriors in his entourage.
Yet his bodyguards were of the Rovac. For the Rovac had no power base in Tameran, therefore could not be a threat to his rule.
Likewise, as a single Yarglat barbarian in the Greater Teeth, I have no power base. Hence I can be trusted.'
'Are you accusing my Rovac compatriots of harboring thoughts of revolution?' said Alish.
'I remark only that my lord is said to have lately been in dispute with one of his valued Rovac compatriots,' said Guest Gulkan. 'While serving in Androlmarphos, I have heard much of the tale of Elkor Alish and Morgan Hearst. The details are all in confusion, yet it seems clear that here were two Rovac warriors, and that bad blood led to battle between them.'
This was undeniable.
Still.
'There are many refugees like yourself,' said Alish.
'Masterless men without power base. If I make a choice of such for my bodyguards, why should I trust one of them and not you?'
'Because of my familiarity with wizards and their ways,' answered Guest. 'Wizards are your enemies, or so it is said. As their prisoner, I have learnt of their ways, and of their devices.
My lord has sought to command such devices, and to use them against their originators. Yet many of his men have a superstitious dread of such things, and no knowledge of their powers and limitations.'
'Good, but not good enough,' said Elkor Alish. 'There are a thousand people a day petitioning for my patronage. You will have to do better than that if you want to be my bodyguard.'
'Then,' said Guest, 'know this. I had a special motive for seeking to serve you.'
'What?' said Alish.
'I am Guest Gulkan, the son of Onosh Gulkan, and the rightful heir to the Collosnon Empire. My lord Alish is engaged in a struggle which has as its ultimate aim the control of the western seaboard of Argan and the destruction of the Confederation of Wizards. With such ambition secured, his thoughts will turn north.
Surely. With his ambition contented by the digestion of Argan, he will want allies in the north. I do not ask my lord to give me an army. Not now. Not this month, or next. But I suggest to my lord that it might be to his ultimate advantage to accept my offer of service, that he may sound out the degree to which my oath is trustworthy, and learn my temper.'
This speech was greatly pleasing to Elkor Alish.
It was true that Alish had grotesquely grandiose visions of conquest, and entertained these visions still, even though he had lost the city of Androlmarphos and had been driven back to the Greater Teeth. In defeat, few believed that Alish could do more than hold those bare and barren rocks against the onslaughts of his enemies. So Guest made the sweetest of music when he confidently stated that Alish would secure Argan as his own – and then have the strength to look for greater influence to the north.
Alish considered at length.
Then said:
'I can offer you nothing now.'
'I ask for nothing now,' said Guest. 'I wish only to serve, that we may measure each other's temper. When we have tested each other's temper, then we may talk of power, of conquest, of alliance. Till then, my sword is yours.'
With that persuasive argument, Guest Gulkan entered the service of Elkor Alish. Flattery had helped win him that position; and his knowledge of the works of wizards; and the fact that he had personally murdered seven wizards in the course of escaping from the vile and hideous ethnologists who had turned the Castle of Controlling Power into a grim place of screaming evil and of blood-curdling torture. Added to this, it must be acknowledged that a person of royal birth is always of potential use to any ruler; for the superstitions of the world are such that it is commonly thought that an emperor's son has a heaven-sent claim to great destiny, and Elkor Alish must surely have been aware of the political potential of such superstition.
So Guest was installed in the court of Elkor Alish, who was then making a diligent effort to acquire whatever devices of wizardly power he could gather in by purchase, by bribery, by search and by theft.
Having thus placed himself at the heart of the information nexus, Guest was ideally placed to learn of the destiny of the star-globe. And his manoeuvering was duly rewarded on the day when Rolf Thelemite himself was produced before Elkor Alish, and was commanded to tell the tale of his adventuring in Penvash.
One can imagine the shock, astonishment and consternation of Rolf Thelemite when he was brought before Elkor Alish and found the Weaponmaster standing as bodyguard at that warlord's side.
Rolf had last met up with Guest on a desert island on the Circle of the Door of the Old City, and had last parted from him on a battlefield to which one of the other Doors of that Circle had opened.
How then had Guest come to be standing on the Greater Teeth, in company with Elkor Alish? And in what capacity was he there?
And with what intention?
'Be not afraid of me,' said Elkor Alish, seeing Rolf Thelemite's confusion. 'I am merciful. All I want is the truth. Do but grace me with the truth of your history, and I will be content.'
Then Guest intervened.
'My lord,' said Guest. 'If I may make so bold.'
'Be bold,' said Alish. 'It is a virtue in a warrior, though it be a vice in a chambermaid.'
'Then, my lord,' said Guest, 'let me say that I know this man. This Rolf Thelemite, he was bodyguard to my father in the days when he served my father in Gendormargensis. He was a mighty warrior in my father's armies, and covered himself in glory in the battles of our empire. His confusion is perhaps because he thinks I have placed myself at your side by subterfuge.'
'Is this so?' said Elkor Alish.
'It, uh, it's true,' said Rolf Thelemite, whose true terror came from the fact that he was an oath-breaker accursed of Rovac, and was sure to be dead meat if Elkor Alish learnt of the details of his history.
'Then know that Guest Gulkan has declared himself to us properly as the son of Onosh Gulkan, the Witchlord of Tameran,' said Elkor Alish. 'He has declared himself further to be the son of Bao Gahai, a witch – and, as all the world knows, the witches are the sworn enemies of all wizards. My enemy's enemy is my friend, and the wizards of the Confederation are most definitely my enemies.'
This set Rolf Thelemite to gaping, for, if there was anything Rolf was sure of, it was that Guest Gulkan was not and could not possibly be the son of Bao Gahai. For the dralkosh Bao Gahai was surely a thousand years beyond the age of childbearing, hence could not have mothered Guest. But – well, Elkor Alish had never set eyes on Bao Gahai, nor was he likely to. And doubtless Guest had stretched the truth at the corners to win himself the confidence of the doughty Elkor Alish.
Very well.
'My lord,' said Rolf. 'I, uh, you're – it's this globe you're interested in.'
'This globe of stars,' confirmed Elkor Alish. 'This Door of Doors.
'You've, ah, heard some of this story,' said Rolf Thelemite.
'From Drake Douay, I mean. Did you speak to him? They said you met him in 'Marphos, they said – '
