Part 6: The Palace of Rahmoud

"Listen to me!"

The group heard the voice, still crisp and commanding as ever, rise up over the sounds of preparation for battle. They scanned the front of the castle and quickly found Rahmoud. His face looked drawn and older, and his steel-gray beard had gone completely white. He was also dressed in white, from his boots to the burnoose on his head. When he met them ten years ago, Rahmoud had been disguised as a merchant, and wore no finery at all. Here, he looked every inch the part of the king that he was--and yet something was missing.

He continued his speech: "The search for my missing daughter must take us to our greatest battle yet. We have received word that the village of Menelik knows something of Ayisha's whereabouts. We shall go to them, and demand that they tell us what we need to know. If they fail to do so, we shall persuade them of their wrongs, as we have persuaded so many others."

He turned, adjusted the burnoose so that it covered his nose and mouth, and mounted one of the Realm's mutant animals; in this case, something like a two-legged horse. Brandishing his scimitar and yelling "Forward!", he led a column of Orcs across the sand to the northern horizon. Most of the Orcs went with him; only about twenty remained milling about outside the castle. There was no way to tell how many were inside.

"That's it," Presto muttered to himself, nodding his head. He'd put his finger on what was missing from Rahmoud: his laughter, his infectious love of life that first drew them to him.

"Shouldn't we be chasing him?" Diana asked in a whisper.

"We've been forgetting someone; look." They all turned back to the palace, following Hank's gaze, and seemed for the first time to notice a figure that had been standing beside and behind Rahmoud during his speech. He was a tall man, almost as tall as Bobby, and the group could tell even through his dark purple robes that he was extremely thin. His closely-styled black beard added to the severe effect. He stood perfectly still for a few moments, then barked some sort of gutteral command to two Orcs, who followed him into the palace.

"You sure he's Majnoun?" Presto asked.

"He sure acts like he's in charge. Whoever he is, I think he can tell us what we need to know."

"I hope you've thought of some way to get to him other than ringing the doorbell."

"Relax, Eric. Most of the Orcs went off with Rahmoud. There are only a few here. You and Diana sneak around to the right, the rest of us will go left. Once we sneak in, we meet up and try to find this Majnoun character."

"I'd like to hear a little more about the 'once we sneak in' part."

"There's no time," Bobby snapped. "Let's just do it."

Hank looked like he was about to say something to Bobby, then changed his mind. "He's right; we're going to have to make this one up as we go along."

"That still shouldn't be too bad," Presto said. "Orcs may be fierce, but even on a good day they're about as sharp as a bag of ping-pong balls. They need a strong will to control them--someone like Venger."

"That's easy for you to say, Presto, but there's two dozen Orcs down there at least!"

"Hey, you want to play it safe, you're welcome to just hang here. I'm here to get Sheila."

"Wait a minute, Rambo--"

"Both of you keep it down!" Diana whispered forcefully as she pushed herself between Eric and Bobby. "Eric, come with me to the right; there's some sort of stables there. Hank, I think there's a kitchen on the left."

"Sounds good; we'll meet in the middle." Hank slipped down behind a dune, Bobby and Presto following.

Diana turned on Eric. "Are you nuts? Bobby was ready to take your head off!"

"And you're calling ME nuts?!"

"Just follow me and keep quiet."

They worked their way around to the right, until they saw what Diana had meant. There was an animal pen attached to that side of the palace. Several odd species were milling around in the pen, which was a rail fence on three sides; the fourth opened into the palace. They recognized one of the Realm's odd animals as the desert beast they had ridden when they met Rahmoud the last time. It could be called a pachydary, since it was a seeming mixture of a camel and a woolly mammoth. For all their bulk and shaggy pelts, they had the endurance to move through the desert with little need for water, and were remarkably fast for their size. This one was ready for desert travel, with a howdah on its back big enough for two or three people.

"Never expected to meet up with this thing again," Eric whispered, wrinkling his nose at the animal's smell as they tiptoed past the pen.

"I'm sure they were glad to be rid of you, too. Last time you didn't handle yours too well."

"Hey, I remembered the command; the stupid thing just didn't like how I said it."

"Let's just get in before we're spotted."

They slid under the bottom rail of the fence, staying close to the castle wall. They reached the opening, without any sign of an Orc. They ducked inside--and almost collided with an Orc guard.

Bobby kept trying to push past Hank and Presto. He had been the least disciplined, least cautious of the group ten years before, and things seemed to be worse now. Hank put it down to concern about Sheila, but he was sure that Bobby wouldn't do anything foolish when things got serious. In a few minutes, they'd worked their way around to the side. As Diana had said, there was indeed a kitchen here. Some large outdoor pits had been dug in the sand, over which two Orcs were roasting some kind of animal carcasses.

Hank whispered to the others; "Let's wait a minute. They may give us an opening to sneak past."

"Why bother sneaking?" Bobby asked. "We could draw them all here, away from Eric and Diana."

"If we're going to confront Majnoun, it should be all of us; not just one or two. We don't know what kind of powers he's got."

Presto was feeling understandably nervous. Bobby had his club, Hank had his bow; they were set for a battle if one should happen. All Presto had was his hat, and that hadn't been working too well lately. Now here they were, staying as low as they could to avoid being seen in the middle of a desert; no trees or other cover for miles. Maybe he could do something about that. He pulled the conical hat off his head and began making passes over the opening.

Hank noticed the motions out of the corner of his eye. "Hey! Don't do that--"

Too late.

"I call on the powers of wind and tide:
Give us some weather where we can hide."

No sooner had he spoken than a small puff of a cloud, not much bigger than a basketball, spun out of the hat, rose into the desert air just above the three, stopped, and started--snowing. Presto was so surprised that he laughed in spite of himself.

The others weren't amused. "Good one, Four-Eyes," Bobby muttered. "You just gave us away." The Orcs at the cooking-fires had indeed seen the cloud, and were walking over to investigate. Bobby shoved Presto, knocking him off-balance onto the sand, and stood over him. "I'm gonna cut that damn hat up and feed it to you piece by piece."

"Later, Bobby!" Hank grabbed Bobby's shoulder and spun him away from Presto. "We've gotta scatter; lead them in different directions, but get to the kitchen door. It's unguarded now, and we've got a chance."

Bobby pointed his club at Presto. "As soon as I clean that clown's glasses."

"Now! Move it!"

Presto took advantage of the moment to scramble away from Bobby and take off into the desert. Bobby gave Hank a cold look that all but said "Go ahead; make my day," before he walked, deliberately toward the palace and the half-dozen Orcs who were now running toward them.

Eric may have been suave enough to get past a carnival roustabout in his own world, but he seemed to start losing his touch when confronted by the green-skinned uniformed beast in the stables. Still, he tried to brazen it out. "We--we're the new stablehands. Yeah, your boss, Majnoun, great guy by the way, he, he knew you were all gonna be busy fighting, and so, um, he, um, called the temp agency--"

Diana was close to surrendering, until she realized that, in trying to follow Eric's rambling monologue, the Orc had stopped and wasn't moving a muscle. It took everything the Orc had by way of a brain to try to hang onto a single train of thought from Eric. Diana moved a step closer to the pachydary and waited for a chance to make a break into the palace.

Eric caught a glimpse of her movement. "But, but what we're really good at is light castle-keeping. You know, just the basic chores you guys don't have time for..." He turned to Diana and spoke quickly out of the corner of his mouth: "Grab on and get ready."

Grab onto what? Get ready for what? Before Diana could make a move, Eric was back talking to the Orc.

"Yeah, you know, things like making the beds, waxing the car, and especially taking out the GTRRRRRAAASH!"

Eric had remembered the command Rahmoud told them would make the pachydary move. He'd never learned how to say it properly, however. Rahmoud kept telling Eric to roll his r's; what Eric did was closer to gargling. The result hadn't changed in ten years; the pachydary reared up, frightened, and turned toward the stables. The Orc panicked and ran into the castle.

"Okay! Did you see that?"

"See what, Eric? You got it wrong again!"

The pachydary, just as panicked as the Orc, turned a few quick circles before charging the fence. Eric and Diana just had time to leap aside before the beast rammed the fence. The fence was stronger than it looked, and held up.

"Come on, Diana!" Eric yelled as he reached for a rein on the moving animal. "Get on board and--" He was cut off when the pachydary tossed its head, and Eric with it. Still holding onto the rein, he was swung up and down like a pet's toy.

I hope I don't regret this later, Diana thought to herself as she jumped against the side of the pachydary. She grabbed onto the blanket that was draped over it, and pulled herself up into the howdah on its back. From there, she reached down beside the animal's ear and pulled the rein up until she could reach Eric's hand, then pulled him into the howdah.

Eric was shaken, but also ecstatic; as if this was just what he'd hoped would happen. "Alright! We've got 'em now! I'll bet you thought I didn't remember what to say to this whatsit. Well, don't worry about a thing. The Cavalier is back, with a mind like a steel trap. "

"If it's okay with you, Eric, I would like to worry about--THAT!" She grabbed Eric's head and pushed it down, his nose against the pachydary's pelt. If she hadn't, they would have gone with the canopy of the howdah, which was knocked off when the pachydary ran through a too-low doorway and into Rahmoud's palace.

Hank just stood amazed, watching Bobby walk straight at the Orcs. He was swinging his club back and forth as he walked, as if it was new to him and he was testing its weight. When the Orcs were ten yards away, Bobby stopped and yelled to them, "You want a piece of me?" The Orcs got closer.

In a day that had been filled with unlikely events, even before they got back to the Realm, this was among the strangest. They all knew about the limitations of their weapons. On their first day in the Realm, so long ago, DungeonMaster himself had subtly but firmly drilled into all of them the knowledge that these powerful weapons could not be used offensively; only for defense. Bobby had paid the least attention--after all, he was the youngest--but he had never broken that injunction. Until now.

Hank decided he couldn't wait to see what would happen. He raised his bow and fired off two arrows in rapid succession. They rushed up on either side of Bobby, then crossed in front of him and drove into the sand, raising a vast cloud of dust and digging a trench that cut the Orcs off on three sides.

Hank ran up behind Bobby, on the one side the arrows didn't dig in, grabbed the waistband of Bobby's loincloth and pulled him free of the sandcloud. Still, he kept his head down out of instinct. It served him well, since Bobby took one or two swings of his club in Hank's direction.

Hank shoved Bobby away from him once they were clear of the sandcloud. "What the hell are you thinking!" Hank yelled at Bobby. "This isn't about them!  We've got to get inside." Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Presto. He was already at the kitchen doorway, waving to the other two to follow. "You know why we're here. Do I have to stay by you to keep you in line? Because we don't have that kind of time to waste."

Bobby, unlike ten years ago, now had the advantage of strength and height over Hank, and could easily have taken him down. As it is, he just glared at Hank. "When this is over--you're mine." He turned suddenly and ran toward the kitchen.

The pachydary was a desert animal, adept at finding footing in sand. And it fared alright in the first room past the stables. Rahmoud had set this room up as a display area for his finer animals. They were bought and sold in this room whose floor was packed clay, brought to the middle of the Great Desert years before.

Eric raised his head up from where Diana had shoved it. "Y'know, a simple warning would've been enough."

"You mean like--here comes another one?!"

Eric's self-confidence was such that he didn't even turn. He brought his shield up, which had been resting on his forearm, and put it up to where he thought the doorframe would be.

"Eric, no!  It's not that kind of--"

Diana gave it up and ducked again, as Eric's shield hit a mass of brocaded tapestry that separated that room from the next. They were immediately buried in a mountain of fabric.

By the time they worked themselves free, they had passed into the Great Hall of Majnoun's palace. This room, when they could get to see it, took their breaths away. Ornate and elaborately decorated, it was a fantasy of the Arabian nights come to life. Pink and white marble columns supported a domed ceiling. Water moved through an elaborate fountain under the center of the dome; beyond it could be seen a courtyard with a garden, although that garden was looking overgrown and unkempt. The fountain's waters also moved through an elaborate set of waterdrums and whistles, creating a sonic background that was otherworldly.

But Eric and Diana had one more problem to worry about: the tile floor. Their beast was having a very hard time keeping its balance; its legs would skitter in four different directions, on a floor so slippery for the pachydary that it might as well have been on rollerskates. This did nothing to calm the animal's fear, and now its panicked cries were added to the sound of Orcs bellowing out orders and the music of the fountain. The only good thing about all this chaos, Diana thought, was that the Orcs weren't watching out for the others. They were too busy trying to stay out of the pachydary's way. She was almost relaxed and enjoying the ride as she looked around for Hank or Bobby, and tried to keep her balance. Eric, on the other hand, started panicking when the animal started skidding into the Great Hall and narrowly missed a pillar. He yelled any command he could think of at the pachydary; none of them worked.

Then one of the Orc soldiers remembered itself, picked up a spear that another Orc guard had dropped, and threw it at the animal. It sailed too high to hit the pachydary, but only missed Diana's head by a couple of inches.

"Break's over, Cavalier," she said, tugging Eric upright; "time to get to work." Before he could ask what she meant, another spear was thrown, this time at Eric.

He raised his arm; it bounced off the shield. "Where are the others? What's happening?"

Diana saw a small balcony--a platform not much larger than a telephone booth--overlooking the fountain from the palace's second story. The pachydary was headed unsteadily right toward it. "Cover me;" she told Eric; ""I'm going for the balcony."

She didn't get the chance. The pachydary, who had been moving more solidly the last minute, suddenly lost its footing again. Its legs came out from under it; it slipped onto its left side. And it tossed Diana and Eric into the fountain. Before they could make any move to get out, a dozen Orcs surrounded the fountain, with swords and spears drawn and threatening. Diana just slumped where she sat in the fountain. "Eric," she muttered, "next time you get a brilliant idea, just keep your steel trap shut."

Presto stayed by the kitchen door as long as he felt he could. He didn't want to be the first one in to face a pack of Orcs; he didn't want to do it without Hank and Bobby nearby. But from the little bit he could see and hear behind him, he could tell Hank and Bobby were arguing about something. That wasn't supposed to happen, he thought. It's all wrong. But so is Rahmoud leading an army of Orcs. He'd worry about that later. Just another minute; if Bobby and Hank haven't gotten it together--

He heard the Orc before he saw it. Rather, he heard the clatter of utensils and the rhythmic thud of running feet coming up behind him. Near the door a vial of powder sat on a table. Presto grabbed the open vial and threw it over his shoulder. His luck held, as the Orc was hit in the face with the jar of spice; this one, a kind of peppery coconut. A cloud of the spice bloomed around the Orc, who started sneezing so violently that its knees buckled and it sank to the kitchen floor. By now Bobby was halfway to the kitchen door, so Presto felt better about going into the palace. He noted the kitchen, with its tables, bowls and utensils made of a dozen differnt kins of wood, only in passing. Two curtained doorways on the far wall led to the palace. Presto pushed up his glasses, considered for a second, then ran toward the curtain on the left. He went through it just as Bobby arrived at the door.

The moment he arrived at the kitchen door, three Orcs parted the curtain on the right; past them, Bobby saw the fountain of the Great Hall. Without thinking, he swung his club against the end of a table that lay between him and the Orcs. Fortunately, the table was well-built; otherwise it would have splintered into bits. That hit sent the table flying across the floor, as if on wheels, straight at the Orcs. They dove out of the table's way; it sailed through the doorway, taking the curtain with it.

Hank arrived at the kitchen door in time to see Bobby striding across the kitchen, heading for the door into the Great Hall. Bobby mached through the right-hand door without looking; Hank stopped short, and looked around it to check out the scene. Three or four Orcs were trying to subdue a very large, very skittish wild animal that had gotten into the Great Hall. Another eight were guarding Eric and Diana. And six more were coming at Bobby, spears raised and menacing.

Bobby almost casually backhanded the club, breaking in half the spears he could reach. There was no sign of Presto.

I guess it's party time, Hank thought, as he loosed an energy bolt toward the Orcs by the fountain. This one stayed close to the floor as it stretched out like an uncoiling fishing-line. It wound its way around the Orcs' ankles, then suddenly tightened up, pulling the Orcs off balance. They fell to the floor as the golden cord of power dragged them toward the stables.

Unfortunately, Hank hadn't seen the two Orcs behind him, holding the piece of tapestry that Eric had knocked out of the doorway. They threw it on top of Hank, then tackled him.. With Hank's attention distracted, his last energy bolt simply faded like fog in the sunshine. The Orcs quickly regrouped.

It wasn't quick enough to stop Diana, who had her staff at the ready as soon as the Orcs guards fell, looking for an opportunity. The way seemed clear to a large staircase leading to the second level, but she also noticed Hank being pulled out of the tapestry, and his bow taken from him by one of the Orcs.

One for all, I guess. She took a few quick steps across the floor, planted the pole against the edge of the fountain and vaulted up toward the dome. She was headed straight for a pillar, which she hit feet first, then sprang off toward Hank. The Orcs saw her brandishing her staff like a sword, flying through the air at them, and ran. She landed inches in front of Hank and started freeing him from the tapestry.

Bobby, meanwhile, was swinging at any Orc who was anywhere near him. They all had enough sense, however, to stay away from this blonde giant.. His swings, with no target within reach, were getting wilder and more frustrated. Finally, he lashed out at one of the marble pillars, knocking a piece out the size of his head and shaking the entire palace.

Unfortunately, it came just as Diana almost had Hank free of the tapestry. She was shaken off-balance and fell back on top of Hank. The nearest Orcs took advantage of the distraction by seizing Diana, Hank and Eric, as well as taking their weapons. One of them barked a command. Bobby turned, saw the others, then felt a half-dozen spear points touch all sides of his neck. He didn't resist as one Orc took the club from his hand, and another took Sheila's cloak.

Hank looked quickly around the Great Hall, then whispered to Diana, "Hey, have you seen--?"

Presto went through the curtain and into a corridor whose brick walls continued up past the torchlight that illuminated the hallway. It connected the kitchen directly with Rahmoud's living-quarters. With no idea where it would lead, he followed it. He walked down the corridor until he heard heavy running footsteps behind him. That could only mean Orc guards; he had to run for it now.

Presto dashed down the hallway until it intersected with another. He stopped and looked around the corner. Three more Orcs were coming. They were six yards away. He looked back the way he had come. More Orc guards; also six yards away. He pulled his hat off to conjure--what? There wasn't time. Now the Orcs were three yards away.

"Oh, the hell with it. BEAM ME UP, SCOTTY!"

The hat, after a fashion, obliged. Presto began floating up. He was six feet clear of the floor when the Orc bands collided with each other at the corner. Weapons and uniforms went flying, as Presto laughed. The Orcs swung and flung whatever was handy at Presto, but he was too far away. His laughter continued, mixed with relief, until large green hands grabbed him from behind. He had drifted unknowing past a second floor balcony, where the captain of the Orc guards was waiting.

He didn't even try to struggle against the Orcs who held his arms. That would do no good, and besides, where could he go? He did try when one Orc pulled the hat off of his head, but it was half-hearted. This time, all he could do was let himself be taken down the large staircase to the others, who were being guarded near the fountain in the Great Hall.

They didn't have time to exchange words before Majnoun appeared at the kitchen entrance to the Great Hall. He walked toward them somewhat stiffly, and, before he reached them, began speaking as if to himself.

"It's done; they're here. All five. Five is all? No. But yes. These five, plus six, plus seven. And what about her? Do we need her still? Yes, but not here; not now."

Hank felt his heart sink. How were they going to deal without their weapons--and with a man as obviously insane as Majnoun? Still, he tried to brazen it out; "We're here to get Ayisha, and a friend of ours named Sheila. We know you've got them."

This at least stopped Majnoun's ramblings for a moment; then he turned on Hank. "Got them? Do I? Do you see them, yes or no? Are they in my hand?" Majnoun waved a fist under Hank's nose; that hand bore a ring with a green spherical stone that almost brushed against Hank's nose. "This is not the time. You think you control the time. Not yet. Not yet." He turned to the Orc captain. "Lock them below until I decide what to do. No, I can decide nothing. Your Master decides. Your Master decides nothing. There is nothing to decide. It must be time." With that, Majnoun shuddered like a dog shaking off water, turned and walked out of the room, quicker than when he entered.

The five were so amazed by this encounter that they didn't put up a protest as they were marched down a flight of stairs into a flagstone dungeon built below the sandline. The dungeon itself was a short hallway, with two cells on either side of the hall. Eric and Diana were shoved into one; Presto, Hank and Bobby into another, and their weapons into a third cell. The air in the dungeon, out of the sun and below the surface, was cooler, almost fresh.

Their thoughts were immediately interrupted by a voice, a woman's voice, of an indescribable but certain and absolute beauty. So you are all prisoners, too; I am so sorry.

Hank went to the door of the cell. "Are you Ayisha?"

No, I am not. She is here somewhere, but I cannot be sure where.

Bobby looked up. "We think my sister is being held here too; have you seen her?"

No, Bobby, I have not seen Sheila either.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Eric yelled. "You know our names?"

"New prisoners keep quiet!" the Orc guard at the head of the corridor growled. "Master will decide what to do with you later."

You don't have to speak, the voice said.

"But you're talking," Presto said, in almost a whisper.

No, I speak to you from mind to mind. It is the way of my race. You only think that you hear me.

"You can read minds?" Bobby muttered skeptically. "Try reading mine, then."

There was a moment's pause, and Bobby thought he felt a slight pressure--like the passage of a beating wing--across his face, and, as much as he tried to keep his mind focused on wreaking havoc among a hundred Orcs, his thoughts traveled back to his home, and what mattered most to him. You are thinking--of Terry. Yes, I wondered what became of her. As she predicted, you met her in school the day after your return to your world. You stayed close friends until you were about to enter high school. Then you had some sort of argument, although you could not remember who started it or why. Still, you refused to see each other for months. It stayed that way until Terry went into the hospital, almost dead from pneumonia--

Bobby had listened silently to the musical voice, not believing what he was hearing and still not believing that it was only in his mind. He turned to Hank and Presto, interrupting the narrative. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Presto whispered.

Bobby turned back to the door, awareness beginning to dawn on him. "Say something; anything. Say it out loud."

I'll try, but it has been such a long time. After a minute's silence, the entire dungeon level shook with a sound that was partly like the chatter of a dolphin, partly like the squeal of a rusted gate: "AAAAARRRRR-PEEEEE!"

"Omigod!" Hank and Presto stared as Bobby leapt up and threw himself at the cell door, straining to move it even a fraction of an inch, trying with all of his strength to tear the bars out of the door or the hinges out of the wall if he could.

"UNI!!"

Coming September 15 :

Part 7: In the Dungeon