Myth-Gotten Gains

The Walts were nearly as good as the Bonhomies at throwing a shindig. Wine and hooch flowed liberally. The food was spicy, and there was enough even to satisfy my long-thwarted appetite. Asti added her own brew to the punch bowl, and everyone got pretty silly. The dancing went on and on. And on. And on. The Walts really knew how to pound the floor. I understood why they were famous for their native art form.

Calypso got up in front of the crowd and did his own interpretation of his capture, imprisonment and rescue. In spite of myself I got interested in his performance. Calypsa had a right to be proud of him. He was every bit as good as she claimed he was. The guy elevated dance to a level I had never known it could have. Still, the kid was no slouch herself. I was beginning to wonder if I'd been smart to let Ersatz take her on as an apprentice instead of taking her myself. She had the promise to do anything she wanted to.

Nah.

After the fourth or fifth gallon of booze, I let go of my snit. After all, I was part of history. The Walts were thrilled to be in the presence of the Golden Hoard, who were admired and passed around the entire village. The praise and attention kept them from getting into any more arguments, but I knew the next one couldn't be far away. If they really got going, it could spell catastrophe, and the Walts had just finished with the last major disaster. Tananda warned me from time to time when she felt tremors in the lines of force so I could defuse minor spats. Barrik had chosen one heck of a location for his castle, in the nexus of so much magikal energy. I felt like I was sitting on top of a volcano.

About three o'clock in the morning of the second or third day of the party (I had lost track of time), Calypsa, dressed in her travel clothes, brought Ersatz to where Tananda and I were sitting, at a table on the edge of the town square. Two or three couples were swaying to the tune of a melancholy guitarist.

"Hey, there," I said. I gestured to a spare stool. "Take a load off."

"Aahz, we must go now," Ersatz said.

"Go?" I asked, blankly. "Go where?"

"The Hoard cannot occupy a single dimension together. Kelsa just informed us that she foresees trouble should we not absent ourselves from this place, and soon."

"Very soon," the Crystal Ball said, from her bag, which was slung over Calypsa's shoulder.

That sobered me up in a flash. I got to my feet. "What do we have to do?"

"Bring all of us to one place," Ersatz said. "One in which it will be safe to let the energy build. Nature will take care of the dispersal."

It took some doing to find where all the treasures had gotten to in the course of a three day party. I found Payge telling stories to a group of solemn old men in the tavern. He had a coffee ring on one of his pages, but he seemed happy. He wasn't surprised when I picked him up.

"Thank you, Aahz," he said. "This reduces the number of potential outcomes of this evening to thirty-seven."

Bozebos, along with a bundle of authentic cheap costume jewelry, was being used for dress-up by a gang of little girls who were pretending they were the latest hero on the block, their very own Calypsa, hero of the Walts. He seemed grateful to be rescued.

Buirnie was downright glum.

"This place is a natural for me!" he wailed.

"Maybe you'll come back on your own," I said. "In the meantime, I don't want anything else to happen to these people. They've had enough trouble without needing an egomaniacal Fife hanging around."

"Oh, well, on to our next triumph," the Fife declared.

Asti was in a different tavern, mixing drinks. Her sapphire eyes turned to me as I came in.

"Sorry, boys, last orders," she said.

"Ay! You cannot leave us!" one of the males declared, touching her foot passionately. "What will we do without you? You are matchless at bartending."

The engraving on her side tilted upward in a wry smile. "Just drink a toast to me once in a while."

Chin-Hwag had never left my belt. We had not said a thing to one another since Barrik's defeat.

"How about the castle courtyard?" Tananda suggested, as we carried the Hoard up the hill. "It's still deserted, and there's no ceiling to fall down on us."

"Good idea," I said. "If it gets knocked down, who cares?"

"Have you said your farewells to your parents?" Ersatz said to Calypsa.

"I did," she said. She sighed. "We have done the Dance of Farewell."

"Why?" I asked. "Where's she going?"

The blue eyes slewed to me. "Calypsa has to finish her mission. She started the Dance of Death, and it must be completed. I will assist her. But that may not be the first task we undertake. As always, we will go where the winds of fate take us. She is my new wielder, as I am her teacher."

"And you are on board with this crazy idea?" I asked, turning to the girl.

"Oh, yes," Calypsa said. She eyed the Sword adoringly. "I knew that the task was perilous when I undertook it. I know that with Ersatz at my side I cannot fail."

"How can you argue with that?" Tananda asked.