Gary Gygax - Dangerous Journeys 3 - Death in Delhi

by Gary Gygax

  What he meant, of course, was meditation and preparation thereafter. Inhetep was adept at yoga, having studied it under an ancient Hindi master, a guru who had made the magister into one of the greatest in /Egypt. That was not to say that he was a true master. Inhetep knew his ability tell far short of that. It did enable him, though, to do and achieve many useful things. "Here will be fine," he muttered, seating himself in the lotus posture upon a soft carpet. "Three hours of deep trance, and then awaken," he told himself." His fingers met in a certain manner, and the next second his mind began the process of ascending. Energy flowed through his body, and left to itself, his systems worked at greater efficiency to restore themselves. His conscious mind went into the state typical of the deepest slumber. Meanwhile, that part of the brain unused by most humans was stimulated into action. In that portion, the wiz-ard-priest was alert and active.

  In truth, it was not only ^Egyptians who knew about the many parts of a person. Some, if not all, of that knowledge was common among those enlightened ones of the East— from Hind to Tibet and Ch'in. Inhetep's body was at rest, his heart beating regularly in slow rhythm. Only the physical part of his power was affected. He still could command the mental and spiritual force of his being, and the five other portions of that which made up Magister Setne Inhetep the ur-kheri-heb-tepi were unaffected or even made more potent by the trance. His double could roam ethereally or astrally, his spirit and soul were there, along with his name. All would be employed in the three hours given.

  When his consciousness returned, the magister moved slowly out of his folded sitting position, performing a number of exercises in the process of eventually standing erect. It required half an hour to complete the regimen, but at its conclusion Inhetep felt splendid, his mind refreshed and alert, his body rested and finely tuned. He drank a little water but ate nothing. His body needed no nourishment; in fact, such foreign matter taken into it would detract from its efficient operation at this time. He thought of time then. "Very dark," he noted, peering out the window. "A full hour and a bit more before the eastern sky pales." He went to his bag and drew out the box. He knew instantly that his things had been searched, the container he held opened. That made him smile.

  Setne flipped the lid up without saying the special words required. There was a statuette of the great Thoth inside, one which radiated the power of a fetish. It was personal to him and dangerous for anyone besides himself to touch. "Thank you, Lord of Wisdom, for guarding my secret," he murmured aloud. He meant that little prayer. Whomever had dared to tamper with their belongings had avoided doing more than simply opening the box. The priest-wizard shut the little coffer, spoke the enchantment necessary, and reopened it. Its opening now accessed a very much larger space, one as large in volume as any massive traveling trunk boasted. In that magickal hiding place were those things he needed for what was to come.

  He had allowed himself one full hour before any interruption was likely to occur. Yesterday, the magister had risen at first light and found the palace barely awake; only its slaves, servants, and petty officials were required to be up and about then. General Ratha might keep to a soldier's schedule, but he was not the one who would be coming to disturb the two of them. The foxy little chancellor or the court's evil chief practitioner would be the agents coming soon. They would be sure to pay an early visit, earlier than usual for either of them. Inhetep expected a knock at the door at sunrise.

  After most of the time he had alotted was spent, the wizard-priest replaced those things he no longer needed and closed up the magickal coffer. Clothed in his best garments, the tall /Egyptian looked every inch the mighty heka practitioner. He held a little goblet, one which might have been a ceremonial vessel of priestly sort, but which was actually for another purpose entirely. It contained an elixir he had prepared for Rachelle. It would banish any lingering effects from the drug he had induced her to drink so that she would rest.

  He hurried into the bedroom, for the sun's rays were painting the sky a golden color. In a few minutes the call would come, he knew. Calling out as he stepped through the door, the magister said, "Here! Wake up sleepy head. Day dawns, and you lie abed still? For shame, girl! Now up! I have a little ..." The rest of what he was going to say to her died in his throat. What he had at first taken to be the amazon was merely the folds of the coverlet and sheets, tossed back so as to resemble a human form.

  The magister hurried into the adjoining lavatory and bath, but the big chamber was desolate, as desolate as he felt when he saw that. Rachelle was gone. Just at that moment, he heard a pounding on the door, then the bang of it being thrown open.

  THE JEWELS OR YOUR LIFE, INHETEP

  "/Egyptian! Come with me now. The maharajah demands your presence before the throne."

  The magister walked slowly from the inner room to the salon. He saw a young palace guard officer backed by a mere handful of men arrayed before the entry to the suite. "I have been sent to bring you before His Resplendence," the young officer said harshly. He was doing his best to seem bold and confident, but there was fear in his eyes, for he knew the repute of the tall, green-eyed man who stared at him un-winkingly. He was a great mage, one able to blast him where he stood. Trying to conceal his need to swallow, dry mouth making his voice harsher than even he wanted to sound, the officer barked the words he had been instructed to say; "Do not delay. You will come now, as you are."

  This was the ultimate insult, a total disregard for his rank, power, and supposed status

  as a guest of the imperial ruler of the state of Delhi. Inhetep read the situation, the man, the all-pervasive fear from the soldiers with him. It almost made him laugh. All this he had anticipated—all save the kidnapping of Rachelle. The magister was dressed, ready, and armed with everything he required, right down to the box bearing the figurine of Thoth within it. He had all save that which was most precious to him: Rachelle. Inhetep didn't laugh. When the young officer's eyes slid in fear from his own, the wizard-priest inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement of what the man had said. "I hear the words given to you by others. I agree to follow you because it suits me now. Woe to you though, feeble little man, if any harm has come to she who is my companion."

  Although the /Egyptian spoke in low voice, his words sent a terrible chill through the officer's spine, numbing his brain. "I did no harm to your woman—she is in the hands of the pirimah who herself too—" He chopped off his babble, too late. He had spoken what he had been commanded not to, and for that the court practitioner would have his head.

  No look of satisfaction crossed Inhetep's countenance. The guardsman had merely confirmed what the magister had suspected. His anger was directed at himself as much as towards the treacherous Hindis. Of course, the wizard-priest thought in self-reviling lashes, it was typical of one such as Sujata. Rachelle's being taken was his fault. Had he taken precautions, it could have been prevented. The icy fury which filled Inhetep spilled forth to sweep over the soldiers, and they shook before the blast of it as little flowers before a storm. "Well you should tremble, officer, but it will be your masters' hands who bring punishments upon you, not mine. All of you! Brace your weak knees and march. Lead me to your maharajah as you have been ordered!"

  The seven men went off, all ahead of the Egyptian wizard-priest. It was absolutely improper. Half should have marched behind to assure he didn't flee. Instead, they proceeded him like sheep being driven to a pen by a shepherd—or a wolf. None dared to protest. Their commander opened the door to the chamber in which awaited Guldir Maharajah Sivadji and his chief advisors. His soldiers hastily made for positions to either side of the entry, moving back in two ranks so as to be out of sight and avoid the way of the terrible, tall man as he came on with unfaltering tread. With a voice shrill from fear the royal guards lieutenant flung himself prostrate, somehow managing to cry, "The /Egyptian whom You required to attend You is here, Resplendent Majesty!"

  Ranked around the little dais and informal throne stood those who hoped to rule Delh
i under the fat and lustful sovereign. While the maharajah stuffed himself with rich foods and dallied with his women, they would run the empire and reap the rewards of power. General Ratha scowled, hands on his hips. Gorvan the chancellor wore a crafty expression, seemed tensely alert, ready to seize any opportunity which this situation offered. Nearest to the throne, the Lady Sujata was at ease, a little sneer lifting one corner of her cruel mouth. It was she who knew how things would play out here. She held the trump cards, ready to use them to win the game at the end.

  Feeling mighty from an earlier than usual consumption of bhang, his armed bodyguard at hand, and his useful councilors ready to serve at his command, the maharajah was sitting proudly in his chair, hauteur swelling his chest, the drug he had smoked stiffening his spine in the face of this vaunted Worker of mag-icks. Sivadji Guldir scarcely glanced at the /Egyptian as he demanded, "Well, great Magister, where are Our crown jewels? Your life is forfeit if you fail Us. Our pirimah informs us that you have learned the whereabouts of the stolen regalia. Well, speak! Tell us—" He looked scornfully at the tall man as he was making his threats, and Sivadji's heart skipped a beat. He didn't finish his words. He could not. Never had the maharajah seen so deadly a look in the eyes of anyone. He was paralyzed by It.

  "I am come to discuss that, Majesty. As you can see from my garments, I expected your summons." That statement didn't faze the general, made Gorvan shift uneasily, and in the witch's eyes there flickered a hint of fear which vanished as her mind told her that this man was caught helplessly in the web she had spun. As for the toad-like maharajah, terror so filled him that he was unable to think or speak, only nod stupidly as the tall man asked in a bland voice, "May I have leave to speak a parable, Majesty?"

  Seeing Sivadji consent in dumb show to that insolent request made the pirimah hiss in anger, but she could do nothing to prevent the man from speaking, for the stupid toad had granted royal permission for Inhetep to do so.

  "Once, Mighty Maharajah, long ago, the land was ruled only by animals for the gods had not yet created mankind. The greatest of the animals was the elephant, of course. He ruled the jungle, and no other one dwelling there could refuse him. Yet the elephant was not satisfied with things as they were. Why? Because although he was greatest, there were those who did not serve him, others who refused to answer his summons to attend his fetes. His discontent was noted by the cobra. 'Greatest of Animals, Maharajah of the Jungle,' the snake said. 'Listen to my plan, for I see that you would have every living thing subjected to your will, and I can help you to accomplish that.'

  " 'How?' demanded the elephant. 'If what you say is so, 1 will make you second only to me!' Then the cobra told him her plan, and the elephant smiled, for it seemed to be good. He commanded the tiger to drive the buffalo and all cattle before him to pay homage. The tiger did not fail, and all those were then his subjects. Next the elephant ordered the leopard and the wolves to round up all the deer and gazelles, so that they too would become his subjects. Likewise, those animals came perforce, and now his kingdom was an empire. 'I am lord of all the animals,' elephant boasted.

  "The eagle flying far overhead heard those words. 'You are indeed a maharajah of animals, elephant,' the eagle said. "I acknowledge that so that I might make you wise as well as mighty. Know, however, that no animal can ever rule all others.'

  " "What is this? How dare you speak thus?!' demanded the elephant in royal anger.

  " 'It is truth, and truth must always be spoken freely, or you cannot be a great monarch,' the eagle told him without flinching at the elephant's terrible ire, for he was a brave and courageous friend. 'On the vast plains the rhinoceros roams as he wills and pays no heed to your court.'

  "The elephant might have heeded, but the cobra was at his side and hissed words of false kind. 'The eagle says you are not lord of animals, that the rhinoceros is your master. The bird is a false counselor and no friend.' The elephant heard that and rage returned to his heart.

  "Again the eagle saw this and cried from above, "Consider the fearsome dhole, the dog pack which hunts where it pleases. Even so, are you less of a king over them? The dhole acknowledge your monarchy.'

  "Perhaps the elephant would have understood, but for a second time the perfidious cobra used her evil to blind him: 'See, the eagle again mocks Your Majesty. He will never cease his lying. He will turn all the animals away from you, for eagle desires to be the great lord of all.' Thus the vile snake spoke, and the elephant listened to her bad words and believed them. 'What can I do?' he asked the cobra. 'That eagle flies beyond even my reach.'

  " 'Not for long if you trick him into coming near. Smile, pretend you agree with what he says. Tell him he must come close so that you may hear every word. Then he will be within your power, maharajah of all animals.'

  "So the elephant called out with false words of praise to the eagle and told the noble bird to approach and explain further his truth. Being without treachery in his heart, eagle winged down to be near the great elephant as he said, 'And most of all consider the smallest—' At that instant, the eagle was plucked from the air by the elephant's trunk, hurled to the ground, and crushed to nothingness beneath his huge foot. 'So die all who say 1 am not the maharajah of all animals in the world!' trumpeted the elephant. Yet who killed the eagle? It was the cobra's venomous words, and the master was now ruled by the subject."

  Inhetep looked at those before him. The Pirimah Lady Sujata broke the silence, her words acerbic, mocking: "Is that the end of your amusing little story, entertainer?"

  "By no means, witch," he replied without heat. "You will hear that now." Unable to object, they watched and listened as the wizard priest went on: "The elephant now demanded that the cobra prove him to be the lord of all. With the elephant's permission, the cobra now ordered the others of his subjects as she would. Tiger and leopard were sent forth to bring the rhinoceros back cls 8l subject or to slay him. Bear and wolf were dispatched to do the same with the dhole pack. But soon these two forces returned, driven off by those they were to capture or slay. The elephant was furious, so to save herself, cobra sent all the warriors to get the rhinoceros. After that they would deal with the pack of wild dogs.

  "Again the servants of elephant returned. We failed, maharajah,' they confessed, "because now the nose-horned one makes common cause with the dhole. They stand together, so we cannot overcome them.' Now the cobra was very troubled. Again her plans had failed, and her rule over the elephant was threatened. 'There are other animals in other places. If we had gifts for them, Greatest of Animals,' she told the elephant, 'they would come and serve you. With their aid the rhinoceros and the dogs who serve him will be slain. Your conquest will be complete, and none will dispute your right to rule.'

  " 'Where can I get such gifts?' demanded the angry maharajah. The cobra told him that his many subjects had what was needed to buy support from the distant animals. 'Take what they have. Keep some for yourself as your due. Give the rest to the foreign animals, and they will come and serve you.' The elephant thought this wise counsel. So it passed that his subjects were stripped of food, many in fact enslaved to be given as gifts, and the jungle groaned under the tyranny thus imposed by the elephant.

  "The cobra's latest plan was set in motion. At a terrible cost, allies from a distant place were bought. But the one thing the eagle had tried to tell the elephant, the warning he had been uttering when cobra's poison struck him down, came to pass. The smallest of subjects in the realm of the elephant, the ants, took umbrage at what was being done to them. They poured forth in their numbers, and marched against elephant. The mighty lord of animals laughed at their temerity, and so too did all those serving him. Small they were, and easy to kill. Thousands were crushed, but the ants pressed on undaunted. Their millions bore down even elephant, leaving naught but white bones behind when their fighting ceased. Before the end, the maharajah had called out to cobra to save him. She was slithering away, trying to free her body of the thousands of biting insects which covered it, as
she called back, 'You are the one who would be king. Why ask me when you are lord of animals? 1 have my own problems to manage and have no time for yours.' "

  Then the wizard-priest looked from one to another of those before him, letting his piercing gaze settle at last upon the maharajah. "If there is some lesson in this little tale, the discerning monarch will grasp it and act accordingly. If you find nothing of worth in my words, then say your say."

  The ugly face of the maharajah had gone ashen as the parable progressed. Just before it was concluded, though, and Magister Inhetep had addressed him directly thus, another voice whispered in Sivadji's mind: "He prates of animals and ants. Do not be frightened by children's stories. You are about to seize your enemies and crush them. Let no weakness enter you now, or all will fail! You are a man and emperor, not a stupid elephant." By the end of Inhetep's words, the bloated body of the ruler of Delhi was straight-backed again, his face set in determination. As the /Egyptian gazed at him levelly with his odd, green eyes, Sivadji actually felt stronger and allowed that power to rise.

  "Most entertaining—and a waste of your breath and my time. I ask one final time: where are My crown jewels?"

  Encouraged by that, General Ratha gestured, and the guardsmen nearby pointed their spears at the tall priest-wizard. It was to be death for the arrogant man unless he revealed what the maharajah demanded.

  Not to be outdone, the master of the royal treasury spoke. "My agents know what you did, traitorous /Egyptian. Your little trick with the coins wasn't good enough," Gorvan sneered, "at least not for long," he added almost as if in admission. "That you sought out the rebel outlaws, consorted with them, advised and comforted them is documented. It spells your doom, /Egyptian, unless you deliver what you were commanded. I am certain you know where His Resplendency's property is, so tell us."