I will restore order shortly.â€
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“You will do precisely what I have commanded,†said Belnar, “and only that.â€
“Ubar?†asked Flaminius.
“You will organize matters expeditiously,†snarled Belnar. “You will then
surrender the supervision of these operations to the city captain. You will then
join with men in the search for this Bosk of Port Kar. I want everyone who can
recognize him, who knows him, guardsman or not, male or female, free or slave,
involved in the search!â€
“Is he so important, Ubar?†asked Flaminius. “Ubar?†he called. But I gathered
that Belnar had strode from the place already, followed by others.
In a moment, too, Flaminius, his voice fading down the hall, calling to
subordinates, had hurried away.
“Where could Bosk of Port Kar have gone?†asked a man.
“I do not like it, at all,†said another.
“He is just gone,†said another.
“Disappeared,†whispered another, frightened. I could have reached out and
touched him. To be sure, it would have given him quite a start.
“Let us to our quarters,†said one of the fellows.
“Are you not going to join the search?†asked another.
“There are many others who may do that,†said the man.
“You are right,†said another. They then left.
The illusion, of course, must be carefully constructed. The mirrors must be most
judiciously placed. The principle involved is that certain surfaces are
reflected in such a way that the observer is led to misinterpret his visual
data; for example, he is led to take a reflected surface, a mirrored surface, in
a given location, for an actual or real surface in a different location; he
normally does not expect mirrors, and does not think in terms of them; and even
if he does expect mirrors and understands, in general, the principles involved,
he will still “see,†so to speak, or seem to see, precisely what the illusionist
desires. In this fashion, such illusions can be delights not only to uninformed
observers but even to more critical, more informed observers, even, it seems, if
carried off with showmanship and flair, to fellow illusionists. To be sure, and
I had counted on this, no one was even suspecting such a trick in the hall at
Brundisium. If they had been, it could have been found out very quickly by a
close, detailed examination of surfaces. But by the time it might occur to
someone, recollecting my connections with the troupe of Boots Tarsk-Bit, that a
trick of so devious a nature might be
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not only practical but, given the peculiar circumstances of my escape, likely, I
did not expect to require the eccentric premises of my unusual hiding place.
I was, of course, behind mirrored surfaces, indeed, within an intersection of
such surfaces, in one of the niches. The joining of the mirrors, facing
outwards, was concealed by a narrow freestanding decorative pole, from which
plantings might be hung, which pole, thanks to Boots, was now somewhat recessed
in the niche. The casual observer would take the mirrored surfaces of the two
opposite walls for a single, solid surface, that well behind the pole, at the
back of the niche. The recessing of the pole, with the joining of the mirrors
behind it, made it impossible, because of the angles involved, for an observer
to see his own reflection in the mirrors unless, of course, he were to come into
the niche itself.
The hallway now seemed quiet. I could hear shouting in the distance. I slipped
from the bores I wore. Those in the search parties would presumably be looking
for a fellow in merchants’ robes, yellow and white, perhaps even of a Turian cut
or fashion, and sewn with silver. Beneath the merchants’ robes I wore that
uniform seemingly of an officer of Brundisium. In a city the size of Brundisium,
in an hour of confusion and tumult, with soldiers rushing about, coming and
going with orders and reports, with agents sometimes in uniform and sometimes
not, I did not expect to be easily recognized. Too, I had gathered that many of
the courtiers, scions of an ilk not signally noted for its valor, those who had
seen me in the hall, had perhaps managed to resist the temptation to join
heartily in a search which might be not without its dangers. Better, perhaps,
they might reason, to hold themselves boldly in reserve, in their own quarters,
sternly readying themselves to sally forth if needed, immediately upon the
behest of their ubar. In the meantime, of course, they could keep themselves
abreast of the latest news. I prepared to step forth into the hall. With luck I
might even be able to commandeer a few soldiers, to form my own search party.
That seemed a good way to go almost anywhere. Who knew where that rascal, Bosk,
of Port Kar, might be?
I poked my head warily out of my hiding place. The corridor was empty. I stepped
boldly forth. I did pause long enough to move the mirrors about a bit, setting
them apart from one another. In this fashion a supervisor of cleaning slaves
tidying the hall, his whip on his wrist, puzzled by them, by their presence in
this place, might have them removed to various
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individuals’ quarters or have them stored somewhere. In a moment or two I was
striding boldly along the hall. I could still hear the shouting in the distance.
Too, from outside the palace, from the prison area, and from various parts of
the city, I could hear the ringing of alarm bars.
19 A Lattice Has Been Forced In, From the Outside
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“Hold!†cried a guardsman, one of two, at this post on one of the long, arching,
graceful, railess, narrow bridges interlaced among the towers of Brundisium.
Such bridges are a feature of many Gorean cities. They are easy to defend and
serve to link various towers at various levels, towers which in a time of attack
or siege may serve on given levels or in isolation, if the defenders choose to
block or destroy the bridges, as independent keeps, each an almost impregnable,
well-stocked fortress in its own right. In Brundisium there were eleven such
towers.
In many of the high cites there are many more. In Ar, for example, there are
hundreds. Other than in their military significance, of course, such bridges
tend to be quite beautiful and, functionally, serve to divide the cities into a
number of convenient levels. Many Gorean cities, in effect, are tiered cities.
Gorean urban architecture, in the high cities, tends to be not so much a matter
of flat, spreading, concentric horizontal rings, as in many cities, as a matter
of towers and tiered levels, linked by soaring, ascendant traceries. The
security-mindedness of Brundisium, incidentally, was manifested also in the tarn
wire strung among its towers, extending down in many cases to lower rooftops and
even the walls. Such wire can be quite dangerous. It can cut the head or wings
from a descending tarn. It is usually
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strung only in times of clear municipal peril, as when
, for example, the city
may be expecting an attack or is under siege. If all went well I hoped to be
able to use it in my plans.
“Out of the way, fellow!†I said.
“You cannot pass,†said he. “This is the bridge to the private apartments of
Belnar!â€
“We search for Bosk of Port Kar,†I informed him.
“I have not seen him,†said the man.
“Do not be to sure of that,†I said.
“You cannot pass,†he said.
“Surely you are aware of the urgency of this search?†I said.
“Of course,†said he.
“Step aside,†I said.
“I may not do so,†he protested.
“Surely you have heard of the fellow’s mysterious escape from the palace below?â€
“Yes,†he said.
“Who knows where he might be?†I asked.
“He is right,†volunteered the fellow’s companion.
“But this bridge leads to the private apartments of Belnar,†said the man.
“And is not that the last place one would expect to find Bosk of Port Kar?†I
inquired.
“Perhaps,†said the man.
“What better place then for such a cunning rascal to take refuge?†I asked.
“He is perhaps right,†said the fellow’s companion.
The man’s face turned white.
“It is there then that I intend to search,†I said.
“Pass,†he said. I then trod meaningfully past him, followed, single file, by
some five foot soldiers I had ordered to accompany me, fellows I had found
mustered within the palace walls, near the east gate, awaiting orders. I saw
some fires below, off to the right in the city. I did not know if these had been
precipitated in the possible confusion attendant on the ringing of the alarm
bars or if they might have been set by escaped prisoners, perhaps as a
diversion, perhaps to cover their flight or to distract men from their pursuit,
perhaps even turning them to more pressing tasks.
“Wait here,†I said to my men, near the entrance to the balcony garden outside
the apartments of Belnar. I then proceeded to the paling of the gate outside the
garden. “I have information for the ubar,†I said.
“He is not to be disturbed,†said the man. “He is in seclusion.â€
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“I know the location of Bosk of Port Kar,†I said.
“Enter,†he said, “swiftly.â€
I was ushered through the garden now, the foliage black in the shadows, silvery
in the moonlight. It occurred to me that in such a garden there would be many
places to hide. It might be reached, too, I supposed, by climbing the ornate
exterior of the tower. I myself, however, would not have cared to do so. The
bridges served very well for me, and I had a simpler exit in mind. Also, of
course, it would be patrolled. “Tiding of Bosk of Port Kar,†said my guide to
the fellows at the household door.
I waited there while these fellows consulted further guards within. Moonlight
glinted on swaying tarn wire overhead. “You may return to your post,†I told my
guide. He withdrew. I then signaled to my men, a few yards beyond the gate,
raising my arm. They entered the area. “Examine the garden,†I said. It would
not hurt, I speculated, to keep them busy. Too, it might make me seem a more
efficient officer. Too, my men might expect this sort of thing. As far as they
knew, not the fellow at the gate, they were supposed to be looking for Bosk of
Port Kar, a fellow in the yellow and white robes of the merchants. The fellow at
the gate was free to suppose that they might be scouting about for some other
reason, doubtless escaped prisoners. Some, after all, might be about, though, to
be sure, up here, it was not very likely.
“Enter,†said a man within.
I stepped within. “I have tidings for Belnar,†I said. “They pertain to the
fellow, Bosk of Port Kar.â€
“Belnar is not here,†he said.
“That is impossible,†I said. “He must be here, though perhaps in seclusion.â€
“It is though that he is here,†said the man, “that he is here in seclusion, but
he is not. He was here, but he left. When you leave, pretend that you have seen
him here. All are to believe that he is here, in his compartments.â€
“He could not have left,†I said. “Surely, had he done so, he would have passed
me on the bridges.â€
“Do not be naive,†said the man.
“I understand,†I said. I had clearly underestimated this Belnar. How naive, in
particular, I had been, to suppose that I might locate him this simply. Probably
even the men outside thought him within. How could I find him, if even the
majority of his men did not know where he was? He might be anywhere in the city.
I was furious. But he had come here earlier, it
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seemed. I had a good idea why. He had thought to guarantee the safekeeping of
something of great importance. Doubtless he had taken it with him. He had not
passed me, with a retinue, on the bridges. There was, of course, another exit,
another way out.
“Where is Belnar?†I asked.
“I do not know,†said the man.
I suppose he might be telling the truth. Doubtless few knew the location of the
Ubar.
“What of my report?’ I asked.
“Deliver it to Flaminius, the confidant of the ubar,†suggested the man.
“Of course,†I said, preparing to withdraw. I was extremely angry. That would be
all I needed, I thought, to report myself in to Flaminius. there was suddenly a
shouting outside. One of the door guards, accompanied by two of the men I had
brought with me, were at the door.
“What is wrong?†demanded the fellow with me.
The men were shuddering. Others were behind them. One of those in the background
turned aside and threw up into the grass. “Lysimachus is dead,†said the door
guard.
The fellow from within, who seemed to be chief among those on the premises, and
myself, followed men through the garden. In a moment we had come to an open
space. “I found it there,†said one of the men who had come with me, indicating
a place in some bushes. “I pulled it out here.â€
“Aiii,†said a man, looking down.
“It is Lysimachus,†confirmed a man.
“It was Lysimachus,†said a man.
“It was part of him,†said another.
Most of the throat was gone.
I crouched beside the body. I touched the tissues, the stained darknesses on the
body “This was done perhaps an Ahn ago,†I said.
“What could have done this?†whispered the officer with me.
“Can you not guess?†I asked.
“I dare not,†he whispered.
“Such a thing is loose in the city?†asked a man.
“Obviously,†I said.
“Why should it come here?†asked a man.
“Because,†I said, “like a man, it is more than a beast.â€
“I do not understand,†said the man.
“It is looking for something,†I said.
I looked down grimly at the body.
“Poor Lysimachus,†said a man.
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“Horrible,†said a man.
The kill, as these fellows would have had difficulty realizing, had actually,
given the usual manner of such attacks, been rather neatly done. Its manner,
considering the sort of entity which had been involved, had almost suggested
refinement. It had wanted to do little more than silence a man. Indeed, only
part of an arm had been fed upon and that, I suspected, had been only to
generate the strength to pursue a less material objective. The whole business,
in its manner of accomplishment, suggested an almost terrifying patience and
restraint, given the size and needs, the ferocity and energy, of the entity
involved. The thing had not been after Lysimachus. It had been after something
else. I sensed incredible menace and purpose. I shuddered.
The officer beside me stood up. “What did this may still be about,†he said.
“Search the garden. Search the house. Find it! Kill it!â€
Men hurried about, frightened. Torches were lit. I stood up, beside the body. I
did not hasten to join the search. They would not find the assailant. It would
not longer be here.
“Shall we join the search, Sir?†asked one of the men who had come whit me.
“Yes,†I said, wearily.
I, too, after a time, entered the house, making my way through the rooms. In one
place, in a far room, I found an iron gate, of heavy bars, in my path. It had
apparently, some time ago, been lowered from the ceiling. Apparently it could be
dropped suddenly. It sealed off the room behind it. I smiled. Such a gate might
have dropped between Belnar and myself, doubtless, at a moment’s notice. It
would have served to protect him from anything, from almost anything. In the
light of a torch lifted behind me, I could see a coffer, apparently, from the
lock thrown beside it, hastily opened. that for which I searched had probably
been extracted from that coffer even before I had begun to climb the high
bridges. He had then apparently taken his swift leave. That, as it had turned
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