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Authors: Jack L. Chalker
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but he certainly doesn't bite friends..
Poquah gave what was probably meant as a disarming grin, but he showed an awful lot of sharp, pointy teeth and what looked like a black, forked tongue. The effect was more intimidating than it was hopefully meant to be.
Giving the creature something of a wide berth, they entered and found themselves in a large, two-storey open room completely lined by bookshelves going from floor to ceiling. The floor was covered with thick carpeting with elaborate designs in gold and silver against a burnt orange background. Around a central fireplace were four large, overstuffed chairs. The fireplace itself was reinforced with brick and stone and had a JACK L. CHALKER 41 funnellike cap a few feet from the top that sucked up smoke and took it out the roof.
"My quick-reference library," the sorcerer told them with pride. "The bulk of the books are in storage rooms below the castle itself. The whole hill is really a man-made honeycomb of chambers..
Page 34 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods They looked around the great library, and one thing immediately struck Marge, at least. "Very impressive," she told him. "I see all sorts of sizes and bindings on books on three of the walls—but all the books on that far wall look the same, with that red binding..
Ruddygore looked over at the wall and nodded. "Indeed, you're right in that they are related. You'll find a set of those in every town center, in every main city, and in the home of everyone wealthy enough to buy them or with any interest in the magical arts. Those, my dear, are the Books of Rules. Five hundred and thirty-seven leather-bound volumes with every little Rule that makes this place tick..
Poquah cleared his throat behind them. Marge jumped, not having heard him move at all. "Pardon, sir," the creature said, "but it is now five hundred and thirty-eight. A new one came in while you were away..
Ruddygore threw up his hands and looked to heaven. "By all the gods and demons and the Creator! This Council is the worst batch we ever had! No wonder the world is going to hell!" He let out a big sigh, then motioned to Joe and Marge.
"Have a seat, you two, and I will try to explain this idiocy to you. Poquah, can you see about some cold ale for us and then rejoin us here? You're going to be involved in this, too, you know..
The creature bowed. "At once." He was gone so quickly they could hardly realize he had left.
Taking comfortable seats in the padded chairs, the two recruits waited for Ruddygore to begin.
"First of all," he said, "you have to remember what I told each of you in our different conversations last night. How this world was pure chaos, and how the angels in charge created order out of it..
They both nodded, each realizing now that the other had been given the same information.
"All right," the sorcerer went on, "What they did, they did 42 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS just to stabilize the place. They delivered the Laws. Needless to say, those Laws are complex and involved, and you could no more make sense of them than you could make sense of esoteric particle physics. But they're the operating Rules for the place. You follow me so far?.
They both nodded, and he continued.
"All right, then. Those Laws should be sufficient for everybody.
They're very general and very universal, but they're all we really need. Unfortunately, several centuries ago, when this castle was an outpost in a major war, a new bunch of sorcerers came to the Council who were, let me say, rather pedestrian.
All the really powerful magicians of the time had either perished in the wars or gone on to higher planes. This new Council was made up of pretty petty men—it was all male then, although that's changed—who decided that the Laws contained a large Page 35 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods number of loopholes. They weren't specific enough. They didn't address
Poquah gave what was probably meant as a disarming grin, but he showed an awful lot of sharp, pointy teeth and what looked like a black, forked tongue. The effect was more intimidating than it was hopefully meant to be.
Giving the creature something of a wide berth, they entered and found themselves in a large, two-storey open room completely lined by bookshelves going from floor to ceiling. The floor was covered with thick carpeting with elaborate designs in gold and silver against a burnt orange background. Around a central fireplace were four large, overstuffed chairs. The fireplace itself was reinforced with brick and stone and had a JACK L. CHALKER 41 funnellike cap a few feet from the top that sucked up smoke and took it out the roof.
"My quick-reference library," the sorcerer told them with pride. "The bulk of the books are in storage rooms below the castle itself. The whole hill is really a man-made honeycomb of chambers..
Page 34 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods They looked around the great library, and one thing immediately struck Marge, at least. "Very impressive," she told him. "I see all sorts of sizes and bindings on books on three of the walls—but all the books on that far wall look the same, with that red binding..
Ruddygore looked over at the wall and nodded. "Indeed, you're right in that they are related. You'll find a set of those in every town center, in every main city, and in the home of everyone wealthy enough to buy them or with any interest in the magical arts. Those, my dear, are the Books of Rules. Five hundred and thirty-seven leather-bound volumes with every little Rule that makes this place tick..
Poquah cleared his throat behind them. Marge jumped, not having heard him move at all. "Pardon, sir," the creature said, "but it is now five hundred and thirty-eight. A new one came in while you were away..
Ruddygore threw up his hands and looked to heaven. "By all the gods and demons and the Creator! This Council is the worst batch we ever had! No wonder the world is going to hell!" He let out a big sigh, then motioned to Joe and Marge.
"Have a seat, you two, and I will try to explain this idiocy to you. Poquah, can you see about some cold ale for us and then rejoin us here? You're going to be involved in this, too, you know..
The creature bowed. "At once." He was gone so quickly they could hardly realize he had left.
Taking comfortable seats in the padded chairs, the two recruits waited for Ruddygore to begin.
"First of all," he said, "you have to remember what I told each of you in our different conversations last night. How this world was pure chaos, and how the angels in charge created order out of it..
They both nodded, each realizing now that the other had been given the same information.
"All right," the sorcerer went on, "What they did, they did 42 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS just to stabilize the place. They delivered the Laws. Needless to say, those Laws are complex and involved, and you could no more make sense of them than you could make sense of esoteric particle physics. But they're the operating Rules for the place. You follow me so far?.
They both nodded, and he continued.
"All right, then. Those Laws should be sufficient for everybody.
They're very general and very universal, but they're all we really need. Unfortunately, several centuries ago, when this castle was an outpost in a major war, a new bunch of sorcerers came to the Council who were, let me say, rather pedestrian.
All the really powerful magicians of the time had either perished in the wars or gone on to higher planes. This new Council was made up of pretty petty men—it was all male then, although that's changed—who decided that the Laws contained a large Page 35 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods number of loopholes. They weren't specific enough. They didn't address
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