Read Online Wine of the Gods 26: Embassy by Pam Uphoff - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Pam Uphoff
Ads: Link
basement.
"Drunk on building magic is fun, but I'm trying to avoid joining in the fun." She shook her head, as if clearing it. "But I've got your jail ready. Shall we start by putting these maniacs in it?"
"It wouldn't hold them." Xen shrugged and backed up to see a third set of walls going up. As far as he could tell they were getting everything stuck together solidly. With lots of big blocky parts sticking out.
"Well. It's certainly going to be large." Garit edged over to look inside.
Q nibbled more fingernail. "Maybe I shouldn't have collected so much basalt. I just thought, it would look serious."
"Oh. It's serious, all right." Xen raised his voice. "Windows! I need windows!"
"I think they're mostly following Q's plan." Garit waved the roll of paper they'd shown the mages. "They are listening. Here come the windows." Then retreated hastily as smaller blocks started sliding out of the wall and taking wing.
They backed further as big cubes of rock started thumping down in some insane artist's version of a staircase.
"But I certainly don't rule out drunk. Where did they get these ideas?" Garit looked a bit aghast at the irregular steps.
"From a book on Earth Art Styles through History. You have no idea the jokes about Cubism they made!" Q shook her head. "Xen, let's just thank them effusively and send them home, before we fix it, Okay?"
"Yeah. And we sure as all get out will not invite them back to build the Comet Fall embassy. Should we try it, Q?"
"No. I think Never and Dydit's style, with columns and curlicues and fancy stuff might be about right. I'll get plenty of nice white and gray marble for it. Or would granite be better?"
"Either, but please, white granite, not pink. Something in the style of the King's Palace would be appropriate." Garit edged forward again. "It certainly is . . . black. It sort of . . . looms, doesn't it?"
They all looked at the angular black building lurking on the corner lot. Laughing voices from around the back. Rock girders swooped up to form a pyramid in the middle of the top.
"I hope they glass that in, and is that courtroom of yours two floors tall?"
Xen eyed it. "I'm not brave enough to go inside while those maniacs are still working on it, to find out. But I suspect my forum of worlds is going to have a large pyramidal glass roof."
"Well, at least they didn't start playing with triangles until they were done with the main building. Triangular rooms are a bitch to furnish." Q stiffened her shoulders and strode up the weird steps. Peeked inside. Stepped in.
"Oh . . . maybe I should make sure . . . never mind." Xen relaxed as Q trotted back out grinning.
"Entry, with stairs up to both right and left. Corridors leading off to the back on both right and left sides, both levels. Dead ahead, doorway to the big forum room, slightly courtlike, but actually pretty good. Two floors tall, with the pyramid on top. Open balconies on the second floor. It may actually be a useable building." Q headed around the corner, where whoops could be heard.
Xen followed, with Garit flanking him, out wide, away from the building. Born slightly magical, with accidental genetic engineering adding some more functional power genes. Garit's well advised to be careful around drunken construction.
Xen shook his head. "I thought, since they'd spent a week making giant pipes all the way from the mountain that they'd be tired, and I could just show them the sort of thing I was thinking of. To build sometime in the future. I thought they might have some suggestions."
"A grotto! They need a grotto!" Zip's voice.
Xen hustled around to the back.
"Yeah, a big long scoop thataway . . . " Ech waved his hands and huge chunk of dirt flew off to form a small hill to the side.
"Make the sides irregular, we need little nooks of privacy, maybe a cave . . . " Cor was suiting action to words, as the whole group focused on the hole—easily thirty feet deep and several hundred feet long.
"Now, wait just a minute
"Drunk on building magic is fun, but I'm trying to avoid joining in the fun." She shook her head, as if clearing it. "But I've got your jail ready. Shall we start by putting these maniacs in it?"
"It wouldn't hold them." Xen shrugged and backed up to see a third set of walls going up. As far as he could tell they were getting everything stuck together solidly. With lots of big blocky parts sticking out.
"Well. It's certainly going to be large." Garit edged over to look inside.
Q nibbled more fingernail. "Maybe I shouldn't have collected so much basalt. I just thought, it would look serious."
"Oh. It's serious, all right." Xen raised his voice. "Windows! I need windows!"
"I think they're mostly following Q's plan." Garit waved the roll of paper they'd shown the mages. "They are listening. Here come the windows." Then retreated hastily as smaller blocks started sliding out of the wall and taking wing.
They backed further as big cubes of rock started thumping down in some insane artist's version of a staircase.
"But I certainly don't rule out drunk. Where did they get these ideas?" Garit looked a bit aghast at the irregular steps.
"From a book on Earth Art Styles through History. You have no idea the jokes about Cubism they made!" Q shook her head. "Xen, let's just thank them effusively and send them home, before we fix it, Okay?"
"Yeah. And we sure as all get out will not invite them back to build the Comet Fall embassy. Should we try it, Q?"
"No. I think Never and Dydit's style, with columns and curlicues and fancy stuff might be about right. I'll get plenty of nice white and gray marble for it. Or would granite be better?"
"Either, but please, white granite, not pink. Something in the style of the King's Palace would be appropriate." Garit edged forward again. "It certainly is . . . black. It sort of . . . looms, doesn't it?"
They all looked at the angular black building lurking on the corner lot. Laughing voices from around the back. Rock girders swooped up to form a pyramid in the middle of the top.
"I hope they glass that in, and is that courtroom of yours two floors tall?"
Xen eyed it. "I'm not brave enough to go inside while those maniacs are still working on it, to find out. But I suspect my forum of worlds is going to have a large pyramidal glass roof."
"Well, at least they didn't start playing with triangles until they were done with the main building. Triangular rooms are a bitch to furnish." Q stiffened her shoulders and strode up the weird steps. Peeked inside. Stepped in.
"Oh . . . maybe I should make sure . . . never mind." Xen relaxed as Q trotted back out grinning.
"Entry, with stairs up to both right and left. Corridors leading off to the back on both right and left sides, both levels. Dead ahead, doorway to the big forum room, slightly courtlike, but actually pretty good. Two floors tall, with the pyramid on top. Open balconies on the second floor. It may actually be a useable building." Q headed around the corner, where whoops could be heard.
Xen followed, with Garit flanking him, out wide, away from the building. Born slightly magical, with accidental genetic engineering adding some more functional power genes. Garit's well advised to be careful around drunken construction.
Xen shook his head. "I thought, since they'd spent a week making giant pipes all the way from the mountain that they'd be tired, and I could just show them the sort of thing I was thinking of. To build sometime in the future. I thought they might have some suggestions."
"A grotto! They need a grotto!" Zip's voice.
Xen hustled around to the back.
"Yeah, a big long scoop thataway . . . " Ech waved his hands and huge chunk of dirt flew off to form a small hill to the side.
"Make the sides irregular, we need little nooks of privacy, maybe a cave . . . " Cor was suiting action to words, as the whole group focused on the hole—easily thirty feet deep and several hundred feet long.
"Now, wait just a minute
Similar Books
