The Worlds of the Sheaf

Essca - Part 7

     The meal had seven courses and lasted for three hours, during which a variety of entertainers took turns to perform before them. It was, of course, the scantily clad dancers who attracted the most attention from the men, but Tak found himself most fascinated by the fire eaters and he stared at them as they blew flames across the room and quenched fires with their mouths, trying to figure out how they did it. He thought at first that they must be using magic of some kind, but his magic sense registered nothing even when one of them came to stand right beside him. Close enough that he could smell the sweat filming his darkly tanned skin.

     He remembered a discussion he'd had with Lan Del-Tora, also known as Lord Opal, in which they'd wondered how dragons could breathe fire without burning their own mouths, and now he wondered whether these entertainers had somehow managed to duplicate the feat. It might well be worth speaking to them later, to see if they could be persuaded to part with their professional secrets.

     Eventually, though, the meal came to an end and the diners heaved their stuffed bellies out of their seats and into adjacent rooms where more entertainment was waiting for them, the men separating from the women so that each could be entertained in the way they liked best without shocking or, more likely, boring, the other. Tak and Barl, who'd eaten a great deal less than the others, watched them with pleasure, but most of the others dropped off to sleep and Lord Tallow, in particular, was soon snoring loudly, his mouth gaping wide and a line of drool running down his chin.

     The King had also refrained from eating too much, and now he and Barl slipped quietly away from the others to begin talking in earnest.

     "Do you want me to come as well?" asked Tak as the two of them stood.

     "No," replied the other Gem Lord. "You'd better wait here, in case anyone wakes up and wonders where we are. You can make up any story you like, so long as you make it plain that we're not together."

     Tak nodded, and the other two men left, already speaking to each other in low voices.

     That left Tak as the only one left awake in the room, except for the naked female dancers who didn't seem to care whether anyone was watching them or not. So long as they get paid, I expect, thought the wizard with a smile of amusement. He watched them appreciatively for a while, but his thoughts kept turning back to Essca, and his companions were now so thoroughly asleep that he didn't see that he was doing any good by staying there. He waited a few more minutes, therefore, just to make sure, then rose quietly to his feet and crept out of the room.

     To his surprise he met Essca coming down the corridor in the opposite direction. "You had the same idea I did?" she asked in delight. He nodded, smiling happily. "Come on," she said taking his hand. "I've been here before. I know a quiet spot where we won't be disturbed."

     "Why do we need a quiet spot?" asked Tak, his heart pounding with excitement as he hoped he already knew the answer.

     She only gave him a puzzled look, though. "You ate the Horn of Potency," she said. "Didn't you mean it?"

     "I did if it meant what I think it did," said Tak, squeezing her hand tighter. "I had no idea it had any, er, symbolic significance, though. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in there."

     "You honoured me," she said, though. "For you, a mighty Lord, to make a public statement of your interest in me, so far below your station..."

     "I did that?" cried Tak, surprised and embarrassed, but he could have bitten off his own tongue when he saw the look of hurt and pain that flashed across her face. "I'm glad I did!" he said. "I don't know your customs, but I'm glad if I accidentally sent you the message I wanted to send. And as for my station being above yours, I was born a peasant. I'm where I am now by accident, not by birth."