Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (150 page)

They parted
then and the crew went back to the inn. They spoke with several
people on the way. They stayed in their rooms until noonmeal, then
went to the square where the king and queen had just arrived. Z
spoke with them for a short time, finding what Thing discovered
about the city gates was true. He also learned why they never
rebelled openly against the Jornians.

Z then called
for anyone who wanted to hear the tale of the rise and fall of
Royal City to gather round the speaker's stand. Hisla, with Thing
in her lap and Narum at her side, was in front and very close. Then
came Tab and Kit, then were thousands of people.

Z was going to
have a raw throat before this was over!

He began:

The Rise and
Fall Of Royal City

"Once, there
was a small town of peaceful farming people, nestled like a jewel
against the foothills of the Blue Mountains. For many years this
town prospered and for as many the people were good and honest. The
town was far from the paths of commerce so was not to be disturbed
by the evils of the world around it.

"Was that the
cause of it getting the attentions of the old elementals? Were they
demons or were they just men, terribly warped by their own greed –
men who had learned the blackest of arts?

"Perhaps that
is not a thing to ever know. Perhaps the truth was buried in the
ruins of a beautiful marble castle – but I get ahead of myself.
Whatever the cause, this town of good people came to the attention
of evil creatures.

"Oh! The arts
of deception! The art of empty promises! The art of empty
illusions! The art of appealing to peoples' greeds!

"There was, in
that town, a chosen leader. He was very young and had taken a mate
for life only a short time before these filthy beings came to the
town. They came in a chariot of metal, claiming to be able to grant
all things. They showed the young leader wonders and miracles.

"How could this
young man and his young wife know this was trickery? They had been
born and raised here in a town of good people who did not practice
deceit! Treachery was a thing they knew not of! Here was the metal
chariot! It was filled with wonders! Much more importantly, here
was a way to give his people freedom and security for all time to
come! These seemingly wonderful caring men, calling themselves
scientists, could guarantee a good and full life to all future
generations of the followers of the young leader!

"That young
leader had never known evil. That young leader had never known
deceit. What little greed was in him and his mate was a greed for
all the people to have an easy life, not for their own ease.

"I will digress
here to say that an easy life is seldom a good life. If one has no
labor one has no purpose and all is empty, but the young leader
knew nothing of that. He had toiled all his life, as had all others
here. It is trite to say, but true. The stairway to ruin is planked
with good intentions!

"An ambitious
plan was made. The trusting young leader would be declared king and
his mate queen. A city would grow from that poor town that would be
the envy of all Savaraj! A gleaming city of marble!

"That city did
grow, exactly as promised – but something was not right. The city
was not as it appeared. From a short distance away it was a
gleaming city of fine marble while from inside it was a cesspool of
corruption. It was a dirty and diseased place, both literally and
figuratively. What was going wrong? Diseases that were easily cured
were being allowed to spread among people who came from far places.
Garbage was piling up in the streets. Even the people themselves
were becoming uncaring and dishonest. Everyone wanted to get the
money made of paper and based on nothing but the promises of the
scientists. Where before all had worked together for a common goal,
each now worked for himself only. Even the small shopkeepers were
becoming thieves! It wasn't safe to travel the roads outside of the
city – or inside, for that matter!

"What was
wrong?

"The young king
and his queen confronted these socalled scientists and was told
that it was a sacrifice that must be made today so much good could
come tomorrow.

The young queen
confronted the scientists because the young were not being taught
even simple numbers. When this place was but a poor village all the
children could read and work with numbers. All children could read
and write.

"What was
wrong?

"There came the
time the king and queen went to the scientists and decreed that the
experiment was a failure and must stop. It was here that they lost
their youth and their innocence forever. It was here they learned
the darkest side of man and demon. It was here they had to abandon
their very souls in order to try to save their people.

"There were now
hundreds of thousands of people in their city. There was food for
basic sustenance for those people, but the king and queen noticed
there was always a great quantity wasted by these scientists and
their lackeys.

"You see, this
city has walls. There are four ways to leave the city. The
scientists, or demons, as they were now shown to be, had made iron
gates that could be closed in those four places. If those gates
were closed no one could get into the city – AND NO ONE COULD
LEAVE! The full import of the evil of these demons was now shown to
the king and queen – and they were helpless! If they revealed
anything at all the gates would be sealed. All of the fine people
of the city would be trapped inside of those gates with no way out
and with no way to get food or water in!

"What could
they do?

"The king and
queen did what they could. It was very little. The central vice of
the demons was for gold. They wanted a special kind of gold. They
wanted pink gold and they wanted a large amount of it.

"Each of us has
a personal vice or two and the demons were no different. It is well
to note that demons have a greed for the pink gold. Should ever
again such evil assert itself on Savaraj, it should be made clear
to all people in all places that pink gold will bait a trap for
demons of this type. Never again trust anyone who exhibits an
unnatural desire for that substance! Note that they also wanted
green quartz. Should any being want both things the defense of the
people from the greed of the demons is to see they get neither!

"Just as our
vices lead to our downfalls, the greed of the demons led to theirs,
for a traveler, a fisherman and a trader came to Royal City. They
were ill-treated at first, this trader and this fisherman. The
traveler, who I admit to being, was very suspicious when he came
over the hill to see the magnificent city, but then came into the
city to find the stench of evil and rot. The traveler somehow
sensed that all was not as it appeared.

"I was at once
reminded of another place and another time, but put such thoughts
aside. We all plied our trades and were doing well until we came
across something that didn't seem to make much sense in such a
city.

"The king, who
needed food and medical care for his people, wanted pink gold?

"How odd!
Again, it came to the traveler that there was sorcery in this! No
normal king would want contaminated gold when there is plenty of
the pure product to be had! Something was very, very wrong!

"Now, just by
chance, there was traveling with these people a little animal known
as Zonn. This animal has a talent that has often been put to use by
the trader: This animal can see into the soul of a being and can
tell when that being is lying! This animal made known to those who
it has become such a close friend of that these scientists HAD NO
SOULS! Almost all they said was a lie!

"Then the
scientists let it be known to the trader it was those demons
themselves who wanted the pink gold, not the king. They said there
was much power in pink gold and the power was in the pink part.

"Well, perhaps
to demons. They believed that part, at least, according to
Zonn.

"I believe Zonn
also saw the city as it really was. I knew sixteen years ago it was
a simple farm town and now all that marble? So much marble could
not be cut in fifty years!

"Soft stones
could. This was illusion and it was not merely simple things that
showmen do.

"I know one
little thing in magic and was able to show these demons. They
showed me something in return.

"Fear!

"I was not at
that time aware of it, but I had found their true nature. Magic is
feared by those who believe in it, but who do not understand it –
and also, more, by those who believe in it and DO understand it.
These obviously understood it.

"Hisla and
Narum then made known to me through various cautious statements
that they were trapped by these disgusting evil beings and we set
out to expose them and to save the people. The king and queen also
let me know their own lives meant nothing if the people could be
saved so we made bold plans: If there were demons here they had
been around for centuries. They had not held any power in all those
years so it was clear to me that all of them were part of the
requirements to hold power. No one or two of them held the power to
the extent such great illusions could be maintained. I suspected
each was a part of the power and that it wasn't any good without
all four parts.

"Perhaps some
of you noticed the illusions that were this city were not quite so
strong since the bandit reportedly killed one of the demons? (The
people would put little things together in their minds and would
become convinced they had, indeed, noticed some things now that it
was mentioned. Those cracks in the walls, the little flaws in the
tapestries, the rot in the wood.) Did not each of us begin to see
little cracks and flaws where before we saw only gleaming
perfection? Did not each of us smell things we knew were not clean
and pure where before we knew of no such ill odors? Did not each of
us hear things just the least small bit differently? A harshness to
sounds that had always seemed pleasant? The tiredness of the music
that had always seemed soothing? A discontent because it suddenly
became too obvious that all one's labors were producing none of the
things we strive toward?

"The king and
queen worked with us to delude the deluders. We would get them the
pink gold they wanted! Our plan was to get one shipment, which
would increase their greed, then we would go for another shipment,
but would make two of the demons wait to meet the boat in Dockside
Station, thus halving the power the needed to control the
illusions. We hoped to then cause some kind of diversion here when
there were only the two present, thus making them lose control of
the illusion and exposing them. With only two counterparts here we
could defeat them.

"Fate, as is
its wont, stepped in! One of the demons in his greed went out on
the road to meet me coming back with the pink gold trinkets that
were to be a thing to pique their interests. While he was waiting
at the fork for me to come four bandits came instead.

"I have before
told that story, but now I understand it. Before it was but a
strange story told to me by a bandit. Now it is truth. Now it is
the tale of the demise of an evil elemental being who was preying
on the worst motives of the people! Perhaps that one, having no
honor among even its own kind, meant to steal the pink gold from me
before the others could receive it!

"The chain is
broken! Now the remaining three demons must get as much of the gold
as they can before the illusion fails!

"They began
making mistakes and they began to do some of the things they had
promised to cover the errors. They sent the water and were helping
to rid the city of the garbage. I could see them weakening so
arranged for the first shipment of gold to be brought. When the
gold was here they became greatly emboldened – so I challenged
them! I had shown them I knew one bit of true magic – and they were
afraid!

"Still, they
could not refuse the challenge or the people here would laugh them
into oblivion so they arranged to demonstrate that they could call
great power. They would show all people they were too strong to be
resisted and they would show King Narum and Queen Hisla the
futility of defying them!

"Zonn had found
the sorcerer's powders in their rooms and had mixed two of them. It
likes to do things like that. It has a truly uncanny ability to
know what will happen later when it does a thing now. It is closer
to nature than are we and it has a deep understanding of things of
nature. Would that we all had a little portion of that power! This
city would not BE here! Would that the good king and queen had such
powers fifteen years ago!

"Still, if they
had not been afraid of magic powers – that I do not possess – their
incantations would have caused it to work. Instead, I think the one
called Chart used the wrong incantation. Fear makes us all stumble
over words.

"I did not make
a magic incantation. I merely repeated some words from a silly song
of the lower southern islands. I had seen the purple smoke coming
from the block and knew something would happen all by itself so I
yelled it out. That increased the fear in them.

"Last night
they were mixing some things for the show this morning in the
fields. At the same time one of them went to the altar Nesk and
several others discovered this morning to call on the old night
gods for power.

"I can only
guess, but I think they got the power. I think they made some evil
concoction that was to make a great explosion in the field this
morning and the power came to make the great explosion right there
in the palace! I think they were not enough in the three remaining
parts to any longer control those things which are beyond the
powers of mere mortals to control. I think those evil beings found
THEY no longer had power over the forces of darkness and met their
doom as a result. The lesson is plain to any who would foolishly
court those evil powers in their greed!