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The librarian sighed and looked down at him. Will there be anything else,
sir?
Ah & no. Osmirik managed to smile. You have been very helpful.
Only too happy, sir.
The librarian turned to go, walked a few paces away, then stopped and turned
slowly around. There is one more thing, sir.
Osmirik looked up. Yes?
The librarian s features suddenly took on familiar lines. Osmirik realized
that he had been avoiding looking at the man s face, for a reason he could not
fathom. Now, with a suppressed gasp of surprise, he recognized the man
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standing before him.
Tell Melydia that I wait for her, Incarnadine said.
Flabbergasted, mouth agape, Osmirik stared at Incarnadine s back until the
tall man strode out of sight.
Keep Upper Stories
KWIP POKED HIS head into the wall of the corridor then withdrew it. Another
hallway on the other side of this, he said. But little else.
We re getting more and more lost, Linda said.
Not possible, Gene said. You can t go beyond being utterly, hopelessly
lost, which is what we were to begin with.
Aye, true enough, Kwip observed, while debating with himself whether to slip
away or stay with his new-
found companions. He had tagged along because he needed food, and now that he
had almost a full backpack
Linda had conjured one for him along with the preserved food he d asked for
he was ready again to strike off into far parts of the castle. But he was
having second thoughts. Wandering alone was perhaps a bit too dangerous.
He came to a decision. He d stay with the group for now and bide his time. He
didn t like the thought of dividing booty five ways, but if by chance they
should find the treasure room, the question would likely boil down to how much
one person could carry. He did not doubt that fabulous wealth lay behind the
building of such an edifice as this.
Unless the buggers squandered everything building it, he thought ruefully.
Which might indeed be the case.
How about the other wall, Kwip? Gene asked.
Kwip moved to the opposite wall, stopping a nose s length away. He touched his
forehead to the cold stone for the barest moment. Then his head disappeared
into the wall, half his body following.
Wow, that s the strangest thing, Gene said. I wonder what it feels like?
Kwip extricated himself and shook his head. Merely a large room with naught
in it.
Could you possibly get stuck halfway in? Gene wondered.
A disquieting notion, Kwip said. I d as lief not think on it.
Yeah. Gene cast a glance up the hallway. Well, hell. I guess we should just
keep walking this way.
They moved on.
Can you breathe when you re, you know, inside a wall? Gene asked.
No. I can draw breath, but none comes.
Do you feel anything? I mean
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Tis not a sensation to be described easily, Kwip said. There is some
resistance, but not enough to impede me.
There is a musty, stuffy smell, some slight dizziness & More I cannot really
say.
Huh, Gene said thoughtfully.
They came to a large chamber with corbeled walls and plentiful alcoves. In one
corner, however, an open door led out to bright daylight.
Gene said, That doesn t look like a portal.
They filed through and came out onto a high terrace with crenellated
battlements. Gene looked over the edge.
The drop looked to be about eighty stories. Turning and looking up, he saw
that there weren t many more stories above. He turned back and took in the
view.
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Not as high as the World Trade Center, but just as heart-stopping.
I don t like heights, Linda said nervously.
Neither do I, but look at this place. It s so complex, it s hard to take in
all at once. Look at all those concentric walls and towers and things.
Jacoby said, Magnificent, isn t it?
Twas wizardry built this, Kwip said under his breath.
I think those are people moving around down there, Gene said. At the foot
of this main building here, the one we re in.
Aye, the keep. Kwip shaded his eyes and looked. An army. The besiegers.
They spent a good ten minutes sightseeing, then went back inside.
Well, at least I have a sense of the boundaries of this place, Gene said.
It isn t endless. He sat on a stone bench. What we have to do is head
downstairs
.
We ve tried that before, Snowclaw said.
Yeah, I know. But we have to try again.
Okay, Linda said. Say we make it down all that way. Say we find an
elevator. We find the front door, we get out. What do we do then?
Gene shrugged. At least we ll be out of this madhouse.
But what s out there? A strange world we couldn t possibly live in.
Exactly, Jacoby said from the leather armchair in which he d ensconced
himself. My boy, you ve a lot to learn. You must rid yourself of any notion
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that your being in this castle is a predicament that needs getting out of.
The task at hand, inasmuch as we don t know what our position will be
vis-à-vis the besiegers, is to try to maintain what we have here.
Gene looked at him sourly. You re saying that I don t know how good I have
it.
Precisely.
So we all stay in this Gothic funhouse until we either get eaten by slime
creatures from another dimension or go bananas. Is that it?
Hardly. One simply makes the best of one s situation.
I still say we should try to find an exit. If there s a way in, there s a way
out.
Not necessarily.
Kwip was pacing slowly in a circle behind Jacoby s chair. Until he saw the
sweeping view from the terrace, he had thought the castle a human artifact,
albeit an enchanted one. Now he was convinced otherwise. Its sheer bulk alone
argued for a supernatural origin. And its lord could not possibly be anything
less than the Prince of
Demons.
Anything wrong, Kwip? Linda asked.
Eh? No, nothing.
Gene stood. One thing for sure we re not going to find anything hanging
around here.
You re right about that, Gene, old buddy, Snowclaw said. I don t know about
you people, but it s too damn warm in this place for me. I got to find me some
snow and ice or I ll go bananas too & whatever they are.
You want me to conjure a snowbank for you? Linda said.
Thanks, Linda. No, not right now, but if I get desperate, I ll let you know.
Let s look for a way down, Gene said.
Linda said, I don t want to leave the castle, Gene. Not for that wasteland
outside.
Neither do I, now that you mention it. I was just thinking that we should try
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