in my life..
Joe looked back dubiously. "Where's the boat?.
"Oh, it's not here," Ruddygore replied. "It never quite makes the whole trip either way. You might as well forget that boat, Joe. You'll never see it again..
The walk up to the castle took the better part of an hour, but it was time well spent in just enjoying life and feeling good.
Marge was like a kid again, laughing and smelling flowers and Page 31 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods chasing butterflies; even Joe seemed to be affected with a sense of well-being after a while. He didn't join in, but at least he laughed along with her.
Shortly before reaching the castle itself, the path intersected the main road leading up to it. It was a dirt and gravel road and not used very much, judging by the lack of real impressions in it, but it was well maintained.
As their elevation increased, they could look down and see the panorama that was Ruddygore's normal view.
"The river we just came from, back there, is the Rossignol,.
the sorcerer told them. "A gentle river that sings sweet, sad songs, but is a grand old lady in her own right. Over there, now, you can see her child, and the child of many other rivers great and small. The River of Dancing Gods..
Even this far north, there was no comparing the great river with its tributary. It flowed, shimmering golden in the sunlight, a broad, wide, powerful river. Although here it was not much wider than the Rossignol, they could see where the two rivers joined, and where they seemingly flowed along together in the 38 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS same bed off into the distance, the dark of the Rossignol seemingly resisting the mix with its golden master. But when they joined, the River of Dancing Gods grew enormously, already a mile or more from bank to bank, a great river indeed, with more than a thousand miles left to grow in power and strength even more.
"The other side of the Dancing Gods is Hypboreya, a very different son of country," Ruddygore told them. "Across the Rossignol is Marquewood, a republic that is even now threatened on its southern border by the forces of the Dark Baron.
This little spot of Terindell is but a small finger of Valisandra pointing southwest..
After a last, long look at the stunningly beautiful scene, they regretfully continued around the castle and up to its great outer gate with its massive wooden doors.
Somewhere inside, a trumpet blared briefly, echoing through the inner courtyard, and a great gong sounded three times. At the third gong stroke, the huge doors opened inward, revealing, to the newcomers' surprise, a moat. The inner castle was still a good forty feet beyond. Now from the inner castle, the drawbridge lowered slowly on rusting hinges with a clatter of chains and a moaning of protesting timbers.
"Wow. Just like Robin Hood," Joe muttered, a bit awestruck in spite of himself.
The drawbridge hit with a clang, and, allowing Ruddygore to lead the way, they entered the inner castle.
The entire castle was more a complex than a single build- Page 32 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods ing—and complex was the word. The outer wall, including small guard towers and turrets, was thick enough to have almost an avenue along its protected top; inside, it presented a complex of ledges connected by elaborate stairways, all made out of granite. Beyond this was the moat—an ugly affair, oily on the surface and smelling as stagnant as it must be.
The inner castle was a second, thicker shell that definitely had rooms throughout. How many it was impossible to tell, but from the positioning of the windows they could see that there were at least four floors. It was perhaps a hundred feet thick.
Inside this structure was a broad, green courtyard, well kept and maintained, with decorative shrubbery and flower beds; it 39 JACK L. CHALKER was broken by a series of blocky stone buildings of various
Joe looked back dubiously. "Where's the boat?.
"Oh, it's not here," Ruddygore replied. "It never quite makes the whole trip either way. You might as well forget that boat, Joe. You'll never see it again..
The walk up to the castle took the better part of an hour, but it was time well spent in just enjoying life and feeling good.
Marge was like a kid again, laughing and smelling flowers and Page 31 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods chasing butterflies; even Joe seemed to be affected with a sense of well-being after a while. He didn't join in, but at least he laughed along with her.
Shortly before reaching the castle itself, the path intersected the main road leading up to it. It was a dirt and gravel road and not used very much, judging by the lack of real impressions in it, but it was well maintained.
As their elevation increased, they could look down and see the panorama that was Ruddygore's normal view.
"The river we just came from, back there, is the Rossignol,.
the sorcerer told them. "A gentle river that sings sweet, sad songs, but is a grand old lady in her own right. Over there, now, you can see her child, and the child of many other rivers great and small. The River of Dancing Gods..
Even this far north, there was no comparing the great river with its tributary. It flowed, shimmering golden in the sunlight, a broad, wide, powerful river. Although here it was not much wider than the Rossignol, they could see where the two rivers joined, and where they seemingly flowed along together in the 38 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS same bed off into the distance, the dark of the Rossignol seemingly resisting the mix with its golden master. But when they joined, the River of Dancing Gods grew enormously, already a mile or more from bank to bank, a great river indeed, with more than a thousand miles left to grow in power and strength even more.
"The other side of the Dancing Gods is Hypboreya, a very different son of country," Ruddygore told them. "Across the Rossignol is Marquewood, a republic that is even now threatened on its southern border by the forces of the Dark Baron.
This little spot of Terindell is but a small finger of Valisandra pointing southwest..
After a last, long look at the stunningly beautiful scene, they regretfully continued around the castle and up to its great outer gate with its massive wooden doors.
Somewhere inside, a trumpet blared briefly, echoing through the inner courtyard, and a great gong sounded three times. At the third gong stroke, the huge doors opened inward, revealing, to the newcomers' surprise, a moat. The inner castle was still a good forty feet beyond. Now from the inner castle, the drawbridge lowered slowly on rusting hinges with a clatter of chains and a moaning of protesting timbers.
"Wow. Just like Robin Hood," Joe muttered, a bit awestruck in spite of himself.
The drawbridge hit with a clang, and, allowing Ruddygore to lead the way, they entered the inner castle.
The entire castle was more a complex than a single build- Page 32 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods ing—and complex was the word. The outer wall, including small guard towers and turrets, was thick enough to have almost an avenue along its protected top; inside, it presented a complex of ledges connected by elaborate stairways, all made out of granite. Beyond this was the moat—an ugly affair, oily on the surface and smelling as stagnant as it must be.
The inner castle was a second, thicker shell that definitely had rooms throughout. How many it was impossible to tell, but from the positioning of the windows they could see that there were at least four floors. It was perhaps a hundred feet thick.
Inside this structure was a broad, green courtyard, well kept and maintained, with decorative shrubbery and flower beds; it 39 JACK L. CHALKER was broken by a series of blocky stone buildings of various
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