Doctor Who: Marco Polo (12 page)

Barbara and Susan could hardly believe
their eyes as they rode through the open gates. Side walls similar to
the one in front stretched back and Barbara realised that there must
be a rear one as well. In the centre, dominating everything, stood
the summer palace. It was a low squat building of enormous
proportions with an elaborate cornice in gold around the edge of the
roof, in the centre of which was the golden dome. Four wide steps led
up to a veranda enclosed in an elaborate, delicate marble latticework.

'Those inside can see out but those
outside can't see in,' the Doctor murmured to Barbara.

All around the palace were pavilions
where members of the Khan's court lived. The grandeur of each
pavilion indicated the status of the official who occupied it but
they all had beautiful gardens and small lakes. Marco led the way to
one of the most luxurious where they dismounted and attendants took
charge of their horses.

'This is the Polo pavilion,' he
announced. 'It has three apartments, my father's, my uncle's and mine
but as they are both abroad in the Khan's service, there is more than
enough space for all of us.'

They went inside. There was a central
courtyard with a floating garden and the decorations and furnishings
in the rooms surrounding it were so magnificent that Susan thought
that the pavilion made the way-stations where they had stayed look
like hovels in comparison. A middle-aged official of important
appearance came into the pavilion and bowed to Marco.

'Mighty Kublai Khan will be pleased to
receive Messer Marco Polo and his honourable guests when you are all
refreshed,' he proclaimed and left.

'We are in good favour,' Marco said
with a smile. 'That was the Khan's personal secretary.'

The Doctor moaned gently in sheer
delight as he lay back in his bathtub and thought that there would be
no need to mount another horse - ever again, he mentally added
for good measure. But as he dressed, his aches and pains came back
with renewed intensity and he realised it had been a mistake
to dismiss the wretched animals so abruptly from his life. He should
have eased the beasts out of it, little by little every day.

Wearing his flowing silk gown and
mandarin's hat. he hobbled onto the courtyard where Susan, Barbara
and Marco, all refreshed, were laughing, chatting and waiting for
him. The Doctor clapped a grim smile on his face and straightened his
back. Both actions hurt.

'Come and meet the Master of all Asia,
Doctor.' Marco said.

'Fiddlesticks,' the Doctor replied but
added that he would not deny the Khan the honour of meeting him.

Leisurely, they walked across
immaculately-tended lawns and gardens to the four steps leading onto
the veranda. The Doctor had been right. From inside, it was almost as
though the marble latticework didn't exist and they could see the
gardens, lawns and pavilions perfectly. They crossed the veranda to a
very finely filigreed golden double gate.

'The same effect, I suppose,' Barbara
said. Marco nodded.

'Wait until they're opened,' he replied
as two palace guards touched the gates which swung away. If Marco's
pavilion made the way-stations look like hovels, Susan thought, the
summer palace had the same effect on Marco's pavilion. It was
sumptuous. The building was square with a large central courtyard.
The walls, windows and doors were all elaborately decorated with
dragons, snakes, butterflies and birds with their eyes made of
precious stones, diamonds, jade, rubies, coral, aquamarines and
pearls. The courtyard was a floating garden with water lilies,
fountains and four bridges which spanned the garden to an island on which stood
another elaborately decorated square building. But the most
astonishing thing of all was the dome. It was not part of the
building. It was a canopy of gold supported by four arched golden
girders, reaching in from the four corners of the outer building.

'That's where the Khan lives,' Marco
said, pointing to it.

'If this is the summer palace, what
must the one at Peking be like?' Barbara asked.

'It is a walled city within a city,'
Marco replied as he led them over one of the bridges. Two more guards
opened a pair of golden filigreed doors and they walked along a
marble corridor lined with painted lifelike statues of warriors.
Marco explained that the tradition of protecting the ruler of Cathay
with imitation warriors had been started centuries ago by the Emperor
Qin Shi Huang who had six thousand made to protect his tomb, but no
one now knew where he was buried.

'Dig around Xian, which was the
capital,' the Doctor suggested, 'you might find something there.'

The two guards at the far end of the
corridor were real and they opened the golden panelled double doors
leading to the throne room.

'Look up,' Marco said as they went in.
The ceiling was a latticework of ivory beyond which the golden dome
could be seen. The throne was on a dais set against the back wall
which was draped with richly embroidered silk curtains. The
high-backed throne was of gold, studded with precious stones on the
arms, legs and the canopy. On the side walls were golden double
doors, one of which opened as the Khan's personal secretary came into the room.
He touched his fingers together, bowed to them and straightened up.

'When the mighty Kublai Khan appears,
you will make your obeisance to him so that he will look kindly upon
you and spare your worthless lives,' he announced. The Doctor
recalled that the original invitation to meet the Khan had been
delivered in much more friendly terms.

'What, pray, am I supposed to do?' The
edge of sarcasm was evident in his voice.

'Kow-tow,' the secretary replied.
'Kneel before the all-powerful Khan and touch your forehead three
times to the floor.'

'I'll do no such thing,' the Doctor
said indignantly. The secretary looked startled.

'Kublai Khan is the mightiest warrior
all Asia has ever seen,' he protested, 'and not to pay homage to him
will cost you your head.'

'Paying him homage will break my back,'
the Doctor retorted.

'Grandfather, don't argue. Do as you're
told, please,' Susan pleaded.

'Quiet, child. I refuse to make a
spectacle of - ' But he never finished the sentence as a gong
drowned out his words. The secretary raised one hand.

'Silence,' he called out, 'those who
dare to come before the sight of mighty Kublai Khan, kow-tow. Kow-tow
before the War Lord of War Lords, all powerful and fearsome in his
strength. Kow-tow before the Master of Asia, Cathay, India and other
territories beyond. Kow-tow.' Marco, Susan and Barbara knelt. The
Doctor remained standing.

'Grandfather,' Susan hissed.

'Kow-tow,' the secretary commanded.

'I'll never manage it,' the Doctor
complained as he sank awkwardly and painfully to his knees with
little moans and groans of agony. Out of the corner of her eye Susan
saw a most imposing man in a magnificent gold-threaded blue silk gown
with a silver belt around his waist. On his head he wore a hat which
resembled a bishop's mitre and he carried a gold staff in one hand.

'Kow-tow,' the secretary commanded.

'Aaah,' the Doctor exclaimed, but his
cry was lost in a yelp of pain from a little old man who was hobbling
along with a cane behind the dignified man.

'Kow-tow,' the secretary repeated, as
the little old man grabbed the arm of the throne and tried to lift
one foot onto the dais.

'Aaah,' he cried out which was echoed
by the Doctor. The little old man collapsed with another cry onto the
throne and looked angrily at the Doctor.

'Do you mock our affliction?' he asked
in a high-pitched, thin voice. The Doctor was kneeling with his head
several inches above the floor at which he was staring.

'No, it's my back,' he said irritably,
'I can't move it.' With a little moan of pain the Master of all Asia
eased out his gout-ridden foot.

'What ails it?'

'It's seized up. I can't move,' the
Doctor wailed. Mighty Kublai Khan turned to the imposing man who
stood at the side of the dais.

'Grand Vizier, help our honourable
guest,' - he pointed at the Doctor with his cane - 'to his
feet. And you, ladies, and you, Marco, stand up,' he added, waving
his cane at them. Suddenly, his face paled and he let out another anguished cry as the
Grand Vizier with Marco took the Doctor by both arms and tried to
straighten him. Susan and Barbara watched anxiously. Kublai looked at
them.

'These gracious ladies accompany you?'
he asked.

'Yes, great Khan.'

'You are most welcome to our Court,'
Kublai inclined his head to them. 'The Captain Ling-Tau has reported
to us that the Lady Ping-Cho follows on with another of your party
and an escort. Also, that the War Lord Tegana has gone on to Peking.'

'In obedience to your command, great
Khan.'

'We shall discuss the War Lord's
mission, Marc-ouch,' he yelped, and pointed his cane at the Doctor.
'How did you come by your ailment?'

'I've spent the last seven days on
horseback, Sire," the Doctor replied, 'and it is a mode of
transportation to which I am unaccustomed.' The Khan looked
concerned.

'We ride for Peking tomorrow, we fear,'
Kublai confessed.

'Not another horse,' the Doctor
exclaimed. 'I couldn't lift my foot into a stirrup, let alone, mount
the monster.' Pointing to the Khan's foot, he observed that, for the
life of him, he didn't see the Khan riding a horse either.

'We have a carriage of state and
tomorrow, noble sir, you shall ride with us.'

'Most generous of you, Sire,' the
Doctor replied and attempted a little bow which sent a stab of pain
across his back. 'Aaah,' he squeaked clamping both hands over his
kidneys.

'We shall be pleased if you will dine
with us this evening,' and Kublai ordered the Grand Vizier to make
the necessary seating arrangements, placing the Empress between the
Doctor and himself. Then, with little groans and yelps, he stood up
gingerly.

'The audience is terminated,' the
secretary intoned. 'Kow-tow.' A look of sheer anguish crossed the
Doctor's face. Kublai held up one hand.

'No, no, no,' he protested. 'We waive
this mark of obeisance out of respect for our noble guest's
affliction.' He beckoned the Doctor to his side and he limped over.
'There are healing waters here which relieve our gout. Let us observe
their effect upon your miseries. Take our arm.' The Doctor obeyed.
'What a burden old age is,' Kublai sighed.

'A trial to be borne with dignity,
Sire,' the Doctor observed.

'You are right, our friend. With
dignity,' Kublai replied and with little 'oohs', 'aahs' and 'ouches',
the two of them hobbled out of the throne room.

Shortly before the banquet, Marco was
summoned to Kublai's personal sitting room. It was small but
exquisitely furnished with carved ebony chairs and a low table with
ivory inlays. The walls were hung with delicate hand-painted scrolls
and the window looked out onto a small, beautifully arranged flower
garden. To Marco's surprise Ling-Tau was taking tea with Kublai who
waved Marco to a chair and let him pour himself a cup of tea.

'What is this War Lord's tomb Ling-Tau
told us about?' Kublai asked. Marco looked puzzled.

'War Lord's tomb? Pardon my ignorance,
great Khan, but I do not understand you.' Kublai turned to Ling-Tau.

'Recount for us once again your
adventures,' he said and Ling-Tau told an increasingly astonished
Marco all that had happened on the road to Karakorum although he did
not mention Tegana's involvement. When Ling-Tau finished, Marco, who
had long since put down his untouched cup of tea, spread out his
hands in bewilderment.

'Great Khan, it is not a War Lord's
tomb, it is a caravan that flies.'

'A flying caravan?' Kublai exclaimed
incredulously. 'From whence does it come?' W'ith pangs of conscience,
Marco recounted meeting the Doctor and his companions.

'A caravan that travels through the
air.' Kublai beamed. 'This we must see.'

'It is yours, great Khan, I claimed it
in your name. But I have promised to take the Doctor and the others
back to Venice with me,' he added, hoping Kublai would take the hint.
Then he frowned. 'But how did it come to be on the road to
Karakorum?' Kublai smiled.

'It was being sent there by the Wrar
Lord Tegana,' he said simply.

'What?' Marco was astounded. 'But there
is nothing at Karakorum.'

'Other than Noghai's Tartar hordes.'

Marco put one hand to his forehead.
'But when I collected the Lady Ping-Cho and the War Lord Tegana at
Samarkand all that remained of Noghai's defeated army was less than
ten leagues away.'

'And now revitalised and reinforced, it
stands at Karakorum with Noghai at its head.' Kublai toyed with his
cup. 'We shall be interested in the War Lord Tegana's justification
of its presence so close to ourself.'

'Then why did you command him to go
directly to Peking, great Khan?'

Kublai smiled ingenuously. 'That is
where our army, reinforced from our southern provinces, is
exercising. We thought it appropriate that the War Lord should see it
and realise that we, not him, shall be negotiating the terms of peace
from the position of strength.' Kublai leant heavily on his cane,
stood up and looked at Ling-Tau. 'Ride back and see that our flying
caravan is sent directly to Peking. Also advise the Lady Ping-Cho and
her companion, the noble Ian, to ride for our palace there.'

'I shall be swifter than an arrow in
flight, great Khan.' Ling-Tau smiled, bowed and left the room.

'Give us your arm, Marco. The healing
waters had an excellent effect on the Doctor's aches and pains,'
Kublai said as Marco helped him from the room. 'When he told us his
name we hoped he might be a physician and cure our affliction, once
and for all. But it was not to be.' He sighed. 'A caravan that flies
through the air,' he mused aloud and chuckled, 'that will put Noghai
in his place.' Marco thought that if it had reached Karakorum it
would have had the same effect on Kublai.