The House of Yeel (3 page)

Jymoor stared at Yeel from
her seat at the table, trying to take in the man and his frenzied
dialogue. The maroon robe flowed oddly, almost disturbingly, as
Yeel moved about, bringing plates of food to the visitor. It almost
seemed as if the man floated. Long, thin hands extended from the
arms of the richly colored garb. She examined his narrow head
framed in short dark hair. He was handsome, she decided, though his
dark eyes bulged just a bit. He had flecks of gray at the temples,
which was to be expected considering his reported age of greater
than one hundred years.

“However did you manage to
get past the harapins?” asked Yeel. “I distinctly remembered a lot
of them, since they would be so dangerous to forget. They’ve kept
visitors from this place for quite some time, I fear. Did you come
by land or sea? Or other? I really must know, please do not deny me
the details of your arrival, my dearest of friends named
Jymoor.”

“Uh, by land, my lord,”
Jymoor stammered. “There were the remains of a large beast, perhaps
a harapin. But truly, no such monster attacked me.”

“Of course you speak truly!
I would entertain no other such thought, not for a second, I assure
you. May I ask for clarification? You came to the house without
resistance?” Yeel asked. “Your way was unbarred? Uncontested?
Without opposition? Please, do take some sustenance.”

Jymoor bowed again. “That is
so. I apologize, my lord. I did not mean to invade
your—”

“No problem at all. Quite
all right. Anytime. I am, after all, not at all opposed to
visitation, whether of the friendly kind or of a matter of more
urgent business. Please ingest some of these edibles, for they are
offered at no cost to you, I promise.”

Jymoor examined the
multicolored chunks of unidentifiable matter arrayed before her on
the plates. “I’m very glad to hear—” Jymoor said.

“Now please relate to me the circumstance by
which you have come here, the reason for your quest, your goal in
seeking me out. I am, after all, a simple collector of artifacts, a
tinkerer if you will, an—”

“Alchemist at heart?” Jymoor
finished for Yeel, trying out the tactic of counterinterrupting. It
seemed to be almost the only way to get a word in to the talkative
host. Jymoor picked up a red cube with a spiked stick and placed it
on the plate before her.

“Why yes, that is exactly
me. Alchemy truly is the most wonderful of sciences. Why just
before you arrived, I was…well, when you…perhaps you will please
tell me now why you have come? I didn’t already miss your
explanation, did I? Oh surely not. I wouldn’t forget that! Did
I?”

Jymoor thought that perhaps
the Great Yeel had damaged himself in one too many experiments
since mankind had last encountered him. The man clearly suffered
from acute logomania. Nevertheless, she resolved to try her best to
secure the tall wizard’s help.

“We need your help, mighty Yeel,” Jymoor
began. “A terrible migration of barbarians threatens our
civilization! I have come to seek your aid in keeping the hordes at
bay. Take me as your first payment—”

“Oh my friend, I am afraid
that is impossible. You see, I make it a rule not to meddle in
human…I mean, I don’t interfere in conflicts between nations, you
see. I am, after all, only a humble tinkerer, a collector, a
dabbler in the arts of potions and metal smithing. I experiment
with substances, investigate the phenomena of nature, and indulge
my creative impulses here within the walls of my abode.”

“My people are helpless before these
invaders! We will surely fall without your assistance!”

“I realize that this may be hard to
assimilate from your biased perspective,” began Yeel, “but there
exists the very real possibility that the very strength of culture
that allows these so-called barbarians to overcome you may be a
natural part of the balance of life, and if in fact their
philosophies and traditions prove more efficient than your own,
then it may be for the best that they come to dominate this
continent. Speaking in the long term, I mean.”

Jymoor realized that the
great wizard might be negotiating with her. She took a deep breath
and left her seat to walk to Yeel’s side. She dropped to one knee
and lowered her head.

“Know, Great Yeel, that I
have been instructed to offer myself as a gift for whatever
purposes you may desire. I am a pious and pure virgin—”

“Ah, yes, well, despite
your, um, obvious suitability for breeding, I am, ah, infertile for
now. Yes, I am unready at this time. Please do not be offended if I
refuse with absolutely no intentions of offending you or
your…family?”

“Or if you wish to make use
of me for sacrifice…I am ready to willingly participate in exchange
for a pledge of aid to my nation Riken. You know, should you need
me for your…magical rituals.”

“Very kind of you, yes, I
can see that you mean that. But I need no additional organic
reagents at this time. Giving up your own life for superfluous
components would be unwise, I’m afraid.”

Jymoor stood up, her eyes filling with tears.
Yeel had rejected her most urgent appeals for help.

“These men from the steppes,
they’re like animals! They come in immense numbers, hard, savage
men who have no sense of honor or mercy! They’ll destroy Riken! How
can that be—”

“They sound like a hardy bunch. And they must
have mastered complex economic principles to field an army of
superior numbers. Also, it sounds as if they have a highly advanced
offensive branch. Perhaps these fine qualities will enable them to
prevail in the evolution of societies.”

Jymoor did not understand
the words Yeel used. She blinked, then continued her plea. “But
they will ravage our cities! Burn the palaces, the markets, the
libraries…”

“Now, wait a minute there,
my little friend,” Yeel interrupted. “Did you say libraries?
Libraries, as in repositories of knowledge, implying that libraries
as well as palaces and markets will be destroyed? Or were you
starting a new sentence, merely preparing to say that the libraries
will be spared, as surely they will be?”

“Uh, ah, no, Great Yeel!
They will most certainly burn the libraries to the ground, as they
have already done at Liscenium and Talgam. They spare no man,
woman, or child! The horde–”

“Burns libraries?” Yeel demanded again.

“Yes, it is true, my lord.”

“Well that is hardly…I don’t
know if I can…well, perhaps just this once I will attempt to
intervene. But only after due investigation into the matter. I must
verify these deeds of which you speak.”

“You will help us? Oh, thank
you, my Lord Yeel! We shall strive to be worthy of your
assistance!” Jymoor dropped back to her knees, bowing before
Yeel.

“Please, return to your seat
if you find it comfortable…consume some of the nourishment I’ve
provided. Rest and regain your strength. Be assured that I’ll look
into this matter!”

Jymoor returned to her seat, so pleased by
this turn of the conversation that she endeavored to eat the cube
she had acquired. It slid into her mouth and resisted her chewing
motions like a rubbery vine. She found the taste acceptable,
somewhat like that of a ripe grenzarn fruit.

“There are certain universal strategies
beneficial to sentient cultures, including the acquisition,
absorption, and accumulation of knowledge. Your people do believe
in the value of knowledge, do you not? Hence the formation of
libraries, yes?”

“Uh, my Lord Yeel, we do
have vast libraries in the capital city. As we did have at
Liscenium and Talgam, before the horde felled these great
citadels.”

“The capital, what do you call it, contains
the last significant library your nation has constructed?”

“The capital is Maristaple, my lord. Yes, the
library there is extensive, the largest ever assembled.”

“We must leave as soon as
the strictures of responsible preparation allow,” Yeel said.
“Surely you require rest. I’ll show you to your guest chambers.
There is much preparation required for an operation of this
magnitude!”

Jymoor bowed her head. “I
require no special accommodations…”

“This way,” Yeel called, and bolted off down
one of the pristine corridors. Jymoor followed nervously, afraid to
be left alone with the horrible green creature loose in the house.
Yeel turned, hesitated, and then continued down the hall as if
confused.

Finally they arrived at a
large set of double doors, and Yeel opened them with a flourish,
revealing an immense, lushly decorated sleeping chamber. It
appeared fit for royalty. Jymoor gasped and shook her
head.

“My lord, I am but a humble
girl, a gift to you! I am not worthy of such exalted sleeping
quarters—”

“Oh, please, I do insist.
You must stay at my convenience. You’ve traveled so hard and
labored for so long to find me. It is the least I could do. Go
inside now and find your rest. I assure you that the, um, creature
that you encountered earlier will not trouble you again. Yes, that
is a sure thing. I shall ensure it myself. As well I shall concern
myself with all aspects of your safety, I assure you.”

“I thank you—”

“Not necessary, I assure
you, as you are clearly my very close friend and companion. Now,
you must get some sleep since your kind, um, that is to say that we
both need our rest that is certain. Tomorrow you must relate to me
everything you know about human warfare so that I might make a
study of it. Every scrap of knowledge will need to be
analyzed.”

“I will—”

“Good!” exclaimed Yeel. The sorcerer nudged
Jymoor into the room and then closed the door in her face. Jymoor
stood for some seconds in shock, and then shrugged. At least she
had accomplished her mission, and Yeel, although disturbingly odd,
did not seem inclined to kill or torture her.

Still, he had mentioned
something about being a very close companion. Jymoor steeled
herself again. The idea struck her that perhaps Yeel had put her in
this magnificent chamber because he intended to visit her here
later. If Yeel chose her as concubine, it would be her duty to
please him. Her people’s fate might depend upon it.

Jymoor turned and prepared herself for
sleep.

***

As the door closed, Yeel
popped off one of his eye pods and tossed it into the room. It
would be best if his guest were observed, for her own safety of
course. Yeel slid down the corridor toward his lab. Inside the
room, he could see the traveler begin to absorb her
surroundings.

Considering the situation
ahead, it may not have been wise to use one of his eyes to monitor
Jymoor. Still, Yeel had four adult eyes growing on his vision
tentacle, and at least six others starting to form farther down his
eye ridge. Besides, the one he had used was getting ripe. Yeel
enjoyed sight from an eye pod for a day or two after it had been
detached, but if it grew too old on the stalk it would rot and fall
off, useless.

Once he reached the lab he allowed himself to
relax. That had been a close one. Yeel let the defensive illusion
fall from his mind. Any observer would once again perceive him in
his real form: that of a many-tentacled green cone that slid over
the ground. He retained his extreme height, perhaps half again the
height of an average man. It was easier to masquerade as an
unusually high man than to work that detail into the illusion.

So these people ask for the assistance of
Yeel, he pondered to himself. It seemed very odd to Yeel, who
recalled only the shock and horror of the natives when they last
encountered him in his natural form. Somehow over the years the
stories of his brief appearance in their tiny cities must have
grown. And he also remembered how he had stopped that firestorm
that threatened to consume their entire habitation. The natives
displayed awe at his simple demonstration of the most basic
principles of alchemy.

“Why not? I shall help the poor creatures.
Perhaps this will be my chance to clear my rather tainted
reputation with the natives.”

With that decision, Yeel
turned his thoughts to preparation for the journey.

Chapter 3: The Task at Hand

“First things first!” Yeel
exclaimed to himself. Where had he left the roveport? He could
hardly be walking around out in the world without it. “Perhaps it’s
by the gate. Yes, I’m certain it is, since that makes the most
sense; after all how else could one deduce where it is each time
rather than have to remember its location?”

Yes, of course, he had
thought of the optimum solution. No doubt when he last dropped it
he had taken the time to make sure it could be found again! The
only other alternative was that he would have had to remember its
particular physical location each and every time he moved it…a
tedious undertaking to be sure.

“Let’s see, the gate would
be in the water room…the water room would be in the center of my
sanctuary!”

Yeel slid around the corridor, noting the
curvature of the passageway. He selected the side of the smaller
radius and followed the wall, taking a turn when he came to an open
doorway. He saw a guardrail along a ledge that overlooked a massive
atrium. His ear cluster picked up the sound of running water.

“The water room! What a magnificent water
room I have!” Yeel announced, taking in the vast chamber adorned
with giant white pillars around its perimeter. “However shall I get
down?”