Gary Gygax - Dangerous Journeys 3 - Death in Delhi (14 page)

"Now I know the reason for the piles of rugs," Rachelle whispered as their host came waddling in after his bodyguard.

Guldir Maharajah Sivadji looked more than ever like a toad dressed in regal adornments. Behind him came a pair of fan bearers and a half dozen of the seemingly obligatoiy harem women. Again, the sovereign ruler of Delhi appeared quite satisfied with the less dramatic gestures which Magister Inhetep and the ama-zon made in recognition of his royal presence. "Good evening, My most welcome guests. We must eat and drink now, for Our hunger demands it." He plopped onto his massive couch with a grunt. The women hastened to grab cushions and pillows, thrust them here and there, so that every conceivable place their master might loll would be supported. Not to be outdone, the male slaves fanned furiously as this occurred, as if they wished to demonstrate that their concerns were as great as those of the women. He grunted and the women instantly ceased their fussing and fell into seductive poses, secretly fighting for the more noticeable positions before their lord's divan.

Gorvan had stood at the maharajah's first words. He hastened to take Rachelle's arm. "You will sit here," he said as he tried to lead her to the left of the table. She removed the man's hand from her arm with polite firmness. Gorvan's expression was startled when she did so, for her strength was greater than his own. She made no protest, however, and followed his instruction to take the chair at the maharajah's left hand. The chancellor indicated that Setne was to have the honored seat on the monarch's right. Then, as if on cue, and before anyone other than Sivadji Guldir was actually seated, two others arrived.

"General Ratha! Pirimah Lady Sujata!" the maharajah exclaimed in evident joviality as the two named newcomers prostrated themselves. "Arise, arise. Greet Our guests—the princely Sahib Magister Inhetep of Egypt of whom We have spoken to you and his companion bodyguard the Sahibah Rachelle. Isn't she a lovely protectress? We should have such ones to guard Our person!"

There was a hasty babble at his words. "I shall see to it tomorrow. Resplendence," Gorvan said smoothly. The harem women glared at him as he spoke. The arising general gave Inhetep and Rachelle each a stiff little bow as soon as he was back on his feet. "I am honored to meet you," he said in a grating voice. Similarly, the lady arose, smiling briefly and nodding to Rachelle, flashing her teeth more broadly at the magister and bowing deeply enough to flash something else at him. "Your powers, Magister, are legendary," Sujata stated in flawless Trade Phoenician.

"Our court practitioner reminds Us of courtesy," the obese monarch called from the head of the table. "We command that all converse is to be carried on this night in the tongue of commerce." Switching to that speech, Maharajah Sivadji added, "It is a language none in this room save Us and our fellow banqueters understand." He beamed at his cleverness, the thick lips of his big mouth seeming to stretch almost to his dangling ears. He seemed unaware of the stream of servants bent under the weight of great platters, trays, and other things entering to fill the table's top with sufficient fare for a dozen diners.

General Ratha was lean, muscular, and rather handsome in a dark, bearded way. The scar on his face which ran from the outer tip of his left eyebrow down to the center of his cheek could be found dashing in some eyes. The chancellor pointed Ratha to the chair next to Rachelle's.

The court practitioner was almost stunning in her good looks, despite the fact that she was well into her thirties. Her eyes sparkled with admiration, and her attention was riveted on the magister. Rachelle took an instant dislike to her, seeing her to be as ugly inside as the maharajah was on the outside. Setne's interest in what she was saying made the amazon fume, but between the general's grave remarks and the need to watch the maharajah's every move, she couldn't catch much of what was being said between them.

Everyone was free to chat and eat as they chose, for Sivadji Guldir had begun stuffing himself immediately after introducing the two last members of the dinner party. The females attending him assisted his consumption by popping choice morsels of this and that into his mouth, if he hadn't filled it full on his own, as two eunuchs made dishes of all sorts hover before him, and the ever-busy fan bearers beat the air with their fans of ostrich feathers.

Seeing how he was engrossed in eating and drinking, Rachelle allowed the monarch of Delhi less constant attention, speaking with General Ratha, who seemed intent on nothing but his troubles with "bandit rebels" who lurked in the northern hills "unlawfully sheltered by both Katehar and Sirmur." He was dull, but at least the commander of Delhi's military wasn't disgusting.

It was just as well that the amazon was unable to hear the Pirimah Lady Sujata. After lavishing compliments on the /Egyptian wizard-priest for several minutes, the court practitioner moved her leg so that her thigh pressed against Inhet-ep's. "Let us exchange magickal secrets tonight, Magister. My chambers are just down the hall from your own. ..." And as she allowed her invitation to trail off, she smiled seductively into Setae's eyes.

"There is . . . ah . . . the small matter immediately before me, Lady Sujata," he said in vaguely apologetic tone as he eased his leg away from the hot flesh of the woman.

"Now what could that be?" the pirimah demanded with pretended crossness. Then she glanced archly across the table. "Surely not your bodyguard!"

The magister gave an easy laugh and shook his head. "To delay such an invitation from so beautiful a source on that account? Really, dear lady!" He lifted up his goblet and sipped as if in toast to her. "It is altogether another sort of thing I speak of—the command of your own royal sovereign."

As if he had been listening, before the pirimah could reply to what Inhetep had said, the maharajah gave a thunderous belch. Every head turned to watch. Nobody moved or dared speak. Sivadji Guldir swatted away a slender hand which happened to be approaching his face with more food, speaking as he motioned. "We are replete. It is time to discuss matters of state. Clear all this away!" he commanded, his arms flung out towards the laden length of the table. "Bring cool sherbets and fresh wine for Us to drink. Then get out!" He sat then, eyeing the assemblage before him, the similarity to a big toad striking, as the slaves scurried to comply with his commands and the fan bearers and members of the harem skulked off as if they were whipped dogs.

When the six of them were alone, the maharajah snapped, "Have you discovered the culprit, Magister? Is the guilty one known so that Our justice can be done to him?!"

"Not quite yet, Your Majesty. There are a few small things which I must see to before I can give you that happy report."

"What small things? I do not like delays in carrying out my wishes!" The tone of his voice was threatening, and the maharajah's ugly face darkened as he spoke.

If Inhetep was nonplussed by this display, he didn't reveal it in the least. "It is plain that your righteous ire falls squarely upon the head or heads of the party responsible for the theft of the crown jewels of Delhi, Maharajah Sivadji. I will do my utmost to see that the delay forced upon you by that criminal act is short. In that regard, and keeping in mind your expressed displeasure at the time the required steps must take, I ask Your Majesty to have your subjects here present lend me their full cooperation."

"Of course I command that. I want the jewels returned, that happy event followed by the slow death of the guilty parties, their heads displayed on the walls for all to see thereafter!"

"You are most gracious. Majesty, as befits so grand a monarch. Do you give me leave now to visit the place from whence the jewels were stolen? If so, I ask that your chancellor and the Pirimah Lady Sujata accompany me."

The glowering maharajah opened his thick, downturned lips and snapped, "You have Our leave. These 'small matters' had better not take long. I'll brook no weeks of investigating—not after your month delay in obeying Our command!" He looked at the magister to see what reaction his words had on the ^Egyptian, but Inhetep's green eyes revealed only polite attention. The maharajah clapped his hands, the meaty palms making a sharp report which was answered almost instantly by the appearance of his huge bodyguard. "I go to sport in the women's quarters. Report immediately when you have the information We require."

The magister murmured something polite as the maharajah heaved and the guard hauled to lift him from his seat. The Hindis prostrated themselves, Inhetep and Rachelle bowed, and Sivadji Guldir waddled out of the salon. As the door closed behind him, the priest-wizard turned to smile at the others. "Well, Lady Sujata, Chancellor, lead the way. Oh, by the way," he added as an apparent afterthought, "General

Ratha! Would you be so kind as to stay here with Sahibah Rachelle? You will certainly have much you can tell her about enemies of the state—there are rebels in the mountains, aren't there?"

Even as the military man was nodding and about to say something about the matter of hill bandits, the magister shifted to his companion. "Good. Now, Rachelle, please pay strict attention to the general's words. I will need you to repeat later all of the salient facts he imparts, Speaking of later, I might be some time in completing my examination of the vault from which the crown jewels were taken. You needn't stay up for me."

"As you wish, Magister," was all she said as the three departed. Then she turned to General Ratha and smiled. "Please tell me about yourself before going into the boring matters regarding those rebels."

Unlike many other treasure repositories, that of the maharajah of Delhi was neither deep beneath the ground nor high in a tower strongroom. The place where the great wealth of the state was stored was in a chamber adjacent to the great throne room, directly behind the Peacock Throne, in fact. Magickal guards and wards englobed both. Sentries stood by each, of course. The sheer size of the chair of state, the exposed position and continual watch assured that it remained unmolested. On the other hand, the little chamber hidden behind it was sheathed in layers of protective metal ranging from lead and silver to iron and adamantine alloy. Its single door was barred by multiple locks, then sealed by castings.

"Without an amulet to prevent activation of heka. Sahib Magister, a person would cause alarms and other castings to be loosed as soon as he came within three cubits of the entrance," the chancellor explained.

"Noncorporeal approach is considered?"

"Certainly—as is any form of dimensional transference."

Inhetep gazed at the wall panel which had been opened to reveal the door. "What about the floor and ceiling, or the other walls, for that matter?"

Gorvan was almost smug as he replied. "They are enchanted, enspelled as is the door. Warnings will sound, death in a dozen forms will be loosed. They are also solid. Absolutely intact and untampered with, as is the entry to the vault. Its locks were closed fast."

"Does an amulet deactivate the whole of the protection?"

The chancellor shook his head vigorously. "No, never! It simply enables the individual to pass."

"Who had, or still has, amulets to deactivate the heka?"

"The maharajah and the chancellor—but the latter amulet is in two parts, and it won't operate without the court practitioner being present. Speaking in the past tense with regard to chancellor, I refer to Prince Dahasti."

The magister cocked an eyebrow as he switched his scrutiny from the vault entry to the chancellor's visage. "Eh? Of course! I recall you mentioned being recently elevated to your office. Who is or was this Prince Dahasti, and what happened to him?"

"Was is correct. He would probably have been summarily executed for allowing such a loss to occur, but that pain was spared to my liege, quite unnecessary under the circumstances. When His Resplendence was unable to locate either his practitioner or treasurer, the maharajah came directly to this very place. When he entered, he found a pile of ashes and charred bones. With it was the remains of the chancellory amulet and some jewelry which could be identified as the prince's own. It seems Dahasti was blasted by whomever was responsible for the theft. He might have actually caught them in the act."

"The Prince Dahasti was a loyal and trusted vassal?"

At that Gorvan was most positive. "He was the nephew of the maharajah!"

"And since that time, what has been done inside the treasure vault?"

"Nothing, Sahib Magister, other than to add some small amount of coins to the strongboxes therein. Both Lady Sujata and I advised against altering anything."

"In fact," the pirimah interjected at that point, "I laid a preservation casting inside as soon as I was permitted, and have maintained it in the hope that something would thus be revealed by your greater art when you came."

"I see," the magister said as he briefly considered all he had been told. "Let us then proceed inside the vault. I was fortunate, I suppose, to have selected the two very persons needed to do that without the exalted personage of the maharajah himself, eh? Please proceed."

The two brought forth small objects, fitted them into one, and then took hold of Inhetep. "By such touch you are included in the amulet's field," Lady Sujata supplied.

A permanent magickal illumination existed inside the treasure repository, so that it was bright with a glow which equalled that of the noon sun on a summer day. That light made the black mark on the floor starkly evident. It was shaped vaguely like a body. Along one wall, open cabinets revealed empty interiors where a crown, scepter, orb, collar, girdle, and ring had once been nestled in velvet. There were shut ones too, in which were stored certain other great treasures of state— magickal ones, according to the chancellor. Arrayed on two of the other walls were precious art objects. Cases held rare books and tablets, even ancient scrolls. Stands ranked round the room displayed incredible armor of precious metals and weapons encrusted with precious stones. On either side of the entry were small steel boxes, some stacked nearly as high as the ceiling.