"Doctor, do something!" "Captain!" "What is it?" "There's some obstruction." "Take it up, then." "It could be the Shrievenzale." "Quickly, Romana!" "There, it must have been the beast." "I pray we didn't harm it." "It's dangerous enough at the best of times." "That's why it's there, you dolt." "Shall I take it up a bit further, sir, just in case?" "No, that's far enough." "Lower away again." "That thing." "What is it?" "A Shrievenzale." "I never imagined..." "Are there many creatures like that in other worlds?" "Millions." "Millions!" "You shouldn't have volunteered if you're scared of a little thing like that." "I'm not scared, I'm just..." "Listen." "Let's hide." "The locks." "We could explain, surely." "Oh, yes!" "We can explain." ""Sorry, old thing, we're just helping ourselves to your crown jewels."" "They'd have our heads off before you could say "Rassilon's Rod"." "Rassilon's Rod?" "Fully down, Captain." "Something wrong, sir?" "Strange." "Of course, they might not chop our hands off, they might just feed us to the Shrievenzale." "Someone's here." "We give thanks for the dawn of a new day." "We give thanks." "We give thanks." "And the retreat of the night and the powers of darkness." "We give thanks." "We give thanks." "Light the domes." "I give thanks for a safe journey." "You!" "Where are you from?" "I am from the north, sir, just arrived." "The north, eh?" "Your pass." "Oh, yes." "Yes, of course, sir." "This is for myself and my colleagues." "Purpose of your journey?" "Trade, Captain." "I'm a merchant." "Rather you than me." "It's no pleasure crossing the tundra in the Icetime." "I have a small favour to beg." "Speak." "I am only in a modest way of business myself, but I have a colleague who's carrying a very a substantial sum." "In excess of a million gold opeks." "A million?" "More than a million." "That could mean trouble." "My words exactly." "It's putting temptation in the way of dishonest citizens." "There's so much lawlessness..." "If word of that were to get out..." "We could be murdered in our beds." "Now, what I was thinking was, if he could be persuaded to deposit the money in a safe place..." "Such as here, for example." "Nowhere safer, that's for sure." "That's what I told him, sir." "Here it could be guarded by your men all day, your Shrieves-at-arms, and by the beast all night along with the jewels and relics." "What better security I ask you?" "I mean, no one would dare try to steal in here, would they?" "As you say, no one would dare." "They know the penalties." "Well, what do you say, Captain?" "To avoid trouble?" "It's extremely irregular." "This relic room is a holy place." "Well, naturally, we'd make a small contribution to the funds." "Say, 1 00 gold opeks?" "A hundred opeks?" "Or even 1,000." "I'd leave it to you, of course, to handle the paying in." "And for how long would this money stay here?" "Only for a night or two." "Maybe even only for one night." "Bring the money later." "I'm deeply obliged, Captain, deeply obliged." "I'll go and tell my colleague." "I trust the Graff spent a comfortable night, or as comfortable as these somewhat primitive conditions permit?" "I've slept in worse places." "Of course." "Your Highness' frontier campaigns in the service of the Alliance are rightly famous." "Are they indeed?" "Well, the Alliance forgot them fast enough when I returned home to find my half-brother claim the Levithian throne!" "Oh, I thought Your Highness had appealed that matter to High Court of the Cyrrhenic Empire." "The appeal was rejected!" "After all I had done for the Alliance, not a word was said in my favour, not a single hand raised in my support." "Highness, it is not well to think of the past, there is still the future to make." "Good advice, Sholakh, as always." "So, Garron, we must talk of the future." "In particular, this quite preposterous figure of 10 million opeks." "I've already said that a close offer might be considered, Highness." "Perhaps when I've shown you something of the planet..." "One moment." "These conditions of sale, do you maintain that they're reasonable?" "Doctor, let's ignore the stranger and just concentrate on getting the first segment out of the strongroom." "We're wasting time." "Suppose he's after the same thing as we are?" "The crown?" "Don't jump to conclusions about anyone or anything." "It could lead you astray." "I'll try and remember that." "And don't be sarcastic either, that can also get you into trouble." "Well?" "If he is after the same thing as we are, maybe he's got a plan to get it out of the room." "Oh, so all we'd have to do is wait for him to get it." "And then what?" "On the other hand, he could just be an agent of the Black Guar..." "The what?" "Nothing, nothing." "You're not supposed to know about that." "About what?" "About nothing!" "All you need to know is there might be some competition in our search." "I do wish you'd stop treating me like a child, Doctor." "I'm nearly 1 40, you know." "Really?" "You're in wonderful condition." "Oh, thank you." "What competition?" "On the other hand, he might be just an innocent crook." "It's fascinating, isn't it?" "Don't you think?" "Yes." "Tell me, Garron, why is Magellanic Mining selling this planet?" "Highness, I'm only the agent." "Some shortage of liquidity, perhaps?" "They may require capital to finance some other project." "Who can say?" "Yet they wish to retain the mineral rights in perpetuity." "That's a common condition in these cases." "It can't possibly affect the Graff's enjoyment of the property." "I think it could." "But, Highness, a grade three planet." "The natives protected." "My clients can't possibly begin mining here with all the importation of technology that would entail, until Ribos is accorded at least grade two status." "When will that be?" "As yet, they haven't even discovered the telescope." "Many of the natives believe that the planet is flat and if they walked far enough, they would fall off the edge." "There's no chance of Ribos reaching grade two for many thousands of years." "I see." "May you live a long life, Graff, but not that long." "Sholakh." "Look at the workmanship." "And all done by hand, of course, using the simplest implements." "There's a certain honest peasant artistry about these pieces that speaks of the soil, don't you think?" " Highness." "I've seen it." "Now, over here..." "Wait." "This blue stone, it's what we call jethrik, isn't it?" "Oh, I've no idea." "Pretty though, whatever it is." "Perhaps a Shrieve can tell us something about it." "I say, fellow." "The blue stone there." "Do you know anything about it?" "Oh ah, sir, that I do." "That I do." "That be what we call scringe stone, sir." "Scringe stone." "Oh, how interesting." "You hangs a bit of that around your neck and you won't never suffer from the scringes no matter how cold it be." "You'll just stay as supple and as fresh as a little old babbit in the Suntime, sir." "And that be a proven fact." "Oh, really?" "Oh, there's just one more thing." "It's fairly common around these parts, I suppose." "Common, sir?" "Yes." "There's a lot of it about, isn't there?" "No, sir." "No, no, no." "I wouldn't say that." "Well, there used to be, you see, but they lost the secret of the mine, sir." "Well, that was three Icetimes ago." "What do you mean, lost the secret?" "Lost the secret of where it be, sir." "Well, what they reckon is that one Icetime there was this glacier, you see, and it moved all the rocks about." "Well, ever since then, they've been a-searching and a-searching for that old mine." "But, well, I don't reckon they'll ever find it now, sir." "Even if the entrance has disappeared, surely they know the area to search?" "Well, the trouble is, sir, all the old miners is dead now." "And there ain't be nothing written down in writing because there weren't no scholars in them days." "All they do know, sir, is that it's up in the granite mountains." "Oh, pay no heed to him." "One knows how these fellows exaggerate." "Oh, no, sir." "No, no." "No, I know what I'm talking about." "You see, my poor old dad spent his life a-searching for that scringe stone mine." "They reckon as how he found it in the end, just afore he died." "Where?" "They found him out in the tundra, sir, frozen stiff." "His poor old pickaxe beside him and that there bit of scringe stone in his pocket." "And that be as true as I'm stood standing here, sir." "Incredible." "The man's making it up, sir." "No one jests with me, Sholakh, you know that." "No, sir." "And the jethrik is real enough." "You say your father found this piece of scringe stone?" "Yes, sir, in his poor old frozen pocket, wrapped up in this here bit of parchment." "Looks like a rough map." "That's what I reckon, sir." "Maybe, next Suntime, I might go looking for that scringe stone mine myself." "Well, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm just going off duty." "I shouldn't take a word of that seriously." "I know these fellows, they do like to pitch a yarn." "Oh, I don't know, my friend and I couldn't help overhearing." "That's my friend, Romana." "I thought it had the ring of truth." "Don't you think it had the ring of truth?" "Oh, yes." "And he had such an honest, open face." "Do you live in Shur?" "No, we come from the north." "Oh, I see, my friends are visitors here, too." "It's time we were moving on, Garron." "Oh, you're quite right, there's such a lot to see." "Well, I do hope you enjoy your stay in Shur." "Thank you." "Well, gentlemen, I'm with you." "Incredible." "What is?" "That is." "That's the biggest lump of jethrik I've ever set eyes on." "Jethrik, but I thought he said..." "I wonder if old Taffy knows the real value of it." "Scringe stone found in a dead man's pocket?" "A lost mine?" "A phoney map..." "Are people still falling for that old guff?" "I mean, are they?" "You mean you didn't believe his story?" "No." "But he had such an honest face." "Romana, you can't be a successful crook with a dishonest face, can you?" "Oh." "Eight million opeks, Garron." "That's my final word." "I'd have to put that to my clients." "How long will that take?" "I have a shuttle concealed near the city." "As you'll appreciate, there can be no direct communication from here." "I'd have to go to Starpros and contact my clients by hyper-cable." "Say, three weeks to a month?" "Very well." "My clients will, I know, of course demand a deposit." "Say, two million opeks?" "A deposit?" "Simply as a mark of good faith." "Garron, I have made a firm offer!" "I am a royal prince of the Greater Cyrrhenic Empire," "I do not go back on my word." "Highness, believe me, if it was simply between us, a handshake would be sacred, a bond of honour." "Unhappily, I know my clients will demand proof of a deposit." "I don't carry such sums about with me." "One million may be possible." "In your case, Highness, I'm sure one million would be acceptable." "One moment, do you propose to fly to Starpros with this deposit?" "Oh, you're very prudent." "You're thinking once this fellow gets his hands on the money, he might fail to come back, might disappear into the blue, is that it?" "Well, such things have been known, though few men would be foolish enough to cross the Graff Vynda-K in such a matter." "No, no, no, no, no." "No one would ever dare." "The money will be lodged here with the Captain of Shrievalty." "It will be put in a place where nobody can touch it, guarded night and day." "You need have no fear on that score." "That sounds satisfactory." "Sholakh, go to the ship and fetch the money." "Highness." "I will come with you to the city wall." "Highness." "I do wish you'd explain what's happening, Doctor." "You've got all the facts, study them." "Oh, that's very helpful." "It's good mental exercise." "An Academy graduate doesn't need things explaining, surely?" "I will not give way to feelings of psycho-fugal hostility." "What?" "We have a negative empathy, Doctor." "Splendid, let's go." "I think I could strangle you, Unstoffe!" "You are doing, you old fool." "Get your hands off!" "Scringe stones, lost mines." "I was sweating blood listening to that junk." "I thought it was original." "You thought what?" "They loved that bit about my poor old dad finding the mine." "And that's another thing, you greedy little creep, if you're thinking of selling them that map, just forget it." "A little extra never hurt anyone." "Listen, this is a hit-and-run business." "One bite and away." "If you stick around, give the mark time to think, you're kaput." "All you'll collect is a big ball and chain around the ankle." "All right, Garron, I was just trying to display initiative." "Hey, what'd you think of the accent?" "My past life flashed before my eyes, that's what I thought of it." "This Graff's no softie." "He's a big, bad soldier." "And if he rumbles he's being conned, you and I are gonna wind up very, very..." "Dead?" "That's the word I was searching for." "So remember it, my boy." "In this matter, I'm in complete agreement with you, Garron." "How's it going?" "Sholakh's fetching the money." "One million." "Great." "Look, he's got to come back this way, why don't we wait here and mug him?" "Stick to the plan, stick to what's decided." "Doping that beast again?" "Going down that shaft again?" "Yes." "Now, it's time you got back to the city." "We'll meet at the shaft as arranged." "Right." "Hey, have you noticed that big fellow, the one with the girl?" "I've been noticing him quite a lot lately." "Here, the other way in." "Look, marks of a grappling iron." "They must have used a rope ladder." "Yes." "Garron and old honest face must have planted the jethrik" "in the cabinet last night." "Why?" "Because they're trying to sell the map of a non-existent mine, that's why." "That's no business of ours, Doctor." "We've got more important things to do." "I agree, I wouldn't dream of interfering." "How did they get past that?" "They drugged it, otherwise you and I wouldn't be here now, eh?" "What do we do next?" "I'll tell you, I'll tell you." "They've got to come back for the jethrik and the gold, all right?" "Now, when they do come back..." "We'll be here waiting for them." "Right!" "Highness..." "Shh!" "This is not part of this world, Highness." "Garron must have planted it." "To spy on us?" "Why?" "Perhaps to learn how much I was willing to pay." "Or perhaps..." "Perhaps he is not all that he seems." "In what way, Highness?" "I've been thinking about that guard." "The one whose father found the jethrik?" "Yes." "A remarkable coincidence, Sholakh, perhaps too remarkable to be quite believable." "But, Highness, that piece of jethrik..." "Yes?" "Well, it's the biggest piece I've ever seen." "There must be enough in there to power an entire battle fleet" "for a complete campaign." "Yes." "Enough to make a man rich beyond the dreams of avarice." "Far beyond, Highness, therefore..." "Therefore he cannot be aware of its true value." "What are the Graff's wishes?" "Keep a careful watch on Garron." "He may know a genuine source of jethrik." "If not, if he's playing me false, he will die." "Ah, here we are." "Sorry to have kept you." "You have the money?" "Gold coinage to the value of one million opeks in weight." "In here." "Don't you wish to count it?" "I have no time, nor have you." "The Captain is doing us a favour by seeing that the money's in safe custody." "Now, if you'll kindly give me a receipt." "A what?" "Your signature on this, please." "My friend may have to prove that he has money at his disposal." "I'll hold those, shall I?" "My back?" "There you are." "Wonderful." "Sorry to have kept you." "I have to lock up now and set the Shrievenzale free." "Oh, a most interesting evening ceremony that." "I don't know whether my friends from the north would care to watch." "I'm afraid we shall have to hurry if we are to be in our quarters before curfew." "Well, dear Captain, perhaps some other time, hmm?" "Good night." "It'll be easier this time." "Well, you go, then." "Stay here and watch them." "Where are you going?" "I'm going to try and get down there before them." "The key." "Are you sure he didn't miss it?" "He's got a dozen that size." "Now, it's time you went." "I hope this is the right one." "Why can't you have a little faith, my boy?" "I've been palming keys since before you were born." "Down you go." "Couldn't we wait just a little bit longer?" "Why?" "You haven't seen the size of that thing's teeth." "Halt!" "What?" "Who are you?" "Just a minute." "What are you doing out after curfew?" "I couldn't sleep either." "Stay where you are." "What?" "No, please, don't blow that." "You'll wake everybody up." "I'm calling the watch." "Nobody's allowed out after curfew without permission from the Captain." "Oh, permission." "Permission?" "I've got permission." "Do you want to see my permission?" "Come on, then." "No tricks." "Tricks?" "Oh, my dear chap, my dear..." "Look." "Your eyes are closing." "Sit down." "Closing." "Hurry, Unstoffe!" "What went wrong?" "Almost everything!" "Don't move, we've got you covered." "Who's got me covered?" "We have." "Stand up." "Stand up!" "All right, officer, I'll come quietly." "That's very wise of you." "Where are we going?" "Well, I've just got a few loose ends to tie up..." "Graff." "You look surprised, Garron, but as you see, you were expected." "You and your accomplices." "No one makes a fool of the Graff Vynda-K and lives." "Sholakh." "Highness." "Execute them." "Guards, take aim." "Prepare to fire."