MA02 Myth Conceptions Read Online Free PDF

which abounded throughout the scaffolding.
    I was beginning to have grave doubts about the kingdom I was about to ally myself with.
    It was difficult to tell if the court was being convened in a garden, or if this was a courtyard losing its fight with the underbrush which crowded in through the opening where the back wall should have been. Having grown up on a farm, my basic education in plants was that if it wasn’t edible and growing in neat rows, it was a weed.
    As if in answer to my thoughts, Buttercup took a large mouthful of the nearest clump of growth and began chewing enthusiastically. Gleep sniffed the same bush and turned up his nose at it.
    All this I noted only as an aside. My main attention was focused on the court itself.
    There was a small, open-sided pavilion set against the wall of the palace, sheltering a seated figure, presumably the king. Standing close beside him on either side were two other men. The crowd, such as it was, was split into two groups. The first was standing in a somewhat orderly line along one side of the garden. I assumed this was the waiting line ... or, rather, I hoped it was, as that was the group we joined. The second group was standing in a disorganized mob on the far side of the garden watching the proceedings. Whether these were rejected applicants or merely interested hangers-on, I didn’t know.
    Suddenly, a young couple in the watching group caught my eye. I hadn’t expected to encounter any familiar faces here, but these two I had seen before. Not only had I seen them, Aahz and I had impersonated them at one point, a charade which had resulted in our being hanged.
    ‘‘Aahz!’’ I whispered urgently. “Do you see those two over there?”
    “No,” Aahz said bluntly, not even turning his head to look.
    “But they’re the ...”
    “Forget ‘em,” he insisted. “Watch the judges. They’re the ones we have to impress.”
    I had to admit that made a certain amount of sense. Grudgingly, I turned my attention to the figures in the pavilion.
    The king was surprisingly young, perhaps in his mid-twenties. His hair was a tumble of shoulder-length curls, which, combined with his slight build, almost made him look effeminate. Judging from his posture, either the interviews had been going on for some time, or he had mastered the art of looking totally bored.
    The man on his left bent and whispered something urgently in the king’s ear and was answered by a vague nod.
    This man, only slightly older than the king but balding noticeably, was dressed in a tunic and cloak of drab color and conservative cut. Though relaxed in posture and quiet in bearing, there was a watchful brightness to his eyes that reminded me of a feverish weasel-ant.
    There was a stirring of the figure on the king’s right which drew my attention in that direction. I had a flash impression of a massive furry lump, and then I realized with a start that it was a man. He was tall and broad, his head crowned with thick, black, unkempt curls, his face nearly obscured by a full beard and mustache. This, combined with his heavy fur cloak, gave him an animal appearance which had dominated my first impression. He spoke briefly to the king, then recrossed his arms in a gesture of finality and glared at the other advisor. His cloak opened briefly during his oration, giving me a glimpse of a shirt of glittering mail and a massive, double-headed hand-axe hung on a belt at his waist. Clearly this was not a man to cross. The balding figure seemed unimpressed, matching his rival’s glare with one of his own.

    There was a sharp nudge in my ribs.
    “Did you see that?” Aahz whispered urgently.
    “See what?” I asked.
    “The king’s advisors. A general and a chancellor unless I miss my guess. Did you see the gold medallion on the general?”
    “I saw his axe!” I whispered back.
    The light in the courtyard suddenly dimmed.
    Looking up, I saw a mass of clouds forming overhead, blotting out the sun.
    “Weather