Gary Gygax - Dangerous Journeys 3 - Death in Delhi (6 page)

Rachelle laughed. "He didn't deserve anything, Setne, but you were rather stingy."

"Neither too much nor too little. The gratuity was sufficient for the service. Now then, let's have a bite of breakfast. Then you can get more of your beauty rest while I putter around with a few things. We have all day, you know."

She began attacking the food, hungry as usual. Smiling, Rachelle said, "This is actually quite good, even if it is uncommonly spicy!" Then, thinking about what her companion had just stated, managed to add sarcastically, "I figured you had something in mind, Setne, other than having the two of us stroll across the countryside of Sindraj attracting attention as Egyptians on a secret mission."

"Hind."

"Who?"

"Not who, my dear, the state, A 'what,' if you will. At the current time, Bombay is a part of the Hind Empire, I expect soon that there'll be another war, and then it might change hands again."

"Don't lecture," Rachelle said between mouthfuls. "And eat something, too." She did worry about him, for when distracted, Inhetep often forgot all about meals.

He tore off a small piece of bread and washed it down with the tea he had been sipping. "There. Plenty for what little 111 be doing. You need far more nourishment than I, so enjoy your breakfast while I talk. Now then, here is what I have in mind: we leave here early tomorrow morning, pass through the city gates when they open, and join with whatever pilgrimage we happen to come across that is heading for the sacred waters of the Punjab."

"What about disguises?"

Inhetep smiled knowingly as he went back to the bottomless coffer. He had no problem locating and withdrawing something this time. He held forth the items as if they were a prize fish. "You see, Rachelle? I neither lecture nor come unprepared. Straight from my store of costumes back home!"

"I am amazed, Wonder of the Ages," she responded diyly. Secretly, she was impressed that he had brought along garments which appeared to be Hindic; clothing which would be unrecognizable from the ordinary native dress here. "What's this about pilgrims?"

"The folk of this whole subcontinent are always traveling about for one reason or another—business, pleasure, and most frequently to visit this or that shrine or holy place. The five rivers of Delhi are one of the most holy of places, and we should have no difficulty finding a group going there. Large bands are less likely to attract muggers and bandits than are small parties, so a couple of more travelers will be welcomed."

Rachelle had finished eating. She got up from the floor. "I don't like this business of sitting cross-legged to eat at a table too low for normal seating." She stretched, took off her coarse outer gown, armor, and finally her traveling boots. The magister watched her, patient for once. From a comfortable reclining position, the amazon continued. "From what I know, we are still a long, long way from where we need to be. Trudging with a horde of pilgrims across half of the Hlndic lands will take us months. There isn't
that
much time, even if your theory about the affair is correct. Tell me how we get around that!"

"Astute as usual," the magister said, meaning it. "We'll stay with our first band of fellow travelers for a few days so as to become acclimatized, more or less. That should be sufficient for me to get my accent right and to leam enough to avoid glaring errors in customs and the like. Once that's taken care of, we can use a little heka to jump ahead to the locale of a similar group closer to our destination."

"What about me? I can't speak any Hlndic at all."

"No problem. I shall be an older and wealthy merchant escorting his new young wife to the holy rivers. 1 will explain that you have taken a vow of silence until the goddesses there bless you with fertility and you bear me a son and heir."

She made a face at him. "Typical male ego. Why on /Earth would I want to do that? Never mind. That's a fine idea. Ill happily play the silent .and adoring armpiece of the big merchant indulgently taking his useless female on pilgrimage so she can become fecund and thereafter pop forth an unending stream of his brood."

"Excellent, my dear. I knew you'd be compliant. Now then, I'll have to make you shorter and fatter, of course, and brown of skin. You've seen the peasant women here, and we musn't attract attention. Ill have to appear less tall myself, handsome still, naturally, and shade my complexion from its noble copper hue to a somewhat woodier color." The hard pillow she threw just missed him. Setne grinned and continued with growing verve. "You'll have to carry all the baggage, walk several paces behind me, and keep your eyes downcast at all times. And speaking of caste, I propose that I be a Vaisya, proper for a merchant. You, on the other hand, will be a lower caste Sudra so as to avoid any desire on the part of most others to want to know more about you. ..."

That was sufficient for Rachelle. She launched herself upon him, and Inhetep collapsed in helpless laughter under her assault. "Ill show you who's what around here, you effete bookworm!" Her pummeling was only in mock outrage, for she was merely asserting her general equality while letting him know that she understood he was lying the whole time. "Now, then, do you yield to your superior?" He managed to stutter agreement, so she climbed off his chest and returned to the bed.

"I get the general picture, Setne. I suppose that means we can't do any sightseeing in Bombay."

He got up from the floor and came over to stretch his six-foot-six-inch frame slantwise across the bed. It creaked and shimmied, but didn't break into flinders. "Whew," he breathed In relief, partially from the cessation of that which had elicited his laughter, partly in relief that the bed hadn't collapsed under him. "That's right. We don't want anyone seeing us while we look at the marvels of this metropolis. Too bad, for there are all manner of temples and the like worthy of inspection. Perhaps on the way back."

"Yes. Ill have a lot of cash to spend then, too. Oh, by the way, will we go from near here to near the place we need to be?"

Inhetep said no. "There are the little disagreements on the borders to worry about. We'll skip ahead to the first such crossing, then as soon as possible do it again to place us near the second frontier." He was now as careful as she not to mention Delhi. "Only then can we jump a third time to come as close to our final destination as possible."

"Hmmm. Three weeks sailing, then about a week of walking, and we arrive. A month isn't actually much of a delay considering the distances involved, is it? That is, as long as you are sure you can pick up such a cold trail."

"Those calculations are on target." He patted her head approvingly, then ran his fingers through her long ringlets. "Ill hate to straighten out those beautiful locks even for a short time, Rachelle."

She rolled onto her side and looked into his green eyes. "That's the first time you've been nice to me since we began this mission, Setne."

"I know, and I'm sorry." He sighed. "Even though I might not show it in other ways, undertaking this case has made me nervous, put a strain on me—not that I'd have it otherwise. I love such mysteries, and I want to solve this one. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't really mean to take out my anxieties on you . . . but I do."

Rachelle put her arm around him. "That's because you and I are as close as two people can be, because you love me, don't you?"

"Yes, it Is so, and I do my dear, I do," he murmured as he moved to face her and return her embrace.

In the late afternoon, Setne ventured downstairs and ordered a second meal sent to them. It was another spicy and exotic dish, but both enjoyed it and finished the whole of the bowl and the rice which accompanied it. They conversed a little while after Rachelle set the used tableware outside their door in the dimly-lit hallway. Then the priest-wizard began sorting through what he had brought along, handing Rachelle her own items for her inspection. The wondrous little coffer produced such things as his staff, which he kept out, and her archery equipment and armor, which were replaced after she was finished caring for them.

Rachelle made a sling bag out of a large piece of cloth meant to be a wrapped garment for her to wear. Inside that went a few other native clothing items, a little pot, kettle, bowls, and cups. She even had packets of spices, sugar, salt, and small sacks of rice, lentils, and beans. "This is like carrying full field gear," she told the magister when she hefted it. "Toting this around will certainly help keep me in trim." It was plain she didn't really like this part of their journey at all.

The wizard-priest had his own similar carrying bag of cloth, with an assortment of things likely to be typical of an actual pilgrim on the roads of Hind. The coffer nestled between bottom layer and top so as to be unobtrusive. The staff now looked like a stout, natural one cut from a tree. "I know, don't tell me. This is a lot of rigamorole to go through just to go through the gyrations of solving a crime and recovering the stolen goods in a far-off place. I agree. It seems we've been through too many similar exercises for like reasons in the past. Just remember that this time it was you who wanted the gift and the reward for success. Don't blame me!"

"Well, I do. You're the one who's supposed to be so smart as to avoid such obstacles." Rachelle laughed softly as she added, "So that's that. For punishment you'll have to guarantee solving the case and getting me the pieces to complete the jewelry ensemble."

"I could have done this alone."

"Not on your life, Inhetep. Not after that fiasco in On!"

The magister winced, recalling the beautiful Xonaapi and her prodigious expenses—
his
expenses, as it turned out to be. "You chose to be absent."

"And I don't so choose here and now. Now promise!"

Of course he promised. He was glad to have her and knew Rachelle would be there if it cost her everything she possessed. "I'll even throw in a bauble of my own," he added at the conclusion. "Frankly, I don't think I'd be half so successful without your assistance."

At that Rachelle smiled and returned to practicing being' a Hindi pilgrim. Setne brought forth a handful of magickal paraphernalia. Soon he would have to make the two of them seem to be common folk of this land bound for the Punjab, perhaps 700 miles distant as a bird flew, closer to a thousand as the winding roads of this land went. The prospect was a bit daunting, even with heka to aid them. If anything requiring strong energy and potent castings were required, that would be as visible as smoke rising from a fire. Whether the observer were merely some state practitioner or part of the group responsible for the theft, it would mean trouble, possibly worse, for Rachelle and him. Governments afraid of spies, or a gang of powerful thieves bent on more than robbery, each offered only hazards. Better to play off lost time against likely capture, danger, or death. Those would come of their own accord as things progressed. No sense in asking for them sooner than need be.

Inhetep was determined to arrive in Delhi unbeknownst to any, maharajah and miscreants alike. Then he and Rachelle could do some special investigative work before announcing themselves and formally accepting the commission of Sivadji Guldir, handed down to them from his famed Peacock Throne. The gift and promised reward were far too grand for what had been stolen. More was at stake, and without knowing the true scope of it all, there was no chance of success. It would be like playing a game without being told the rules regarding victory.

He didn't want Rachelle to worry about all that, so he played little pranks, put on a front, and went along as if this were just another of his strange and bizarre cases. Perhaps it was, but the magister felt uncertain and uneasy, as he had from the start. Perhaps he shouldn't have allowed her to influence his judgment as she had. Rachelle's eagerness to go to Delhi, her obvious desire for the fabulous necklace, a gift he would have returned if he hadn't agreed to take the case, made him undertake the mission. Now he was hoping he wouldn't truly regret it, more for Rachelle's sake than his own!

Ruminating thus, Setne fell asleep, half sitting, half lying on the bed. At a little after three, his inner alarm roused him. He arose so silently that even the amazon's light slumber was undisturbed. It took a little while to work the cricks out of neck and back, but before long the magister was feeling wide awake and fit. What he needed was at hand, and with a few gestures and sound he accomplished the laying of the castings required. That done, he put his things in order and stepped to the bed.

"Come on, lazy girl," he said in a soft voice. "It is time dedicated pilgrims were taking to the road!"

—— 5 ——

ON
THE
1NDORE ROAD

\

It promised to be a hot day as usual. The dawn brought only the faintest of breezes with it, a puff which barely stirred the vapors which had risen from the waters to climb up over the city, layer by layer, through the night. Fog from the harbor, smoke from thousands of little fires, and unknown exudations created the covering. At least it cooled things off for a little while. This duty wasn't bad. He'd be back to the barracks when the sun was hottest, eat the midday meal, and then get to sleep until the evening mess call. The whole night thereafter would be dedicated to drinking, and maybe a little gambling or sport with the painted women who waited in the Street of Lust.

"You smile?" growled his fellow guardsman. "You like herding peasants in and out of the gate?"