Chapter 18

We could see animals walking around on the shore, but we couldn't make out what they were, even with our enhanced vision. About all we could tell from their proportions was that they weren't camels. Travel over the water had become a bit boring, so we decided to land and see what interesting sights we could find. Maybe these animals would offer something to see or do.

I moved into shore and unloaded the carts before shifting back to human form. We just about had ourselves organized when the horses started getting very restive. A moment later, we saw why. Three large lions were approaching, so we quickly shifted to wolf shape and formed a defensive ring around the carts. The lions got closer, and we saw that they had human heads. One of them said, "We mean you no harm. We are looking for the hero named Vilkatas. Is he among you?"

I told everybody to shift back to human form and I said, "I am Vilkatas. How can I be of service, though I certainly don't think of myself as a hero."

"Our oracle said that you would be along soon, so we have been watching for you. The oracle said that you would be willing to help us resolve a serious problem we are having with a certain neighbor. Your reputation as a peace maker has spread widely within the spirit world."

"I'll be happy to do what I can. Tell me about your problem."

"If you will, I would much rather our king, Brogolak, explain our problem and why we need your help. Please come with us to our king's palace; you and all of your people are welcome."

"Very well. Please lead on."

On the way, I found out that these half lions/half humans are called Sphinxes. Their magical ability was in wisdom and problem solving. If they were so great as problem solvers, why did they need me?

We traveled for about two miles inland, mostly over sand, with a few tufts of hardy grass scattered here and there. We topped a hill of sand and slowly descended along its side into a valley which I was sure must be below sea level. Eventually, we came to a low cliff of sandstone, and there was a cave entrance which we were led to.

I thought to myself that Brogolak must be a poor creature if all he could afford for a palace was a cave in a sandstone cliff. The cave entrance fooled me, for it was large enough for us to drive our carts into. Once inside, I realized how foolish I had been in judging a ruler by the outside appearance of his dwelling.

The walls of the cave were nearly as smooth as a broken flint shard, and intricately decorated with statuary which was beautifully painted in all manner of colors. The entrance corridor divided, and we were led to the left into a very large cavern where we could leave the horses and carts while we were visiting the palace. Even the walls of this cavern were magnificently decorated. I asked about air and light, which were present in abundance, and our guide said that there were air and light shafts scattered throughout the palace to guide both in as needed.

We were led back to the main corridor and conducted into another chamber, not as large as the stable and cart park, but even more elaborately decorated. There was a dais at the far end of the chamber and a Sphinx was reclining on it. We were presented to that individual, who turned out to be Brogolak, the king. I bowed and said how pleased we were to meet him, etc., etc., all of the usual polite phrases one uses when meeting new and unfamiliar royalty.

The king smiled and played back to me the same kind of polite phrases a king would use to greet some important, but non-regal, visitors. He then said, "Now that we have got that out of the way, let me say that I am really pleased to meet you. You have a remarkable reputation, and you appear to be so much smarter than the average hero. I truly hope that you can help us with a problem that is serious, but embarrassing."

"Thank you, I hope so, too. I must say that I wonder what I can do when you are having trouble, since you are especially adept at problem solving."

Brogolak chuckled and said, "One of our strong points at problem solving is in finding the right person to solve a situation for us when we can't. We were delighted when our oracle noted your approach and projected a very high degree of probability that you would be visiting in our vicinity.

"Our problem is that my daughter has fallen under the spell of an evil sorcerer. He has beguiled her into thinking that she is in love with the son of the king of a neighboring Sphinx clan. We have been at war with this neighboring clan for so long that both sides have forgotten why we are fighting, but we simply have gotten into the habit of fighting with each other and cannot stop.

"Under other circumstances, I would have no objection to Unchilia marrying this boy, but I simply cannot permit her to marry an arch enemy. We think that the simplest solution would be for you to find this evil sorcerer, Aristo, and force him to lift his spell."

"OK, I'm willing to try. Where can I find this Aristo person?"

"I will provide you a guide, tomorrow. But, tonight, I would like to hold a banquet in your honor and have you meet Unchilia. Once you meet her, I am sure that you will agree that this sorcerer has put her under a terrible onus."

We were ushered to a series of rooms where we could spend the night in sybaritic comfort. This was a good place for us to refresh ourselves and rest up for the banquet, which I was assured would be a real blast. What a Sphinx would call a "real blast" was mystifying, but I figured that we would live through it.

The banquet turned out to be a real delight. We were served a choice of lamb or goat with a wide range of vegetables. Some of which we had never seen before, but we enjoyed them all. For desert, they served something called "orange sherbet." I had to agree, that was a real blast! We all profusely thanked Brogolak for the fine meal and retired to our suites for our nightly sexercise.

I was given the most probable location of Aristo and set out with a guide to find him. To make traveling easier, I had morphed into wolf shape, and we were able to reach the oasis where Aristo usually lived in only a little more than an hour. I had expected some sort of sinister and dank pit of depravity, based on the way Brogalak had portrayed him and the dirty trick he had played on Unchilia.

Aristo was waiting for me at the entrance to a pavilion-like tent. He recognized me immediately, despite the fact that I still wore the guise of a wolf. His first comment was, "Welcome, Vilkatas! I am delighted to meet you at last. I have been following your adventures, and I must say that I envy you their variety and amusement value. You and your guide are both welcome to come in and refresh yourselves. Vilkatas, my friend, please take any form you prefer. Your shape does not matter to me."

Needless to say, this was not the welcome I was expecting. My guide declined the invitation and left for home, but I went into the tent with Aristo without hesitation. The interior of the tent was as much of a surprise as was the man. It was as if we were standing in a quiet glade in the early afternoon. The ambient temperature was around 75 degrees Fahrenheit and the relative humidity was approximately 40%; I, for one, could not think of a more comfortable set of conditions. A light breeze was blowing, just enough to keep the air from becoming stagnant. I felt like I could see for miles, the walls and roof of the tent were not visible. I had assumed my normal human shape as soon as I entered the tent, so Aristo led the way to a very comfortable set of lawn furniture arranged near a languid pool.

He said, "I know why you are here, but you do not know the whole story. Let me fill you in on some of the facts Brogolak failed to mention. The main one is that Unchilia and Brophis, her sweetheart, have been meeting on the sly for months, long before I came into the picture. She and Brophis asked me for help in resolving the problem between their two clans so that the two could wed. I suggested that she tell her father the story about my enchantment so that we could move toward a resolution.