by Jack Vance
And another voice cried, “Tonight the arrack will flow; come drink your share! Tonight the yellow lamps will burn; we will play the pipes and dance; come dance in the light of our yellow lamps!”
Sklar Hast considered a moment, then he replied, “We will come ashore, and we will deliver the prisoners. Let us have no more frantic bloodshed, however. Those who have committed crimes, let them face a convocation and be punished or freed according to our ancient traditions. Is it agreed? Otherwise we must return to New Floats!”
Morse Swin called out, “We agree in all respects! Enough blood has been spilled; we want no more!”
“Then we come ashore, to rejoice with you!”
And the black boats of the New Floats landed upon Apprise; the men went ashore to greet old friends, caste-fellows and guild-brothers.
The corpse of King Kragen floated in the ocean, a desolate hulk. Already dusk had come; the hoodwink towers flickered in all earnest; from Tranque in the east to Almack and Sciona in the far west dashed the news. Intercessors stared mournfully across the water. Exemplars divested themselves of their uniforms and sheepishly mingled with those whom so recently they had treated with arrogance. They were derided and vilified, but none were injured; the mood of the folk was too rich and full. Before every hut yellow lamps flared; the oldest arrack, the most mellow spirits of life were brought forth; old friends drank together. All night, under the white constellations, there was revelry and joy and great thanksgiving that never again need the folk of the floats serve King Kragen or another like him.
Notes
1. The orthography had been adopted in the earliest days and was highly systematic. The cluster at the left indicated the genus of the idea, the cluster at the right denoted the specific.
In such a fashion
at the left signified color; hence:
White
Black
Red
Pink
Dark Red
and so forth.
2. The advertiserman takes below a pulley which he attaches to a sea-plant stalk. By means of ropes, buckets of air are pulled down, allowing him to remain under water as long as he chooses. Using two such systems alternately lowered, the diver can descend to a depth of two hundred feet, where the sea-plant stalks grow dense and rigid.