“I don’t have Zass’s ability to stay clean without washing once in a while,” Kati had declared when the topic of the night’s accommodation had come up, on the road. “According to Sam’s data the Inn has adequate washing facilities, and I want to make use of them. I would suggest that the rest of you do the same. The last thing we want to do is to stink out our audiences.”
Mathilde had giggled at that.
“We’ll make sure to wash behind our ears, Mama,” she had said.
“Oh yes,” Lank had added with a grin. “Everyone, wash behind your ears, your under arms, and all that. Mama wants us to be clean.”
Kati had just laughed and turned her attention to the runnerbeasts. It had been her turn to guide the animals that seemed to need no guidance as they stepped smartly along the road.
Each of the two rooms that they engaged had two single beds, and the proprietress brought pallets into both to accommodate the extra people.
“It’s fortunate that you’re evenly divided by gender,” she nattered, as she bustled about, her teenage daughter trailing behind her, carrying bedding for the pallets. “That way no-one has to be too crowded, considering that you got our last two rooms. We’re usually not this busy but the Undar clan had a big wedding—they’re quite an extensive family, spread out over a large area, farmers and artisans, mostly—and only some of them have left. Family gatherings, like weddings, are an opportunity for people to get together with kin whom they rarely see, so some of them extend the festivities for a few days after the event, and take their time about leaving town.”
“Ah,” Kati said. “We ran into a family group—parents, a grandmother and two children—at last night’s campground and they said that they were returning from a wedding.”
“Oh, yes, they would have been Undars, or Undar kin.” The proprietress nodded knowingly. “Farmers, I should imagine, heading out the very next day after the celebration. They didn’t stay with us; no doubt they camped. A group that size and farmers wouldn’t have had the coin to stay at an Inn, and at this time of the year they would have wanted to get back and finish their seeding. Good people, farmers. They never cause trouble with their carousing. Not like some people.”
“Did the wedding create problems for the town?” Kati asked, curious to know if there really had been disturbances, or if the proprietress was just a complainer.
That lady directed her daughter to make up the bed while she turned to look at Kati, her hands on her hips.
“I don’t like to gossip about the behaviour of my fellow citizens, but it seems that the Undars have some lofty connections who think that they’re better than we Ordinary Citizens are,” she said in a moralizing tone of voice. “Three good-looking Undar girls snagged themselves husbands who are minor members of an Exalted Family. The girls and the husbands came here in their flits and have been darting about the town like idiots, when they’re not sleeping, or drinking at Conn’s Tavern. A body hardly dares to go outdoors these days in case a flit comes zooming by so close that the air currents threaten to tear the clothes off your back.”
“Aw Mama, it’s not as bad as you’re making it sound,” the daughter protested from where she was kneeling by the pallet, tucking in sheets and blankets. “There have been lots of times when they’ve been nowhere around.”
“Oh, they’ve been around plenty,” the mother protested. “Several times they scared the daylights out of me, and one flit clipped so close to your father that he thought that he’d lose his hair if not his head.”
“We saw a lot of that kind of flying in Port City,” Joaley commented. “It certainly gave me the heebie-jeebies.”
“At least they’re not staying at the Inn, that’s a mercy,” the proprietress said. “Old Man Undar insisted that the family put them up. Which means that I don’t have to worry about them destroying my Inn; it’s pretty hard to get the Exalted to pay for the damage they do to an Ordinary Citizen’s premises.
“I think the Old Man Undar is hoping that they’d leave, but they’re showing no signs of that. You’d think that they’d get bored in a little place like this but they haven’t yet.”
“They were probably bored where they came from,” the daughter said, with a final tuck of a sheet. “It’s less boring to be bored in a place where you’ve never been bored before.”
Mathilde’s lips twisted into a half-smile at the repetition, and Kati noticed that Joaley was carefully not looking at either her or Mathilde.
“We were hoping,” she said quickly, “to do a performance of music and juggling on the Town Square tomorrow night. Do you think that we should rethink our plan in view of these visitors being in town?”
“Music and juggling?” The proprietress’ face brightened. “No, no, no; you must go ahead and do it! We could use some real entertainment; the last time we had singing on the Square was months ago, and that was only one singer doing ballads! It was lovely but the young man stayed only a single night and played only for an hour or so. And since then, there’s been nothing!”
“It would help to keep the Old Man Undar’s guests entertained, too,” pointed out the daughter. Her eyes had lit up. “Oh, it’ll be wonderful!”
*****
Every member of the group, including Zass, took advantage of the Inn’s washing facilities, and then they all repaired to Conn’s Tavern, where simple meals, washed down with excellent ale, were available.
When they entered the Tavern, and were greeted by the noise of conversations, and the clinking of glassware, Kati found herself thinking, half-nostalgically, of the Drowned Planet and her travels across it with Mikal. She had spent many evenings in the Alehouses of Makros III, when she had had no idea that on Federation Star Charts that world was called Makros III, with Mikal, Jocan, the red-haired teenager, and various other companions who had come and gone as their trip had progressed. She had enjoyed a lot of good talk over a mug or two—or more.
A server showed them to the end of a long table at the back of the room. They were the first customers to be seated at it, but the boy who waited on them warned them that this would change. The busy part of the evening was approaching and “there were still a lot of people in town who had come for the wedding two days ago”.
“I guess this Undar wedding must have been the big event of the season,” Rakil said, once the server had taken their orders.
“Don’t worry, we’ll eclipse the wedding,” Lank assured him jauntily, looking around at the tavern’s clientele.
“Of course we’ll eclipse the wedding,” Joaley agreed. “Weddings are a dime a dozen, even in small towns, but how often do these folk get to see genuine off-worlders sing, play instruments and caper?”
“It sounded like they don’t get any kind of entertainment very often,” Mathilde said. “Didn’t Mimi, the proprietress, say that it’s been months since anyone came through, and even then it was just a balladeer who made a quickie stop? Really, somebody should do something about it; the folk in small places deserve to be entertained just as much as the people in the cities.”
“I’m a little surprised that people don’t arrange their own entertainment,” Lank said. “On Tarangay you couldn’t have three people run into one another but that two of them arranged an on-the-spot sing-along or jam session.”
“I can believe that, after sticking my left thumb into the Tarangay section of the Federation Musical Archives,” Joaley stated. “I think my node is still trying to organize all those songs.”
“Music is really not that big a part of our cultural heritage,” Mathilde said. “It’s not that people don’t like it, it’s just that they think that someone other than themselves should be making it. I remember my mother saying, when she and my father were still alive, that a few hundred years ago they would have been members of the Musicians’ Guild. Life had gotten harder for everybody since then, and the Guild had disbanded, the same as all the other guilds that used to exist.”
“So your parents were musicians?” Kati asked Mathi
lde.
“Oh yes. That’s how I came to it; following in their footsteps,” Mathilde answered with an awkward smile. “It made me feel like a part of them was still around.”
“A part of them is still around,” Lank said softly. “In your music, and your talent for it. And obviously in Zass’ ability to pick up drumming so easily.”
“And here I had thought that Zass’s learning could be credited to your teaching abilities, Lank,” Joaley threw in tartly, unconsciously echoing Kati’s thoughts from the other night.
“Thanks for the compliment, Joaley,” Lank responded, smiling. “But even a good teacher needs something to work with. Since Mathilde is obviously musical, I thought that Zass might be, too, and I was right.”
The waiter returned with their drinks, and told them that the kitchen had their food order. Kati watched as Zass sniffed at the ale mug that had been placed in front of him, and slowly took his first tiny sips from it, while Rakil gulped down half his mugful. She wondered how the Klenser physiology handled alcohol; was the process in any way similar to the way that a node could clear out its owner’s system quickly, but did it only if and when requested, thus allowing the person to enjoy his or her tipsiness if that was their choice?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of another group of patrons at the table. The new group of six almost filled it; there was room left for only two more customers to squeeze in the middle. The males of the three couples were obviously Undar’s Exalted in-laws. Minor members of their Family they may have been, but they were making the most of their bloodlines, at least when it came to display. The jackets they wore were gaudy enough to hurt a looker’s eyes; the gold-coloured crests on them forming the brightest part of the extravaganza.
Joaley made as to shield her eyes from the brilliance of the display but desisted when Kati, seated next to her, dug an elbow into her ribs.
Mathilde, across the table, looked frightened, and reached for Zass’s arm, but when Kati sent a warning glance to Lank, who sat beside her, he took hold of the girl’s hand and pulled it away. He whispered something into her ear, and Mathilde made a visible effort to look relaxed and unconcerned. Rakil, beside Joaley, looked like the person most comfortable with the new presence, and simply resumed telling Mathilde the story the arrivals had interrupted.
The newcomers placed their orders with the serving lad, and when he left to fetch their drinks they directed their attention to the other end of the table.
“Well, well, well,” said one of the Exalted, scrutinizing the group, “what have we got here? Off-worlders, by the looks of it; this far from Port City. With a couple of locals, at that. So who’s doing the slumming; who can figure that out?”
He raised his brows at his companions, and the wives—three very attractive young women—giggled.
“The Vultairians, of course, are the slummers,” the peacock at the table’s end said. “I mean, look, they have an ape with them. And a red-haired girl! The other two aliens look at least half-way human; short like all these strangers are, but at least sort of normal.”
Kati heard Joaley hiss and grabbed hold of her arm. She noted that Rakil had done the same on Joaley’s other side.
“No, Nidi, you’ve got it wrong,” the third man argued. “I think it’s the off-worlders who are slumming, not the Vultairians. After all, they may be first rate specimens of whatever it is they are. I’ve been to Port City, and can tell you that the strangers come in a variety of forms. Even the ape, I believe that he’s a fine specimen of whatever it is that they call themselves.”
“He can’t remember what the Borhquans call themselves,” The Monk sneered subvocally. “Maybe he should ask his node to remember things for him!”
“Now these Vultairians that they’re associating with, on the other hand,” the Exalted continued, “are pretty sorry examples of our race. The girl is plain; the young man looks stupid. Why are these foreigners associating with them at all, I wonder; would any of us bother with either of them?”
Two servers arrived at the table: one with the drinks for one end of the table and the other with a full tray of food for the other.
“I guess we’re stuck here now,” Kati muttered, as the server began to spread the plates on the table, laying utensils and napkins in a pile in the middle. “Let’s hope we don’t get indigestion from the insults rolling over us.”
“I’m putting together a new song,” Lank said with a wink as he pulled a plate towards himself, and grabbed a fork and a knife. “Maybe I’ll call it ‘The Slumming Song’.”
“Ooh, I like that.” Joaley shook off the hands on her arms, and reached for the food. “Do you have the words for it yet, or did you begin with a melody?”
“I’ve got the chorus, so far,” Lank replied. “I was thinking of something along the lines of Kati’s ‘Mudball Song’. Maybe each one of us could contribute a verse, and then we could put it together, and turn it into a sing-along song.”
“Do you want me to contribute a verse, too?” Mathilde asked.
“Of course,” Lank answered. “You’re a professional. You can write songs with the rest of us. Zass, too; I bet you can contribute a great verse to this song.”
Zass actually grinned at Lank and nodded. Seeing that Kati suddenly wanted to cheer. The Exalted at the other end of the table were just dorks. They didn’t have a clue as to who they were dealing with.
“Maybe we can work on it tonight and tomorrow, and perform it at tomorrow night’s show,” Rakil said, grinning.
Lank returned his grin, Joaley chortled, and Mathilde giggled.
“I think we’ll call my contribution ‘The Ape’s Verse’,” Rakil added, and Joaley chortled again.
“Which reminds me...,” Kati signalled for their server. When he came by she ordered another round of beer, and asked the young man if he knew what the procedure was for entertainers who wanted to use the Town Square for performing. Did they have to get permission from some official? They were hoping to collect coins from the audience; was it permissible to have a bowl for contributions on hand?
“Are you performers?” the waiter asked enthusiastically, looking at the six of them. His eyes had lit up. “I don’t think there’s much to it; everyone likes a show on the Square. I think if you just let them know at the Town Office—it’s in that little block of a building on the other side of the Square—that’s all you have to do. You don’t need a permit or anything; they just like to know what’s going on in case of conflicts—like there would be conflicts, when no-one has come by for months! And as for collecting coins—you have to make a living, right? So pass a bowl around the audience or have one handy where people can stop by, and drop in their contributions, whichever you’re more comfortable with. Are you going to be performing tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow evening,” Kati replied.
“Are all six of you performers?” the young man asked, and at Kati’s nod he left to go fetch their beer—and to pass on the news, no doubt.
“Free publicity?” Rakil asked Kati, and Kati nodded with a grin.
“And I think you just succeeded in shutting up the noisemakers next door,” Joaley added in an undertone.
The catcalling from the other end of the table had, in fact, come to an abrupt end. Kati chewed on her food quietly while sending the Granda to take the measure of their table mates, with her ESP. If they were the type to disrupt a public performance it would be useful to know it beforehand.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” The Monk reported. “Idiots, all of them. They’re chagrined right now because they have just realized that, with their insults, they blew an opportunity to hang out with an entertainment Troupe. Performers are a big deal in small towns; they really don’t get many of them, so to have a group of six is huge, even to Exalted visitors. There would have been bragging rights involved with spending an evening in a tavern exchanging tales with a Troupe of off-world musicians.”
As if to prove the Granda’s point, the
waiter came back with their beer, and told them that the round was on the house. The proprietor of the tavern was so pleased to hear that there would be entertainment on the Square tomorrow night that he was giving the performers a free round to show his appreciation!
“And if you come for supper here tomorrow night, we’ll have free beer for you then, too,” the server added, smiling broadly.
“Yay,” cheered Joaley, lifting up her mug. “I’ll drink to that.”
*****
When, the next morning, the Troupe members crowded into the Town Office, the face of the woman behind the counter lit up.
“So you want to perform tonight, on the Town Square?” she asked immediately.
“Word travels fast,” Kati responded. “Yes, we would like to do that.”
“Feel free; there are no conflicting engagements,” the woman said with a laugh. “The Square’s all yours! People are already talking about the coming show, trying to guess what it’ll be like. You’re bringing a bit of excitement into our lives, and we’re looking forward to it.”
“Good,” Kati commented with a vigorous nod. “I think you’ll like the show. It was quite popular in Port City. Now we’re taking it to the countryside—and seeing more of your world at the same time.”
“I’m glad that you decided to come this way. We don’t get many entertainers here; most show people take the direct route between Port City and the Capital, and that leaves us—and a lot of other small places—out of luck.”
“By the way,” interjected Lank, “what exactly is the name of this town? We wanted to use it in a song we’re writing, but I’m not sure we got the pronunciation right. Oi—Oi something?”
“Oisir,” the woman replied, careful with the pronunciation.
Lank repeated the name, making sure that he had it correct.
“Are you really going to use it in a song?” the woman asked, her eyes wide.
On Assignment to the Planet of the Exalted Page 23