"to your great health, moloch!” lancelot cried, when the flagons had been brought out by pope joan.
“yes, to moloch!” robin hood and guinevere echoed. “and to a new world!”
the mountebank raised his overflowing cup to his three new friends. “to a new world,” he smiled. “new to you, anyway, my new friends.” he took a sip of the hearty brew.
suddenly a door to the room opened and merlin appeared. he looked at the mountebank suspiciously.
“who or what is this fellow?” he asked, surveying the mountebank’s lemur like form.
“his name is moloch,” lancelot replied easily. “and he is to be our guide and companion in this bright new world.”
“you do not say so?” grumbled merlin. his long peaked wizard’s hat flopped down over his bleary eyes. “and why was i nor consulted on this matter?”
“because, my dear fellow,” lancelot drawled, “you are no longer to be consulted on anything. we have decided that you have brought us nothing but bad luck lately, and we are terminating your services. you are no longer a member of our expedition.”
“terminating my services! that seems rather harsh, lancelot! after all we have been through together?”
“we have been through too much together, old boy. that is the problem.”
”but - am i to go back to the old planet? i do not think i will get a very cordial welcome, after all that’s transpired.”
lancelot chuckled amiably. “you can go back to the old planet if you can get back yourself - with magic or anything else. the ship will stay with us.”
“but - where am i to go ?”
“this planet seems a fairly large place. surely you can find a berth somewhere.” lancelot turned to the mountebank. “how many miles around is it, anyway?”
“about 25,000,” the mountebank replied.
“there you have it,” lancelot told merlin.
*
merlin found himself trudging along a country road. the road seemed about as dusty as the ones he had left behind on the old planet , though the sky above seemed a little bluer.
he saw acres of waving green and blue grass, but not much activity in them.
occasionally a little monkey like creature like the one he had been introduced to by lancelot darted across the road. but he saw no other living creatures.
there were no birds in the sky.
25,000 miles! the old planet had only been 23,000 miles and it had been hard enough walking around that.
surely he must come to a house eventually, maybe even an inn.
after another hundred miles, he saw a bird in the sky.
and then he saw a tall building on the horizon. a cathedral?
as he approached the building he saw that it was, or had been, a cathedral, but that the lower part of it, at least, had been converted into an inn.
there were a few tables and chairs in front of the cathedral/inn.
without waiting to be invited, merlin sat down in one of the chairs.
a creature emerged from the dark door of the cathedral. it had the slender form of a young maid, and the head of a dragon.
“i am thirsty,” merlin told the maid/dragon. “i have traveled a great distance.”
“all distances are great,” he heard a voice behind him.
44. the cathedral
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