Uneasy alliances - Thieves World 11 by Robert Asprin, Lynn Abbey Page B

it, he had to use some title!)". . .
    Your Highness plans to attend our humble offerings?"
    "It will be a great treat to see such plays as those the Rankans saw," said the Beysa. "Especially after so long here in Sanctuary. In my homeland there were many spectacles provided to amuse us, and I confess to missing them. I shall be most pleased indeed to come the very night you first perform."
    The irony of her using the past tense when referring to the plays performed in Ranke was not lost on Feltheryn, but he noted it only in passing. An occupied Royal Box inevitably meant a full house!
    Later, that night, Feltheryn had second thoughts about presenting The Power of Kings. In addition to the King, his son, and the leading lady, the
    play required a second young male, the son's best friend. It was the most
    sympathetic part in the play, for the friend, Rorem, died by an assassin's
    arrow in the last act, even in the midst of swearing his love for the prince,
    Karel. It was one of the great and moving scenes of the play, and one of the most mystical, for it was never explained. Like the events of real life,
    nobody ever discovered who killed Rorem, or why.
    The problem was that Rounsnouf, the company's comic, was the only person available to play the part; and Rounsnouf had discovered the Vulgar Unicom.
    To be sure, every town had its share of low dives; but the Vulgar Unicom (Rounsnouf explained as best he could after much too much to drink) was special!
    274 UNEASY ALLIANCES
    "Master Feltheryn, I have never seen so many great character studies!
    The place is a treasure house' I could live there, absorbing the little moves they make, taking in the peculiar touches of their accents! There is
    a dark-haired boy who is all bluster and covered with knives, yet who possesses a wonderful vulnerability; I would not trust him with a gravestone, yet he appeals to my heart, . . - There was a young woman, clearly of the noblest birth, and yet trained as a gladiator! Can you imagine that? I dared to speak with her, and she told me that she chose to learn to fight! So fascinating! Oh, how I wish you would join me there!" It was not the wine, nor the ale, that thus gave Feltheryn misgivings: it
    was the seductive quality of observation the tavern offered. While all actors spent much time observing the details of character in their fellow
    humans, there was something about Rounsnouf that was like a hunger, and that fed off other people. He used every observation he made in his brilliant work in the plays, but when one encountered him backstage, or away from the theater, it was always disquieting. Glisselrand said she hated to leave him alone with Lempchm, not because she thought the comic would bugger the boy but because she wondered if she might come home and find him in the stewpot.
    "How are you coming with your part?" Feltheryn asked, not valuing the answer of a drunk but trusting to wine to bring out the truth.
    "I'll have it by opening," said Rounsnouf. "Never fear! It is only a small part, after all."
    "Yes," said Feltheryn, "but it is an important part, and it is not a comedy, it is a tragedy. You have played it before with less than glorious
    results, I might point out. I would appreciate it if you left off your observations until we have opened, and concentrated on the work at hand. The Vulgar Unicorn will not close nearly as soon as our play will." Rounsnouf sat down on the floor and folded his short, thick fingers intertwined. He shut his eyes, set too close together, and yawned. Then he scratched his butterball stomach under his motley tunic.
    "I suppose you are right," he said, entirely too agreeably. "I would like
    to be able to deliver Rorem's death speech without laughing. Oh thou whose blood runs in my veins, more closer yet than any brother. Thou, whose blood I chose against the call of nature ..." He fell back laughing and his legs stretched out so that his feet, too small for his body, wiggled in the air"It sounds as if he