I have a facility with metre , sir , which all envy - peers and my betters , sir , as a matter of fact .sx And I also have a certain gift for spontaneous versification , of sorts .sx In Trollon , elegant and slow , dwelled Amarine Goodool , famed for his costume and his wit .sx To friends so valuable was he , they even saved his - " .sx " And I am called the Rose and travel upon a quest for vengeance .sx My journey has taken me through more than one realm .sx " .sx " Aha !sx " said Amarine Goodool .sx " You have followed the megaflow !sx You have broken down the walls between the realms !sx You have crossed the invisible barriers of the multiverse !sx And you , sir ?sx You , my pale friend ?sx What skills have you ?sx " .sx " At home , in my own quiet town , I had some reputation as a conjurer and philosopher , " said Elric meekly .sx " Well , well , sir , but you would not be with this company if you had not something to offer .sx Your philosophy , perhaps , is of an unusual sort ?sx " .sx " Fairly conventional , sir , I would say .sx " .sx " Nonetheless , sir .sx Nonetheless .sx You have a horse .sx Please enter .sx And be welcome to Trollon .sx I think it very likely you will find yourselves amongst fellow spirits here .sx We are all a little odd in Trollon !sx " And he raised his head in a friendly bray .sx Now he led them through the skirts of the village , into a musty darkness lit by dim lamps so that first it was possible to perceive only the vaguest of shapes .sx It was as if they had entered a vast stable , with row upon row of stalls disappearing into the distance .sx Elric smelled horses and human sweat and as they passed up a central aisle he could look down the rows and see the glistening backs of men , women and adolescents , leaning hard against poles reaching to their chests and pushing the huge edifice forward , inch by inch .sx Elsewhere horses were harnessed in ranks , also , trudging on heavy hoofs as they hauled at the thick ropes attached to the roof beams .sx " Leave your horses with the lad , " said Amarine Goodool , indicating a ragged youth who held out his hand for a small coin and grinned with pleasure at the value of what he received .sx " You'll be given receipts and so on .sx You'll be at ease for at least a couple of seasons to be sure .sx Or , if you are otherwise successful , forever .sx Like myself .sx Of course , " he lowered his tone as he swung up a wooden stairway , " there are other responsibilities one must accept .sx " .sx The long staircase led them , spiral by spiral , to the surface until they clambered out into a nondescript narrow sidestreet from whose open windows people looked idly down without breaking their conversation .sx It was a picture of such ordinariness that it contrasted all the more with the scenes below .sx " Are those people down there slaves , sir ?sx " Wheldrake had to know .sx " Slaves !sx By no means !sx They are free gypsy souls , like myself .sx Free to wander the great highway that spans the world , to breathe the air of liberty .sx They merely take their turn at the marching boards , as most of us must for some time in their lives .sx They perform a civic duty , sir .sx " .sx " And should they not wish to perform such duty ?sx " asked Elric quietly .sx " Ah , well , sir , I can see that you are indeed a philosopher .sx Such obstrusities are beyond me , I fear , sir .sx But there are people in Trollon who would be only too pleased to debate such abstractions .sx " He patted Elric amiably upon the shoulder .sx " Indeed , I can think of more than one friend of mine who will gladly welcome you .sx " .sx " A prosperous place , this Trollon .sx " The Rose looked through the gaps in the buildings to where similar villages moved at a similar pace .sx " Well , we like to preserve certain standards , madam .sx I will arrange for your receipts .sx " .sx " I do not think we plan to trade our horses here , " said Elric .sx " We need to travel on as soon as possible .sx " .sx " And travel you shall , sir .sx Travel , after all , is in our blood .sx But we must put your horses to work .sx Or , sir , " he uttered a little snigger , " we shall not be travelling far at all , eh ?sx " .sx Again a glance from the Rose stilled Elric's retort .sx But he was growing increasingly impatient as he thought of his dead father and the threat which hung over them both .sx " We are only too happy to accept your hospitality , " said the Rose diplomatically .sx " Are we the only people to join Trollon in recent days ?sx " .sx " Did you have friends come ahead of you , lady ?sx " .sx " Three sisters , perhaps ?sx " suggested Wheldrake .sx " Three sisters ?sx " He shook his head .sx " I should have known if I had seen them , sir .sx But I will send enquiry of our neighbouring villages .sx Meanwhile , if you are hungry , I shall be only too happy to loan you a few credits .sx We have some wonderful restaurants in Trollon .sx " .sx It was clear that there was little poverty in Trollon .sx The paint was fresh and the glass sparkling , while the streets were neat and clean as anything Elric had ever seen .sx " It seems all the squalor and hardship is kept out of sight below , " whispered Wheldrake .sx " I shall be glad to leave this place , Prince Elric .sx " .sx " We might find ourselves in difficulties when we decide to end our stay .sx " The Rose was careful not to be overheard .sx " Do they plan to make slaves of us , like those poor wretches down there ?sx " .sx " I would guess they have no immediate intention of sending us to their marching boards , " said Elric , " but I have no doubt they want us for our muscles and our horses as much as for our company .sx I do not intend to remain long in this place if I cannot quickly discover some clue to what I seek .sx I have little time .sx " His old arrogance was returning .sx His old impatience .sx He tried to quell them , as signs of the disease which had led to his present dilemma .sx He hated his own blood , his sorcery , his reliance upon his runesword , or other extraordinary means of sustenance .sx And when Amarine Goodool brought them into the village square ( complete with shops and public buildings and houses of evident age ) to meet a committee of welcome , Elric was less than warm , though he knew that lies , hypocrisy and deception were the order of the moment .sx His attempt to smile did not bring any answering gaiety .sx " Gweetings , gweetings , " cried an apparition in green , with a little pointed beard and a hat threatening to engulf his entire head and half his body .sx " On behalf of the Twollon weins-men and -morts , may we vawda yoah eeks with joy .sx Or , in the common speech , you must considah us all , now your bwothahs and sistahs .sx My name is Filigwip Nant and I wun the theatwicals .sx .. " Whereupon he proceeded to introduce a miscellaneous group of people with odd-sounding names , peculiar accents and unnatural complexions whose appearance seemed to fill Wheldrake with horrified recognition .sx " It could be the Putney Fine Arts Society , " he murmured , " or worse , the Surbiton Poetasters - I have been a reluctant guest of them both , and many more .sx Ilkley , as I recall , was the worst .sx .. " and he lapsed into his own gloomy contemplations as , with a smile no more convincing than the albino's , he suffered the roll-call of parochial fame , until he opened his little beak to a sky still filled with cloud and spray and began a kind of protective declamation which had him surrounded at once by green , black and purple velvet , by rustling brocade and romantic lace , by the scent of a hundred garden flowers and herbs , by the gypsy literati .sx And borne away .sx The Rose and Elric also had their share of temporary acolytes .sx This was clearly a village of some wealth , which yearned for novelty .sx " We're very cosmopolitan , you know , in Trollon .sx Like most of the 'diddicoyim' ( ha , ha ) villages , we are now almost wholly made up from outsiders .sx I , myself , am an outsider .sx From another Realm , you know .sx From Heeshigrowinaaz , actually .sx Are you familiar - ?sx " A middle-aged woman with an elaborate wit and considerable paint linked her bangled arm in Elric's .sx " I'm Parapha Foz .sx My husband's Barraban Foz , of course .sx Isn't it boring ?sx " .sx " I have the feeling , " said the Rose in an undertone as she went by with her own burden of enthusiasts , " that this is to be the greatest ordeal of them all .sx .. " .sx But it seemed to Elric that she was also amused , especially by his own expression .sx And he bowed , with graceful irony , to the inevitable .sx There followed a number of initiating rituals with which Elric was unfamiliar , but which Wheldrake dreaded as being all too familiar , and the Rose accepted , as if she , too , had once known such experiences better .sx There were meals and speeches and performances , tours of the oldest and quaintest parts of the village , small lectures on its history and its architecture and how wonderfully it had been restored until Elric , brooding always on his father's stolen soul , wished that they would turn into something with which he could more easily contend - like the hopping , slittering , drooling monsters of Chaos or some unreasonable demi-god .sx He had rarely wished so longingly to draw his sword and let it silence this melange of prejudice , semi-ignorance , snobbery and received opinion , of loud , superior voices so thoroughly reassured by all they met and read , that they believed themselves confidently , unvulnerably , totally in control of reality .sx .. And all the while Elric thought of the poor souls below , pressing their bodies against the marching boards and sending this village , in concert with all the other free gypsy villages , in its relentless progress , inch by inch , around the world .sx Unused to gaining the information he required by any means less direct than torture , Elric left it to the Rose to glean whatever she could and eventually , when they were alone together , Wheldrake having been taken as a trophy to sport at some dinner , she relaxed into a mood of satisfaction .sx They had been given adjoining rooms in what they were assured was the best inn of its sort in any of the second-rank villages .sx Tomorrow , they were told , they would be shown what apartments were available to them .sx " We have survived this first day well , I think , " she said , sitting on a chest to remove her doeskin boots .sx " We have proven interesting enough to them so that we still have our lives , relative liberty and , more important now , I think , our swords .sx .. " .sx " You mistrust them thoroughly , then ?sx " The albino looked curiously at the Rose as she shook out her pale red-gold hair and peeled off her brown jerkin to reveal a blouse of dark yellow .sx " I have never encountered such folk before .sx " .sx " Save that they are drawn from every part of the multiverse , they are very much of a type I left behind me long ago and like poor Wheldrake hoped never to encounter again .sx The sisters reached the Gypsy Nation less than a week before we did .sx The woman who told me this had it from a woman she knows in the next village .sx The sisters , however , were accepted by a village of the forward rank .sx " .sx " And we can find them there ?sx " Elric knew so much relief he only then realized how desperate he had become .sx " Not so easily .sx We have no invitation to visit the village .sx There are forms to be observed before we can receive such an invitation .sx However , I also learned that Gaynor is here , though he disappeared almost immediately and no one has any notion of his whereabouts .sx " .sx " He has not left the Nation ?sx " .sx " I gather that is not easily done , even by the likes of Gaynor .sx " There was suddenly an extra bitterness to her voice .sx " It is forbidden ?sx " .sx " Nothing , " she echoed sardonically , " is forbidden in the Gypsy Nation .sx Unless , " she added , " it is change of any kind !sx " .sx " Then why was the boy killed ?sx " .sx " They tell me they know nothing about it .sx They told me they thought I was probably mistaken .sx They said they felt it was morbid to study the garbage heaps and think one saw things lurking in them .sx