It would be untrue to say I didn’t feel under pressure. Somehow, I had to avert a fight which would most likely result in my death. Talking my way out of a tight spot was nothing new, but all it took for me to fail was for the other person to say, “Nah, don’t buy it.”
There were still a number of methods I could use to avoid getting involved with violence, most of which relied on convincing others to be violent on my behalf, but my preference was to find a method that didn’t require fighting. And that method was called lying.
Lying, when it works, can be better than magic. Poof! The problem’s gone.
“The Worm King is mentioned three times by name,” I said, pointing out the places on the wall, “and a couple of times indirectly.”
The shaman had an awed look on his face. I don’t think he had seen the prophecy before and it was probably akin to a religious experience for him; which was all the better as far as I was concerned. If he was off-balance, he was less likely to spot the flaws in my logic.
“This line where it says the Worm King will ‘descend on the night’ is referring to the jabberwocky.”
The shaman nodded. The line I had pointed out was the only reference to the jabberwocky, and I only knew that because Cheng had told me. Personally, I thought it was a bit of a leap.
Sure, you could make a case for how the Worm King descending on the night, which was up until very recently the domain of the jabberwocky, was an indication of the Worm King wresting control from the jabberwocky, but tenuous to say the very least.
“But,” I continued, “it also talks about the Worm King bringing Nekromel. Here.”
When I had asked Cheng what ‘Nekromel’ meant, he gave me a list of possible answers. It was the end of the world. It was the birth of a new one. It was the living dead rising from their graves. It was a person, whose name was Nekromel. It was a fountain that granted immortality. And so on.
Of course the true answer was obvious—no one had the foggiest idea what a Nekromel was. Which was perfect for my purposes.
“After the Bride, the Worm King will bring Nekromel, that part isn’t in question.” I gave the shaman a questioning look. He nodded slowly. “What isn’t clear is the identity of Nekromel, and I’m not going to pretend I’ve solved that particular riddle.”
The trick to a good lie is to not have all the answers. If you put yourself too far above others, they stop caring if you’re right or wrong, they just want to tear you down.
“I have my theories, like everyone else, but that isn’t important right now. What is important is that Nekromel isn’t going to appear here.”
“It isn’t?” said Cheng. He was just as interested in my view of the prophecy as the shaman.
“I don’t think so. There is a place in Flatland where I saw a fairy. A small creature, this big.” I held up finger and thumb to indicate the size.
“Fairies do not exist,” said the shaman.
What kind of world is it where fantasy creatures insist other fantasy creatures don’t exist?
“I assure you they do exist, and I don’t think my seeing one on the first day I arrived here was a coincidence. Especially when you take into account this line.” I put my finger under a word on the wall and dragged it along as I read the line out loud. “When the Worm King brings Nekromel to the Home of Fate, the Joy of Old will reign once again. Do you see?”
She grinned at me. It was a huge relief to see her mocking smile. Still, you can’t let women get too cocky. I dragged her over to the bed and soon wiped the smirk off her face.