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“Well what?” said Rincewind.
“Tell him to give me my tribute.”
The fat man got down ponderously, marched over to Eric and, to Rincewind's extreme surprise, groveled.
Rincewind felt something claw its way up his back and onto his shoulder, where a voice like a sheet of metal being torn in half said, "That's better. Very wossname, comfy. If
you try and knock me off, demon, you can wossname your ear goodbye. What a turn up for the scrolls, eh? They seemed to be expecting him.“ ”Why do you keep saying wossname?" said Rincewind.
“Limited wossname. Doodah. Thingy. You know. It's got words in it,” said the parrot. “Dictionary?” said Rincewind. They passengers in the other chariots had got out and were also groveling to Eric, who was beaming like an idiot.
The parrot considered this.
“Yeah, probably,” it said. “I've got to wing it to you,” it went on. “I thought you were a bit of a wossname at the start, but you seem to be delivering the wossname.” “Demon?” said Eric, airily. “Yes?” “What are they saying? Can't you speak their language?” “Er, no,” said Rincewind. “I can read it, though,” he called out, as Eric turned away. "If
you could just sort of make signs for them to write it down..."
It was around noon. In the jungle behind Rincewind creatures whooped and gibbered. Mosquitoes the size of humming-birds whined around his head.
“Of course,” he said, for the tenth time, “They've never really got around to inventing paper.”
The stonemason stood bake, handed the latest blunted obsidian chisel to his assistant, and gave Rincewind and expectant look.
Rincewind stood back and examined the rock critically.
“It's very good,” he said. “I mean, it's a very good likeness. You've got his hairstyle and everything. Of course, he's not as, er, square as that normally but, yes, very good. And here's the chariot and there's the step-pyramids. Yes. Well, it looks as though they want you to go to the city with them,” he said to Eric.
“Tell them yes,” said Eric firmly. Rincewind turned to the headman. “Yes,” he said. “¿[Hunched-figure-in-triple-feathered-headdress-over-three-dots]?” Rincewind sighed. Without saying a word, the stonemason put a fresh stone chisel into
his unresisting fingers and manhandled a new slab of granite into position. One of the problems of being a Tezuman, apart from having a god like Quezovercoatl, is that if you unexpectedly need to order an extra pint of milk tomorrow you should have started writing the note last month. Tezumen are the only people who beat themselves to death with their own suicide notes.
It was late afternoon by the time the chariot trotted into the slab city around the largest
pyramid, between lines of cheering Tezumen. “This is more like it,” said Eric, graciously acknowledging the cheers. “They're very pleased to see us.”
“Yes,” said Rincewind, gloomily. “I wonder why?” “Well, because I'm the new ruler, of course.” “Hmm.” Rincewind glanced sidelong at the parrot, who had been unnaturally silent for
some time and was now cowering up against his ear like an elderly spinster in a strip
club. It was having serious thoughts about the exquisite feather headdresses. “Wossname bastards,” it croaked. “Any wossname lays a hand on me and that wossname is minus one finger, I'm telling you.”
“There's something not right about this,” said Rincewind. “What's that?”
“Everything.”
“I'm telling you, one feather out of place -”
Rincewind wasn't used to people being pleased to see him. It was unnatural, and boded no good. These people were not only cheering, they were throwing flowers and hats. The hats were made out of stone, but the thought was there.
Rincewind thought they were rather odd hats. They didn't have crowns. They were, in fact, mere discs with holes in the middle.
The procession trotted up the wide avenues of the city to a cluster of buildings at the foot of the pyramid, where another group of dignitaries was waiting for them.
They were wearing lots of jewelry. It was all basically the same. There are quite a lot of uses to which you can put a stone disc with a hole in the middle, and the Tezumen had explored all but one of them.
More important, though, were the boxes and boxes of treasure stacked in front of them. They were stuffed with jewels.
Eric's eyes widened.
