The Enchantress of World's End

The travelers discovered the Scarlet City to be neat, clean and, as advertized, respectable.

The squares and bazaars of Chx were filled with a quiet, orderly populace who regarded the exotic Outlanders with curious but not unfriendly eyes. Ganelon and Xarda looked about them with interest: flowering trees lined the spacious boulevards, and these were neatly trimmed and clipped. The streets and sidewalks were recently swept and the doorsteps of the Chxian houses were freshly scrubbed, the houses themselves neatly painted. Everything within view was spotless, immaculate, in excellent repair. The Scarlet City was attractive, with its red towers and bright yellow houses, tinkling fountains and gay bazaars; the people themselves looked comfortable, happy, and well-fed.

The girl knight said in an undertone to Ganelon, “They certainly dress in an odd fashion!” The giant nodded silently, staring about him. While the Chxians were a pleasant-looking folk, they were robed and coifed with a somberness that he found quaint and odd. The men were clothed in sober hues of gray, brown, black or umber, with tight-fitting hose, knee-breeches, and buckled shoes. The women wore voluminous skirts in the same somber and joyless hues, and these skirts completely covered their lower limbs, while long-sleeved, high-necked bodices covered their upper bodies from neck to wrist Even their hair was covered with stiff cloth, and their faces were devoid of cosmetics. Also, they wore no jewelry.

Even the children, who played quietly before the houses, were dressed in miniature replicas of the adult raiment. Accustomed to screeching, dirty-faced ragamuffins, the Illusionist found their quiet play a welcome relief and pooh-poohed the comments of his fellow adventurers.

“There is nothing here that need disturb us,” he said with lazy good humor. “I gather that the Chxians are a highly moral, respectable people: what’s wrong with that? So the women don’t bare their bosoms, paint their lips, or bedizen themselves with gauds and bangles —what difference does it make? By the Ninth Plenum, you two worriers would find something to disturb you in the Paradisical Gardens themselves! Come along, now, and stop grexing!”

Ganelon exchanged a dubious glance with Xarda, then shrugged and fell in behind his master. But, like the girl knight, he found something oppressive in the extreme sobriety of Chx. Despite its bright colors, a gloomy pall of severe puritanism seemed to hang over the quiet streets, the freshly-painted houses, the orderly populace. And all about hung signs which proclaimed a variety of maxims. “STRONG DRINK, WEAK MORALS,” one placard reminded. Another announced warningly, “FLIPPANCY IS FATAL,” while a third glowered down upon them with the grim legend, “WHY SING AND DANCE WHILE DEATH IS NEAR?” Despite herself, the Sirix shivered slightly.