King Verence opened his eyes. Water was pouring down the window of his bedroom. There was no light but that which crept in under the door, and he could just make out the shapes of his two guards, nodding in their seats.

A windowpane tinkled. One of the Uberwaldians went and opened the window, looked out into the wild night, found nothing of interest and shuffled back to his seat.

Everything felt very…pleasant. It seemed to Verence that he was lying in a nice warm bath, which was very relaxing and comfortable. The cares of the world belonged to someone else. He bobbed like happy flotsam on the warm sea of life.

He could hear very faint voices, apparently coming from somewhere below his pillow.

“Rikt, gi’ tae yon helan bigjobs?”

“Ach, fashit keel!”

“Hyup?”

“Nach oona whiel ta’ tethra…yin, tan, TETRA!”

“Hyup! Hyup!”

Something rustled on the floor. The chair of one man jerked up into the air and bobbed at speed to the window.

“Hyup!” The chair and its occupant crashed through the glass.

The other guard managed to get to his feet, but something was growing in the air in front of him. To Verence, an alumnus of the Fools’ Guild, it looked very much like a very tall human pyramid made up of very small acrobats.

“Hup! Hup!”

“Hyup!”

“Hup!”

It grew level with the guard’s face. The single figure at the top yelled: “What ya lookin’ a’, chymie? Ha’ a wee tastie!” and launched itself directly at a point between the man’s eyes. There was a little cracking noise, and the man keeled over backward.

“Hup! Hup!”

“Hyup!”

The living pyramid dissolved to floor level. Verence heard tiny pattering feet and suddenly there was a small heavily tattooed man, in a blue pointy hat, standing on his chin.

“Seyou, kingie! Awa’ echt ta’ branoch, eh?”

“Well done,” Verence murmured. “How long have you been a hallucination? Jolly good.”

“Ken ye na’ saggie, ye spargit?”

“That’s the way,” said Verence dreamily.

“Auchtahelweit!”

“Hyup! Hyup!”

Verence felt himself lifted off the bed. Hundreds of little hands passed him from one to the other and he was glided through the window and out into the void.

It was a sheer wall and, he told himself dreamily, he had no business drifting down it so slowly, to cries of “Ta ya! Ta me! Hyup!” Tiny hands caught his collar, his nightshirt, his bed-socks…

“Good show,” he murmured, as he slid gently to the ground and then, six inches above ground level, was carried off into the night.