Part 2 : Whether Earth-Pigs Have Wings
"O Oysters, come and walk with us!" the Walrus did beseech.
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, along the briny beach.
We cannot do with more than four; to give a hand to each."
Cerebus arrived just in time to greet Lord Julius personally at the outer door; a knack he'd honed over the years to almost surgical precision. Each accompanied by his own personal guard, they walked down the long hallway, stopping just before the huge double-doorway to the dining hall.
"A good crowd." He remarked, looking out over the room. Lots of easily-distracted faces, and plenty of not-too-cheap-but-not-too-expensive alcohol was already flowing. He liked his odds; he was already glad he'd agreed to the tournament, even though it was Julius' idea.
"So how do you want to play this?" he asked of his long-time adversary. "All the Marbles, or Walrus and the Carpenter?"
Julius considered, making the same quick math in his own head. "That is the question... the $64,000 crown question. I think it depends on your answer; why did you really agree to host it here, in the heart of your own demense?"
"You know Cerebus likes to keep his friends close... and his enemies closer." the earth-pig growled, turning back towards the hallway. "Besides, there's always the chance you'll lose before you get to me." Julius raised one eye, but trusted his instinct. He was telling the truth.
"Walrus and the Carpenter it is then." he grinned impishly, puffing on the cigar permanently attached to his left hand. "Our usual agreement?" Cerebus returned the leer as he looked around the long hallway for unwelcome strangers before handing over a bit of parchment. "Already signed."
Julius snorted in surprise. "Signed? Seriously?"
"A verbal contract isn't worth the paper its printed on." Cerebus snorted derisively in return.
"You are quoting me, I believe." Julius retorted, a bit of ash falling from his cigar onto the corner of Cerebus' cloak.
The other grunted acknowledgement, ignoring the deliberate slight with only the faintest scowl crossing his face. "The sun even shines on a dog's arse; and Cerebus shall quote the truth wherever he finds it."
The visiting Prime minister looked the document over with a practiced eye then signed, folding the contract and sealing it with his signet ring. Cerebus did the same, then stuffed the instrument in a pocket inside his Scarran-hide vest as he turned, entering the impromptu gambling hall.
"Show time!" the furry warlord thought to himself, finding his seat. A predatory smile slowly stole across his face, despite his best efforts at concealment...
mnem
"The time has come" the Walrus said, "To talk of many things;
of shoes and ships and sealing-wax, of cabbages and kings...
...and why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings." End Part 2 ; Continued Tomorrow with Part 3: The Walrus and Carpenter Gambit