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Teppic cut Dios off inlistened to both sides of the case,' he said fir iument, it seehtered without delay and shared with all fairness between both plaintiff and defendant'

He sat back They'll call o for this sort of thing

The far blank stare Then, as if they were both mounted on turntables, they turned and looked to where Dios was sitting in his place on the steps in a group of lesser priests

Dios stood up, smoothed his plain robe, and extended the staff

'Harken to the interpreted wisdo Teppicyon of the Sun, Steerse, Lord of the Horizon, Keeper of the Way, the Flail of Mercy, the High-Born One, the Never-Dying King,' he said 'It is our divine judgement that the beast in dispute is the property of Rhuement that the beast be sacrificed upon the altar of the Concourse of Gods in thanks for the attention of Our Divine Self It is our further judgement that both Rhumusphut and Ktoffle work a further three days in the fields of the King in paye along his fearsoht into Teppic's hty is the wisdo Teppicyon of the Sun, Steerse, Lord of the Horizon, Keeper of the Way, the Flail of Mercy, the High-Born One, the Never-Dying King!'

The farratitude and backed out of the presence, frauards

'Dios,' said Teppic, levelly

'Sire?'

'Just attend upon me a moment, please?'

'Sire?' repeated Dios,by the throne

'I could not help noticing, Dios, excuse , a certain flourish in the translation there'

The priest looked surprised

'Indeed no, sire I wasonly to refine the detail in accordance with precedent and tradition'

'Hoas that? The daed to both of them!'

'But Rhumusphut is known to be punctilious in his devotions, sire, seeking every opportunity to laud and ods, whereas Ktoffle has been known to harbour foolish thoughts'

'What's that got to do with justice?'

'Everything, sire,' said Dios smoothly

'But now neither of them has the ox!'

'Quite so, sire But Ktoffle does not have it because he does not deserve it, while Rhureater stature in the netherworld'

'And you'll eat beef tonight, I suppose,' said Teppic It was like a blow; Teppic ht as well have picked up the throne and hit the priest with it Dios took a step backward, aghast, his eyes two brief pools of pain When he spoke, there was a raw edge to his voice

'I do not eat meat, sire,' he said 'It dilutes and tarnishes the soul May I summon the next case, sire?'

Teppic nodded 'Very well'

The next case was a dispute over the rent of a hundred square yards of riverside land Teppic listened carefully Good growing land was at a premium in Djeli, since the pyramids took up so much of it It was a serious matter

It was especially serious because the land's tenant was by all accounts hard-working and conscientious, while its actual oas clearly rich and objectionable[19] Unfortunately, however one chose to stack the facts, he was also in the right

Teppic thought deeply, and then squinted at Dios The priest nodded at him

'It seeh

'Harken to the judge Teppicyon of the Sun, Steerse, Lord of the Horizon, Keeper of the Way, the Flail of Mercy, the High-Born One, the Never-Dying King!'

'It see all matters in consideration beyond those of mere mortal artifice, the true and just outcoood king speaks

'The landlord has been weighed in the balance and found wanting,' he booh the mask's mouth slit 'We find for the tenant'

As one man the court turned to Dios, who held a whispered consultation with the other priests and then stood up

'Hear now the interpreted word of His Greatness the King Teppicyon of the Sun, Steerse, Lord of the Horizon, Keeper of the Way, the Flail of Mercy, the High-Born One, the Never-Dying King! Ptorne the farmer will at once pay 18 toons in back rent to Prince Imtebos! Prince Is of the gods of the river! Long live the king! Bring on the next case!'

Teppic beckoned to Dios again

'Is there any point inhere?' he demanded in an overheated whisper

'Please be calm, sire If you were not here, hoould the people know that justice had been done?'

'But you twist everything I say!'

'No, sire Sire, you give the judge'

'I see,' said Teppic grimly 'Well, from now on-'

There was a commotion outside the hall Clearly there was a prisoner outside as less than confident in the king's justice, and the king didn't blame him He wasn't at all happy about it, either

It turned out to be a dark-haired girl, struggling in the ar them the kind of bloith fist and heel that a ht kind of costu around peeling grapes in

She saw Teppic and, to his secret delight, flashed hi treated like a mentally-deficient statue it was a pleasure to find someone prepared to take an interest in hi by the thuood bet that she had done it to the very limits of her ability

Dios bent down to the level of the mask's ear holes

'Her name is Ptraci,' he said 'A handmaiden of your father She has refused to take the potion'

'What potion?' said Teppic

'It is custo to take servants with hilooe, the only way a penniless servant could ensure irandfather's funeral, and the discreet clamour of the old man's personal servants It had made father depressed for days

'Yes, but it's not compulsory,' he said