Lord Renyard had a taste, it emerged, for abstraction. He reminded me a bit of my dad, who was always inclined to wander off the practical point into speculation. I began to lose the thread of the fox’s arguments and was glad whenever he paused to point out a spectacular view or describe some flora or fauna of the surrounding world.
I was beginning to get tired and hungry by the time the tottering towers of the City in the Autumn Stars came in sight: a sprawl of tall tenements and chimneys, spires and domes. High overhead I could see pale, bright spots of faded color, rusty reds and dark yellows, which might indeed have been ancient stars. I wondered if I would find my other protector, Monsieur Zodiac, there in the city.
Lord Renyard told me to be careful where I put my feet. “We shall be at my home soon, but the path can still be treacherous.” He pointed to the skyline of Mirenburg. “What you observe,” he explained, “is a mirror of the city you will find on the surface. Do not ask me how this phenomenon can be. I lack the intellect to explain it. But in a certain place the upper city and the lower city connect and allow us to move from one into the other. I think you will find that upper city more familiar. I cannot be sure, but it might even exist on the same plane as your own.”
“In which case they’d have long-distance telephones,” I said. “And I’ll be able to get in touch with my parents.”
He hesitated, doubtful. “Our Mirenburg—my Mirenburg— is not an especially progressive city, though she has lately accepted some modest manufacturing reforms.”
As we descended towards the city walls, the silence of the huge caverns was broken by a rapid drumming sound. Looking around him, Lord Renyard drew me back into the shadow of a slab of granite. He put his paw to his muzzle, indicating to me that I shouldn’t talk. Far away across the ridge, under the dim light of the “autumn stars,” I saw two men on horseback. I couldn’t make out their features until they rode quite close. I would have called to them if I hadn’t remembered Lord Renyard’s instructions. When I saw their faces, I was glad I hadn’t It was the mysterious visitor and the other