Free Songs of the Dancing Gods by Jack L. Chalker

us much of a chance here.” There was little traffic on the river road; they passed only a few people going in the other direction, mostly men on horseback, looking as if they were heading home from someplace, and some folks with carts heading in with produce for the town they’d left. Each one reported seeing Tiana and that she was in good shape.
    One fellow had come off the ferry. “Yeah, it’s decent,” he told them. “Pricey, though. The next crossing’s almost seventy miles north or fifty miles south and they know it. A Marquewood boat and fairy-run. That means only gold.” “A fairy ferry!” Irv laughed. “What kind?” “You wait and see, youngster,” the man responded. Joe ignored the exchange. “What’s the rate?” “Two gold apiece one way, three round trip. That’s with horse, of course. One and a half and two without, but I wouldn’t advise it. They charge plenty for horses on the other side, too, and it’s a long walk to anywhere else.”
    Joe whistled. “We’re short, then.”
    “There’s some brokers at the landing, but they’ll steal you blind,” the man warned. “Best if you can sell something ahead of time.”
    “Any towns between here and there?”
    “No, it’s only about an hour and a half ahead of you. No use hurrying there, though. They don’t run at night and they’re on their last trip of the day by now.”
    “Where’s it go?”
    “Daryia. Nice little town, but just inland is a main junction for most anyplace in Marquewood.”
    “Huh. If it’s as costly as you say, and we’re this far down, I might be better going the extra two days’ distance north and taking the shorter run. I’ve taken that one before.”
    “Wouldn’t recommend it,” he responded. “Not much government authority up in that area, and a lot of nasties lurking around. Still got those damned zombies about, you know.”
    That got Joe’s attention fast. “Zombies? You mean the Master of the Dead is still going?”
    “Sure. Where have you been? His advance stopped about six months ago, and he actually withdrew a bit, consolidating his gains, but he’s still powerful and nobody’s been able to take anything back yet. It’s a miracle he stopped his advance at all, but he’s sure to start up again sooner or later. Rumor has it he reached the limit of how many of the walking dead he could control or maybe how big an area of “em he could control. Sooner or later he’ll make a deal with some principalities or others and get what he needs, though, mark my words! I sure wouldn’t be going north right now!”
    They pressed on, but Irving wanted to know the details.
    “His name is Sugasto, and sooner or later I’ve got a score to settle with him,” Joe told the boy. “I met the dirty weasel on our first quest here. An oilier traitor I don’t think I’ve ever met. Even the old Dark Baron was a gentleman compared to this guy. Ruling over corpses is only one of his tricks, but a good one. Hard as hell to kill somebody who’s already dead. His other little trick of snatching your soul from your body and putting it in a jar is one reason why Tiana’s in the body she’s in and caused us all sorts of problems. That was a trick he even taught the Baron. If you get close to him, your soul will wind up in one of his wine cellars and he’ll be free to play games with your body. Funny. Old Ruddygore said he would be easy to take care of with the Baron out of the way. I don’t like the sound of it.”
    “Why not?”
    “Well, that second ferry’s just below Castle Terindell on the Marquewood side. If Sugasto’s got control down about to the other side there, that means he’s only stuck because of Ruddygore, and that means that he’s pretty much got our old patron in a stalemate and he’s trying to figure a way to break it before going further. I don’t want to run into him just yet. The last time I was but for the count in a bottle, and when Marge found the bottles of all of us, they