Free Flidoring The Early Wars by Roger W. Hayes Page A

way of life,” accentuated Huglam. “Follow me. If you think this looks nice, wait till you see the inside.”
    The first building they entered was the main receiving hall where the Furzonians entertain smaller numbers of guests. Master artisans had carved the walls with historic scenes and famous leaders. They had carved fancy moldings in the stone around the windows, doors and ceiling—polishing them to perfection. The entire hall was a masterpiece of workmanship that any of the other worlds would have envied. The stunning decor continued right into the hallways and other rooms and buildings of the city. Bellmus voiced the opinion of everyone when he said, “I would sure love to have one of your craftsmen do the decorating of my house.”
    The next room they entered into was the large receiving hall that the Furzonians call “Zimteal” which loosely translated in Electerian means “Place of Fellowship”. The hall was eight-hundred feet long and four-hundred feet across. The ceiling was a dome eighty feet high in the center, tapering down to four feet high at the sidewalls.
    Impressed, Lyemad thought. “Zimteal lives up to its name as a fellowship hall with tables for the guests to sit at, tables with lots of food, open floor spaces for dancing and pyramid building, and there is even a children’s area complete with toys and babysitters.” With perkiness in his voice he said, “If that is more of the same food we ate on the way down to the city, then bring it on. That was some of the best produce I have ever tasted.”
    “Lyemad, mind your manners!” blurted out a shocked Bellmus, knowing that he was raised better than he was acting.
    “Your praise of our cooking is well received, Sir Lyemad,” said Huglam. “We, also, are most fond of eating. It is good to see that we have some things in common.”
    Many, including Bellmus and Tessslan, wondered if Lyemad was that perceptive of the Furzonians or just lucky that time. Either way, he had made a good impression on their leader, and that went a long way towards building their respect for him. Lyemad just grinned after Huglam’s jubilant response to his comment. No one knew that he had spent hours talking with the Furzonians late at night over the communicators during their journey from Noteorius Minor. He knew more about their customs than all the other Ambassadors combined.
    Delighted that Lyemad pulled off such a smooth display of diplomacy, Bellmus decided to sit quietly by and let Lyemad further prove himself. Lyemad knew just the right things to say to make the Furzonians comfortable with their strange-looking guests. He figured that the Graznosians and Angelians might intimidate them with their animal and fish-like looks, but a few well placed jokes and carefully asked questions kept the situation non-threatening.
    Huglam proceeded to introduce many of the leaders from the different cave cities that were scattered all over Furzon. The gathering was the largest one in many years. Between the guests and the natives, there were thousands filling up the Zimteal. Excitement filled the air, as the Volkran crew became the center of attention for the Furzonians.
    As everyone took a seat around the long but well-spaced tables, dozens of servers brought huge plates full of colorful foods. Other attendants brought various drinks of assorted colors. Hours flew by as song and dance filled the Zimteal. Night-darkness had settled over the mountains, but no one could have known it because the caves were extremely bright. Electric lights powered by generators that ran off the geothermal vents lit up every corner of the caves and buildings. Copper wires hidden in channels cut into the rock walls, with steel power-tools, distributed the electricity. Copper, steel and other alloys were plentiful and easily extracted from the rock. The smelting process, to separate the alloys from the rock, used electricity to melt the ore. The thermal vents gave the Furzonians an abundance