Kannot made a sign of obeisance.
"Now go," Miotis said, "and seek out the cause and the solution. One week, vizier, I give you. No more! Your head shall roll, otherwise...."
The trumpets announced the arrival of the vizier, and at the sound the players stopped their tune and the dancers their dance. Miotis, looking as though he hadn't stirred from the position Kannot had left him in the week before, lifted his eyes to the bent figure making its way across the immense length of the hall.
"Mighty Miotis," Kannot began, his head bent and his eyes lowered in the correct attitude of court procedure.
"I bid you speak," Miotis said.
"My Lord, the words I have to say are for your ears alone," Kannot continued.
The warlord waved a hand, and as if by magic the court was emptied but for the guards who never left their posts.
"Speak, old one," Miotis commanded.
"I have found the cause, mighty one," Kannot said. "A surprising one, however, and perhaps an unbelievable one...."