“Under what conditions am I to leave?”
“If you will vacate my tower at once,” the Duca said with a flush of eagerness which he could not conceal, “I will permit Naida and one of my caciques to escort you back to the Valley of the Geyser. I will also give you directions by which you may travel in safety from there to the outer world.”
Kirby, wanting more details, made himself seem thoughtful.
“And what will happen to me, and to the girls, if I decline?”
Encouraged, the Duca made an impressive gesture.
“You will be left in the tower to die of starvation. Mine is not a complicated offer. It should require no complicated decision. What is your answer?”
Kirby dropped his carefully assumed mask of thought.
“My answer is this,” he lashed out. “I will not leave! The tower is ours, and we will hold it until you have accepted Naida’s peace terms on your priestly oath!”
“But if you stay in the tower you will starve!” thundered the Duca.
“No, we won’t starve! We won’t starve because we eat the food of Ducas!”