Where Lies Adventure!

OF GODS AND MEN Prologue             Malthus, Godking of the realm of Malthanon, sat high on his throne looking down at the hooded stranger who knelt before him.   The opulent throne room shone brightly as artificial sunlight, made by Malthus to blaze eternally, flooded the hall.  Mountains of gold and silver, strewn about the entire room, reflected its radiance.  Pristine alabaster walls were set aglow by the amplified light of God; so that for any mortal man, looking into Malthus’s throne room was akin to staring at the face of the sun.  It forced the few who did enter the Godking’s chamber to do so with eyes closed and heads bowed.  As it should have been, for they were mortal men; but Malthus had ceased being a mortal man long ago.  In this city, he was king.  On this earth, he was God; and he would have his reverence. “I am told you have a mighty gift for me,” Malthus said in jest.  “Tell me, what does one such as you have to offer God?” “You have

STAND UP          The unusually pitch darkness of the comedy club suited Jim just fine.   It wasn’t a big club.   Even sitting in the back, he was only a few feet from the stage; but it was far enough from the spot light to be swallowed up by the dark.   That intimacy was one of the reasons this was Jim’s favorite venues.   He’d performed here more than any other place in New York, and it was because on stage he felt truly separate from the audience; free from the judgmental glares of the people who didn’t get his jokes, but open to the laughs of those that did.     Sulking alone in his one-size-too-small wooden chair at the two-sizes-too-small cocktail table, Jim downed half of his vodka soda in a single gulp.  On the table was another drink, fresh and waiting for him.  “Glad I planned ahead,” he thought; though he’d have a lot more than two vodka sodas before the show was over.  “I deserve it…after the day I’ve had.  Hell, after the last six months I’ve had,” his internal voi