Saturday, July 12, 2003

Scanderbeg: AHOY THERE YOZHIK! Koshchey! You, old man! What's news in Tashkent!

Ali Qushji:Well, actually, I've...

Scanderbeg: When's the kvas truck?

Ali: Scanderbeg, count your money a moment while I explain to our guest... As I was saying, most of us in these parts are passing through. Scanderbeg, Albania's greatest general, is seeking allies and funds here, before returning to the mountains of his country, while I have called from my home town to Istanbul to serve as court astronomer to Sultan Mehmed II. Of course, we could move along more quickly if Muscovy weren't such an exciting place to tarry these days. As a matter of fact, it's...

Scanderbeg: KVAS TRUCK!!!! [bells tinkling in the distance]

[Ali Qushji, Scanderbeg, and the kvas guy hunker down on their haunches around a fire, puffing on pipes and quaffing kvas, and swapping stories as night falls.]