"I told you he wouldn't be much trouble," Grend remarked.

Two games later, the beer was gone, the shadows were lengtheningand Rael was stirring.

"See you next month?"

"Yeah."

"You bring any plaster of Paris?"

"Yes, I did."

"Come on, then. I know a good place pretty far from here. Wedon't want people beating about _these_ bushes. Let's go make yousome money."

"To buy beer?" Rael asked, looking out from under his wing.

"Next month," Grend said.

"You ride?"

"I don't think you could carry both of us," said Grend, "and I'mnot sure I'd want to right now if you could."

"Bye-bye then," Rael shrieked, and he leaped into the air,crashing into branches and tree trunks, finally breaking though theoverhead cover and vanishing.

"There goes a really decent guy," said Grend. "He sees everythingand he never forgets. Knows how everything works—in the woods, in theair—even in the water. Generous, too, whenever he has anything."

"Hm," Martin observed.

"Let's make tracks," Grend said.

"Pawn to N6? Really?" Tlingel said. "All right. The Bishop'sPawn will just knock off the Pawn."

Tlingel's eyes narrowed as Martin moved the Knight to Q5.

"At least this is an interesting game," the unicorn remarked."Pawn takes Knight."

Martin moved the Rook.

"Check."

"Yes, it is. This next one is going to be a three-flagon move.Kindly bring me the first."

Martin thought back as he watched Tlingel drink and ponder. Healmost felt guilty for hitting it with a powerhouse like the sasquatchbehind its back. He was convinced now that the unicorn was going tolose. In every variation of this game that he'd played with Blackagainst Grend, he'd been beaten. Tlingel was very good, but thesasquatch was a wizard with not much else to do but mental chess. Itwas unfair. But it was not a matter of personal honor, he kepttelling himself. He was playing to protect his species against asupernatural force which might well be able to precipitate World WarIII by some arcane mind manipulation or magically induced computerfoul-up. He didn't dare give the creature a break.

"Flagon number two, please."

He brought it another. He studied it as it studied the board. Itwas beautiful, he realized for the first time. It was the loveliestliving thing he had ever seen. Now that the pressure was on the vergeof evaporating and he could regard it without the overlay of fearwhich had always been there in the past, he could pause to admire it.If something _had_ to succeed the human race, he could think of worsechoices... .

"Number three now."

"Coming up."

Tlingel drained it and moved the King to B1.

Martin leaned forward immediately and pushed the Rook to R3.

Tlingel looked up, stared at him.

"Not bad."

Martin wanted to squirm. He was struck by the nobility of thecreature. He wanted so badly to play and beat the unicorn on his own,fairly. Not this way.

Tlingel looked back at the board, then almost carelessly moved theKnight to K4.

"Go ahead. Or will it take you another month?"

Martin growled softly, advanced the Rook and captured the Knight.

"Of course."

Tlingel captured the Rook with the Pawn. This was not the waythat the last variation with Grend had run. Still ...

He moved his Rook to KB3. As he did, the wind seemed to commencea peculiar shrieking above, amid, the ruined buildings.

"Check," he announced.

The hell with it! he decided. I'm good enough to manage my ownend game. Let's play this out.

He watched and waited and finally saw Tlingel move the King to N1.

He moved his Bishop to R6. Tlingel moved the Queen to K2. Theshrieking came again, sounding nearer now. Martin took the Pawn withthe Bishop.

The unicorn's head came up and it seemed to listen for a moment.Then Tlingel lowered it and captured the Bishop with the King.

Martin moved his Rook to KN3.

"Check."

Tlingel returned the King to B1.

Martin moved the Rook to KB3.

"Check."

Tlingel pushed the King to N2.

Martin moved the Rook back to KN3.

"Check."

Tlingel returned the King to B1, looked up and stared at him,showing teeth.

"Looks as if we've got a drawn game," the unicorn stated. "Carefor another one?"

"Yes, but not for the fate of humanity."

"Forget it. I'd given up on that long ago. I decided that Iwouldn't care to live here after all. I'm a little morediscriminating than that."

"Except for this bar." Tlingel turned away as another shrieksounded just beyond the door, followed by strange voices. "What isthat?"

"I don't know," Martin answered, rising.

The doors opened and a golden griffin entered.

"Martin!" it cried. "Beer! Beer!"

"Uh—Tlingel, this is Rael, and, and—"

Three more griffins followed it in. Then came Grend, and threeothers of his own kind.

"—and that one's Grend," Martin said lamely. "I don't know theothers."

"They all halted when they beheld the unicorn.

"Tlingel," one of the sasquatches said, "I thought you were stillin the morning land."

"I still am, in a way. Martin, how is it that you are acquaintedwith my former countrymen?"

"Well—uh—Grend here is my chess coach."

"Aha! I begin to understand."

"I am not sure that you really do. But let me get everyone adrink first."

Martin turned on the piano and set everyone up.

"How did you find this place?" he asked Grend as he was doing it."And how did you get here?"

"Well ..." Grend looked embarrassed. "Rael followed you back."

"Followed a jet?"

"Griffins are supernaturally fast."

"Oh."

"Anyway, he told his relatives and some of my folks about it.When we saw that the griffins were determined to visit you, we decidedthat we had better come along to keep them out of trouble. Theybrought us."

"I—see. Interesting... ."

"No wonder you played like a unicorn, that one game with all thevariations."

"Uh—yes."

Martin turned away, moved to the end of the bar.

"Welcome, all of you", he said. "I have a small announcement.Tlingel, a while back you had a number of observations concerningpossible ecological and urban disasters and lesser dangers. Also,some ideas as to possible safeguards against some of them."

"I recall," said the unicorn.

"I passed them along to a friend of mine in Washington who used tobe a member of my old chess club. I told him that the work was notentirely my own."

"I should hope so."

"He has since suggested that I turn whatever group was involvedinto a think tank. He will then see about paying something for itsefforts."

"I didn't come here to save the world," Tlingel said.

"No, but you've been very helpful. And Grend tells me that thegriffins, even if their vocabulary is a bit limited, know almost allthat there is to know about ecology."

"That is probably true."

"Since they have inherited a part of the Earth, it would be totheir benefit as well to help preserve the place. Inasmuch as thismany of us are already here, I can save myself some travel and suggestright now that we find a meeting place—say here, once a month—and thatyou let me have your unique viewpoints. You must know more about howspecies become extinct than anyone else in the business."

"Of course," said Grend, waving his mug, "but we really should askthe yeti, also. I'll do it, if you like. Is that stuff coming out ofthe big box music?"

"Yes."

"I like it. If we do this think-tank, you'll make enough to keepthis place going?"

"I'll buy the whole town."

Grend conversed in quick gutturals with the griffins, who shriekedback at him.

"You've got a think tank," he said, "and they want more beer."