[That settles it. Conan unhooks his jump-line from his belt, aims it at the balcony that Aya-obasan is sitting on, and uses it to swing across the pit. He gets halways through the sticks before he's forced to abandon the rope and drop roll to avoid being skewered. The roll takes him neatly under the pendulum, designed for someone considerably taller, and Conan cheerfully dusts himself off, and reaches up to get the cake.]


...



[ ... small problem.]