stranger, however, had unmarked hands and forearms, so our thief relaxed.
The black-haired stranger seated himself on a log across the fire pit from where Althalus lounged and looked penetratingly at the thief. It might have been some trick of the light, but the dancing flames of the fire were reflected in the stranger’s eyes, and that made Althalus just a bit edgy. It’s not every day that a man comes across somebody whose eyes are on fire. “I see that I’ve finally found you,” the stranger said in a peculiarly accented voice. It appeared that this man was not one to beat about the bush.
“You’ve been looking for me?” Althalus said as calmly as possible. The fellow
was
heavily armed, and as far as Althalus knew, there was still a price on his head back in Arum. He carefully shifted his own sword around on his belt so that the hilt was closer to his hand.
“For quite some time now,” the stranger replied. “I picked up your trail in Deika. Men down there are still talking about how fast you can run when dogs are chasing you. Then I tracked you to Kanthon in Treborea and on to Maghu in Perquaine. Druigor’s still trying to figure out why you just dumped all his money on the floor and didn’t steal any of it.”
Althalus winced.
“You didn’t know that it was money, did you?” the stranger asked shrewdly. “Anyway, I followed you from Maghu up into Arum, and there’s a fat man up there who’s looking for you even harder than I am.”
“I sort of doubt that,” Althalus said. “Gosti wants people to think he’s rich, and I’m probably the only man around who knows that there’s nothing in his strong room but copper pennies.”
The stranger laughed. “I thought there was something that didn’t quite ring true about the way he kept going on about how you’d robbed him.”
“And just why have you spent all this time looking for me?” Althalus asked, getting to the point. “Your clothing says Nekweros, and I haven’t been there in years, so I’m sure I haven’t stolen anything from you recently.”
“Set your mind at rest Althalus, and slide your sword back around your belt so the hilt doesn’t keep poking you in the ribs. I haven’t come here to take your head back to Gosti. Would you be at all interested in a business proposition?”
“That depends.”
“My name’s Ghend, and I need a good thief who knows his way around. Are you at all familiar with the land of the Kagwhers?”
“I’ve been there a few times,” Althalus replied cautiously. “I don’t care very much for the Kagwhers. They have this habit of assuming that everyone who comes along is there to sneak into their gold mines and just help himself. What is it that you want me to steal for you? You look like the kind of man who can take care of things like that for himself. Why would you want to pay somebody else to do it for you?”
“You’re not the only one with a price on his head, Althalus,” Ghend replied with a pained expression. “I’m sure I wouldn’t care much for the reception I’d get if I happened to venture into Kagwher just now. Anyway, there’s someone in Nekweros who’s holding some obligations over my head, and he’s not the sort I’d want to disappoint. There’s something he really wants over in Kagwher, and he’s told me to go there and get it for him. That puts me in a very tight spot, you understand. You’d be in the same sort of situation if someone told you to go get something for him and it just happened to be in Arum, wouldn’t you?”
“I can see your problem, yes. I should warn you that I don’t work cheap, though.”
“I didn’t expect you to, Althalus. This thing my friend in Nekweros wants is quite large and very heavy, and I’m prepared to pay you its weight in gold if you’ll steal it for me.”
“You just managed to get my undivided attention, Ghend.”
“Are you really as good a thief as everyone says you are?” Ghend’s glowing eyes seemed to burn
The black-haired stranger seated himself on a log across the fire pit from where Althalus lounged and looked penetratingly at the thief. It might have been some trick of the light, but the dancing flames of the fire were reflected in the stranger’s eyes, and that made Althalus just a bit edgy. It’s not every day that a man comes across somebody whose eyes are on fire. “I see that I’ve finally found you,” the stranger said in a peculiarly accented voice. It appeared that this man was not one to beat about the bush.
“You’ve been looking for me?” Althalus said as calmly as possible. The fellow
was
heavily armed, and as far as Althalus knew, there was still a price on his head back in Arum. He carefully shifted his own sword around on his belt so that the hilt was closer to his hand.
“For quite some time now,” the stranger replied. “I picked up your trail in Deika. Men down there are still talking about how fast you can run when dogs are chasing you. Then I tracked you to Kanthon in Treborea and on to Maghu in Perquaine. Druigor’s still trying to figure out why you just dumped all his money on the floor and didn’t steal any of it.”
Althalus winced.
“You didn’t know that it was money, did you?” the stranger asked shrewdly. “Anyway, I followed you from Maghu up into Arum, and there’s a fat man up there who’s looking for you even harder than I am.”
“I sort of doubt that,” Althalus said. “Gosti wants people to think he’s rich, and I’m probably the only man around who knows that there’s nothing in his strong room but copper pennies.”
The stranger laughed. “I thought there was something that didn’t quite ring true about the way he kept going on about how you’d robbed him.”
“And just why have you spent all this time looking for me?” Althalus asked, getting to the point. “Your clothing says Nekweros, and I haven’t been there in years, so I’m sure I haven’t stolen anything from you recently.”
“Set your mind at rest Althalus, and slide your sword back around your belt so the hilt doesn’t keep poking you in the ribs. I haven’t come here to take your head back to Gosti. Would you be at all interested in a business proposition?”
“That depends.”
“My name’s Ghend, and I need a good thief who knows his way around. Are you at all familiar with the land of the Kagwhers?”
“I’ve been there a few times,” Althalus replied cautiously. “I don’t care very much for the Kagwhers. They have this habit of assuming that everyone who comes along is there to sneak into their gold mines and just help himself. What is it that you want me to steal for you? You look like the kind of man who can take care of things like that for himself. Why would you want to pay somebody else to do it for you?”
“You’re not the only one with a price on his head, Althalus,” Ghend replied with a pained expression. “I’m sure I wouldn’t care much for the reception I’d get if I happened to venture into Kagwher just now. Anyway, there’s someone in Nekweros who’s holding some obligations over my head, and he’s not the sort I’d want to disappoint. There’s something he really wants over in Kagwher, and he’s told me to go there and get it for him. That puts me in a very tight spot, you understand. You’d be in the same sort of situation if someone told you to go get something for him and it just happened to be in Arum, wouldn’t you?”
“I can see your problem, yes. I should warn you that I don’t work cheap, though.”
“I didn’t expect you to, Althalus. This thing my friend in Nekweros wants is quite large and very heavy, and I’m prepared to pay you its weight in gold if you’ll steal it for me.”
“You just managed to get my undivided attention, Ghend.”
“Are you really as good a thief as everyone says you are?” Ghend’s glowing eyes seemed to burn
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