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dinner.
"Man," said Arrowsmith. "I gotta get me a Master Thief for my old age."
"Infamous is available," said Misty casually, lying on the pile of silk quilts and pillows. "His
boyfriend has forsaken him."
"Well, thank you for sharing that with the world," said Infamous sharply.
"Oh, he was a hound and you know it," said Misty. "If he had not left when he did I was going to
do him an injury. He had no right to treat you the way he did."
"Well, I thank you for your concern over my feelings, but there are things in this world I would
rather think of than Betris."
"Quite right," said Misty. He held up his goblet. "Good host, my glass is empty."
"Oh, hey, you people been sharing things with me all night, let me get something to pass
around," said Arrowsmith.
"As long as we can drink it," said Misty.
Arrowsmith went up to the loft to fetch a bottle of ouzo he had been saving, then grabbed his
guitar as well and came back downstairs. He went into Infamous' room and passed him the
bottle.
"Ouzo!" he said. "Blood of the Gods."
Infamous opened the bottle and sniffed. "Smells good. Let's give it to the Elf. That way, if he
dies, it's no real loss."
A Strange Place in Time - 65
Blackbird thrust his head into the bedroom just then. "Monshikka and I are both on our ways to
our respective beds. Is this little party going to go all night?"
"I certainly hope so," said Misty.
"Well, be quiet."
"Of course," said Misty. "Goodnight."
Blackbird left the room, and the moment he did everyone forgot his request for quiet. The three
all positioned themselves on the bed and set about the serious task of consuming ouzo. They
were almost at the end of the bottle when Arrowsmith finally decided to start asking some
questions.
"Do you guys mind if I ask you a few things? Even if they seem sort of obvious to you?"
Infamous was sitting with one arm linked around Misty's neck, his wine goblet tilted
dangerously. "Sure," he said happily. "Anything you want."
For a long time, Arrowsmith paused, feeling a little worried despite the wine and ouzo. As far as
he could tell, this was a medieval society, and asking strange questions might just be a dandy
excuse to have a public hanging. Misty and Infamous blinked with interest at Arrowsmith.
Infamous' hand began idly working its way down Misty's chest, and the blond slapped it away.
"Well?" Infamous said. "You seemed awfully worked up about something. I should like to tell
you that you've no need to be frightened."
Arrowsmith nodded. "I don't know anything about the ways of the people here, and I've only got
the history of my world to go on. I guess I keep expecting I will do something to get my head cut
off. Also I should mention... there are no Elves where I come from."
"Well, you can bring your people this one," said Misty, thrusting Infamous away. "I think he has
designs on my virtue."
"I wasn't aware you had any virtue," said Infamous.
"I'll protect you," said Arrowsmith. "He's only little, how much trouble can he be?"
Infamous flopped liquidly onto Arrowsmith's lap and gazed up at him, blinking those black eyes.
He grinned. "I'm harmless!" he said.
Arrowsmith reached down and pulled the angle-bladed dagger out of Infamous' belt. "So what is
this thing? The little weirdo in town has one just like it."
"He's no weirdo, he's a relative of mine," said Infamous. "And that's a sacred weapon. Give it
back or I'll stick it up your nose."
A Strange Place in Time - 66
"Again with the nose," said Misty, rubbing the end of his own.
Arrowsmith set the dagger down on a table near the bed. "And the star on your cloak?"
"That is a sacred symbol of Marakim," Infamous raised his head and squinted at Arrowsmith's
right hand. "Hey! How come you have the symbol of the Wizard of the White Palace on your
hand?"
"I had a dream about it. I didn't know it was significant."
"Don't tell Blackbird that," said Misty.  Don't tell him he looks like a girl, either. He'll flatten
you."
"That tiny little thing? He looks like he'd break if I sneezed on him."
"He would," said Infamous. "But never mess with a worshipper of Hercandoloff. They can do
ugly, ugly things to a person."
Misty burped quietly. "Turn you into a fruit bat, he will."
"So he's a wizard," said Arrowsmith. He didn't actually believe Blackbird was a wizard, but he
was certain the locals did.
"Yes and no," said Infamous. "There are no true wizards on Dargoth anymore, not since the time
of the Crystal Mages. Their magic comes from the Wells of Magic, and the natural streams of
green energy that flow through the land. What kind of magic a person can use depends on what
sort they devote their life to. The Moonhound's magic is all healing and agricultural magic,
because that is what her Goddess' concerns are. Hercandoloff is a god of knowledge. He can
wield offensive as well as defensive magics, and some of his spells are pretty ugly. Hercandoloff
was also the only mage to walk this land with the ability to loan out some of his magic to certain
followers. That is probably how he reached his status as a god. A living god, I should add. He
reincarnates every once in a while just to make sure we are behaving ourselves. The Moonhound
can fix broken bones, stuff like that. But Blackbird can turn you into a bug and step on you."
"What about you? You're a high priest. Can you use magic?" Arrowsmith found all this talk
about magic amusing. It just seemed to prove to him how backward these people were. Warm
and friendly, but primitive.
Infamous hiccupped, then waved the empty ouzo bottle. "Sure! I can make wine disappear."
"Besides that."
"Yes, actually. But Marakim only allows spells that help us be good thieves. I can't turn anybody
into a bug or heal a wound."
A Strange Place in Time - 67
"No," said Misty. "He can just do boring stuff, like see in the dark and run through walls."
Infamous grinned. "Among other stuff. Misty, be a love and get another bottle of wine, will
you?"
"Wait a minute," said Arrowsmith. In the words of dear old Uncle Smash, his 'bullshit tank was
running over.' "You can run through walls?"
Infamous blinked up at him, obviously catching the tone in Arrowsmith's voice. "Yes. Of
course."
"Right now?"
The Master Thief sat up, and Arrowsmith could tell the little man's hackles were up. "Yes. Right
now. Are you implying something?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]