Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin

I was about to try to dissuade him, but he started across the street with a purposeful stride that left me standing alone.

I hurried to catch up with him, leaving the unicorn behind in my haste. Even so, I was unable to overtake him before he had entered the shop.

I plunged after him, fearing the worst. I needn’t have worried. Except for the proprietor, the shop was empty. There was no sign of the couple anywhere.

Chapter Twelve:

“First impressions are of major importance in business matters.”

-J. PlERPONTFlNCH

“MAY I help you, gentlemen?”

The proprietor’s rich robes did not successfully hide his thinness. I am not particularly muscular … as Skeeve, that is … but I had the impression that if I struck this man, he wouldn’t bruise, he’d shatter. I mean, I’ve seen skinny men before, but he seemed to be a skeleton with a too-small skin stretched over the bones.

“We’d like to talk with Abdul.” Aahz said loftily.

“I am he, and he is I,” recited the proprietor. “You see before you Abdul, a mere shadow of a man, pushed to the brink of starvation by his clever customers.”

“You seem to be doing all right for yourself,” I murmured, looking about me.

The shop was well stocked, and even my untraveled eye could readily detect the undeniable signs of wealth about. The rugs were delicately woven in soft fabrics unfamiliar to me, and gold and silver shone from the depths of their designs. Obviously these rugs were intended for the wealthy, and it seemed doubtful their current owner would be suffering from a lack of comfort.