Killing the Queen would be one solution, but somehow I shrank from cold-blooded murder … or hotblooded murder for that matter. No. What was needed was something to throw a scare into her. A big scare.
The answer walked past me before I recognized it. Fortunately, it was moving slowly, so I turned and caught up with it in just a few steps.
Answers come in many shapes and sizes. This one was in the form of a Deveel with a small tray display hung by a strap around his neck.
“What you just said, was it true?”
The Deveel studied me.
“I said, ‘Rings. One size fits all. Once on, never off.’ “
“That’s right. Is it true?”
“Of course. Each of my rings are pre-spelled. Once you put it on, it self-adjusts so that it won’t come off, even if you want it to.”
“Great. I’ll take two.”
“. . . Because to lose a ring of such value would be tragedy indeed. Each one worth a king’s ransom….”
I rolled my eyes.
“Look,” I interrupted. “I know it’s a tradition of the Bazaar to bargain, but I’m in a hurry. How much for two? Bottom price.”
He thought for a moment and named a figure. My training came to the fore and I made a counteroffer one tenth of his.
“Hey! You said ‘no haggling,’ ” he protested. “Who do you think you are?”
Well, it was worth a try. According to Massha, I was getting a bit of a reputation at the Bazaar.
“I think I’m the Great Skeeve, since you asked.”
“. . . And the camel you rode in on,” the vendor sneered. “Everyone knows the Great Skeeve isn’t a Pervert.”
The disguise! I had forgotten about it completely.
Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133