Myth conceptions by Robert Asprin

For a moment the man’s attention was occupied controlling his mount. Flightless or not, the bird was trying to take to the air.

Apparently my disguise had touched a primal chord in the bird’s mind that went back prior to its flightless ancestry.

I waited, head cocked curiously, while the man fought the bird to a fidgety standstill. Finally, he turned his attention to me for a moment. Then he averted his eyes and stared carefully at the sky.

“I come seeking the one known as Skeeve the magician,” he told me.

Now it was my turn to jump. To the best of my knowledge, no one knew who I was and what I was, much less where I was, except for Aahz and me.

“That’s me!” I blurted out, forgetting myself and using my real voice.

The man turned horrified eyes on me, and I remembered my appearance.

“That’s me master!” I amended hastily. “You wait… I fetch.”

I turned and scuttled hastily into the inn. Aahz was waiting inside.

“What is it?” he demanded.

“He’s … he wants to talk to Skeeve … to me!” I babbled nervously.

“So?” he asked pointedly. “What are you doing in here? Go outside and talk to the man.”

“Looking like this?”

Aahz rolled his eyes at the ceiling in exasperation.

“Who cares what you look like?” he barked. “C’mon, kid. The man’s a total stranger!”

“I care!” I declared, drawing myself up haughtily. “The man asked for Skeeve the magician, and I think-“

“He what?” Aahz interrupted.

“He asked for Skeeve the magician,” I repeated, covertly studying the figure waiting outside.

“He looks like a soldier to me,” I supplied.