Thieves World 01 – Thieves World by Asprin, Robert

‘The streets are my home,’ he told her. ‘They birthed me and gave me suck. I

know quite a bit, yes.’

He could hardly believe his luck, sitting here in a decent tavern out of the

Maze with this genuinely beautiful Lirain who was … by the Thousand Eyes and

by Eshi, too, could it be? – one of the concubines the Prince-Governor had

brought over from Ranke! And she’s obviously fascinated with me, Hanse thought.

He acted as if he sat here in the Golden Oasis every afternoon with such as she.

What a coincidence, what great good fortune to have run into her in the bazaar

that way! Run into her indeed! She had been hurrying and he’d been turning,

glancing back at one of those child-affrighters of Jubal’s, and they had slammed

together and had to cling to each other to avoid falling. She had been so

apologetic and in seeming need to make amends and – here they were, Hanse and a

palace conky unguarded or watched, and a beauty at that – and wearing enough to

support him for a year. He strove to be oh so cool,

‘You certainly do like my gourds, don’t you.’

‘Wha-‘

‘Oh, don’t dissemble. I’m not mad. Really, Hanse. If I didn’t want ’em looked at

I’d cover ’em in high-necked homespun.’

‘Uh … Lirain, I’ve seen one other pearl-sewn halter of silk in my life, and it

didn’t have those swirls of gold thread, or so many pearls. I wasn’t this close,

either.’ Damn, he thought. Should have complimented her, not let her know my

interest is greed for the container!

‘Oh! Here I am, one of seven women for one man and bored, and I thought you were