Still, the point remained that the Vulgar Unicorn sorely needed One-Thumb’s
presence and that his return was long overdue. In part, that was why Hakiem was
spending so much time here of late: hope of acquiring the story of One-Thumb’s
return and possibly the story of his absence. That alone Would be enough to keep
the storyteller haunting the tavern, but the stories he gained during his wait
were a prize in themselves. Hakiem was a compulsive collector of stories, from
habit as well as by profession, and many stories had their beginnings, middles,
or ends within these walls. He collected them all, though he knew that most of
them could not be repeated, for he knew the value of a story is in its merit,
not in its saleability.
SPIDERS OF THE PURPLE MAGE
by Philip Jose Farmer
1
This was the week of the great rat hunt in Sanctuary.
The next week, all the cats that could be caught were killed and degutted.
The third week, all dogs were run down and disembowelled.
Masha zil-Ineel was one of the very few people in the city who didn’t take part
in the rat hunt. She just couldn’t believe that any rat, no matter how big, and
there were some huge ones in Sanctuary, could swallow a jewel so large.
But when a rumour spread that someone had seen a cat eat a dead rat and that the
cat had acted strangely afterwards, she thought it wise to pretend to chase
cats. If she hadn’t, people might wonder why not. They might think that she knew
something they didn’t. And then she might be the one run down.
Unlike the animals, however, she’d be tortured until she told where the jewel