"I know it's raining," Aahz retorted tersely. "C'mon. Let's step in here while I get my bearings."
"Here," in this case, was some sort of invisible bubble enveloping one stall which seemed to be doing an admirable job of keeping the rain out. I've used magik wards before to keep out unwelcome intruders, but it had never occurred to me to use it against the elements.
"Buying or looking, gentlemen?" the proprietor asked, sidling up to us.
I glanced at Aahz, but he was up on his tiptoes surveying the surroundings.
"Um... looking, I guess."
"Then stand in the rain!" came the snarling reply. "Force fields cost money, you know. This is a display, not a public service."
"What's a force field?" I stalled.
"Out!"
"C'mon, kid," Aahz said. "I know where we are now."
"Where?" I asked suspiciously.
"In the stall of the Bazaar's rudest dealer," my mentor explained, raising his voice. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard him with my own ears."
"What's that?" the proprietor scowled.
"Are you Garbelton?" Aahz asked, turning his attention on the proprietor.
"Well... yes."
"Your reputation precedes you, sir," my mentor intoned loftily, "and is devastatingly accurate. Come, Master Skeeve, we'll take our business elsewhere."
"But, gentlemen!" Garbelton called desperately, "if you'll only reconsider ..."
The rest was lost as Aahz gathered me up and strode off into the rain.
"What was that all about?" I demanded, breaking stride to jump a puddle. Aahz stepped squarely on it, splashing maroon mud all over my legs. Terrific. "That? Oh, just a little smokescreen to save face. It isn't good for your reputation to get thrown out of places . .. particularly for not buying."
"You mean you hadn't heard of him before? Then how did you know his name?"
"It was right there on the stall's placard," Aahz grinned. "Sure gave him a turn, though, didn't I? There's nothing a Deveel hates as much as losing a potential customer... except for giving a refund."
As much as I care for Aahz and appreciate the guidance he's given me, he can be a bit stomach turning when he starts gloating.
"We're still out in the rain," I pointed out.
"Ah, but now we know where we're going."
"We do?"
Aahz groaned, swerving to avoid a little old lady who was squatting in the middle of the thoroughfare chortling over a cauldron. As we passed, a large hairy paw emerged from the cauldron's depth, but the lady whacked it with her wooden spoon and it retreated out of sight. Aahz ignored the entire proceedings.
"Look, kid," he explained, "we're looking for two things here. First, we need to recruit some players for our team."
"How can we recruit for the team when we don't know the first thing about the game?" I interrupted.
"Second," my mentor continued tersely, "we have to find someone who can fill us in on the details of the game."
"Oh."
Properly mollified, I plodded along beside him in silence for several moments, sneaking covert glances at the displays we were passing. Then something occurred to me.
"Say ... ummmm, Aahz?"
"Yeah, kid?"
"You never answered my question. Where are we going?"
"To the Yellow Crescent Inn."
"The Yellow Crescent Inn?" I echoed, brightening slightly. "Are we going to see Gus?"
"That's right," Aahz grinned. "Gus is a heavy bettor. He should be able to put us in touch with a reliable bookie. Besides he owes us a favor. Maybe we can get him for the team."
"Good," I said, and meant it.
Gus is a gargoyle. He was part of the crew we used to stop Big Julie's army and I trust him as much as I do Aahz ....aybe a little more. Anyone who's used the expression "heart of stone" to mean insensitive has never met Gus. I assume his heart is stone, the rest of him is, but he's one of the warmest, most sympathetic beings I've ever met. He's also without a doubt the stablest being that I've met through Aahz. If Gus joined our team, I'd worry a lot less... well, a little less. Then again, he might be too sensible to get involved in this madcap scheme. And as for the bookies...
"Hey, Aahz," I blinked. "What do we need a bookie for?"
"To brief us on the game, of course."
"A bookie from Deva is going to tell us how to play the game in Jahk?"
"It's the best we can do," Aahz shrugged. "You heard Griffin. Nobody in Jahk will give us the time of day, much less help us put a team together. Cheer up, though. Bookies are very knowledgeable in spectator sports, and the ones here in Deva are the best."
I pondered this for several moments, then decided to ask the question that had been bothering me since the meeting.
"Aahz? When you issued the challenge, did you really expect to play the game?"
My mentor stopped dead in his tracks and whirled to face me.
"Do you think I'd issue a challenge without intending to fight?" he demanded. "Do you think I'm a big-mouthed bluffer who'd rather talk his way out of trouble than fight?"
"It had crossed my mind," I admitted.
"Well, you're right," he grinned, resuming his stride. "You're learning pretty fast-for a Klahd. No, I really thought they'd back down when we dropped our disguises. That and I didn't think Quigley would see through the ploy and call our hand."
"He's learning fast, too," I commented. "I'm afraid he could become a real problem."
"Not a chance," my mentor snorted. "You've got him beat cold in the magik department."
"Except I've promised not to move against him," I observed glumly.
"Don't let it get you down," Aahz insisted, draping an arm around my shoulders. "We've both made some stupid calls on this one. All we can do is play the cards we're dealt."
"Bite the bullet, eh?" I grimaced.
"That's right. Say, you really are learning quick." I still didn't know what a bullet was, but I was picking up some of Aahz's pet phrases. At least now I could give the illusion of intelligence.
The Yellow Crescent Inn was in sight now. I expected Aahz to quicken his pace ... I mean, it was raining. Instead, however, my mentor slowed slightly, peering at a mixed group of beings huddled under a tent-flap.
"Hel-lo!" he exclaimed. "What have we here?"
"It looks like a mixed group of beings huddled under a tent-flap," I observed dryly, or as dryly as I could manage while dripping wet.
"It's a crap game," Aahz declared. "I can hear the dice."
Trust a Pervect to hear the sound of dice on mud at a hundred paces.
"So?" I urged.
"So I think we've found our bookie. The tall fellow, there-at the back of the crowd. I've dealt with him before."
"Are we going to talk to him now?" I asked eagerly.
"Not ‘we,' " Aahz corrected me. "Me. You get in enough trouble in clean-cut crowds without my taking you into a crap game. You're going to wait for me in the Inn. Gus should be able to keep an eye on you."
"Oh, all right."
I was disappointed, but willing to get out of the rain.
"And don't stop to talk to anyone between here and there. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, Aahz," I nodded, starting off at a trot.
"And whatever you do, don't eat the food!"
"Are you kidding?" I laughed. "I've been here before."
The food at the Yellow Crescent Inn is dubious at best. Even after dimension hopping with Tananda and seeing what was accepted as food elsewhere, I wouldn't put anything from that place in my mouth voluntarily.
As I approached, I could see through the door that the place was empty. This surprised me. I mean, from my prior experience, there was usually a good-sized crowd in there, and I would have expected the rain to increase the number of loiterers.
Gus wasn't in sight, either; but the door was open, so I pushed my way in, relieved to be somewhere dry again. I shouldn't have been.