“I could give you a really suggestive answer,” Aahz smirked, “but the truth is, we’re looking for information. From where we sit, magik could swing the balance one way or the other in this war. What we’d like is a little inside information as to how much of a hand you expect to have in the proceedings, and if you expect any trouble with the opposition.”
“The opposition? You mean Ta-hoe’s magician?”
She threw back her head and laughed. “I guarantee you, boys, I can handle ... what’s his name ... Quigley ... with one hand. That is, of course, providing that one hand is armed with a few of my toys.”
She wiggled her fingers to illustrate her point and the ring colors glittered and danced like a malevolent rainbow.
“That’s fine for the war,” Aahz nodded, “but how about here in town? What’s to keep Ta-hoe from stealing the Trophy back before the war?”
“Oh, I’ve got a few gizmos over at the Trophy Building that’ll fry anyone who tries to heist it—especially if they try to use magik. Any one of ‘em alone is fallible, but the way I’ve got ‘em set, disarming one means setting off another. Nobody’s taking that Trophy anywhere without my clearing it.”
“Sounds good,” my mentor smiled, though I noticed it was a little forced. “As long as you have total control on the Trophy’s security, it isn’t likely anything will go wrong.”
“Not total control,” Massha corrected. “The army’s responsible for it when it’s on parade.”
“Parade?” I blurted. “What parade?”
“I know it’s dumb,” she grimaced. “That’s why I refuse any responsibility for it. In fact, I had it written into my contract. I don’t give demonstrations and I don’t do parades.”
“What parade?” Aahz repeated.
“Oh, once a day they carry the Trophy through the streets to keep the citizens fired up. You’d think they’d get tired of it, but so far everyone goes screaming bonkers every time it comes in view.”
“I assume it has a military escort,” Aahz commented.
“Are you kidding? Half the army tags along when it does the rounds. They spend more time escorting that Trophy around than they do drilling for the war.”
“I see,” my mentor murmured. “Well, I guess that tells us what we need to know. We should be on our way.”
Before he could move, Massha was at the end of the bed, clasping his leg. “What’s the hurry?” she purred. “Doesn’t Massha get a little something in return for her information?”
“As a matter of fact,” Aahz said, struggling to extract his leg, “there is something that might be valuable to you.”
“I know there is,” Massha smiled, pulling herself closer to him.
“Did you know that Quigley has summoned up a demon to help him?”
“He what?” Massha released her hold on Aahz’s leg to sit bolt upright.
“That’s right,” Aahz nodded, moving smoothly out of reach. “From what we hear, he’s holding it captive in his workshop. I can’t imagine any reason for his doing that unless he plans to use it in the war.”
“A demon, eh?” Massha muttered softly, staring absently at the far wall. “Well, well, whatdaya know. I didn’t think Quigley had it in him. I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about its powers?”
“Nothing specific,” Aahz admitted, “but I don’t think he’d summon anything weaker than he is.”
“That’s true,” Massha nodded. “Well, I should be able to handle them both.”
I recognized her tone of voice. It was the way I sounded when I’m trying to convince myself I’m up to handling one of Aahz’s plans.
“Say, Massha,” my mentor explained, as if a thought had just struck him. “I know we’re supposed to be on vacation, but maybe we can give you a hand here.”
“Would you?” she asked eagerly.
“Well, it’s really in our own best interest if we’re betting money on the war,” he smiled. “Otherwise we wouldn’t get involved. As it is, though, I think we can get the demon away from Quigley, or at least neutralize is so it won’t help him at all.”
“You’d do that for me? As a favor?” Massha blinked.
“Sure,” Aahz waved. “Just don’t be surprised at anything we do and whatever you do, don’t try to counter any of our moves. I won’t make any guarantees, but I think we can pull it off. If we do, just remember you owe us a favor someday.”
Anyone who knew Aahz would have been immediately suspicious if he offered to do anything as a favor. Fortunately, Massha didn’t know Aahz, and she seemed both solicitous and grateful as she waved goodbye to us at the door.
“Well, kid,” Aahz grinned, slapping me on the back. “Not bad for an afternoon’s work, if I do say so myself. Not only did we scout the opposition, we neutralized it. Big bad Massha won’t move against us no matter what we do, for fear of disrupting our plans against Quigley.”
As I had restored our disguises before we emerged onto the street, Aahz’s back slap didn’t arrive on my back—and it hit me with more force than I’m sure he intended. All in all, it did nothing to improve my already black mood.
“Sure, Aahz,” I growled. “Except for one little detail.”
“What’s that?”
“We can’t steal Tananda away from Quigley because he’d lose his job and we promised we wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his position. Remember?”
“Skeeve, Skeeve,” my mentor chuckled, shaking his head. “I haven’t overlooked anything. You’re the one who hasn’t thought things through.”
“Okay,” I snapped. “So I’m slow! Explain it to me.”
“Well, first of all, as I just mentioned, we don’t have to worry about Massha for a while.”
“But ...” I began, but he cut me off.
“Second of all,” he continued, “I said ‘free or neutralize.’ Now, we already know Quigley isn’t about to use Tananda in the war, so Massha’s going to owe us a favor whether we do anything or not.”
“But we’re supposed to be rescuing Tananda,” I protested, “and that means stealing the Trophy.”
“Right!” Aahz beamed. “I’m glad you finally caught on.”
“Huh?” I said intelligently.
“You haven’t caught on,” my mentor sighed. “Look, kid. The mission’s still on. We’re going to steal the Trophy.”
“But I can’t bypass Massha’s traps at the Trophy Building.”
“Of course not,” Aahz agreed. “That’s why we’re going to steal it from the parade.”
“The parade?” I blinked. “In broad daylight with half the army and the whole town watching?”
“Of course,” Aahz shrugged. “It’s the perfect situation.”
It occurred to me that either my concept of a perfect situation was way out of line, or my mentor had finally lost his mind!
“DON’T YOU see, kid? The reason it’s a perfect situation is that everyone’s sure it can’t be stolen!”
It was the same answer Aahz had given the last ten times I asked, so I gave him my usual rebuttal.
“The reason they’re sure is because it can’t be stolen. At least half the population of Veygus will be looking, Aahz, and they’ll be looking right at the Trophy we’re trying to steal! Someone’s bound to notice.”
“Not if you follow your instructions, they won’t,” my mentor winked. “Trust me.”
I wasn’t reassured. Not that I didn’t trust Aahz, mind you. His ability to get me into trouble is surpassed only by his ability to bail me out again. I just had a hunch his bailing abilities were going to be tested to their limits this time.
I was about to express this to Aahz when a roar went up from the crowd around us, ending any hope for conversation. The Trophy was just coming into view.
We had chosen our post carefully. This point was the closest the procession came to the North wall of Veygus
... and hence it was the closest the Trophy came to the gate opening onto the road to Ta-hoe.
In line with Aahz’s plan, we waved our fists in the air and jumped up and down as the Trophy passed by with its military escort. It was pointless to shout, however. The crowd was making so much noise that two voices more or less went unnoticed, and we needed to save our lung power for the heist itself. Working our way to the back of the mob also proved to be no problem. By simply not fighting back when everyone else elbowed in front of us soon moved us to our desired position.
“So far, so good,” Aahz murmured, scanning the backs in front of us to be sure we were unobserved.
“Maybe we should quit while we’re ahead,” I suggested hopefully. “Shut up and start working,” he snapped back in a tone that left no room for argument.
With an inward sigh, I closed my eyes and began making subtle changes in our disguises.
When I first learned the disguise spell, it was specifically to alter the facial features and body configurations of a being to resemble another. Later, after considerable practice, I learned to change the outward appearance of inanimate objects, providing they had once been alive. Aahz had seized this modification for a new application ... specifically to change the configuration of our clothes. By the time I was done, we not only looked like Jahks, we were dressed in the uniforms of Veygan soldiers.
“Good enough, kid,” Aahz growled, clapping me on the shoulder. “Let’s go!”
With that, he plunged headlong into the crowd, clearing a path for me to emerge on the street behind the Trophy procession. Clearing paths through moveable objects, like people, is one of the things Aahz does best.
“Make way!” he bawled. “One side! Make way!”
Close behind him, I added my bellow to the din.
“Ta-hoers!” I called. “At the South wall! Ta-hoers!”
That’s one of the things I do best—scream in panic.
For a moment, no one seemed to hear us. Then a few heads turned. A couple voices took up my call.
“Ta-hoers!” they cried. “We’re being attacked.”
The word spread through the crowd ahead of us like wildfire, such that when we reached the rear-guard of the procession, it had ground to a halt. The soldiers milled about, tangling weapons with bodies around them as they tried simultaneously to scan the crowd, rooftops, and sky.
“Ta-hoers!” I shouted, pushing in among them.
“Where?”
“The South wall.”
“Where?”
“The South wall.”
“Who?”
“Ta-hoers!”
“Where?”
This nonsense might have continued endlessly, except for the appearance of an officer on the scene. He was noticeably more intelligent than the soldiers around him ... which was to say he might have won a debate with a turnip.
“What’s going on here?” he demanded, his authoritative voice silencing the clamor in the ranks.
“Ta-hoers, sir!” I gasped, still a bit out of breath from my performance. “They’re attacking in force at the South wall!”
“The South wall?” the officer frowned. “But Ta-hoe is north of here.”
“They must have circled around the city,” I suggested hastily. “They’re attacking the South wall.”
“But Ta-hoe is north of here,” the man insisted. “Why would they attack the South wall?”
His slow-wittedness was exasperating. It was also threatening to totally disrupt our plan, which hinged on momentum.
“Are you going to stand here arguing while those yellow and blue idiots take the city?” Aahz demanded, shouldering his way past me. “If everybody gets killed because of your indecision, the Council will bust you back to the ranks.”
That possibility wasn’t very logical, so, of course, the fool took it to heart. Drawing his sword, he turned to the men around him.
“To the South wall,” he ordered. “Follow me!”
“To the South wall!”
The cry went up as the soldiers wheeled and dashed back down the street.
“To the South wall!” I echoed, moving with them.
Suddenly, a powerful hand seized my shoulder and slammed me against a wall hard enough to knock the air out of my lungs. “To the South wall!”
It was Aahz, leaning back to keep me pinned between him and the wall as he waved the soldiers past.
At last, he turned his head slightly to address me directly. “Where ya going?” he asked curiously.
“To the South wall?” I suggested in a small voice.
“Why?”
“Because the Ta-hoers ... oh!”
I felt exceptionally stupid. I also felt more than slightly squashed. Aahz is no featherweight.
“I think better when I can breathe,” I pointed out meekly. The ground slipped up and crashed into me as Aahz shifted his weight forward.
“Quit clowning around, kid,” he snarled, hauling me to my feet. “We’ve still got work to do.”
As I’ve said before, Aahz has an enviable grasp of the obvious. A dozen soldiers were still clustered around the Trophy, its litter now resting on the ground. There was also the minor detail of the crowd of onlookers still milling about arguing over this latest change in events.
“What are we going to do, Aahz?” I hissed.
“Just leave everything to me,” he retorted confidently.
“Okay,” I nodded.
“Now here’s what I want you to do ...”
“What happened to ‘leave everything to you’?” I grumbled.
“Shut up and listen,” he ordered. “I want you to change my face and uniform to match that officer we talked to.”
“But ...”
“Just do it!”
In a moment the necessary adjustments were made and my mentor was on his way, striding angrily toward the remaining soldiers.
“What are you doing there?” he bawled. “Get to the South wall with the others!”
“But ... we were ... our orders are to guard the Trophy,” the nearest soldier stammered in confusion.
“Defend it by keeping the Ta-hoers out of the city,” Aahz roared. “Now get to the South wall! Anyone who tries to stay behind I’ll personally charge with cowardice in the face of the enemy. Do you know what the punishment for that is?”
Apparently they did, even if I didn’t. Aahz’s question went unanswered as the soldiers sprinted off down the street toward the South wall.
So much for the Trophy’s military escort. I did wonder, though, what my mentor planned to do about the milling crowd.
“Citizens of Veygus,” Aahz boomed, as if in answer to my silent question. “Our fair city is under attack. Now, I know all of you will want to volunteer to help the Army in this battle, but to be effective you must be disciplined and orderly. To that end, I want all volunteers to line up here in front of me for instructions. Any who are unable to serve should return to their homes at this time, so the militia will have room to maneuver. All right, volunteers assemble!”
Within seconds, Aahz and I were left alone in the street. The crowd of potential volunteers had evaporated like water spilled on a hot griddle.
“So much for the witnesses,” my mentor grinned, winking at me.
“Where’d they all go?” I asked, craning my neck to look around.
“Home, of course,” Aahz smirked. “No one likes the draft—particularly when it affects them personally.”
I wet my finger and tested the breeze. “There’s not that much wind today,” I announced suspiciously.
For some reason, this statement seemed to annoy my mentor. He rolled his eyes and started to say something, then changed his mind.
“Look, let’s just grab the Trophy, okay?” he snarled. “That ‘South wall’ bit won’t fool the Army forever, and
I for one don’t want to be here when they get back.”
For once, we were in total agreement.
“Okay, Aahz,” I nodded. “How do we get it out of the city?”
“That’s easy,” he waved. “Remember, I’m not exactly a weakling.”
With that, he strode over to the Trophy and simply picked it up and tucked it under his arm, balancing it casually on his hip. “But Aahz ...” I began.
“I know what you’re going to say,” he admonished, holding up a hand, “and you’re right. It would be easier to steal a cart. What you’re overlooking is that a cart is personal property, while the Trophy belongs to the whole city.”
“But Aahz ...”
“That means,” he continued hastily, “that everyone assumes someone else is watching the Trophy, so we can walk away with it. If we stole a cart, the owner would spot it in a minute and raise the alarm. Now, having successfully liberated the Trophy, it would be really dumb to get arrested for stealing a cart, wouldn’t it?”
“I didn’t mean ‘how are we going to move it’!” I blurted. “I meant ‘how are we going to get it past the guards at the North gate?’”
“What’s that?” Aahz frowned.
“They aren’t going to let us just walk past them carrying that Trophy, and I can’t disguise it. It’s a metal!”
“Hmmm ... you’re right, kid,” my mentor nodded thoughtfully. “Well, maybe we can ... oh swell!”
“What is it?” I asked fearfully.
“The soldiers are coming back,” he announced, cocking his head to listen. Aahz has exceptionally sharp hearing. “Oh well, we’re just going to have to do this the fast way. Break out the D-Hopper.”
“The what?” I blinked.
“The D-Hopper!” he insisted. “We’ll just take this back to Klah with us.”
I hurriedly fumbled the D-Hopper out of my pouch and passed it to Aahz for setting.
“What about Tananda?”
“We’ll use this gizmo to bring the Trophy back later and spring her,” Aahz mumbled. “I hadn’t figured on using this just now. There’s always a possibility that ... oh well. Hang on, kid. Here we go.”
I crowded close to him and waited as he hit the button to activate the Hopper. Nothing happened.
MA03 Myth Directions Page 9