"Whatdevils?"

"Theassassins that were following us."

"Ikeep telling you, kid. Those weren't Deveels, those were Imps."

"What'sthe difference?"

"Itold you before. Imps are from Imper, and Deveels…."

"…are from Deva," I finished for him. "But what does thatmean? I mean, are their powers different or something?"

"You'dbetter believe it. kid." Aahz snorted. "Deveels are some ofthe meanest characters you'd ever not want to tangle with. They'resome of the most feared and respected characters in the dimensions."

''Are they warriors? Mercenaries?"

Aahzshook his head.

"Worse!"he answered. "They're merchants."

"Merchants?"

"Don'tsneer, kid. Maybe merchants is too sedate a phrase to describe them.Traders Supreme is more like it."

"Tellme more, Aahz."

"Well,history was never my forte, but as near as I can tell, at one timethe entire dimension Deva faced economic ruin. The lands suffered aplague that affected the elements. Fish could not live in its oceans,plants could not grow in the soil. Those plants that did grow weretwisted and changed and poisoned the animals. The dimension was nolonger able to support the life of its citizenry."

Ilay, staring up at the stars as Aahz continued his tale.

"Dimensiontravel, once a frivolous pastime, now became the key to survival.Many left Deva, migrating singly or in groups to other dimensions.Their tales of their barren, miserable homeland served as a prototypefor many religious groups' concept of an after-world for evil souls.

"Theones who stayed, however, decided to use the power of dimensiontravel in a different way. They established themselves as traders,traveling the dimensions buying and selling wonders. What is commonin one dimension is frequently rare in another. As the practice grew,they became rich and powerful… also the shrewdest hagglers inall the dimensions. Their techniquesfor driving a hard bargain have been passed down from generation togeneration and polished until now they are without equal. They arescattered through the dimensions, returning to Deva only occasionallyto visit the Bazaar."

"TheBazaar?" I prompted.

"Noone can travel extensively in all the dimensions in one lifetime. TheBazaar on Deva is the place the Deveels meet to trade with eachother. An off-dimension visitor there will be sore pressed to notlose over much, much less hold his own. It's said if you make a dealwith a Deveel, you'd be wise to count your fingers afterward…then your arms and legs, then your relatives…."

"Iget the picture. Now how about the Imps?"

"TheImps." Aahz said the word as if it tasted bad. "The Impsare inferior to the Deveels in every way."

"Howso?"

"They'recheap imitations. Their dimension, Imper, lies close to Deva, and theDeveels bargain with them so often they're almost bankrupt from theirresistible 'fair deals.' To hold their own, they've taken to apingthe Deveels, attempting to peddle wonders through the dimensions. Tothe uneducated, they may seem clever and powerful; in fact,occasionally they try to pass themselves off as Deveels. Compared tothe masters, however, they're bungling incompetents."

Hetrailed off into silence. I pondered his words, and they promptedanother question.

"Say,Aahz?"

"Hmm?Yeah, kid?"

"Whatdimension do you come from?"

"Perv."

"Doesthat make you a Pervert?"

"No.That makes me a Pervect. Now shut up!"

Iassumed he wanted me to go to sleep, and maintained silence forseveral minutes. There was just one more question I had to ask,however, if I was going to get any sleep at all.

"Aahz?"

"Keepit down, kid."

"Whatdimension is this?"

"Hmmm?This is Klah, kid. Now for the last time, shut up."

"Whatdoes that make me, Aahz?"

Therewas no answer.

"Aahz?"

Irolled over to look at him. He was staring out into the darkness andlistening intently.

"Whatis it?"

"Ithink we've got company, kid."

Asif in response to his words, I felt a tremor in the wards assomething came through.

Ibounded to my feet as two figures appeared at the edge of thefirelight. The light was dimming, but was sufficient to reveal thefact that both figures were wearing the hooded cloaks of assassins,and the gold side was out!

THEfour of us stood in frozen tableau for several minutes studying eachother. My mind was racing, but could not focus on the definite courseof action. I decided to follow Aahz's lead and simply stood regardingthe two figures cooly, trying to ignore the two cross-bows leveledsteadily on us.

Finally,one of our visitors broke the silence.

"Well,Throckwoddle? Aren't you going to invite your friends to sit down?"

Surprisingly,this was addressed to me!

"Ummm…."I said.

"Yes,Throckwoddle," Aahz drawled, turning to me. "And aren't yougoing to introduce me to your colleagues?"

"Urn…."I repeated.

"Perhapshe doesn't remember us," the second figure injectedsarcastically.

"Nonsense,"responded the first with equal sarcasm. "His two oldest friends?Brockhurst and Higgens? How could he possibly not remember our names?Just because he forgot to share the loot doesn't mean he'd forgetour names. Be fair, Higgens."

"Frankly,Brockhurst," responded the other. "I'd rather he rememberedthe loot and forgot our names."

Theirwords were stuffy and casual, but the cross-bows never wavered.

Iwas beginning to get the picture. Apparently these were the two ImpsAahz had assured me couldn't overtake us. Fortunately, it seemed theythought I was the Imp who had killed Garkin… at least Ithought it was fortunate.

"Gentlemen,"Aahz exclaimed, stepping forward. "Let me say what a greatpleasure it is to…."

Hestopped as Brockhurst's crossbow leapt to his shoulder in one smoothmove.

"I'mnot sure who you are," he intoned. "But I'd advise you tostay out of this. This is a private matter between the three of us."

"Brockhurst,"interrupted Higgens. "It occurs to me we may be being a bithasty in our actions."

"Thankyou, Higgens," I said, greatly relieved.

"Nowthat we've established contact," he continued, favoring me withan icy glare, "I feel we should perhaps secure our travelingcompanion before we continue this… discussion."

"Isuppose you're right, Higgens," Brockhurst admitted grudgingly."Be a good fellow and fetch him along while I watch these two."

"Ifeel that would be ill-advised on two counts. First, I refuse toapproach that beast alone, and second, that would leave you alonefacing two to one odds, if you get my point."

"Quite.Well, what do you suggest?"

"Thatwe both fetch our traveling companion and return without delay."

"Andwhat is to keep these two from making a hasty departure?"

"Thefact that we'll be watching them from somewhere in the darkness withcross-bows. I believe that should be sufficient to discourage themfrom making… ah… any movements which might be subjectto misinterpretation."

"Verywell," Brockhurst yielded grudgingly. "Throckwoddle, Iwould strongly suggest you not attempt to avoid us further. While Idon't believe we could be any more upset with you than we alreadyare, that might actually succeed in provoking us further."

Withthat, the two figures faded back into darkness.

"Whatare we going to do, Aahz?" I whispered frantically.

Heseemed not to hear me.

"Imps!"he chortled, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "What astroke of luck!"

"Aahz!They're going to kill me!"