"Well,"he began, "Perv is a self-sufficient, stand-offish dimension. Wemay not have the best fighters, but they're close enough that otherdimension travelers give them lots of room. Technology and magikexist side by side and are intertwined with each other. All in all itmakes a pretty powerful little package."

"Butwhy should anyone be afraid of that?"

"AsI said, Perv has a lot going for it. One of the side effects ofsuccess is an abundance of hangers-on. There was a time when we wereclose to being swamped with refugees and immigrants from otherdimensions. When they got to be too much of a nuisance, we put a stopto it."

"How?"I pushed.

"First,we took the non-contributing outsiders and ran 'em out. Then, for anadded measure of insurance, we encouraged the circulation of rumorsof certain antisocial attitudes of Pervects toward those from otherdimensions."

"Whatkind of rumors?"

"Oh,the usual. That we eat our enemies, torture folks for amusement andhave sexual practices that are considered dubious by any dimension'sstandards. Folks aren't sure how much is truth and how much isexaggeration, but they're none too eager to find out firsthand."

"Howmuch of it is true, Aahz?" I asked propping myself up on oneelbow.

Hegrinned evilly at me.

"Enoughto keep 'em honest."

Iwas going to ask what it took to be considered a contributingimmigrant, but decided to let it pass for a while.

"AH!What a shining example of civilization!" chortled Aahzexuberantly as he peered about him, delighted as a child on his firstouting.

Wewere sauntering casually down one of the lesser used streets ofTwixt. Garbage and beggars were strewn casually about while beadyrodent eyes, human and inhuman, studied us from the darkened doorsand windows. It was a cluster of buildings crouched around an armyoutpost which was manned more from habit than necessity. The soldierswe occasionally encountered had degenerated enough from the crisprecruiting poster model that it was frequently difficult to tellwhich seemed more menacing and unsavory, the guards or the obviouslycriminal types they were watching.

"Ifyou ask me, it looks more like mankind at its worst!" I mumbleddarkly.

"That'swhat I said, a shining example of civilization!"

Therewasn't much I could say to that, not feeling like getting baited intoanother one of Aahz's philosophical lectures.

"Aahz,is it my imagination or are people staring at us?"

"Relax,kid. In a town like this the citizens will always instinctively sizeup a stranger. They're trying to guess if we're victims orvictimizers. Our job is to make sure they think we're in the secondcategory."

Toillustrate his point he suddenly whirled and crouched like a cat,glaring back down the street with a hand on his sword hilt.

Therewas sudden movement at the windows and doorways as roughly a dozenhalf-seen forms melted back into the darkness.

Onefigure didn't move. A trollop leaning on a windowsill, her armsfolded to display her ill-covered breasts, smiled invitingly at him.He smiled and waved. She ran an insolent tongue tip slowly around herlip and winked broadly.

"Um…Aahz?"

"Yeah,kid?" he replied, without taking his eyes from the girl.

"Ihate to interrupt, but you're supposed to be a doddering old man,remember?"

Aahzwas still disguised as Garkin, a fact which seemed to havemomentarily slipped his mind.

"Hmm?Oh, yeah. I guess you're right, kid. It doesn't seem to botheranybody else though. Maybe they're used to feisty old men in thistown."

"Well,could you at least stop going for your sword? That's supposed to beour surprise weapon."

Aahzwas wearing the assassin's cloak now, which he quickly pulled forwardagain to hide his sword.

"Willyou get off my back, kid? Like I said, nobody seems to be paying anyattention."

"Nobody?"I jerked my head pointedly toward the girl in the window.

"Her?She's not paying any more attention to us than she is anyone else onthe street."

"Really?"

"Well,if she is, it's more because of you than because of me."

"Me?C'mon, Aahz."

"Don'tforget, kid, you're a pretty impressive person now."

Iblinked. That hadn't occurred to me. I had forgotten I was disguisedas Quigley now.

Wehad hidden the demon hunter just outside of town… well,actually we buried him. I had been shocked by the suggestion atfirst, but as Aahz pointed out, the statue didn't need any air and itwas the only sure fire way we had of ensuring he wouldn't be found byanyone else.

Eventhe war unicorn following us, now fully saddled and armored, did nothelp me keep my new identity in mind. We had been traveling togethertoo long now.

Isuppose I should have gotten some satisfaction from the fact I couldnow maintain not only one, but two disguises without consciouslythinking about it. I didn't. I found it unnerving that I had toremember other people were seeing me differently than I was seeingmyself.

Ishot a glance at the trollop. As our eyes met, her smile broadenednoticeably. She displayed her increased enthusiasm by leaning furtherout of the window until I began to worry about her falling out…of the window or her dress.

"Whatdid I tell you, kid!" Aahz slapped me enthusiastically on theshoulder and winked lewdly.

"I'drather she was attracted to me for me as I really am," Igrumbled darkly.

"Theprice of success, kid," Aahz responded philosophically. "Well,no matter. We're here on business, remember?"

"Right,"I said firmly.

Iturned to continue our progress, and succeeded only in whacking Aahzsoundly in the leg with my sword.

"Hey.'Watch it, kid!"

Itseemed there was more to this sword-carrying than met the casual eye.

"Sorry,Aahz," I apologized. "This thing's a bit point-heavy."

"Yeah?How would you know?" my comrade retorted.

"Well…you said…."

"Isaid? That won't do it, kid. What's point-heavy for me may not bepoint-heavy for you. Weapon balance is a personal thing."

"Well…I guess I'm just not used to wearing a sword," I admitted.

"It'seasy. Just forget you're wearing it. Think of it as part of you."

"Idid. That's when I hit you."

"Hmm…we'll go into it more later."

Outof the corner of my eye, I could still see the trollop. She clappedher hands in silent applause and blew me a kiss. I suddenly realizedshe thought I had deliberately hit Aahz, a premeditated act to quella rival. What's more, she approved of the gesture.

Ilooked at her again, more closely this time. Maybe later I would giveAahz the slip for a while and…

"We'vegot to find Frumple." Aahz's voice interrupted my wanderingthoughts.

"Hmm…?Oh. How, Aahz?"

"Throughguile and cunning. Watch this, kid."

Sosaying, he shot a quick glance up and down the street. A pack ofthree urchins had just rounded the corner, busily engaged in a gameof keep-away with one of the group's hat.

"Hey!"Aahz hailed them. "Where can I find the shop of Abdul the RugDealer?"

"Twostreets up and five to the left," they called back, pointing thedirection.

"See,kid? That wasn't hard."

"Terrific,"I responded, unimpressed.

"Nowwhat's wrong, kid?"

"Ithought we were trying to avoid unnecessary attention."

"Don'tworry, kid."

"Don'tworry!? We're on our way to meet a Deveel on a supposedly secretmission, and you seem to be determined to make sure everybody we seenotices us and knows where we're going."

"Look,kid, how does a person normally act when they come into a new town?"