He skipped away laughing, and walked smiling about town so that others wonderedwhat he could possibly be so happy about. Why, people were actually fleeing,with an invasion fleet almost in the harbor! Hanse, however, was become a childwith a marvelous new toy, the most mar-velous of toys. A block or so later hesaw a twice-attractive woman and wished that he might have her, whereupon shelooked around and saw him. She came straight to him, all jingle and jiggle andsway of hips and flash of teeth.

"You're beautiful," she assured him. "Take me to bed!"

But by the time they had reached the building wherein he had a second-floorroom, he had seen another, and sort of traded in the first, who went awayhappily with no memory of what she had said and done or rather almost done. Hehad learned something already! And how cheap lessons were, not as in real life.The second was absolutely beautiful and with a very nice figure indeed, but hesoon found that behind closed doors and on a bedsheet she was an absolute dud.He improved that with another wish....

At about dusk he departed, a bit weak in the legs but happy (he'd had to resortto a wish to get her to leave him alone and go away), for he had thought of awonderful mission for himself: Hanse Godslayer. Along the way his stomachrumbled. He wished he had an apple, so the first vendor he passed called "Hey!"and tossed him a beauty.

Walking along eating with relish, he thought, / wish that redhead would walkwith me; we'd look good together! She did of course, but that led to somedifficulty when her husband appeared and demanded explanation, and Hanse learnedsomething else of this new power. Something prompted him to wish that the couplewould forget him and go happily home and be happy ever after and it was thenicest thing any human ever did for another, surely. With the help of Ils, ofcourse. Marvelously attentive god, that Iis!-

Arrived at the dock, he found a nervous throng and moved among them. Listening,observing, thinking, seeing their fear and ridiculous hopes. ("Whoever it is,they've come to drive off the Rankans and leave us in peace!" -Sure, Hansethought. "There's always a great profit to be made from newcomers to town!"Sure, Hanse thought, especially when they come easing up in over a hundredships. Oh, sure!)

Then he stood tall and straight and confident, and smiled, and while he gazed atall those approaching sails he wished that they would turn around and go awayand never bother Sanctuary.

They came on and Hanse learned something else. Some things, big things, musttake longer even for Ils! Tomorrow they'd be gone! That didn't happen either,and Hanse had to accept what he had already known: that not all thingswere possible, and that while Ils was a god. He was not the god. Othersexisted, and the powers of gods had fences and boundaries. (On the other hand,that night he enjoyed a meal beyond mere good, a fabulous meal, in thevery house of Shafralain, just because Hanse had seen that wealthy noble andwished that he'd invite Hanse in for dinner. ... Naturally he spent the nightin the company and arms of Esaria, again. When he awoke before dawn it occurredto him that he was better off leaving now and wishing they'd all forget thiswhole night. On his way home, he wished that Esaria would know much, muchhappiness in her life, and again Hanse had done the unlikely: good.

Next day the fascinating but ugly oversea folk landed and tramped into town. Itdid not take long to discover that they had come to take over, and wereexpediting that. By afternoon he had tried thirteen several wishes against them.None took. On the other hand, when one of the unblinking creeps accosted him andindicated that Hanse was wanted for something, he wished the ugly never-blinkingcreep would just start sneezing and continue for a nice long while. Thathappened, and Hanse went on his way chuckling. Individual Beysibs, obviously,were easy for Ils.

He wandered over to the east side of town, and stood gazing up at a fine loftingmansion he had always admired. He had always wanted to break into that place andsee what was there, and remove a few thises and thats. "I wish I could," hemuttered, and it was easy, easy. He sold the nice things he removed from thepremises, but that seemed silly, somehow, as the coin was counted out to him bya no-questions denizen of the Maze; all this trouble when he could merely wishfor money, all he wanted!

Of course he had enjoyed all the passionate kisses and fondling of two lovelyslaves of that house, and of course he had wished that on the morrow theirmaster would take a notion to free them and give them a nice departing present,too. Eternal Ils, he had done it again-Hanse had done good!

The money business occupied his mind to a considerable extent. He bethought himof all that Rankan coin down in the well up at Eaglebeak. It was an odd wish hemade, then, but he liked the idea: "When I do go for it I wish that it wouldrise up out of the well to me, and be no trouble- oh! Oh I wish she'd just ambleright over here and think I'm handsome and want to night with-no, no, offer me afine wine-red cloak-dark!-to night with her!"

When he and she-her name was Bumgada, but what's in a name?-arose from bed nextmorning, happy with each other, he thought that something had been forgotten.No, no; she took him right out and downtown and bought him both breakfast and afine scarlet cloak-a long dark one- and didn't that raise eyebrows.

As they were walking along, she said something and Hanse said something andadded, "Oh, and Bumma-I wish you'd just forget everything that happened sincejust before you saw me yesterday-but not get into any trouble for it at all, andhave a nice happy life."

"Excuse me," she said, as if she had just bumped into him, and went on her way,wherever that was. Hanse ambled along, wondering what she did remember, and whatthose slavegirls remembered, and what Esaria and indeed her family and servantsremembered, and...

He had to find out. It was a dreadfully naughty idea, but he did have to findout, didn't he? He made a wish, involving the awaiting in his bed of a certainperson when he reached his room. Next he wished that he could pick ten pocketswithout being discovered, but that turned out to be stupid and a bore because itwas so easy. Besides, he lost count and the eleventh victim grabbed his hand andlet out a yell and Hanse had to do some mighty fast wishing. He stopped runningafter a couple of blocks. After all, it wasn't as if he had to, anymore. Just apleasant habit of long duration.

He found another limit to the power of Ils by wishing that Tempus and his boyswould clean up on the Beysibs- maybe that was the way to do it!

Wrong; instead, Tempus and his boys left town and a lot of half-competents andworse began showing up. One gave him trouble and Hanse wished the fool wouldjust fall down on his own dagger, but when it happened he really didn't feelvery good about it. After a couple of blocks he turned around and went back.That was how he discovered that he couldn't raise the dead.

As he passed a fine tavern for the wealthy and lordly, he chuckled aloud.Wishing that they'd treat him in manner lordly and "remember" that he had paidin advance, and well, he ambled in. An hour later he left, stuffed, with themanager and tableman thanking him and wishing him well and swift return.

He was groaning along, feeling stuffed with more than he should have eaten andfar richer fare too, when a thought hit him hard. He immediately expressed thewish that none of the women he had disported himself with had got a child ofhis. Nor anyone I happen to find in my bed tonight, he thought, and smiled asecret smile. And went home.