"Hmm…? Oh. How, Aahz?"
"Through guile and cunning. Watch this, kid."
So saying, he shot a quick glance up and down the street. A pack of three urchins had just rounded the corner, busily engaged in a game of keep-away with one of the group's hat.
"Hey!" Aahz hailed them. "Where can I find the shop of Abdul the Rug Dealer?"
"Two streets up and five to the left," they called back, pointing the direction.
"See, kid? That wasn't hard."
"Terrific," I responded, unimpressed.
"Now what's wrong, kid?"
"I thought we were trying to avoid unnecessary attention."
"Don't worry, kid."
"Don't worry!? We're on our way to meet a Deveel on a supposedly secret mission, and you seem to be determined to make sure everybody we see notices us and knows where we're going."
"Look, kid, how does a person normally act when they come into a new town?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "I haven't been in that many towns."
"Well, let me sketch it out for you. They want to be noticed. They carry on and make lots of noise. They stare at the women and wave at people they've never seen before."
"But that's what we've been doing."
"Right! Now do you understand?"
"No."
Aahz heaved an exasperated sigh.
"C'mon, kid. Think a minute, even if it hurts. We're acting like anyone else would walking into a strange town, so nobody will look at us twice. They won't pay any more attention to us than they would any other newcomer. Now if we followed your suggestion and came skulking into town, not talking to anyone or looking at anything, and tried real hard not to be noticed, then everyone and his kid brother would zero in on us trying to figure out what we were up to. Now do you understand?"
"I… I think so."
"Good… cause there's our target."
I blinked and looked in the direction of his pointing finger. There squatting between a blacksmith's forge and a leather worker's displays was the shop. As I said, I was new to city life, but I would have recognized it as a rug merchant's shop even if it was not adorned with a large sign proclaiming it such. The entire front of the shop was lavishly decorated with colorful geometric patterns apparently meant to emulate the patterns of the rugs inside. I guess it was intended to look rich and prosperous. I found it unforgivably gaudy.
I had been so engrossed in our conversation, I had momentarily forgotten our mission. With the shop now confronting us at close range, however, my nervousness came back in a rush.
"What are we going to do, Aahz?"
"Well, first of all I think I'm going to get a drink."
"A drink?"
"Right. If you think I'm going to match wits with a Deveel on an empty stomach, you've got another think coming."
"A drink?" I repeated, but Aahz was gone, striding purposefully toward a nearby tavern. There was little for me to do but follow, leading the unicorn.
The tavern was a dingy affair, even to my rustic eye. A faded awning sullenly provided shade for a small cluster of scarred wooden tables. Flies buzzed around a cat sleeping on one of the tables… at least I like to assume it was asleep.
As I tied the unicorn to one of the awning supports, I could hear Aahz bellowing at the inn keep for two of his largest flagons of wine. I sighed, beginning to despair that Aahz would never fully adapt to his old-man disguise. The inn keep did not seem to notice any irregularity between Aahz's appearance and his drinking habits, however. It occurred to me that Aahz might be right in his theories of how to go unnoticed. City people seemed to be accustomed to loud rude individuals of any age.
"Sit down, kid," Aahz commanded. "You're making me nervous hovering around like that."
"I thought we were going to talk with the Deveel," I grumbled, sinking into a chair.
"Relax, kid. A few minutes one way or the other won't make that much difference. Besides, look!"
A young, well-dressed couple was entering the rug shop.
"See? We couldn't have done any business anyway. At least not until they left. The kind of talk we're going to have can't be done in front of witnesses. Ahh!"
The inn-keeper had arrived, clinking the two flagons of wine down on the table in a lackluster manner.
"About time!" Aahz commented, seizing a flagon in each hand and immediately draining one. "Aren't you going to have anything, kid?"
A toss of his head and the second flagon was gone.
"While my friend here makes up his mind, bring me two more… and make them decent sizes this time if you have to use a bucket!"
The inn keep retreated, visibly shaken. I wasn't. I had already witnessed Aahz's capacity for alcohol, astounding in an era noted for heavy drinkers. What did vex me a bit was that the man had departed without taking my order.
I did eventually get my flagon of wine, only to find my stomach was too nervous to readily accept it. As a result, I wound up sipping it slowly. Not so Aahz. He continued to belt them down at an alarming rate. For quite some time he drank. In fact, we sat for nearly an hour, and there was still no sign of the couple who had entered the shop.
Finally, even Aahz began to grow impatient.
"I wonder what's taking them so long," he grumbled.
"Maybe they're having trouble making up their mind," I suggested.
"C'mon, kid. The shop's not that big. He can't have too large a selection."
He downed the last of his wine and stood up.
"We've waited long enough," he declared. "Let's get this show on the road."
"But what about the couple?" I reminded him.
"We'll just have to inspire them to conclude their business with a bit more speed."
That had a vaguely ominous ring to it, and Aahz's toothy grin was additional evidence that something unpleasant was about to happen.
I was about to try to dissuade him, but he started across the street with a purposeful stride that left me standing alone.
I hurried to catch up with him, leaving the unicorn behind in my haste. Even so, I was unable to overtake him before he had entered the shop.
I plunged after him, fearing the worst. I needn't have worried. Except for the proprietor, the shop was empty. There was no sign of the couple anywhere.
Chapter Twelve
First impressions are of major importance in business matters.
"MAY I help you, gentlemen?"
The proprietor's rich robes did not successfully hide his thinness. I am not particularly muscular… as Skeeve, that is… but I had the impression that if I struck this man, he wouldn't bruise, he'd shatter. I mean, I've seen skinny men before, but he seemed to be a skeleton with a too-small skin stretched over the bones.
"We'd like to talk with Abdul." Aahz said loftily.
"I am he, and he is I," recited the proprietor. "You see before you Abdul, a mere shadow of a man, pushed to the brink of starvation by his clever customers."
"You seem to be doing all right for yourself," I murmured, looking about me.
The shop was well stocked, and even my untraveled eye could readily detect the undeniable signs of wealth about. The rugs were delicately woven in soft fabrics unfamiliar to me, and gold and silver shone from the depths of their designs. Obviously these rugs were intended for the wealthy, and it seemed doubtful their current owner would be suffering from a lack of comfort.
"Ann. Therein lies the tale of my foolishness," cried the proprietor wringing his hands. "In my blind confidence, I sank my entire holdings into my inventory. As a result, I starve in the midst of plenty. My customers know this and rob me in my vulnerable times. I lose money on every sale, but a man must eat."
"Actually," Aahz interrupted, "we're looking for something in a deep shag wall-to-wall carpet."