the vest, cap, pants and boots. The oversized bow and
quiver of arrows lay beneath the bed. He tossed the whole
business onto the mattress.
"Here."
"Thanks, mate." The otter began to flow into the
clothes, his movements short and fast. " 'Tis a providence,
it is, wot brings you to poor oF Mudge now."
"I don't know about that. You actually seem glad to see
me. It's not what I expected."
Mudge looked hurt. "Wot, not 'appy to see an old
friend? You pierce me to the quick. Now why wouldn't I
be glad to see an old friend?"
Something funny going on here, Jon-Tom mused warily.
Where were the otter's usual suspicious questions, his
casual abusiveness?
As if to answer his questions the door burst inward.
Standing there backlit by the light from the hall was a sight
to give an opium eater pause.
The immensely overweight lady badger wore a bright
red dress fringed with organdy ruffles. Rings dripped from
her manicured fingers, and it was hard to believe that the
massive gems that encircled her neck were real. They
threw the light back into the room.
A few curious customers crowded in behind her as she
raised a paw and pointed imperiously at the bed.
"There he is!" she growled.
"Ah, Madam Lorsha," said Mudge as he finished his
dressing in a hurry, "I 'ave to compliment you on the
facilities of your establishment."
"That will be the last compliment you ever give any-
one, you deadbeat. Your ass is a rug." She snapped her
fingers as she stepped into the room. "Tork."
Bending to pass under the sill was the largest intelligent
warmlander Jon-Tom had yet encountered. It was a shock
THE DAY OF THE DISSONANCE
27
to see someone taller than himself. The grizzly rose at
least seven and a half feet, wore black-leather pants and
shirt. He also wore what appeared in the bad light to be
heavy leather gloves. Their true nature was revealed all too
quickly.
Now, Jon-Tom did not know precisely what had tran-
spired in the elegant room or beyond its walls or between
his furry friend who was slipping on his boots in a
veritable frenzy and the badger who was clearly the owner
of the house of ill repute, but he suspected the sight of the
full-grown grizzly adjusting the brass knuckles over his
immense paws did not bode well for the future.
"I understand your concern, luv," said Mudge as he
casually recovered his bow and quiver, "but now that me
mate's 'ere everything will be squared away."
"Will it, now?" she said. The grizzly stood rubbing one
palm with a massive fist and grinning. His teeth were very
white. The badger eyed Jon-Tom. "Does he mean to say
that you'll pay his bill?"
"Pay his bill? What do you mean, pay his bill?"
"He's been up here for three days without coming
down, enjoying my best liquor and girls, and now he tells
them he hasn't got a silver to his bastard name."
Jon-Tom glared back at Mudge. The otter shrugged,
didn't appear in the least embarrassed. "Hey, at least I was
honest about it, mate. I told 'em I was broke. But it's all
right, ain't it? You'll pay for me, won't you?"
"You are his friend?" inquired the badger.
"Well, yeah." He brought out the purse Clothahump
had given him and jiggled it. The gold inside jingled
musically, and the badger and the bear relaxed.
She smiled at him. "Now that's more like it.. .sir. I
can see that you are a gentleman, though I don't think
much of your choice of friends." Mudge looked wronged.
"How much does he owe you?"
She didn't even have to think. "Two hundred and fifty,
sir. Plus any damages to the linen. I'll have to check."
28
Alan Dean Poster
"I can cover it," Jon-Tom assured her. He turned to
look darkly at Mudge, hefting his ramwood staff. "If
you'd be kind enough to give me a moment alone with
him, I intend to take at least some of it out of his hide."
The badger's smile widened. "Your pleasure is mine,
sir." Again she snapped her fingers. The grizzly let out a
disappointed grunt, turned, and ducked back through the
doorway.
"Take your time, sir. If you need anything helpful—
acid, some thin wooden slivers, anything at all—the house
will be delighted to supply it."
The door closed behind her. As soon as they were alone,
Jon-Tom began to search the room. There was only one
window, off to the left. He tried to open it, found it
wouldn't budge.
" 'Ere now, mate," said Mudge, ambling over, "wot's
the trouble? Just pay the old whore and let's be gone from
'ere."
"It's not that simple, Mudge. That money is from
Clothahump, to pay for our passage at least as far as
Snarken. And I lied about the amount. No way is there
two hundred and fifty there."
Mudge took a step backward as Jon-Tom strove to
puzzle out the window. "Just a minute there, mate. Wot's
that about payin' our way? Snarken, you said? That's all
the way across the Glittergeist, ain't it?"
"That's right." Jon-Tom squinted at the jamb. "I think
this locks from the outside. Clever. Must be a way to
break through it."
Mudge continued backing toward the bed. "Nice of you
to come lookin' for me, mate, but I'm afraid I can't go
with you. And you say 'is wizardship is behind it?"
"That's right. He's sick and I have to go get him some
medicine."
"Right. Give the old reptile me best wishes, and I 'ope he
makes a speedy recovery. As for me, I've some (ravelin' to do
for me 'ealth, and salt air doesn't agree with me lungs."
THE DAY OF THE DISSONANCE
29
"You're not going anywhere unless it's with me,"
Jon-Tom snapped at him. "You take one step out that door
and I'll call the madam. I saw the look in her eyes. She'd
enjoy separating your head from the rest of you. So would
that side of beef that came in with her."
"I ain't "afraid of no bag of suet wot communicates in
grunts," Mudge said.
Jon-Tom turned from the window. "Then maybe I ought
to call them. I can always find someone else to accompany
me."
Mudge rushed at him. "Take it easy, mate, 'old on. To
Snarken, you say?"
"Maybe beyond."
"Ain't no place beyond Snarken."
"Yes there is. Little town not too far inland from
there." He fumbled between the windowpanes, was rewarded
by a double clicking sound. "Ah,"
He lifted the window slowly. Halfway up, something
loud and brassy began to clang inside the building.
"Shit! There's an alarm spell on this thing!" The
sounds of pounding feet came from the hall.
"No time for regrets, mate, and you'd best not stand
there gawkin'." Mudge was over the sill in a flash and
shinnying down the rainpipe outside. Jon-Tom followed
more slowly, envying the otter his agility.
By the time they reached the pavement, faces had
appeared at the open window.
"You won't get away from me, otter!" Madam Lorsha
yelled, shaking her fist at them as they ran up the side
street. At any moment Jon-Tom expected to hear the
grizzly's footsteps behind them, feel huge paws closing
around his throat. "I'll hunt you to the ends of the world!
No one runs out owing Madam Lorsha!"
"Funny what she said about the ends of the world,"
Jon-Tom murmured as he followed the otter down endless
alleyways and turns. He was sure Mudge had memorized
30
Alan Dean Foster
this escape route before stepping inside the brothel. "That's
where we're going."
"There you go again, mate," said Mudge, "usin' them