The Stranger's Woes (43 page)

At midnight I went out for a walk. My whole body hurt from sitting in the chair. For some time I just followed my nose. The multicolored stones of the mosaic sidewalks shimmered under my feet. The few passersby looked mysterious and attractive: the orange light cast by the street lamps wrapped their ordinary faces in a veil of enigma. The cold wind from the Xuron also took a walk down the narrow lanes of the Old City. The wind and I seemed to be taking the same route the whole way, but I liked its company. That night I liked pretty much everything. Unlike poor Melifaro, I was in a good mood, which was enough to make me wary.

My nose led me to the Victory of Gurig VII Square. I looked around, bewildered—how did I end up here?—and was going to turn around to sneak back into some cozy dark alley when I saw the silhouette of a tall man sitting at a table in a street café on the square. I took a closer look. But of course. It was none other than Aloxto Allirox. As far as I knew, there was no other man in Echo who had such beautiful white hair. Surprised, I decided to approach him. After all, it was only yesterday that Juffin had said we should be protecting our guests—unobtrusively—from possible trouble. As soon as I had taken a few steps toward him, I realized that the fellow was already under the protection of one of the employees of the Minor Secret Investigative Force. Lady Melamori’s tastes remained unchanged. I never understood why she liked this busy place so much.

I smiled and went back to the House by the Bridge. On my way there I desperately tried to get upset or, at least, surprised. No go. I had known from the beginning that it would end this way. As soon as I had seen Aloxto, I knew that my fair lady would soon “cheer up,” to borrow her own expression. Until now I just hadn’t thought of expressing this knowledge in words.

I smiled involuntarily at the thought that if I had been a girl, I would have . . . There was no need to deny it, that Aloxto was a true work of art! How far can this go? I wondered with a mixture of curiosity and indifference.

To be honest, I didn’t recognize myself. I should have been furious, cursing everything and everyone. This was what I would usually do in such situations. But recently I had undergone changes that were even more improbable.

Long story short, by the time I got back to the House by the Bridge, I was in a very good mood. Kurush got not one but three pastries. I think he was surprised at my generosity. Then again, you could never tell from his expression what was on the buriwok’s mind.

Sir Juffin returned early in the morning and was kind enough to let me go home and catch some sleep.

I returned to the House by the Bridge not long before dusk. The only person in the Hall of Common Labor was Lonli-Lokli. There was still no work for us to do. There were plenty of killers out there—two times fifty Sharptooths were eager to cut the throat of Mudlax, who had turned out to be not just “filthy” but also impossible to catch.

“Lady Tuotli and the buriwok that is accompanying her did manage to find one native of Arvarox,” said Shurf. “They are on their way here.”

“Excellent,” I said. “Finally, something in this case has budged. That Lady Tuotli has a ton of luck on top of her other virtues, huh?”

“Perhaps you are right,” said Lonli-Lokli and nodded. “Do you not find her . . . strange?”

“Well, I don’t know her very well. I just met her yesterday. At first I thought she had a terrible temperament, but then I realized she was just very shy. Funny, isn’t it?”

“Shy? I never would have thought that. What made you so sure?”

“I don’t know. I just sensed it. It seemed pretty clear to me.”

“Was it? Well, then, it’s not all that bad, if you are correct.”

“What’s not all that bad?” Now it was my turn to be surprised.

“I mean her ‘terrible temperament,’ as you said. That was a very good way of putting it.”

“Was she rude to you?” I said. “Uh-oh, what a woman!”

“She . . . Well, perhaps she was. You know, nobody has been rude to me for a long, long time, so at first I was quite puzzled.”

“You? Puzzled? I can’t believe it. I simply cannot believe it.”

“And yet I was.”

“Is Sir Hully in?”

The gray-eyed Amazon walked into the Hall of Common Labor with great determination. Following her was a large old man. Only his height and athletic body gave away his Arvaroxian origin. His face was quite inconspicuous. Any tavern in Echo is full of such faces at any hour of the day. The man was absolutely calm, and it was pleasant to look at him.

“He is. He’s expecting you,” I said affably.

The stern lady raised the corners of her mouth in an attempt to smile. She looked like she’d forgotten how.

Juffin’s Silent Speech put an end to our courtesies.
Max, it’s great that you decided to show up after all
.
I was worried that you were going to fall asleep for another year
.
Come in with Kekki and her trophy
.
Just in case
.

I turned to Shurf, somewhat shamefaced, and made a helpless gesture to show him I wasn’t leaving on my own accord. My silent apology was in vain. Shurf had already changed his expression to one of complete indifference and was buried in a thick book. I looked at the cover. Good golly! The magnum opus was called
The Pendulum of Immortality
. I shook my head in disbelief. Was the promising title a reflection of the author’s unsophisticated poetic tastes, or did he really intend to unveil to the reader a trick or two about how to become immortal? One could expect either from the local literature, so I promised myself I’d browse through the book at my leisure.

After I finished musing about life, death, and literature, I followed Lady Tuotli and her prisoner to Juffin’s office. Right before I went in, I heard the familiar “O mighty buriwok” and the dull sound that a head makes when it meets the carpet. This was getting old. Fortunately, by the time I was in Juffin’s office, the Arvaroxian had already assumed the vertical position. Perhaps Kurush had taken care of it.

Lady Tuotli was already on her way out. I guess Juffin had decided her mission was over. The lady was desperately trying to demonstrate her complete lack of interest in further developments in the office. I really felt for her. How would you feel if you did your job and were dismissed immediately, never to learn what happened next?

“I am Naltix Ayemirik,” said the old man. “And I have not done anything worthy of mention.”

I shook my head in admiration. It was an art in its own right to speak of one’s worthlessness with such aplomb.

“And what sort of business made you leave Arvarox?” asked Juffin.

“I would rather not talk about my past,” said the old man calmly. “I give you my word of honor that I am not the one you are looking for. No one is looking for me, for no one deems it honorable to defeat one who has been deprived of his powers.”

“I’m sure that’s the case here,” said Juffin. “Okay, let’s not talk about your past. What I want to know is whether you knew King Mudlax.”

“I was his shaman many a year ago, until the powers left me.”

“This does happen,” said Kurush confidently. “Such mishaps happen as a matter of course, but the people of Arvarox believe them to be a great misfortune. A shaman whose powers have left him must go away to a distant land and take his curse with him, the farther the better. That is the law.”

“A sad story,” said Juffin, “but I’m interested in something else. Tell me, Naltix Ayemirik, have you met Mudlax here in Echo?”

“Yes, I have met him and his men. They came here seventeen years ago. At that time I was helping your people maintain the peace at Customs. The pay was decent, so I was not disgusted by the labor involved.”

“Excellent.” Juffin was pleased. “Say, would you happen to know where he may be now?”

“No, I wouldn’t. Mudlax bought himself a new face, just as I did. He does not wish to be found. That is why he parted with me before he changed his countenance.”

“I see. And do you know who helped Mudlax to change his countenance?”

“I do, but I gave my word of honor never to tell this secret. I am truly sorry, sir.”

Juffin gave Kurush a desperate look. “Help me out here, friend.”

“Is this important?” said Kurush.

“This is very important.”

“All right.” Kurush blinked his round yellow eyes and flew over to Naltix Ayemirik’s shoulder. Naltix almost fainted from excitement.

“You must break your promise,” said the bird. “This is an order.”

“I will do as you say,” said Naltix Ayemirik rapturously. “My duty is to obey the Almighty Bird.” He turned to Juffin. “Hear me then. I took Mudlax and his men to the Street of Bubbles, to Varixa Ariama. He was the one who changed my countenance. He is very competent. Unlike others, who can only change your face temporarily, his magic is permanent. Mudlax and I parted on the porch of Ariama’s house. I have never seen my king since then.”

“You bet you haven’t,” said Juffin. “Sir Varixa Ariama, the former Senior Magician of the Order of the Brass Needle—goodness me! What people won’t do to make money these days. I’d never have thought that—Hey, what on earth are you doing?”

Juffin’s cry startled me. I looked at our visitor and froze in horror: the old man was clenching his throat with his own hands. He was literally strangling himself. How was that even possible? And yet there was no doubt that he would finish what he had started.

“Don’t try to stop him,” said Kurush. “He must do it. If you stop him now, he will try to do it again at another time. A man of Arvarox who has broken his word of honor must die. Nothing can be done about it.”

“A funny custom,” said Juffin, turning away to the window. “Max, is this too shocking to you?”

“Not too shocking,” I said, my lips numb. “Just shocking enough.”

“My sentiments exactly . . . Is he dead now?”

“I think he is. Or will be in a minute.”

“He is dead,” said Kurush. “People of Arvarox can die quickly. Don’t be upset. Such things happen frequently in Arvarox. Besides, this man died happy. He has seen me, fulfilled my command, and died as a true warrior of Arvarox. To him this was more important than living a long life.”

“Right, right,” said Juffin. “You might not believe me if I tell you that I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life. I had no idea I could still be knocked out of my saddle that easily. In any case, we have received some important information. Let’s go back to the Hall of Common Labor, Max. I think we can stand to have a cup of kamra while they clean up here. I’ve already sent a call to Skalduar Van Dufunbux, our Master of Escorting the Dead. By the way, Kurush, what’s the proper way of burying him? I mean so that we can please him.”