The one thing more than any other that distinguished Althalus from other thieves was his amazing luck. He could win every time he touched a pair of dice, and no matter where he went in whatever land, fortune smiled upon him. A chance meeting or a random conversation almost always led him directly to the most prosperous and least suspicious man in any community, and it seemed that any trail he took, even at random, led him directly to opportunities that came to no other thief. In truth, Althalus was even more famous for his luck than for his wit or his skill.
In time, he came to depend on that luck. Fortune, it appeared, absolutely adored him, and he came to trust her implicitly. He even went so far as to believe privately that she talked to him in the hidden silences of his mind. The little twinge that told him that it was time to leave any given community in a hurry was, he believed, her voice giving him a silent warning that unpleasant things lurked on the horizon.
The combination of wit, skill and luck had made him successful, but he could also run like a deer if the situation seemed to require it.
A professional thief must, if he wants to keep eating regularly, spend a great deal of his time in taverns listening to other people talk, since information is the primary essential to the art of the thief. Theres little profit to be made from robbing poor men. Althalus liked a good cup of mellow mead as much as the next man, but he seldom let it get ahead of him in the way that some frequenters of taverns did. A befuddled man makes mistakes, and the thief who makes mistakes usually doesnt live very long. Althalus was very good at selecting the one man in any tavern whod be most likely to be in possession of useful information, and with jokes and open-handed generosity, he could usually persuade the fellow to share that information. Buying drinks for talkative men in taverns was something in the nature of a business investment. Althalus always made sure that his own cup ran dry at about the same time the other mans did, but most of the mead in the thiefs cup ended up on the floor instead of in his belly, for some reason.
He moved from place to place, he told jokes to tavern loafers and bought mead for them for a few days, and then, when hed pinpointed the rich men in any town or village, hed stop by to pay them a call along about midnight, and by morning hed be miles away on the road to some other frontier settlement.
Although Althalus was primarily interested in local information, there were other stories told in taverns as well, stories about the cities down on the plains of Equero, Treborea, and Perquaine, the civilized lands to the south. He listened to some of those stories with a profound skepticism. Nobody in the world could be stupid enough to pave the streets of his home town with gold, and a fountain that sprayed diamonds might be rather pretty, but it wouldnt really serve any practical purpose.
The stories, however, always stirred his imagination, and he sort of promised himself that someday, someday, hed have to go down to the cities of the plain to have a look for himself.
The settlements of the frontier were built for the most part of logs, but the cities of the lands of the south were reputed to be built of stone. That in itself might make the journey to civilization worthwhile, but Althalus wasnt really interested in architecture, so he kept putting off his visit to civilization.
What ultimately changed his mind was a funny story he heard in a tavern in Kagwher about the decline of the Deikan Empire. The central cause of that decline, it appeared, had been a blunder so colossal that Althalus couldnt believe that anybody with good sense could have even made it once, much less three times.
May all of my teeth fall out if they didnt, the storyteller assured him. The people down in Deika have a very high opinion of themselves, so when they heard that men had discovered gold here in Kagwher, they decided right off that God had meant for them to have it only hed made a mistake and put it in Kagwher instead of down there where itd be convenient for them to just bend over and pick it up. They were a little put out with God for that, but they were wise enough not to scold him about it. Instead, they sent an army up here into the mountains to keep us ignorant hill-people from just helping ourselves to all that gold that God had intended for them. Well, now, when that army got here and started hearing stories about how much gold there was up here, the soldiers all decided that army life didnt really suit them any more, so the whole army just ups and quits so that they could strike out on their own.
Althalus laughed. That would be a quick way to lose an army, I suppose.
Theres none any quicker, the humorous story-teller agreed. Anyhow, the Senate that operates the government of Deika was terribly disappointed with that army, so they sent a second army up here to chase down the first one and punish them for ignoring their duty.
Youre not serious! Althalus exclaimed.
Oh, yes, thats exactly what they did. Well, sir, that second army decided that they werent any stupider than the first one had been, so they hung up their swords and uniforms to go look for gold, too.
Althalus howled with laughter. Thats the funniest story Ive ever heard! he said.
It gets better, the grinning man told him. The Senate of the Empire just couldnt believe that two whole armies could ignore their duty that way. After all, the soldiers were getting paid a whole copper penny every day, werent they? The Senators made speeches at each other until all their brains went to sleep, and thats when they took stupidity out to the very end of its leash by sending a third army up here to find out what had happened to the first two.
Is he serious? Althalus asked another tavern patron.
Thats more or less the way it happened, stranger, the man replied. I can vouch for it, because I was a sergeant in that second army. The city-state of Deika used to rule just about the whole of civilization, but after shed poured three entire armies into the mountains of Kagwher, she didnt have enough troops left to patrol her own streets, much less the other civilized lands. Our Senate still passes laws that the other lands are supposed to obey, but nobody pays any attention to them any more. Our Senators cant quite seem to grasp that, so they keep passing new laws about taxes and the like, and people keep ignoring them. Our glorious Empire has turned itself into a glorious joke.
Maybe Ive been putting off my visit to civilization for too long, Althalus said. If theyre that silly down in Deika, a man in my profession almost has to pay them a visit.
Oh? the former soldier said. Which profession do you follow?
Im a thief, Althalus admitted, and a city filled with stupid rich men might just be the next best thing to paradise for a really good thief.
I wish you all the best, friend, the expatriate told him. I was never all that fond of Senators who spent all their time trying to invent new ways to get me killed. Be a little careful when you get there, though. The Senators buy their seats in that august body, and that means that theyre rich men. Rich Senators make laws to protect the rich, not the ordinary people. If you get caught stealing in Deika, things wont turn out too well for you.
I never get caught. Sergeant, Althalus assured him. Thats because Im the best thief in the world, and to make things even better, Im also the luckiest man in the world. If half the story I just heard is true, the luck of the Deikan Empire has turned sour lately, and my luck just keeps getting sweeter. If the chance to make a wager on the outcome of my visit comes along, put your money on me, because in a situation like this one, I cant possibly lose.
I never get caught. Sergeant, Althalus assured him. Thats because Im the best thief in the world, and to make things even better, Im also the luckiest man in the world. If half the story I just heard is true, the luck of the Deikan Empire has turned sour lately, and my luck just keeps getting sweeter. If the chance to make a wager on the outcome of my visit comes along, put your money on me, because in a situation like this one, I cant possibly lose.
And with that, Althalus drained his cup, bowed floridly to the other men in the tavern, and gaily set off to see the wonders of civilization for himself.
PART ONE
The House at the End of the World
CHAPTER ONE
Althalus the thief spent ten days on the road down out of the mountains of Kagwher to reach the imperial city of Deika. As he was coming out of the foothills, he passed a limestone quarry where miserable slaves spent their lives under the whip laboriously sawing building blocks out of the limestone with heavy bronze saws. Althalus had heard about slavery, of course, but this was the first time hed ever actually seen slaves. As he strode on toward the plains of Equero, he had a little chat with his good luck about the subject, strongly suggesting to her that if she really loved him, shed do everything she possibly could to keep him from ever becoming a slave.
The city of Deika lay at the southern end of a large lake in northern Equero, and it was even more splendid than the stories had said it was. It was surrounded by a high stone wall made of squared-off limestone blocks, and all the buildings inside the walls were also made of stone.
The broad streets of Deika were paved with flagstones, and the public buildings soared to the sky. Everyone in town who thought he was important wore a splendid linen mantle, and every private house was identified by a statue of its owner usually so idealized that any actual resemblance to the man so identified was purely coincidental.
Althalus was garbed in clothes suitable for the frontier, and he received many disparaging glances from passers-by as he viewed the splendors of the imperial city. After a while, he grew tired of that and sought out a quarter of town where the men in the streets wore more commonplace garments and less superior expressions.
Finally he located a fishermens tavern near the lakefront, and he stopped there to sit and to listen, since fishermen the world over love to talk. He sat unobtrusively nursing a cup of sour wine while the tar-smeared men around him talked shop.
I dont believe Ive ever seen you here before, one of the men said to Althalus.
Im from out of town, Althalus replied.
Oh? Where from?
Up in the mountains. I came down to look at civilization.
Well, what do you think of our city?
Very impressive. I was almost as impressed with your city as some of the towns rich men seemed to be with themselves.
One of the fishermen laughed cynically. You passed near the forum, I take it.
If thats the place where all the fancy buildings are, yes I did. And if you want it, you can take as much of my share of it as you want.
You didnt care for our rich men?
Apparently not as much as they did, thats for certain. People like us should avoid the rich if we possibly can. Sooner or later, well probably be bad for their eyes.
Hows that? another fisherman asked.
Well, all those fellows in the forum the ones who wear fancy nightgowns in the street kept looking down their noses at me. If a man spends all his time doing that, sooner or later its going to make him cross-eyed.
The fishermen all laughed, and the atmosphere in the tavern became relaxed and friendly. Althalus had skillfully introduced the topic dearest to his heart, and they all spent the rest of the afternoon talking about the rich men of Deika. By evening, Althalus had committed several names to memory. He spent another few days narrowing down his list, and he ultimately settled on a very wealthy salt merchant named Kweso. Then he went to the central market-place, visited the marble-lined public baths, and then dipped into his purse to buy some clothing that more closely fit into the current fashion of Deika. The key word for a thief whos selecting a costume for business purposes is nondescript, for fairly obvious reasons. Then Althalus went to the rich mens part of town and spent several more days and nights watching merchant Kwesos walled-in house. Kweso himself was a plump, rosy-cheeked bald man who had a sort of friendly smile. On a number of occasions Althalus even managed to get close enough to him to be able to hear him talking. He actually grew to be rather fond of the chubby little fellow, but thats not unusual, really. When you get right down to it, a wolf is probably quite fond of deer.
Althalus managed to pick up the name of one of Kwesos neighbors, and, with a suitably business-like manner, he went in through the salt merchants gate one morning, walked up to his door and knocked. After a moment or two, a servant opened the door. Yes? the servant asked.
Id like to speak with Gentleman Melgor, Althalus said politely. Its on business.
Im afraid you have the wrong house, sir, the servant said. Gentleman Melgors house is the one two doors down.
Althalus smacked his forehead with his open hand. How stupid of me, he apologized. Im very sorry to have disturbed you. His eyes, however, were very busy. Kwesos door latch wasnt very complicated, and his entryway had several doors leading off it. He lowered his voice. I hope my pounding didnt wake your master, he said.
The servant smiled briefly. I rather doubt it, he said. The masters bedroom is upstairs at the back of the house. He usually gets out of bed about this time in the morning anyway, so hes probably already awake.
Thats a blessing, Althalus said, his eyes still busy. You said that Melgors house is two doors down?
Yes. The servant leaned out through the doorway and pointed. Its that way the house with the blue door. You cant miss it.
My thanks, friend, and Im sorry to have disturbed you. Then Althalus turned and went back out to the street. He was grinning broadly. His luck was still holding him cuddled to her breast. The wrong house ploy had given him even more information than hed expected. His luck had encouraged that servant to tell him all sorts of things. It was still quite early in the morning, and if this was Kwesos normal time to rise, that was a fair indication that he went to bed early as well. Hed be sound asleep by midnight. The garden around his house was mature, with large trees and broad flowering bushes that would provide cover. Getting inside the house would be no problem, and now Althalus knew where Kwesos bedroom was. All that was left to do was to slip into the house in the middle of the night, go directly to Kwesos bedroom, wake him, and lay a bronze knife against his throat to persuade him to cooperate. The whole affair could be settled in short order.