Devan Merchants Association, you ask? Okay. For
the uninitiated, I'll go over this just once. The dimen-
sion I'm currently residing in is Deva, home of the
shrewdest deal-drivers in all the known dimensions. You
may have heard of them. In my own home dimension
they were called devils, but I have since learned the
proper pronunciation is Deveels. Anyway, my gracious
living quarters are the result of my partner and I beating
the Deveels at their own game ... which is to say we got
the better of them in a deal. Don't tell anyone, though.
It would ruin their reputation and maybe even cost me a
cushy spot. You see, they still don't know they've been
had.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. Heading for the of-;
fices. Normally after sneaking out 1 would stop by the
stables to share breakfast with Gleep, but with a crisis
on my hands I decided to forgo the pleasure of my pet's
MYTH-ING PERSONS 7
company and get to work. Gleep. He's the dragon
Aliman was talking about. . . and I'm not going to try
to condense that story. It's just too complicated.
Long before I reached the offices I could hear their
voices raised in their favorite "song." The lyrics
changed from time to time, but I knew the melody by
heart.
"Incompetent bungler!"
"Who are you calling an incomplete bungler?"
"I stand corrected. You are a complete bungler!"
"You better watch your mouth! Even if you are the
boss's partner, one more word and I'll...."
"You'll what? If you threw a punch the safest place
to be would be where you're aiming."
"Izzatso?"
It sounded like I had arrived in the nick of time. Tak-
ing a deep breath, I casually strolled into the teeth of the
fracas.
