Myth Alliances

Loorna kicked a pile of papers that had been cast to the floor by the invaders. "This place is a mess! It doesn't look like they have dusted in here in days."

"Well, sure," Niki snarled defensively, "I could have been cleaning up in here, if I didn't have to oversee the distribution of merchandise in the morning, monitor factory operations all day, and still have time to work on special projects. That's why we have all those janitors!"

"Did it ever occur to you you're complaining about the color of the dragon's nail polish just before the paw comes down and smashes your worthless carcass into a grease stain? Those janitors just facilitated an attempted palace coup," Tenobia reminded them.

"That's right, girls," Nedira soothed, trying to make peace. "We have bigger problems than dusty bookshelves."

'This is totally lame," Caitlin snorted, sitting down at her computer and tapping in the data off the sheet Oshleen handed her. "I mean, you didn't make a single gold piece on the whole Scamaroni enterprise. You lost all of our investment!"

"Give your elders more respect, dear," Nedira corrected her. "We were up against unfair opposition."

"Yes, the Klahdish wizard," Vergetta grumbled. 'The one who really escaped."

"Did anyone get his name?" Tenobia asked. Oshleen reached down into her cleavage and pulled out a sheaf of papers.

"I always knew you stuffed. What's that?"

"The court docket," the accountant replied, with a haughty stare. "They wouldn't let Paldine see it. We'll send it back when we're through with it."

"I can't read this merde," Loorna sneered. "It's in Scammie."

"Ugh," Oshleen groaned. "I knew we should have bribed the bailiff. He could have read it to us." Caitlin waved an imperious hand. "Give it to me. I'll run it through the translator." The smallest Pervect spread the papers out in front of her screen and typed in a command. The computer started humming. In a moment a huge rectangle projected itself upon the wall. "There."

"Smee, Smee," Niki mused, ru

"Cheesy," smirked Tenobia.

"Save the cheap jokes. So, which one is our wizard?"

"We heard of a Skeeve when we were on Deva," Vergetta offered. "But we heard he's retired. What would he be doing on Scamaroni?"

"No idea," Loorna rejoined. "What the hell, we're out of there now. We'll just have to pick up where we left off, pay our suppliers and start over." Niki snorted. "What?"

"You have no idea what's been going on since you left," the scientist growled.

"I notice that this place is a mess," Charilor taunted.

"Eat a bomb. We can't pay our suppliers. While you were out the stupid sheep have been in and out of this place every damned day, sneaking out money and goods. They've been on a buying spree that you would not believe."

"Oh, now what have they brought back this time?" Nedira groaned.

"You name it," Caitlin i

Vergetta nodded. "And they've been ripping us off to pay for them."

"All but today," Niki replied. "I finally took what was left of the treasury and stuffed it in the safe." Paldine sneered. "You should have done that the first time."

"No, I should not have done that the first time," Niki disagreed. "You know what goes in that safe never goes away. You can always get it back again by reaching in to where you put it. Whoever invented it was a Pollya

Vergetta sighed. "I can't disagree with you. So, now what? We're further in the hole than we were before. We don't want debt collectors showing up looking for payment we can't give them. Like it or not we are responsible for setting these fools straight, finding another source of cash, and stopping up the holes once and for all."

"Now will you believe me when I say we need to get that D-hopper away from them?" Loorna asked.

The elder held up her hands in mock surrender. "All right, all right! You were right and I was wrong. Get it."

Loorna gri

"Anyone have any ideas for our next business venture?" Vergetta asked the room.

"Oh, come on!" Paldine protested. "We just got out of jail! Who can i

"Honey, we've got to hit the ground ru

"Besides," Niki smirked, "I wasn't in jail. I have been working. What do you think of this?"

With a flourish she reached under the big table and produced a palm-wide cylinder with a plunger on top.

"Signature chop?" Monishone asked.

"Half right," Niki gri

"Technology?" Monishone snorted.

"Don't knock it. I think it'd sell in more places than your stupid toy. It doesn't use electricity, it doesn't need magikal energy to run. All power is provided by piezoelectric contacts. It's very simple technology. Even a moderately smart monkey can operate it."

"So the Wuhses will have no trouble making them?" Charilor said, pointedly.

"The one thing I can't fault these sheep on is manual dexterity," Niki assured them. "We've got the capacity for mass production. I've already had our concealed shop stop making the glasses. Crom knows what we'll do with six thousand unsold units. We can't break them down en mass. The magik released would probably blow up the castle. We were lucky there were no accidents on Scamaroni."

"We'll find something to do with them," Vergetta assured them. "If we have to let them go at a loss to the Deveels, well, that's life."

"In the meantime, we need to make it a priority to find that damned D-hopper!" Loorna ordered.

"All in favor?" Vergetta asked, putting up her hand. "Ten in favor. None opposed. The motion carries. Go get 'em, ladies!"

"What about the Wuhses?" Nedira inquired, concerned.

Vergetta waved a hand. "They're fine. Every single one of them got blipped back to his or her home. About now they're discovering that they can't get out the door, the window, or even up the chimney. They can all sit in tonight and think of their sins. Tomorrow morning the magik seal will release, and the Wuhses will be free to go to work as usual. The minute they're back home again, wham!" She smacked her palms together. "They don't go home, they find themselves there anyhow. A few nights of early curfew might remind them that they've got responsibilities, too, so they should act like adults and stop getting in our way. As for their bellwether," she raised a clear glass globe off the table and shook it, causing the small object inside to go tumbling through the liquid that filled the interior, "he's going to spend his time-out with us for a while."

Sadly, Zol, Tananda, Bu