What Astonishes Is The Presence In Some Few Cases Of Coherent Speech, A Bushel Of Thoughtfulness, And A Suggestion Of Incipient Good Manners
The tour of the little cluster of buildings perched on that almost-barren hill vindicated Dirant's claim by exposing the poor economic conditions of the immediate area. He admitted in response to Takki's prompting that his means almost certainly permitted him to acquire a lot within Ividottlof or a community of similar prosperity. Owning a house in his home city however seemed a dream closer to a nightmare in that Fennizen had its cheap land, its land not several hours away from his workplace, and no overlap.
Any property he bought regardless of location must have a loan behind it given the inequality between his treasury and his income. The money he took in, the bulk of it at least, went without delay into some investment or other. Most recently, the belief among Adabans that the Dvanjchtlivs of Swadvanchdeu and Noiswawau maintained even to the present day their venerable custom of distributing largesse at joyful events such as the signing of a peace treaty happened to be true. That amounted to 800 miskhanenar which mere hours later became a stake in an incipient restaurant-based enterprise. At the same time he accepted a position as Ritual Consultant in the new company, his responsibilities being to shut up about it outside of disclosures authorized by the founder, Keiminops Bodan-Tin of the south-eastern country of Drastlif, and also to assist with negotiations to license a specific ritual for commercial use. Since he had assisted in developing said ritual, his bargaining position might be considered more commanding than it was by novices in the business milieu.
Takki's revenues exhibited less stability than what Dirant hoped to achieve, depending as they did on the habits of monsters and the demand for their parts. Quite a rush had been necessary for her to reach the Hideout that day, he inferred despite her attempts not to reveal so directly, presumably at her sister's recommendation. She mentioned only that she had just completed a hunt for a grim chieftain, one of those monsters which demanded a team to take down. “It's a big one too, and that's by grim chieftain standards. Some piano-maker will be kept in piano material for a long time,” she declared.
“Is that what one needs for a piano?”
“If you want it to be the best, sure. Oh, I don't want to mislead you. The grim chieftain supplies some of it, the keys, strings, and the little coverings on the hammers I've heard, but not the whole piano.”
All in all, the tour taught Dirant more about pianos than Takki learned about the excavation camp, since the latter had so little to it. Still, she arrived with a sense of anticipation and nothing had happened to suppress it. She leaned sideways toward Dirant and lowered her voice to say, “Ressi, I haven't been to an Ertith ruin before and I'm excited about it, but am I mistaken that in your letter there are hints of an ulterior purpose for your presence here? Something which might necessitate that you request assistance? A phenomenon you might call puzzling?”
“You are so far from being wrong,” Dirant confirmed, “that you are entirely correct. Ah, it is probably nothing in the end, and yet there is this forbidding air about the matter. During your trip here, did you hear of any such person as Medant Denmarof? Or see him? He is a mercenary, a Myrmidon furnished with an appropriate physique, in his mid-20s though eternally boyish in appearance. Customarily he wears a headband.”
“I don't think so, Ressi. No, I'm sure I didn't. Is he missing? A suspect?”
“The former, it seems.” From there Dirant related a meeting he had in Fennizen with a young gentleman named Edol Mikstifoken before he was assigned to Iflarent's Hideout. He had accepted without trepidation when Edol invited him to lunch, since the two were friends as of the last couple years. Before that they had been so opposed to each other as to be as much like enemies as children can possess, but upon returning home from separate absences, they found their opinions and sentiments had drifted closer to each other and further from those of some other acquaintances.
Their relationship gained additional significance after Dirant's time in Drastlif on account of the involvement Edol's family had in the restaurant business. Having determined on a course of tailoring each restaurant to better attract a specific clientele, the idea of an establishment configured to provide predictable meals to travelers appealed enough that Keiminops Bodan-Tin's first Neya restaurant opened in Greater Enloffenkir rather than Drastlif, a fact sure to amuse historians of commercial culinary activity should any of those exist. Keiminops decided on the Neya name after his new associates convinced him that GE citizens, far from rejecting foreign-sounding restaurants, overall preferred them, though the menus were a different matter.
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“You remember Mr. Medant,” Edol began. The topic surprised Dirant, though on reflection, any would have, much as everyone is born on some day for all that it is unlikely any particular date should bear the honor.
“Well enough that to call him Mr., while justifiable, is a choice which may be questioned.”
“I know, but I decided on this after some thought.” Doubtless that was true. Edol considered every one of his words unless he became frustrated, at which point he ran on to the point of incoherence and beyond. Naturally his friends attempted to induce that condition at every opportunity. “It is the gravity of the situation that decided me. The possible gravity, I should have said. His employer, the condottiero Anpazor Onhalaogiken, is presently between contracts. His mercenaries therefore are free for a time, and Mr. Medant went traveling. He corresponded regularly with his family and friends.”
“That contradicts what I remember of him.” That was a sincere observation rather than a jibe since the conversation evidently deserved a serious tone.
Edol nodded. “He adopted the habit because of the danger of his new career. Disappearing is one thing when everyone expects you to show up again at your whim. So. His last letter indicated a desire to visit that dig near Ividottlof, the Ertith one. Nothing has been heard from him since.”
“Ah.” At that point in the recollection, Takki said “oh” before she apologized and urged Dirant to continue.
“It hasn't been so long since that letter. Most likely he will write soon, or no, even more likely is that he has written but his letter is caught up in a snag somewhere. His family is worried as might be expected if you remember them as well. I only bring this up because, did you not mention there was the possibility that you might be assigned to that vicinity, subject to your acceptance? You were unsure, seeing no compelling arguments for or against. Well. Might you take this as an argument for? I cannot claim it's a compelling one.”
It all sounded very reasoned and proportional, though if one observed Edol squirming in his seat like a child, which one definitely did, the sense came across that “his family is worried” communicated the fact while disguising the severity, much as when a gambler states, “Some money is owed.” That decided Dirant. While Edol's happiness could not be said to be his happiness, nor was the happiness of Medant's relatives strictly speaking Edol's happiness, human feeling can win easily when there are no obstacles for it to overcome.
“I will do so, and soon you may write to me at my address in Iflarent's Hideout.”
Edol would have shaken his hand save that utensils occupied all the hands available. “As silly as it is to say so when I forced you into this because I am helpless in the matter, I hope you will have no hesitation at all in asking me for anything you consider helpful which I am able to provide.”
“Have you considered praying, or?”
Though Dirant recently saw a more impressive blush from the reporter Aptezor, at the time he thought Edol produced quite a good one. “You are engaging in levity, but in fact I have been doing some of that lately.”
“Ah, you as well?” The response disconcerted Edol; the chance of two educated young men who belonged to Fennizen's commercial sector admitting to religious sentiment must be low, even if one merely humored the other. Which was not the case then. After lunch, Dirant went so far as to research which gods appeared best to propitiate in relation to the present worry. He preferred not to involve his own particular patron, Holzd, the god who yearns for complexity, in a matter so straightforward as that one appeared to be at the time.
“And for all our feigned confidence that Mr. Medant would emerge from the unknown like a hero leaving the enchanted forest in a folktale, I have learned nothing of him, either that he came here before or is expected to do so,” Dirant concluded. “Of course he is not some famed condottiero such that his passing is always remarked, and yet neither is he a sojourner enshrouded by enigma, careful to disguise his face and name lest the law or his past reach him. Therefore I am unable to reassure his family and preserve my honesty together.”
“That's very troubling, Ressi.” Patting Dirant on the back as if he were the one who needed reassurance, Takki said, “And it's not as if you can wait here for word, quarter yourself in Ividottlof, and search the roads and bandit hideouts between there and his last known location at the same time. Well, I'm here now.”
“My hopes have been revived by that,” Dirant said. “Though before I inflict my problem on you, I am pleased to say that a cul-de-sac of the ancient city has been cleared and cavern supported sufficiently that a closer examination will take place tomorrow.”
“Oh! They say those areas frequently contain entrances to underground passages, don't they? If we want to avoid tearing down the ziggurats, those are the only routes which give access to most of their internal chambers. I read that in a book that was translated recently.”
“Ah, and was the author a Mr. Gabdirn Haubentlag, or?”
“That doesn't sound too far off. These Adaban names are hard to remember, though.” Seeing Dirant's expression, Takki frowned. “He isn't an Adaban, is he? I don't think a mistake like that could possibly be as amusing as you obviously think it is. Anyway, did you read the same book?”
“Rather than that, and rather than being amused by the entirely understandable difficulty there is in distinguishing us from Hewekers, the unexpected opportunity is given me to reveal Mr. Gabdirn is in this very camp.”
“That's amazing! I guess I shouldn't be so surprised given the nature of the site, but I am. Ressi. You made me be surprised on purpose.”
“Pardon me,” he said, and under the circumstances, she did.