Роберт Асприн - Forever After

“You might be right,” Stiller said. “He certainly hasn’t been himself lately. I’m just hoping it’s the pressure of his pending marriage and coronation that’s doing it, and that he’ll settle down again once all that is over.”

“We can always hope.” The dwarf shrugged. “In the meantime, what are we going to do with Mothganger?”

“I was hoping you’d nave some ideas.” The warrior sighed. “The dragon Schmirnov was my last card. I haven’t even heard of another creature fierce enough to guard such a prize.”

“If only ”you hadn’t killed that manticore,“ Ibble said.

“You mean the ogre, don’t you?‘

“No, I mean the manticore,” the dwarf insisted. “Remember, the one you chopped down before we could talk to it?”

“Hey. It surprised me. Okay?” Stiller said defensively, “I expected to find it on top of the hill and approach it slowly. When it burst out of the bushes right on top of us, I just swung out of reflex.”

“I was there. Remember?” Ibble said. “That’s most of why I thought it would be best if I made the first approach with Schmirnov.”

“I’ve already apologized a hundred times for that. You want to hear it again? Okay. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have killed the manticore. There. Does that make things any better for us?”

“All I meant was, it left us with one less potential guardian for the sword… and we didn’t have that big a list to start with.”

“I know,” the warrior said dejectedly. “Let’s see, the original ogre guardian and the manticore are both dead, the merpeople refused the job, as did the dragon. Where does that leave us?”

“Sitting on a hillside talking to ourselves.” Ibble sighed. “I still think we could just bury it or drop it down a ravine or something.”

Stiller shook his head.

“We’ve been over that before,” he said stubbornly. “The only way that would work is if we killed everyone in our party afterward… including the Prince’s pet wizard and ourselves. Otherwise, someone’s bound to talk and the word would get out that there was a powerful artifact just lying around waiting to be picked up. No, we need a guardian, a fierce one. Something nasty enough that even if someone finds out where Mothganger is hidden, they’ll think twice about trying to fetch it.”

“I don’t suppose you’d consider just taking it back to the capital,” the dwarf said. “As the dragon pointed out, there shouldn’t be any danger if it’s the only artifact there.”

“That’s assuming the others are successful,” Stiller pointed out. “Besides, I don’t like the idea of being the only one of the old fellowship that couldn’t carry out my assignment.”

“Then we’re stuck,” Ibble said, picking up a rock and throwing it at a bush. “I guess we could try talking to the merpeople again.”

“They seemed pretty adamant in their refusal,” the warrior said. “Besides, I’m not sure that it would do a sword any good to be kept under water.”

“It’s supposed to be indestructible,” the dwarf observed drily. “That’s what makes it so valuable.”

“Against wear and breakage, maybe. But it’s still steel, and water and steel are old enemies.”

As he spoke, Stiller drew the sword and studied its glowing blade.,

“It looks ordinary enough, except for that glow,” he said. “I wonder if that has anything to do with its indestructible nature.”

“Naw. That’s just a light spell.” Ibble waved.

“Excuse me?”

‘The glow. It’s just an elven light spell,“ the dwarf said. ”They’re fairly easy to cast, and last a couple centuries. Whoever made the sword probably tossed it in as a bonus.“

“You never said anything about that before.”

“You never asked before. I assumed you already knew about it.”

“I never heard of such a thing. How do you know about it?”

“There’s an elven sword maker in the village where I grew up. He would add a light spell to anything if you asked him.”

“How far away is your village?”

“A couple day’s ride from here. If we have the time when we’re done with this mission, maybe we could stop there and. I’ll introduce you to him.”

“Let’s go there now.” Stiller said, rising to his feet..

“Now?”

“Yes. I think I have an idea.”

The elven weaponsmith looked disdainfully at his two visitors.

“Young man,” he said, “if it were not for the fact that little Ibble here says you’re his friend and a hero, I’d say that you were either a fool or insane.”

“I assure you, sir, I’m neither,” Stiller said calmly.

“Well, it certainly couldn’t be told from your request. Duplicate Mothganger?”

He gestured at the glowing sword they had placed on his workbench.

“If I could do that, I wouldn’t be running my shop out of a tiny village like this. Half the spells that went into the making of this sword have been lost in the march of time, and the ones that are still remembered would require years just to assemble the ingredients. You’re wasting your time… and mine!”

“Please, Anken,” Ibble said. “Hear us out.”

“You misunderstand me, sir,” the warrior said. “I’m not asking if you can produce a second Mothganger. As you say, that is well beyond the skills and knowledge of any weapons maker known today. What I require is a sword that looks like Mothganger. An ordinary weapon with a light spell cast on its blade.”

Anken looked back and forth at the two comrades for a moment.

“A bogus Mothganger,” he said at last. “I never heard of such a thing. You two wouldn’t be thinking of trying to sell the phony as the real thing, would you? Or maybe give the fake to the rightful owner, while keeping the real one for yourselves?”

“I cannot disclose the reason for our request,” Stiller said stiffly. “But I give you my word that our mission and need are honorable and aboveboard.”

“You’ve known me all my life, Anken,” the dwarf put in. “Have you ever known me to be anything other than honest?”

“That’s true,” the elf said thoughtfully. “The fact is, you were always a bit dull that way.”

“So can you do it?” Stiller urged. “More importantly, will you do it?”

In answer, Anken picked up Mothganger and began studying it closely.

“Really isn’t much to look at, is it?” he said, almost to himself. “Have a seat, boys. I think I’ve got a couple old swords in storage that will give us just the parts we need. Might have to rework the pommel, but that shouldn’t take long.”

“Lord Dragon? Are you here? It’s Stiller Gulick and Ibble.”

The great reptile turned his head toward the source of the sound.

“Stiller?” he said. “Are you back so soon? Does this mean you’re ready to start my poker lessons?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” the warrior said. “But first, I have a surprise for you.”

He gestured to the dwarf, who reached into the gunny-sack he was carrying and withdrew a sword with a glowing blade.

“ Stiller .” Schmirnov’s voice was heavy with warning and menace. “I thought I already made my feelings on the subject of that sword very clear.”

Stiller seemed to ignore him completely.

“Set it there, Ibble,” he said, pointing to a spot a mere three paces from the cavern’s entrance.

“ STILLER !”

“Now, then, Lord Dragon,” Stiller said calmly. “As I understand it, your concern is that some misguided or overconfident person will take that weapon and attempt to use it on you. Is that correct?”

“I told you before, I won’t have Mothganger in my cavern. It’s too dangerous.”