Free MA06 Little Myth Marker by Robert Asprin Page A

returned his attention to his wine. “I’ll avoid comparing lists of how often which of us has gotten us in how much trouble and simply concede the point. I guess that’s part of what a partnership is all about. Sorry if I seem a little snarky from time to time, but I’ve never had a partner before. It takes getting used to.”
    “I say! Well said, Aahz!” Chumley applauded. “You know, you’re getting more civilized every day.”
    “Let’s not get too carried away just yet. How about you, Chumley? You and your sister have helped us out often enough, but I don’t recall either of you bringing your problems home with you. Isn’t that a little lopsided?”
    “I’ve always figured it’s our way of kicking in on the rent,” the troll said casually. “If our problems ever start interfering with your work, then I’ll figure we’ve overstayed our welcome.”
    This came as a total surprise to me. I realized with a start that I was usually so busy with my own life and problems that I never got around to asking much about the work Chumley and Tananda were doing.
    “Whoa up a minute here,” I said. “Are you two having problems I don’t know about?”
    “Well, it isn’t all beer and skittles,” the troll grimaced briefly. “The subject at hand, however, is your problems. There’s nothing on my plate that has a higher priority just now, so let’s get to work on the latest crisis, shall we? I suggest we all put on our thinking caps and brainstorm a little. Let’s just stare at the ceiling and each toss out ideas as they occur to us.”
    I made myself a little promise to return to the subject of Tananda and Chumley’s problems at a later date, then joined the others in staring thoughtfully at the ceiling.
    Time crawled along, and no one said anything.
    “Well, so much for brainstorming,” Aahz said, reaching for the wine again. “I’ll admit I’m coming up blank.”
    “Perhaps it would help if we started by defining the problem,” Chumley urged. “Now, as I see it, we have two problems: Markie and Bunny. We’re going to have trouble figuring out what to do about Bunny until we find out what Don Bruce has up his sleeve, and we’ve got to come up with a way to keep Markie from totally disrupting our lives until her father comes to pick her up.”
    “If he picks her up,” my partner corrected helpfully.
    “I’ll admit, I still don’t know how you did so well in that game to end up with Markie in the first place,” the troll said, cocking one outsized eye at me and ignoring Aahz.
    “Dumb luck... with the emphasis on dumb.”
    “That’s not the way I heard it,” Chumley smirked. “Whatever your method was, it was successful enough to make you the talk of the Bazaar.”
    “What!?” Aahz said, sitting up in his chair again.
    “You would hear it yourself if you weren’t spending all your time sulking in your room,” the troll winked. “When I went out after little sister today, it seemed that all I was hearing about was the new dragon poker champion of Deva. Everybody’s talking about the game, or what they’ve heard about the game. I suspect they’re embellishing upon the facts, from some of the descriptions of the hands, but there are those who are taking it all as gospel.”
    I remembered then that when the game broke up, the other players had been very enthusiastic about my playing. At the time, I had been worried about the secret of my night out reaching Aahz (which, you’ll recall, it did before I got home). The troubles with Markie and Bunny had occupied my mind and time ever since, so I hadn’t stopped to think of other potential repercussions of the game gossip. Now, however...
    Aahz was out of his seat, pacing back and forth. “Chumley, if what you’re saying is true... are you following this, partner?”
    “Too bloody well,” I growled.
    That got my partner to pause momentarily to roll his eyes.
    “Watch yourself,” he warned. “You’re starting to talk like Chumley