MYTH-Interpretations: The Worlds of Robert Asprin Read Free

sister," Pookie said, winking, "so do you. I'm not one to brag, but if I can't teach you as well or better than Aahz taught Skeeve, I'll hang it up. If nothing else, I think I've got better material to work with from the get go."
    "Thanks, Pookie." Spyder smiled. "That means a lot to me."
    "Don't mention it," Pookie said, holding up her flagon for her companion to clink with. "If nothing else, it beats the military gig you just got clear of."
    "No question there." Spyder nodded.
    She took a long pull of her own drink, then set it on the table with a decisive thump.
    "So, how do we go about looking for work?"
    Pookie cocked her head in surprise.
    "Why, exactly what we're doing now. What did you think we were doing?"
    "The same thing we've been doing for the last month." Spyder shrugged. "Sitting around a tavern and drinking. Frankly I've been wondering when we were going to get started adventuring."
    Pookie held her hand over her eyes for a few long moments before responding.
    "Look, dear," she said finally, "remember what I was saying about us being pretty much criminals? Well, the old adage that ‘Crime does not pay' is actually a shortened form of ‘Crime does not pay well.' Well, in our line of work, that means that either you do a lot of little jobs...which ups the odds of something going wrong...or few big jobs and live on the proceeds between."
    "So what does that have to do with us sitting around a tavern?" Spyder frowned.
    "I'm coming to that. Now there's primarily two ways of finding work. Either we roam around and try to pick up a rumor or situation that takes our fancy, or we sit in one place and let the information come to us. Taverns in general are gold mines of information, and ones like this that cater to dimension travelers of all types are prime places to hear about a specific caper."
    She glanced toward the door.
    "Speaking of which, here comes a likely prospect now. Let me take the lead here. Little sister."
    Spyder turned to follow Pookie's gaze.
    Just inside the door, steadying himself on the back of a chair, was a warrior. His chain mail, helmet, and sword marked him as such, even though the body that was wearing it was rotund and hairy, topped with a head that sported a pig snout and tusks. Also noticeable was the fact that his left arm was in a sling and he moved with a noticeable limp.
    "Care to join us, friend?" Pookie said, raising her voice. "You look like you could use a drink and some sympathetic company."
    The newcomer studied them for a moment, then shrugged and lurched his way over to their table.
    "Thank's for the invite," he said, dropping heavily into a seat. "It's more than I expected. Whoever said ‘No one likes a loser' sure knew what they were talking about."
    "First things first," Pookie said and waved the barmaid over.
    After another round had been ordered and delivered, including a large flagon of ale for the guest, the three settled into conversation.
    "Thanks again," the warrior said, taking a long draught from his flagon. "Truth to tell, I was trying to decide between having a drink or getting a room. The war chest is about tapped out after paying the healers. By the way, the name's Trog."
    "Pookie and Spyder here," Pookie said, indicating who was who with a wave of her hand. "Looks like you're coming off a rough job."
    "Darn near got my head handed to me." Trog said, taking another drink. "Sounded easy going in, but they all do until you're up against it."
    "What was the job, anyway?" Pookie said. "You look to me like someone who could handle most anything and anybody."
    "It was one of those ‘Kill or scare off the beast that's terrorizing the countryside' deals," Trog explained. "This time around, it was a Hefalump. Never tangled with one before, but like you say, I can handle most things without much problem."
    "Don't tell me, let me guess," Pookie said. "No money up front. Just a reward if you're successful. Right?"
    "Got it in one," The warrior confirmed. "That's where the