As’ad didn’t check on his cart as they walked toward the edge of town. He trusted their respect for his position to keep it safe. Indeed, as his host began speaking again, he heard the familiar creak of the wheels keep pace with them as someone brought it along.
“We’ve heard of your skills and experience. Does this look like what you’ve encountered before?”
“Did the rats appear en masse suddenly or trickle in a few at a time?”
“The Marzaries saw just a couple last night!” someone interjected from the crowd that ringed them.
This inspired some of the others to add their personal accounts. As’ad let the overlapping statements continue until it became too loud to distinguish the individual words. He raised his hands, and appreciated the immediate silence that followed.
“It does sound like the pattern I’ve been tracking across Sharamil.”
“How did you get here so quickly?” a suspicious female voice demanded.
As’ad turned to discover the pretty girl he had noticed yesterday walking by his elbow. She was even more attractive up close, with her flashing black eyes and straight nose.
He nodded politely and explained that he had already been heading this way.
“Why?”
As’ad sent a quick glance toward the mayor, but the town’s leader didn’t object to the girl’s questioning.
“Someone or something is pushing this epidemic,” he explained, neglecting to mention that it was him. “My investigation led me to believe that this unnatural phenomenon would soon work its way west. Maybe I can get in front of it soon.”
The young woman held her tongue, but As’ad could feel her dark eyes boring a hole in the back of his head as he followed the mayor the rest of the way to the storehouse.
His hours of piping the night before were paying off. The artificial rodents oozed around the circles of fire and people, constantly seeking a way in while avoiding everything that could discredit their reality.
He took a long moment to observe the situation, rubbing his chin, narrowing his eyes in thought, and occasionally nodding to himself. He finally addressed the mayor. “I take it nothing you’ve tried has been able to hurt them?”
The man shook his head. “The vermin are unnaturally fast.”
“Agreed. That and their unwavering determination to get into the food supplies despite all the opposition has me convinced that these are more of the magically compelled rats I’ve been hunting.” As’ad clasped his hands together. “Which leads me to good news and bad news.”
The mayor braced himself. “What’s the good news?”
“My pipe can take care of this problem. But it’s going to cost a pretty penny,” As’ad finished before the mayor was too relieved. “My expertise isn’t cheap, and it’s expensive to track this malicious magic across the country.”
The other man set his jaw. “What’s the damage?”
As’ad named a price that caused the mayor’s eye to twitch. The counteroffer was half that. A few more townsfolk who held positions of authority joined the discussion, and the real haggling began.
They argued that the town couldn’t afford the full price. The “expert” asked if they could afford that many torches and constant guard rotations. One of the men insisted that paying that much money for less than a full day’s work was criminal. As’ad suggested one of them rent his pipe and try it for themselves, reminding them that they were paying for his years of expertise and a specific job, not a set amount of manual labor.
After several more of these back-and-forth arguments and rebuttals, a price was settled upon. It was more than the town’s first offer while being considerably less than his initial quote. As’ad was content with the amount.
Now the trickiest part of the con would begin.
“Why aren’t they leaving any excrement?” the girl from earlier asked, interrupting his train of thought.
No one had ever questioned that part before, so As’ad pretended he hadn’t been listening right away while his mind tripped over possible excuses. “Hmm? Oh, that.” He gestured vaguely toward the ever-shifting mass of rodent bodies swirling around the ring of fire. “I haven’t worked out yet why the original curse-maker—or whoever is responsible—left that part out. But we can be grateful that they did. Can you imagine the diseases that could be spread?” He looked to the older members of the crowd, shaking his head. “Losing an entire harvest is bad enough.”
The assembly agreed with him, murmuring to each other about the injustice of having the town’s food stores decimated, even though nothing of the sort had actually happened here.
“Before I begin, I would like to collect a few specimens from different areas, if you don’t mind.” As’ad walked over to the handcart and carefully snagged an empty cage without revealing the ones containing rats.
A few of the town elders looked confused, and possibly alarmed, by the request. One woman, holding herself with calm competence and carrying a doctor’s bag, nodded and came to As’ad’s defense. “Yes, of course. Samples are important for the scientific process.”
As’ad nodded his thanks. He was then escorted to several locations within town where the rat infestation was most noticeable. Using some sleight of hand and misdirection, he was able to “capture” enough apparitions to explain his pets should anyone dig through his things. That oversight had once threatened the entire operation early on, and he now took pains to add that caveat to the enchantment.
