> There's a fun thought- New Vlad story?
Oddly enough, if the next Vlad story DOES pick up right there, I think
it would be interesting for Steve to (again) write in the person of
someone not Vlad -- or, perhaps instead of an 'Athyra' (entirely in the
person of someone !Vlad), an 'Orca' (part Vlad, part the other). The
person I'd select would, of course, be the one guy we REALLY have all
been waiting to hear the inner thoughts from, the one guy in the Jhereg
still more-or-less loyal to Vlad -- Kragar. The scene starts rolling
in my head:
The guy I hired to take over for Melestav wasn't as good; not for
the first time I cursed the idiot for taking that shot at Vlad. I
suppose I didn't blame him; the price on that particular Easterner's
head made the amount they paid him to take a certain Dzur/Dragon
crossbreed Jhereg for a walk in the jungles seem piddly by comparison.
And then my new secretary walked into my office.
"Boss, you ain't gonna believe this, but you'll never guess who's
sitting in Valabar's right now."
I've always hated guessing games. "The Empress?"
He shook his head. "Nope. That Easterner, Taltos." He didn't
pronounce Vlad's name right; you just can't get good help these days.
I sat there for about a minute, then shook my head. Vlad coming
back to Adrilankha meant he was either completely insane, wanting to
give a Morganti blade a dinner as good (to its palate) as Valabar's was
to everyone else's, or ... I couldn't come up with a third reason.
"Okay. Good work. Ummm, keep a lid on this; I don't want every
two-bit hood getting in our way trying to take a shot."
"Right, boss." He walked out. Maybe stupidity was something you -
should- hire for every now and then. I shook my head; I hoped Vlad
wouldn't mind seeing an old friend -- once he noticed me, I mean...
--
Thomas Crain