Boghaz studied him with shrewd little eyes. “What are you, friend?”
“You heard me—I come from far beyond Shun.”
From beyond Shun and from beyond this whole world, Carse thought grimly. But he couldn’t tell these people the incredible truth about himself.
The fat Valkisian shrugged. “If you wish to stick to that it’s all right with me. I trust you implicitly. Are we not partners?”
Carse smiled sourly at that ingenious question. There was something about the impudence of this fat thief which he found amusing.
Boghaz detected his smile. “Ah, you are thinking of my unfortunate violence toward you last night. It was mere impulsiveness. We shall forget it. I, Boghaz, have already forgotten it,” he added magnanimously.
“The fact remains that you, my friend, possess the secret of”—he lowered his voice to a murmur—“of the Tomb of Rhiannon. It’s lucky that Scyld was too ignorant to recognize the sword! For that secret, rightly exploited, can make us the biggest men on Mars!”
Carse asked him, “Why is the Tomb of Rhiannon so important?”
The question took Boghaz off guard. He looked startled.
“Do you pretend you don’t even know that?”