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.Come back every hour on the hour if you can, but don't risk yourself or the thapter for us.'For the very first time, some kind of feeling showed in her eyes, as if she'd realised that he was, after all, a human being not completely without redeeming features.To be abandoned in a city possessed by the lyrinx was not pleasant to contemplate.'I won't,' she said.They gathered on the sloping roof beside the thapter with all their gear: packs full of tools for breaking and entering, coils of rope, a small hand winch, weapons.It was as dark as a cellar full of coal and the roof was wet and hard to stand on.'Ready?' said Nish.'Come on, Vim,' he hissed in the direction of the rear platform.'Get a move on.''Phar's not here.''What?' Nish scrambled up the back.The stench lingered in the open turret but it was empty.Nish felt along the rails, encountered the ropes and ran his fingers down them.The ends had been neatly severed.'He must have had a blade hidden away, and jumped off as soon as we touched down,' Nish raged.'Why didn't anyone search him?''We searched him,' said Vim.'But, well.''I know,' said Nish.It was a disgusting job.There was no point blaming anyone.But it was not a good start.F ORTY - TWO'I dare say he'll come back once he's done his bit of pilfering,' said Slann.'He won't want to stay here.''If he does I'll kick his arse right out into the middle of the bay.'They had to break in through the roof.It wasn't difficult but pulling up slates in the dark made more noise than Nish liked.'If there are any lyrinx about,' he said, 'they now know we're here.And they'll see us even though we can't see them.''It'll be a quick death then,' said Slann, who had a melancholy disposition.'Though not a painless one,' said Vim.'Better get down there, quick.'He fixed a rope around a roof beam.They climbed down it and, after breaking though a ceiling, ended up in the top floor of the warehouse.It was empty.'Suppose the silk will be in the basement,' said Slann, 'and we'll have to carry it up ten flights of stairs.''Shows how much you know,' scoffed Vim.'They wouldn't keep precious silk in the basement where it'd go mouldy.It'd be up high, where it's warm and dry.Naw, I reckon the place is empty.''It'd better not be.' Nish gloomily headed for the stairs.Before long they were on their way up again.The warehouse contained nothing but rat droppings.The thapter was still there, thankfully.Phar was not.They climbed in.'Empty,' said Nish.Tiaan did not look surprised.'Shall I go to the next one?''Please.' He sat on the floor and put his head in his hands.Nish had a pretty good idea what he would find in the second warehouse.Nothing.Phar must have been extracting a petty revenge, and now that he was gone they had no hope of finding the right warehouse.The second warehouse took a long time to break into, but proved as empty as the first.Nish was in a sick despair by the time he returned.Tiaan said nothing at all, just carried them to the third.Nish consulted the stars as they got out.It was three in the morning.Dawn was around seven-thirty.Plenty of time if the warehouse was empty.Not long at all if they found what they wanted and had to lift it through the roof.The top floor proved to be empty.So did the one below that.Halfway down the stairs, Nish paused.'I can smell something.''So can I,' said Vim.'Frying onions.'It had not occurred to Nish that there might still be people living in Thurkad.He'd assumed that the lyrinx would have driven them away, or eaten them all.But unless the enemy had become vegetarians, there were people below.'Where's it coming from, do you think?'Slann sniffed the air.'Can't tell.''Be as quiet as you possibly can.If they find us, they're bound to want a ride to somewhere safe.'Nish shuttered his lantern to a slit and crept around the corner onto the next level.He slid open the door, shone the light around and could have wept for joy.The whole floor was packed with rolls of cloth.'Come on,' he hissed, running to the first stack.It proved to be cotton, and so did the second, but the third was silk.Beautiful silk.Nish sorted through the rolls.It didn't have to be the finest cloth but it needed to be strong.All the rolls at the top turned out to be too fine, no use for anything but scarves and nightwear.'The best stuff is right down the bottom,' said Nish.'Pull that one out, would you?'The soldier, whose name he could not remember, hauled at the roll.It did not budge.'We'll have to shift the ones up top first.'Vim climbed the end of the stack, which was a couple of spans tall, and began hurling rolls down from the top.They thumped onto the floorboards.'Don't do that!' Nish waved his arms frantically.'If there are people below, they'll come up to see what's going on.Hand the damn things down.'They were all panting by the time they'd uncovered the bottom of the stack, and the dust was tickling their noses.Nish resisted the urge to sneeze.'Help me unroll this one.'They spread it out along the floor.It was good strong cloth, better than anything they'd been able to obtain at Fiz Gorgo.There were no flaws, no rat or moth holes.He paced out the length and width, calculating, then rolled it up again.'We'll need eight of these to make three airbags.Vim, Slann, take this one.Leave it upstairs at the rope and come straight back.''It's bloody heavy,' said Slann, a weedy man, as they heaved it to their shoulders.'Just get on with it.'They went out, the cloth sagging between them.Scarcely had they turned the corner when there came a cry of rage.'Hoy! Put that down, you.Neahl, Roys, they're stealing our cloth.'The other four soldiers pelted to the door.Nish drew his sword and followed with the lantern
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