He ran some fifty paces and then saw another flickering sign on the right. It was a huge arrow in a cool blue, pointing in the opposite direction. As Jemidon watched, it grew even larger, from a short stub to an elongated shaft vibrating with energy and somehow promising excitement back down the path.
Jemidon sucked in his breath, reaching to savor the hint of spice thai still remained in the air. He took a reluctant step back toward the stall. Two others rushed past to join a line rapidly forming down the way. He shrugged and sprinted to jostle shoulders for a place.
Crammed stomach to back in a single file, Jemidon waited his turn, his mouth watering. With a hand damp with anticipation, he fumbled in his pouch to see what coins were there. Up in front, the flickering scene took on more and more animation. He saw the stones pour in a rushing stream from the sack, The hands clutched backward against a woman's thinly veiled chest. Pale eyes under silky, raven-black hair seemed to look directly at him. Pouting lips beckoned with promises of more delights to come.
When he reached the counter, Jemidon emptied his pouch. 'As many as this will buy,' he said. 'I have no tokens, else I would take even more.'
'Your metal is good,' the man behind the partition said as he scooped the coins into a large sack. 'Or even items in trade. Collecting tokens is not my master's desire. And you are fortunate. These are the first scentstones to go on sale.'
Jemidon waved aside the words as a half-dozen small, smooth stones were placed in his outstretched hand. He spun around and shouldered his way back toward the street, carefully clasping his purchase. With a glimmer of recognition, he saw that the divulgent, Benedict, was in the queue, eagerly pressing forward with the rest. But Jemidon had no time for such irrelevancies now. He ran out onto the street and then into the first connecting passage on the right. Hands clutched together, he traced a zigzag path through the alleys and lanes of Pluton, making it impossible for any would-be thief to follow, searching for the perfect hiding place in which to examine his treasure.
Finally, almost an hour later, his energy spent, he ducked into a dim alleyway and pulled to a halt. He brought his fist to his face and cautiously cracked open his grip to savor again the encompassing euphoria. With the first whiff, his fingers relaxed. Slipping into a daze, he contemplated the pebbles in his palm.
'I must withdraw my vaultholdings!' a voice shouted behind his back. 'The rumors grow more persistent, and I must make sure!'
Vaultholdings, Jemidon thought dimly as he inhaled. Augusta and the grotto. There is something that I should tell her, something about the-
Suddenly two merchants bumped past, knocking Jemidon to the wall and scattering the scentstones to the ground. A flash of anger burned away his inattention and he swung instinctively at a flowing robe as it raced by. He took one step after, but then halted and dropped to his knees. With a frantic pawing, he ran his hands over the rock-strewn path, searching for his treasure. A hint of purple translucence caught his eye and then a small sparkle of orange.
Hastily, he scooped up two stones and ran back onto the wider street. In the full glare of the sun, he opened his fist to verify that he had recovered what had been dropped. But as he looked in disbelief, he saw that he held only smoky quartz weakly tinted with color. A hint of cinnamon drifted upward. The exotic aroma was no more.
Jemidon scrambled back to the alleyway to search the ground more methodically, but after several minutes he found no pebbles more precious than the ones he held in his hand. He examined them again, but the compulsion was totally gone.
He shook his head at what he had done. He held common rock, inexpertly sprayed with a cheap scent. If they were more clear, the stones might pass for semiprecious citrine and amethyst, rare enough in the islands. But as they were, they should have been no more than an idle curiosity, not worth his time. What gave them such an allure? How could such commonplace trinkets evoke such a desire?
Another mystery! Jemidon grimaced in annoyance.
Enough! Developments were piling up too fast. Sorcery, magic, casting adrift, and now plain pebbles with an almost irresistible attraction that had vanished after an hour'. There was no time to think of it further. First he must help Augusta and secure his own freedom before investigating additional puzzles. He had spent all his money and had to depend upon her now. With determination, he thrust the stones away. Locking his eyes straight down the path, he ran the rest of the way to the street of the vaultholders.
When he arrived, he saw that the hint of something amiss had already begun to spread. Every office was busy with at least two or three customers. A long queue snaked out of one doorway and down the street. Ignoring the angry glances, he pushed his way through the gathering crowd and into Augusta's anteroom.
'I am not making a formal withdrawal.' One of two heavy-set men pressing against the partition waved his arms at the clerk. 'I still intend to pay full fee. I merely wish to examine my cache of tokens to ensure that all is well. They will be returned within the hour.'
'We keep only a small quantity here to handle the usual transactions,' the clerk said. 'Your deposit is too large, and we must wait for the next tide to bring back more from the grotto.'
'The agreement is for full surrender on demand for any sum less than forty tokens,' the second customer said. 'Any other vault on the street would not try to delay.'
'Our service is as good as any other.' Augusta pushed open the door from the back. 'It is just that you are the fifth in a row to ask for a large withdrawal with only one depositing in between.' She handed a writ to the clerk and then forced a smile back to the customer. 'And with a moment's patience, your treasure will be secure. My girl will find a vault that temporarily overflows. I will arrange a loan for the rest of the day and then repay it when the fluctuations balance out.'
The clerk ducked under the table and headed for the street, squeezing between three more customers who had entered and crowded behind the two in front.
'Any more withdrawals?' Augusta asked. 'Step forward. Sums less than-less than three tokens can be honored immediately. Larger treasures will take a few minutes more. And, of course, deposits of all sizes are readily accepted. There is still time to get them recorded so that your vote in the election will be more.'
Before anyone could reply, agitated voices suddenly erupted in the street. Five or six more men surged into the anteroom, jamming the doorway. Through the window, Jemidon saw a large crowd gathering.
'Ah, trader Andor,' Augusta said over the noise. 'You were here but minutes ago with your withdrawal of twenty-five. No doubt all is well, and you wish to return your deposit to the vault's safekeeping.'
'I want my wealth!' the short, balding man in front of the new arrivals shouted back. 'This time, tokens of magic, not simple disks of cold steel!'
The crowd strained forward in a chorus of apprehension, pushing Jemidon to the wall and completely filling the small room. Augusta looked about worriedly and ran her tongue over her lips.
'But they are true tokens,' she said. 'Yesterday evening I counted them into the very sack you hold in your hand. Twenty-five exactly, there is no doubt.'
'Twenty-five indeed,' Andor snarled. 'Twenty-five pieces of worthless metal!' He flipped the sack open and hurled a handful of coins to spatter against the wall at Augusta's back.
''They are no different from the ones securely held in the grotto,' Augusta persisted. 'One magic token is the same as another.'
'Then the ones in the vault are worthless as well!' someone else shouted. 'We have been swindled. Our fortunes are gone!'
'Gold or silver,' another said. 'If she cannot pay in tokens, let it be their equivalent, and we can exchange them elsewhere.'
'If you desire another metal,' Augusta said hurriedly, 'I will do what I can. But, like the tokens, my holdings here are small. The first in line and perhaps one or two more.'
'The vault has no more tokens! Only gold for some in the back room. Get what you can! The rest she cannot pay.'
With a sudden push, the men in front slammed aside the table and poured through the opening. They knocked Augusta to the floor and pounded into the other room. With raised fists and incoherent shouts, the rest of the crowd cascaded after.
Jemidon pushed forward with the others. He reached Augusta where she had crumpled and elbowed one of the depositors away. A fist slammed into Jemidon's back, staggering him to his knees. He twisted to the side and
