Slide-Rule had been their strategist. She had taken the beaten armies of Falonbeck to victory over the Sullenfeld Hordes and now even the Dragon Prince of Halafalon wouldn’t stand in her way. And if she could keep Sir John L'Crue on side, what she wanted she would get. Bus-Pass was one of their best fighters. She was a thief who made an art out of her trade. But her frequent confrontations with the Sheriff of Jasanta had instilled an admiration that went way beyond mere professional competition. Chalk-Dust was their scout. Thoughtful and methodical, she could find anything anywhere. But what she had stolen from the hidden tomb of Edred the Mighty would have to be returned before the Sullenfeld Hordes caught and skinned her to get it back. Blue-Tack was their leader. Strong, intelligent, and a fierce fighter, she had only one true enemy, an enemy who had taken away the only thing she cherished. And she lived only for the day when she would finally get even. Gym-Slip was the thorn in their side. Always full of the joys of life, she was a trickster, a comedienne who found fun in everything they did. And what she told Bus-Pass about the Sheriff was just low-down dirty rotten. Buy-Row was their biographer. Quiet and shy, she was a romantic book worm. She read everything she could find about lost cities and hidden tombs. And what she learned she told Chalk-Dust to find. They had spent a lifetime together on Ellerkan. It had been a lifetime of adventure, robbery, mayhem and sex whenever they could get it. Now, after twenty-eight years came their reunion. The flesh may have been weak, but the spirit was still willing, and what happened was what always happened when the Sixpack were around -all Hell let loose. And into all this came Johnson Fold. He was only interested in a little horse trading. Ellerkan was just the sort of backwards planet where his skills and artistry could be most fruitful. And as he often said to his partner, Sinita Khan, What could possibly go wrong?
