'Everyone knows that we are dealing with a barren waste, but the King is insuring against 'what everyone knows' being wrong.

'None whatsoever,' said the lawyer, with a wry smile. Miss Dearheart paused as if to compare the litany against an internal list, stubbed out her cigarette and said: 'Is there any reason to believe that there are any of these things there?' 'The Low King has decreed that all jewellery, armour, ancient items classified as Devices, weaponry, pots, scrolls or bones extracted by you from the land in question will also be subject to a tax or confiscation.' 'Then there is the matter of antiquities,' said the lawyer, watching as much of her expression as could be seen through the haze. Blue smoke from her cigarette spiralled towards the office ceiling. He waited for any kind of reaction from the woman opposite, but she just stared at him. It is said to be sand and silt all the way down, and apparently it is a very long way down.' Not that there will be any, I'm bound to say. You will have to pay him a considerable royalty on any that you remove. 'You understand, Miss Dearheart, that this area is subject to dwarf mining law? That means all metals and metal ore are owned by the Low King of the dwarfs. He gave the woman on the other side of his desk a suitably concerned smile. When parties are interested in unprepossessing land, it might pay for smaller parties to buy up any neighbouring plots, just in case the party of the first part had heard something, possibly at a party.īut it was hard to see what there was to know. And Mr Blister the lawyer wasn't getting an answer. It was a hard bargain, but hard on whom? That was the question.

This time in between was immaterial.īut some had shattered and some, the younger ones, had gone silent. There was a time when they had not been here, and there would be a time, presumably, when they would, once more, not be here.

There was no way of measuring the passage of time, nor any inclination to measure it. Waiting in darkness - A bargain sealed - The hanging man - Golem with a blue dress - Crime and punishment - A chance to make real money - The chain of gold-ish - No unkindness to bears - Mr Bent keeps time

Making Money by Terry Pratchett