Vimes looked at the watery, fried-egg eyes, the emaciated frame, the thin dribble of gods-knew-what from a crusted nostril. Brick wasn"t telling lies. Brick had enough trouble dealing with things that weren"t made-up.
"Tell Mister Vimes about the wukwuk," Detritus prompted.
"Oh, yeah," said Brick. "Dere was dis big wukwuk in der cave."
"I think I"m missing a vital point here," said Vimes.
"A wukwuk is what you make wi" charcoal an" nitre an" Slab," said the sergeant. "All rolled up in paper like a cigar, you know? He said it was-"
"We call dem wukwuks "cos dey looks like ... you know, a wukwuk," said Brick, with an embarrassed grin.
"Yes, I"m getting the picture," said Vimes wearily. "And did you try to smoke it?
"Nosir. It was big," said Brick. "All rolled up in their cave, jus" by the manky of tunnel I fell into."
Vimes tried to fit this into his thinking, and left it out for now. So
... a dwarf did it? Right. And, at that moment, he believed Brick, although a bucket of frogs would make a better witness. No sense in pushing him further right now, anyway.
"Okay," he said. He reached down and came up with the mysterious stone that had been left on the floor of the office. It was about eight inches across, but curiously light. "Tell me about Mr Shine, Brick. Friend of yours?"
"Mr Shine is everywhere!" said Brick fervently. "Him diamond!" "Well, half an hour ago he was in this building," said Vimes. "Detritus?"
"Sir?" said the sergeant, a guilty look spreading across his face. "What do you know about Mr Shine?" said Vimes. "Er ... he a bit like a troll god ..: Detritus muttered.
"Don"t get many gods in here, as a rule," said Vimes. "Someone"s
pinched the Secret of Fire, have you seen my golden apple? It"s
amazing how often we don"t see that sort of thing in the crime
book. He"s a troll, is he?"
"Kinda like a ... a king," said Detritus, as if every word was being dragged from him.
"I thought trolls didn"t have kings these days," said Vimes. "I thought every clan ruled itself."
"Right, right," said Detritus. "Look, Mister Vimes, he Mr Shine, okay? We don"t talk about him much." The troll"s expression was a mixture of misery and defiance.
Vimes decided to go for a weaker target. "Where did you find him, Brick? I just want to-"
"He came callin" to help you!" snarled Detritus. "What you doin, Mister Vimes? Why you go on askin" questions? Wi" the dwarfs you have pussy feet, must not upset "em, oh no, but what you do if dey was trolls, eh? Kick down der door, no problem! Mr Shine bring you Brick, give you good advice, an" you talk like he bein" a bad troll! I"m hearin" now where Captain Carrot, he tellin" the dwarfs he the Two Brothers. You fink that make me happy? We know dat lyin" of dwarf lie, yes! We groan at it lyin" yes! You want to see Mr Shine, you show humble, you show respect yes!"
This is Koom Valley again, thought Vimes. He"d never seen Detritus this angry, at least at him. The troll was just there, reliable and dependable.
At Koom Valley, two tribes had met, and no one blinked.
"I apologize," he said, blinking. "I didn"t know. No offence was meant."
"Right!" said Detritus, his huge hand thumping on the table.
The spoon jumped out of Brick"s empty soup bowl. The mysterious rock ball rolled across the table, with an inevitable little trundling noise, and cracked open on the floor.
Vimes looked down at two neat halves. "It"s full of crystals," he said. Then he looked closer. There was a piece of paper in one glittering hemisphere.
He picked it up and read:
Pointer & Pickles, Crystals, Minerals & Tumbling Supplies,