"True. My armor was impervious to the teeth of the monster," Gawain agreed. "But the mail was flexible, so I could wear it with comfort and not be restricted when fighting. That reptile had very powerful jaws. When it crunched, no tooth penetrated-but I was squished to death. A dragon never would have done that, for fear of hurting its teeth against the magical hardness of the armor-but that stupid reptile did. It broke a number of its teeth and put itself in dire straits-but it wiped me out in the process." The ghost sounded disgusted.

"Now I understand," Norton said. "I regret meeting you in such circumstance." That was polite; Norton might have regretted meeting Gawain alive, too.

"No fault of yours," Gawain said. "You are a courteous listener. Many people fear ghosts or ignore them."

"Many people are more settled than I am," Norton said. "Perhaps that applies to their minds as well as their bodies. Since you profess no anger toward me, I accept you as a well-meaning companion and hope I may in some way help you." For, ironic as it seemed, he found himself liking the ghost. Gawain alive stood for nothing Norton stood for, but as a ghost, he was an interesting companion. Maybe that was because his evil was safely behind him.

"I like your manners," Gawain said. "I can see we don't see eye-to-eye on everything and I think it's because you're a gentler man than I was. Be assured I offer recompense for the favor I ask. Would you like to learn how to slay dragons?"

"Oh, I do not require pay for any favor!" Norton protested. "Then it wouldn't be a favor."

"This is not really a minor matter. I would prefer to pay. The favor is in merely agreeing to do it."

"Why, then, I should be happy to learn how to slay dragons, though I hope never to have to use such knowledge." That was an understatement; he would never knowingly go near a wild dragon without defensive magic-and with that magic he would not have to slay it. "But what is this favor?"

Gawain frowned. "I prefer to provide more background first, lest you be unable to accept the request."

Norton was growing quite curious about this. The ghost was a tough, direct sort, with quite alien values, but he was also a gentleman by his own reckoning. Why was he being so circumspect about this? "By all means, sir."

"When I died, I had amassed a fair fortune, in addition to my inheritance," the ghost continued. "Actually, the inheritance has not yet come down to me, as my father lives, but I am the only heir. It is important that the estate remain in the family. Therefore, my surviving family arranged for a ghost marriage. That is, they married me to an excellent and healthy young woman of proper lineage who-"