Rincewind looked around. Where the heck was the little man? The person in question had been giving Rincewind a continual headache for the past month. Completely oblivious to most of the dangers of the world, little Twoflower ran around Ankh-Morpork, the most dangerous city on the Disc, as if it was a kiddie playground. Rincewind had just glimpsed the hem of the little Trob's coat, when a chill ran down his spine.
"HELLO, RINCEWIND."
"Oh, Gods, not you again. Can't you leave me alone for once? I know you're after my soul because of the Shades affair, and the Arch Duke; that one wasn't my fault. Excuse me now, have to catch a madman."
"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE. DEATH ALWAYS KEEPS HIS APPOINTMENTS. UNLIKE YOU."
"Are you feeling all right? You never used to talk in third-person."
"DEATH IS- I MEAN, I AM FEELING PERFECTLY FINE. I SWEAR, YOU WILL PAY FOR THE SHADES AFFAIR. I STILL HAVE PAPERWORK FROM THAT!"
"Sorry, I'm feeling fine, not about to kick the bucket now."
"SOON, RINCEWIND. VERY SOON."
Without a backwards glance, Rincewind ran like hell away from the Reaper. Many people may not know it, but Death can hold grudges like you wouldn't believe. The Shades incident involved a cart full of fuel, an unwary Rincewind with a torch, and fifty-four innocent bystanders (and one opossum, but nobody talks about that). Not pretty. For some reason, Rincewind was unharmed, which may or may not have been good, since Death had blamed him for the entire thing. Ever since, Rincewind had had to watch his back, for Death apparently can't let things go and move on. Maybe it's because time stands still for him.Rincewind had seen Twoflower's Luggage dart around the corner of a building, and decided to follow it. If he could not see the Luggage for a few seconds, no matter. The pitter-patter of hundreds of tiny feet made noise enough to track by. I swear, Rincewind thought, if that lunatic wasn't filthy stinking rich, I wouldn't care about the fact that the Disc would be thrown into war. I'd be so far away from here, it wouldn't be funny. Alas, Rincewind's life was more or less bound to the fate of the happy little man. Oh, well, thought Rincewind, if I'm gonna walk away from this, better find him. And with that, he set off in the direction of the sound of tiny, shuffling feet.