Paragraph: (Fiction-stories-masc-Nathans_Bylichka-6.txt)
Sent 1: He continued to lie in place, still breathing heavily.
Sent 2: I tried to keep myself calm.
Sent 3: Then, with a sigh, he said, "I have need of a certain stone that I once possessed.
Sent 4: It would allow me to leave this bed, despite my current illness.
Sent 5: My problem is that it was not made in this realm, but by a human, and only a human may handle it.
Sent 6: The herb vendor will tell you where you can find it.
Sent 7: If you would fetch me this stone, I would tell you what I can." "Of course we will fetch you the stone," Nepthys assured him.
Sent 8: "You have our thanks." Outside, the thing at the herb cart nodded when we mentioned the stone.
Sent 9: He told Nepthys the name of a woman who lived on a certain street, and we set off.
Sent 10: When we reached the street, I expected some sort of temple, or a row of antiquaries, or at least a sleazy, black-market relics merchant.
Sent 11: Instead, it looked like we were in the red-light district: women who probably wanted more than our money eyed us from the alleys.
Sent 12: Nepthys didn't need to warn me not to speak to them.
Sent 13: He took us to the door of a building like a short pagoda that had a sign hanging over it showing a face with hands uplifted, like a saint under G d's light, and handcuffed.
Sent 14: Inside, the entrance room was hung with bright silks and scattered with velvet cushions.
Sent 15: Sails of obscene orange and a green that insulted springtime hung draped across reds that might have been sensual elsewhere but here were only offensive.
Sent 16: A large woman, similarly decorated, quickly drifted up to us.
Sent 17: "Good evening, gentlemen," she said.
Sent 18: "May I invite you to have a cup of tea?" "No, thank you," said Nepthys, "we regret that we cannot take up your kind offer.
Sent 19: Are you the proprietor of this shop?" "Yes," answered the woman.
Sent 20: "I am Madame Entera, at your service.