“He will likely have scouts and ambushes prepared,” Ecton said. “At first sight of our march, he will tell the other nobles assembled for the trial that we are working for Arista and that they need to defend Essendon against us. There is simply no way for us to march until we have more forces.”
“Waiting,” Alric said sadly, “will surely see Arista burned at the stake. Now, more than ever, I feel guilty for not trusting her. She saved my life. Now hers is in jeopardy, and there is little I can do about it.” He looked at Hadrian and Royce. “I can’t simply sit idly by and let her die. But to act prematurely would be folly.”
The prince stood and walked over to the thieves. “I have inquired about you two since we arrived. You’ve been holding out on me. I thought you were common thieves. So imagine my surprise when I discovered you two are famous.” He glanced around at the other nobles in the room. “Rumor has it you two are unusually gifted agents known for taking difficult, sometimes nearly impossible, assignments of sabotage, theft, espionage, and even, on rare occasions, assassinations. Don’t bother denying it. Many in this room have already confided in me that they have used your services in the past.”
Hadrian looked at Royce and then around at the faces of the men before them. He nodded uncomfortably. Not only were some of the men past clients, some had been targets as well.
“They tell me you are independents and are not aligned with any established guilds. It’s no small feat to operate with such autonomy. I have learned more in a few hours from them than I did after days riding with you. What I do know, however—what I discovered for myself—is that you saved my life twice, once to honor a promise to my sister and once for no reason I can discern. Last night, you challenged the might of the Lord Chancellor of Melengar and came to my aid against a superior force of trained killers. No one asked you to, no one would have faulted you for letting me die. You could expect no reward for saving me, and yet you did it. Why?”
Hadrian looked at Royce, who stood silent. “Well,” he began as he glanced at the floor, “I guess—we’d just grown kind of fond of you, I suppose.”
Alric smiled and addressed the room. “The life of the Prince of Melengar—the would-be king—was saved, not by his army, not by his loyal bodyguards, nor by a grand fortress—but by two treacherous, impudent thieves who didn’t have the good sense to ride away.”
The prince stepped forward and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “I’m already deeply in your debt and have no right to ask, but I must beg you now to display the same poor judgment once again. Please save my sister and you can name whatever price you wish.”
“Another last-minute, good-deed job,” Royce grumbled as he stuffed supplies into his saddlebag.
“True,” Hadrian said, slinging his sword belt over his shoulder, “but this is at least a paying job.”
“You should have told him the real reason we saved him from Trumbul—because we wouldn’t see the hundred tenents otherwise.”
“That was your reason. Besides, how often do we get to do royal contracts? If word gets around, we’ll be able to command top salaries.”
“If word gets around, we’ll be hanged.”
“Okay, good point. But remember, she did save our skins. If Arista hadn’t helped us out of the dungeon, we’d be ornaments for the Medford Autumn Festival right now.”
Royce paused and sighed. “I didn’t say we weren’t doing it, did I? Did I say that? No I didn’t. I told the little prince we’d do it. Just don’t expect me to be happy about it.”
“I just want to make you feel better about your decision,” Hadrian said. Royce glared at him. “Okay, okay, I’ll see about the horses now.” He grabbed his gear and headed for the courtyard, where a light snow was starting to fall.
Pickering had provided the thieves with two of his swiftest stallions and any supplies they thought they might need. Ella had a late-night snack and a sizable travel meal prepared for them. They took heavy woolen cloaks to brace against the cold and dark scarves that they wrapped around the lower half of their faces to keep the chill of the wind off their cheeks.
“I hope we will meet again soon,” Myron told them as they prepared their mounts. “You two are the most fascinating people I have ever met, although I suppose that isn’t saying a lot, is it?”
“It’s the thought that counts,” Hadrian told him, and gave the monk a bear hug, which caught the little man by surprise. As they climbed into their saddles, Myron bowed his head and muttered a soft prayer.
“There,” Hadrian told Royce, “we’ve got Maribor on our side. Now you can relax.”
“Actually,” Myron said sheepishly, “I was praying for the horses. But I will pray for you as well,” he added hastily.