Rented Swords part 1

This is the first part of Renter Swords.
* * * * *
Dana woke to the smell of frying bacon, biscuits, eggs and a blend of spices she couldn’t identify. That last one wasn’t surprising since she’d grown up in an isolated town at the edge of the kingdom. Merchants came rarely and didn’t bring exotic spices, so her mother cooked only with what could be grown locally.

“What did you put in there?” Dana asked as she got out from under a pile of blankets.

“Garlic, sweet bark and dragon pepper,” Suzy Lockheart told her. “A little dragon pepper goes a long way, and that’s a good thing. The last shop I saw offering it wanted three silver pieces a pound. Do any of Jayden’s underworld connections offer it cheaper?”

Dana rubbed her eyes and stared at the feast being prepared. Suzy had four pots sitting over the fire or cooling next to it. “The only smuggler friend of his I met left the kingdom months ago. Suzy, I don’t think we can eat that much.”

“Don’t be silly, I’m cooking for the entire day. We don’t have much alchemic fire for food preparation. That’s stuff is expensive, you know, so I do all the cooking before it goes out. These pots are breakfast, that one over there is trail cake for lunch, and that one is…something or other, I forget, but we’re having it cold for supper.”

Dana, Jayden, Suzy and Yub the goblin were staying in an abandoned barn miles from Armorston. They’d made the ruined building their base after fleeing the city two weeks ago. Knights had patrolled the roads vigorously for days after the four of them destroyed much of the city’s sewer network. Staying in place had avoided these patrols.

The barn had seen better decades, with holes in the roof and one wall missing, but it was large enough to fit the four of them plus Suzy’s wagon and horses. It was also far from the nearest house, so there was little risk of them being discovered. Still, Suzy only cooked meals over alchemic fire that produced no smoke.

Dana looked around their meager dwelling and only saw Suzy and Yub. “Where’s Jayden?”

Suzy handed her a plate of food. “He was muttering about wanting to get away from me, made some vague threats and went outside to practice his magic. Brooding isn’t attractive in men.”

Dana ate quickly, partly because she didn’t want the food to get cold and partly because it was so good. “This is incredible. Where did you learn to cook?”

“Cooking is no different than alchemy. Mix the right ingredients, stir as needed and don’t let it burn. Of course soufflés don’t explode and take out nearby buildings when you get them wrong. The analogy isn’t perfect.”

Once she finished eating, Dana handed back her plate and went to look in on Jayden. The last two weeks had been hard on him. He was still angry he hadn’t learned what had been inside the armored wagons in Armorston. Whatever it was, it had taken a lot of time, money and manpower to bring it to the city, and he wanted to know what warranted such a high cost. He was also chaffing at the extended time spent with Suzy Lockheart, a woman he barely tolerated.

Dana found Jayden standing in the snow behind the barn. There had been large snowdrifts around the barn, but Jayden’s experiments had long since blasted them apart. The handsome sorcerer lord was reading one of his spell tablets, muttering under his breath and occasionally swearing in frustration.

“You’ll catch cold,” she warned.

“Cold doesn’t bother me.” Jayden’s messy blond hair whipped in the steady breeze, as did the gray cloak he wore over his black and silver clothes. He tapped the spell tablet and announced, “Failure does, and this blasted spell has vexed me for months.”

“You learned your first spell in hours.”

Jayden held up the tablet for her to see. “There is one word here I never came across in my studies of the ancient sorcerer lords. I’ve been guessing at its meaning, and guesses aren’t enough when it comes to magic. You must have a precise understanding. Reginald Lootmore paid for my help with this spell tablet, a potentially valuable addition to my magical arsenal, and I can’t tap that power because of one word!”

Just then Suzy walked by and handed Jayden his breakfast. Once her hands were free and Jayden’s weren’t, she smiled and ran her fingers through his hair before walking away. “Morning, tiger.”

After she was out of earshot, Dana asked, “Why does she keep implying that you two are…you know?”

“I’d thought she’d finally abandoned her interest in me, and then we destroyed a large portion of a major city. Some women appreciate flowers, others poetry. Lockheart finds massive destruction romantic. As for why she insinuates we have been involved, I can only guess she hopes to inspire me to share her feelings.”

“That’s, um, okay, wow.”

Jayden smiled. “At a loss for words?”

Dana blushed. “Eat before your breakfast freezes.”

“Lockheart’s skill as a cook is one of her saving graces,” he said as he ate. “I marveled at her meals the first time we met, as did Lootmore and McShootersun. It was a tad disconcerting watching her butcher game animals we’d caught. I understand the necessity of the task, but her giggling was unnerving.”

“Lootmore told a funny joke!” Suzy shouted from inside the barn. “You know, the one about the bishop, the gnome and the landslide. Let’s see, how does it go?”

“The joke was long, boring, and inappropriate for young girls!” Jayden shouted back. He turned to Dana and said, “Cover your ears if she repeats it.”

Dana looked out over the cold, snowy wilderness around them. “I’m really glad no one lives here who could hear you two shouting. They might wonder what’s going on in an abandoned building that makes so much noise, and ask soldiers to investigate.”

Jayden gulped down his food. “Don’t expect me to be civil to the woman. She’s nearly killed me twice, and she might try again.”

Once his mouth was full, Dana asked, “How long are we going to stay here?”

He swallowed before answering, “I still want to know what was transported into Armorston at such a high expense. Until we learn what it is, get a lead on a better target or are forced to leave by superior forces, we wait and observe.”

Isolated and ruined as it was, the barn overlooked a road called King’s Way that led to Armorston. This wasn’t the only way into the city, but it was the largest and most traveled road. From here they could see every wagon, horse or pedestrian while still being in cover, except there had been no travelers on the road since they’d come.

“An imperfect observation post, I admit, but Gaston and men in his pay are watching the other roads leaving Armorston,” Jayden said. “We’ll know if the armored wagons leave and can pursue them. If more armored wagons try to enter the city, we can attack them before help arrives.”

Dana folded her arms across her chest. “How much do you trust him?”

“Gaston likes gold and we have it. He also likes breathing, a fact that can end quite suddenly if he betrays us. He can’t turn us over to the authorities for the reward money without revealing his involvement with us. Make no mistake, he’s not an ideal ally, but I’ve learned to take help from wherever I can get it.” Jayden raised an eyebrow and asked, “Can your friends provide aid?”

“If you mean the goblins, they said Armorston has archers on every street corner, and they’re shooting at anything that moves. I won’t have them die because of me.”

Jayden finished eating and set the plate on a nearby tree stump. “Admirably said. We have to be careful with the lives of those who favor us, especially when they are so few. Which brings up another topic.”

“What?”

“I need Lockheart to complete her contract with Brandish. Closing off a pass into that kingdom may be enough to save them from invasion. For that to happen she needs to make her bomb. I know a little of alchemy, and I believe she can use cheaper ingredients than phoenix blossoms and etherium to produce a cruder and less effective bomb. See if she can come up with alternative materials.”

Dana raised an eyebrow. “You could talk to her too, you know.”

“I need time alone with this spell tablet. Besides, you have a better rapport with her than I do. My conversations with Lockheart start with her flirting, and end with us screaming and trying not to be crushed by falling rocks.”

“Those rocks didn’t land anywhere near you!” Suzy yelled.

Dana picked up Jayden’s plate and went inside the ruined barn. She found Yub giggling and Suzy fuming as she went through her belongings. Suzy didn’t look up when Dana came close, merely saying, “I don’t know why I bother.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s trying to discourage you.”

Suzy pointed a finger at her. “It’s not working. I miss my adventures with Jayden, Lootmore and McShootersun. We worked well together, no matter what Mr. Picky out there says. The three of us is close to that team. We just need one more person who can put up with Jayden.”

“Doesn’t Yub count?” Dana asked. Yub heard the suggestion and spit out chicken feathers he was eating.

“He’s not looking for the spotlight or being in the line of fire,” Suzy explained. “We need someone who’s ready to go out there and do incredibly stupid things for poorly developed reasons, just like the rest of us.”

Dana was shocked that Jayden and Suzy had spent this much time together without someone getting killed. A long-term partnership between them was impossible. Rather than point that out, she asked, “How did you hear us out there?”

“You two talk too loud. Tell Jayden I need charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur, lots of it. And he’s right, it would be a big, crude bomb compared to what I wanted to build.”

“Would it do the job?”

“Oh please, I’ve been blowing things up before you were…that shadow looks an awful lot like a helmet.”

Dana peered over Suzy’s shoulder. Sure enough, shadows in the barn were twisting and bending until they looked like pieces of armor. Seconds later the armor launched into the air and shot out of the barn. They heard banging and clanking, followed by a yell from Jayden. Both women raced outside with Yub right behind them.

“So that’s what that spell does,” Dana said.

Suzy rolled her eyes. “Oh, look, he’s even harder to reach. I didn’t think it was possible.”

“Your concern for me is touching,” Jayden said sarcastically, his voice echoing inside the shadowy helmet. Jayden was flat on his back in the snow and encased in overlapping plates of ebony material that shifted and quivered until it solidified into an intimidating suit of plate armor. Long spikes jutted from the shoulder guards, wickedly barbed blades sprouted from the gauntlets, and in place of fingers the armor had long, thick claws like a bear. Jayden sat up and brushed snow off his chest.

“Magic armor,” Dana said. She wanted to help him up, but there wasn’t a part of the armor lacking blades, spikes or sharp edges. “This looks like a keeper.”

Jayden stood up and stretched his arms, first at the shoulders, then the elbows, and finally his fingers. “I’m less certain of that. I can move easily enough, and I think I can grip weapons, but there’s no way to cast spells with my fingers inside these claws. Impressive as this armor is, it’s worthless if I can’t use magic while wearing it.”

“Maybe the sorcerer lords used this spell to protect their bodyguards,” Dana suggested.

Suzy took a rock off the ground and tapped Jayden’s right arm. “Did you feel that?”

“No.”

She hit him far harder. “How about that?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t painful. Suzy, put that down this instant.”

Suzy dropped the far larger rock she was lifting. “It was an experiment.”

The armor boiled away, leaving Jayden disheveled and annoyed. “No spell is useful in all situations. This one is no exception. Still, it is a puzzle solved that had been vexing me, and a new tool to use.” He glanced at the distant road and added, “We have a visitor, possibly even a helpful one.”

Dana looked over and saw Gaston coming up the road toward them. The dirty little man wore layers of clothes to keep warm and hide his identity. Gaston was the only man who knew they were staying here, and he made regular visits to provide information and overpriced supplies. Jayden, Dana, Suzy and Yub waited patiently until Gaston stopped feet in front of them.

Gaston held out one hand. “Fifty gold pieces.”

“That’s a stiff charge,” Dana said.

“And one I have no intention of paying without good reason,” Jayden added.

“What I know is worth the gold,” Gaston said.

Jayden frowned. “You wouldn’t risk your own life to save ours, so you didn’t come to warn us of danger. You wouldn’t share riches, so you’re not offering an opportunity for treasure, unless it’s too dangerous for you to take advantage of. You’ve learned about the armored wagons in Armorston!”

Gaston told them, “The whole lot of them left this morning, guarded by swordsmen, archers and knights. The streets were cleared for them, every citizen kept indoors until they’d left the city. You want them, and I know which road they took. Find that out on your own and you’ll waste so much time you’ll never catch them. Fifty gold pieces buys the name of the road they’re on.”

The goblin Dana had met outside Gaston’s inn ran up to her. She’d been so focused on Gaston that she hadn’t noticed the far smaller goblin, especially since we was wearing a white cape that helped him blend in with the snow. “They’re on Inverness Road, going so slow a turtle could outrun them.”

“That was worth good money!” Gaston yelled at the goblin.

“I’m still peeved about that joke you made about my king,” the goblin retorted. “Nobody insults King Will the War Winner and walks away happy.”

“Thank you,” Dana said, and she kissed the goblin on the forehead.

“Not in front of witnesses!” the goblin sputtered. He saw Yub giggling and shouted, “Don’t you dare tell anyone about this!”

Jayden stepped in front of Gaston and counted out ten gold coins. “You were helpful, so some payment is justified.”

“Twenty gold coins worth of helpful?” Gaston asked hopefully.

“No. Dana, Suzy, collect our belongings and prepare to leave. If the wagons are on Inverness Road I have a good idea what their destination is. We’ll need a day or more to catch up, and then we can plan our attack.”

Dana approached the goblin to shake his hand, but the goblin backed away from her. “No more random acts of affection.”

“There’s nothing random about rewarding a person who’s helped you. Let me get you some cheese.”

It didn’t take long for them to load up Suzy’s wagon and head out. They saw Gaston trundling off into the distance, while the goblin was nowhere to be seen. That was no surprise given how good goblins were at hiding. Suzy handled the reins while Dana, Jayden and Yub rode on the back of the wagon.

Most people stayed indoors during winter, and not just to keep warm. Roads in the kingdom were few and poorly maintained, and even an average storm could cover them in snow that lasted until springtime. Severe storms, and there were plenty of those, could drop a foot of snow. Had there been ice on the roads all hope of catching the armored wagons would be lost.

Today they had to travel regardless of the weather, no easy task even for a wagon pulled by two strong horses. The animals made slow progress and left a trail an idiot could follow. Fortunately they were short of idiots at the moment, or any witnesses whatsoever, courtesy of the same cold weather that slowed them down. By nightfall they’d only gone twenty miles and made camp in a forest clearing.

Suzy heaved a dramatic sigh and fixed Jayden with a stern look. “Okay, I’m just going to come out and say it: why couldn’t you just magic us where we need to be?”

Jayden got off her wagon and stretched his legs. “Most sorcerer lord spells focus on inflicting damage rather than improving mobility. It’s actually interesting you should bring up that topic, because it’s one of the reasons why elves of old defeated the sorcerer lords. Elven magic has a number of spells allowing them to quickly travel great distances. Time and again they used those spells to outmaneuver the sorcerer lords, going deep behind enemy lines to do massive damage, then fleeing to safety.”

“Not the answer I was hoping for,” Suzy told him.

“Please, regale me with tales of how alchemy lets you travel a hundred miles a day.”

Suzy stuck her tongue out at him. “Spoilsport. I need to see to the horses. Yub, start a fire and get my pots out.”

“Dana and I will make sure we don’t have company,” Jayden said. He walked further down the trail from the wagon. Once they were a hundred feet away, he said, “We’re traveling slower than I’d like. I’m not sure we can catch up with the armored wagons at this rate, but walking through this snow would be no faster and more tiring.”

With Suzy and Yub far enough away that they couldn’t listen, Dana felt confident to broach a subject that had been on her mind for weeks. “Since we’ve got some privacy, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Your tone suggests this conversation is going to be painful.”

She smiled at him. “Doesn’t have to be. When we first met Suzy Lockheart, she said she knew you liked girls because she’d heard stories about you.”

“I was right, incredibly painful, and completely unwarranted. Dana, in our time together I never inquired about your love life, because it would be boorish to do so and it’s none of my business. It’s not unreasonable for you to show equal respect for my privacy.”

“We kind of crossed the privacy barrier when Witch Way showed me parts of your life,” she pointed out. “It was like I lived them.”

“Thankfully my time spent with women wasn’t one of those shared experiences.” He glanced at her and frowned. “A number of stories circulate concerning my life, most total fabrications and the rest only partially accurate. Whatever Suzy thinks she knows should be considered hearsay or products of her deranged mind.”

“So the topic is closed?”

“Closed, dead, buried on unhallowed ground and never to be touched again.”

“I understand,” she told him. “You feel strongly about this, and I won’t bring it up again. Suzy can tell me what she’s heard, and I’ll correct anything I know is wrong.”

Dana took two steps back when she heard Jayden say, “You didn’t used to be this manipulative.”

“I learned from the best.”

He waved for her to return, and she ran back. He frowned again before beginning. “I’d like to know what brought up this topic.”

“We’ve been spending weeks with Suzy drooling over you, and Maya fell for you, but you never return their interest. I want to know why.”

Jayden hesitated before answering. “I suppose it does no damage given how many of my secrets you already know. I want to make it clear, though, that this is for your ears and no one else’s.”

Dana jogged in front of him. “So, is there a girl you’ve got your heart set on?”

“No.” Jayden looked off into the distance. “My life since leaving The Isle of Tears has been largely one of isolation. I took refuge in wild places, tracking rumors of sorcerer lord ruins to loot for gold and magic. I met few people, many of them criminals seeking the same riches I did. There were only three women I traveled with. Two ended disastrously.”

Dana’s blood ran cold. “What happened?”

“I met the first girl when I was seventeen. She was young, pretty, kind, and desperate to escape the small town she grew up in. We crossed paths at a shop where I was selling weapons I’d stolen from bandits. She’d heard rumors of me and followed me to a camp I’d made in a nearby forest. When I saw her, I feared she would report me to the authorities. Instead she begged to join me. She wanted excitement and adventure her hometown couldn’t offer, and freedom from gossiping neighbors.”

“A strange woman showed up at your camp and you thought, ‘Hey, this could work?’” Dana asked.

“Yes,” he said crossly, making her blush. “I was young, lonely, uncertain of myself, and having an attractive girl my own age express an interest in me was flattering. Her courage and competence nearly matched your own, and she was a great help many times. Our relationship developed from friendship to romance.

“Any hope it could lead to marriage nearly ended in tragedy. A manticore was terrorizing small villages in the northwest of the kingdom, and I made the mistake of hunting it with her. I found the beast and wounded it twice. It thought better of attacking me and decided she was easier prey. She ran for her life with a bloodthirsty monster in hot pursuit, barely reaching the cover of woods too thick for it to follow. I caught up with the beast and hacked it to pieces in my fury.

“As much as she cared for me, she’d come within inches of dying, a risk she couldn’t bring herself to take again. She begged me to leave the kingdom with her and start new lives far away. Peace, happiness, companionship, it was an offer any man should have accepted, and I refused. I couldn’t abandon my quest against the king and queen. I found her a new village to settle in and gave her a hundred gold coins. The last I’d heard, she had a husband and children she adored.”

Dana had started this discussion from curiosity and a desire to help Jayden open up to her. Instead she’d opened an old wound. Tears formed around her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but they kept flowing.

“My second experience with a woman was shorter and less pleasant,” he continued. “We met in Pearl Bay after I’d looted a tomb of a sorcerer king. She’d heard I was spending money freely. She was pretty and poor, and my newfound wealth attracted her attention. I should have had the good sense to say no, but after nearly being killed for what seemed like the hundredth time I was tired of being alone. She knew much of the region and helped me locate more tombs. She also used me to get back at her enemies, which didn’t bother me when they were so repugnant.”

“This one ended badly, too, didn’t it?” Dana asked.

“Oh yes. We visited the Kingdom of Brandish, where I’d heard a collector had a spell tablet for the shadow hand spells you’ve seen me use. The man was pleasant enough, but unfortunately he knew the full value of his possessions. I had to pay a thousand gold coins in currency and jewels for the tablet, everything I had. When the woman found out she was furious. She hated being poor. She said that money was hers as much as mine, not an unreasonable point of view when she’d helped me find some of it. I told her I wouldn’t hesitate to make similar deals in the future.”

There was anger in his voice when he continued. “She demanded to know why I hadn’t killed the collector and taken the tablet and the rest of his property. I hadn’t thought her so vicious, or that she thought I was a casual killer who would cut down an innocent man. Her question ended our relationship.”

“I, I didn’t know,” Dana said as she fought back tears.

“You can see why I don’t share this.”

Waving her hands in the air, she cried out, “I just, when I asked, I couldn’t figure out why you didn’t already have a girl! I thought you turned Maya and Suzy down because there’s a princess waiting for you to come back to her, or a nymph.”

“Why would a princess wait for a dead prince or a wanted criminal? As for nymphs, I haven’t met any, and I’m told on good authority they’re far more conservative than you’d expect. It would be nice to find out in person, though.”

Jayden put his hands on her shoulders. “Those failed relationships made me cautious. People I care for can be placed in incredible danger by being near me. Some women would use me if they could, while many don’t share my goals. When I first met Suzy Lockheart I felt no attraction, for I had experience with disasters of the heart. I had no trouble seeing how badly it would end between us if I’d accepted her invitations. I didn’t pursue a relationship with Maya because I didn’t want to hurt her, physically or emotionally.”

“Wait, you said there were three girls you traveled with,” she pressed.

“Ah, yes, the last one.” Jayden smiled as he walked away from Dana. “She wasn’t looking for romance. She needed my help and decided to ‘fix’ me, as women often do. She saw qualities in me I’d thought long dead, and worked hard to unearth them. Clever, brave, loyal, it’s amazing a suitor hadn’t married her before we’d met.”

Curious, Dana asked, “What happened to her?”

Jayden laughed, a welcome sound after such a horrible tale. Without looking back, he asked, “Happened? You’re still here.”
* * * * *

The next day brought more agonizingly slow travel. Suzy’s horses had difficulty with the snow and needed frequent breaks to rest and feed. Halfway through the day they went through the wagon’s contents and threw out anything not essential to lighten the load, and Jayden and Dana walked alongside. This only helped a little.

When they stopped to make camp again, Jayden declared, “Our path will overlook Inverness Road in another mile. I’m going to scout ahead and see if I can find our targets.”

“I’ll have a fire and hot food ready when you get back,” Suzy said. Judging by the number of pots she was taking off her wagon, she was planning on cooking several meals at the same time again. She threw an arm around Dana and added, “And we can swap secrets once you’re gone.”

Dana froze. “What?”

“Oh come on, I saw the way you looked when you came back last night. You two had deep, emotional, heart to heart conversation. I want details!”

Dana slipped out of Suzy’s grip and ran after Jayden. “Wait up!”

“I did warn you about her,” Jayden reminded Dana once she caught up with him.

“I’m sorry for not taking you more seriously, and for joking about you two. Suzy doesn’t have boundaries, I mean any of them.” She hesitated before saying, “You seem worried. Is there a threat on this road?”

“Duke Wiskver has a large estate not far ahead. He is one of the king and queen’s staunchest supporters from the days of the civil war. Wiskver was originally a merchant who imported food and clothes during the conflict, saving many lives and freeing up farmers to be trained as soldiers. After the war ended his reward was to be made a nobleman and given the estate of a disloyal duke.”

“How tough is he?”

Jayden waved his hand. “Personally, not very, but the man is obscenely wealthy. He has trading rights with other kingdoms and earns a fortune every year. Wiskver can afford the best of everything, including guards, and he is fanatically loyal to the throne. That’s in large part because other nobles despise him for being a jumped up pretender while they have been nobles for generations. If the king and queen fall he is sure to follow, for his peers will never support him.”

“I bet that’s where the wagons are headed,” Dana said. “Armored wagons have to cost a bundle, plus whatever they’re carrying, and this guy sounds like he’s got the cash.”

“It’s a likely destination. Our disastrous visit to Armorston may have convinced the duke to relocate the wagons to a safer location, like his manor house.”

They reached the overlook and saw a wide road to the south. Dana and Jayden worked their way down the slope and inspected the road. There were plentiful footprints in the snow, a fair number of hoof prints and deep wagon ruts. Dana followed the ruts until she came across a pile of horse droppings.

“It’s cold but not frozen. We’re hours behind them.” She spread the droppings with the tip of her boot. “No bits of hay in the manure. I think they’re feeding the animals oats.”

Jayden raised an eyebrow. “You can tell that from droppings?”

Dana folded her arms across her chest. “You grew up in a castle. I grew up on a farm.”

“Fair point. I see lights on the horizon, likely our quarry. It’s far enough ahead that we can’t reach it quickly, and a long march in this cold is dangerous. We’ll return to Suzy and tell her the good news. With luck we can catch up with them tomorrow.”
* * * * *

The following morning there wasn’t any luck to be had. A storm rolled in and dropped two more inches of snow, enough to slow them down even further and reduce visibility. The only saving grace was that the armored wagons they were chasing would suffer equally under these harsh conditions. Hours went by while they inched forward. It was dark when they stopped again, this time close enough to see the armored wagons and the manor house.

The manor was three stories high in the center of a cluster of equally large buildings. Dana saw two large barns, an enormous stable, two granaries, a blacksmith shop and more. The wagons were parked next to one of the warehouses while the oxen were led to the stable. Surrounding these buildings and wagons were tents and cheery fires, and around those fires were hordes of armed men.

“This is a level of screwed I’ve never experienced before,” Suzy said as she peered into the darkness. “There’s got to be a thousand soldiers camped around the manor.”

“Not all of them are soldiers,” Jayden told her. “Half wear blue and black uniforms of Skitherin mercenaries, which is ironically worse than if they’d been soldiers.”

“They’re evil?” Dana asked.

“They’re competent,” he corrected her. “Soldiers fight when ordered to, often time going months or years between battles. Mercenaries are paid only when they fight, so they fight constantly. Frequent battles make them skilled warriors. Their leaders’ only loyalty is to their next payday, and unlike army officers who receive their positions from royal decrees, their positions come from success in battle. We can expect neither mistakes nor mercy from them.”

“You take me to the nicest places,” Suzy said.