The Ruby Knight

own son. Such a thief I’ve never seen before.’
    ‘Ah – sorry, friend Kring,’ Tynian apologized, ‘but he’s not mine to sell.’
    Kring sighed. ‘Could you even steal horses, boy?’ he asked wistfully.
    ‘A horse is a little hard to fit in your pocket, Domi,’ Talen replied. ‘I could probably work it out, though.’
    ‘A lad of genius,’ the warrior said reverently. ‘His father is a man of great fortune.’
    ‘I hadn’t noticed that very much,’ Kurik muttered.
    ‘Ah, young thief,’ Kring said almost regretfully, ‘I seem to be also missing a purse – a fairly heavy one.’
    ‘Oh, did I forget that?’ Talen said, slapping his forehead. ‘It must have completely slipped my mind.’ He fished a bulging leather bag out from under his tunic and handed it over.
    ‘Count it, friend Kring,’ Tynian warned.
    ‘Since the boy and I are now friends, I will trust his integrity.’
    Talen sighed and fished a large number of silver coins out of various hiding places. ‘I wish people wouldn’t do that,’ he said, handing the coins over. ‘It takes all the fun out of it.’
    ‘ Two herds of horses?’ the Domi offered.
    ‘Sorry, my friend,’ Tynian said regretfully. ‘Let us take salt and talk of affairs.’
    The two sat eating their salted lamb as Talen wandered back to the wagon. ‘He should have taken the horses,’ he muttered to Sparhawk. ‘I could have slipped away just after dark.’
    ‘He’d have chained you to a tree,’ Sparhawk told him.
    ‘I can wriggle my way out of any chain in less than a minute. Do you have any idea of how much horses like he’s got are worth, Sparhawk?’
    ‘Training this boy may take longer than we’d expected,’ Kalten noted.
    ‘Will you require an escort, friend Tynian?’ Kring was asking. ‘We are engaged in no more than a slight diversion, and we will gladly put it aside to assist our holy mother Church and her revered Knights.’
    ‘Thank you, friend Kring,’ Tynian declined, ‘but our mission involves nothing we can’t deal with.’
    ‘Truly. The prowess of the Knights of the Church is legendary.’
    ‘What is this diversion you mentioned, Domi?’ Tynian asked curiously. ‘Seldom have I seen the Peloi this far west.’
    ‘We normally haunt the eastern marches,’ Kring admitted, ripping a large chunk of lamb off the bone with his teeth, ‘but from time to time over the past few generations, Zemochs have been trying to slip across the border into Pelosia. The king pays a gold half-crown for their ears. It’s an easy way to make money.’
    ‘Does the king demand both ears?’
    ‘No, just the right ones. We still have to be careful with our sabres, though. You can lose the whole bounty with a mis-aimed stroke. Anyway, my friends and I flushed a fair-sized group of Zemochs near the border. We took a number of them, but the rest fled. They were coming this way last we saw them, and some were wounded. Blood leaves a good trail. We’ll run them down and collect their ears – and the gold. It’s just a question of time.’
    ‘I think I might be able to save you a bit of that, my friend,’ Tynian said with a broad smile. ‘From time to time in the last day or so, we’ve seen a fairly large party of Zemochs riding to our rear. It might just be that they’re the ones you’re seeking. In any case, though, an ear is an ear, and the king’s gold spends just as sweetly even if it chances to be mistakenly dispensed.’
    Kring laughed delightedly. ‘It does indeed, friend Tynian,’ he agreed. ‘And who knows, it could just be that there are two bags of gold available out here. How many are they, would you say?’
    ‘We’ve seen forty or so. They’re coming up the road from the south.’
    ‘They won’t come much farther,’ Kring promised, grinning a wolf-like grin. ‘This was indeed a fortunate meeting, Sir Tynian – at least for me and my comrades. But why didn’t you and your companions turn around and collect the bounty?’
    ‘We weren’t really aware of the bounty, Domi,’ Tynian confessed, ‘and we’re on Church business of some urgency.’ He made a wry face. ‘Besides, even if we did gain that bounty, our oaths would require that we hand it over to the Church. Some fat abbot somewhere would profit from our labours. I don’t propose to sweat that much to enrich a man who’s never done an honest day’s work in his life. I’d far rather point a friend in the direction of honest gain.’
    Impulsively, Kring