Another part of my mind grabbed that thought and started turning it over.
“If I run, then I’ll be the only one in trouble, but if I try to be king, the whole kingdom suffers! That’s it! I have to leave. It’s the only decent thing to do. Thanks, Gleep!”
“Gleep?”
My pet cocked his head in puzzlement.
“I’ll explain later. All right. It’s decided. You two stock up on food while I duck back to my room to get a few things. Then it’s ‘Goodbye, Possiltum!’ “
I’ve had pause to wonder what would have happened if I’d followed my original plan: just headed for my room, gathered up my belongings, and left. The timing for the rest of the evening would have changed, and the rest of this story would have been totally different. As it was, I made a slight detour. Halfway to my room, Aahz’s training cut in. That is, I started thinking about money.
Even as a hunted fugitive, money would come in handy . . . and the King’s advance would only last so long. With a little extra cash, I could run a lot farther, hide a lot longer … or at the very least live a lot better. …
Buoyed by these thoughts, I went looking for J. R. Grimble.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer and I had never been what you would call close friends. Blood enemies would be a better description. Aahz always maintained that this was because of my growing influence in court. Not so. The truth was that my mentor’s greed for additional funding was surpassed only by Grimble’s reluctance to part with the same. Literally the same, since my wages came out of those coffers so closely guarded by the Chancellor.