maybe not wish to be served by what I had to remind Kadakithis I am for was?}
“Just a damned thief!”
Over the next several days he spread the money around, happily giving a silver
coin to dear old Moonflower (“because you’re beautiful, why else?”) and two to a
one-armed beggar with two fingers missing, because Hanse recognized a victim of
Kurd; and he gave to others. The krrf dealer was suspicious on receiving a
silver Ran-kan Imperial (“for the future, just in case; don’t forget my face,
now!”) but he took the coin.
And always when the spawn of shadows returned to his room above a tavern, always
his secret hiding place offered one ring and five silver coins.
Tempus, meanwhile, had been astonished, but certainly agreed to the training. He
assigned Nikodemos called Stealth to the daily duty. And now it had gone on, and
on, day after day of practice and sweating and cursing, and now Niko had told
him that he was good, and a natural. Elated, Hanse had sunk a knife into the
fellow’s shield while of course pretending that it was a sneer become action.
Then he had saluted and betaken himself around that building while Niko stood
looking long-suffering and boyish, and on the way home Hanse had given away a
silver coin. He had already spent another this day. And there were five
remaining in his room, too.
He opened his eyes. He knew absolutely that a moment ago he had been sleeping
soundly, and had come instantly awake. There was no time to wonder why; all he
had to do was turn his head to see that it was still dark, the middle of the