“Well, yeah. They got me and marked me when I could barely walk,” he said as he pulled up his sleeve. The tattoo was faded and slightly stretched and distorted from Benni’s growth. “I’ve always been small. Weren’t no good for bein’ an enforcer. I was always runnin’ and hidin’ from the bigger boys. Turned out it did me some good. Rom convinced that master I’d make a good sneak.”

Rezkin nodded in understanding. It seemed Rom had a soft spot for the underdogs. He had taken an awkward girl and a scrawny runt under his wing and helped them find a place in the guild where they would be relatively protected from the violence and terror the others endured—those like Broken, Cracker, and Ash.

It was quite late, and Rezkin had only a day before he was scheduled to leave Justain—one day to secure his power over the underworld of Justain. Rezkin handed Benni a few coppers to cover the cost of another meat pie and ordered the young man to meet him at dawn at a designated location on the docks.

When Rezkin returned to the inn late in the night, his innocuous roommate, Tamarin Blackwater, was sound asleep. He decided that Tam must have a very poor survival instinct to sleep so soundly, especially knowing a stranger would be sharing his room. The young man could probably sleep through a stampede of northern bison. Luckily for Tam, Rezkin held no ill intent toward him. In fact, Rezkin had every intention of providing Tam and Frisha both, with the protection he had promised, the protection he was obliged to extend under Rule 1.

Chapter 6

The following morning, Rezkin rose early, as usual. He cut his morning training routine short, only practicing his various combat techniques and weapons skills for an hour. He fed and watered Pride and then rinsed the sweat from his body and donned his armor, securing as many concealed weapons as he could fit. He departed before Tam awoke, leaving only a note indicating that Tam and Frisha should stay together at all times and remain near the inn. He mentioned that he had heard rumor of a war breaking out amongst the criminal elements of the city, and implored his two friends to remain safe while he secured their travel supplies and arrangements.