Once the lamp was lit, he moved about the office swiftly. He carefully thumbed through papers in drawers and baskets atop the desk and found nothing but staff reports, inventory logs, and other mundane business. Lastly, he checked the sack of outgoing correspondence. Each of the messages was stamped with the colonel’s seal ready to be delivered. The intruder heated a thin knife in the lamp flame and slipped it carefully under each seal so as not to disturb the wax. Rezkin read through each missive, even finding those that Lieutenant Jimson was intended to carry.

A few of the messages to other commanders mentioned the rebel threat but did not go into detail. One of the letters outlined the locations and numbers involved with attacks in the last few months. Another appeared to be a reply to a previous letter from a Striker Hendina. It briefly mentioned the missing prince and wished the captain luck in his investigation.

Two letters caught Rezkin’s eye that were nearly exact duplicates. They were both about him. They provided his name and description and identified him as a sword bearer. The letters described his recent adventure with the bandits and his future plans. They even included the names and descriptions of his companions. One was addressed to the king’s seneschal, and the other was, interestingly, addressed to General Marcum.

After only a moment’s consideration, he returned the general’s letter to the bag, but slipped the letter to the seneschal into his pocket with the intention of destroying it later. Then again, it was a letter addressed to the seneschal with the colonel’s seal, and if he were to deliver it himself, it could easily be interpreted as a letter of introduction. Some people would pay a small fortune to have such a letter in their possession.

Making sure everything was back in order, he returned the room to darkness. Rezkin waited several moments while his eyes adjusted to the lack of light. After retrieving the strips of cloth from around the door and winding them back around his body, he slipped out of the colonel’s office and back down the hall. Escaping the fort without being observed was easier than getting in since the guards were looking for people entering, not leaving. Rezkin made his way back through the city without incident, and the difference between the peaceful Lorelis and the crime riddled capital city of Justain was never more apparent.

Rezkin climbed to the second-floor window of his room, which cast a small amount of light into the alley since Tam had left a candle burning. One glance through the window, and he had to smile. Was this his first genuine smile? Perhaps.