General Marcum’s face was pale, and his jaw sagged. How could Rezkin already know all of his plans? He had only made out the order to his men a few hours ago. Rezkin had somehow not only learned of his plans, but had also taken the initiative to make arrangements. How did Rezkin make arrangements in Marcum’s name to begin with? And, how did he get the names of the Jebai House Guards? Marcum did not even have that information, yet. He had spoken to Simeon only last night, and it had not even been confirmed that the Gerrand boy was attending.

Rezkin gave the general’s mind a moment to catch up. “Arrangements have been made for lodging in Skutton. Four rooms have been reserved at the Coral Cove Inn and another three at the Sun Coast Inn. The inns are located directly across from one another. You will find that space is limited due to the influx of travelers for the tournament.

“I am impressed you were able to get that,” Jimson mumbled under his breath.

“You cannot possibly have made arrangements already. It is ridiculous. How would you have gotten word to Skutton, much less received a confirmation?” General Marcum scoffed.

Rezkin cocked his head and replied, “I used the Mage Relay, of course.”

“What!? How did you get access to the Mage Relay?” Marcum shouted.

Rezkin raised a brow and deadpanned. “Really?”

General Marcum scowled. “I want to know exactly how you got your information. Some of what you know is only a few hours old.”

“No, General, you really do not,” Rezkin mused before striding out of the room.

The previous night, after following the general to his brother’s home, and before going to the Diamond Claw Guild and the Assassin’s Guild, Rezkin had spent a few hours sneaking into Houses Jebai and Gerrand to retrieve as much information as he could about their inhabitants. Both Houses had decent guards for what they were, and he had been unfamiliar with the layouts of the estates.

Slipping through the palace and accessing the general’s office after he had left the healer’s sanctuary had been less difficult. People were expected to be roaming the halls of the palace at that time, and Rezkin was intimately familiar with the layout. The interior of the northern fortress in which he grew up was an exact replica of the interior of the palace. It was a fact of which Rezkin had been aware, but until today had not really considered to be of interest. Now, he had to wonder why that was.