Rezkin leveled his stare at Tam. “Very well, let us go into the yard. We will spar with daggers, since that is all you have. If you can defeat me, I will leave you both alone, and you will never see me again. If I win, we will travel together to Kaibain.”

Tam immediately snapped his mouth shut as his face lost some of its color. Staring into cold blue eyes, he nearly started shaking. Swallowing hard, he cleared his throat and said, “No, I think you’d best leave us alone. Just because you’re the stronger fighter doesn’t mean you can bully your way into our lives.”

Frisha gasped, “Tam!”

“No, Frisha, I won’t let him threaten us,” replied Tam.

Rezkin was taken aback. He had not expected Tam to interpret his words in such a way. He felt the tightening in his chest, again as he reached into his purse to retrieve a few coins. He placed them on the table and stood. Bowing low toward the two companions he said, “I beg your pardon. I truly meant no offense, nor did I intend to threaten or frighten either of you. I apologize if I have dishonored you. I only meant to offer my protection to my newfound friends. Master Tam, if you were unable to find suitable lodging for your stay, I am willing to vacate my room so that you can stay near to Mistress Frisha. Do not worry yourselves that I will cause you problems, for you will not see me again.”

Rezkin turned and, staying cognizant of his surroundings, made his way back to his room. The bathing tub had been removed, but nothing else seemed to have been disturbed. He roved over the space, once again looking for traps and poisons, and after finding none, he began to pack the few items he had left out. He would need to pick up his laundry later. Rule 1 was going to be harder than he thought. Protecting and honoring seemed like easy things to do, except when they conflicted with each other. In trying to protect his new friends, he had dishonored them.

Rezkin was sorely disappointed in himself. He had only found his friends little more than an hour ago, and he was already failing miserably. Now, in order to protect them, he would have to follow them at a distance, staying unseen. That is what he promised them, after all … that they would not see him. How would he secretly protect them on a riverboat? Surely they would know he was aboard. Riverboats were not so large, after all. He would have to disguise himself. Neither of them had seen his horse, so Pride would not give him away. But, was it dishonoring them to mislead and pursue them in secret?

Communicating with outworlders was so much more difficult than the masters had said. He tried using the lines he had been forced to memorize and mimicked the gestures and pleasantries, but it was tiring and confusing at times. When he thought he had performed a gesture just perfectly, people would stare at him with confusing expressions.