Rezkin smiled to soften his words. “I do not think Mistress Frisha is a fool.”

Tam barked a self-deprecating laugh. “No, no she’s not.”

“When were you planning to leave,” the young warrior asked.

“We were going to see if we could purchase passage on a river boat tomorrow. From what I hear it takes a day or two to reserve a space, so maybe the day after?”

Nodding, he said, “That will be fine. I can go with you in the morning to make arrangements, but I will need the afternoon to complete a task.”

“After breakfast, then?” asked Tam.

“Yes, good night, Master Tamarin,” he replied. He shifted his pack and turned to leave.

“Wait!” Tam nearly shouted.

The young warrior turned back to him with sad blue eyes. At least, Tam thought they looked sad. “I don’t have any intention of kicking you out of your room, although I do truly appreciate the gesture. The innkeeper said I could sleep in the common room once all the patrons have gone, so it worked out after all. It turns out it’s a lot cheaper that way, too.”

Rezkin could tell that Tam wanted to escape the room but was blocked by Rezkin’s own large frame. He frowned at the thought. The common room would not be secure by any means. Anyone could sneak up on the unsuspecting young man. It was one of the most vulnerable places he could think of, only one step above sleeping out in the street. Tamarin would presumably be protected from people outside the inn, but anyone from within could sneak down upon him. In addition, Rezkin imaged that all of those patrons below had no intentions of leaving until very late.

Rezkin cocked his head to the side in the way he did when he was considering something deeply. “This room is plenty large enough for two people. I see no reason why we cannot share. At least in here you only have one person to worry about. In the common room you have the entire inn’s worth.”

“You would do that? You would share with me?” Tam asked.

Rezkin lifted a brow and replied flatly, “I was willing to give you the whole room. From my perspective, this is a better deal.”

Tam finally smiled, “So it is. I wonder if the innkeeper has an extra cot. I’ll go check and let Frisha know what’s happening. You take the bed since it was your room in the first place. And … thanks.”

Rezkin stepped back into the room, shaking his head. Were all commoners this difficult? If he was supposed to protect and honor commoners, why had his masters insisted they were too inconsequential to study? Perhaps this was one of those difficult lessons he was supposed to learn on his own. He set his pack on the bed and dug around for some items with which to make an alarm.