One of the Taken. Naturally. Our three sorcerers are 0I most precious resource. They must be protected. But... Cold stole in and froze us into statues. One of the Lady shadow disciples.... One of those dark lords here No....

Not the Limper. Hes got a hard-on for us.

Shifter gives me the creeps.

Nightcrawler is worse.

How the hell do you know? You never seen him.

One-Eye said, We can handle it, Captain.

And Rakers cousins would be on you like flies on horseapple.

Soulcatcher, the Lieutenant suggested. He is our patron, more or less.

The suggestion carried. The Captain said, Contact him One-Eye. Be ready to move when he gets here.

One-Eye nodded, grinned. He was in love. Already tricky, nasty plots were afoot in his twisted mind.

It should have been Silents game, really. The Captain gave it to One-Eye because he cannot come to grips wit! Silents refusal to talk. That scares him for some reason.

Silent did not protest.

Some of our native servants are spies. We know who they are, thanks to One-Eye and Goblin. One, who knew nothing about the hair, was allowed to flee with the news that we were setting up an espionage headquarters in the free city Roses.

When you have the smaller battalions you learn guile.

Every ruler makes enemies. The Lady is no exception. The Sons of the White Rose are everywhere.... If one chooses sides on emotion, then the Rebel is the guy to go with. He is Fighting for everything men claim to honor: freedom, independence, truth, the right.... All the subjective illusions, all the eternal trigger-words. We are minions of the villain of the piece. We confess the illusion and deny the substance.

There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of self-proclaimed saints. Victorious historians rule where good or evil lies.

We abjure labels. We fight for money and an indefinable pride. The politics, the ethics, the moralities, are irrelevant.

One-Eye had contacted Soulcatcher. He was coming. Goblin said the old spook howled with glee. He smelled a chance to raise his stock and scuttle that of the Limper. The Ten squabble and backbite worse than spoiled children.

Winter relaxed its siege briefly. The men and native staff began clearing Meystrikts courtyards. One of the natives disappeared. In the main hall, One-Eye and Silent looked smug over their cards. The Rebel was being told exactly what they wanted.

Whats happening on the wall? I asked. Elmo had rigged block and tackle and was working a crenel stone loose. Whatre you going to do with that block?

A little sculpture, Croaker. Ive taken up a new hobby.

So dont tell me. See if I care.

Take that attitude if you want. I was going to ask if you could go after Raker with us. So you could put it in the Annals right.

With a word about One-Eyes genius?

Credit where credit is due, Croaker.

Then Silent is due a chapter, isnt he?