But even as he made his proclamation, Janel and Qown gave him a very odd look.

“If you tell me Kaen’s standing right behind me—”

Janel snickered. “No, he’s not.”

“So why are you both looking at me like that?”

Janel exhaled. “Let’s just say I don’t think Kaen’s going to be a problem.”

“But don’t worry!” Qown tapped the table with his knuckles for emphasis. “We’ll have whole new problems to replace him. And they’re just as bad, if not much, much worse.”

“If you were trying to be comforting—”

“Not really.”

“Oh good. Fantastic job, then.”

More cheers from the people playing their strange throwing game distracted Kihrin. The large man tried enticing others into a new round, but no one proved interested.

Brother Qown laughed into his tea. “What a shocking conclusion,” he said. “He wins every game, and then is surprised no one else wants to play.”

Janel grinned. “Wait for it.”

“Will no one dare challenge me?” the man boasted, throwing out his hands. Groans and laughter met his question, with a few people throwing cloth napkins at him. “Come on, people, this is just for fun!”

Then the bartender leaped over the counter, using one hand as balance, and plucked a throwing stone from the winner’s hand. The wiry woman reminded Kihrin of the female members of his old criminal band, the Shadowdancers, who specialized in burglaries and knives. She had dark red-brown skin and shoulder-length maroon hair shaved to the scalp along one side. The rest of her hair fell forward to cover half her face.

The crowd made an ooooh noise, followed by shouted encouragements.

Kihrin had no idea how the game’s scoring worked, but the game itself involved bouncing rocks to hit a target. The woman skipped the rock against the stone floor. It made a birdlike chirp before landing in a perfect bull’s-eye at the board’s center.

She bowed to the crowd and made a rude gesture to the gray-skinned man on her way back behind the bar.

Kihrin chuckled as he turned back around. “I feel like I should be betting metal on this.”

“Why not? Everyone else is,” Janel agreed.

“Something to think about later, when the dice come out. In the meantime, tell me more about this Black Knight,” Kihrin said.

Janel’s Turn. The tournament grounds in Mereina, Barsine Banner, Jorat, Quur.

By the time I led Brother Qown and Dorna back down to the tournament grounds, the sun had peaked overhead. The festival contests paused for the midday meal while everyone behind the scenes regrouped. As I suspected would happen, Captain Dedreugh hadn’t been involved in any more matches; his opponents forfeited their challenges, walking away embarrassed but living losers. Only an idiot could fail to notice how the crowd’s mood had turned nastier.