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an exaggerated flourish. Foam peppered his upper lip.
    Kavan grinned sheepishly. “Not by choice. It’s hard when you know nothing else.”
    Yet another sad fact Dag was all too aware of.
    “So you think there’s a connection with the king?”
    Did he? “I…I don’t know. There’s been a few other caravans I’ve come across along my way here. Some didn’t know anything, others pretended to know too much. One or two told it true. Whether the king of Aradain is directly involved with the werebeasts remains to be seen but all information points to his kingdom as the launching point.”
    “It’s been a long time since I was last in Aradain,” Dag said suggestively.
    “No, Dag.”
    “No what?”
    Kavan set his empty mug down. “Stay away. If this turns out to be half as bad as I think it will Aradain will best be avoided.”
    Brows furrowed, eyes drawn together, Dag replied, “I’m a grown man capable of making my own decisions, be they bad or good. Well, more bad than good of late but that’s not the point! You see, I’ve got a good group of people working for me. They watch my back and take care of them. If we want to go to Aradain that’s our business.”
    “So you do want to go?”
    “Who said that foolishness? We haven’t made up our mind is what I’m telling you. Malweir’s a big world. Plenty of places for a man of my quality to get into a little mischief.”
    Indignant, Dag crossed his arms and leaned back into the rickety chair. Rope stretched, threatening to break against his weight. He frowned, silently cursing everything in town for being, well, old.
    “Mischief? I seem to recall a night a few years back when you and I were standing up to our ankles in blood and a stack of corpses,” Kavan reminded.
    Dag beamed. “Damn straight. That was a tough fight but they just wouldn’t stop attacking.” His face darkened slightly. “We made enough to pay the widows of the boys we lost.”
    Kavan caught the attention of a serving maid and signaled for another pitcher. Another drink to honor those who had fallen over the course of his career. The list was long but every name remembered.
    “Look, Kavan, if this Aradain business is as tough as you think I don’t understand why you need to get involved. There’s got to be easier jobs throughout the kingdoms. No sense in risky your neck for a cause not your own, at least my mother used to say.”
    “I didn’t think you had a mother,” Kavan countered.
    “Says the Gaimosian,” Dag glowered. “Why are you really getting involved? This can’t all be from some blind sense of nobility.”
    “It’s not. Dag, thus far I’ve killed two of the werebeasts. The last one nearly got me. I’ve seen what just one can do against unprotected civilians. Can you imagine what several can achieve if unleashed on a village? I won’t allow that to happen, so long as it is within my power to prevent it.”
    “Honor then,” Dag grumbled. “Don’t make any sense dying for nothing I suppose.”
    “No it doesn’t. That’s why I don’t plan on dying.”
    “No sane man plans on it, Kavan.”
    “As you like to point out, we Gaimosians aren’t known for our sanity.”
    Dag nodded sagely in agreement. “Best of luck to you, my friend. Know that if you need me, I’ll be there. Maybe not as fast as I once was, but sooner or later.”
    “Thank you, Dag. Your offer means more than you know.”
    “I know!” he beamed. “S’what makes me special. Where are you heading to now? Aradain’s the other way last I recalled.”
    “Out into the Jebel Desert. I’m going to need help and there are other Knights nearby. Strength in numbers and all that.”
    “Good plan. Well, Kavan, I do believe it’s well past my bedtime. I’ll make sure you don’t run in to any other issues getting out of here,” Dag told him. “Until the next time.”
    They clasped hands and Kavan watched his friend shuffle through the growing crowd. Once again the Gaimosian was alone with