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does William really know? “I’ve heard rumours of innocent citizens, abducted from their homes, all in the name of the law. Could these rumours be true?” As I know them to be, based on the evidence of my own two eyes , he added silently.
    “Oh come, Theodore,” William said. “I have been at court for several years now. There are often rumours of things crossing over the Salve. But abducting our own people? That’s too much even for the wildest of rumour-mongers. Although...” William lowered his gaze, and looked uncertain.
    “Now that you mention it, I have heard some outlandish whispers of a strange creature that is preying on children in the east, where only farmers live. A vampire or gargoyle or some such.” He looked up again. “Could that be what Karl and the drunken man were referring to?”
    I have seen her William! Theodore wanted to say so much, but only at the last minute did he remember Lord Despaard’s forceful words as he was told to keep the conspiracy of silence. The less the young nobleman knew, the safer he would be. And another thought clawed at the back of his mind.
    I cannot trust anyone at court.
    “Look about you, William,” he said sombrely. “It is the height of summer, and yet the square is nearly deserted. I tell you there is something wrong, and the people of Varrock know it. They are afraid.”
    But William said nothing, looking to the west of the square to where a weather-beaten wagon drawn by two horses rolled to ahalt. A white-haired old man with a whiter beard climbed down from the seat, a dwarf at his side.
    Theodore laughed, his changed demeanour planting a look of surprise on William’s face.
    “What is it?” the nobleman asked. “Do you know them?”
    “They are two old friends, William.” Two old friends who I know I can trust.
    With an excited grin the squire ran forward.
    One hour later, Ebenezer sat near the fire, smoking his pipe. Nearby Doric bathed his feet in a tub of hot water, sighing as he soothed his aching limbs.
    Theodore had found a room for his friends on the first floor of the palace, tucked away from the busy goings-on that continued during all hours—for although it was the home of King Roald, the palace was also the centre of government for the city of Varrock and the country of Misthalin. Having been introduced to the newcomers, William had been gracious enough to allow them some time to catch up, and had left the three friends together.
    “So tell me, Ebenezer,” Theodore began, “what has happened in Falador since I departed? I have been eager for news.”
    The old man took his pipe from his mouth and sighed.
    “The damage that was done in the siege has been repaired,” he said. “The walls have been strengthened, and the dwarfs have opened their mining guild in the east of the city. Life continues for the citizens much as it did before the fighting, and the knights are held in higher regard than ever for the sacrifices they made in the war.”
    Doric winked at Theodore, and gestured.
    “Haven’t you noticed Ebenezer’s new surcoat?” the dwarf asked.
    “It looks more expensive than your previous garment,”Theodore observed. “When last I saw you, you had been asked to find a way to drain the moat around the castle and retrieve the valuables the people had cast into the waters, in the effort to prevent the invaders from claiming them. Has this made you a rich man?”
    “It has,” Ebenezer confessed. “And in the process, my reputation as an alchemist has reached new heights. After the fighting was over and the repairs begun, Sir Amik granted me the resources to construct just the thing that was needed to complete the task. Crowds gathered to see the monstrosity that my friends and I had built.”
    Doric shook his head.
    “You should have seen their faces, Theodore!” the dwarf said. “When Ebenezer lit the fires and fed the boiler with coal and wood, and the beam at the top began to rock on its fulcrum, powering the pump. The