open window.
“Your highness,” The guard said and then bowed in a very crisp but short bow. “By orders of the King, No one but royal family and household servants may enter the palace today.”
“Why?” the prince asked.
“‘Orders of the king’ is all we’ve been told, highness,” the guard said.
“I’ll see about that,” Estephan said, dismissing the guard with a gesture of his hand. The guard returned to stand in front of the carriage as Estephan leaned into the window. “I’ll be back momentarily,” the prince said. He then walked past the guard and into the palace. As he passed each guard, they gave the same crisp and short bow.
“This is unusual,” David said. He sat across the carriage from Pantros but leaned to Pan’s window to get a better view of the palace. “King Reginald is usually very open with his palace.”
“The last time the gates closed was when the prince was born,” Meredith said. “I didn’t think the queen was pregnant again after so many years.”
“I haven’t seen her in a year or two,” Norda said. “She’s not too old to bear children.”
“Over there,” Pantros pointed to a mangle of tents a few hundred paces away. Thousands of people moved in and around tents as far as he could see in that direction. “What’s going on there?” he asked.
“You’ve discovered the illustrious Mall of Heroes,” David said sarcastically.
“There are some large statues scattered around it, but you’d be hard pressed to notice them among the shoppes and shoppers,” Meredith said. “It’s half a square league of tents and carts and has long since been known not as the Mall of Heroes but as The Pit. It’s said that if you can’t buy it in The Pit, you can’t buy it anywhere.”
“Looks like heaven for pickpockets,” Pantros said. Even from a hundred paces away he could see the people were bustling so densely that the bumps of passersby would be completely unnoticed.”
David laughed, as did Meredith.
“There’s a joke there?” Pantros asked.
“Quite,” David said. “You know we have the biggest thieves’ guild in the world here, right?”
Pantros nodded. “I’ve heard it said.”
“Thieves run the city,” Meredith said.
“If the guild is as big as the tales, then it would have to,” Pantros said. “I’d hate to be a constable having to deal with the thieves.”
“You don’t understand,” David said, still chuckling. “Thieves are in charge of the public peace. It is the thieves’ guild that is the city government. The constables work for the thieves.”
“How could anyone live in such a city,” Pantros said. “No property could be safe.”
“Quite the opposite, actually,” David said. “With thieves running everything, they are responsible for the welfare of the public. The income from the thieving activities supplants the taxes. Pickpockets may only target purses that haven’t paid the weekly purse tax. Burglars recover the balance plus a penalty from anyone who fails to keep up their property taxes. Its remarkably efficient and a whole lot less violent.”
“I could see that. We don’t even have a thieves' guild or even a gang in Ignea,” Pantros said. “The pirate crews are too quick to organize against such endeavors. Thieving is a profession performed at great risk.”
“That’s true in most places,” Norda said. “I’ve seen people face the gallows over pilfered pennies.” He then pointed out the window, “Estephan is returning.”
The prince was walking from the palace, his face noticeably blank. He didn’t pay any heed to the bowing guards, and stepped up into the carriage. “It looks like you will need to find other accommodation this evening. The king has indeed closed the palace.”
“Why?” David asked.
“I’ll catch up to you later and explain,” Estephan said. “I assume you’ll be staying at Galina’s?”
“With this rabble?” David nodded towards Pantros and his sister. “Unless you care to dole out some baronages, we’d not make it past the stables.”
Sheillene climbed forward through the carriage. “I know a great place by Westgate. The Rampant Gelding.”
“I know the place,” David said. “The most expensive inn by the gate, but the fairest card tables in the city.”
“That’s the one,” Sheillene said. “I have a permanent room there and there are always a couple open suites for people with money to pay for them.”
When all eyes in the carriage turned to Pantros he just shook his head and sighed. “Fine, I’ll cover two suites. I don’t have a satchel of gold from spending it at every opportunity. You’ll each owe me a meal or something.”
“I have to attend my father,” Estephan said. He then returned to the palace.
§
The Rampant Gelding reminded Pantros of The Hedgehog if the Hedgehog was twice as large and watered down its beer and mead. Having spent three days sitting in a carriage, he took the drinks as a chance to loosen his muscles.
Meredith left, promising to find a healer for David’s leg. It was still too tender to stand on so they’d carried David into one of the three cards tables and left him there. He seemed to be a regular as the dealer called him by name and didn’t hesitate to advance him a handful of gold coins.
Thomas and Tara took a table while Sheillene negotiated with the innkeeper leaving Pantros and Marc sitting at the bar.
“Do you know the games at the tables?” Marc asked.
“I know them, I don’t play them,” Pantros said. “Trusting chance with anything is a sure way to fail. That’s one of the things I say back home. I also say that drink dulls the reflexes and dims the senses and yet, here I am drinking beer.” Being in a strange bar that obviously catered to a wealthier clientele than any in Ignea had made Pantros fingers itch. He chose to drink to try to relieve the stress that choosing not to pick the plump pockets was causing him.
Sheillene tapped Marc on the shoulder, “We’re on as soon as we can get our instruments tuned.” She pointed to a stage. “Vic, the innkeeper, saw Thomas’ hat and wanted him to go on alone, but I convinced him that we were working together for a while. I wasn’t sure you two would want to take on such a large crowd without more experience.”
Marc stood up and glanced around the room. Pantros followed the giant’s eyes. The taproom was large and every chair was filled. He estimated half again over a hundred people in the room. “It wasn’t this full before my beer or my mead,” Pantros said.
“They’ve been coming in since just after we did,” Sheillene said. “Thomas’ hat is legendary.” Seeing Thomas sitting in a taproom while wearing the blue hat reminded Pantros that he had seen a man frequenting The Hedgehog years earlier who looked very much like Thomas.
“And I’m sure none of these people are sitting her because they recognize you,” Pantros said, nudging Sheillene’s elbow to ensure she understood his joke.
“They’ll be getting both,” Sheillene said. “We’ll all be taking the stage. Come on Marc, time to tune that big guitar of yours.”
“Duty calls.” Marc gave Pantros a pat on the back as he got up and left with Sheillene.
Knowing that once the music started he would have a difficult time moving around the taproom, Pantros headed towards the door. He put one hand David had given him a ribbon assured him that as long as he had it tied to his pouch it would be safe from pickpockets, but that didn’t reassure Pantros.
The streets of Fork seemed different on foot than in a carriage. Pantros hadn’t realized just how crowded the city was until he had to bump shoulders with dozens of strangers just by walking from the Rampant Gelding to the taproom of the next inn down the street. He found himself constantly checking his belt pouch. The Three Diamonds was a much quieter Inn. The taproom was surprisingly sparsely populated compared to the streets. Though there were a dozen people in the room, Pantros could hardly hear anyone speaking. The crowd on the street outside made more noise than any of the conversations. Even the four men at the lone card table were mostly silent. Pantros sat on a stool at the bar and gestured to the bartender.
The bartender, a middle aged man with nearly shaved graying hair, came over and handed Pantros a mug of beer.
