The Stoneholding

Captain Baldrick.

"You may lower your weapons and unspan them, men, but stand ready. We mustn't make the mistake of being too trusting. There's an old fool within who could tell you all about the pitfalls of being too trusting, a right royal fool." The big man gave vent to a ferocious burst of laughter, then shed his mirth as suddenly.

"You, Master Draper, come along, step up to me here. We'll speak our business in a better spot, where the light's brighter and I can see what kind of face you have, whether it's honest or sly! Sly, I'd say, at a venture, for I've never yet met a bearded man who didn't have something to hide. Like the esteemed members of the Mindal. Have you noticed? Every last one of them sports a bird's nest, the bushier the beard the greater the scoundrel." He guffawed again stroking his own vast comet's tail of whiskers, which swept down to the barrel of his chest. "What did you tell my men your name was?"

"Elzemon Dorassy, Captain. Elzemon Dorassy of the Drapers' Guild. I bear an urgent message for you from the Mindal under seal." Frysan climbed the stairs two steps at a time with scroll in hand. He moved away from the area of the quay, where the rowboat bumped against its moorings beside the royal barge, its dangerous cargo still hidden and undiscovered.