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“Would think so,” the older boy says. “Though don’t know for sure.”

“Could you find out if there’s a connection between this Lord Kindering and the Ambassador?”

“Sure,” he says.

He gives the older boy a couple silvers and says, “I’m staying at the Silver Bells. If you find out anything, find me there. If I’m not there, just leave word to meet you back here. We’ll meet here tomorrow morning if not before.”

“Will do,” he says. The kids finish eating and begin to leave. One small girl, the one who had berry filling smeared across her face earlier comes over and gives him a quick hug.

He takes the sack of tarts out of his shirt and hands them to her. “Here you go,” he says with a grin.

Taking the sack she flashes him a smile and then runs to catch up with the others.

Sitting back, he feels good about not only successfully finding out information James will want to know, but also about making the lives of these kids a little better if only for a brief time. He finishes his meal and then walks through the streets back to the Silver Bells.

By the time he arrives, it’s now late afternoon and the sun is beginning its descent to the horizon. At the inn, he finds Illan sitting in the common room talking with several of the locals. When he sees him approaching, Illan gets up and takes his leave of the men as he meets Miko halfway.

“Was getting worried about you,” he tells him.

“Sorry,” apologizes Miko. “I was finding out about things.”

Nodding, Illan says, “Let’s go up to my room where we can talk in private.”

As they move to the stairs leading up the second floor, Miko asks, “Where is everyone?”

“James is still at the castle,” he explains. “I’ve had no word about him since he left. Jiron and Fifer left a short time ago, said something about meeting someone. They were rather vague about the whole thing.”

Back in the room, Illan shuts the door and Miko fills him in on what the kids had said. At mention of the Eye, he gets a strange look on his face but makes no comment. When Miko tells him about finding Lord Colerain and Lord Kindering at the Merchant’s Guild, he gets another odd look.

“It just seems more than coincidence that all these things are coinciding with James being summoned here,” he concludes.

“I tend to agree,” states Illan.

“What’s the Eye?” Miko asks him after a brief quiet.

Sitting back in the chair, Illan considers the question a moment before answering. “The Eye, or rather an Eye of the Emperor, is part of a secret organization within the Empire that seeks out those who jeopardize or challenge the rule of the Emperor.”

“But why would one be here?” asks Miko. “James?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it,” he says.

“Didn’t he say two hours after sunset?” Fifer asks him.

“Yes,” replies Jiron as they make their way out to where the fight’s going to be.

“Then why are we leaving so early?” he asks. Pointing to the sun which is low to the horizon he continues, “It’s going to be several hours before we have to be there.”

Giving Fifer an annoyed look, he says, “First of all, I didn’t want to be there when James returns to the inn. If he got wind of this he would probably try to get me to call it off. This way, we don’t have that problem.”

“Secondly, I was hoping we might be able to do a little digging and see if we can find out about who I might be fighting.”

“To give you an edge?” suggests Fifer.

“Something like that,” agrees Jiron. “Back at the pits, we always had scouts out to find out about newcomers to the pits. Their strengths and weaknesses, that sort of thing. It’s amazing how much of an edge one little piece of information can give you.”

It isn’t hard to locate the inn behind which Jiron agreed to fight tonight. As the barkeep had told them, behind the inn is a sizeable area. Filled with refuse and beggars, its center has been kept relatively clear for the fights that go on here.

“Where should we start?” asks Fifer.

Shrugging, Jiron gestures to the beggars hanging out in the area, “How about with them?”

The first beggar they approach shies away from them as they