“What are you doing all the way up here?”
“Trying to find some quiet,” came the annoyed reply. “Why follow me up?”
“I think I’m going to join you in your dislike of women, Kinrou. They’re down in the caves washing clothing. Why they feel the need to chatter incessantly is beyond me. It echoes everywhere!”
“Ah, Jiken. You like bedding them too much to be like me.”
“Well, yes, but they rarely say much while I’m doing so.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“I worry that you’re not interested in that.”
“If you think I’m like Yaren, think again.”
Jiken’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Good. I might have had to hurt you if you were.”
“You have a problem with men who prefer other men?”
“Not as such, no, but it would have been unforgivable for you to keep that kind of secret from me.”
“I’m allowed some privacy.”
“Not from me! We’re practically brothers. My mother raised you as her own.”
Kinrou rolled his eyes. “She was afraid that if she didn’t she’d have been killed the way my first ‘mother’ was.”
Jiken shrugged. “She was a captive trying to escape. Of course they killed her! That’s our way.”
“I’m not arguing. I’m just saying what I saw.”
Jiken was silent for a long while, looking out at the cluster of ragged peaks that made up the Shadaran mountain range. The tallest was capped in snow, even at the height of summer. Even Mt. Dorayen, where they were sitting, boasted a small white cap.
“Kinrou, do you ever think about your real mother?”
“No,” was the blunt reply. “As far as I know, that slave woman was my real mother.”
“I’m told that she wasn’t.”
Kinrou shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. She’s dead for all I know. I don’t even know where I come from.”
“Doesn’t matter; you’re one of us.” Jiken grinned.
Kinrou grinned in spite of himself. Jiken’s grins were infectious; those around him generally couldn’t help but return them. “Anyway, I came up here for a reason. I heard something you might think interesting.”
“I’m all ears.”
“I heard that one of those Dragon Warriors got killed recently.”
“How is that interesting?”
“Think about it. The entire country is in mourning. The Chief is planning a bunch of raids to take advantage of that. Now me...I have a better plan.”
Kinrou raised an eyebrow. “You have a plan? Haven’t you learned by now that your plans never work?”
“When have my plans gone wrong?”
“You want examples? Fine. When we were six, you thought it would be a great idea to play Kal Sharash fighting the Shadows, but you wanted to use real fire. You nearly burned all my hair off. Then when we were eight, you decided to teach me to swim and we both almost drowned. You stabbed me through the shoulder three months later playing Bandits and Soldiers. At age thirteen, there was that incident with the exploding sheep bladder. At fifteen you were trying to make time with those two girls without the other knowing. It backfired.”
“Only because you messed up.”
“So, it’s my fault the Boss wanted to take me out on a raid?”
“Well, no, but you could have at least let me know.”
“You know I couldn’t. To continue, there was that raid we went on for my sixteenth birthday. Do you need me to point out how badly that failed?”
“Ok, ok, I get the point. This plan is foolproof though.”
“That’s what you always say.”
“No, really. I figure while the country is mourning, security will be lax. Why not take this opportunity to put our names up there with the greatest Shadowhawks of all time?”
Internally, Kinrou cringed. “What are you suggesting?”
Jiken looked smug. “Break into the palace treasury and steal the Dragon Crown.”
“Have you lost your mind? That’s suicide!”
“They say it can’t be done. I say they’re wrong.”
“I say you’re crazy. It can’t be done! Some of the greatest bandits have tried and were executed for their trouble: Barhen the Swift, Dugen One-Eye, Left handed Tulken, and even old toothless Miken. As I recall, he was your grandfather, right?”
Jiken ignored the question. “Look, I’ve been studying-“
“Yeah, right,” Kinrou snorted.
Just listen, alright? I’ve been studying the bandits who tried and I know why they failed: poor timing. Most of the attempts were made during festivals and parties. Security at the palace increases during those times.”
“It won’t be much less than normal just because one stupid woman got herself killed.”
“No, but a lot of soldiers died in that fight, too. They’ll be holding funerals and such for days. Law requires the Empress to allow anyone who wants to take part in the rituals the leave to do so. If we leave now, we can take full advantage. We can do this, Kinrou.”
“If I don’t go, you’ll go by yourself, won’t you?”
“Got that right.”
Kinrou sighed. “Fine, fine. I’ll go if only to keep you from doing anything stupid.”
“Great! Let’s get going. It’s a four-day trip to the capital on foot so we’d better get a move on.”
“We need to pack first, not to mention get permission for this.”
“I did all that before coming up here. I figured I’d be able to talk you into this one way or another.”
“You’re rotten, you know that?”
“Of course. I’m a Shadowhawk Bandit.”
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