I saw that King Nemo felt he had done a good morning’s business. He spoke to me, later on, in much the same terms, except that he left out all advantage for himself that had occurred during my handling of him.
“You fight well, Kyr Dray nal Strombor. Right well. I have room for you in my guard. I need a man who is loyal to his employers.”
Without hesitation — and in that I made a foolish mistake — I said: “That cannot be, King. I have a mission in life, and having discharged my obligations to Tilda, the Kovneva, and to Pando, the Kov of Bormark, I must be on my way.”
King Nemo frowned.
For all my detestation of authority and sheer hatred of it when it is unfairly imposed and in tyranny and oppression destroys good simple people, much of my life on Kregen has been spent among representat
