Many people hated guarding a camp at night but Pol secretly enjoyed it. It was quiet and gave him time to reflect. It had been a long day. He had gone into the town with the magus leaving the two boys with the thief. He had had a bad feeling about leaving the three of them but he had thought it was because the thief had stolen the food earlier. He would have never suspected that Sophos would be part of tying up the thief so that he and Ambiades could go fishing.

When he had gotten back to camp, Gen's hands were puffed with pooled blood. He was lucky that Pol had come just then. The two boys had been making matters worse when they tried to remove the ropes. If they had just stepped back and thought about the problem, they would have realized that cutting the rope was faster and more effective. As it was, the thief was lucky that he hadn't seriously damaged his hands.

Speaking of him, the thief had taken his roll and had placed it as far away from the others that he could while still getting the benefit of the fire. Since he was still in plain view, Pol hadn't worried about it. He was curled up under the blankets like a small child, his hands twitching every once and a while. It was amazing how the years just melted away from him while he was sleeping. He looked falsely innocent in his sleep. He actually reminded Pol of his oldest son.

"No, Sten. Don't make me ride the horse. It's going to eat me," Gen mumbled, still unconscious. He rolled onto his back, one of his arms draped over his eyes.

That was another thing. Every once and a while Gen would say something or do something that was just a shade off of normal. People of his class wouldn't get horse riding lessons. Why would he be riding horses in his dream about his childhood?

Gen twitched again, this time actually waking. He gave a slight wince and stretched his wrists. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked around the camp. Seeing that it was Pol on watch, he got up and started pacing silently, continuously flexing his hands to keep his sore wrists limber.

After about five minutes Gen let out a low, frustrated growl. He crossed the camp to squat by Pol. "Do you have any more of those berries?"

Pol felt bad about what had happened earlier that day. Also, Gen promised to keep quiet about Sophos' contribution. Gen was also going to need to be in his best shape soon. Pol dug out some of his preciously few berries and poured some into the thief's cupped hands and gave him instructions about the proper amount.

Gen popped some into his mouth and swallowed. As he made his way back to his bedroll he thanked Pol, "Be blessed in you endeavors."

Everything clicked into place. That wasn't the Sounisian phrase. That was Eddisian. Wasn't their current thief young? The magus had even said that the current thief had the same name as Gen. It couldn't be. Yet the more he thought about it, the more probable it seemed.

What should he do with his suspicions? He should tell the magus and yet something was holding him back. Despite himself, he kind of liked the thief. As long as the magus got his rock, did it really matter if the boy slipped away somewhere in the mountains? After all, the king ordered him to protect the magus and the king's heir. He never said anything about bringing back the Eddisian's Thief. It wouldn't hurt just this once to follow the letter of the law and not go any further. Besides, the magus was probably the smartest man in Sounis. If he didn't see anything off about the young thief, who was a soldier to correct him?