Polo walked across the roof of Harvest House. It was the only location that was truly his own. His deputy, two trusted guards, and the gardener were the only ones allowed to climb the private staircase from his sleeping quarters to what was a lush garden of flowers, plants, beehives, and small trees. He stopped and sniffed a particularly fragrant flower. It had been a gift from some Outlander to his predecessor and was the only one of its kind in all of Ness.

One of a kind. For some reason, the thought made Polo think of Larsen's younger brother Ralan, the boy that they had made Guildmaster Thief. Polo had no love for him, as he had been a source of mischief to his guild for quite some time, and yet Polo hoped that he had found a safe haven in the Wretched Quarter. The foolish boy had no idea how much he had put his life in danger in what was clearly nothing more than yet another attempt to ridicule his older brother.

That Ralan had saved Ness from Larsen effectively becoming emperor was a pleasant accident that took Polo from what was turning into a deep depression to a renewed sense of fortitude. The trouble was that with Ralan now nothing more than a boy hiding in the Wretched Quarter, the entire weight of the city was on Polo's shoulders. Somehow Larsen had convinced Orion that making Larsen emperor was a good idea. Or maybe Orion was as stupid as Saxe.

It didn't matter, Polo had to somehow talk some sense into them. He simply couldn't count on another miracle from Ralan. The boy was a miscreant and probably already doing no more than harassing the White Guard on the other side of the river. The good news was that Larsen couldn't install a Guildmaster Thief puppet until he proved Ralan was dead. The bad news was that Polo didn't expect that to take long.

In the meantime, Polo had to avoid assassination himself.