Contents
5. A Fox to Run With
Overview
Kinch tracks the Spanth to the Roan Horse inn, rifling her room before she awakens and physically throws him out the window. He returns and proposes an alliance for the westward journey. The Spanth withholds her name and commitment, signaling wary mutual appraisal and a tentative path toward cooperation crucial to Kinch’s mission.
Summary
Kinch finds the Spanth at the Roan Horse inn and enters her locked room while she sleeps. He surveys her sparse belongings, noting mixed coinage, a battered shield, bloodied linens on her wounded arm, and her elegant short sword. He leaves her messenger bag untouched, judging it likely holds light valuables or notes.
When Kinch wakes her with a question about Oustrim, the Spanth reacts instantly, seizing him by the heel and dangling him out the window before dropping him. Kinch uses the wall to break his fall, climbs back up, and faces her drawn blade without hostility, signaling he could have killed her but chose not to.
Kinch reflects on his Galtish roots and reputation, then presses for cooperation. He offers complementary skills—watchkeeping, infiltration, scouting, and manipulation—if she provides martial strength. He positions himself as a fox to her wolf, emphasizing mutual gain and discretion.
The Spanth refuses to share her name, dismisses questions about the missing war corvid, and neither agrees nor refuses the partnership. She ends the exchange by deferring an answer until the next day, leaving the alliance—and Kinch’s mission—uncertain but possible.
Who Appears
- Kinch Na ShannackGaltish thief-narrator; infiltrates the Spanth’s room, survives a drop, and pitches a pragmatic travel alliance.
- The SpanthIspanthian warrior; wounded, hyper-alert, disarms Kinch’s intrusion, withholds trust and name, delays decision on partnering west.