Down the narrow alley were four men armed with crude spears. John fired an arrow, striking one of them in the leg, and stopping them in their tracks. John nocked another arrow and eyed them warily.

“Hurry, this way!” Lisa cried as she came running out of the warehouse.

John brought up the rear, hoping no one heard their warning. He watched one of the four double back, no doubt to fetch help. Their pace was slowed by Grimald, who was still limping, and the cardinal as they followed Lisa down the winding backstreets.

She led them into another building and kicked open the backdoor. This one was small and appeared to be a cooper’s workshop. They could hear the sounds of the angry crowd coming from the front of the store. John kept his head low as he crept his way past the empty barrels and peered through the windows fronting the main street where he spotted armour clad men armed with swords and spears marching in tight formation. The stag of Darnos fluttered from a pennant at their head.

“They’re from the palace guard,” Lisa gasped as she appeared behind him. “What are they doing on the streets?”

“Disperse and stop this madness by order of the king!” a crier dressed in bright colours called, “By the grace of Treto, his Majesty has survived the attempt on his life.”

“He lives?” Cardinal Darren asked as tears of relief rolled down his cheeks.

“We don’t know that yet,” Grimald warned, “It could be a trap…”

Once the crowd had been cleared from the street, an open top wagon came rolling down, flanked by guards carrying heavy shields. Sitting in a chair on the back was an overweight, balding man. His face was pale, and he wore a steel crown on his head. At his side was a slight youth who sat with his back ramrod straight. He seemed to look scared out of his wits as he sat by the king’s side.

“That’s King Frederick!” Cardinal Darren breathed. Grimald and his guards had to hold him back as he ran to the door.

“Release me!” he cried, “I must see to His Grace’s wounds at once!”

“We don’t know if he holds the Treton Church responsible for the attack, Your Eminence!” one of the guards protested.

“How could he?” Darren was aghast, “I’ve known him for all of his life! I was his father’s personal advisor, and his, for Treto’s sake!”

“Your Eminence,” Simon urged, “Surely you must see the need for caution?”

The cardinal’s shoulders slumped, and the guards relaxed their grip on him, thinking that he had finally seen sense. To their surprise, he used their lapse to wriggle free from their grip and before anyone could react, he burst out of the door and was out on the street in full view of everyone.

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“That crazy old bat,” John breathed. He turned around and assessed the distance to the backdoor while the others stared at the cardinal in shock.

His guards rushed after him as did Simon and Keith and soon, they too were out on the street forming a protective cordon around the cardinal.

“The good news is that they might not know we’re in here,” John muttered to those who remained in the workshop.

“King Frederick, I’m so glad to see you are safe!” the cardinal declared, “I cannot begin to imagine what was going through Father Albert’s mind when he attacked you!”

“Stay away from the Royal Carriage!” one of the guards warned as the others raised their weapons.

“Sir Nicholas, it’s me,” the cardinal cried, addressing the captain of the royal guard directly, “I baptised you myself!”

“That maniac’s going to get himself killed,” John muttered as he backed away from the window and positioned himself close to the back door, prepared to make a run for it as soon as the cardinal’s head went flying off his shoulders. “Hey, you, Lisa, get ready.”

Lisa turned around and looked at him coldly. “I was protecting the cardinal, not you lot. If you wish to run, be my guest, but I’m going to tell them that you took us hostage and forced us to help you.”

John’s eyes flicked to Grimald who had also positioned himself close to the back door. “Let’s see how this plays out, eh?”

Out on the street, the king whispered something to the boy next to him. “His Majesty asks you to stay your hand, Captain,” the boy said. His voice was shaky as he tried to sound authoritative. “The cardinal is to be brought back to the castle as an honoured guest.”

Grimald and John exchanged looks. “That was an unexpected development,” Udoriol remarked as he relaxed his grip on his sword.

“Do you think we should join them?” Grimald ventured.

“Are you insane?” John scoffed. “We should try to leave the city and inform our employer about the situation here!”

Udoriol looked out of the window and bit his lip as the cardinal’s defenders cast down their weapons before being rounded up by the king’s men.

“Could you get us into the castle?” he asked Lisa, who had also backed away from the window with the older man.

The young lady raised an eyebrow. “If things calm down, I might, but why? Hopefully, now that the king is alright, they’ll reopen the gates.”

“Especially now that it seems that they’ve captured the ones they think are the culprits,” John observed. “Hopefully they don’t sell us out.”

Lisa’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t considered that.”

“Perhaps you could take us somewhere to lie low for a while,” Grimald suggested, “While we consider our next move.”

“I hope that rescuing them isn’t on the cards,” John remarked.

“I hope that rescuing them won’t be necessary,” Udoriol breathed, “But the boy is right, it does seem prudent to lay low and see how things play out.”

“Hold on, why am I helping you?” Lisa demanded.

“Because you’re our accomplice,” John pointed out, “If we get caught, we might sell you out. I must warn you that I’m very susceptible to torture.”

Lisa scowled.

“Come on,” John urged, “Let’s go before someone thinks to search this place.”

“Fine,” Lisa conceded, “It seems you have left me with no choice.”

“This is what doing good deeds gets you,” she muttered to herself as she led them out the back door.

“I still think we should leave,” John pointed out as they filed out into the alley.

“I’m inclined to agree, laddie,” Grimald said, “But we’ll have to wait until the heat dies down either way.”

“If the king is alive, we should try to meet with him,” Udoriol remarked, “That was the job.”

“Our jobs seem to be getting more complicated of late,” John groused.

“That’s why this job is paying so well, laddie,” Grimald laughed.

His laugh died in his throat as a squad of men in steel armour rounded the corner and spotted them. “Halt,” one of them ordered, “State your business.”

“We just can’t seem to catch a break,” John groaned.