“Listen,” Mary whispered with a strange smile and twinkle in her eyes. “The witch queen, Rihannon, of the Nerst realm, has sent a dozen of her knights to aid a well-known band of bounty hunters. She seems eager to help the lovely band of misfits in their difficult task of catching Esh.”
Ash shuddered and muttered something unintelligible. The Stumps, ignoring him, burst out laughing. Everyone knew the story in which the most wanted wizard managed to spend the night first with the queen’s daughter and then with the queen herself. For that, Rihannon wanted to impale Esh’s head on a stake, helping anyone who can prove that they’re after him.
“Rumors lie,” Ash muttered under his breath, while the others were having fun, cracking vulgar but witty jokes. “I didn’t sleep with her daughter. Wh
