Den of Thieves
Enter a world of darkness and danger, honour, daring and destiny in David Chandler’s magnificent epic trilogy: The Ancient Blades.Croy is a knight errant, and bearer of an ancient blade with a powerful destiny. He's also kind of, well, dim. He believes in honour. He believes that people are fundamentally good, and will do the right thing if you give them a chance.Unfortunately, Croy lives in the city of Ness. A thriving medieval city of fifty thousand people, none of whom are fundamentally even decent, and who will gleefully stab you in the back. If you give them a chance.Ness is also the home to Malden. Malden is a thief. He lives by his wits, disarming cunning traps, sneaking past sleeping guards, and running away very fast whenever people are trying to kill him. Which is often. One time Malden stole a crown. And then he had to steal it back to avoid a civil war. Croy got the credit, of course, because he's a noble knight. Another time the two of them went into the tomb of an ancient warrior race, and Croy accidentally started a barbarian invasion. Guess who had to clean that up?They probably wouldn't be friends at all if it wasn't for Cythera. Cythera is a witch. A mostly-good witch. And despite herself she can't stop thieves and knights falling in love with her… At the same time.
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Den of Thieves
Book One of The Ancient Blades Trilogy
David Chandler
For F.L., M.M., and R.E.H., the Grand Masters
Contents
Map
Prologue
Nearly one hundred thousand people lived in the Free City…
Part I
A Thief’s Ransom
Chapter One
There were evil little things skulking in the shadows, their…
Chapter Two
Inside the ruined building three old men dressed in rags…
Chapter Three
The darkness inside the box was a solid thing, as…
Chapter Four
Well. He knew what to do with locks.
Chapter Five
Beyond the locked door was a snug little office, heated…
Chapter Six
Neither of them spoke for a while, as the meaning…
Chapter Seven
He drank the whole bottle and got rather drunk and…
Chapter Eight
The accused was brought into the square on a hurdle,…
Chapter Nine
Malden pushed through the crowd, which tried to push back.
Chapter Ten
Approximately three hundred yards to the northwest, Market Square had…
Chapter Eleven
For a while Malden’s world was only a terrible ringing,…
Chapter Twelve
The sorcerer Aelbron Hazoth lived in an imposing four story…
Chapter Thirteen
The next day Malden spent in preparation.
Chapter Fourteen
As they hauled away from the Smoke and up the…
Chapter Fifteen
Malden had learned to climb almost from the time he…
Chapter Sixteen
Croy hated subterfuge, but sometimes the direct approach was just…
Chapter Seventeen
Malden listened to the clamor beyond the wall for only…
Chapter Eighteen
Malden found himself in a small bedroom that looked like…
Chapter Nineteen
Malden’s feet kicked wildly at nothing as his body dropped…
Chapter Twenty
“You’re—You’re mad,” Malden had said two days before, when Cythera…
Chapter Twenty-One
The crown—technically a coronet—was not a work of great art…
Chapter Twenty-Two
Bile rushed up Malden’s throat and his head swam. The…
Chapter Twenty-Three
A great crashing noise stopped Croy in his tracks. “That…
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was all Malden could do to hold on. His…
Chapter Twenty-Five
Croy’s blood thrummed with excitement, as if his veins were…
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Curse you, leave off,” Malden whimpered. His strength was nearly…
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Warm gusts of air chased up the shaft and made…
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Croy dashed into the shadows, keeping his head down as…
Chapter Twenty-Nine
As a child growing up in a brothel, Malden had…
Chapter Thirty
Malden rushed back through the arches, thinking Kemper must have…
Part II
An Unquiet Crown
Interlude
Chapter Thirty-One
Croy and Cythera spent much of the night in furtive…
Chapter Thirty-Two
It took Malden the better Part of the day to…
Chapter Thirty-Three
Finding Bikker was easily enough done, for a man with…
Chapter Thirty-Four
When the Seven Day Fire finally burned itself out, leaving…
Chapter Thirty-Five
The boy’s face was freckled and his chin weak, when…
Chapter Thirty-Six
Knightly interruptions notwithstanding, Malden’s preparations were finished long before midnight.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
An hour later Malden was fast, and finally, asleep.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The rough hands that dragged Malden inside the door threw…
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Wizardry was not technically illegal in Skrae. It was not…
Chapter Forty
“I’m half of a mind to string you up anyway,…
Chapter Forty-One
And then Cutbill was alone. For quite a while he…
Chapter Forty-Two
Sir Croy had been raised to be a knight, to…
Chapter Forty-Three
Malden needed a plan, desperately. He needed some stratagem that…
Chapter Forty-Four
Kemper drew too many stares after that to allow any…
Chapter Forty-Five
It was not difficult to get into the Burgrave’s palace,…
Chapter Forty-Six
It was not Anselm Vry who next approached Hazoth’s villa,…
Chapter Forty-Seven
When Malden’s eyes adjusted he found himself in a broad…
Chapter Forty-Eight
“So you can read, boy? I’m impressed.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Hazoth rose from his chair and went over to one…
Chapter Fifty
Kemper had been reluctant to help Malden in his reconnaissance…
Part III
The Crew
Interlude
Chapter Fifty-One
There were many eyes watching Hazoth’s villa the next day,…
Chapter Fifty-Two
An hour or so later the watchmen trooped down the…
Chapter Fifty-Three
Despite the cool day, the palfrey was panting and its…
Chapter Fifty-Four
Ahead of him, at the main gate leading down into…
Chapter Fifty-Five
There was nothing Croy wanted more than to just lie…
Chapter Fifty-Six
“It’s just as I said, ha ha,” Tyron told them.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Croy didn’t die in the night. He didn’t wake up…
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Kemper held the sword as far away from himself as…
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Later that day, Malden climbed up on top of a…
Chapter Sixty
The button seller looked up with a broad smile as…
Chapter Sixty-One
Malden spent the day drawing crude maps of the villa,…
Chapter Sixty-Two
“Milady,” Malden said, bowing low. “I thank you from the…
Chapter Sixty-Three
“But … why?” Malden asked. He thought of the mural…
Chapter Sixty-Four
“I’m afraid I’ve been of little help, save to make…
Chapter Sixty-Five
Malden sent Kemper to keep an eye on Hazoth’s villa—discreetly—while…
Chapter Sixty-Six
“Where are we going?” Croy asked as they headed up…
Chapter Sixty-Seven
The river Skrait was the Free City’s lifeblood. It flowed…
