Free Faces of Deception by Troy Denning

starve. I will cut his throat, and then we can be on our way.”
    Bharat swung toward the sound. “Two thirds of the gold is not enough for you? Now you must kill me for the rest?”
    “It is better than you deserve,” Rishi said, “but we have no time for a proper punishment.” He pulled one of his small knives and started toward Bharat.
    Atreus caught Rishi by the arm. “I thought Bharat was your friend,” he said.
    “A friend does not steal his friend’s gold,” Rishi snarled.
    “It’s not yours yet,” Atreus reminded him. “The gold does not. belong to you until we reach Langdarma.”
    Rishi’s golden face darkened to the color of mahogany and he said, “Oh, begging your pardon, here I go getting ahead of myself again.” He held his dagger out toward Atreus. “Of course, the good sir wishes to punish the thief himself.”
    “The good sir does not.” Atreus replied, pushing the dagger away. “As a matter of fact, I’m quite happy with how things turned out.”
    Rishi frowned and asked, “You would let a man steal from
    you?”
    “If it is the only way to learn the truth, yes.” Atreus took Bharat’s arm and pulled the Mar to his feet but continued to speak to Rishi. “Had you tried to open the coffer, I would have known you have no idea where we are going. But since you’re willing to wait for a larger share of the gold, I know we’re near the edge of my map.”
    “This was a test?” shrieked Bharat. “You blinded me to find if I was telling the truth?”
    “He didn’t do nothing,” said Yago, crunching a bone. “You’re the one who tried to open the coffer. You deserve what you got.”
    “Which isn’t as terrible as it could have been,” said Atreus, guiding Bharat to the front of the wagon. “Your blindness will pass.”
    Bharat sighed in relief, then furrowed his brow and clutched Atreus’s arm. “And what of our bargain?” he asked. “Was that only to see if we were telling the truth?”
    “If you will honor it, then I will.” Atreus said as he helped the Mar into the wagon’s passenger seat.
    Bharat did not release Atreus’s arm. “But the split will be even, of course.”
    “Even?” Rishi asked. He was beside them in an instant “Are you going to Langdarma? I am the one taking more risk.”
    “Our agreement is already more than fair, Bharat” agreed Atreus. He peeled the Mar’s hand off his arm. “Be happy with the gold you’re receiving now. It’s enough to make you wealthy many times over.”
    Bharat shook his head stubbornly. “But I am a bahrana, just as Rishi. My share should be half. Anything less is to call me a tarok.”
    “Only by the backward customs of Edenvale,” countered Rishi. “The good sir and his gold come from the far realm of Erlkazar. We should honor the custom of that land, where it is the habit to honor a man’s value and not his position.”
    “But we met in Edenvale,” Bharat said, turning his head away. “I will abide by its customs, or by none at all.”
    “If that’s your choice, I’ll rekindle the fire.” Atreus reached up to take the Mar’s arm. “By tomorrow or the next day, you’ll see well enough to start back with the gold I’ve already given you.”
    Bharat’s unseeing eyes grew wide. “And now you are trying to cheat me out of even my miserable third!” he shouted. “I am coming with you, whether you like it or not.”
    Bharat folded his arms and let Atreus and the others pack the wagon and harness the yaks. Then the small company set off on a cold and solemn ride. They spent much of the morning angling up a wind-blasted mountainside, until their route joined several others and rounded the shoulder into a steep alpine gorge. The distant roar of a mighty river began to rumble up from a tiny ribbon of water thousands of feet below, and the road became little more than a perilously tilted track.
    Rishi stopped the wagon so they could look across the river. On the opposite side of the gorge lay an immense