Summary

Hadrian Blackwater is robbed as he gets off a ship. It is his only bag, and he never even saw who did it. He struggles to get off the ship and get his land legs. People are all around getting off the ship, and friends and relatives are trying to get the attention of someone. Others are offering lodging and jobs. Hadrian protects his purse and follows the flow of people. Hadrian feels out of place in his Eastern attire and wishes he had worn something else.

A voice calls out to him. An adolescent boy wearing tattered clothes waits beneath a lantern. The youth has Hadrian’s bag. The boy tells him that he has been protecting the bag and someone like Hadrian should not carry his own bag. The boy thinks he is a great knight. Hadrian tells him that he is...