City of Hawks by Gary Gygax Page B

said with soft encouragement.
    Gord grabbed hold and his thin arms tugged. The weapon came slowly at first, then all the way out at once. Gord toppled over from the sudden end of its resistance as it pulled free.
    “Aaaah,” Bru sighed as he let the dead man topple to the cobblestones. “That’s a good lad! I feel much better now.”
    Now the boy suddenly realized what had happened. When the man with the sword had stabbed his friend, the thin blade had gone all the way through the fellow and stuck its point into Uncle Bru too. Gord had pulled the sword out of his friend as well as from the dead attacker’s back. “Are you hurt bad?” He saw his friend pushing a wad of cloth against a place on his side where blood stained his jacket.
    “Yes, of course, lad. I’ll be just fine, but I’ll have to have this wound tended to soon. That was a stupid thing you did, Gord, following me,” he added with a mock scowl at the worried little face that peered up at him.
    “Those men were after you. I saw them and the bad dog chase after you, and I had to see what was happening. I think you’re my friend even if you were mean to me, and friends got to help each other-you told me that.” Gord’s expression was a mixture of uncertainty and challenge. Would Bru now contradict his own words to him?
    “Ah, you are right again, Gord. But come on, we have to get away from this place quick. It won’t do for anyone to see us here-particularly together.” The big man picked up the sword, wiped it clean on the dead man’s clothing, and hid it under his jacket. “Did the one who ran away see you?” he asked as he guided the boy back the way they had come.
    “No, neither of them saw me, but the dog did.”
    “That’s no matter. Are you sure the men didn’t, though?” Uncle Bru’s tone was urgent.
    “Oh, yes, I’m very sure of that. Both of them only wanted to see where you were going, so they were too busy to spot me following them.”
    “Good. Very good. This is far enough, though. You go back to your place now, and forget what happened. Forget all about me too! You must never mention what happened here to anyone-not Leena, not a new friend you might find, not anyone. The same goes for me. From now on, you never knew anyone named Bru, never saw anyone who even looks like me. Understood?”
    Gord shook his head. “No. I can’t say that. Friends don’t forget each other… even if one is mean and kicks the other.”
    “That was necessary-I’m sorry I had to do it, Gord. You are still my good friend. But, you see, those two men who tried to kill me were watching. I saw them, and I knew they had seen us. If they had thought you and I were pals, they would have killed you first, then come after me.”
    “That’s why you did it!” Gord was jubilant at the revelation. Now he understood the sudden change from friend to enemy. “You did it so they would think I was just another guttersnipe trying to steal from you.” That made the little boy feel very good. Then something else came to him. “You really and truly saved my life…”
    “Perhaps, perhaps. That’s no matter now, for the whole thing is done and over.” Bru sat down and leaned back against the crumbling bricks of the old building. There was pain on his face, and he groaned just a little as he tried to get into a more comfortable position. “That fight sort of tuckered me out, Gord. Your Uncle Bru needs to rest a second. Sit down here by me, and I’ll give you a last lesson.”
    That didn’t sound good at all. Gord wanted no last lesson, but he did as Bru said anyway. “What do you mean?”
    The big man patted Gord on his tousled head, ruffling the dark hair fondly. “Those men after me were killers. One of them is still a killer, of course. He got away. Soon he will be coming back with more of his kind, and this time there will be enough of them to do the job. I have to be long gone when they come back, and you don’t want them to see you, either-you can