"Your highness, Locke Cole is here to see you."
"Ah yes! Send him in Chancellor, right away!"
Locke entered into the chambers, wearing similarly tattered clothes as he had in the prison with the same dirty blue bandana wrapped around his forehead. Although he didn't give off the look of a poor man, just a man of adventure and the outdoors. Locke made his way before the king and bent down to one knee.
"Please man, get up!" the king laughed again and couldn't help but look away. "I can't stand it when people do that to me. No need for these disgusting formalities."
"Sorry your highness. My grandma always told me to kneel if I were ever in the presence of a king. I highly doubted she'd ever expect me to meet one in this situation."
"Your grandmother sounds like a very wise woman, but I personally am sick of being oppressively proper. So no more kneeling, or bowing or what have you. And please, call me Edgar, you can forget all the 'your highness' stuff."
"Fine Edgar, however you want it," Locke stood up, feeling much more comfortable speaking to the king this way than their previous encounter at the prison. "Now what is this job I am to be doing for you?"
"Locke, I'll be straightforward with you. There were some very valuable papers stolen from our kingdom not too long ago and I need you to get them back for me. We have reason to believe that they are being stored away by a man in South Figaro. These papers are very important to Figaro's safety and security."
"That's it?" Locke looked a little questioningly. "You are solid allies with the Empire, why don't you just get them to help you out? I'm sure between your combined armies you could stop one little man."
"See, that's the wrinkle…" Edgar stroked his chin, but still had that happy aura around him, "Figaro really can't be tied into this. First of all, we'd like to keep this whole matter of the lost papers under wraps. Second of all, the Empire and Figaro are allies but we are two separate nations. I can't just call the Emperor at any time and borrow a score of soldiers. And third, I don't want military action in this endeavor at all. I want this kept secret, and I don't want Figaro implemented in this in any way."
Locke gave a laugh, understanding the urgency for this mission, even if he still didn't think all the pieces added up. But what difference does it make? Empire, Figaro, secret papers, he wasn't involved in any of it. One little mission and he would be free again. "If these papers are so valuable, how do you know I won't sneak a peek at them? Or try and find a bidder for the information I'll then have? I could bring your whole kingdom down depending on what these papers are."
Edgar burst out laughing, holding his side with the friendliest smile Locke had ever seen. "I told you before, I've heard the stories about you Locke Cole. You may be the world's premier treasure hunter, but I've also heard about your good deeds to the people back home in Kohlingen, as well as that baby you saved who got lost in the Narshe mines. You wouldn't even take their reward money! Why would I have any reason to believe you would sell these secrets for your own profit? That's not the man you are."
"I'm not entirely the man who I once was," Locke half mumbled under his breath.
"But you are still a good man who will do what is right. I can see it in your eyes. You're a man just like me." Edgar smiled again. "We'll see fit to it that you are well stocked and equipped with anything you need for your mission. We can talk more about your amazing career when you return. Best of luck to you Locke."
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It was four days later when King Edgar was interrupted by the Chancellor again. "Your highness, Locke Cole has returned."
"Ah yes! Send him in, send him in right away!" Edgar looked at a tailor who was measuring out the king's arms and taking down notes. "Please, I need to speak to our esteemed Mr. Cole alone. Come back later and we'll finish this."
"Yes sir," the tailor nodded on his way out as Locke made his way in. With all honor and grace he made his way before the king and kneeled.
"Your highness!"
"Oh Locke, stand up for goodness sakes! Jeez!" Edgar looked down at him like a scolding mother. Locke couldn't help but laugh. "How was your little vacation? Did everything go according to plan?"
Locke stood up, reached into a small pouch he had around his shoulders and pulled out a roll of papers neatly tied up with the seal of Figaro on them. "Smooth and easy. Just like the old man at Jidoor you enjoyed so much, our friend in South Figaro probably doesn't even know these are missing let alone who took them."
"Excellent!" Edgar shouted in excitement taking the papers. "Chancellor, please deposit these in a safe location."
"Will do sir," the Chancellor took hold of the rolled papers with a nod. "Also, the tailor said he had another appointment come up and will return to finish early tomorrow morning instead."
"Tailor?" Locke looked the king with a mocking grin. "What happened? Did you accidentally ruin one of your best cloaks during a tea-time disaster?"
"I'll have you know Mr. Cole that one of the Empire's brightest young minds is coming to pay me a visit in the coming few days, and to celebrate his presence we are having a royal ball in his honor. I need to be looking my most dashing for there shall be plenty of the finest ladies in all the desert attending."
This time it was Locke who began laughing so hard he had to hold his sides. "Finest ladies? So the stories about the womanizer of Figaro that I've heard are as true as the one's you've heard about me?"
"Womanizer? Bah!" Edgar turned in disagreement, "I am nothing of the kind. It is not my fault that a man like myself is so irresistible to the women of the world."
Locke just kept on laughing. "Makes me kind of disappointed that I won't be around to watch this spectacle you are creating."
"Spectacle? I'll show you a spectacle!" Edgar looked to the Chancellor, "Do tell the tailor that tomorrow morning will be fine, and that I'll have another client for him who needs to be measured as well. One can't go to a royal ball in rags!"
"Yes sir," the Chancellor laughed, saluting with one hand while holding on to the papers in the other.