At the guardhouse, the custodian led them into a cellar, showed them where the required equipment was stored and then discreetly disappeared. Henry was surprised by the amount of things they had there. As he rummaged through the heaps of clothes, he wondered how often this gear was used. What did Sir Hanush actually needed it for? However, it came in very handy now. He didn't have to roam around and look for bandits to undress or to buy from the tailor with his own groshen. All the men had to try each piece of equipment several times before finding one that would suit them well. Henry had only gloves left to find and he was starting to worry about Sir Capon. Where the hell was he? Suddenly the door opened and the nobleman entered.

"Let's see what's in there for me," he said without greeting, walking straight to the chests. Henry's companions bowed and cleared the way. Meanwhile, Henry finally pulled out some gloves that fit him and then watched in amusement as Hans Capon rummaged through the chests with a disgusted look on his face.

"Good God, am I really supposed to put this on?" The nobleman sighed heavily, waving a tunic in front of Henry's eyes. It looked like it has been through a lot.

"You still have time to back off. No one will blame you," smiled Henry insolently at him.

"Enough of the cheek, peasant. I'm not some coward giving up," said Capon, but there was no anger in his voice. Since they first met, their relationship has undergone a major transformation. It could be said that they were almost friends, if such a thing was possible between a nobleman and a commoner. When Capon called him a peasant, Henry knew that he was threading on thin ice. Then it was his choice to withdraw or push some more and cross the line.

"Of course, sir," replied Henry amicably. After all, they were not alone and in public he tried to behave more respectfully than in private. As a sign of goodwill, he went and helped Sir Capon to find everything he needed. When they were leaving the guardhouse, they were delayed by the custodian. He insisted that each borrowed piece had to be recorded in his books. So that no one could accuse him of cheating.

When they finally found themselves in the fresh air (or at least as fresh as possible in Rattay), the sun was much lower in the sky. But there was still plenty of time until dusk. Nevertheless, Henry decided not to delay, so they loaded the bundles of clothing onto their horses and set off for Talmberg. Along the way, Sir Capon showered them with a number of hilarious hunting stories, one more outrageous than the other. However, the stream of stories slowly thinned the closer they were to Talmberg until it dried up completely. Capon then nudged his horse to Henry's and whispered to him:

"Listen, Hal, do you think you could accompany me when I go to see my uncle? You know, you could put in a good word for me. We'll tell him you asked me if I could help you and of course I couldn't turn down my friend."

Since Capon was a bit behind him and could not see his face, Henry allowed himself to roll his eyes. That was how it always ended. The young lord came up with some outrageous idea, got him involved and in the end it was always Henry who had to pull them both out of trouble. And yet he always acquiesced. Later, he defended himself by saying that, as a subject, he could not refuse his master's request. But deep down he knew that he was actually enjoying Capon's crazy ideas and he liked to remember them when they met in a pub for a beer... or five.

"Of course, sir, I'll be honoured," he replied, making a slightly exaggerated bow in the saddle. Capon just muttered something and retreated. No doubt he knew that Henry was making fun of him again, but he was too keen on in his help to risk offending him and losing it.

Soon they were riding among the first houses of the village below Talmberg. Henry turned to his four companions, who kept their distance during the journey, a little uneasy in the presence of the nobleman. "Report to Sir Robard on my behalf. Tell him I had to see Sir Hanush in an urgent matter." They nodded and headed for the quarry. Henry and Sir Capon stood in the middle of the road.

"Now we have to find Sir Hanush," said Henry, looking around as if expecting Hanush to emerge from behind the nearest cottage.

"Wait, are you telling me you don't know where he is?" asked Capon in astonishment.

"When I left, it was still being decided where the camps would be built," snapped Henry. "We'll just find the nearest guard and ask."

"As you say, Henry. Lead on."

Henry muttered to himself something about ungrateful birds, but he was careful to keep his voice down. In the end, they were lucky. It turned out that Sir Hanush was staying in the camp not far from them. They left the horses on the edge of the camp and continued on foot. Hanush's booming voice could be heard from a distance. It was easily recognizable and its owner did not bother to keep it down even in church. When they emerged from behind the tents, they saw the Rattay lord talking to Sir Divish. He immediately noticed them as well and fell silent in the middle of a sentence.

"Uncle!" said Hans Capon cheerfully. "Sir Divish," he added with a slight nod.

"Sir Hanush," Henry bowed. "Sir Divish."

Hanush glanced at Henry for a moment, then turned his gaze squarely back to his ward. Divish returned their greetings and then withdrew. He sensed that the following conversation did not concern him. At the same time, however, he suspected that it could become a welcomed source of distraction.

"Nephew," Hanush said to Capon in a surprisingly calm voice, "I hope you have a damn good explanation for your presence."

"My lord, I am the reason for Sir Capon presence," admitted Henry in his best apologetic tone. "By chance, we came across each other in Rattay, where I was on an assignment for Sir Robard. And as he had no news from us, I went to explain the situation to him. Of course, the conversation turned to our attempt at saving Lady Stephanie and my father. And at that moment it occurred to me that I could ask Sir Capon for help, for his experience with night expeditions is of legendary proportions. And Sir Capon, being a brave man and a good Christian, could not refuse his friend's request and agreed to join us." Henry really tried, he put everything into it. All the lessons in the high-born speech that Capon gave him fell on fertile ground. As he spoke, his voice gained strength and conviction, accompanied by a sincere innocent look to indicate that its owner had done nothing wrong.

During Henry's speech, Hanush stood motionless, only his eyebrows rising higher and higher.

"That's right, uncle. When Henry asked me if I could help him save his father, I had to agree. Henry would have done the same, had the situation been reversed," Capon hurried to assist.

There was a silence interrupted only by the coughing of Sir Divish in the background, which was sounded suspiciously like a masked laughter. With a stony face, Hanush watched as the confident attitude of his nephew and Henry gradually turned into a hunched crouch of the culprits who knew they had been caught. When they began to rub their hands nervously, he couldn't stand it any longer and laughed heartily.

"You are a pair of fools who will drive me to an early grave," he said while his shoulders shook with laughter. "But lets do it your way. I don't care whose idea it was this time," he glanced at Hans to let him know that he knew how it really was. "You can both go tomorrow. And you, Henry, will look after this young man here so that nothing happens to him. "

"You can count on me, sir," bowed Henry.

"And now get out of my sight, both of you. I still have matters to discuss with Sir Divish." He turned his back on them and motioned for Divish to rejoin him.

Henry and Capon could not believe their luck. They did not wait for anything and took a quick retreat so that Hanush could not change his mind. When they were far enough, they looked at each other and suddenly laughed.

"Well, Hal! I can't believe we pulled this off! By the way, your speech was really impressive. I almost believed you myself. Thank you very much for saving me this time. "

"You're welcome. After all, it was my ass on the line too!" Then the two of them patted each other on the back to congratulate themselves on their success and went to the camp in the quarry.