The Life Guard
Prologue
Dargem: Dirt, mess, and folly. The very things I abhor and strive to stomp out wherever I go are bound to become staples of my life for the coming months. Oh, the sacrifices a man has to make to reemerge as the top choice for jobs no one but a true artist of delicate business can handle. You might think I am here to enlighten these dim barbarians about the health hazards that come from picking ears with a loaded pistol—and your guess will be wrong. I have come to do a favor to someone who may soon become the ruler of half a continent. A favor remembered for a lifetime.