"I did. Hundred times."

"Right."

"What should I do? Maybe, replace Squint-Eye?"

"It is your choice whether to discard Enriki or to cover up for him. If you replace Squint-Eye with Vil, Enriki is a dead man. Vil cannot fight in a pair, he thinks only for himself, he fights alone – and one is always weaker than two. If you keep Squint-Eye there, there is no guarantee he won't be wounded, two of them will have to handle all the pressure. Squint-Eye will be in trouble, he might save Enriki but get wounded too."

"And I'll have two very useful warriors wounded. I don't like it at all! Is there a variant when Enriki is wounded or killed but Squint-Eye is safe?"

"Think about it: Squint-Eye feels guilty, he will do his best to make up for it. He will risk."

"Shi-it, you're right, and taking into account his mood… they both might get killed!" Orel bit his lip. "But Enriki… I need Enriki for the Upper City!"

"You can go to the Upper City yourself, he managed to arrange it for you."

"I'm a zero in it! Without him all our privileges and amnesties will go down, like a house of cards."

"Aren't you depending on him too much?"

"I am! Every one of my men is irreplaceable for me! Without Enriki you, Lis and Squint-Eye will go to prison for sure."

"Without Lis's strategy there will be no victories in the Lower City. Without Squint-Eye no one will fear you. And you? Can't you do anything?"

"You, Nik – how can I replace you with anyone?"

"I'm not talking about myself! If Enriki means so much for you, lock him up in the castle, make him deal with papers and that's all."

"I cannot do it! If I lock him up, it will mean he isn't a warrior any more! He won't do anything then."

"If he cares for you, he will."

"Would you?"

"Any time, I'm fed up with this war."

"You speak like Squint-Eye, are you serious?"

"Yes. I envy Lis – I won't live long enough to get this old."

"But you don’t know how old you are."

"I thought about it and tried to recall. I think I'm twenty-three, yes, I'm sure."

"Ooh."

"What, don't I look like that?"

"No-o. But Lis told me that."

"Told what?"

"He said you're barely over twenty, and I didn't believe him."

"Fucking shit, Lis knows more about me than I do!"

Orel laughed.

"He said: 'Nikto is at least seven years younger than me." Orel tossed a sly look at Nikto. "Fine, you're tired of fighting – quit it."

"What? Are you permitting me?"

"No! Of course, not! But Enriki won't quit, he want to prove he still can fight. Do you know what I think? I'll replace Squint-Eye and put Vil there."

"Enriki will understand that you give up on him. Put me there, I'll manage to defend him."

"And what about me?!"

"Your eyes are okay and you'll have Squint-Eye, like before."

"No. Never."

"If Enriki is with Vil and you're with me, where will you put Squint-Eye?"

"With Asa."

"What an allocation! He'll kill her himself not to meddle."

"What should I do then?"

"Replace everyone. Enriki-Vil. Lis-Squint-Eye. Asa-Tol."

"They will be mad! Though…" Orel mused. "There is something in it. No, Lis and Squint-Eye is a shitty pair… very shitty. Wait, Nik, you want to set up Lis? You're cunning!"

"Is it 'setting up'? Squint-Eye fights much better than Tol."

"Yes, but Squint-Eye doesn't like Lis."

"If you put him to stand by Lis, Lis will find a way to make Squint-Eye love him, believe me."

"It stinks, Nik."

"With this allocation there will be one wounded. Vil won't let himself be wounded and he won't risk. With the present allocation you'll have two wounded."

"So, in the first case there will be two wounded, and one of them not important, but that way we'll have two important warriors wounded. What should I do? Enriki will take Squint-Eye down with him, that's for sure!"

"The pair Enriki-Squint-Eye fucked up once. I ask you again, put me with Enriki."

"No!" Orel nearly screamed. "You're right, there shouldn't be irreplaceable men. Apart from me, everyone is replaceable in my team. Let Enriki show what he can do. I'm giving up on him – I hope he won't get killed, and if he gets wounded, he'll calm down for a while and will handle my affairs. I'll take Dick Nedwill in his place as a warrior. He and Vil will make a good pair."

"And now try to explain it to the others."