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 "Quiet," The man hissed. "He'll hear you from here."
His friend looked reluctantly over the top of the crates they passed by. Back alleys in the city were full of questionable folk at night, but the man they called the Wolf stood out even among them. 

"Well he did," the other man continued. Their pace had quickened to a shuffle, trying to distance themselves. "Heard it from me cousin, the one that works at the Hall. Told me the Wolf tried to strangle her with his bare hands afore he was caught."

"Fa," the first spat. "Trying to off the Lady Mora is filthy work. She's got plenty of enemies since her campaign but I didn't think they'd dare try to kill her so soon after taking office."

"And getting their would-be murderer posing as her own Stone Guard too," the second man whistled quietly. His companion grunted.

"Filthy work. Despicable. Can't imagine how she must be handling it all, a girl like her. Barely outta her teens and running a country with brigands after her like that. The streets will be in an uproar tomorrow when they --"