Gene Wolfe

“Wat.” Mark had decided the time had come to implement the plans he had been forming. “Wat, let me go back to the village. I can find out for you whether there really are two gangs of soldiers, and when I leave, I’ll get your bow and quiver from the inn and bring them to you.”
Before Wat could reply, Gil snorted, “That bantam-cock of a cobbler will have you at a rope’s end in no time.”
“Him?” Mark did his best to give his voice a manly note of contempt. “If I hint to the soldiers that he was doing something interesting while the rest of the village was at mass yesterday, he’ll kiss my hand.”