Scott Lynch

If reassurances could dull pain, nobody would ever go to the trouble of pressing grapes.

That's a sweet piece," said Jean, briefly forgetting to be aggravated. "You didn't snatch that off a street.""No," said Locke, before taking another deep draught of the warm water in the decanter. "I got it from the neck of the governor's mistress.""You can't be serious.""In the governor's manor.""Of all the -" "In the governor's bed.""Damned lunatic!""With the governor sleeping next to her."The night quiet was broken by the high, distant trill of a whistle, the traditional swarming noise of city watches everywhere. Several other whistles joined in a few moments later."It is possible," said Locke with a sheepish grin, "that I have been slightly too bold.

There__ no freedom quite like the freedom of being constantly underestimated.

Worst of all, the inner vault is guarded by a live dragon, attended by fifty naked women armed with poisoned spears, each of them sworn to die in Requin's service. All redheads.-You're just making that up, Jean.

Get used to gaps in your comprehension,_ said Sabetha. __he rest of us certainly have.

Jean grinned down at her, and she handed him something in a small silk bag.'What's this?''Lock of my hair, ' she said. 'Meant to give it to you days ago, but we got busy with all the raiding. You know. Piracy. Hectic life. ''Thank you, love, ' he said.'Now, if you find yourself in trouble wherever you go, you can hold up that little bag to whoever's bothering you, and you can say, "You have no idea who you're fucking with. I'm under the protection of the lady who gave me this object of her favour. "''And that's supposed to make them stop?''Shit no, that's just to confuse them. Then you kill them while they're standing there looking at you funny.

I__ speaking of the pursuit of excellence in all things. All things! Presence of mind and devotion to craft. A great artist has these. A great chef. A great master of tea. There__ powerful kung fu in a well-built house or an eloquent letter, but the limit of your imagination is bones breaking and bullets flying.

Endure for another day, Mister Tannen, and you'll have all the foul black misuse of water you can drink.

When the sky__ falling, I take shelter under bullshit.

We don__ see the life after life as it truly is, because in our eyes it conforms to our mechanics of nature.

Only prisoners were ever granted easy passage into a prison.

In a fair fight, the don's man would almost certainly paint the walls with Locke and Calo's blood, so it stood to reason that this fight would have to be as unfair as possible.

What kind of knife is this?_ Locke held a rounded buttering utensil up for Chains_ inspection. __t__ all wrong. You couldn__ kill anyone with this.___ell, not very easily, I__l grant you that, my boy._ Chains guided Locke in the placement of the butter knife and assorted small dishes and bowls. __ut when the quality get together to dine, it__ impolite to knock anybody off with anything but poison. That thing is for scooping butter, not slicing windpipes.___his is a lot of trouble to go to just to eat.___ell, in Shades_ Hill you may be able to eat cold bacon and dirt pies off one another__ asses for all your old master cares. But now you__e a Gentleman Bastard, emphasis on the Gentleman. You__e going to learn how to eat like this, and how to serve people whoeat like this.

Sweat, scalded meat, puke, blood, smoke and a dozen kinds of bad ale and wine: the bouquet of civilized nightlife

I think piracy is a bit like drinking. You want to stay out all night doing it, you pay the price the next day.

We__e a different sort of thief here, Lamora. Deception and misdirection are our tools. We don__ believe in hard work when a false face and a good line of bullshit can do so much more.

Sophara scrawled orders on a slate and handed it to one of the libationarians, whose encyclopedic knowledge of the contents and locations of all the bottles kept the bar running.

Am I making myself clear, Orrin? I don't regret how I've lived these past few years. I move where I will. I set no appointments. I guard no borders. What landbound king has the freedom of a ship's captain? The Sea of Brass provides. When I need haste, it gives me winds. When I need gold, it gives me galleons." Thieves prosper, thought Locke. The rich remember. He made his decision, and gripped the rail to avoid shaking."Only gods-damned fools die for lines drawn on maps," said Zamira. "But nobody can draw lines around my ship. If they try, all I need to do to slip away is set more sail.