The Assasin’s Riddle

‘A caltrop had been hidden amongst the rushes in his chamber, a huge, jagged affair...’

‘A caltrop, Sir John?’

‘They are used against armoured knights,’ Cranston explained, seeing the puzzlement in Athelstan’s face. ‘Steel man-traps, often placed on roads when planning an ambuscade or used to defend a dry ditch during a siege.
Simple but terrible, like a rat-trap. The horse or the man puts his foot in and the trap is sprung.’

‘A terrible death,’ Athelstan remarked.

He and Sir John walked down the corridor and out of the house. Athelstan slammed the door and, stepping back, looked up at the dirt-covered windows.

‘Avaritia, radix malorum, Sir John: the love of riches is the root of all evil. Or is it?’ he added as if to himself. ‘And is it the case now?’