On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Mark A Mandel wrote: > On Sat, 8 Mar 2003, Philip Hart wrote: > > #According to several books (well, _Jhereg_ and _Yendi_ at least) > #it's the way of things that one assassin is assigned per job. > #I think this was presented as a measure to avoid interference. > #(Which wouldn't necessarily be at issue here, admittedly.) > #And perhaps this indicates Dragaeran patience relative to Easterners. > > But when the Demon was hiring Vlad to take out Mellar, who was holed up > in Castle Black, he told him, "If someone else sees a clear shot, they're > going to take it", OWTTE. (sorry for the typos; my ISP is giving really > rotten echo time). Your ISP seems to have mangled "or words to that effect" into OWTTE - quite impressive. Ok, re your argument, this is a case that proves (tests) the rule - the Demon explicitly tells Vlad this, indicating that sending a second team is unusual. It's an emergency situation calling for unusual solutions. And Vlad replies he'll shine anyone who gets in his way - what I meant by "interference". And of course the plot of _Yendi_ turns on this point.