Gentlemen of the road / Chabon, Michael

Two odd travelers who make their lives as swindlers and hired killers in the Caucasus Mountains in A.D. 950 get hired by a young royal whose throne was usurped by his uncle. Rather than the small-scale scrapes they're used to getting into, this feat will require raising an army and possibly starting a revolution.

The rootless lives of Zelikman, an itinerant physician, and his comrade and fellow conman Amram, gain focus when they are dragooned in 950 A.D. into service as escorts and defenders to a stubborn and unlikable young royal whose uncle has usurped the throne.