by Charles Lamb
----*----
Cassie was going out of her mind. Her uncle had insisted on her returning with him to Great Vale, leaving Alex to handle the transition of power in Windfall undistracted. Why in the world he thought she was a distraction, she had no idea. Between her and Alex, she had far more experience at court, and would be a great asset to him there.
She had finally conceded when her uncle pointed out she had a wedding to plan, and that required her to come home for a bit. Upon their return, Abrianna had been thrilled at the news of her engagement. Since her return, a day hadn’t passed without the two of them busy with preparations. Cassie had never considered the amount of work required in planning a royal wedding and soon found herself overwhelmed.
The only damper on the otherwise joyous situation was that her mother was still away. While not overly concerned, as she knew these things took time, she had expected some word from her by now, if nothing more than a message bird. Cassie had tried to send a few to her, without reply, causing some doubt. She suspected her uncle was worried as well, but kept his thoughts to himself.
One of the more exciting distractions after their return to Great Vale had been the royal visit of King Elion of the Woodland Elves. He had appeared the day following their homecoming and had brought hordes of gifts. She and Abrianna secretly believed that Elion supplied her uncle with his specially made elven goods and weapons. While publicly proclaiming neutrality, Great Vale never seemed short of the things they needed to defend the peace.
Of special note was the wedding gift Elion presented Cassie, a beautiful Chestnut mare named Rose. Her magnificent red coat was spectacular, and Cassie learned she was a sister to Shadows, Alex’s horse. The implications of that did not escape anyone, as it was well known that Shadows was one of Elion’s prized flying horses. Technically a loan, Cassie was gifted the horse for her lifetime, after which Rose would return to Elion on her own.
With the thought of Rose on her mind, Cassie heard a commotion outside the open window of her room. With Alex gone, she had returned to using her own quarters, if for no other reason, than the familiarity tempered her longing for the man. Sometimes she hated that nymph part of her that drove those raw emotions. Looking out the window and into the castle courtyard below, she could see Shadows, held by one of the stable hands.
Dashing for the door, her heart leapt as she expected Alex had ridden Shadows and was waiting below. Cassie raced down the main staircase and out into the courtyard, her excitement at seeing Alex urging her along. As she passed through the main double doors to the keep, she could see a small crowd surrounding the black mare. But Alex was not to be seen anywhere.
However, her uncle was easily identified, standing in the center of the men encircling the flying horse. Cassie could see he was reading something, a deep frown on his face.
“Uncle, where is Alex?” Cassie asked as she continued to search the small crowd.
“He is not here, Cassie. He sent an urgent message, but he couldn’t come himself,” her uncle replied while appearing extremely distracted by what he was reading.
Cassie felt herself deflate. After a moment’s disappointment, her curiosity got a hold of her.
“What message?” she asked.
Her uncle seemed to consider the question before replying, “Let’s go inside.”
Motioning for the stable hands to care for Shadows, Ben waved for Cassie to follow.
Cassie trailed him into the keep, passing through the throne room, and into his study beyond. On their way there, Ben had asked someone to find his daughter, Abrianna, and have her sent to him immediately. Ben and Cassie entered the study and both sat quietly as they waited for her to arrive.
Even with her curiosity eating at her, Cassie knew better than to push her uncle when he looked like this. Whatever the message was, it was not good. She doubted it was about Alex, as he had already declared him the sender.
Abrianna entered after a brief knock, and then scanned the room to find only the two occupants seated and waiting.
“Sit,” was all the king said, as Cassie watched her cousin take the chair near hers. After a brief silence, her uncle started.
“As Lord Protector of Windfall, Alex was presented a message this morning, from a ship’s captain. The vessel had just made port, and the man was delivering the royal pouch from their foreign representatives across the western sea. The message included this,” Ben said as he held up the pendant.
“That’s my mother’s!” Cassie declared as she surged forward to take it from her uncle for closer inspection.
“Yes, apparently Renfeld had your mother kidnapped as part of his grand plan. This message is a confirmation that they were successful and are holding her while awaiting further instructions.”
“Then let’s go get her!” A worried Cassie blurted.
“Unfortunately, the message doesn’t say where she is. It only refers to a previously agreed location that the now extinct Renfeld knew,” Ben replied sadly.
“Uncle, we have to go find her!” Cassie cried out, while holding back tears, as Abrianna slid next to her to give her comfort.
“Yes, Alex’s separate message says that very thing. He indicated to me that the captain was presented the missive with the pouch at the port of Tazmain. He has requested my permission to lead an expedition to retrieve her,” Ben replied.
“I’m going!” Cassie heard herself announce.
“Yes, I expected that,” her uncle replied with a sigh. “That is why I asked Abrianna to come in. Abrianna, can you please get in touch with Leander? As Guild Master of the local Rangers Guild, he may be able to reach out to his resources overseas and discreetly start the search before you get there.”
“Father, I want to go as well,” Abrianna asked as she held her cousin.
“Yes, I expected that as well,” he replied with an even bigger sigh. “I would hope a healer would be unnecessary, however, your presence will comfort Cassie.”
Cassie felt herself nodding in agreement, her fear over her mother’s safety ruling her emotions.
“OK, you two go prepare to travel. Cassie, I expect you will be taking Rose?” her uncle asked.
At the mention of the flying horse, Cassie got a slight surge of fear. While she had ridden the mare, she had yet to take flight.
“Yes, uncle,” she replied, knowing it was the fastest way to reach Windfall and Alex.
“Abrianna, you are prepared to ride Shadows?” she heard her uncle ask. Abrianna got the same wide-eyed look that Cassie suspected she had displayed. With the same resolute tone, she replied with a firm yes.
“All right then,” was all her uncle could say.
----*----
Leander was still cleaning up the mess Alex had made of the Guild building. Between the blood that had been spilt, and the burnt wood from the fires he had set, they had to rip out entire sections of the main hall for replacement. Leander wanted the Guild to be restored to its former splendor, before receiving the black mark of Renfeld’s corruption. As Guild master of the Great Vale Rangers, he knew that Rangers from all over the lands were looking to him to set the example they would all follow.
No more would they be meddling in the politics of the cities, steeped in corruption and greed. He was pushing hard to restore the true nature of the Rangers, as he knew they were meant to be. His feelings for Abrianna did put a bit of a damper on his altruistic attitudes, though. After the great battle, their true emotions for each other were exposed to everyone, themselves included.
Much to Leander’s relief, the king seemed to harbor no ill will over their affections. It did, however, create a hurtle for Leander and others in the community. He had to go above and beyond, to prove no royal manipulations were occurring with every one of his decisions.
It was with all this hanging over his head that Abrianna had come to him begging favors. With Cassie by her side, the two explained the dire nature of their circumstance. Leander immediately dispatched several of his message birds to ov
erseas contacts within the Rangers Guild.
His real concern was raised however, when the women explained their intention to accompany Alex overseas. While Leander had nothing but the greatest respect for the man, he had participated in enough of Alex’s adventures to know that the women would be in jeopardy. It seemed as if the man attracted conflict while standing idly by.
The final straw was the flying horses. Leander was not going to allow the most important person in his life to fly off, unprotected, while he stayed behind selecting stains for the woodwork. After sending the two back to the castle keep with promises not to leave without him, he set to the task of organizing his assistants to run things in his absence.
----*----
Ben was in his study leafing through everything he had on the overseas ports. While he had some information on Tazmain, he doubted very much that the trail started or ended there. As he was working, both Cassie and Abrianna stopped by on their return from seeing Leander at the Ranger’s Guild.
He had suspected that Leander was not about to let Abrianna run off on her own. Ben admired the young man, and felt he was a great match for his daughter. He was patient with her headstrong nature, while a stubborn man himself when necessary. Best of all, she seemed quite taken with him as well. Considering his own roots, Ben had a great admiration for someone who had risen from nothing.
Ben also understood very well the thin line the new Guild Master was walking, considering all that had occurred. He knew that he could not go, himself, to ask for Leander’s assistance. The political backlash of Renfeld’s war was still being felt throughout the lands.
However, everyone would understand Leander’s motivations in protecting his beloved. While they might make jokes, no one would dare challenge the decision as politically motivated. Leander would be a great help to Alex, and Ben felt better knowing Leander was there watching over Abrianna.
Cassie would be Alex’s to protect, and he would be a very busy man. She was clearly distraught, worried sick over her mother’s safety. Ben was worried as well, although not as much as she, for he understood the nature of things. His sister had been taken as a bargaining chip, so her abductors needed to keep her safe and in good health. The real danger was if they were to discover Renfeld’s fate before she could be rescued.
Should that happen, they still might attempt to ransom her. Ben’s real fear was that the captors would kill her to remain anonymous, hidden from Ben’s wrath. For that reason, Ben had ordered his people to start spreading rumors of Renfeld’s survival and that the prince was in hiding. He hoped the deception was enough to forestall any rash action, until Alex could recover his future mother-in-law.
----*----
Elion was in the stables, brushing one of his prized flying horses. While it was not popularly considered a kingly task, he had never been one to stand on ceremony. In addition, he found spending time with the animals to be both soothing and beneficial.
Unbeknownst to most in E’anbel, the horses here were quite intelligent and very old. They were much smarter than their lookalike cousins the humans rode. These stallions and mares were kin to the Greek stallion Pegasus, a winged horse from these very stables.
Before cutting ties to the world Alex and Ben knew as home, the elves had interacted with humans there from all over the realm. Those associations gave rise to many of those stories the humans referred to as myths. In this particular case, Elion recalled, Pegasus had decided to leave the stables and go exploring.
The stallion landed in Athens and accepted the offerings of the Greeks there, staying long enough to leave his mark on the people. Before becoming bored and returning to the elves, he had been paraded around the city, and his legend had taken root.
Elion’s current thoughts were around the gift he had personally delivered to Great Vale. All indications were that Alex was preparing to travel across the Western Sea to attempt a rescue of King Ben’s sister. As Shadows had proven to be a valuable asset to Alex’s adventures so far, he hoped providing Lady Cassandra with Rose would prove just as beneficial. He had little doubt the fiery nymph wouldn’t accompany him on the quest.
Elion was aware there were many challenges waiting for the humans should they travel across the sea. There were hidden dangers there that he worried the humans might not be prepared for. Worst of all, a dormant evil lay in wait there.
It was these concerns over the possible escalation with the Dark Elves that motivated the gift of the mare. The failure in rescuing Lady Amelia could escalate things out of control, by prompting Great Vale to take revenge on those involved, wherever they might be.
Finishing his task, Elion dismissed the mare he had been grooming and stowed the brushes before returning to the duties he was avoiding. His last thought before leaving the stables was a hope that the couple survived long enough to see themselves married.
Chapter 2
The following morning, Ben entered the small dining room, only to find Leander, Abrianna, and Cassie all there ahead of him, and already eating. Ben was not big on formality, and as such had no issues with them starting without him. What happened next, though, did cause him to laugh.
Leander was first to see him enter, and immediately jumped to his feet, causing his chair to topple. Even with as much time as the two had spent in close proximity, Ben noted the boy still got the jitters in his presence.
Both Cassie and Abrianna turned to see the cause of his behavior, and then giggled. What made Ben laugh was that both women were in the Ranger tunic and tights, the outfit Alex had first dressed Cassie in, while the Guild Master himself was in nondescript clothing, attempting to hide his identity.
The irony lay in Leander’s attempted discretion while the women broadcast their allegiance to the world. Ben assumed that protective garb, similar to the Ranger attire, was beneath Leander’s apparel. However, from his outward appearance no one would see an affiliation to the Rangers. He couldn’t help but laugh at the juxtaposition.
“Morning uncle,” Cassie bid as he rounded the table and took his traditional place at its head.
By the time Ben had seated himself, Leander had recovered his chair and re-seated himself.
“Sire,” the man said as he tipped his head in respect.
“Good morning,” Ben replied before adding, “I see the entire female branch of the Ranger’s Guild is in attendance.”
“I felt it might be best if I didn’t appear in Ranger’s garb for this mission,” Leander suggested in way of an explanation.
“And we wanted to be ready for anything,” Abrianna added.
“I understand completely,” Ben offered to the obviously relieved Leander.
“I assume you are suitably protected beneath?”
“Oh yes, Sire,” Leander replied, while lifting his shirt to show the protective tunic beneath.
“It has been recorded in the Guild records that I am assisting in rectifying a wrong done in the service of Prince Renfeld,” Leander explained as a justification for his participation.
“An entry I expect to be unnecessary, but prudent none the less,” Ben replied with a smile.
“We are packed and ready to leave,” Cassie stated, as Ben accepted the plate provided by his serving staff.
“Traveling light I hope?” Ben asked between bites.
“Only saddlebags for each of us,” Abrianna said while indicating herself and Cassie.
“I have a traveler’s knapsack,” Leander added.
“Well then, let’s not keep Alex waiting,” Ben replied as he finished the last bite on his plate.
----*----
Alex had received a message from Ben the same day, acknowledging Shadow’s arrival, and indicating there would be more to follow. As such, he spent most of that day and the following morning preparing for a message approving his proposal, and releasing him to pursue Cassie’s mom.
Besides the preparations for his departure, he needed to get the administrative duties for the city in order, permitting his absence. Thankf
ully, either by negligence or by design, Renfeld had taken a very hands off approach to governing the city. So long as the taxes were collected and paid to the royal treasury, he left the merchants and the shippers to their own devices.
In fact, one of the immediate benefits of Alex’s governing was his redirection of revenues back into the community. The civil engineer in him had initiated public works projects to repair the docks and upgrade the streets damaged by heavy wagons over years of neglect.
Additionally, he had sponsored the construction of shipyards, initially intended to repair trading vessels, but with the possibility of new production in the future. With the knowledge he had of sailing ships from his world, versus what he saw in the bay, he imagined they might be able to introduce some innovative designs.
All these changes had endeared him to most of the population and the local merchants, as it created jobs and improved the facilities supporting their businesses, without cost to them. In addition, the increase in paying jobs allowed the other trades to prosper, as workers spent their hard-earned wages throughout the city. Only a corrupt few felt the sting of the changes.
Although he had only been Lord Protector for less than a month, his efforts had been positively received. Even those in charge of the accounts had reported they still maintained a positive cash flow from the treasury, after the additional outlay.
His initial travels throughout the city were all accompanied with a small contingent of Vale guards. It was a precaution that soon became unnecessary as Alex’s reputation as a wizard and a benefactor grew. The positive impact of his changes had been so great that he was now able to wander the city freely, without fear of attack from some disgruntled faction.
And that’s how he and Kinsey came to be crossing the inner courtyard alone as they were returning from a meeting. They had traveled to the site that the new shipyard was to spring from. There, Alex was outlining his design to the construction supervisors, explaining his vision before returning to the castle. Half way across the courtyard, he heard one of the tower guards hail him.
