by Jamie Davis
Cari left to go below and finish packing up her things. It didn’t take her long. She didn’t have much.
Once her leather backpack was stuffed full of everything she owned here in Fantasma, she checked her coat pocket one more time feeling the two letters she kept there. One was the Letter of Marque and the other was the cryptic message to the Vengeance's former captain about the plot to reach Timron in Tandon. Those were essential because they represented the evidence she thought they needed to implicate the Duke of Charon in treason.
Cari spent her final few minutes aboard straightening up the captain's table, returning the charts to the chart locker's drawers and placing the sextant back in its case. The cabin was in much better order than when she’d taken over from the previous resident. She wanted to leave the cabin in good shape for the next occupant if she didn't return.
Returning to the deck, Cari spotted Helen and the young girl they’d rescued in the capture of the ship. She joined them at the end of the gangplank.
“Helen, I have something for you to give to the family you find to foster our little Jane here.” Cari named the girl Jane when she’d refused to talk at all or help them discover her real name.
Cari handed Helen a small purse with a generous collection of silver coins.
“Use this to help defray the cost of adding an additional mouth to feed to their family. Tell them a member of the crew will check in with them whenever we come back to Tandon to check on the girl and attend to her welfare as needed.”
“I’ll do the best I can, ma'am. I’ve been here before and I have a few contacts in the city who should be able to help me find a suitable and trustworthy family for Janey.”
“Good. I knew I could count on you. Come I’ll walk with you part of the way until I have to head up to the palace.”
Cari nodded a brief farewell to Bowcott, Percy, and Dawkins on the quarterdeck by the wheel. They trio waved back at her. Cari turned and walked down the narrow plank to the dock, following Helen and the girl into Tandon.
She looked up the hill to the palace battlements standing out above the rest of the city. Cari knew where she was headed even if she didn't know the specific route to get there. The Duke's castle sat on the cliffs overlooking the harbor. That was her destination.
* * *
Quest completed - Travel to Tandon
4,000 experience awarded
* * *
———
* * *
The city of Tandon stretched out from the harbor district, spreading in three directions to branch off into the merchant district, caravan district, and temple district. While not as large as the capital by any means, it was a virtual metropolis in comparison to a place like Morton Creek.
Cari enjoyed seeing the sights, taking in the differences in this region as she worked her way through the various districts. Here in the western cities, there were more orcs and goblins present in the city than in the capital. She’d seen only a few non-humans in Morton Creek while she was there in comparison.
Because of her leisurely strolling pace to take in the atmosphere of Tandon, it took her more than an hour to reach the gates of the palace where the Duke and his family resided.
The guards at the gates watch with wary eyes as people passed by on the way about their business. They stopped every person who approached the gates for any reason. Some they turned away, others were allowed to pass through to the palace.
Cari didn't know what to say when she approached other than she was told to go to the Duke to find her friends. She shrugged and walked up to the lead guard. He had a sergeant's chevrons on his chest.
"What can I do for you, Miss? You'll need a pass to get into the palace. Do you have an appointment with someone inside?"
"I am looking for a group of friends. They left word for me to seek them out here at the Duke's palace."
"And who might these friends of yours be?"
"They are former members of the Empress's Dragoons here with a special charge."
"Ah, yes, the ones with Prince Timron. I don't remember anything said about them having a companion they were expecting though. What did you say your name was?"
"Cari, Cari Dix."
"What, like the lost princess?"
Cari tried not to roll her eyes as she answered.
"Yes, exactly like the lost princess."
"Alright, come with me and I'll take you to the officer of the watch today. He'll determine if you are allowed to enter or not."
The sergeant escorted Cari into the gatehouse, shooting her a sideways glance as he let out a chuckle.
"Is something funny, sergeant?"
"Well, Miss, I always wonder what parents are thinking when they name their children after old heroes. I don't think any mother in her right mind would want their son or daughter to be caught up in the kind of trouble and war someone like Hal Dix dealt with."
"You sound like you know something about it," Cari remarked. "Surely you're not old enough to have been alive when Prince Hal was here in Fantasma."
"I wasn't, but my Grandpappy was. He met and fought beside Prince Hal in the war. Even knew him from his days as a thief on these very streets. He said Hal fought hard to help his friends, but he never did it to become a hero. Even in the end, when the Emperor kidnapped his wife and daughter, Hal only did what he had to do to free them. Legend says he disappeared into a magical void as spells began to fail even back then. My Grandpappy told me the truth. He said Hal just went back home to a land far away from Fantasma. He said the lost princess was just a girl like any other, with parents who cared about her and wanted her to grow up in their home."
"I've never heard that version of the story before. Everyone says it was all dashing about and heroes winning the day."
"War always looks that way when the people who didn't fight in them talk about what happened in the past. The reality is much worse for those who had to see it firsthand. I don't have to tell you that, though, do I? You have a few scars I can see, more than I'd expect for someone your age."
Cari put a hand to the healed scar on her cheek. She forgot it was there and there weren't a lot of mirrors to be had among the common folk of Fantasma.
"No, I guess you don't have to explain any of that to me. Thank you for sharing the story about Prince Hal from your Grandfather. You must be very proud of his service to the Empire."
"I am, Miss. Thank you. He passed two years ago, but he always had fond memories to share of Prince Hal from the early days."
The sergeant stopped outside a door just inside the gates.
"Here you are, Miss. Lieutenant Claridge is the officer today I believe. He can help get your situation sorted out."
The sergeant offered a brief bow and returned through the gatehouse corridor to his post in front of the palace.
Cari lifted the latch and walked into the gate officer's office.
A young man, not much older than herself sat behind a desk, he was picking at the dirt under his fingernails with the point of a dagger when she walked in. He sat up so quickly, trying to put the dagger away, that he pricked his fingertip on the sharp blade.
"Ouch, damn."
He stuck the tip of his finger in his mouth, then realized how that must look and dropped his hand to his lap. He braced his shoulders back, sitting up as straight as possible.
Cari covered her laugh by turning it into a cough and covering her mouth.
"Yes, Miss, how can I help you?"
"I'm Captain Dix, of the merchant ship Vengeance."
"A captain? You?"
"Yes," Cari said, her eyes narrowing. "Is there a problem with that?"
"You just seem so young to have such a great responsibility."
"One could say the same thing about you, Lieutenant. I earned my position through hard work, sweat, and more blood than I care to think about. Who birthed you to give you this position?"
Cari knew she'd gone too far with the last question. The reddening face on the young officer in front
of her told her that much. Damn it, Cari, your temper got you again.
"Miss Dix."
Cari noticed he did not call her captain.
"I'm afraid the palace is not taking any visitors today. Perhaps you'll have more luck if you return to your, uh, Vengeance, was it? You can always return and try again tomorrow."
So, it was going to be a battle of wills. So be it.
"That is unacceptable, Lieutenant. I'm a personal friend of Prince Timron himself. I know he is staying here at the palace. I have a personal letter telling me to meet both him and his traveling companions here when I arrived. Now do your job and tell my friends I'm here. Or, better yet, get off your butt and escort me to them!"
The lieutenant shot to his feet.
"No girl talks to me that way."
"Really? One just did. Now take me to His Imperial Highness right now if you want me to forget to mention this whole matter to the Duke when I seem him."
"That shows how much you know, Miss Dix."
"CAPTAIN DIX to you."
"It doesn't matter what I call you. You're not going to see the Prince, the Duke or anyone else in their party today or anytime soon!"
"And why not?"
"Because none of them are here."
Cari took a step back.
"What?"
"Just what I said. None of them are here. The Prince asked to go hunting and the Duke, his entire court, and I presume your friends as well, all took His Highness off to the Duke's country estate."
"Why the hell didn't you just say so? We could have avoided all this shouting."
"You never asked."
Cari remembered why her mission was so urgent. The assassin had at least a few day’s head start on her. Surely they knew where the prince and the others had gone as well.
"How long ago did they leave?"
"Why…"
"Never mind that. When did they leave?"
"Two days ago."
"I have to go. I have to get to the Duke's estate."
"It's a full two days' travel north of here. You can't leave now. It'll be dark soon. And you're not equipped for travel overland. You'll need camping gear, supplies, stuff like that."
Cari's mind raced. Two days. She'd missed them by two days. That, and she was still at least two days away.
"I don't care about traveling at night. I'll have to chance it."
"You'll never make it alone. You don't even know where you're going."
"Who's going to show me? You?"
"I suppose I will have to. You will just get lost or worse and if you are a friend of the Prince, I'll get the blame."
"I can take care of myself, I assure you."
"Not unless you've got the right gear," Lieutenant Claridge said. "I'll be off duty in a few hours. That's enough time for you to cross town to the Caravansary Outfitters. Colin, the shop’s owner, will be able to equip you for the journey there."
"How am I supposed to find this place?"
"Anyone in the city can give you directions. Just head to the edge of the merchant's district where it meets the caravans district. You can't miss it."
Thinking about what she’d need for a two day journey into the hills north of the city, Cari realized this annoying boy was right. She was going to have to get at least a sleeping bag and a tent for the journey.
"Where will I meet you when I'm finished?"
"You can meet me at the Caravan Gate. I'll bring you a horse along with mine. You can ride, can't you?"
"Of course I can ride," Cari lied. "Can't everyone?"
She couldn't wait to bring this up with her parents. She'd asked for riding lessons when she was twelve and they'd said no. Her mother told her it wasn’t fair to the horses and it was too expensive.
"Alright, I'll bring you a horse from the Duke's stables. We'll make better time if we can travel on horseback rather than by carriage or wagon."
Cari realized he was right and she'd make better time and be able to find the estate more quickly if she had a guide. She could put up with this idiot for a few days if it meant stopping the assassin.
"I'll see you at the Caravan Gate in two hours. Don't be late. It's urgent we get to the Prince as quickly as possible."
"I'll be there, don't you worry." Lieutenant Claridge said. "Don’t get lost wandering the city."
Cari huffed, spun around and stormed out of the gatehouse office. She made sure to slam the door for effect as she exited.
She grimaced. That could have gone way better. At least she’d managed to find out where everyone had gone and secured a guide for the overland trip, even if it was this Lieutenant Claridge. This was going to be a long two days.
Chapter 29
Lieutenant Claridge was right. Everyone did know where the Caravansary Outfitters was. In fact, most thought it strange she didn't know the way to the shop.
Cari wasn't sure what she expected by the time she arrived. It certainly wasn't the ramshackle collection of interconnected buildings she looked at now as she stood outside the entrance. The way people talked about it when she asked for directions, it was the best establishment for what she needed and there was nothing like it anywhere else in the Empire. Based on the reaction she got from the city’s residents, Cari figured it would be lit up like a Vegas casino or something.
This jumbled heap of buildings was, frankly, a bit of a letdown.
Cari walked up and pulled open the door to go inside. Halfway through the door she stopped and stared at what awaited her.
Somehow, some way, the Outfitters was bigger on the inside. Aisles stretched in every direction as far as she could see. It was bigger than the biggest megastore back home.
On top of that, every surface from the floor to the ceiling was covered with something. Shields, helmets, chain mail, racks of weapons of every kind, and more all sat in plain view wherever she looked. It was like one of those theme restaurants back home whose walls were covered with random junk and knickknacks, taken to a new degree of the ridiculous.
Cari didn't see anyone to wait on her so she started wandering down one of the aisles at random.
A rack of two-handed broad swords stood to one side against a column. Cari reached out to pick up one of the swords.
"Don't touch that."
Cari jumped.
A strange little man stepped out from behind a stack of portable propane cook stoves.
He had to be the oddest person Cari had ever seen. He wore baggy cargo shorts held up by rainbow suspenders. Below the shorts, he wore socks pulled up to mid-calf and secured by black men's garters wrapped just below his kneecaps. On his feet, he had what looked like a waterman’s duck boots from back home. From the waist up, he wore a khaki shirt under the suspenders and on his head, there sat an honest to God pith helmet.
Cari found herself standing there with no other thought but to stare at the guy.
The oddest thing was, he took one look at her and stared, too.
"You!" He shouted. “Do your parents know you're here?”
That surprised her. It wasn’t what she expected at all and she didn’t know how to answer. She'd never seen this guy before in her life.
"How do you know my parents? How do you know me?"
"I felt the portal, but I figured it was your father checking in on Kareena in secret. She's so old now and I’ve heard how ill she’s become. I doubt she even knows he does it."
"Stop. I don’t care what my father does in his spare time. Answer my questions. How do you know who I am?"
"Because I helped create the game that brought you here. I'm Colin and I own this shop. I know who your father is, too. I can see the resemblance in your auras. I know you can see the menus just like he and I can. Only people from our world can do that."
"So, are you stuck here, too?"
"No, of course not. I only pop in when someone special comes into the Outfitters, otherwise my regular employees handle things."
Cari was afraid to ask the next question because she didn't know
how she'd react if he said yes. Her lips trembled and her eyes got all misty.
"Can you take me home?"
It was the first time she admitted she wasn't sure she wanted to stay. Now that she knew she could go back, somehow, she had to face her feelings.
"Unfortunately not. The portal I have only opens for me. You have to go see the Empress herself. If you’re here, she must have found a way to bring you here. Either that or you stumbled onto your father’s portal. I'll bet she used some artifact and thought she'd get your dad."
"That isn't helpful at all, Colin."
"I don't make the rules, Cari. I can only help you get the things you'll need to beat them. Tell me why you're here."
"I have to get to the Duke's country estate. He and Prince Timron went there earlier this week to go hunting and there's an assassin brought to the city by raiders. He’s bent on killing the Prince."
"Hmmm." Colin mused. "Are you walking or going on horseback?"
"Horseback. I meet my guide in an hour at the Caravan Gate."
Colin glanced at his watch, staring at the hands of the cartoon mouse on the old-fashioned analog dial. It the first timepiece like it she'd seen since she'd been in Fantasma.
"You'll need a lightweight kit either way. Come with me."
Cari followed the little man while he wound his way down the aisles occasionally grabbing something off the piles and handing it back to her to hold.
Before she knew it, she was back at the shop's entrance with her arms full of all sorts of gear.
"Set that pile down on the table there and open this pack," Colin said, picking up an ordinary leather satchel with a shoulder strap.
"I'll never get all this in there. You call this the lightweight kit?"
"I've been able to code some new enhancements in an update for people like you and me. That's not a normal bag. Stick your hand in and touch the bottom."
Cari opened the flap of the black leather satchel and reached her arm in, expecting to hit bottom right away. Before she knew it, she was armpit deep in the bag and she still didn't reach the bottom.
Dumbfounded, Cari looked around the outside to the bottom of the bag. All she saw was black leather. Her arm should have been waving at her but it wasn't.
