The Rambling Spy

by Mackenzie Morgan

  Thanzer, the minister of Lochland, wanted Kevin to talk to Serra about visiting more often. He said his wife and his mother-in-law were both nagging him to do something about it. Kevin sent Ariel to find Serra and told Thanzer to work it out with her.

  A couple of ministers whose districts had been hit by slavers wanted to thank Kevin for rescuing the captives, while others wanted to know if Kevin had any leads on the ones who were still missing.

  A few wanted to address issues they were having with their sorcerers, and several wanted to let Kevin know their sorcerers had gone above and beyond the call of duty to help out.

  And then there were the ministers who asked for a meeting so they could complain about Karl and his insistence that they run their districts without slaves. Those conferences were quick and to the point. Kevin told them if they had a problem with Karl’s request, it was time for them to resign and let someone else handle it. Period.

  Around noon, Chris walked in with a tray. “You’re running late, so I brought your lunch. You’ve got fifteen minutes to eat before your next meeting, and since he’s already here, that’s all the time I can give you.”

  Kevin ate as quickly as he could and got back to work. The afternoon was more of the same and by the time the last minister left, Kevin was ready to call it a day. He called Chris into his office and asked, “Is there anyone else I need to see today?”

  Chris shook his head. “As far as I know, you’re done.”

  “Good. Then I’m getting out of here for a while.”

  “Where are you going?”

  Kevin thought for a moment. “Elsewhere. Talk to Petri and find out where Namir is sleeping.”

  Chris frowned.

  “I’ll tell you later. If anyone else needs to see me, tell them I’ll be in my office tomorrow. I’m done for today.”

  ~~~~

  Shortly before midnight, Kevin asked Chris to have one of the guards go to the barracks and get Namir.

  “I could do that. We don’t need a guard,” Chris argued.

  Kevin shook his head. “If you go there will be a lot of questions about why we needed to see him in the middle of the night.”

  “You don’t think there’ll be questions if a guard goes?”

  “If a guard wakes him up it could just mean he got a message from his wife. If you go, it makes it bigger, more important, so more questions.”

  Chris shrugged. “If you say so.”

  “Just send someone, okay?”

  “Do you want refreshments?”

  “No, they won’t be here that long. I just want Namir to know Darwyn’s all right. Otherwise he’s not going to let this go.”

  “You wouldn’t either,” Chris said as he left to find a guard.

  Kevin turned his key and went to the island where Darwyn was living with Cpt. Garen’s men and their families. Darwyn was waiting for him near the cave he’d chosen for his home.

  “Stay put when we get to my office. I don’t want anyone but Namir to see you,” Kevin said. “And remember, you can’t tell him where you are, why you’re here, or mention anyone’s name, and especially don’t mention Landis or apprentice.”

  “I’ve got it. Don’t worry.” Darwyn put his hand on Kevin’s arm. “I’m sorry about this. It never crossed my mind he’d be so concerned.”

  “Well, from what he said, you saved his life once. I imagine he feels the least he can do is make sure you’re all right. He’d probably have been fine with it if I could have explained, but I can’t. Not now. And neither can you.”

  Kevin turned the key and took them back to his office. As soon as Darwyn recovered from the energy field, Kevin opened the door and asked Namir to come in.

  When Namir walked through the door, Darwyn smiled and held out his hand. “I understand you were wondering what happened to me.”

  Namir’s mouth dropped open as he looked back and forth between Darwyn and Kevin.

  “I’ll give you two a few minutes to talk, but Namir, Darwyn can’t tell you where he is or why. When the assignment’s over, he’ll be able to explain, but for now, he has to keep it to himself. Don’t push him to tell you things he can’t.”

  Namir nodded as he shook Darwyn’s hand. After Kevin left, Namir asked, “So you’re all right? Do you like where you’re living now?”

  Darwyn grinned. “It’s great. I haven’t been cold one time since I got there, and from what I understand, it stays the same temperature all year. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer place.”

  “What about the people? Are they treating you all right?”

  Darwyn nodded. “They’re nice people, and thoughtful. One of the ladies is a terrific cook, so she does most of the cooking for everyone. Myron checks on us at least once a week and brings us anything we need. I could stay there forever.”

  Namir smiled. “I’m glad. I figured you had transferred to another district, but when none of the ministers knew anything about you, I was worried something had happened to you.”

  “I’m fine, but tell me, how are things going in Lormere? Is Calhoun working out all right?”

  “So far he’s doing fine. He’s not a real friendly sort, but you know the folks up there. They’re pretty accepting. Of course we haven’t had a winter yet. We’ll see how he does with that.”

  Kevin knocked once on the door and then opened it. “I need to take Darwyn back home. Are you about ready?”

  Darwyn nodded, so Namir said, “Thanks, Myron. Now I can tell everyone he’s fine.” He looked at Darwyn. “A lot of the folks up there were wondering where you got to since no one’s heard from you. I have to admit my wife was feeling a little hurt that you hadn’t kept in touch. Now I can tell her it’s because you couldn’t.”

  “Actually,” Kevin said slowly, “he can. You can send letters here for him. I’ll deliver them and when he answers them, I’ll send his letters from here. It’ll take more time than normal, but it’s doable. I should have offered to do that when he first went, but I didn’t think about it, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted anyone to figure out he wasn’t in Camden, but since you know...”

  “Thanks,” Namir said. “If anyone mentions wanting to send him a letter, I’ll tell them to give it to me.”

  “There won’t be many, if any,” Darwyn said, looking at Kevin. “My friends up there don’t tend to write letters.”

  “No, but my wife does, especially during the winter,” Namir said. “She’ll write and tell you everything that’s going on and when she hears from you, she’ll share it with everyone around. You know that, right? So don’t tell her anything you don’t want spread.”

  “Not much to tell,” Darwyn said. “My life’s quiet, just the way I like it, nice and calm.”

  Namir laughed. “Hope it stays that way. It’s been good to see you.”

  “You, too,” Darwyn said as he put his hand on Kevin’s arm. “Take care.”

  While Kevin took Darwyn back to the island, Chris ushered Namir out and headed for the kitchen for a couple of mugs of scog. He’d just gotten settled in Kevin’s room when Kevin walked in.

  “Did you go back by the office?” Chris asked as he pointed towards Kevin’s scog.

  Kevin nodded as he picked up his drink. “I wanted to make sure no one had come in after I left.”

  “If anyone had, I’d have thrown them out. We’ve had enough for one day.” Chris turned up his mug and finished his scog. “Put your mug on the tray when you finish. I’ll take them down tomorrow morning. I’m going to bed.”

  Chapter 6

  Trouble in Norwyn

  After his hectic day Tuesday, Kevin was ready for a little quiet on Wednesday. The ministers would be discussing taxes and other business which didn’t involve him, so he had hopes of slipping out early and joining Rhianna for dinner at Ashni’s.

  He was sitting in his office enjoying a fresh cup of coffee when Ariel knocked on his door. “Chadwick, minister of Norwyn, would like to speak with you.”

  Kevin sighed. “Show h
im in.”

  Chadwick nodded as he came in and got right to the point. “I hate to ask, but could you or one of your staff take me to Tolleyville?”

  Kevin frowned. “Tolleyville?”

  “It’s a small town in southern Norwyn. A tornado touched down in that area yesterday.”

  “A tornado? This time of year?” Kevin asked. “Are you sure?”

  Chadwick shrugged. “It’s not unusual for us to have them during the summer and that’s what the people of Tolleyville said in the message they sent Sorcerer Nicolas. From what they said, there was a lot of property damage so she headed over there. I’m sure she can handle it, but I want to check on them and see if I can help out in any way.”

  Kevin stood up and pointed to the large map of Camden hanging on his wall. “Show me where you want to go.”

  Chadwick looked at the map for a moment and then pointed to a spot in the area Kevin knew as upstate New York. “Tolleyville’s not on your map, it’s too small, but it’s in this area. If you take me anywhere near there, I’m sure I can borrow a horse to go the rest of the way.”

  “No need for that,” Kevin said. “I’ll get you there.” He opened his door and motioned for Ariel and Chris to join them. After they came in, Kevin explained what had happened and asked Ariel to find Marcus. He glanced at Chadwick. “Is there a chapel in Tolleyville?”

  Chadwick shrugged. “I doubt it. It’s a pretty small town.”

  “And send someone to the chapel to let Sister Hayley know what’s going on and tell her to pack plenty of bandages and whatever else she might need. I’ll meet her there.”

  Ariel nodded and left the office.

  “Rigel’s on duty today,” Chris said. “I’ll get him.”

  Kevin shook his head. “No need to bother him. I won’t be gone long.”

  “If you get up there and they need help, you’ll stay,” Chris said. “We both know that.”

  “Tell you what. If I decide to stay, I’ll come back to let you know. Rigel can go back with me then.”

  Before Chris could answer, Rigel walked in. “I ran into Ariel in the hall. He said something about a tornado?”

  Kevin sighed. “In Norwyn. I’m taking Minister Chadwick up there as soon as Marcus gets here.”

  Rigel nodded. “I’ll be out here.”

  As Rigel stepped back through the door, Chris said, “Before you fuss at Ariel, keep in mind this qualifies as an emergency, and you told the pages to notify your bodyguards whenever an emergency came in.”

  Kevin shook his head and turned back to Chadwick. “We’ll be ready in a few minutes. Do you want to pack your bag in case you decide not to come back this evening? We can leave it here until you decide.”

  “It’s already packed. All I have to do is pick it up. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  While Kevin waited for Chadwick and Marcus, he took the key to Terah off his chain and handed it to Chris. “If I’m not back by dinnertime, will you go to Wildcat Mountain and pick Rhianna up?”

  Chris took the key and put it on his chain. “Sure. Anything else?”

  “She’s planning to keep Nikki tonight, but you can’t take her through the energy field and Marshall will keep her so busy today she’ll be too tired to walk all the way to Doreen’s. If I’m not back, ask Marshall to keep her tonight.”

  “I can take her in a wagon if you want me to,” Chris offered.

  Kevin hesitated. “Talk to Rhianna. I’ll leave that up to you two.”

  “Are you going to change clothes before you go?”

  Kevin glanced down at the brand new tunic and leggings he’d found in his room when he went upstairs last night. “Yeah. No need to ruin these. Back in a minute.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Kevin, Marcus, Chadwick, and Rigel were in Tolleyville. As soon as they got there, Kevin left to go get Hayley.

  She was waiting on the back porch with two large bags. When Kevin frowned, Hayley asked, “What?”

  “How did you get all that stuff together so fast?”

  Hayley put her hand on Kevin’s arm. “I keep the bags packed, just like Theresa did. Now let’s go.”

  ~~~~

  Chris was in the office when Kevin, Marcus, Rigel, and Chadwick got back that evening. As soon as the others left, Kevin asked if Rhianna was back.

  “I picked her up an hour ago.” Chris handed Kevin the key to Terah. “She’s at Doreen’s.”

  “And Nikki?”

  “With Marshall.”

  Kevin nodded. “Anything happen I need to know about?”

  “Karl came by before dinner.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. When I told him you weren’t back from Norwyn, he said he’d catch you in the morning.”

  “Must not have been too important. Anything else?”

  Chris shook his head. “Quietest day we’ve had in a while. Sorry you missed it.”

  “So am I.”

  “Are you going back to Norwyn tomorrow?”

  Kevin shook his head. “We got most of the damage taken care of today. There’s still some debris to be cleared, but Nicolas said she’d take care of it.” Kevin yawned. “I’m beat. Think I’ll head upstairs.”

  “I’m going to shut down the office and then I’ll be up. Want some scog?”

  “I’d love some, if you can find any. The way the ministers have been drinking it this week, we may be out.”

  “You’d think they didn’t have any at home.”

  “They have to pay for it there. Here it’s free.” Kevin turned to leave and then stopped. “See if you can find something sweet to eat while you’re down there.”

  “Miranda made some brownies this afternoon. I’ll see if there are any left.”

  “That would be perfect. See you in a bit.”

  ~~~~

  Kevin had just sat down to eat breakfast Thursday morning when Karl sat down next to him and said, “Glad you got here before I left.”

  “Chris said you were looking for me yesterday. What’s up?”

  “You’re still planning to talk to the ministers about the bells, aren’t you?” When Kevin nodded, Karl said, “What do you think about having Fenway tell them about the fire at the tavern as a lead-in? A couple of the ministers have asked him why he’s not serving food this year and he’s using the fire as the reason.”

  “That’s as good an explanation as any,” Kevin answered. “I like that idea. If nothing else, it should get their attention.”

  “That’s what I was thinking. It’ll give the whole idea of the bells some context.”

  “Is he going to tell them about the bells?”

  “No, I want you to do that. It’ll carry more weight coming from you.”

  “Okay. Do you still want me to ring the bell before I talk to them?”

  Karl thought for a moment. “I’d like for you to be in the room while Fenway’s talking, so let’s ring the bell later, as a demonstration instead of the introduction.”

  Kevin nodded. “When’s Fenway speaking?”

  “I’m not sure.” Karl stood up to go. “I haven’t asked him yet. Probably right after lunch. I’ll let you know.”

  ~~~~

  When the ministers returned from their lunch break, Fenway, who was seated beside Karl, stood up. “Good afternoon. Some of you have asked why we’re not serving food at the tavern this year. Several weeks ago, we had a fire in the kitchen. If Sorcerer Marcus hadn’t been in town and smelled the smoke, the whole building would have burned down, but I was lucky. All I lost was my kitchen, and we’ll have it back in working order before long, but it could have been a lot worse. My daughter was in there when that fire broke out. If it hadn’t been for Marcus, she could have died.”

  As Fenway sat down, Kevin stood up with one of Neiven’s bells in his hand. He set it on the table beside Karl, nodded at Fenway, and turned to face the ministers. “As Fenway said, things could have been a lot worse if help hadn’t arrived when it did. We were lucky that time, but we decided not to co
unt on luck in the future.” Kevin picked up the bell, swung it up, and brought it back down with a bit of force. Even though everyone was expecting it, the sound was so jarring several ministers visibly jumped.

  As the sound faded, Kevin said, “Neiven, the castle blacksmith, and Korman, the blacksmith in Milhaven, decided we needed an alarm system. They made some bells and tested them around town and on nearby farms. They kept working until they came up with a design that could be heard from one side of town to the other and beyond. We thought this was a good idea so we asked them to make one for every building in town and all the farms in the area. It may not always bring a sorcerer, but it will bring help, and it can be heard a lot farther than a cry for help.” Kevin paused and looked around the group. “I’d like for every family in Camden to have a bell to ring in case of emergency. I know some of your districts already have something similar in place. A lot of coastal settlements use gongs and that’s fine. The bells are for everyone else.

  “Neiven’s made a sample bell for each of you to take back to your district. Your blacksmiths should be able to take it from there, but if they have any problems, all they have to do is write us and Neiven will answer their questions. I know making the bells is time consuming, but if it saves lives, it’s well worth it. We’ll have the bells in my office tomorrow morning. You can pick one up before you go home.”

  “How soon do you want this done?” one of the ministers asked. “Our blacksmiths have all the work they can handle right now. Summer’s a busy time.”

  “I know, but they have slow times too, and during the slow times they can make bells. Everyone goes to a blacksmith for something or other, so if each blacksmith handles his own clients, every household should have a bell before Christmas. Don’t you think so?”

  The minister hesitated and then nodded.

  “Good. Now if any of your blacksmiths can’t get these done by Christmas, let us know and we’ll find someone who can help out. And if any of your blacksmiths can’t figure out how to make them, I’m sure Neiven will be happy to show them. Just let us know.”

  Then Kevin turned to Karl, thanked him, and left.