Discovering the Jewels' Secret

by Walters, Janet Lane;

  The Guildmaster rubbed his chin. “Indeed, your run was very good. What did you stock that brought the gold?”

  “Tragon and sold it to taverns in small towns.”

  The older man nodded. “Shrewd thinking. I believe you will have a great future in the guild. What else have you?”

  Corin opened Jindera's pack and drew out the length of cloth. “Feel the silk and test the strength. I met a farmer who had need of products from my wagon. He’s breeding a new variety of silk sheep.” Corin added the fourteen skeins of yarn. “Next year there will be more.”

  “Are all the silk sheep white?”

  Corin nodded. “Perhaps a drawback, but the farmer’s wife said the yarn and cloth take and hold the color when dyed. I think the Clothiers’ Guild will be interested.”

  The Guildmaster stroked the cloth. “And you have an exclusive. Are you sure the farmer will abide by the agreement.”

  “He said he would trade with only me. He has a young family and is indebted to me for the medicinals that restored their health.”

  The older man leaned forward. “This will repay the cost of your wagon. The head of the Clothiers will want all you can supply in the years to come.”

  “And for the ponies.” Corin opened the pack and produced containers of some of the things he’d brought from the Garden. “I made friends with the daughter of the gardeners and have exclusive rights to their share.”

  The Guildmaster’s eyes glittered. “Very acceptable. What will you do now? Open a shop? I know several prime locations. If you give your exclusives to the Guild, we will pay your rent and stock the shop for ten years and also give you a quarter share of the proceeds from the exclusives.”

  Corin stiffened. “A generous offer, but I think not. I’m not ready to leave the road and neither of the exclusives will deal with anyone but me. To hire someone to keep the shop while I leave twice a year would be too costly.”

  “I see.” The older man lowered his gaze. “Have you enough coins to stock your cart?”

  Corin nodded. “Sufficient to purchase what I need. I trade in villages where peddlers seldom come.”

  “Good enough.” The Guildmaster opened a metal box and removed two discs. “One for the wagon and one for the ponies. You are now a full member of the Guild and must attend a meeting a tenday from now. After that, you are free to go, but stop by so we can speak about your route. How long do you plan to remain in town?”

  “At least a lunar. I’ve other business to finish and I want to take care when making my selections.” He wasn’t about to mention the palace or that he was the Chosen of the Red Holder, especially after seeing the Guildmaster’s recent visitor.

  The older man tapped on the table. “Just where did you find the silk sheep? Those who trade in animals would pay well for a ewe or two of the breed. Such a gift might entice them to join this guild and increase your standing.”

  “Do you think so?” Corin tucked the tokens in his pocket.

  “Most definitely.”

  “The farmer needs several years before he has enough ewes and rams to be willing to sell any.”

  The Guildmaster pressed his hands on the table. “A warning. When news of your good fortune gets out, there will be many who will want to follow you. Particularly someone from the Clothiers.”

  Or the Peddlers. Corin thought. He kept his gaze on the table. “Don’t worry. I know how to be cautious. Let me go so I can begin to price the things I’ll need to purchase.” He lifted the empty packs. “I’ll come back before I depart for my winter route.”

  “I’ll look forward to the day. If you need help during your bargaining sessions, I can send one of my aides.”

  For a price, Corin thought. “I’ll remember that.” He left the Guild House. Though he wanted to run, he sauntered to the gate. When he exited, only Jindera was waiting. “Where are the others?”

  She put her fingers to her lips. “Are thee ready for a midday meal? I am.”

  He repeated his question. “Mara and Lajin.”

  She walked away from the wall. “They followed the man.”

  “But they don’t know the town.”

  “We kept in touch on the inner path. They’re not far.” She clasped his hand.

  As they strolled past the walls of the Guild Houses, Corin glanced over his shoulder and saw one of the servants following. They entered the street beyond the market square. Corin spotted Lajin standing near a tavern door. Corin turned to Jindera. “How about this place for our midday?” He spoke loud enough for the spy to hear. “Then we’ll return to the inn and make a list of what stock we need.”

  “Maybe we could purchase pins and needles before we go to the inn,” she said.

  He nodded. “At the Metalier’s storeroom.”

  Lajin slipped into the tavern. Jindera and Corin followed. Corin glanced back and saw their pursuer leave. Mara waved. They made their way to the rear table and saw Reena. Corin grinned. “A happy meeting.”

  Andalor arrived with a pitcher of ale and one of cider. “My treat.” A serving woman brought a heaping platter of pasties.

  As Corin’s eyes adjusted to the dim light, he spotted the wizard he’d recognized seated at across the room near the door. Corin leaned forward. “Man at the table over there is a hidden wizard.” He used his mug to indicate who he meant. “When he leaves, I’ll follow.” He lifted one of the savory pasties.

  “We can all go,” Lajin said.

  “Why follow him?” Andalor asked.

  “To see where he goes.” Corin finished the first of the meat pies. “I must go alone. I know the streets.” He turned to Jindera. “Do you remember how to reach the inn?”

  Jindera nodded. “We take this street and pass four cross lanes. We turn into the fifth, then two streets over, we turn again and take that street to the end.”

  “You have it. I’ll meet you there.”

  The door opened. Mara gasped. “He … he’s here.”

  “Who?” Reena asked.

  “Tomon.”

  Lajin started to rise. Andalor grasped his arm. “Be still. He has joined the hidden wizard. Don’t call attention to us.”

  When Corin finished his third pastie, he rose. “I’ll wait outside and follow them. If I need help, I’ll call on the inner path. See you at the inn.”

  * * *

  Andalor kept his gaze on Tomon and his companion. Corin slipped past the pair without them taking notice. The light in the tavern was dim since the only windows were high. A blessing, he thought. Corin had been wise to choose himself as the spy. Besides knowing the streets of Pala, he was the only one Tomon hadn’t seen. Jindera had never been near Tomon, but she looked enough like her brother to be recognized.

  How long would the pair linger? Though Andalor had done a long turn to pay for their meal, he had finished just as the wizard entered. Would the barkeep ask for another round of songs? That would be a disaster. Until the wizard and Tomon left, the entire group was trapped.

  A serving girl reached the table where the two sat. Tomon grabbed for the girl’s waist. She danced away. He rose and pulled her into an embrace. His mouth clamped on hers. “I’ll be back at closing tonight and you’d better be waiting.” His voice rose over the clatter of plates and droning voices. He tossed a coin on the table and strode to the door. The wizard followed.

  Andalor gestured to Lajin. “Time for us to leave.”

  “And go where?” Mara asked.

  “To the inn to wait for Corin,” Jindera said.

  Reena sighed. “I thought we’d go to the palace. I’m sure Liara is worried about us. I’ve tried to reach her since we arrived, but there seems to be come sort of blockage on the inner path. I can almost hear her, but then the touch is gone.”

  Andalor took her hand in his. “Before we go to Liara, we must learn where the wizards hide.” He hung his lute case over his shoulder. “Our horses are in a nearby stable. I’ll meet you on the street.”

  Before long, he led the horses from the
stable and brought them to where the others waited. Lajin took the reins of the pack horse. Reena led her steed and walked with Mara and Jindera.

  “Act like old friends reunited after a long separation,” Andalor said.

  Reena laughed. “Why act? That’s what we are.”

  “In case we’re being watched.”

  “Who would watch us?” Lajin asked.

  Andalor shrugged. “We have no idea if the wizards have ways to trace the Jewels.”

  “Someone from the Peddlers’ Guild followed Corin and me from the Guild House,” Jindera said. “The man left when we entered the tavern. Corin and I talked about visiting the Metaliers after we ate. The discussion was loud.”

  “Good thinking.”

  As they walked along the narrow street, the young women stopped to admire clothes in a shop and jewelry in another. From a third shop, the aroma of chokla, cimon and anilla wafted into the street. Mara and Jindera entered.

  Andalor groaned. “We just ate.”

  Reena chuckled. “We’ll need something while we wait for Corin. He could be hours.”

  Mara and Jindera returned with two large paper wrapped parcels. The group continued to the inn where Andalor and Reena obtained a room next to the suite.

  Several hours passed before Corin arrived. The five had made and discarded a dozen possible scenarios ending with the demise of the hidden wizards and Tomon. When Corin entered the room, questions flew. Finally Andalor threw up his hands. “Let him tell us what he’s learned. Leave the questions for later.”

  Corin poured a mug of cider and selected several of the sweets. “I followed them to their hiding place. The building is three streets from here. They have the entire basement. It backs onto the wall so I figure they have an escape route to the outside.”

  Andalor nodded. “Makes sense. How many wizards are there?”

  “I counted twenty plus Tomon. From what I saw their powers are minor ones.”

  “How many ways into their lair?” Lajin asked.

  “There’s the door from the first floor leading down a flight of stairs. One from the alley that leads into the room.”

  “Windows?” Jindera asked.

  “High and too narrow for anyone to slip through.” Corin grinned. “Seems our wizards like dark places. Remember how the only windows in that great hall of theirs was the crystal dome.”

  Mara rose. “So there are two of us for each entrance.”

  “Is there just a single room?” Andalor asked.

  Corin shook his head. “The basement has several sleeping rooms.”

  “Are you sure there is no escape from them?” Reena asked.

  “None that I could discover.”

  “How do we find this door through the wall?” Jindera asked.

  “Someone will have to leave and travel along the wall.” Andalor looked at Corin. “Is there a way over the wall near this building?”

  Corin grinned. “We think alike. Two houses from here, the roof is level with the wall. I have my climbing rope from the old days. If someone rides out, I’ll meet them and we can find the passage.”

  Andalor held his hand out to Reena. “We’ll ride out and wait for Corin. When we find the entrance, we’ll wait for a call to action.”

  Jindera looked up. “Didn’t Tomon plan to go out tonight?”

  “He did, but not until well after moonrise,” Lajin said.

  Corin chuckled. “I listened at one of the windows. Seems Tomon must undergo some kind of test before he pursues his wishes.”

  “How will we know when to act?” Reena asked.

  “The inner path,” Mara said. “We need dark clothes. Shall we see what we can find in the shops?”

  Lajin followed them. “I’ll come along.”

  Andalor grasped Corin’s hand. “Do you think this will work?”

  “All we can do is try.”

  Andalor walked downstairs with Reena.

  * * *

  Reena halted her steed and stared at the graying sky. She heard a scraping sound and looked up. Corin climbed down a knotted rope and landed at her feet.

  The young peddler grinned. “Leave your horses. I’ll show you where the door should be.” As he walked beside the wall, he counted paces. He halted and ran his hands over the brown stones. “Here.” He pointed to a line of mortar. “Too regular.” As he ran his fingers down the row of stones, Reena heard a click. Slowly, a segment of the wall moved outward. The scraping sound caused Reena to step back.

  Andalor helped Corin pull the opening wide enough for entrance. Reena stared into the darkness. “Do you think there’s a guard at the end?”

  Corin shrugged. “You’ll need to check.”

  “When do we act?” Andalor asked.

  Corin looked at the sky. “Soon be dark. The others are waiting for me near the wizards’ hiding place. Once I join them, we’ll move into place. We’ll send a message on the inner path.”

  “Good luck.” Reena and Andalor spoke as one.

  “You, too.” Corin trotted away.

  Reena clasped Andalor’s hand. “We should enter the tunnel and see where it leads.”

  “Are thee sure the way is safe?”

  “My Jewel remains cool but will provide a pinpoint of light for us to see our way. At the end if we’re fortunate enough, there will be a spy hole so we can see into the room.”

  Andalor unsheathed his sword and entered first. Reena held the gem so the narrow band of light lit the passage floor ahead of them. After ten paces, Andalor held up his hand to signal a halt.

  She moved closer. “What’s wrong?”

  “Another door.”

  “Can thee open it?”

  “Yes. Pray no sound will be heard.” Slowly he pushed the door inward. “Come ahead,” he whispered.

  Reena kept the narrow ray from the Orange Jewel aimed at the floor. They entered a passage that seemed to follow the contour of the basement room. When she opened the door further, the passage was blocked on one side. She rested the Jewel beneath her tunic and felt for the wall. Instead, her hand brushed a heavy fabric. She edged the cloth open a slit. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she studied the large room. On the opposite wall, she saw the doors Corin thought led to sleeping chambers.

  She counted fifteen men dressed in dark clothes. One of the two doors opened and three men stepped into the room. Tomon emerged from another. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.

  Two men paused near the curtain. “Our friends are on the move,” one of the men said.

  “When do they arrive?” the second asked.

  “In several days.”

  “How many are there?”

  “Ten and they are the last of us.”

  The two men moved away. Reena released the breath she held. So the number of wizards was limited.

  One of the men, the one she’d seen in the tavern, pointed to a metal circle. “So this is the fabled mold that created the Jewels. Who found it?”

  The center door of the three opened and Tomon strode out. “I, Tomon. The thing was in the keeping of the Inner Circle of the Healers.” He laughed. “Alas, they are no more.”

  Reena stuffed her hand against her mouth to muffle a gasp. So he had killed his aunt, just as Jindera had suspected.

  “What good is having this without the directions for its use,” a second wizard said. “Seven scrolls for seven Jewels seem to be missing. From the ancient records, there are steps that must be followed. If we had those scrolls, we could turn all the Jewels of Earda to Black and they would never become light again.”

  “Why would I, Tomon, care about the Jewels? I, Tomon, haven’t been fortunate enough to study the records. You are the ones who must make the Black Jewels so I, Tomon, can rule. I, Tomon, am the heir. Surely my cousin died beneath the fangs of the apes and the claws of the dire wolves.”

  The first speaker held up his hand. “Bring the testing board. Though your lineage descends from the first wizards and you are the g
randson of a Master Wizard, you haven’t shown evidence of a talent. Once you prove you are the awaited one, we will follow you. At your back, we will invade the palace and seize the White Holder.”

  “Why should I, Tomon, play your game?”

  “Until you prove yourself no one will follow you.”

  “Prove. Prove. Prove.” The group of men crowded around him. As they chanted, they pointed their fingers.

  The first speaker, the one Reena remembered, came forward. He carried a tray holding six crystals. “He who is the awaited one will touch each of these and they will light. First you must drink this.” He handed Tomon a small cup.

  Tomon downed the contents. He wavered and started to fall. Someone shoved a chair behind him. He landed on the seat.

  We’re in position.

  Four voices on the inner path alerted her. She turned to Andalor. He nodded. Her gaze returned to the room and her eyes widened.

  “Touch each crystal,” the wizard said. “If they all light, you are the one.”

  “What else could I, Tomon, be?” Though his voice was slurred, his arrogance remained. He raised his hand and touched the first crystal. Instead of lighting, the stone exploded. So did the other ones along the board. Tomon screamed and toppled from the chair. His body jerked and thrashed. His spine bowed. His cries ceased and he was still.

  Now!

  The shout on the inner path sent Andalor into action. He tore the dark curtain away and entered the room. Two doors on either side of the room opened. The other four entered the room. Reena held her Jewel in her hand.

  One of the men pointed at Lajin. “The heir.”

  “No,” Lajin shouted. “I’ll have nothing to do with the wizards. You’re evil.”

  Reena ducked beneath Andalor’s arm. The wizards milled like ants in a stirred hill. She reached for her Jewel. A man leaped toward her. Andalor met and set the man’s sword flying. An orange ray shot from Reena’s Jewel. Green and red shafts of light speared the wizards. One by one they collapsed.

  Reena joined Mara and Jindera. They examined the fallen wizards. “Nine are dead. Eleven are unconscious,” Reena said.