The Unwilling Aviator (Book 4)

by Heidi Willard

  "We're the ones who got rid of them harpies," Canto spoke up.

  Ti and Hugh's eyes widened. She turned her head to Sins. "Is this true?" she gasped.

  "Yes," he replied.

  Ti squealed and wrapped him in another bone-crushing hug. "I knew you could do good if you wanted! I'm so proud of you!"

  Hugh didn't look entirely convinced. "How'd you do it?" he asked them. A single fireball sputtered from the top of Ned's staff and swirled around Hugh before puffing out of existence. Hugh stumbled back toward the stairs with his jaw dropped to the muddy ground. "C-castor!" he sputtered.

  Ned smiled and bowed his head. "At your service," he returned.

  "I-I'll give you your money," Hugh willingly agreed.

  "And Crash's bill?" Ned reminded him.

  "Settled. Everything's settled!" Hugh turned and scurried back into the inn.

  Ti slipped off Sins, laughed and slapped a hand across her hip. "Doesn't that beat all! I've never seen anyone beat Hugh at his own game, but you've beaten him well!" she complimented.

  Ned smiled and bowed his head. "I thank you, but I'm sure my companions and I would be happier with a few hours rest."

  "Oh, of course!" she agreed. She stepped behind the group and guided them to the door. "Let's get you all tucked in, and yes, even you, Sinny," she told her brother. Sins' eyes narrowed, but he didn't argue.

  The heroes collapsed on their beds and blankets, Ruth changed into her stone form to heal. When the companions awoke late the next afternoon the city was abuzz with their exploits. Fred awoke to a tremendous amount of noise downstairs and around the inn. He rubbed his tired eyes and noticed Ned standing by the window looking down on the alley. "What is it?" Fred asked him.

  "Fans," Ned told him.

  Fred furrowed his brow, slipped out of bed and went to stand beside Ned. He glanced out the window and saw the alley was packed with people. "Fans of what?" he wondered.

  "Not what, who," Ned corrected him. "And if I'm not mistaken they wish to see us." There came a knock on their door. "Enter," Ned called out.

  Pat and Ruth quickly slipped into the room and closed the door behind them, though not so quickly that the men didn't notice a half dozen people behind the girls. Fred pointed at Ruth, but then recalled how they needed only a slip of her human hair to change her back. The gargoyle girl was only half-healed as her arms were still covered in scars.

  Pat glanced over her shoulder as though they'd been followed. "The halls are crowded with people!" she told them.

  Ned chuckled. "No doubt wanting to thank us for our heroic actions last night."

  Ruth shook her head. "No. They are blaming us for the harpies and the destruction of their stone," she replied.

  The color drained from Ned's face. "Oh dear," he murmured.

  At that moment there was a wild pounding on the door. Ned tightened his hold on his staff and Fred reached for his at his waist. Ruth and Pat pressed their backs against the door when it tried to open. "Open the damn door!" Canto ordered.

  Ruth and Pat stepped away, and Canto and Percy pushed inside and slammed the door shut behind themselves. The crowd in the hall had doubled, and they beat their fists against the closed door. Canto scowled. "This is the last city we try to place nice. The next one we take the treasure and destroy the stone whether they want it destroyed or not," he growled.

  They heard the doors opposite and beside their current room break open. There were cries of outrage from the room across the hall. "We may be in deep trouble. They have found Crash," Percy commented.

  The whole party jumped when something clattered against the window. They glanced out the filthy glass and saw a ladder was placed with one end on the sill and the other on the roof across from the inn. Ti stood on the roof and gestured for them to come to her. Percy opened the window and leaned out. Something red hit his face, and he pulled back inside to show a rotten tomato slide down his cheek. "They have admirable aim down there," he told his friends.

  "Then we had better test their aim and hurry across," Ned advised.

  Percy climbed over the sill and scurried across. The ladder bounced beneath him and fresh and rotten fruit bombarded him, but he made it to Ti. Canto, Ruth, Pat, and Fred made it across, and Ned was the last. He clamored across the rickety ladder with his beard wagging. "What a nuisance," he grumbled as he stepped off the impromptu bridge.

  "Follow me. Your animals are this way," Ti ordered them. They hurried to the left and across a system of planks set between the buildings. "The moment I heard the report I set these boards in case you should need them," she told the group.

  "And we cannot thank you enough," Ned told her.

  "What report to you speak of?" Percy asked Ti.

  "Master Topper released a statement that accused you of destroying the stone and releasing the harpies, and though the Senex tried to correct him the damage was already done," Ti told them.

  Pat frowned. "If I ever regret an act in my life it is saving that worthless coward's life," she grumbled.

  They climbed across a half dozen bridges that took them southward. The mob was only a half block behind them when they reached the edge of the buildings. Below them were their steeds and Fluffy who gnawed on a bone. The savage beast had been led astray by meat.

  Fred leaned over the edge of the building and frowned at the beast. "Traitor. . ." he mumbled. Fluffy's ears perked up at his master's voice and the cantankus raised his head and barked at his boy on the roof overhead. "I'm not going to forgive you that easily," Fred replied. Fluffy whimpered and his head drooped.

  There was a stack of crates against the wall of the building, and the companions hastily climbed down. Ti stuffed a bag of coins into Pat's hand and smiled at the young woman. "Your room costs, and don't worry about Crash's bill. I'll make sure Hugh keeps his promise," she told Pat.

  Pat smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

  "No, thank you. You've changed Sinny for the better. It's not much of an improvement, but I'll take it over nothing. Now get along there before you're caught," Ti insisted. Pat climbed down, but Ti remained on the roof and waved to them. "Farewell, friends, and behave yourself, Sinny!" she called to the group.

  Sins nodded and all gave their farewells. They galloped southward and a moment later the mob poured from the streets just a few yards behind them. The companions ducked and dodged fruit and vegetables, but in a moment were out of throwing range and away down the main south road.

  CHAPTER 32

  The group traveled for half the night before they made camp some twenty miles southeast of String. They ate and slept while Ruth kept watch over them. However, Fred remained awake and waited for the usual snoring and soft breathing of his companions before he sat up. The fire embers cast a soft light on his sleeping companions, and his eyes fell on Ned's empty bedroll. He whipped his head around and saw the silhouette of the old castor on the opposite side of the camp from Ruth and some fifteen yards out.

  Fred stood and tiptoed through his companions to where Ned was seated on a large rock. Ned's head was bent down and he was so still Fred wondered if he'd passed away in his sleep. Fred touched Ned's shoulder and jerked back when Ned chuckled.

  "I am not dead, at least not yet," Ned softly spoke to him.

  "I wanted to-"

  "-ask me a question?" Ned guessed.

  "Yeah, about the-"

  "-stone?" Ned finished.

  Fred frowned. "Are you going to do this all-"

  "-night?" Ned chuckled and leaned forward on his staff toward Fred. "But in all seriousness, what bothers you about the stone?"

  Fred sighed and plopped down on the ground beside where Ned sat. He glanced up at the stars and pursed hi lips. "I was thinking about when it awoke. How it just sat there until I came around, and I thought maybe-well, I thought maybe I was the one who woke it up." He looked to Ned, and the old castor had a solemn expression on his face. "Do you think it was because of me?"

  Ned solemnly nodded. "I do."

 
Fred's stomach sank. "Then it's happened every time because of me, hasn't it? The stones coming to life was my fault, wasn't it?" he wondered.

  "Yes and no," Ned replied. Fred furrowed his brow, and Ned smiled. "The stones were enchanted by Canavar to awaken, and you are the mechanism. In a way you are at fault, but unintentionally so."

  "But why am I the one waking them up? These stones were enchanted fifteen years ago and nobody's woken them until me. Why?" he questioned.

  Ned pursed his lips and looked over Fred. "I wish I had the answer to your question, but I have none. Canavar's use of the stones is as great a mystery to me as it is to you."

  Fred frowned. "Have you met him? Canavar, I mean," he wondered.

  A dark shadow passed over Ned's face and he leaned back against his chair. "Many years ago I was acquainted with him through a mutual-well, we shall call him a friend."

  "Tramadore?" Fred guessed.

  Ned shook his head. "No, a young man who was once apprenticed to me."

  "So I'm not your first apprentice?" Fred asked him.

  Ned chuckled. "No, there have been others. Some less worthy than yourself."

  "Like this mutual friend guy?" Fred suggested.

  "No, I would say this mutual friend was far more competent, polite, cultured, and skilled than yourself," Ned replied. Fred's face drooped, but Ned patted him on the shoulder. "Don't trouble yourself with becoming who you are not. I see now that you are two different people, and to change that would be to kill you."

  Fred blinked. "Wait, what? What about killing me?"

  The smile on Ned's face was weighed down with sadness. "The first I saw of you I thought you were him born again in this world, but you have shown yourself to be your own person with the-well, with a good soul. In my belief that you were the same person I forced you into circumstances that weren't always safe."

  Fred snorted. "You mean trying to get me killed any chance you could?" he quipped.

  "I admit there was some chance of danger, but my intentions were good," Ned argued.

  "A reason other than trying to kill me?" Fred wondered.

  "I wanted you to live the life my friend didn't get a chance to live," Ned explained to him. "He was born with a weak constitution, and any serious exertion left him weak for days. The weakness finally killed him, and before he died he told me his only regret was not being able to live life to the fullest. I tried to do that for you."

  "I wish you hadn't," Fred mumbled.

  Ned chuckled. "I swear I will no longer prod nor volunteer you for any dangerous missions," he promised.

  Fred cast his narrowed eyes on his master. "You won't go back on that promise?" he wondered.

  "I swear on my beard and staff that I will not," Ned affirmed.

  Fred looked Ned over a moment longer and leaned back against the stone with relief on his face. "Then I'll get to live longer than that friend of yours. You said he died. How?" Fred asked him.

  Ned sighed and turned away to look at the stars. "The exertion of one particular adventure taxed his naturally weak constitution, and he died soon afterward."

  Fred furrowed his brow as a long-forgotten memory itched at his mind. "I think Lord Tramadore told me about him."

  Ned looked back to him and raised an eyebrow. His voice was tense. "Did he? What did he say?"

  Fred shrugged. "He said he was a good friend of yours, and he told me his name. It was Cecil something," he replied.

  "Cedric Osgood," Ned corrected him. He visibly relaxed. "Tramadore was well-acquainted with the young man. He joined us on a few mild adventures before he inherited the leadership of the city."

  "So how did Cedric know Canavar?" Fred asked him.

  "They were from the same region, Palavar. It's to the south of Tramadore, and is a rather dry, inhospitable area except where there are natural water spouts that spring from the ground," Ned told him. "Canavar's family has ruled the region for several centuries."

  Fred's eyes widened. "Canavar's a king?" he wondered.

  "King, castor, and mad man, but yes, he rules the southern region of the continent," Ned confirmed.

  "How are we supposed to defeat someone who rulers over an entire region? Won't everyone want to stop us?" Fred asked him.

  "We shall see if that shall be a problem, but we have more immediate concerns. The next stone, for instance," Ned reminded him. "You and I both understand that you cannot approach it."

  Fred turned away and his voice lowered to a whisper. "I know," he agreed. He tucked his legs against himself and leaned his chin on his knees. "I don't even know if I should be going with you all. What if I accidentally get too near the stone? How close can I get? What if I only need to be in sight of it?"

  Ned chuckled and patted Fred on the shoulder. "If that were true than the stone at Tramadore would have awakened when we first passed it," he pointed out.

  "But-"

  "You are a very important member of this group," Ned interrupted him. "Even being unable to approach the stone you still have your role to play in our little adventure."

  Fred snorted. "Like finding trouble?" he quipped.

  "Precisely. If you find all the trouble than there will be none left to bother the rest of us," Ned teased.

  Fred's face drooped. "That doesn't make me feel better," he mumbled.

  Ned chuckled and patted Fred on the shoulder. "Don't trouble yourself with things you cannot change, and if it's an consolation we should be quite safe in Caston. The elves not only created the barrier around the stone in String, but their entire capital city is encased in such a wonderful glass. No terrible trouble can touch us so long as we remain in there."

  Fred raised an eyebrow and turned to Ned. "You mean like the other castor? The one who took a part of me?" he guessed.

  "Precisely," Ned replied. "He will not be able to invade that sanctuary and harm you, and your troubles will be relegated to what fine dish you will have for supper."

  "I'll still help you find the stone and the treasure," Fred insisted.

  Ned smiled and shook his head. "The book will lead us to both of those." He paused and stroked his beard. "Yes, the next city should be quite an easy part of our adventure."

  Fred wasn't so sure, but he would leave the future up to decide that.

  GLOSSARY

  Advesario: an aviator and acquaintance of Crash Enburn.

  Aviator: those who pilot the fliers in the region of Kite. They use the severe winds to lift themselves and their squires into the air. The object of the flying is to wrap their anchor rope around those of their opponent and pull them off balance to where their opponent is forced to land or crash to the ground.

  Bullfalo: bull-buffalo creature of unknown description located to the north of the region of Dirth. They have large horns that can be used as instruments.

  Canavar: a powerful dark castor who is using the Region Stones to create chaos and destruction throughout the world. Why he does this and who he is is unknown.

  Cantankus: a hairless dog-beast that was used as steed-of-war by humans. They proved difficult to breed, so humans replaced them with horses. Dwarves still use the cantankus for their mounted divisions. Like dogs, they are extremely loyal and will die for their master, but abuse will lead them to abandon their owner. Riders communicate with their cantankus via a set of collars around their neck and their cantankus' neck that allows them to feel each others' commands and became as one in the mind.

  Canto: an old dwarf and cantankus trainer who resided in Galaron after his banishment from the city of Dirth. He follows the companions for the adventure and fights with an ax.

  Caston (region): the region to the southeast of Kite.

  Castor: people who are capable of harnessing the natural magic in the world for their own uses. Current castors use staffs to focus their powers, but ancient castors used stones to connect with the natural world.

  Chaos Winds: winds that blow into String every few years and wreak havoc on the aviator tournament.

  Crash
Enburn: a perpetually drunk aviator in the city of String. He rooms at the Tracts of Land inn owned by Hugh Land.

  Deadly Sins: an assassin-for-hire who is employed by Percy as a bodyguard. He uses a unique dagger in battle, and can appear and disappear at will.

  Dewey Cheatum: a dealer in tourist trinkets who resides in String, the capital of Kite.

  Diluvian bees: originated in the north where they had to be hearty against the giant bears. Honey is very stick and traps any thief in their giant combs where they are stung to death.

  Dirth (city): the capital city of the region of the same name. It is located in the center of the region in a sunken hole to the east of a wide swath of marshland. The streets and the castle are a labyrinthine mess built up over several generations of poor planning.

  Dirth (region): a region in the northwest of the continent and located to the north of the Sterning region. It is inhabited by dwarves and ruled by royalty. The south of the region is a rocky mountain range while the interior is primarily a stinking marshland infamous for its smells.

  Dirth beetle: a large beetle from the Dirth region. It is capable of releasing large amounts of stinking fumes that leave a grown human incapacitated.

  Dirth worms: delicacy of the Dirth region. Eaten like spaghetti when they aren't trying to wriggle off one's plate.

  Fluffy: an abandoned cantankus who is befriended by Fred. He becomes the boy's loyal steed and they are aided in their riding by the magical collars created by Canto.

  Fred: a former serf and current castor who was dragged from his former life through Ned's meddling. He now learns the art of castoring from Ned and uses an enchanted staff to perform his magic. He owns a cantankus by the name of Fluffy, and has a close affection for Pat.