Sapphire of the Fairies soh-1

by Richard S. Tuttle

  “Have you given any thought tochanging your names?” Kalina inquired. “There can be little doubtthat your names are now being circulated along thecoast.”

  Tedi blushed but stated defiantly, “Ofcourse we have. Surely you do not think us so stupid as to announceourselves in each village?”

  “Certainly not,” Kalinareplied dryly. “I think you should shave your face every morninguntil your facial hairs stiffen, then you should grow beards. Itwill make you look older.”

  Now it was Arik’s turn to blush. Tediat least had the start of some facial hair though it did notrequire any shaving, but Arik had not a hint of any. “I don’t thinkI could grow a beard,” admitted Arik.

  “Sure you can,” Kalinainsisted. “Follow my instructions and in a few weeks you will havea fine face of hair. The single, most important thing that you twocan do to avoid close inspection is to be older and wiser. Garth’slessons will help you only after the inspection has already beentoo close.”

  “Why are the Dark Riders afterus?” Tedi asked. “Master Clava related the tale that Garthmentioned to him, but it all sounds ridiculous.”

  “The tale is not ridiculous,”Kalina stated sternly. “It is to be taken with deadly seriousness.The Dark One is real and his interest in children born in the yearof the Collapse is real. If the Dark One can destroy certainchildren born that year, he will reign for a thousand years atwhich time the Great Demon, Alutar, will be released from hisprison to rule forever. If he cannot locate these certain children,he can destroy all of the children born that year and still succeedin his goal. The threat is quite real.”

  “How can he tell whichchildren are the ones whom he seeks?” Arik asked.

  “I am not sure,” sighedKalina. “There are many prophecies that deal with the Collapse, orthe Darkness as these times are called, but they are confusing atbest. Tell me about your own family, Tedi. What do you know of yourparents and their brothers and sisters?”

  Tedi’s eyes narrowed and he stared atKalina with barely concealed suspicion. “Why do you want to knowabout my family?” he asked.

  Kalina met his gaze evenly. “Are youashamed of your family?” she quipped, “or are you embarrassed thatyou do not know about them?”

  “I am not ashamed of myfamily,” Tedi asserted. “I just want to know why you want to know.We know practically nothing about you and Garth and you expect usto tell you everything. You could be working for the Dark One forall we know. The fact that you killed some Dark Riders meansnothing to me. If these children are as important as you say, I amsure that the Dark One would sacrifice some men to find the rightchildren.”

  “Fair enough,” Kalina smiled.“I look for anything that stands out from the ordinary. Thenecklace you are wearing is finely crafted and worth more than yourentire town could scrape together. Yet you claim to be a simplefisherman’s son. I merely want to know how you came by it. If youruncles or aunts were wealthy nobles, it would not be so outstandinganymore. That is why I ask.”

  “You still didn’t say who youand Garth are,” reminded Tedi.

  “How many Dark Riders do youneed us to kill before you will believe that we do not serve theDark One?” asked Kalina. “A hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand? Ifyou think we serve the Dark One, no number of dead Dark Riders willever convince you. If we wanted you dead, you would have been deada thousand times already. You will have to come to trust us forourselves. If you are not there yet, then decisions will have towait.”

  “Hope that whoever isfollowing us, allows us time to wait,” Garth remarkedglumly.

  Chapter 11

  Paths of Fate

  Fredrik and Niki rode side-by-side downthe dusty trail heading north. It had been a week since they leftCidal by heading westward towards a seldom-used north-south trail.The north-south trail was pretty barren and the only food they wereable to procure had been coconuts, some kind of berry and a chickenthey stole from a farm. The chicken had almost cost them Fredrik’slife when an arrow streaked past his head. With no target to aimhis magic at, Fredrik had simply run off with thechicken.

  Niki was miserable. She was hot, tiredand dirty. Her days in the mansion in Cidal seemed a distant memoryand she kicked herself every time it surfaced. She always knew thatshe was destined to be a queen someday and when her chance finallycame, she had thrown it away. The worst part of it was that Fredrikhad become extremely quiet since they left Cidal. She could haveaccepted him yelling at her for her rash behavior, or even if helaughed about it, but he never mentioned it. His only talk was ofwhere to stop for the night or where they should look for somefood. If he didn’t say something about it soon, she was going toscream.

  Fredrik sat up straight in his saddleand cocked his head slightly. “There is a wagon up ahead,” heannounced. “Let me do the talking. Maybe we can get something toeat.”

  Niki perked up at the mention of foodand the two magicians rode steadily up to the wagon that wasstopped at the crossroads of two dirt trails. An old man and ayoung boy were sitting under a tree alongside the wagon having afood break and Niki’s eyes lit up when she read the sign on thecanvas of the wagon. It read, “Boris Khatama Merchant”.

  Fredrik and Niki dismounted and Fredriktied the two horses to a low branch of a nearby tree. Slowly, theywalked over to the merchant. “Greetings, Merchant,” Fredrik said.“I see that you are having a meal break. I wonder if two hungrytravelers might join you?”

  “If the two hungry travelersare peaceful and courteous, they are welcome to share what littlewe have,” greeted Boris. “How are you called?”

  Fredrik thought quickly about how heshould respond. Finally he decided that he would be truthful, butvague. “I am Fredrik and my traveling companion is Niki. We arefrom the south and have been some time without properfood.”

  Boris nodded as if he understood thenecessity of being vague these days. “I am Boris, the merchant, andI am traveling with my niece, Tanya. Welcome to our poortable.”

  Fredrik looked around for the man’sniece and flushed when he realized that who he had taken for ayoung boy was the niece. He bowed slightly and held Niki’s hand asshe lowered herself to the ground. Fredrik quickly sat next to herand the niece rose and went to the wagon and came back with twoplates of bread and cheese and some dried beef. She returned amoment later with two glasses of wine. Niki sniffed the bread andcheese as if it might be moldy, which earned her a nasty glare fromTanya. Both men managed to miss the exchange and seemed to bemeasuring the other’s mettle.

  Boris broke the silence first.“Collapse children, I suppose. You won’t want to be going west,then. There are several score of Dark Riders who are camped outabout two hours from here.”

  Fredrik and Niki exchanged surprisedglances. “What makes you think we are Collapse children?” Nikiasked.

  The old man’s eyes twinkled. “Youappear the right age,” Boris began. “You are obviously running fromsomeone and you just verified it by not denying it,” he chuckled.“Do not be afraid of me. I do not stomach the Dark Riders or theirkind very well and what you are and where you are going is none ofmy affair. At my age, all I have left is my curiosity. Which one ofyou is a Collapse child or are you both?”

  “Both,” offered Fredrik. “Youhave a keen eye, Master Khatama, and a generous heart. Niki and Ido thank you for the food. I am afraid my funds are pitilesslypoor, but the few coins I have are yours for theasking.”

  Boris waved his hands. “That is notnecessary, traveler. Your coins are better kept for your next meal.The road east goes to Toresh. Avoid that town, as it is a majorstaging point for the Dark Riders. I fear you must continue northand there is not much that way in terms of food unless you know howto live off the land. You strike me as city children and the nextfew days will be hard on you. I am sorry to say that we are eatingthe last of our food, so I can not fix you up something to takewith you.”

  Niki suddenly felt ashamed at sniffingthe food now that she knew it was all they had left. She removedher cloak and laid it on the grass as she finished the
last pieceof bread. She looked at the young girl who, dressed in brownleather shirt and pants with a brown leather cap that came down toher ears, very much resembled a boy. “Is there somewhere where Imight clean up a bit, Tanya?” she asked.

  Tanya removed her hat and volumes oflong, flowing, golden hair fell down her back. “There is a streamjust beyond those trees,” she replied. “I will get towels and showyou the way.”

  Niki stared at the girl’s beautifulhair and face and suddenly wondered how she could have mistaken herfor a boy. “Thank you, Tanya. I would like that.”

  Fredrik and Boris talked aboutdifferent places they had been when the merchant said he washeading south and asked Fredrik how conditions were down there. “Iam glad that we have met,” Boris said. “I think I shall change myplans and not head south, after all. The picture you paint is notone that would be very lucrative for a merchant. Spare my oldbones, Fredrik, and get the bottle of wine at the rear of thewagon. I think we need another glass if we are to wait on thewomen.”

  Fredrik chuckled and rose to get thebottle. When he returned, he found Boris fondling the cloak thatNiki had left on the grass. “A very interesting design,” Boriscommented, “but I fear that fire has marred its perfection. How didshe come by it?”

  Fredrik looked at the merchantsuspiciously. “She likes it very much, Boris. Niki is sure that sheis destined to become a queen one day.”

  Boris chuckled as he placed the cloakback where he had found it. “Who knows,” he said. “Perhaps she willbe. This is the last bottle of wine, as well. This trip has notbeen very prosperous.”

  The old man’s casual attitude putFredrik back at ease and the girls soon returned from the stream.Fredrik and Niki mounted their horses and prepared to leave. “Willyou be heading north, as well, then?” Fredrik asked.

  “I expect so,” Boris replied.“I am not much of a one for living off the land, though. I may headinto Toresh for supplies before I head north. Safe journey to youboth.”

  Tanya turned and finished cleaning upafter the midday meal. “There were no Dark Riders west of here,”she stated. “Why did you lie to them?”

  “There are many hazards inlife, Tanya,” Boris said softly. “Those two are not ready to facethem. Nobody is really ready to face them, but that group north ofhere is where they need to be, at least for now. It should prove tobe quite interesting.”

  Tanya continued cleaning up and Borisrose to walk off the stiffness of sitting before he climbed up onthe wagon again. Boris walked around in circles and suddenly sawsomething that he had not seen in seventeen years. Through the graysky overhead, a small hole appeared and a sunbeam lanced down intothe intersection of the two roads. It disappeared as quickly as itcame and Boris walked over to the center of the intersection whereit struck. Looking down he found a small, flat rock. Burned intothe face of the rock was the following inscription:

  From North and East and South andWest

  The children gather towards unknown

  The whole world’s saviors they areblest

  The seeds of True Light now aresown

  Shall Darkness win or Light prevail

  The outcome’s not foretold or known

  On brink of Fate’s fluttering sail

  They’ll win and live or hear Death’smoan

  Boris studied the inscription over andover and finally put the rock in his pouch and returned to thewagon. He climbed up onto the wagon just as Tanya finished andjoined him. He started the wagon rolling along the dusty trail andat the intersection he turned onto the trail to thenorth.

  “I thought we were going intoToresh for food,” Tanya said

  “There has been a change inplans,” Boris replied glumly. “The day you have prepared for isfast approaching. You must remember all that you have been taughtby the others and me. It is time that I sent you into the viper’sden.”

  * * * *

  Arik and Tedi were utilizing theirtracking skills to follow Garth’s path. The trail had becomeincreasingly hard to follow, but the boys were still managing totrack it correctly. “I heard Garth telling Kalina this morning thatour mysterious followers have not been around for over three daysnow,” Arik said softly.

  “Maybe it was all in hisimagination,” retorted Tedi. “There might not have been anyone everfollowing us. I wonder why Garth never has us take turns on sentryduty? You would think that if he was really concerned aboutsomebody being out there, he would post a sentry allnight.”

  “There are only three of us,”Arik reminded Tedi as he pointed to a leaf on the ground with afine layer of dust on it. “Not to mention that two of us can hardlykeep our eyes open through dinner.”

  “What is it that Garth does inthe woods every night and every morning?” Tedi asked. “He does itevery day and it is the only time that he will not allow anyone toaccompany him.”

  “I don’t know,” Arik concededwhile pointing out the peculiar way the slant of the blades ofgrass alternated between pointing right and pointing left as ifsomeone had swept something across the grass back and forth toremove footsteps. “I suspect that he is making sure that no one isnear. Or, at least, it must have something to do with the securityof the campsite.”

  Suddenly, the trail totally disappearedand the boys stood up, puzzled. There was not one clue as to whichdirection Garth had taken next.

  “You forgot one of the mostimportant lessons in tracking,” Garth said from behindthem.

  The boys spun around and faced thelength of Garth’s long, sinuous sword wavering between theirthroats. “What lesson was that?” croaked Tedi.

  “The first one that I taughtyou, fisherboy,” Garth said grimly. “Maintain silence at all times.Why do you think I taught you to use hand talk? Do you think it wasto give your idle fingers some exercise? Your tracking skills arecoming along fairly well, but you would be dead now because of avery foolish mistake.”

  “But this is only practice,”complained Tedi.

  “There is no differencebetween practice and real life,” sighed Garth. “What do I have todo to convince you? If I kill you, you will have finally learnedthat lesson, but I will have wasted my time teaching it. Do youthink we are in some park where no bad people exist? We are but afew miles from Toresh where the Dark Riders have a major garrison.Their own practice sessions use these very woods that you arefrolicking in and yet you walk around as if there is no danger.There is danger every moment of your life. Never forget it.Never.”

  “What did we miss here?” Arikasked as much to break the tension as to hear theanswer.

  “Look at the tree bark,” Garthexplained. “I jumped up and grabbed that branch, but my feetdisturbed the bark there and there. You would have troublefollowing from there, but if you checked surrounding trees youwould eventually find where I came down. Enough tracking for now.You boys are due for some more sword practice. Today you two getthe chance to kill me. It should be fun.”

  Garth turned and headed back towardsthe campsite leaving Arik and Tedi shaking their heads. Arikwatched the way Garth walked as he followed him. The careful, ifsubconscious, placement of every step. His feet always coming downon the quietest, most solid surface the path provided. Arikwondered how many years Garth had been walking that way. It was sosecond nature to the man that Arik was sure he did it withoutthinking.

  The afternoon was as full of activityfor the boys as every day for the last two weeks had been. Whilethey still had trouble keeping their eyes open during the latedinner, the aches in their muscles were becoming less each day.Garth came into the campsite late for dinner and sat down with afrown on his face.

  “Your friends are stilllooking for you,” he said to the boys. “There are about thirty DarkRiders several miles to the North and your friend, the witch, iswith them.”

  “Should we leave tonight?”Tedi asked nervously.

  Garth chewed a mouthful of rabbitbefore answering. “Traveling by night is too dangerous unless youknow the country well or you are very desperate. Neither caseapplies here. One of the hardest tracks to hid
e is a wagon. I thinkwe can avoid any problems with them as long as you two are out ofsight when they come.”

  “What about their horses?”asked Arik. “They are bound to recognize their horses andsaddles.”

  “Not necessarily,” Garthstated. “And if they do, I will tell them that I purchased themfrom a gang of bandits that headed south. Gypsies are known totrade with anyone. If they argue too much, I will offer to sellthem back to them.”

  “I can’t believe that you aretaking this so lightly,” Tedi burst out.

  Garth put down his plate and leveledhis gaze on the boys. “I take nothing lightly,” he declared. “I donot always seek a fight when there are other ways out of asituation. I do not shun a fight, but it is better to choose whenyou wish to fight and not let others decide for you. You would dowell to remember to face every problem with calmness and logicalthought. Emotion can kill you as quickly as a sword.”

  “Is there anything that we cando to prepare for tomorrow?” questioned Arik.

  “Get some sleep,” orderedGarth. “If all does not go well, you may be called upon to exerciseyour new skills and I would like you well rested for theoccasion.”

  The boys nodded and headed off to theirblankets. Kalina and Garth sat talking softly for an hour beforethey, too, retired.

  * * * *

  Niki was practically falling asleep inthe saddle. “Why do we have to keep riding, Fredrik? I’m tired andI want to go to sleep.”

  “I want to ride a littlelonger,” answered Fredrik. “We have been too long without somethingsubstantial to eat. If we keep stopping early, we will die ofstarvation. We need to find a village or small town and the longerwe ride each day the sooner we will find it.”

  “We haven’t seen so much as afarm since that place you stole the chicken,” Niki complained. “Idon’t think anyone lives along this road.”