“The King would not hold apublic execution with a dead prisoner,” Tanya postulated. “Theymust have drugged her or knocked her out. They were probably afraidof her magic powers. Now we have to add to the list our need tocarry her once we open the cell.”
“Whatever we do will have tobe done later tonight,” declared Arik. “Let’s split into two teams.One team will eat now while the other tries to get a look at thisisland from the outside. When they return, we will switch. When thesecond team comes back we will meet here and discuss ideas forgetting her out.”
“Tedi and I will eat first,”declared Tanya. “You two go and get a look. Fredrik can show youwhere it is and you can draw us a map when you return,” she said toArik.
They all agreed and Fredrik led Arik tothe spot where he thought the island might be. The wall was a goodtwenty feet high and the boys could not see over it. The trees inthe area were not tall enough to get a good look over the wall andthere were too many people in the area to start climbing the walleven if they could.
Fredrik looked around the area and hiseyes stopped on a three-story house across the street. Fredriktapped Arik on the sleeve and marched across the street and knockedon the door. At first he thought no one would answer, but when hewas about to open the door and go in, a middle-aged woman openedthe door.
“What is it?” she demanded.“If it’s something you’re selling, be off with you.”
“Madam,” Fredrik puffed up,“do I look like a lowly merchant? My agent sent me by to examinethe house.”
The woman gave Fredrik a looking overand eyed appraisingly at his red velvet suit. “Agent? What agent?Whatever are you talking about?”
“The property agent, ofcourse,” snapped Fredrik. “Look, I am offering an outrageouslylarge sum of money for this house and I don’t appreciate my timebeing wasted with foolish games. Are you going to let us in orshould I buy your neighbor’s house?”
“I don’t know nothing about .. .” faltered the woman. Her eyes sparkled as she changed her tune.“I mean to say that your agent was not gracious enough to inform methat you would be coming this evening. Come in, please.”
Arik hid his smile well as Fredrik ledthe way into the tall house. Fredrik saw a few poor pieces offurniture and some crates in the entry hall. He swept past theminto the receiving room and stopped when he saw no furniture atall. “I am afraid that I forgot your name, Lady,” Fredrikstated.
“Mabel, My Lord,” she repliedas she bowed. “As you can see, I have already moved the furnitureout except for these small pieces. I can have them removed in themorning. How much was your offer, Sir?”
“Twice what you were asking,”Fredrik calmly replied. “I think this will do well, LadyMabel.”
“Perhaps, you could show yourgood faith, Sir,” Mabel hesitantly suggested. “A small depositwould guarantee that your offer is accepted, as generous as itis.”
The house was really in deplorablecondition. The floors were cracked, the doors hung poorly anddidn’t close, and the walls had holes in them. The truth of what hewas seeing began to dawn on Lord Wason. He walked back into theentrance hall and looked at the crates. Nodding his head, Fredrikretrieved some coins from his pouch and counted themout.
“I must have men in tonight totake measurements and I will not want them disturbed,” Fredrikordered. “Here is one hundred crowns deposit. The belongings in theentry hall will not be available until tomorrow after midday. Ifyou can carry them, you can take them now, otherwise, do not sendfor them until that time. I will have my agent draw up the paperstomorrow and by nightfall you will be a very wealthy woman. Goodnight, Lady Mabel.”
The woman bowed with a grin on her lipsand hefted a crate on her way out the door. Arik started to ask foran explanation as Fredrik dashed up the stairs to the top floor.Arik pounded after him and looked out the window at the Palacegrounds.
“What was all that about?”asked Arik. “Do you know that not going through with the purchaseof this house could be considered cheating a merchant?”
Fredrik was studying the lay of thegrounds as he spoke. “This house is not for sale, Arik,” hechuckled. “And that was no Lady. I can’t be sure, but I think thishouse held rooms that were rented out. Each of the crates in theentry hall had a different name written on them. That woman wasprobably one of the renters who received an eviction notice. Lookat this place. It has probably been condemned and is scheduled tobe torn down. The way the woman bowed proved she was noLady.”
“Then why did you give her themoney?” quizzed Arik.
“The money was well spent,”laughed Lord Wason. “She will be scurrying around to the otherevicted renters offering to have their belongings brought to themfor free just to stop them from coming here and alerting me. Thisplace will not be disturbed during the night. Now, we not only havea good view of the grounds, we have a new base for therescue.”
Arik shook his head in amusement as hestudied the layout of the island prison. Fredrik watched a piece ofwood fall from the window as he withdrew and headed for thestairs.
The two boys returned to the FlutteringJib and sat at the table occupied by Tanya and Tedi. He quicklydescribed the house and told them that Arik and he would bringtheir belongings to the house when they had finished eating. Thesecond team left for the abandoned house and Fredrik and Arikordered a healthy meal that had been put off too long.
After the meal, Fredrik spoke to theinnkeeper and explained that part of his party would be leaving andhe no longer required the smaller room. He paid for both rooms forthe night and the innkeeper was well pleased by the sudden changein plans. Fredrik left his belongings and, together with Arik,collected everyone else’s and carried them down to the stables. Thehorses had been cared for as the blacksmith promised and leavingFredrik’s horse they loaded the rest and rode to the abandonedhouse.
The house had no stables and Arik ledthe horses inside to the parlor. The boys ran up the stairs andfound Tanya and Tedi sitting on the floor, drawing diagrams in thedirt. Arik plopped down alongside them but Fredrik stood notwanting to subject his apparel to the dirt.
“We have a few things workedout,” Tanya offered. “The climbing claw I purchased today will getus over the wall and we can make a rope ladder to get us down intothe cell. That still leaves the problem of getting across the moat,the roving guards, and carrying Niki.”
“You forgot about the lock,”Fredrik mentioned.
“I can take care of the lock,”Tedi chuckled and Arik looked at him queerly. “Fredrik, can youmake a shield like Kalina did in the canyon?” Tediasked.
“No,” answered Fredrik. “Howwould that help you?”
“It was just a thought,” Tedisighed. “Tanya told me about our archer’s new bow and hisabilities. I figured if you could create a shield like Kalina did,only make it curve back around, Arik could shoot an arrow with astring tied to it. He could shoot the arrow to one side of theflagpole and the shield would make the arrow curve back on theother side of the flagpole. That way we would have a string wrappedaround the flagpole and we could attach a rope to it and pull itaround so that we had a rope stretching across themoat.”
“And what good would that doyou?” Fredrik inquired.
“I could walk across the ropeto the cell,” Tedi assured him.
“Can you really do that?”Tanya asked. “Because I know how to get a rope across the moat. Ican use the same climbing claw that we will use to get over thewall. I am sure that it will catch on the bars to thecells.”
“Can you walk across the ropewith Niki on your back?” Arik asked. “From what Fredrik said, shewill be in no condition to help herself escape.”
“If you can figure out a wayto keep the rope taut with our weight on it,” Tedi declared, “I canwalk across it with anything that I can carry.”
“I can make Tedi a harness tocarry Niki,” offered Fredrik. “That way his hands will befree.”
“Okay,” Arik commanded,“Fredrik, you get started on the harness. Tanya, try to time theroving patrols so that
we have a sense of how long we will have toget Niki and get back. Tedi, you get to make the rope ladder. I’mgoing to search this house for something we can use to tie theother end of the rope to.”
The Rangers split up and went abouttheir individual tasks. In a couple of hours everyone hadreassembled and changed into the blacksuits. “I wasn’t able to findanything suitable,” Arik admitted, “but I did think of how we canaccomplish the task. After Tedi gets to the island, he can tie therope to one of the cells and throw the grappling hook back to us.We can affix it to the other end of the rope and dig it in to theground. As long as the rope doesn’t flex too much, it shouldwork.”
“If not,” Tedi commenteddryly, “you three can take off.”
“The four of you will have toleave the city right away,” Fredrik stated. “I will stay at theFluttering Jib because the King will check to see if I left withhis prisoner. I will also have to tell Garth where you havegone.”
“There is a cove about fourmiles north of here along the shore,” Tanya nodded. “I will leadthem there and wait for the rest of you.”
The three Rangers descended the stairsand exited the old house. Fredrik, still in his red velvet suit,remained at the window to lend magical assistance if everythingfell apart. The trio quickly crossed the street and hid in theextra darkness that the wall provided. Tanya watched the window ofthe old house and when she saw a small sparkle of light, she threwher climbing claw up at the wall. It took her two tries to seat itand she cursed over the first attempt. Arik was first up the walland he signaled Tedi to follow and then hung by his hands and letgo to fall to the ground.
Within moments the three Rangers wereover the wall and inside the estate grounds. Quickly, Arik grabbedthe grappling hook that Tanya had lowered and ran across the fieldto the moat. He hurled the hook towards the cages and missed. As hehauled it back in, the hook fell into the moat and got stuck onsomething. Arik pulled feverishly and something pulled back almostcausing him to lose his balance. He called softly to Tanya and Tediand they each grabbed onto the rope. The three of them pulled andthe beast on the other end pulled back. The tug-o-war lasted onlyseconds before the hook was free and the three Rangers weresprawled on the ground, but it felt as if it had lasted for tenminutes.
Arik tossed the hook again and thistime was rewarded with a clang as the hook snagged a bar on one ofthe cells. Arik wrapped the free end of the rope around his backand sat with his feet dug into the ground. Tanya placed herself acouple of feet in front of Arik and also grabbed the rope and dugin. Tedi walked to the edge of the moat and tested the flex in therope. It seemed taut and time was running quickly, so Tedi put hisfaith in his partners and hopped onto the rope.
Tedi’s balance was excellent and hisfear did not emanate from the thought of falling, it came from theflexing of the rope as it dipped close to the water’s surface. Onething he hadn’t thought of was that the beasts might actually riseup out of the water to eat him. Tedi tried to concentrate ongaining the other bank and off of the moat. He felt the ropefirming as he neared the far edge and soon he was on land again. Helooked into the cell that the hook had caught on and his heartskipped a beat. The cell was empty.
Even as he was feeling doomed andwondering what to do next, his hands were untying the hook andtying the rope to the bar of the cell. Without thinking he threwthe hook across the moat to Arik and Tanya. Tedi untied the ropeonce more and shimmied up the flagpole. Swiftly, he tied the ropeto the metal ring at the top of the flagpole and slid down to theground. He quickly ran from cell to cell looking for Niki. It washard to see in the dark and then he remembered that Fredrik hadsaid that she was in one of the corners. He ran to the closestcorner cell and peered in. There was definitely something in thereand Tedi bent to pick the lock.
The lock was not particularly hard andTedi soon had the cell opened and the rope ladder fastened to thetop. He let the ladder drop and scrambled down as he heard thepatrol’s boots scraping along the ground. The bottom of the cellwas black and, hoping Niki would forgive him, he began feelingaround. At least he was sure that the woman in the cell had curlyhair. He lay on his stomach and pushed her on top of himself.Shifting her body around on his back to allow the straps of theharness to secure her, he kept listening for the sounds of thepatrol.
Once she was secure, he started up therope ladder. When he reached the top he stuck his head out to lookfor the patrol and saw no one. A moment of dread ran through himwhen he thought he might have been abandoned by his friends in theRoyal Prison. A feeling of shame quickly followed as Arik and Tanyaran forward from the wall where they had hidden while the guardswere in sight. The guards did not make a complete circuit, but camedown the path towards the cells and then turned around. Thankfully,they did not see the rope.
Tedi almost lost his balance as hestooped to retrieve the rope ladder and lock the cell. He rose andthrew the ladder across the moat. Adjusting Niki’s weight, Tedistepped to the edge of the moat and jumped up to grab the rope,which was tied to the flagpole. He decided if the rope was going tofail, he wasn’t going to spend time dreading it. Straining againstthe weight of Niki and himself, Tedi began swinging to get his feetup on the rope. By the time he got his feet wrapped around therope, Tedi’s arms were aching. As quickly as he dared, Tedi startedmoving his hands along the rope towards the other side of the moat.Each hand movement was a strain and his arms felt like they wouldbe ripped out of their sockets. Slowly and agonizingly, Tedi putone hand in front of the other until finally he and Niki were safeon the other side.
Tanya ran up to the edge of the moatand cut the rope to leave it dangling in the water. Arik pried theclimbing claw out of the ground and coiled the remaining rope. Thethree Rangers met at the wall and Arik caught the top of the wallwith the hook. Tanya climbed the rope first and stayed on top ofthe wall. Tedi and Niki went next and Arik had to help by pushing.When Tedi reached the top, he managed to straddle the wall withoutfalling. Arik was close behind and pulled the rope up and switchedthe hook to let the rope dangle on the outside of the wall. Arikdescended first and allowed Tedi to place his feet on his shouldersto ease the way down. When they were safely down, Tanya tossed thehook down and then dropped herself to the ground.
Fredrik was downstairs waiting whenthey entered the house. They changed Niki into her blacksuit andTanya pushed her leather hat over Niki’s red hair. The three ofthem mounted their horses and Fredrik hefted Niki up to Arik, whoheld her in front of him. Tanya took the reins to Niki’s horse andthey set out for the North Gate.
Fredrik made it back to his room at theFluttering Jib on foot and tossed himself on the bed to get a fewhours sleep before the guards arrived.
Chapter 18
Mutiny
It was barely past first light when thepounding on the door woke Fredrik. He struggled to sit and thepounding continued. Sleepily shuffling over to the door, Fredrikthrew the bolt back and two Melbin Guards rushed in, their headsswiveling to search the room. Fredrik could see two more guardswaiting in the hallway beyond the door. “Lord Wason,” one of theguards declared, “you have been summoned to the Royal Palace. It iswell that you are dressed, King Alfred appears impatient thismorning.”
As fearful as he was, Fredrik walkedover to the basin and wet his face. “I shall just be a moment,” hesaid through the towel wiping the sleep from his face. The guardtapped his foot impatiently while Fredrik tried to smooth his redvelvet suit. At least, Fredrik realized, he was not under arrest.The guards would not wait for him if they had orders for hisarrest.
When Fredrik was as presentable as hecould be after sleeping in his clothes, he turned and walked outthe door. The guards had a carriage waiting for him and, once hewas in, they rushed him to the Royal Palace. Fredrik was escorteddirectly to the Throne Room where King Alfred was waiting. Theguard escorting him whispered something in the servant’s ear andthe servant scurried up to the King and relayed theinformation.
“I see the lodging in our innsis not to your liking, Lord Wason,” the King stated. “Perhaps Ishoul
d extend rooms in the Palace for your comfort.”
A shiver ran down Fredrik’s back as hethought the King must know about the house he had occupied lastnight. Slowly it dawned on him that the King probably was referringto the state of Fredrik’s clothes. Some travelers slept in theirclothes and armed because they did not trust the innkeeper to keepthem safe while they slept. “I am afraid it was a long dayyesterday, Your Highness. I know that Melbin is a city wheretravelers are safe, but I was so tired I must have fallen asleepbefore I could undress.”
“Understandable,” the Kinglaughed. “You probably indulged yourself in a bit of merriment lastnight to toast the conclusion of your hunt for thewitch.”
Fredrik noticed that the King’s laughhad been forced and the body language of the servants and theguards, who had not been withdrawn, told him that he was a suspectin the escape. “Actually, it was simple fatigue,” Fredrik stated.“The witch has led me on a merry chase for some weeks and I mustadmit that many of those nights did not afford a bed as comfortableas the Fluttering Jib.”
Frowning, the King tried a differentapproach, “I am told that you had a party of four with you when youarrived and they left you late last night. Did they have someurgent task to fulfill for you?”
This part Fredrik had rehearsed in hismind last night. “They were not my servants,” Lord Wason declared.“They belong to Captain Grecho of the Cidal Mercenary Company. Theyare on their way north to negotiate a contract. They had agreed tobe my escort while I was chasing the witch. When I informed themlast night that my search had ended, they took their leave andcontinued on their mission.”
The King’s frown grew as his browknitted and his eyebrows lowered, darkening the monarch’s eyes.“Then I am to believe that they did not effect the release of yourwitch last night?” King Alfred said with a rising voice. “The veryprofessional escape, I might add.”
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