The few passersby looked oddly at themfor using a gateway which had not been used in years, but thetethered horses and foreign uniforms on the men, with the apparentlack of weapons, caused them to go about their business. Tedi sawthe two military men mount their horses and then turned to walk theshort distance to the Palace Shadow.
* * * *
Fredrik led Duke Everich into aprolonged discussion of how the two countries might be of benefitto each other. The Duke seemed to be uninterested in most of theconversation with the exception of the Cidal Mercenary Company, buthe was patient enough to let Fredrik rave about the great nation hewas going to carve out of old Sordoa. The Duke probably thoughtFredrik a young fool, but was trying to find some angle to getcontrol of the mercenaries for his own benefit. Fredrik was surethat the Duke would use the mercenaries in some grand scheme of theContest of Power.
It suddenly dawned on Fredrik why theDuke was being so patient. As long as Lord Wason was tied up in hisstudy, the other players in the Contest could not talk to him. Eventhe length of time spent with Lord Wason would probably be used tosome advantage. Fredrik was mulling over these thoughts when heheard the bump of something against the door. That was Arik’ssignal that the escape was underway. Arik had hidden where he couldobserve Tedi’s group leaving and shadowed behind them to make surethey got off all right. The signal meant it was time toflee.
“Well,” Fredrik began, “Ithink this talk has given me much to think about, Duke Everich. Iwould like to meet with some of the other Council members tomorrowif you can arrange it, but I must be going now. I am afraid that asgood as the Palace Shadow is, I did not sleep as well as I wouldhave in my own bed.”
Duke Everich snapped his head up as ifhe had just heard Fredrik speak for the first time. “I couldarrange for quarters here in the Palace if you wish,” he offered.“The other members of the Council have very busy schedules and Imay not be able to arrange your meetings for a fewdays.”
“That is unfortunate,” LordWason declared. “I must start my journey back home tomorrow at thelatest and the Palace Shadow will do for one more night. Perhapsthere will be time for another meeting with you before I go. We cancontinue our plans by courier if that is not possible.”
“A pity,” grinned the Duke.“Well, I should send a guard down for your man to spare yourbodyguard the trip while I see you out.”
Fredrik showed no sign of panic as hereplied. “That won’t be necessary, Duke Everich. If you don’t mind,I will leave him there overnight. Perhaps he will be moreunderstanding in the morning. I can easily find my own way out ofthe Palace while you check with the other Council members abouttheir schedules for tomorrow.”
The Duke merely nodded, lost inthought, as Fredrik opened the door and stepped into the corridorwhere Arik was waiting. As quickly as they could, without appearingto be in a hurry, Fredrik and Arik made their way out of the Palaceto the Palace Shadow where they met with Tedi and all checked outwith great haste. Within minutes of each other, the three groups ofAlcea Rangers started their journey out of the city towards thefield where General Gregor and Sergeant Trank awaitedthem.
Garth, Kalina, Niki, and Tanya werewaiting for Fredrik, Tedi and Arik a short way from the city andthe group reformed into one. The field where the General waited wasnot far away from the city, but it was between the main roadwestward and the main road northward, which placed it in the forestwhere few would go. The General and the Sergeant were alreadytalking with Mitar Vidson, head of the Targa Rangers, and DavidJaynes, head of the Red Swords of Targa, when the Alcea Rangersarrived.
Garth introduced everybody and sat bythe campfire as the rest of the group joined him. “General,” Garthbegan, “I am sure that your old friends have brought you up to dateon why we are all here. I believe that you have met most of theAlcea Rangers already today. We will be leaving in the morning, butyou four will have much to do before we return.”
“I must not have been toldeverything,” the General prodded. “Why have you formed the AlceaRangers? Where are you going? When and why are you coming back andwhat is it you expect us to do?”
“Many questions,” mused Garth.“Still, you have the right to know what you are getting yourselfinto. First, I must ask a harsh question. Is your Sergeant Tranktrustworthy?”
“I have staked my life on itin the past,” the General declared, “and I have not regretted it.You may speak of anything in his presence that you wish to speak tome about.”
“Very well,” Garth continued.“You four must prepare for the rising of Alcea which will occurwhen next you see us. Targa’s Army is young, weak, and untrainedand, yet, a tremendous army will be coming to crush us. You mustround up the remnants of the Red Swords and the Targa Rangers andget them ready for battle and you must do it covertly. No one is toknow that you are forming this army. Let our enemies believe thatTarga is ill-prepared to fend off their attack.”
The General looked around the campfireexamining the faces before him. He understood the reference toAlcea rising because he had heard of the Prophecy and had been toldto prepare for it or train a successor to prepare for it. What hedid not understand was the great army that would be descending onAlcea. Nobody had mentioned that before.
“You lead me to believe that Ishould be kneeling before one of your Rangers,” the General stated.“May I know which one?”
“Not until I do,” Garthstated. “We know the Prophecy has begun, but little more. When Ireturn, it will be with your King.”
“I will accept you at yourword,” General Gregor acceded. “What is this talk of a great armydescending on Alcea? This was never mentioned before in conjunctionwith the Prophecy.”
“The Dark One will soon knowthat the Prophecy has begun,” Garth explained. “If my plans gowell, he will be unable to find us. His only recourse will be toeradicate Alcea to see that it never rises again. He has many underhis control and he will not hesitate to use every last one of them.If he attacked Targa today, do you think your Army would stand anychance at all?”
“No,” conceded the General.“And if Targa gets wind of the building army, the battle will beginbefore the first of the Dark One’s minions even get close. Iunderstand the urgency now, but you must buy us time. Many of thosewe will recruit are past their prime years. They can still fight,but they will make better officers and trainers for whatever youngwe can induct.”
“We will buy you whatever timewe can,” Garth responded, “but every day we delay increases therisk to our party. Make haste with your efforts,General.”
* * * *
Duke Everich was enraged with hisSergeant’s report. General Gregor and Sergeant Trank haddisappeared from sight. His dungeon guard had been dealt with bychildren from all accounts, children! He picked up the paperweightfrom his desk and hurled across the room.
“I want those three guardshung in the morning,” the Duke screamed. “And I want it done infull public view with the entire Palace guard in audience. I wantthose children found and brought to me, all five of them. Now getout!”
Duke Everich’s words echoed through hishead. There were five children running around his Palace as if theyowned it. His face turned red at the thought of him falling for thechild’s story about being a Lord. It was obviously a ruse to gainthem access to the dungeon to free the General, but why? He wassure the three whom he had seen were not Targan. They were asSordoan as any he had met. Why would Sordoan children want to freethe General of Targa’s Army? Or should that be Alcea’sArmy?
Unbelievable as it was, Duke Everichknew it was something that had to be reported immediately, but ithad to be reported in such a fashion that his Master would notrealize that the Duke had been tricked himself. He wasn’t about tolose his rank because of one slip. There would always be someoneelse he could blame.
Chapter 21
Elves
The seven Alcea Rangers left thecampsite at first light and headed northwest as the Sword ofHeavens demanded. Garth had spent most of the night speaking withGeneral Gregor and his three m
en, but showed little signs offatigue. Niki had raved for an hour about her major role in theplot to free the General and Garth caught Tanya’s wink during thedissertation. Tanya revealed that Niki talked in her sleep and thatthe redhead had been feeling mischievous about not having a majorrole to play. Garth changed the plan for the escape to includeNiki’s participation and Tanya had built up the importance of therole. Niki had been so wrapped up in her own importance that sheseemed unaware of the efforts the others put into the plan. ThatFredrik had found a way to get into the Palace or that Arik hadfound a way to signal Tanya that the time to approach the Palacehad arrived seemed of little importance to Niki. Most of theRangers left the campfire during her boasting, but she did not seemto notice. She had continued to retell her tale to the four captiveTargans.
When the forest path widened slightly,Garth dropped out of the lead and signaled to Tedi to take over.Garth brought his black stallion alongside Kalina’s white mare andtalked softly to Kalina. “How sure are you that the cloak she wearswas Aurora’s?” he asked.
Kalina looked over at her mate with awry grin. “Positive,” she answered. “There has been only oneEmpress of Sordoa and the symbol on the cloak is the one Aurorachose for the position. Also, the burn marks are magical in nature,but the most telling of all is the stitching of Aurora’s name onthe inside of the hem. I doubt that Niki has ever noticed it, or ifshe did, the name meant nothing to her. It was a good idea of yoursfor me to check it out while they were inside the Royal Palace. Whyare you so concerned about it?”
“It is not the cloak that I amreally concerned about,” confessed Garth. “It is Niki that I amconcerned about. She is so childish and unpredictable. It is hardfor me to picture her wielding the Sword of Heavens against Sarac.Right now, she cannot even hold the Sword, never mind use it. Somuch depends on our ability to control the Children that I worryabout Niki being uncontrollable.”
“Garth, you worry about thingsthat you cannot change,” smiled Kalina. “We do not get to choosethe Prophecy Children. We can only work with whom the Prophecy hasdelivered.”
“That may be easy for you toaccept,” Garth returned, “but a warrior must make plans for allcontingencies. Have you tried asking her where she got thecloak?”
“Several times,” sighedKalina. “She always reacts the same, as if I am trying to steal itfrom her. She insists that it is hers and refuses to discuss itfurther.”
“Well, at least Tedi iscontrollable,” Garth said changing the subject. “You are fairlycertain that he is the heir?”
“I am positive that thenecklace belonged to either Prince Oscar or Princess Callie,”Kalina corrected. “As with Niki, he refuses to discuss it except toinsist that it was his mother’s. It seems unbelievable thatPrincess Callie ended up married to a fisherman in Lorgo, though.That would mean Prince Oscar died and we know from the General thathe survived the Collapse.”
“Not necessarily,” Garthinterjected. “General Gregor said that Prince Oscar was last knownto be searching for Princess Callie. Maybe he never found her andshe somehow survived the sinking of the Princess Lydia. Maybe thisfisherman rescued her and married her.”
“It is as plausible as anyother story,” mused Kalina. “Certainly, the Children do not knowthe truth themselves. Tedi’s description of his mother does notmake her sound like Princess Callie, but I am sure about thenecklace.”
“Well, perhaps it was thechild who was rescued by the fisherman, then,” continued Garth. “Iguess there is no real way of knowing. You are right. We will justhave to accept what the Prophecy has given us and go fromthere.”
Arik whistled softly and caught Garth’sattention. Garth dropped back to Arik’s position to see what wastroubling him.
“We are being followed,” Ariksaid nervously. “I can’t see anyone, but I know they arethere.”
“Elves,” Garth simply stated.“You have done well noticing them. They are known for their silencein the forest. We are traveling a line that cuts between theKingdom of Klandon and Elderal, Land of the Elves. They should notbother us if we continue traveling in this direction; still, youshall keep a close watch and let me know of anychanges.”
Garth rode to the front of theprocession and came in alongside Tedi. Tedi looked over at himquickly and returned his eyes to the path ahead.
“So, you have heard them,too,” Tedi stated. “They seem to be curious more than threatening.I just wish that I could get a glimpse of them so I would know whatthey are.”
“They are elves,” declaredGarth. “We travel the edge of their homeland. They should notbother us if we do not stray to the right of the path. The leftside of the path is the Kingdom of Klandon, but their patrolsseldom come out this far. If you have to diverge from the path,choose the left side.”
Tedi’s eyes opened wide in amazement,but they never left the path ahead except for quick darts to eitherside. Garth dropped back behind Tedi and rode in silence. His mindwandered from pride at the incredible level of skills most of theChildren had obtained to the dismal feeling he got when he thoughtof Niki as Sarac’s descendant. As far as Garth was concerned, Nikiwas a child in a woman’s body. Before he was aware of the passingof time, Tedi had led the group into a clearing on the left side ofthe trail to camp for the night.
The Rangers quickly divided up thechores required to get the campsite set up. Garth volunteered tohunt so that the rest of the group could practice. Spring wasalready turning into summer, yet the forest felt cool. Heremembered a time when the cool of these woods would have been awelcome relief at this time of year, but those memories were notrecent. Of course, there were no elves nearby then and they werethe reason Garth volunteered to do the hunting. He told the boysthat the elves would not bother them, but he wasn’t too sure ofthat himself.
Garth was dressed in his blacksuit andthe darkening hour brought little light into the forest. Quietly,he moved away from the camp and deeper into the forest on the leftside of the trail. After moving about a mile along the parallel ofthe trail he turned and crossed over the path into Elderal. Hequietly plunged deeper into the woods, moving away from the trailand then doubling back towards the direction the Rangers originallycame from. When he felt he had gone about a mile, he turned towardsthe trail again and crept forward.
Slowly and silently, Garth made his waytowards the trail until he finally saw what he was searching for.Directly ahead of him was an elf in a brown tunic and twenty horselengths to his left was another. Garth waited for a few moments toobserve them and to search for others that might be nearby.Satisfied that there were only two observers close by, Garth movedsilently up behind one of them and nocked an arrow in hisbow.
Garth squatted five paces behind theelf and spoke softly so his voice would not travel to the otherelf. “There is no need to spy, my friend. You are welcome to joinour campfire and share whatever meager rations we have.”
The elf did not spin around abruptly asmost humans would have. He turned slowly and focused on Garth andthe arrow pointing at him. “Would a friend point an arrow atanother friend's back?” the elf quizzed.
“Only the threat of a signalto your brethren required the arrow,” Garth said as he lowered thebow and returned the arrow to his quiver. “It has been many yearssince I walked within the Elderal and I do not know much of whathas transpired since then.”
Garth stood erect and the other elfimmediately swung his attention to the stranger in black. The elfnearest Garth squinted his oval eyes as if measuring the characterof a man who could move like an elf. Garth could feel the secondelf moving into position as the first elf spoke.
“How is it you move like anelf?” he inquired.
Garth casually moved to one side of thefirst elf to delay the other’s approach. “I was taught many yearsago by one who is like my brother,” Garth stated.
The first elf signaled his partner. “Iam Garong,” he announced. “My partner is Rhula.”
Garth watched as the second elf came tojoin the conversation and was mildly surprised to notice that she
was female. “I am known as Garth Shado,” Garth stated. “My partymeans no harm to the elves and we shall be out of Elderal on thesecond day from today. We travel this trail for it is the shortestpath to our destination.”
“It is also the trail thatdraws little notice,” Rhula chimed in. “Only those seeking to hideuse this trail. Is that supposed to endear us to your goodcharacter?”
“You have watched my party allday,” Garth stated. “Does it appear to offer harm to the greatnation of Elderal? I travel with children who are hunted and I haveoffered them my protection. I know the ways of the Elderal and wehave respected them.”
“You did not respect them whenyou came at us from behind,” reminded Rhula.
Garong gave her a glare to cease hertalk. “You have acted with skill and knowledge,” Garong said. “Yourparty may travel the trail in safety as long as you remember theways of the Elderal. We shall decline your gracious offer to shareyour camp and offer you these rabbits so your time in the woodswill not have been wasted. Remember, brother of the elf, you areresponsible for the behavior of your party. We shall watch youprogress through Elderal.”
Garong handed Garth four rabbits, twofrom his belt and two from Rhula’s. Garth tied the rabbits to hisown broad belt and nodded to the two elves.
“My thanks for yourgenerosity,” Garth said. “I also offer my compliments to KingGalever for utilizing scouts with honor and compassion. May he knowpeace and a good neighbor to his south when Alcearises.”
The elves sported puzzled looks asGarth walked across the trail to his campsite. They would notunderstand his parting comment, but Garth knew it would be relayedto King Galever. The elves could be powerful allies when the timecame and elfish ways dictated that they would not help others whohad not sworn friendship before a crisis began. Hopefully, the Kingof the Elves would remember hearing of the potential for a goodneighbor in Alcea and be predisposed to discuss analliance.
Sapphire of the Fairies soh-1 Page 25
