by Guy Antibes
Trevor was tempted to communicate with Reena, but he decided to wait until Derwizul in case she had something to say to her former swordmakers. Trevor could use his transfer power. He laughed. Why communicate if he could bring her to Derwizul in the flesh? Lissa could stay for a few hours in Collet while Reena caught up with her former associates.
The journey to Derwizul was much different from the time Akku and Trevor traveled to the same destination. This time they didn’t stay in the grasslands and skipped the little village where Trevor had left the orphaned cubs, and they did make the journey in much less time.
Trevor had expected to spend much of the trip with Mino, but they had hardly spoken. While they visited Mino’s shop, the focus pulled Trevor aside from the rest of the group.
“Teach me how to make the charms,” Mino said. “I brought along some materials that I don’t have in Derwizul.”
“What about the others?” Trevor asked.
“You worry about teaching me, and I’ll worry about them,” Mino said.
Mino took them into a small building that faced the work yard. “The four of us will work on this in private,” Mino told Lissa and Volst as they followed Trevor.
“Secrets?” Trevor asked.
“Confidences let us say,” Mino said.
Mino started by having Lissa demonstrate how to make a charm. They both made two batches of five. The process didn’t take that long, but then Mino sat down on a bench, getting comfortable.
“Now we talk?” Trevor asked, feeling useless watching the others make charms.
Mino nodded. “You have learned much since the time we first met here,” Mino said. “Turgul has great confidence in you, but confidence is not going to win the fight against our enemy.”
“The enemy is?” Trevor asked.
“Maskum, of course. I never thought of them being so intense in their evil quests as I have lately. Your bringing evidence of the Maskumite magicians with you to Jarkan only made the king more convinced that Jarkan will be hard-pressed to fend our southern neighbors off by ourselves. General Henkari understands this more than most. I was impressed when you appeared with Reena at my house to test the rings. I am less impressed with the rings. There is only one person you can talk to, and that may be too confining in an emergency, of which there may be many,” Mino said. “You are the messenger, not your voice.”
“What are the chances of our success? You’ve lived closer to Maskum for longer than anyone here. The last messenger was defeated.”
Mino nodded. “You noticed that eh? I figured that something like that happened since you found the artifact at the bottom of an ancient tower in Viksar. How it got there is anyone’s guess. From what I’ve seen, the cuirass is the most valuable piece of magical gear in the world, so take care of it. Although, I must say that you are the only one who can use it.”
“Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”
Mino looked out the window of the workshop and shook his head. “I agree that the Maskumite magicians are a vicious, unstable lot. They have levels like the Viksaran do, but then they are split into small cabals. There is no overarching organization.”
“Then how do they work together to conquer the world?” Trevor asked.
“A common goal among enemies, I suppose. They have never been so bold since they are so fragmented, but something has brought them together, and I don’t know why. The secret must rest with the cabals.”
Trevor nodded. “They are going after the greater enemy? Why?”
Mino shrugged. “I’ve never been able to figure that out. If you can, let me know. Now a few more thoughts from the king. Trust General Henkari with your life, but don’t put him or Akku in excessive danger. I put in the ‘excessive’ part. Just being on the border is dangerous.”
“Is that a suggestion or a royal command,” Trevor said.
“Royal command for Akku and a suggestion for Henkari. If a war erupts, what happens, happens. Are you here to start a war?”
Trevor shook his head. “I’m a messenger first, but that isn’t really the truth. I am here to find out what is going on in Maskum.”
“The king expects you to run toward the hostiles. Hostiles is his term for Maskumites, not mine.”
Trevor smiled. “I might do a little running, but I didn’t travel to the border to look across at Maskum. I think I will take Lissa to the sea. I’ve never been on a beach before,” he said.
“Just make sure it’s not the last thing that you put your eyes on,” Mino said. He turned toward the door. “I have a lot of work to do here, so I’ll get started. Find a nice inn and rest.”
“Shall I bring Reena here?”
“I don’t have any objections. I think I’ve told you all I need to.”
Trevor exited the small workshop and asked Akku and Volst to find lodgings for them.
“There is a garrison on the south side of town,” General Henkari said. “We will stay there. When will we be leaving tomorrow?”
“Let’s give ourselves a little time. Midmorning. If Akku knows where it is, we will meet you there.”
“Good enough for me. Enjoy your evening in Derwizul.”
Trevor watched the guards and the general leave the work yard and ride away.
“Now what?” Lissa asked.
“Do you want to visit Brother Yvan?”
Lissa furrowed her brow. “You are going to bring him here?”
Trevor shook his head. “I’m bringing Reena here. She worked with these men when she was the focus. Reena didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. I thought as long as we are here, I can swap her out for you for a few hours.”
“I wouldn’t mind a Ginsterian meal rather than Jarkanese,” she said quietly. “I’ll grab my bags and change out a few of my things.”
“Then that is what we will do.” Trevor told Volst what he was going to do since Akku had left just after the general had.
Trevor clasped Lissa’s hand and smiled at her as he thought of the seer headquarters lobby.
In less than half an hour, Trevor reappeared with Reena in the work yard. The ex-focus wobbled a little but had a grin on her face as soon as she recognized the first worker. In a few moments, old friends surrounded her, and Mino stood just outside the ring of well-wishers alongside Trevor.
“That was nice of you,” Mino said.
“It was the right thing to do,” Trevor said.
Akku and Volst rode into the work yard. The crown prince had a frown on his face.
“It is one thing to be a prospective crown prince and another to actually be one. They won’t let me tell any stories at our inn.”
“Like you did before?”
Akku nodded. “They know my father well enough.” The plainsman sighed.
“We will only be staying tonight, so I’m sure you can take the disappointment,” Trevor said.
“That was what I told him,” Volst said. “I offered to replace him but was rebuffed. I suppose my Viksaran sensibilities aren’t appreciated in Derwizul.”
“Among other things,” Akku said.
Trevor couldn’t help but laugh. “Reena will be here for a few hours only,” he said. “Lissa didn’t mind visiting Brother Yvan.”
“A few weeks to get here, and she can come and go as she pleases,” Volst said. He rubbed an eye with his fist mimicking wiping away tears. “And I am stuck with having to ride in and ride out.”
“It’s not my fault you volunteered to be at my side.”
“And it’s not your fault that you asked me to join you,” Volst said, “Dryden’s messenger.”
“Cursed by Dryden,” Trevor said.
“If you weren’t, you’d be dead. You do understand that don’t you?”
Trevor gave his friend half a smile. “Right you are, and I remember that every day.”
He turned to Mino. “We are going to the inn to get settled in.”
Mino nodded, arms folding, still smiling at the reunion. “Go ahead.”
Trevor
gave Mino a small bow and mounted Snowflake. Volst and Trevor left Reena in the work yard. At the inn, Trevor groomed his white charger and Lissa’s horse before heading inside. He laid down on his bed and closed his eyes. Not for the first time did Trevor contemplate the state he was in, being cursed by Dryden at the same time as being blessed by him. When it was all over, Trevor wondered if everything would even out.
It was finally time to retrieve Reena. He walked over to the workshop where Reena and Mino were talking by themselves in the yard. Reena stood as Trevor approached them.
“Mino tried to get me to come back to Argara, but he didn’t convince me,” Reena said.
Mino shrugged behind her. “Turgul asked me to try if I was able to communicate with her. She isn’t ready yet.”
“And I may never be,” Reena said with a smile.
She didn’t look very reluctant to return with Trevor, and Mino didn’t look disappointed.
“Shall we go, then?”
Reena nodded and placed her hand on Trevor’s offered wrist. They reappeared in the ancient room beneath the seer headquarters. They found Brother Yvan and Lissa sipping ale in the refectory.
“Back so soon?” Brother Yvan said. “I never got the chance to miss you.”
“Was your visit refreshing?” Trevor asked Lissa.
“It was. I even took a bath,” Lissa said.
She looked bright and clean, wearing fresh clothes. A few long days from now, they’d be riding along the Jarkanese border with Maskum. Trevor didn’t have anything he needed other than a few words with Brother Yvan and the head seer about his experience with King Worto. He told Brother Yvan about the Listenwell manor steward stripping the house and grounds.
“That didn’t take long. Well, it’s always better to start fresh,” Brother Yvan said.
Trevor didn’t believe that. “Take another sip before we go, Lissa. It’s back to spiced beer.”
They teleported to the inn’s stable yard. Trevor had ended up with one foot sitting on a pile of horse manure.
“Well, we start with entertainment,” Volst said, clapping from a bench by the back entrance to the inn. He lifted a mug of something to his lips. “I hope you made friends with proper ale when you were in Ginster.”
“Lissa might have, but I didn’t.”
“I did,” Lissa admitted, putting her hand to her mouth to hide a smile.
“Akku is waiting for you inside. He’s in the common room telling stories despite what he promised the innkeeper.”
The three of them walked into the common room. A ring of men and a few women sat around him, listening to one of the crown prince’s romantic fictions. Trevor knew it was a fiction because he had heard the story before, and Akku admitted some of his recollections were made up.
“Ah, the plains cat killer,” Akku said. He didn’t give Trevor a chance to respond before he related the story of the plains cat and the cubs.
“Have you just told the truth?” one of the men said. “I think I’ve seen those cubs in a village partway into the plains.”
Trevor laughed. “How are they doing?”
“They are losing their cuteness if they were as young as Prince Akku said. Not quite ready to be taken out into the plains and left, the woman said.” The man shook his head. “You really killed the mother cat with one arrow?”
“It was a special bow,” Trevor said. “Few people could bend it.”
“But Des, uh, Trevor could. It was left in Argara, wasn’t it?” Akku asked.
“I suppose I did leave it there,” Trevor said. “We bought it on the way from Argara to Derwizul, and lucky for me, we did. I wasn’t intending on using it, but it saved my life.” Trevor noticed the innkeeper looking anxious with arms folded in the back of the room with a worried look on his face. Trevor smiled at the man and then addressed the assemblage. “I have business with Akku, so I’m going to be cruel and end story time.”
Akku sighed after they walked into the dining room for dinner. “I could have gone on for longer.”
“I’m sure you miss it,” Lissa said.
Akku looked around. “Miss what? There are plenty of places in Argara that let me entertain.”
Trevor didn’t doubt that.
Chapter Thirteen
~
H enkari was chatting with the garrison commander by his horse. He appeared ready to go when Trevor and his friends rode through the open garrison gate.
“Ready to ride? Two nights in good inns, and then it’s the border.”
“What can we expect?” Trevor asked.
Henkari shrugged. “It is a long border, so there are mountains, plains, and forests. Both sides have watchtowers since there has been a history of trouble, and historically, Maskum hasn’t always been the aggressor.
“You have a code to pass between the towers?” Trevor asked, having read about watchtower strategy before.
“The usual flags in the daylight and magic lights at night. Unfortunately, the watch guards aren’t always alert, and there have been undetected incursions from time to time. In my lifetime, that is all that has happened.”
“Incursions. That is like the West Moreton army. They like to press their borders outward. Presidon’s southern borders were mostly hilly forest, but watchtowers would have made observation easier.”
“Has West Moreton been successful?” General Henkari asked.
“Moreso with Viksar than with Presidon, but that might be related to topography. Presidon isn’t a big country.”
The general nodded. “And it was easily overrun by Dorwick and Ginsterian troops during the usurpation.”
“Not to mention the internal allies my mother collected while she planned for the takeover,” Trevor said. “Have you vetted your remaining troops? Erdu had a lot of supporters sent to the south, as I recall.”
Henkari sighed. “A delicate operation. I know who most of them are, but if I remove the rebels all at once, it will affect my southern command structure. I am gradually recommissioning the officers who I temporarily activated during the insurrection.”
“That is a good way to do it. At least Maskum is a common enemy,” Trevor said, recalling Mino’s recent words about the magician cabals having a common enemy in Jarkan. The theory seemed to work on both sides. “I think it is time we saw the watchtowers in person.”
They rode out of Derwizul. Trevor looked back. The little city had a personality all its own, but he didn’t get a proper chance to reacquaint himself and show Lissa since they weren’t in the place for a full day.
The first two days passed without a problem. The southern lands of Jarkan were agricultural. The plains petered out not much farther south than Derwizul to the east, and then there were fields of grains and orchards. It had a different feel than Listenwell, being drier, but it lent a sense of peace and honest work.
Jarkan wasn’t a small country, and the mountains to the west rose higher as they moved south, gradually coming into view to his right. Trevor looked at the blue shapes of the peaks. They looked majestic, but mountains could be natural barriers or hide hidden pathways between Maskum and Jarkan. He was certain that there would be smugglers operating in the rugged country, taking advantage of the terrain.
“Do you have any of your forces in the mountains?” Trevor asked the general.
“We do, but they are mostly scouts, not regular troops. That is because there aren’t any regulars of the Maskumite army operating up there.” Henkari turned to look at the outline of mountains. “Thinking that the mountains are a weak area?” the general asked.
Trevor nodded. “I do.”
“Why try to break through there when the much larger part of the border is flatter. We can’t patrol the entire length of Jarkan.” The general shrugged. “Bad people typically take the easiest and fastest way if the odds of being caught are the same.”
“That is probably the same for good people too,” Trevor said.
Henkari smiled. “I’m sure you are right.”
In
a few hours, they reached the first gate on the main road into Maskum. Trevor looked down the straight road and saw three more, all with tall fences extending to the left and right.
“The road is fortified all the way to the border to make it harder for Maskum to attack us with a conventional force,” Akku said.
A few minutes later, the road became a crossroads, and they turned left, traveling along a fenced thoroughfare leading them to a small town. On their way in, they passed a garrison that appeared to be larger than the town. That was where the guards peeled off after consulting with Henkari.
“We will stay in Pokencil,” Henkari said. “It serves the locals as well as the garrison.”
The general took them through the town to the opposite side, where they stopped at a tall, stout fence with a closed gate. Guards watched from the other side from on top of a walkway spanning the gate. Trevor looked at the buildings. Many were constructed of wood, and all looked as if they had been through a conflict.
“The civil war reached the border?” Trevor asked.
Henkari nodded. “Life in southern Jarkan would be different if I hadn’t activated my retired army. The fighting was fierce in Pokencil. Don’t worry about your safety within the town’s walls, even though there are still General Erdu’s loyalists out among the rest of the population. Life is a little more exciting with the remnants of the insurrection added to the unrest to the south of us.”
The general took them to a fancy inn with fresh paint.
“I wish I could say it has been newly renovated for you, but as you can see, that is not the case,” Henkari said. “We will plan your tour tomorrow morning. For the rest of this afternoon and tonight, you can rest up in the inn.”
Trevor helped Lissa with her horse while everyone said goodbye to the general who would be getting reports from his people at the garrison. The rooms were all newly renovated. Trevor guessed the fighting had reached inside the inn, and when he entered his room, he could almost smell the paint drying.
After putting his bags in order from the long ride, Trevor stepped out into the corridor to get his bearings and descended two stories to ground level, where Akku had started on a large mug of something in the common room. Some chairs had been repaired, and others were too new to have attracted any grime from use.
