Dwarven Ruby (12 page)

“One can always try,” retorted Sydar, “ or die in the attempt. I would wager that at least half of these fine young men won’t live to see tomorrow. You will gain nothing from this encounter.”

“Ah, but you are willing to die for your cause,” taunted Salvo. “You must be afraid of telling me something very important then. Like where you sent those dozen men today?”

Corporal Sydar swallowed hard and tightened his grip on his sword. He knew that he had been clumsy and realized that he was now going to pay the price for it. He gazed around at the circle of soldiers and planned which one he would strike first. He knew that he would die in the coming battle, but he would not betray his cause.

A soldier eased up to Colonel Salvo and whispered in his ear as he discreetly handed the colonel something. Salvo nodded and a grin spread across his face. He turned to face the captive with his hands behind his back.

“Drop your sword, Sydar,” demanded Colonel Salvo. “You will answer my questions now.”

“Not bloody likely,” snarled Corporal Sydar. “Why don’t you borrow one of your men’s swords, and we can go man-to-man? Or don’t you have the spine for that?”

“Had you been more observant in your glory days,” sneered Colonel Salvo, “you would have noticed that I refrain from anything that involves chance. I like to win, and I always do.”

As Colonel Salvo finished talking, he brought his hands around in front of him. He held a carefully carved figurine for Sydar to see.

“Of course if you do not wish to talk to me,” snickered Colonel Salvo, “I can find other things to amuse myself with. There is really nothing on my agenda for the next three or four days.”

Sydar’s mouth fell open in surprise. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes as he realized just how foolish he had been. His right eye began to twitch uncontrollably, and he felt his veins struggling to escape his skin.

“You leave her out of this,” croaked Sydar. “She knows nothing that could help you.”

“I am well aware of that,” sneered Colonel Salvo. “I prefer to have helpful information, but if she must be my consolation prize, well that is your decision now isn’t it? You can trust me to make sure that she knows exactly why she is suffering. She will be reminded hourly for as long as she lasts. And that will be a long time.”

Rage raced through Sydar’s body as he pictured his sister undergoing the torture that Colonel Salvo had threatened. Slowly defeat and despair set in. He dropped his sword.

* * *

Three men opened the door to the Grakus Mercenary Company and entered the building. They walked over to the large desk and stood until the men behind it noticed them.

“We were told to ask for Sydar,” one of the new arrivals stated.

“One moment please,” answered the man behind the desk as he rose and walked down a hallway.

The mercenary returned shortly and nodded to the three men.

“Please follow me,” smiled the mercenary as he led them down the hallway.

Half way down the hallway he stopped and pointed to an open doorway on the left hand side.

“If you will have seats in here, someone will take care of you promptly,” smiled the mercenary. “Just have a seat.”

The three men entered an almost bare room with half a dozen chairs against the far wall. As the men entered and crossed the room, the mercenary closed the door. The distinctive sound of bolt being slid shut echoed through the room. The mercenary crossed the hallway and knocked on another door. A voice called for him to enter.

“They have been secured, David,” the mercenary reported.

“Good,” nodded David Jaynes. “It does appear that Corporal Sydar has been compromised. It was bound to happen sooner or later. We have had a good run of it so far. Get a man out to the farm immediately. Notify General Gregor of the situation. I want Sydar’s complete file brought back here tonight. I need a runner to notify Mitar Vidson as well.”

“Anything else?” asked the mercenary.

“Yes,” nodded David. “Have my horse readied. I think I need to have a talk with Stafa Rakech. Have the runner to Mitar invite him as well. If I am not back when Sydar’s file arrives, send it to me there.”

The mercenary nodded and retreated from the room.

* * *

Tedi rode across the stream and continued along the narrow trail. He urged his horse to run faster as he gazed up at the colorful sky that indicated sunset was upon him. He had hoped to catch up to Arik and the Rangers this day, but it did not appear likely that he would.

A few minutes later, Tedi heard a noise behind him and turned swiftly to see if anyone was about. That was when the wood slammed into his head, throwing him to the ground as his horse continued onward.

“Any harder and you would have separated his head from his body, Caroom,” declared Adan.

“You said to stop him,” shrugged the giant of a man. “He is stopped, isn’t he?”

“Yes he is,” Adan shook his head. “Search his body while I gather his horse.”

The redheaded giant-sized man knelt next to Tedi and started removing things and piling them up on the ground. A few minutes later, the black-haired Adan returned with Tedi’s horse.

“He’s a got a fair amount of gold on him,” stated Caroom as his grin split a massive red beard. “I ain’t never seen clothes with so many pockets before. He carries stars, too.”

“I am not surprised,” replied Adan. “A sword, stars, a bow, and this black staff. I guess our young friend must have been expecting a fair amount of danger before him.”

“Well none of it helped him now, did it?” chortled Caroom. “Should I kill him?”

“I would be surprised if you haven’t already with that blow you gave him,” frowned Adan. “No, we take him back to the camp.”

“Why?” frowned Caroom. “We already have everything he owns.”

“Several reasons,” sighed Adan. “One, I want to interrogate him to find out what he knows about us or about the Lanoirian patrols. Two, he had a sizeable amount of gold on him. He might be of use for ransom. Three, because I am the leader of the band and I said so. Why do you always question me?”

“You make things too difficult,” retorted Caroom as he hefted Tedi’s body and draped it over Tedi’s horse. “You know we will end up killing him anyway. Why bother talking to him? You won’t be able to believe anything he says.”

“Perhaps you are right,” Adan shook his head as he mounted his own horse, “but we will still do things my way.”

Adan turned his horse and proceeded along a different trail that climbed up the side of the hill. Caroom followed as he held the reins to Tedi’s horse. After a few minutes of riding, they entered a large clearing that was filled with colorful wagons arranged in a circle. The gypsies all looked up as Adan and Caroom entered the campsite. Murmurs about the body on the horse competed with friendly greetings as Adan halted near one of the wagons. A woman with curly brown hair and a colorful long skirt swept out of the wagon and threw her arms around Adan as he dismounted.

“You brought me a present,” quipped the woman.

“Yes, Natia,” laughed Adan. “I brought myself home.”

“I meant the sleeping one,” Natia playfully pouted.

“I am afraid that Caroom might have tapped him a little too hard,” frowned Adan. “Run and get the healer, Natia. Then we can talk about what you have been doing while I was gone.”

“I never get to do anything,” pouted Natia as she danced off to get the healer.

Adan shook his head and laughed. The rest of the gypsies crowded around Adan as Caroom removed Tedi’s body from the horse and placed it on the ground. Everyone’s mouth opened at once as questions flew at Adan from all sides. Finally he raised his hands high over his head and the gypsies fell instantly silent.

“You have many questions,” Adan said loud enough for all to hear. “All of them will be answered. I have been gone for a long time and have much to tell you, but we shall do this as we have always done this. Prepare a feast!”

Shouts of approval ran through the crowd as the people scattered. Adan chuckled to himself as he watched them scurry about. He turned and walked over to where Natia and the healer were kneeling next to Tedi.

“Will he live, Rax?” Adan asked the healer.

“I believe so,” nodded the ancient woman. “He has a nasty swelling from the hit. No telling what that might do to a man’s brain, but he breathes well and appears to be rather fit. I will give him something for his pain when he awakens.”

“Why did you bring him here?” asked Natia. “It is not wise for bastas to know about us.”

“He intrigues me,” answered Adan as he pointed to the pile of Tedi’s belongings. “Look at him and what he carries. The man is a warrior. Or he is training to be. He is not Lanoirian. My bet is that he is Sordoan. He had many weapons and a fair amount of gold. His clothing looks as if it has been specially designed for long periods of stay in the forest. He was in a great hurry when we spotted him. That means that he is running from something or running to something. In short, this man has a story to tell. I want to hear it.”

“He is still a basta,” frowned Natia. “To keep him here is only asking for trouble. If he is a warrior, then we must fear that he may bring harm to some of our people when he wakes up. We shall have to keep him chained.”

“Then we shall keep him chained,” shrugged Adan. “I know the old ways regarding bastas, Natia. I also think it is time that the gypsies learned new ways. It has been fine for us to keep the gypsies separated from the bastas for generations, but times are changing. Our need to know about what is happening in the world around us is more important than ever. Everywhere I went on this trip, the bastas are preparing for war. There will be no safe hiding places for the gypsies.”

“You are our leader, Adan,” smiled Natia. “You know that I will follow your lead wherever it takes us. All of us will.”

“Most of you will,” frowned Adan as he glanced at Caroom. “Come. Let us prepare for the feast and leave Rax to her work.”

“This is an unexpected visit,” greeted Oscar Dalek. “What trouble brings David Jaynes and Mitar Vidson to the home of Stafa Rakech?”

“We have a security problem,” declared David Jaynes. “We had another squad arrive today for placement at one of the estates. Twelve men were processed and sent onward, but the group’s leader never returned.”

“Who was the group leader?” asked Oscar.

“Corporal Sydar,” answered David. “He is a well respected and loyal Red Sword.”

“What do you think happened to him?” inquired Oscar.

“I am certain that the Targa authorities have him,” frowned David. “Instead of Corporal Sydar coming to my office, three additional men came in asking for him. They are Targa soldiers who work for Colonel Salvo.”

“This is certainly not good,” sighed Oscar. “If Colonel Salvo has Corporal Sydar, how soon will he break?”

“One can never tell what a man’s resistance to torture is,” interjected Mitar. “The Red Swords are a hardy bunch, but every man has his limit.”

“I agree with Mitar,” nodded David. “What I know of Sydar troubles me. He was fiercely loyal to the Queen. I could imagine him dying before he gave spit to Colonel Salvo, but the three men coming to my office indicates otherwise. It indicates that he is already talking.”

“How much does he know?” inquired Oscar.

“Very little about our operations in the city,” replied David. “He was only told to report to me and that he and his men would be sent to an estate. There was no mention of which estate would be his final destination.”

“So the Grakus Mercenary Company is under suspicion now,” concluded Oscar. “That could have grave repercussions.”

“If they suspect David,” added Mitar, “they will have to suspect me and the Koman Mercenary Company as well. Only a fool could not see the similarities of our operations.”

“So we stand to lose both mercenary companies, and the Targa army will start checking on the estates,” summarized Oscar. “You are talking about the total loss of all of our work.”

“You are forgetting that Corporal Sydar also knows the location of the Red Sword farm and the Queen,” added Mitar.

“Blast it,” shouted Oscar uncharacteristically.

The room fell silent until a knock on the door thundered loudly. David Jaynes rose and walked to the door. He opened it and took some papers from a mercenary in the hallway.

“Do not leave,” David ordered the mercenary. “I may have further use of you.”

David closed the door and sat down as he started reading the papers handed to him. As he finished each sheet, he handed it to Mitar who read it and handed it to Oscar.

“Good record,” commented Mitar. “The only negative comment is a rebuke to be more observant. His loyalty does not appear to be in doubt. How did you get his record so quickly?”

“First thing I did was to alert the General that the Queen might be in danger,” stated David. “I requested the file be delivered as soon as possible. It looks like somebody rode rather hard to please me.”

“Is there anything that General Gregor can do to protect Queen Marta?” queried Oscar.

“The Red Swords will fight to the last man,” declared Mitar. “Other than that, what can he do?”

“I have ordered men to watch all of the city gates day and night,” interjected David. “If a large group of soldiers leaves this city, we will be going after them. The Targa army will find itself surrounded. Other than that, we only have to worry about a small number of men getting past the farm’s defenses to assassinate her.”

“Would Corporal Sydar endanger our operation to save his sister?” asked Oscar. “This file says that he has one living in the city.”

“He might,” nodded Mitar. “That would make more sense than him talking to save his own skin.”

David Jaynes took the paper from Oscar’s hand and rushed to the door. He gave instructions to the waiting mercenary to check on the sister and report back.

“We will know soon enough if that is the case,” David said. “That would ring true to my evaluation of Sydar. That might mean that we have two people in the dungeon. I took the liberty of instructing my man to bring the two boys here if the sister is not home. I trust that is acceptable?”