Dwarven Ruby (27 page)

“He is heading towards the dwarves,” interjected Kamil. “I did not get a chance to see him, but the group talked about him a lot. He is with Alex and Jenneva. Tanya and Wylan are with them too.”

“And Prince Midge no doubt,” added Oscar.

“Yes, Prince Midge was mentioned too,” replied Kamil. “Bin-lu wants to join up with them. He had planned to head south after he escorted us here. How he will ever find them is beyond me.”

“Do they know Bin-lu?” asked Oscar.

“Tedi certainly did,” nodded Kamil. “They got along well for the short time that Tedi was with us. I cannot believe how he has grown. I would love to see Arik now.”

“Who is Wylan?” asked Callie.

“We received a message from the boys when they were in Dalek,” offered Oscar. “It seems they met up with Wylan in Cleb. He is around their age, and I guess he has joined up with them. It is getting harder to keep track of all of the new faces.”

“Where does this Master Khatama fit in?” questioned Princess Callie.

“He pretends to be an old merchant,” answered Kamil, “but I think he is something more. Everyone deferred to him during the escape and the trip here. He also used magic to create a cloud of fog during the escape. I suspect he is a magician.”

“If the fairy information is accurate,” interjected Oscar, “he is a magician. A very powerful one, in fact. I knew him under a different name in the past. He could be a great help to us. He is one who could take on Dalgar.”

“I would not count too heavily on his help,” frowned Kamil. “The old man is at the end of his years. It is a shame too because he is such a delightful man.”

“That I would find hard to believe,” chuckled Oscar. “That old man will be around long after you and I are gone.”

“He may be around for a long time,” Kamil shook her head, “but he can barely remember his name. The poor man is losing his memory, and at a pace that is remarkable.”

“What do you mean?” frowned Oscar. “How do you know he is losing his memory?”

“One only needs to spend a short time with him to notice it,” explained Kamil. “One day he would talk about something and the next he had forgotten it. I remember one particular episode that really had us all confused. It concerned that girl Tanya. One day he rambled on about dark elves, bandits, and gypsies. The next day he could not remember how he found Tanya.”

“Maybe he was just making up stories for the campfire,” suggested Oscar.

“Hardly,” Kamil shook her head. “He was talking to Niki about it. She really wanted to know where Tanya came from. Master Khatama told us a whole long story about how he found her and searched for her parents. At one point he even named her parents. They were gypsies. The next day he told a different story about a man with an arrow in his back and a dead horse. I really don’t think you should depend upon his help.”

Oscar’s brow broke out in a sweat and his hands started shaking.

“Do you remember the names of the gypsies?” swallowed Oscar.

“I remember the names,” nodded Kamil, “but there was more to his story that he refused to say, as if revealing it was a matter of life or death or something like that. After that he refused to talk about it and the next day he had totally forgotten it.”

“What were the names?” pushed Oscar. “The gypsies, what were their names?”

“Ora and Beka,” frowned Kamil as she watched the sweat pouring off of Oscar’s face.

“Mercy!” exclaimed Oscar. “After all of these years.”

“What is it?” asked Konic with concern etched into his face.

“I was that man with the arrow in his back,” trembled Oscar.

Sydar frowned as he paid for the room at the Harbor Inn in Miram. His eyes scanned the common room for a moment, and then he took his sister’s hand and led her up the stairs to the room.

“You seem overly nervous,” Emil said softly.

“I am,” Sydar admitted to his sister. “I was told to lose Salvo’s men before entering Miram, but I was not able to.”

“Why is that such a problem?” asked Emil. “We are here and we are safe. All we have to do is wait for the ship with the boys on it.”

“I caused problems for the Red Swords once by ignoring orders,” frowned Sydar. “I will not endanger them again.”

“What can you do about it?” questioned Emil. “You tried to lose them, but I kept doing foolish things like singing when we should have been quiet. I am not used to these games you play. It is not your fault. There is nothing you can do about it now.”

“There is,” retorted Sydar. “Now that you are safely in this room, I will lead the trackers back out of the city. I cannot allow them to see us reuniting with the boys. That will alert them to the fact that we had help in Tagaret. That is all Colonel Salvo needs to return his attention to David. I will not make the same mistake again.”

“No,” protested Emil. “We already wasted a lot of time trying to lose them. If you leave the city now, you will miss the boat. I do not want to go to Tice alone.”

“I must, Emil,” declared Sydar. “I have to lure them out of the city until you leave on the boat. I will make my way to Tice by land.”

“Can’t you just kill them?” asked Emil. “Then we can leave together.”

“They are Targa soldiers,” frowned Sydar. “Not all Targa soldiers are bad men. They are just doing the job they were assigned. Were it Colonel Salvo, I would not hesitate, as he seeks to deny the queen her rightful place, but these men have done nothing wrong. They are just tracking us to report back to the colonel.”

“I thought the Red Swords were enemies of the Targa army now,” puzzled Emil.

“No,” sighed Sydar. “The vast majority of soldiers in the Targa army wish to serve their country as I do. It is the current leaders of Targa that have gone foul. Oh, I imagine that there are a few soldiers who will need to be weeded out of the army, but most of them are young men who will serve the queen proudly when she returns. I cannot kill men like that because I do not want them to report on my travels. I will lead them out of the city while you get on the boat. When they see me head north of the mountains, they will turn around and go home.”

“I suppose you know what you are doing,” resigned Emil. “I don’t like being separated from you, but I know that I cannot change your mind. When will you leave?”

“Right away,” decided Sydar. “Getting you safely in this room was my goal, and you are here now. You can see the harbor from the window, and there is plenty of food in the pack I am leaving with you. The room is paid for two weeks. Do not leave the room for any reason until you see the boys on the ship. Promise me.”

“I think it is silly,” pouted Emil, “but I will promise. Maybe you can lose the men and come back before the ship arrives.”

“I will try,” promised Sydar, “but do not wait for me. Ships to Tice do not normally stop here. David must have pulled some strings to arrange all of this.”

Sydar kissed his sister on her forehead and left the room. He scanned the common room again as he walked down the stairs. He could not shake the feeling of being watched, but nobody appeared to be paying any attention to him. He turned at the bottom of the stairs and exited the inn through the back door. He looked around cautiously as he made his way to the stables. He untied his horse and walked it into the yard.

“Going somewhere?” asked a voice as the Targa soldier stepped out of the shadows.

“In fact I am,” Sydar replied as his hand went to the hilt of his sword and his eyes darted left and right, looking for the other soldier. “I can save both of you a lot of time and effort. I am not worth following and Colonel Salvo will gain nothing for your efforts. Why don’t you return to Tagaret?”

“We can’t return to Tagaret until you lead us to the queen,” sneered the soldier. “We are getting pretty tired with this scenic tour. Why don’t you just tell us where she is and we will let you live?”

The back door to the Harbor Inn slammed shut, and Sydar’s head swiveled to see his sister coming towards him.

“I forgot to kiss you goodbye,” smiled Emil as she ran towards the stables.

The second soldier dashed from behind a shed and grabbed Emil by the hair. He swiftly pulled her close to him and held a knife to her throat.

“Stop this,” demanded Sydar. “You have no cause to hurt the woman. I do not know where the queen is. I could not lead you to her if I wanted to. We are just wandering looking for a new home after being kicked out of Tagaret.”

“If you don’t tell us where the queen is,” threatened the second soldier, “and tell us now, the wench dies.”

“Threatening the woman can’t make me tell you something that I do not know,” pleaded Sydar.

“Then what good is she?” snarled the second soldier as his knife sliced through Emil’s throat.

“NO!” shouted Sydar as rage consumed his body.

Sydar dropped the reins and drew his sword before Emil’s body hit the ground. He swung his sword instinctively and decapitated the first soldier as he raced towards the second soldier. The soldier threw his knife at the approaching Red Sword, and it nicked Sydar’s shoulder before bouncing off.

The soldier swiftly drew his sword, but Sydar was already upon him. Sydar’s first swing severed the soldier’s arm from his body. The sword clattered to the ground, still clutched in the man’s amputated hand. The soldier’s face registered more shock than pain as he backed away and held his other arm up before him, as if to ward off the attack. Sydar’s eyes were wide with rage and he screamed loudly as he attacked the soldier. The soldier’s other arm was severed by Sydar’s furious swing, but Sydar did not stop attacking.

Four Miram soldiers raced into the courtyard, drawn by the screaming. They slid to a halt as they saw Sydar hacking up the soldier’s body. Body parts were spread around the courtyard, and Sydar was on his knees in a large pool of blood. He knelt there plunging his sword, over and over, into the dead body of the Targa soldier. They shouted at Sydar to drop his weapon, but Sydar kept screaming and plunging his sword into the body, as if he was unaware of the presence of the Miram soldiers. One of the Miram soldiers retrieved a large log from the woodpile and snuck up behind Sydar. He brought the log down on Sydar’s head, and the Red Sword fell to the ground.

* * *

The torrential downpour tapered off to a drizzle and Tedi gazed up at the cloudy sky. The light rain felt good on his face, but he longed for a dry spot to change out of his soaked clothes. He inhaled the sweet scent of the wet forest and shook his head. Droplets flew from his hair, and he heard Natia giggle behind him.

“You act like a dog,” she giggled softly. “Perhaps you should sleep outdoors.”

Tedi turned and grinned at her. Adan snapped his fingers to halt the banter, and Tedi returned his attention to the trail. Moments later, Adan held up his hand for caution. The trio rode silently for a few minutes before cautiously entering the clearing where the gypsies had previously camped. The trio dismounted and tied their horses at the edge of the clearing. Adan and Natia walked immediately to the rock map in the center of the clearing. Tedi walked around the circumference of the clearing, staring at the ground. After a few minutes, they all met by their horses.

“Mandal did well,” Adan said approvingly. “The site he chose will be far away from where Caroom leads the Lanoirian soldiers.”

“Should we destroy the rock map?” asked Natia. “Caroom may return to look at it again when he does not find the encampment.”

“That is a good thought,” replied Adan, “except we do not know if the other tribes have seen it yet.”

“Would the tribes come here to read the map?” asked Tedi.

“Only one of their riders would come,” answered Adan. “Gypsies have learned to be cautious. Why do you ask?”

“There have been three separate riders here,” answered Tedi. “Or a group of three riders. I cannot be sure which.”

Natia looked at the churned mud of the clearing and shook her head. “How can you possibly know that?” she asked. “There have been so many horses through here that it is impossible to tell.”

“Difficult,” grinned Tedi, “but not impossible. Most of the tracks in the mud were made from a very large party of riders. I suspect that is the Lanoirian army because one of the tracks is exceedingly deep. Caroom weighs a great deal more than the average rider. It also shows that they were here after it started raining. The wagon trails were made before the rain though. At least we know that the gypsies have a head start on the army.”

“What about the other three riders?” questioned Adan.

“Those three came in from the west,” responded Tedi. “They left the same way. I cannot tell if they were together or not though.”

“Before or after the rain?” asked Adan.

“After the rain,” replied Tedi. “In both directions. In fact, they came after the army.”

“Impressive,” smiled Adan. “Someday I must learn about the rest of your skills. The gypsies send one rider ahead of the tribe to read the rock maps or to check on a campsite. Three tracks would indicate that all of the tribes have seen it. I think we can safely destroy it.”

“What bothers me,” posed Tedi, “is that the Gypsy tracks are clear to read, and yet the army left in a different direction. If Caroom is trying to lead the soldiers to the gypsies, why didn’t they follow the tracks?”

“Following gypsy tracks is a good way to get lost,” laughed Adan. “While it is not easy to hide the tracks of a passing wagon, we have learned ways to lead followers astray. Always the track will meander and at some point will pass by a lookout. The lookout is a short distance from the new camp, but a long distance if you are following the tracks. We would have sufficient time to prepare an ambush, or move the camp again before you got there.”

“Clever,” nodded Tedi. “I think there is much that I can learn during my stay with the gypsies.”

Adan frowned at the thought of Tedi and Natia leaving the gypsies, but he was resigned to it. He walked back to the rock map and scattered the stones.

“How do the rock maps work?” asked Tedi. “Do they show the direction of travel to the next set of stones?”

“No,” replied Natia. “The maps describe a place. The size and position of the stones matter greatly. When Mandal changed the map, it described a totally different place. It will be hard for the Lanoirians to find the new campsite, even with Caroom’s help.”