Dwarven Ruby (39 page)

“We will,” the twins promised in unison.

Alex rose and went to the gangplank where Tanya was holding Kaz’s reins. Alex took the reins and nodded to Jenneva. Together they marched into Miram with the other Rangers behind them.

“You are beginning to like this father routine,” giggled Jenneva.

“They are fine lads,” replied Alex. “I wonder what happened to their father?”

“That is a question that is repeated all too many times today,” frowned Jenneva. “Are we heading straight out of the city, or staying the night here in Miram?”

“Wylan’s stomach can use a rest before we start riding,” answered Alex. “I think we will spend the night in Miram and get an early start in the morning. The Harbor Inn over there looks fit enough for one night.”

Alex led the way to the stables of the Harbor Inn. He frowned and shook his head at the bloodstains on the grass nearby. While the Rangers tended to their mounts, Alex entered the inn to pay for the three rooms.

“I can only let you have two private rooms,” declared the innkeeper. “The rest are taken mostly.”

“Mostly?” chuckled Alex as he paid for two rooms.

“Well,” shrugged the innkeeper, “one room is paid for, but nobody is staying there. Still, he might come back so I should keep it open for him. It is already paid for.”

“We can survive with two rooms,” responded Alex. “We will need five meals as well.”

“Grab a table before they fill up,” suggested the innkeeper. “Venison or cod tonight. You get your choice as long as they last.”

“Thank you,” nodded Alex as the Rangers entered through the back door.

Alex looked into the common room and saw one table open. He waved to the Rangers and sat at the empty table. Arik and Wylan sat opposite Alex while Jenneva sat on the same side of the table. A grinning Tanya squeezed in between Alex and Jenneva.

“We could only get two rooms,” Alex said softly. “You will be staying with us tonight, Tanya.”

Tanya nodded silently as a girl came to take their order. Alex ordered the venison, and he looked around the room as the rest of his party ordered. He let his ears drift to the conversations going on around him.

“She was a right good looking woman, too,” a man behind Alex said. “I can understand how the poor man must have snapped. They were despicable scum that would murder a young woman that way.”

“Snapped?” replied a second voice. “He didn’t just snap. I heard it took several soldiers to pull him away from hacking up the bodies. There were body parts all over the courtyard. I heard they couldn’t tell which parts belonged to which Targa soldier.”

“Well none of them belonged to that Sydar chap,” responded the first voice. “They found a Red Sword uniform in his bag. I imagine taking on two regulars army chaps was nothing to him. You don’t mess with a Red Sword. Not and live to tell about it. He proved that saying to be true, he did.”

“What is King Yanto going to do with him?” asked the second voice. “Do you think he will hang him?”

“Darn shame if he does,” replied the first voice. “From what I hear though, the man doesn’t care if he dies or not. They say he went stark raving mad.”

Alex tapped his fingers on the table to get everyone’s attention. He then signaled the Rangers to be quiet and rose from his seat. He walked out of the building and reentered. When he entered the common room, he seated himself at the table with the two talkative men. He nodded to the men and let them continue their conversation, waiting for an appropriate opening.

“Sorry,” apologized Alex, “but I could not help overhearing your conversation. I noticed the blood on the grass out by the stables. Is that where this happened?”

“Yup,” nodded one of the men. “Right out back. They even doused the courtyard with buckets of water, but that mess won’t clean up anytime soon. Most horrible thing I ever saw.”

“I guess this Sydar was grieving awfully hard,” mused Alex. “What will the king do with him?”

“Hard to say,” pondered the man. “King Yanto doesn’t care for violence in the city and is usually pretty harsh with his punishments. Still, it’s hard not to feel sorry for the chap.”

“Plus he was a Red Sword,” added the other man. “King Yanto has a high regard for the Red Swords, even though we aren’t part of Targa any more. Still, he can’t just let him go. No, sir, not with what he done. Suppose he decides to hack up someone else?”

“Would you like your meal served here?” asked the girl as she stood by Alex with a plate of venison.

“No,” Alex said as he rose. “Perhaps I should eat later.”

Alex turned and walked out the back door of the inn. Tanya was only seconds behind him.

“What are you going to do?” asked Tanya.

Alex looked down the alley and saw the ship pulling out of the harbor. He frowned and shook his head.

“I was hoping to talk to the king and get Sydar on that ship,” sighed Alex. “I am not sure what to do now, but I must speak with King Yanto.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” questioned Tanya. “If Sydar is truly a murderer, I would think that you would not want your name associated with him. Or will you use an alias?”

“For once I think my real name might help,” mused Alex. “As for Sydar, I don’t know what to do, but I cannot just abandon him.”

“But he almost endangered the queen,” responded Tanya. “Why do you feel obligated to intervene on his behalf?”

“He is a Red Sword, Tanya,” Alex replied softly. “He made a mistake in Tagaret, but he also revealed nothing of importance. It would have been easy for most men to tell Colonel Salvo what he wanted to hear to rescue his sister or himself. A man should not die for avenging his loved one’s death. Go eat. I will return later.”

Alex walked out of the courtyard and headed for the large castle on the side of the hill overlooking the harbor. He saw the ship streaming northward as he climbed the hill. Although the sky was already turning darker, Alex imagined that he could see the two ten-year-old boys standing on the deck wondering where their mother and uncle were. He wiped the tears from his eyes and approached the gates to the castle.

“I would like to speak with King Yanto,” announced Alex as the guards stopped him at the gates.

“It is late in the day,” declared one of the guards. “Is he expecting you?”

“No, he isn’t expecting me,” answered Alex. “Still I would appreciate it if he could spare me a few minutes tonight. I plan to be leaving early in the morning.”

“King Yanto is one for retiring early,” the guard shook his head. “I will ask, but I think you would have better luck in the morning. What name shall I give him?”

“Alexander Tork,” answered Alex.

Both guards stiffened and stared at Alex. One of the guards shook his head while pawing his chin.

“I heard you were dead,” the guard stated suspiciously.

“If I was,” sighed Alex, “I would have no need to speak with King Yanto. Please ask him if he will see me. It is rather important.”

The guard nodded and ran off. Within moments, there was a crowd of guards standing near the gates. They were all staring at Alex and whispering among themselves. Alex turned around and stared at the city below him. A few moments later, the guard returned and opened the iron gates. He escorted Alex into the castle. A dozen guards moved to flank Alex as he was led to the throne room. There were no introductions made as the guard led Alex to stand a safe distance before King Yanto.

“Thank you for agreeing to see me,” bowed Alex.

“One can hardly refuse the chance to see a legend,” retorted the king, “but are you truly Alexander Tork?”

“I am, Your Highness,” answered Alex, “but call me what you may. I have come to speak to you about an unfortunate incident that took place within your kingdom. I speak of the matter of Corporal Sydar of the Red Swords.”

“Do you know this Corporal Sydar?” asked King Yanto.

“Not personally, Your Highness,” replied Alex, “but I do know of him, and why he was here. I arrived on the ship that was to have taken him to Tice.”

“Tell me about Corporal Sydar,” ordered the king. “Tell me why he was in my city, and why he committed such a heinous act.”

“There is a movement underway in Tagaret to return the queen to power,” Alex began. “The current Council has squandered the wealth of the city, and people are starving. Corporal Sydar was involved in that effort to restore Queen Marta to the throne. He was captured by the Targa army and imprisoned. The Red Swords managed to get him released and ordered him to go to Tice.”

“So there is civil war in Tagaret?” asked the king.

“No,” Alex replied. “Every effort is being made to avoid a conflict. The change in power is to be accomplished peacefully.”

“But still you have the Targa army pitted against the Red Swords,” frowned King Yanto. “You do realize that it was two Targa soldiers that Corporal Sydar murdered?”

“That is what I heard in town,” nodded Alex. “I also heard it was in reaction to the murder of his sister. One can hardly hold a man accountable after he was forced to witness such a thing.”

“You can say that only because you did not witness the brutal murders,” the king shook his head. “Sydar did not merely kill the Targa soldiers. He mutilated their bodies.”

“I heard that as well, Your Highness,” frowned Alex. “It is not a sight I would like to view, but I have seen men snap from the pressures of battle before. They do things that they would never do normally. Believe me that the Red Swords would not accept into their ranks a beast who took pleasure in performing such an act.”

“I can believe that,” nodded the king. “I have great respect for the Red Swords. Still, I do not wish to be involved in a conflict with Tagaret over the disposition of this man. It was Targa soldiers that he killed.”

“Soldiers that were acting outside their authority,” noted Alex. “Tagaret has no authority to sanction the murder of an innocent woman within your kingdom.”

“I grant you that,” nodded King Yanto. “Still, Corporal Sydar is beyond redemption in my opinion. The murder was brutal and beyond anything civilized. Can you give me one reason why I should spare the corporal’s life?”

“I can give you two,” answered Alex. “Darin and Daevo. They are two young lads who were on the ship with me from Tagaret. The woman who died, Sydar’s sister, was their mother. Corporal Sydar is their only known kin.”

“You do have the heart of Alexander Tork,” smiled the king as he waved the guards away. “Come with me, Alex.”

The king led Alex through the corridors of the castle and down a flight of stairs. He knocked on a thick door and a guard opened it. King Yanto led Alex into the dungeon and stopped before a cell door with a small barred window in it.

“Look in there,” the king said softly.

Alex looked through the small window and saw a man curled into a ball on the floor. A plate of untouched food sat on the cot, which had not been slept in.

“He has been like that since we placed him in there,” whispered the king. “He will not eat. He does not talk. He lies in a ball and cries. What am I to do with him?”

“I have seen it before,” frowned Alex. “It is a man who no longer cares if he lives or dies. Some would even thank you for putting him out of his misery. In fact, he might even thank you as you hang him.”

“But you would not be one of those who would thank me, would you?” asked the king.

“No, I wouldn’t,” answered Alex. “The man made a mistake, but he does not deserve to die for it. There are good people in the world who still need his skills to protect them. There are still two young boys who need to be raised to uphold the values that Sydar has clung to in this evil world. No, I wouldn’t sanction throwing this man’s life away just because he has come to an event that he can not handle.”

“It may surprise you,” smiled King Yanto, “but I feel the same. It is why your corporal still lives. My problem is that I do not know what to do with him. I cannot just turn him loose to strike down someone else.”

“Give him to me,” suggested Alex. “I will take him out of your kingdom in the morning.”

“And take him where?” asked the king. “I cannot be responsible for foisting my problems onto some other kingdom.”

“He will be welcomed in Tice,” replied Alex. “I know people there who will help him recover his life.”

“Will you take him to Tice personally?” asked King Yanto.

“Not all the way,” frowned Alex. “My task takes me to Tor. I shall see him to the Boulder Mountains at least. There is little beyond the mountains that he could harm, and I hope to aid in his recovery long before he gets that far.”

“You do not want to go to Tor,” warned King Yanto. “The people there will not welcome you. They are a strange and warlike lot. And if that is not enough to dissuade you, man-eating dragons roam the skies up there. Nothing can be worth the danger that trip will bring.”

“The defeat of the Dark One is reason enough to make me go,” declared Alex. “It is something that I am resolved to do.”

“How many are in your party?” asked the king.

“We are a party of five,” replied Alex. “That is without Corporal Sydar.”

“Let us leave these dungeons,” chuckled King Yanto. “I can see that you are determined to burden yourself with the corporal.”

“I must,” Alex nodded as the king led the way up the stairs and into a sitting room.

A servant brought two glasses of wine for the king and his guest. The king gazed at Alex as he sipped from his glass.

“So you really think that you can defeat Sarac?” asked the king.

“It must be done,” nodded Alex. “The world cannot survive under his Darkness for long. At least the humans can’t.”

“I have heard that the Darkness has been defeated north of here,” remarked King Yanto.

“And to the west,” nodded Alex. “Also far south in Lanoir. The Ancient Prophecy is upon us.”

“May I presume that you have had something to do with this?” inquired the king.

“I travel with the Children of the Ancient Prophecy,” nodded Alex. “We shall either succeed or fail soon enough.”

“Stop here in the morning on your way out of the city,” smiled King Yanto. “Bring Sydar’s horse with you. He will need it.”

“Thank you,” smiled Alex.