Dwarven Ruby (40 page)

“No,” the king smiled warmly, “thank you. You have made my decision easy. With only five of you going to Tor, you will need Sydar to help you. May your quest bring light to the world.”

“This is your party of five?” King Yanto expressed surprise as he looked at the Alcea Rangers.

“Do not let their looks deceive you,” nodded Alex. “You would be hard pressed to find a better fighting force than this group.”

“Introduce me,” ordered the king.

“My wife Jenneva,” introduced Alex.

“Jenneva is well known,” nodded King Yanto. “I do imagine that she could take the place of several warriors.”

“Wylan is from the army of Southland,” continued Alex. “I would wager that you heard of what happened down there?”

“Yes,” frowned King Yanto. “The spreading of disease is a coward’s method of fighting. May the prophet’s own people succumb to it before any more innocents are harmed.”

“Arik is the Prince of Alcea,” announced Alex. “The time will soon be upon us when he is crowned as king.”

King Yanto nodded his head to Arik in a show of respect. “You are the king mentioned in the prophecy?” asked the king.

“I am,” Arik answered, “although I choose not to dwell upon it. It is something that the Ancient Prophecy has put upon me, and not of my choosing.”

“Then you are the grandson of King Byron?” questioned King Yanto.

“That is correct,” nodded Arik.

“And this is my…,” Alex began. “This is Tanya. That is our party, King Yanto.”

“They are so very young,” commented the king.

“We were all young at one time,” smiled Alex. “You were in the army at their age, as was I.”

“Yes,” laughed the king, “but it seems so long ago. Age changes one’s perception of things. Do you not fear taking the young lass into the wilds of Tor? She is even younger than the poor lass who was murdered here recently.”

“I have no fears about taking Tanya anywhere,” smiled Alex. “Were it Tanya in that courtyard, she would have saved Corporal Sydar the trouble of punishing the aggressors.”

“Bah,” frowned the king. “Are Targa soldiers so weak now that you can expect a young lass to take them on in pairs? I mean at least Sydar was a Red Sword. He had the skill and training necessary to take on multiple opponents.”

Alex merely smiled at the king, but Tanya stiffened at the insinuation.

“Are Miram soldiers less-trained than Targa soldiers?” quipped Tanya.

King Yanto frowned at Tanya’s remarks and Alex sighed.

“We are guests here, Tanya,” Alex said softly. “The king meant no affront to you.”

“And none was taken,” Tanya smiled at King Yanto. “Still, it is dangerous to judge a warrior by her stature and gender.”

“Your point is well taken,” laughed King Yanto. “You do have the spirit of a warrior, but your words cut both ways. Do not underestimate Miram’s loyal soldiers, either. Would you care for a bout before your journey? I could arrange for one of our recruits to test your meddle. It would limber up your young body for the long trail ahead.”

“Perhaps on our next visit,” offered Alex.

“A recruit would hardly be fair,” Tanya replied while ignoring the stare from Alex. “Perhaps those two over there would be more sporting.”

King Yanto followed Tanya’s gaze to the group of soldiers standing at the rear of the room. “You are a feisty one,” chortled the king. “I admire that in a man. Even more so in a woman, but I will not embarrass you in front of your friends. Taking on two of my men would hardly be sport between friends.”

“You are right,” Tanya nodded. “I was trying to offer a quick demonstration to change your perception of woman warriors, but three of them would be more sporting.”

“Enough, Tanya,” scowled Alex. “We are guests of King Yanto, and you are behaving poorly. You must learn to control your emotions in regards to what you consider slights towards your gender. The king has meant no disrespect.”

Tanya nodded submissively to Alex.

“I have meant no disrespect,” confirmed King Yanto. “However, she has raised the level of my curiosity. Perhaps my views are outdated towards women and weapons. If that is true, it could be a failing that could bring harm to my rule. Can she really fare well against a man?”

“She is very skilled,” nodded Alex, “but she lets some issues affect her more than they should. It is something we will work on until she learns to control her emotions.”

“Skilled enough to survive a bout with three soldiers?” quizzed King Yanto.

Alex nodded as he realized that the king was going to ask Tanya to live up to her words. “May I suggest staffs,” Alex sighed. “There is no need for blood to be spent for sport.”

“Staffs it is then,” the king announced merrily. “It has been some time since I watched a good bout.”

King Yanto called for three volunteers as the Rangers spread out in a circle. The gathered soldiers all came forward, softly bickering about who would get to perform for the king. Finally, the king picked three men at random and the rest joined the circle as spectators. Tanya removed her sheath and tossed it to Arik. She stood casually waiting for the soldiers to prepare for the bout.

“No debilitating strikes,” announced the king as he moved to stand next to Alex. “If you are forced outside the circle, you are out of the bout. Let the fun begin.”

All three of Tanya’s opponents moved swiftly while the king’s words were still echoing through the room. They all went directly for Tanya’s hands with hard upward movements. Tanya’s staff was knocked from her hands, and it flew high over the heads of the soldiers. She felt a throbbing in her left hand as she stared at the gloating faces of the soldiers. King Yanto was laughing hard while he watched from the circle.

Tanya reached out and grabbed the staff of one of her opponents. She pushed hard on the staff and then pulled even harder. The soldier lost his footing and fell backwards, as Tanya yanked the staff from his hands. As soon as she had a firm grip on middle of the staff, she dove towards the two remaining soldiers. She aimed for the space between the two standing soldiers and rolled between them, her staff extending to each side of her. The staff caught the two soldiers below their knees, and the men tumbled to the ground.

Tanya leaped to her feet and ran towards the staffless soldier as he rose. She lowered her staff towards the floor as she neared him and then leaped into the air. Her foot slammed into the chest of the soldier, sending him flying into the men forming the circle.

“One down,” Tanya muttered to herself as her mind drifted to the pain of her throbbing left hand.

Her other two opponents had regained their feet and their staffs. They circled warily after seeing their teammate kicked out of the ring. As the two men split up to keep Tanya between them, Tanya stood erect and twirled her staff over her head. She pushed the pain of her hand out of her thoughts and focused on the eyes of her closest opponent. She detected the faintest of nods from the man as she heard the movement behind her. Tanya stepped forward and brought her staff down hard. The man in front of her brought his staff up to block the blow, but he only succeeded in deflecting her swing. It was exactly as Tanya had planned.

She allowed her staff to slide along the length of his staff while dropping to a squat. She felt the air above her head move as the man behind her swung and missed. Tanya pivoted towards the man behind her and shoved her staff into the man’s stomach. She rose forcefully as she pushed the man backwards. As she felt the man beginning to lose his balance from the driving force of her advance, she suddenly shoved the staff backwards and was rewarded with a cry of surprise from behind her as the other man doubled over and dropped his staff.

Returning her attention to the man she had been pushing towards the circle of spectators, Tanya tapped him hard in the left shoulder with the end of her staff. She swiftly followed up with another hard tap to his right shoulder. As the man struggled to regain his balance, Tanya placed her staff in the center of his chest and pushed him into the crowd of spectators.

Tanya immediately hit the floor and rolled away as the sound of a swinging staff sliced through the air over her head. Her left hand throbbed anew as the weight of her rolling body pressed down upon it, catching it between the staff and the floor. The pain distracted her long enough to allow her last opponent another swing as he chased her across the floor.

Tanya raised her staff to deflect the man’s swing, as she lay on her back. The man’s swing was hard and vicious, and Tanya felt her staff vibrate from the blow. Instead of retreating and initiating another blow, the soldier tried to force the staff from her hands. Tanya felt a searing pain shoot through her left hand as she tried to match the strength of the man’s constant pressure on her staff.

Rather than continue the battle of pressure, Tanya eased up. She allowed her staff to strike the floor and immediately brought it back up as the man’s staff swung clear. She sat up and shoved the tip of her staff at the man’s hands. He danced backwards as she rapped his knuckles, and Tanya leaped to her feet. She slid her staff so her hands gripped the center, and advanced towards the soldier. He tried to take advantage of his longer reach, but Tanya met each of his swings as she continued advancing towards him.

The soldier began backing up to maintain the distance between them. He alternated high and low swings, seeking an opening in Tanya’s defense. On one of his high swings, Tanya ducked under it and advanced swiftly. She pummeled his waist with alternating left and right swings as he tried to adjust his hold on his staff. As he fought to bring his staff down, Tanya raised her arms and slammed her staff into the bottom of his arms. The staff tumbled from his hands. Tanya pivoted to one side and slid her staff into the man’s chest. She pushed with all of her strength, and the man tumbled backwards into the arms of his fellow soldiers.

“Magnificent!” shouted King Yanto. “I have never seen a lass fight so well. Perhaps I should search my realm for women warriors.”

The last opponent to leave the ring walked up to Tanya and handed her staff to her. “That was a good bout,” smiled the soldier. “You should be very proud of you performance. You fought like a man today.”

“Really?” smiled Tanya. “Perhaps I should start practicing more frequently then.”

The man’s puzzled frown gave way to laughter as he shook his head. “Any more practice and you will give a bad name to the fairer sex,” chuckled the man. “That hand looks rather bruised. Shall I summon a healer for you?”

“No, thank you,” smiled Tanya. “The pain will remind me to expect the unexpected. Your opening move was quite clever. Have you practiced that before?”

“We have,” nodded the soldier. “It can be quite effective for disarming your opponent right at the start of a match. Your comeback was quite original. I think we will be experimenting with variations of that in the weeks to come. Will you be returning to Miram after your journey? Perhaps you would enjoy some practice with us?”

“I would enjoy the practice,” nodded Tanya, “but we are never sure of our future path. Perhaps one day it will come to pass.”

“Well,” announced King Yanto. “That was an interesting start for the day, but I guess the fun times are over. You have a long journey ahead of you, Alex. Shall we see if our prisoner is amenable to a journey?”

Alex nodded and King Yanto led him to the dungeon. Alex looked through the small window and saw Sydar curled up in a ball on the floor.

“He hasn’t moved,” frowned Alex. “Open the door.”

King Yanto nodded to the guard and the door was unlocked. Alex opened the door and walked into the cell. He knelt next to Sydar and placed his hand on the man’s shoulder.

“It’s time to go, Corporal,” Alex declared softly.

There was no response and Alex shook Sydar’s body. Sydar looked up at Alex. His eyes red and swollen and he appeared to stare right through Alex.

“Let me be,” Sydar croaked. “Just let me be.”

“I can’t let you be,” Alex said softly. “You need to get yourself together. I am taking you out of here.”

“Go away,” insisted Sydar as he tried to brush Alex’s hand away. “Go away and let me be.”

“Are you so intent on wasting away in this cell?” Alex asked harshly. “Is that how a Red Sword handles a problem?”

“A Red Sword doesn’t fail,” snapped Sydar. “What do you know about Red Swords anyway? Go away and let me die.”

“I have seen many a Red Sword fail,” retorted Alex, “but never have I seen one abandon those who need him.”

“Nobody needs me,” snarled Sydar. “Go away.”

“I can’t do that,” Alex responded. “I told Darin and Daevo that you would meet them in Tice. They need you.”

Sydar’s body twitched and he stared at Alex. “Where are they?” he asked. “Has the ship come yet?”

“I arrived on it,” nodded Alex.

“Are they with you?” questioned Sydar as he sat up.

“No,” Alex shook his head. “The ship waited an hour for you and then left for Tice. You will have to get there by land.”

“Then they don’t know about Emil,” sobbed Sydar as tears ran from his eyes.

“No, they don’t,” agreed Alex, “but they must suspect something is wrong. They are smart lads, but they need you now more than ever.”

“I can’t do it,” sniffed Sydar. “I just can’t.”

“You can and you will,” Alex barked harshly as he rose to his feet. “Get up now. Tice has already been attacked once by goblins, and you are needed there. Darin and Daevo need you as well. Move, Soldier.”

Sydar stumbled to his feet and stared at Alex. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Alexander Tork,” replied Alex in an authoritative voice. “Get yourself together. We need to be on the trail as soon as possible.”

“Tork?” echoed Sydar. “Here? Why are you here?”

“I will tell you on the way,” stated Alex. “We need to put some trail behind us. Your horse is outside with your gear.”

Sydar nodded slowly as he gazed out of the cell and saw King Yanto watching him. He subconsciously straightened and smoothed out his clothes.

“There is a room upstairs where you can clean up and change,” offered the king. “This soldier will show you the way.”