Unicorns' Opal (27 page)

“One additional rule,” scowled Tanya as she reached into her pack. “I win the fight and the men you send to Tagaret have to wear these.”

Tanya tossed the soft cap that she had worn to impersonate the Cidal Mercenaries. Captain Grecho picked the hat up an looked at it.

“It is the right color scheme,” he murmured, “but I think my men would take offense.”

“Trust me,” smiled Arik, “they will be proud to wear it. It will become a sign of your best fighters.”

Captain Grecho stared at Arik and then the hat. Finally he shrugged and laughed. “Let it be so then,” he agreed. “There is little chance of the lad winning. Shall we begin the fun?”

Captain Grecho rose and led the group out of the inn. He shouted instructions to his men and they immediately dismounted and secured their horses. A large ring of human bodies was constructed and Captain Grecho walked over to an extremely large man. He talked briefly to the man and laughed as he pointed at Tanya. Alex stepped close to Tanya and whispered in her ear.

“The man will depend upon his great strength,” Alex whispered. “His first stroke will be to smash your sword. Do not hold it taut, but let his power push the sword instead. Better yet, if you can move the sword out of his way after he commits himself, he will be off balance.”

Tanya nodded and Alex continued, “Remove your cap when you need the distraction. It will shock the brute. Main thing is to get him on the ground. Good luck.”

Arik handed Tanya a wooden sword and she walked into the circle. The huge mercenary grinned and entered the ring as the other mercenaries shouted “Craggy”.

Tanya walked several paces into the ring and stopped. She held her long wooden sword with her hands below her waist and the tip stretching high in the air. She looked very inexperienced and Craggy roared with laughter.

“This will hardly work up an appetite,” laughed Craggy as he slowly lumbered towards Tanya. “Lad, you should have stayed at the inn.”

Craggy walked right up to Tanya and swung his sword hard. Tanya smoothly let the tip of her sword drop to the ground and Craggy swung at the air. Tanya swiftly raised the tip of the sword between Craggy’s legs and she heard him exhale loudly as he doubled over. Tanya stepped back and swung her sword at Craggy’s hands. He yelped and dropped his sword and the crowd roared with laughter. Tanya kicked his sword away and danced past him as she swung the flat of her sword against his rump.

Craggy straightened and rage filled his face. Tanya had danced to the far side of the circle and one of the mercenaries kicked Craggy’s sword back towards him. The giant picked up the wooden sword and held if before himself. He charged towards Tanya, intent on skewering her with the point of the sword. Tanya sensed the crowd behind her parting and knew she was in trouble. She stared at the charging figure and wondered if she had provoked him a little too harshly. Even with wooden swords, being speared by the charging giant would mean death. The crowd was no longer laughing and Tanya knew that Craggy was not going to stop his charge until she was impaled on his sword.

Swiftly, Tanya tore off her cap and threw it towards the charging Craggy. Tanya saw Craggy’s eyes open wide as her golden locks cascaded down her back. She tucked her sword in along her body and threw herself to the ground as Craggy towered over her. She grunted from the impact of his boots as his feet slammed into her body. She rolled away as he was falling and swiftly jumped to her feet. Craggy was sprawled on the ground and his sword was still sliding along the ground away from him. She raced over as Craggy tried to get up and slammed her boot into his rump, slamming him back to the ground. She brought her sword around and placed the tip at the back of Craggy’s neck. There was silence for a long moment and then the crowd rippled with applause. Tanya backed away from Craggy and let him stand up.

“I thought you would kill me for sure with that last charge,” Tanya said softly.

Craggy turned towards Tanya, his face red, and Tanya thought he would start fighting anew. Instead, Craggy stuck out his huge paw towards Tanya.

“You have taught me a lesson that I shall not soon forget,” Craggy said as his face broke into a smile. “Several actually. Never let appearances fool you and never let rage dictate your movements. Well fought, lass.”

“Thank you,” smiled Tanya as she grasped his hand.

Captain Grecho entered the ring and took both of the wooden swords. “Well fought, both of you,” he nodded. “Now you can join the crowd and watch the next bout.”

Captain Grecho tossed a wooden sword to Alex as he entered the ring. Craggy and Tanya joined the circle and murmurs broke out among the mercenaries about the coming battle. Captain Grecho moved around the circle warily, waiting to see what Alex would do, but the Ranger stayed still and watched Captain Grecho. The mercenary captain soon realized that he had to make the first move. Alex watched Captain Grecho’s eyes as he approached and he was ready for the swing when it came.

Alex blocked the swing as the wooden swords crashed together. Captain Grecho recovered quickly and swung for Alex’s head. Again the Ranger merely blocked the stroke. The bout continued with Captain Grecho attacking and Alex defending as if Alex intended on wearing the mercenary down. Eventually, the mercenary captain attempted to spear Alex in the stomach and Alex was forced to react. Alex jumped to one side and brought his sword down hard on the captain’s hands. A line of blood appeared on Grecho’s hand, but he managed to maintain his grip on the wooden sword. Alex followed with a slap of the wooden sword to Captain Grecho’s face as he looped his leg behind the mercenary and tripped him. Captain Grecho went down hard, but he maintained his grip on the sword and prevented Alex from moving in for the kill.

Alex swiftly backed away from the mercenary and allowed him to regain his feet. Captain Grecho flexed his smarting fingers and scrambled to his feet. The mercenary approached warily, his sword slashing in a figure eight as he closed the gap separating the two warriors. The blows from Captain Grecho were fast and furious when they came and Alex strained to block each one in time. Captain Grecho finally feinted with a lunge and Alex jumped to the side. The mercenary’s sword swung to the side in an attempted to snare Alex, but the Ranger managed to block it. Alex backed away quickly and put distance between the mercenary and himself.

Alex saw that the mercenary’s movements were beginning to slow and he smiled grimly to himself. As Captain Grecho closed on Alex once again, Alex stepped forward just before the mercenary was within range. He locked his wooden blade with the mercenary’s and pushed it towards the hilt forcefully. His sword slapped Grecho’s sore hand again and Alex stepped in close and pushed the mercenary backwards. As Captain Grecho stumbled backwards, Alex slapped his hands again with the sword and succeeded in dislodging the sword from his opponent’s hands. Alex twirled and caught the side of Grecho’s head with his sword. He stepped forward again and kicked the mercenary’s feet out from underneath him. Swiftly, Alex placed his sword to the throat of Captain Grecho.

“I concede,” sighed Captain Grecho as his empty hands rose.

Alex dropped his sword and extended a hand to the mercenary. “You are a good warrior,” complimented Alex. “I am glad we were playing with wooden swords.”

“As am I,” chuckled Captain Grecho as he grasped Alex’s hand and rose. “I did have to see how good you were just once. I am impressed. My men will leave for Tagaret as soon as we can find a seamstress to make the new hats.”

Alex laughed and slapped the mercenary on the back. “You will be the talk of Tagaret,” chuckled Alex. “Keep the boy safe,” Alex said more softly. “I fear that someone will try using him. Never let him out of your sight.”

“We shall,” promised Captain Grecho. “Will you stay the night and discuss the events since the Collapse?”

“Another time,” promised Alex. “We may have some Dark Riders after us and it is best if they do not catch up to us.”

“Well we have not seen you,” smiled Captain Grecho. “Must be you went in another direction.”

Alex thanked the mercenary and indicated that the Rangers should mount up. Within moments the Rangers were on the road out of Cidal. When they were clear of the city, Tanya rode up next to Alex.

“Were you going easy on him?” Tanya asked. “It seemed like you were just waiting for him to slip up.”

“I was waiting for him to tire,” admitted Alex. “I do not like exhibition matches because they expose your tricks. I did not know how Captain Grecho would take his defeat. It might have ended in a real fight.”

“So you were toying with him then,” nodded Tanya.

“No,” corrected Alex. “He is a very skilled fighter. If I had to attack him or I was in a hurry to leave, that fight could have turned out much different. It is much easier to defend than to attack. Often we do not have that luxury open to us though. I am glad about the way it turned out. The Cidal Mercenaries can be of great help to us. You did very well yourself today. I am proud of you.”

“I had a good teacher,” beamed Tanya. “Do you realize that Fredrik may end up using the mercenaries against us?”

“The thought has crossed my mind,” nodded Alex. “That is one bridge that we will have to deal with later. Hopefully, we will know more of his intentions when we return to Tagaret.”

Alex rode quietly into camp and sat next to Jenneva. Alan and Tedi were battling Arik and Konic in team matches.

“Where is Tanya?” Alex asked softly.

“She went for a walk,” Jenneva answered. “She practiced her archery for a while, but when the team fighting began she decided to leave.”

“They are relearning their skills well,” commented Alex as he watched Alan and Konic. “I see that the boys have been teaching them some tricks too.”

“Yes,” smiled Jenneva. “They fit in well. They are enthusiastic about helping their sons.”

“I wonder if that will last when Arik gets to meet his real father?” pondered Alex.

“I think Arik considers Konic to be his real father,” responded Jenneva. “It will be awkward for the boy. Oscar’s name comes to your lips more frequently in the last few days. I know you well enough to understand what that means. When are we going to look for him?”

“Soon,” frowned Alex. “The time has come when I must seek him out. I have been thinking of going alone, but I wonder if he should not be confronted with his son at the outset. I do not know how Oscar will react.”

“Or how Konic and Arik will react,” added Jenneva. “There are times that I curse this Ancient Prophecy. Tearing families apart is not the way life should be.”

“No, it shouldn’t be this way,” agreed Alex. “A day does not pass that I do not think of our child. I wonder if we shall ever meet before I enter the battle that will end my life.”

“Put away such morbid thoughts,” pleaded Jenneva. “Your skill is the best there has ever been. You will not perish easily.”

“Easily?” echoed Alex. “No, but I will perish eventually. It takes only one slip in battle for a foe to end my days. I will not delude myself into thinking that I cannot be beaten. The moment that I believe such nonsense is the moment I will be struck down. Every day must include practice and searching for tricks that will increase my skills. I can never cease striving to be a better warrior than I am, but soon the aging process will affect me and my value as a warrior will diminish.”

“I have wondered about that,” murmured Jenneva. “It has been seventeen years since we embarked upon this quest, yet you do not appear to have aged very much at all. Nor have I. I have been thinking about that a lot since learning that Fram died. All of our old friends that we meet seem to have aged much more than we have.”

“Fram was an old man when I met him in my youth,” countered Alex. “We should not be surprised that he passed on.”

“And what about General Gregor and Larc?” questioned Jenneva.

“The General has aged,” agreed Alex, “but again, he is older than us. Larc is probably stressed from his work with the Spiders. How could we possibly be aging less than the others? It would make no sense.”

“That is the argument I have been having with myself,” frowned Jenneva. “What about David Jaynes and Mitar Vidson?”

“They did appear older to me,” frowned Alex. “It must be just how we remember them though.”

“I don’t think so,” rebutted Jenneva. “Do you remember the last time we saw Egam?”

“Of course,” nodded Alex. “It is a day I can never forget. I had just learned that we would have a child.”

“Yes and the day we learned of the Ancient Prophecy,” added Jenneva.

“That too,” nodded Alex. “We were in a small hut in Sorelderal and I thought you were sick. Then I found out you were pregnant and Egam mysteriously appeared and told us of the Ancient Prophecy.”

“Do you remember what Egam did after he told us of the Ancient Prophecy?” asked Jenneva.

“He disappeared,” answered Alex.

“Before he disappeared,” continued Jenneva, “he gave us each a vial to drink. Do you remember that?”

“Yes,” Alex answered after a long pause. “What was it?”

“I don’t know,” replied Jenneva, “but I never saw such an elixir when I studied under him. I went through every alchemy recipe that he had and that was not one of them. I am beginning to wonder if he might have tried to prolong our lives to assure that we would be around to find the Children.”

“Is that possible?” queried Alex.

“I do not know,” confessed Jenneva. “Remember that Egam had regained some of his knowledge as the Mage by that time. If it is possible, the formulation of that elixir has been lost through the ages. It is the only thing that I can think of for the slowness of our aging.”

“Unless it is just your perception that we are not aging as fast as the others,” retorted Alex. “I guess only time will tell.”

Prince Midge flew down and landed on Alex’s shoulder. “I see the Bringer is instructing the others in the ways of warfare,” chirped the fairy.

“I would not let the others hear that description of their practice,” Alex laughed loudly.

The fighters heard the laugh and called an end to their practice. They gathered around Alex and Jenneva as Tanya walked into the campsite. Prince Midge flew to Arik’s soldier.