Unicorns' Opal (38 page)

“If we are discovered doing that,” warned Larc, “it could blow the lid off of everything.”

“Then make sure that you are not discovered,” replied Alex. “Create a disturbance at the other end of the city. The garrison at Tice is ill equipped for war without those supplies. The men will be slaughtered.”

“As I promised a few moments ago,” agreed Larc, “you shall have what you need. The ship will sail before the first lightening of the sky. Make sure that you are on it.”

“We shall be,” promised Alex. “I am going to have Kripp start making runs to Capra on Grakus instead of Tagaret. You might want to increase Continental’s runs to Grakus as well.”

“Actually,” smiled Larc, “that is a good cover story for the removal of the goods from the warehouse. We can say Kripp’s agent resold the shipment at a profit. Everyone will believe that the ship is heading towards Grakus with the goods. All we have to do is cover the actual loading of the ship tonight. I will make sure that happens.”

“You are a good man, Larc,” Alex smiled as he rose to leave.

Alex slipped out of the Sword and Shield and walked the deserted streets back to the Empty Keg. He entered through the rear door to avoid the still full common room and silently returned to his room. Jenneva answered the door to Alex’s secret knock and let him in.

“Change of plans,” Alex whispered. “We leave on the same ship before dawn.”

***

“I asked to speak to you alone,” scowled Duke Everich at he glared at the Cidal Mercenaries. “Dismiss these men.”

“I could not dismiss them if I wanted to,” replied Fredrik. “Their contract calls for them to be beside me at all times. Their duty is to protect the Lord of the Manor of Cidal, not to speak of what they hear. I can assure you that what you say to me will be held in the strictest of confidence by my bodyguards.”

“You do not seem too eager to obtain a seat on the Council of Advisors,” growled Duke Everich. “Perhaps I should just leave you with your bodyguards. Do you forget who is paying for this mansion?”

“I have not forgotten,” replied Fredrik as he waved his hand towards the bodyguards. “My appointment to the Council of Advisors is for your benefit, Duke Everich. I have no such aspirations of my own. If you wish, I can order the men to the far corners of the room. I am sure that they have no desire to listen to our conversation.”

“Very well,” sneered Duke Everich as the bodyguards retreated to the far corners. “I want to know exactly what your relationship is with Niki and Dalgar.”

“Niki has long been a friend,” Fredrik answered truthfully. “I have never met Dalgar until this visit to Tagaret. Why do you ask?”

“Does it bother you that Niki is contemplating marriage to someone else,” questioned Duke Everich.

“Somewhat,” nodded Fredrik. “I always thought she would marry me, but she no longer appears to be interested in me. Maybe she will have a change of heart. Why are you so interested in me all of a sudden? I thought my only use was to help get you elected to be king?”

“It is,” smirked Duke Everich, “and you have been doing well in that regard. You are quickly becoming accepted in our society and winning many friends and potential allies. I can make your life in Tagaret very rewarding when I become king, but I must know if your allegiance is to me or Dalgar.”

“Aren’t you and Dalgar after the same thing?” questioned Lord Wason. “I understood that you were both working towards the same goal.”

“For now we are,” scowled Duke Everich, “but I do not trust Dalgar. I believe he has his own agenda, which does not include me. If you ally with me, I will guarantee Niki’s hand in marriage.”

“I am not sure that you can deliver on that promise,” retorted Fredrik, “but I have no reason to go against you in any event. I am sure that I will get over Niki in time and I would not want to wed someone who is less than pleased with the arrangement.”

“Then perhaps I can introduce you to some other fine eligible women who will raise your status in life,” suggested Duke Everich. “I have the ability to make your life very enjoyable.”

“That does sound amenable to me,” nodded Fredrik as he thought that Duke Everich had the ability to make life rather harsh on him as well. “It is not necessary for my support of your bid, but it might be a pleasant diversion.”

“I am glad that we could come to this understanding,” Duke Everich smiled thinly. “We shall talk some more of it at a later date.”

***

Alex knocked lightly on the door and Arik opened it cautiously.

“It is time to go,” Alex whispered. “Gather the others and return to the ship we arrived on yesterday. Do so with stealth.”

Arik nodded and Alex turned to catch up to Jenneva who was already heading down the stairs. He eased out the rear door just behind Jenneva and was met by Prince Midge.

“As you can see,” chirped the fairy, “nobody can hide from the fairies.”

“I wonder how many stables you checked before you found Kaz,” chuckled Alex. “How did the visit with Mother go?”

“Everything will be as you requested,” replied Midge. “There were joyous moments at the meeting when I supplied images for her to gaze upon.”

“So she has been gathered already,” nodded Alex. “It is good that she has been. We must hurry to catch our ship. You can tell me all about it on the voyage.”

Arik, Tanya, and Tedi exited the inn and loaded their packs on their mounts. Jenneva exited the stables and handed the reins for Kaz to Alex and they proceeded to board the ship for Tice. As soon as the Rangers boarded, the crew cast off the lines and the ship slipped away from the dock. By the first lightening of the sky, Tagaret was a distant speck on the horizon.

“I am sorry for the accommodations last night,” Alex apologized to the Children. “It was not the type of inn I care to patronize, but it was the last place anyone would look for us.”

“It was not that bad,” responded Tedi.

“What about the insects?” questioned Jenneva. “Do you get many bites? Do you need ointments for them?”

“Dead bugs don’t bite much,” laughed Arik. “Of course they could have cleaned the room a bit, but I slept well.”

Jenneva stared at Tanya and the girl quickly looked away.

“Well you were luckier than we were,” laughed Alex. “Our bugs were very much alive when we got there. Our early departure is because Duke Everich knows about the garrison at Tice and has stopped all shipping to it.”

“How did he find out?” asked Tedi. “Do you think Kripp would have boasted of it?”

“No I don’t,” frowned Alex. “Kripp has much of his father in him. He would not volunteer information to anyone. How Duke Everich found out worries me, but this ship is loaded with the supplies the men need. I fear that Tice will be attacked soon. That also means our journey through the Disputed Area may be fraught with danger. We should all be prepared for anything to happen.”

“Where do you think we will be going after the unicorns?” asked Tanya.

“It will be somewhere south,” reasoned Alex. “Judging from the size of the clear area over Cordonia, the whole Disputed Area will have clear skies if the Sword of Heavens behaves in the same fashion.”

“The Diamond of Edona should be next,” mused Jenneva. “That is the universe of the humans.”

“How do you know this?” questioned Tedi.

“I do not know it as a fact,” admitted Jenneva, “but the name of the sword is no accident. The seven Universes were Helva, Estara, Aquina, Vasta, Edona, Natona, and Sagina. The first letters of the Universes spells Heavens. Sagina was the Universe of the fairies and the unicorns’ Universe was Natona. It appears that we are going in order backwards.”

“So Edona would be next,” nodded Arik.

“And if we can figure that,” warned Tanya, “then so can others.”

“Yes and as the area of our world that is not under clear skies gets smaller,” continued Alex, “the area that Sarac needs to search to find us will get smaller too.”

“So we are actually making his job easier as we progress,” frowned Arik. “He knows that I must end up in Tagaret and also where the Sword of Heavens will direct us next. These are not comforting thoughts.”

“No they aren’t,” agreed Alex. “I suggest that we continue our daily practice sessions. We will need all of our skills to survive the days ahead.”

The Rangers disembarked and gathered on the dock in front of the Tice Shipping Company. Kripp hurried out of the building to meet the arriving ship and smiled as he approached Alex.

“I am pleased that you managed to find alternate transportation,” greeted Kripp. “The Council of Advisors has issued an order forbidding my ships to dock in Tagaret. Leaving word with our mutual friend was the best notice that I could provide you. I am sorry if this has caused you any difficulties.”

“I am more concerned with the difficulties it causes you,” Alex responded. “Please send someone to get Matt Soligan. I need to see him. This ship also needs to be unloaded. It carries your goods from Tagaret. We are going to get rooms at the Tice Inn. Bring Matt with you when you come. We have much to discuss.”

Kripp grinned at the mention of his goods being on the ship and nodded to Alex as the Rangers headed for the Tice Inn. The inn was fairly deserted, as it was the last time the Rangers had passed through Tice. They procured three rooms and stowed their packs before returning to the common room for a meal. The Rangers were just finishing up their meal when Kripp and Matt walked in.

“Glad to see you again, Colonel,” greeted Matt. “I heard you managed to smuggle our supplies in. We are grateful to you.”

“You will need to utilize those supplies quickly,” Alex replied. “While I do not have any solid information to offer you, my gut tells me that you are going to be attacked soon.”

“Why do you say that?” frowned Matt.

“Because Kripp’s ships were cut off from Tagaret,” explained Alex. “I believe that at least one of the Council members is working for Sarac. Somehow they found out that Tice is rebuilding the garrison. Sarac cannot afford to have an army behind him when his forces attack. It would be a small matter for him to attack here early and remove Tice from the map. There is nobody to come to your aid.”

“Now that makes sense,” scowled Kripp. “I could not figure out why the Council acted as it did. It made no sense to me. I was careful not to mention the reason for my purchases while I was there. How did they find out?”

“I am not sure yet,” admitted Alex. “You need to determine what other supplies you need to withstand an attack and get them up here as quickly as possible. The outer wall must be reinforced as well.”

“That is all well and good to say, Alex,” Kripp shook his head, “but how do we get more supplies?”

“Start running your ships to Capra on Grakus,” smiled Alex. “Continental Shipping will transfer whatever you need from Tagaret.”

“Transfer?” chuckled Kripp. “I will make it easier than that. We will just switch ships with them. I will have some men make up signs for both companies this afternoon. When they get to Capra, the crews will just change signs on both ships.”

“I am sure you can handle the problem, Kripp,” nodded Alex. “You are indeed the son of Fram. Make sure you order enough food to withstand a siege.”

“What do you think will be coming after us, Alex?” asked Matt. “Will it be goblins or men?”

“I really don’t know, Matt,” answered Alex. “It could even be a combination or might include ogres and yaki. You must be prepared for whatever comes. The one benefit that you have is they will not expect you to have been supplied. Perhaps the first force that they send will be too small to complete the job.”

“Well as you said,” Matt continued, “there is not going to be any help coming to back us up. Unless you are staying for the fight, this is probably the last time we will speak.”

“I do not think so, Matt,” rebutted Alex. “I have faith in your men and I plan on coming back this way shortly. As a last resort, evacuate by ship. You should be able to regroup at either Centerport or Land’s End.”

“And let Tice fall?” questioned Matt.

“Having your men behind Sarac is worth more than the garrison,” nodded Alex. “Try to defend Tice if you can, but do not make it your last stand.”

“Where are you going that you plan to be back shortly?” asked Kripp. “There is nothing up here besides Tice.”

“We are going to visit Monoceros, land of the unicorns,” Alex answered. “It is far to the north from here. It will be quite a few days before we return.”

“So they really do exist,” murmured Matt. “Some of the trappers reported seeing unicorns but the other men laughed at them.”

“Oh they exist all right,” smiled Alex. “They are beautiful creatures.”

“You will be exposed to any forces planning on attacking us though,” commented Kripp. “Perhaps you should think about holding up here until after the attack. You will not likely get through beforehand.”

“Time is not our friend,” explained Alex. “This is a matter that cannot wait. We will be off in the morning. Gather every able-bodied citizen and get them armored and equipped. Fortify the outer wall and make sure that it is manned at all times. Prepare as many arrows as you can so that you can slow down their assault on the wall. If you have the materials for catapults, make some.”

“I have the catapults for the ships in the warehouse,” reminded Kripp. “We can use those for starters.”

“What about scouts?” asked Matt. “They would help us know when the attack is coming.”

“If you use scouts,” replied Alex, “give them fast horses and do not allow them to go too far out. Each man behind the wall is going to be valuable. Don’t waste your men by letting the attackers pick them off. The attack will come when it will. If you are always ready, then you will be ready when it comes.”

“It shall be as you command, Colonel,” nodded Matt. “The men of Tice will make you proud.”

“I know they will, Sergeant,” smiled Alex. “Unless you have more questions, I think we should retire early. I fear that we may not get much sleep on the trail this trip.”

Kripp and Matt nodded and excused themselves and the Rangers retired to their rooms.

“I hope there is time for them to prepare,” commented Alex when he and Jenneva were alone in their room. “Perhaps I have read the signs wrong and there will be no attack. What do you think?”