Emerald of the Elves (35 page)

“Good,” laughed Bin-lu. “I was afraid that I would break your spirit with that hit. Still, I do not seek to deceive you. Fighting will require all of your attention and a great deal of practice, but you can do it.”

“At least the practice will keep me from self-pity is what you really mean,” sighed Wylan. “I am under no illusions, Bin-lu. I know that my warrior days are over, but I do enjoy your visits, and the practice has given me something to look forward to each day. I am lucky to have such a friend as you.”

“I am not your only friend,” smiled Bin-lu as he saw Sheri quietly appear in the doorway. “Tedi wants to visit you. He thinks that Natia and Sheri should meet, too. I suggested a dinner together at an inn. I know that you said that you didn’t want to see anyone else, but you do have other friends. Why ignore them?”

Wylan stopped fighting and pointed his staff at the floor. He frowned as he leaned upon it. “Sheri is a wonderful and patient lass,” declared Wylan. “I do not know what I would have done without her, but I cannot expect her to devote her life to a blind man. She deserves better than that.”

“So it is a matter of what she deserves then,” Bin-lu winked at Sheri. “You really don’t feel anything special towards her?”

“That is not true,” protested Wylan. “You know how I feel about Sheri. I have loved her since the day we first met. She is a very special person, but I cannot expect her to waste her life on a cripple. Taking her to meet with Tedi and Natia would be like laying claim to her. I cannot do that to her. Yes, it is about what she deserves.”

Bin-lu saw tears forming in Sheri’s eyes. As she started to walk towards Wylan, Bin-lu started singing loudly.

“What are you singing for?” asked Wylan. “Have you gone mad?”

Wylan finally heard the footsteps behind him and whirled with his staff rising. Bin-lu’s hand seized the staff and held it tightly.

“You do not need that now,” Bin-lu said softly as Sheri’s arms wrapped around Wylan’s neck.

“I think what I deserve is the best, and that is what I have,” Sheri said just before she kissed Wylan.

“I will set up the meeting with Tedi and Natia,” chuckled Bin-lu as he let go of Wylan’s staff and walked out of the abandoned building.

The dwarf entered the rear door of the Fisherman’s Inn in Lorgo. He strode heavily into the common room. His eyes scanned the room and landed on the three men occupying the only table in the room that was not empty. His dwarfish nose swelled in size as he turned his eyes towards the kitchen. The three patrons stared at the dwarf, but averted their eyes when the dwarf turned and looked at them. The dwarf growled under his breath as he strode across the room and sat at the same table as the three patrons. He slammed a throwing axe on the table as he sat down. The three patrons leaned back as their eyes opened wide in fear. Suddenly, the dwarf’s gigantic mouth opened in a toothy grin as his eyes narrowed into slits. The three men scrambled from the table and fled out the front door of the inn.

The noise of their hasty exit alerted the innkeeper. He raced out from the kitchen and stood staring at the dwarf. The dwarf rose and bolted the front door to the inn. The innkeeper started to protest, but the dwarf ignored him and strode to the rear door. The innkeeper ran into the kitchen and returned with a meat cleaver. The dwarf opened the rear door, and people started passing by him. The innkeeper’s mouth fell open as he watched the people enter the common room.

“Merciful blessings!” exclaimed the innkeeper. “I can’t believe that you are still alive. Beware the dwarf.”

“The dwarf is with us, Master Tern,” grinned Arik as he walked over and greeted the innkeeper. “I apologize for his entry, but we did not want any strangers here when we came in.”

Prince Darok shrugged his shoulders and grinned at the innkeeper. Tedi also greeted Esta Tern, as Alex, Jenneva, and Tanya sat at a table.

Esta Tern shook his head and entered the kitchen as the rest of the Rangers sat at the table. He returned with a pitcher of ale and glasses.

“What is the fare today?” asked Arik. “We haven’t eaten yet.”

“Venison,” smiled Prince Darok.

Esta Tern stared at the dwarf and shook his head with wonder. “I didn’t say that I had venison,” he responded.

“But you do,” smiled the dwarf. “I could smell it long before I came in. It smells mighty tasty, too.”

“I guess a nose that big ought to be good for something,” giggled Tanya.

“I suppose so,” smiled the innkeeper. “We haven’t had venison in weeks here. I am surprised that you can smell it over the aroma of the fish that we normally serve. I will fetch you some.”

The innkeeper returned with plates of venison and sat at the table with the Rangers. “I feared that you were dead,” he sighed. “When you left here the last time in search of your fathers, I just knew that it would be the last that I saw of any of you.”

“Our fathers are fine,” responded Arik. “In fact, they now live in Tagaret. Our mothers are with them.”

“Your mothers?” echoed Master Tern. “How can that be?”

“It is a long story,” smiled Arik, “but I thought that you would want to know. They were held by the Lanoirians. Tedi rescued them.”

“That is a wonderful thing!” Esta said excitedly. “I am so happy for all of you. Your fathers must be very happy. Is the fishing any better in Tagaret?”

“Our fathers are not fishermen any longer,” replied Arik. “In fact, they are important members of the Council of Advisors. They live in mansions now. Master Tern, one of my reasons for stopping in Lorgo is to let you know that you are welcome in Tagaret. All of Lorgo is welcome there. You are aware that the Lanoirian army is heading this way, aren’t you?”

“I had heard that the Lanoirians were heading north,” frowned Esta. “Your advice is most welcome, but these people cannot just give up their homes and move to Tagaret. They would have no place to live. How would they survive?”

“I would arrange for homes for them,” offered Arik. “As to surviving, that would not be a problem. There is plenty of work in Tagaret.”

“You have always been a resourceful lad,” smiled Esta, “but you shouldn’t promise things that are not yours to offer. Their lives would be destroyed when they moved, only to find out that your good intentions didn’t quite get fulfilled as you thought they might.”

“I would not offer what I could not fulfill,” ensured Arik. “Have them ask for Konic. He can arrange everything for them.”

“You did say that your father was an important man now,” mused the innkeeper. “How did he get such an important position?”

“Master Tern,” interrupted Tanya, “Arik is the king of Alcea now. He has every right to welcome his friends and former neighbors to Tagaret. He is worried about the advancing army of Emperor Hanchi and what it might do to Lorgo. The Lanoirians will conquer Sordoa.”

Arik shot a look of disapproval towards Tanya for interrupting. Master Tern looked from Arik to Tanya and back again. Confusion and doubt were cast upon his face. Finally, he shook his head and sighed.

“Your imagination knows no bounds, lass,” frowned Master Tern, “but I will believe what Arik tells me. He has never lied to me, and I suspect that he never will.”

“She speaks the truth, Master Tern,” admitted Arik. “It is much too long a story to tell, but I am sure that you are aware that Konic was not my real father. In fact, my real father was Prince Oscar Dalek. I have been crowned the king of Alcea. I can guarantee that the people of Lorgo will be welcomed in Tagaret.”

“This is much for me to swallow,” frowned Esta after a few moments of pondering. “What you say about Konic is true. Many people in Lorgo knew that your mother was not pregnant, but it was not something that we would ever talk about. It is much of a shock to hear the truth of things. Imagine little Arik is the king of Alcea.” Another moment of silence passed, and Master Tern smiled, “Well, the people of Alcea are fortunate. You shall make a fine king. Who can ask for more than a ruler who is honest and caring.”

“So you will come to Tagaret then?” Arik asked hopefully.

“I will inform the others,” promised Esta Tern, “but I cannot leave Lorgo. It has always been my home and always will be. I have suffered through the Sordoans, the rogue armies, and the bandits. I can weather the Lanoirians just as well. Let us not dwell upon it. Where are you off to? Shouldn’t a king being ruling over his country?”

Someone tried to enter the inn through the front door. Tanya rose and peered out of the window by moving the curtain slightly. She hurried back to the table.

“A Dark Rider,” she whispered. “Did you bolt the rear door, Darok?”

The dwarf prince nodded and quietly rose to retrieve the throwing axe he left on the other table. Arik rose and sped up the stairs to the guest rooms above.

“Have there been many Dark Riders around lately?” asked Jenneva.

“No,” frowned Master Tern. “Not since Konic and Alan left town. I can’t remember a one since then.”

“They are supposed to have fled to the north,” mused Alex. “Toresh has been abandoned. This does not bode well for us.”

“You think it is Sarac’s Ravens?” posed Tanya.

“I fear it is,” nodded Alex as he pushed his plate away and stood. “We cannot allow them to make Lorgo into a battleground. It is time for us to leave.”

“They are all over,” announced Arik as he came down the stairs. “They are checking every place on the street. They will find our mounts soon enough. I sent Midge out to use his sleep spell on the one outside. He was heading around the back.”

“We must leave, Master Tern,” declared Alex. “Remember Arik’s offer and little else of our visit.”

“It shall be as you ask,” promised the innkeeper. “I will tell the Dark Riders nothing.”

“Tell them anything you want,” countermanded Arik as he remembered how the Dark Riders had tortured Esta once before to gain information. “Do not expose yourself to harm on my account. I do not want my visit to be your death.”

“Let’s go,” stated Alex. “We need to head inland as quick as we can. Taking the road would be an invitation to battle.”

Prince Darok unbolted the rear door and stepped outside. The Rangers filed out of the inn and mounted up.

“Down the road,” ordered Alex.

“You said inland,” frowned Tanya. “Make up your mind.”

“I said that so that Master Tern would send them the wrong way,” explained Alex.

“You have misjudged, Master Tern,” retorted Arik. “He is stubborn and does not take kindly to demands. He will tell them the opposite to give us time to escape.”

Alex frowned for a brief moment and then said, “Follow me.”

Alex led the way into the woods and angled towards the coast. Just south of Lorgo, Alex turned onto the thin strip of beach and headed southward along the coast. As the Rangers rode single file along the beach, Arik’s mind remembered the day long ago that he and Tedi had fled Lorgo. They, too, had used this escape route. He thought about the small rise that they had spent their first night on. It was the cliff where Garth Shado had killed the Dark Riders who were chasing the boys. His excitement rose as he planned how to use that rise to battle Sarac’s Rangers. Hours later, Alex halted the Rangers on the rise and Arik rode up alongside him.

“I have a plan,” Arik said to Alex. “We can use this rise to attack Sarac’s Ravens.”

Alex smiled at Arik and nodded, “Tell me your plan.”

“There are only two ways to get up here,” Arik began. “If Jenneva and Tanya hold shields over the rest of us, we can hold off Sarac’s Ravens indefinitely. It will be the end of them. No longer will we have to look over our shoulders every day.”

“I have been thinking along those lines as well,” nodded Alex, “but it will not be the end of them. There are twenty Black Devils in that group, and I suspect they are among Sarac’s best mages. Jenneva and Tanya could not hold the shields indefinitely. They would eventually tire.”

“So you don’t think it will work then?” frowned Arik.

“It is a great plan,” smiled Alex. “There are a couple of things we need to do to change it, though. First, our goal will be to weaken them, not destroy them. I do not think we can completely destroy them at this time, but if we can eliminate enough of them, they will be more hesitant to attack us in the future.”

“You said a couple of things,” stated Arik. “What is the other change?”

“I will not be staying with you,” replied Alex. “While the Dark Riders will try to get close to you, the Black Devils will maintain a distance from you. They will not want to get within bow range.”

“So you are going to go to them?” questioned Arik. “Isn’t that a bit dangerous?”

“Of course it is,” nodded Alex, “but it is also necessary. For every mage that I can eliminate, our odds of survival go up. When our shields begin to weaken, you must order the retreat.”

“And leave you out there?” Arik shook his head. “I do not like that idea.”

“We will meet up again in Toresh,” insisted Alex. “Our best chance of defeating this group is to whittle away at them. They have learned to be cautious when attacking us. I want to encourage that feeling.”

“Should I put ropes up like you did to block the entrance path up here?” asked Arik.

“Only on the exit path,” replied Alex. “I have little doubt that word of our tactics here the last time have been spread through the Dark Riders. They will not charge up the path to attack you. They will attempt to engage you with bows while the magicians work to destroy the shields. Before the shields are destroyed, you will retreat. That is when they will charge after you. Do whatever you can to slow them down initially.”

“Why just initially?” asked Tanya.

“Because the Dark Riders will not want to get too far in front of the Black Devils,” answered Alex. “If they cannot catch you immediately, they will wait and regroup. Once you have sufficiently delayed them, ride like the wind towards Toresh. I will meet you there.”

Alex rode off the rise and disappeared into the forest. The Rangers dismounted and began to choose their positions. Tanya led the mounts down the other side of the rise just far enough to string some ropes across the trail at spots that would be hard to see. She returned to the rise and explained what she had done to the rest of the Rangers.