Search for Audric (16 page)

"I apologize," Talot said softly as he urged Gunnar forward. "Do not think that all Lomites are as brash as Mishrak. His father was killed by a foreigner, and he has never accepted that sometimes death comes to good people."

"I understand," Gunnar replied sincerely. "Too many good people have died, and that is about to increase dramatically. Do you know what representative of the Council will meet with me?"

"I do not," answered Talot. "Why does it matter? You are either guilty or innocent of the charges. There is no other choice."

"It matters a great deal to me," replied Gunnar, "for the one who invited me is named Balitardi."

Talot reached out and grabbed Gunnar by the shoulder, effectively halting him.

"You have been invited?" puzzled Talot. "Why then do you waste our time on this trek? You could have revealed this at the brambles."

"I could not," Gunnar shook his head. "This is not something that I can explain to you, but it is important for me to speak to the Council anyway. I carry important news that they must hear."

"Tell me your name," demanded Talot, as Mishrak noticed that they were no longer following.

"I cannot," Gunnar shook his head. "I will not lie to you, and I must not reveal my identity. Balitardi will understand."

"What game does he play now?" scowled Mishrak as he walked back towards Talot and Gunnar. "Does he feed you with more lies of innocence? Perhaps it is I who will have to report to the Council to explain how you allowed the foreigners to walk all over you."

Talot's fingers went to his mouth again. The series of whistles he produced made no sense to Gunnar, but Mishrak began arguing about the special treatment the foreigner was getting. That alone gave Gunnar a warm feeling.

The three men remained stationary for several minutes. Eventually a series of whistles drifted through the air. At first, Gunnar thought there was an echo, but it made no sense, as the second set was louder than the first. He nodded thoughtfully when he realized that the Lomites were relaying the messages. The returning whistles that he had heard were from two different people.

"Your request will be granted," Talot said to Gunnar. "Balitardi will come personally. I truly hope that you are not abusing our hospitality."

"I am not, nor would I," Gunnar replied.

"We shall see," Talot replied skeptically. "Continue onward, Mishrak."

Mishrak made no comment, but he turned and began leading the group through the jungle again. The trails were extremely narrow, and Gunnar would have had a hard time seeing them if he had been merely roaming through the dense foliage. He began to understand how a man could easily get lost in such an environment, but Mishrak knew exactly where he was going. They trekked onward until the darkness of the setting sun cast a pall over the jungle. Gunnar realized that it would soon be too dark to navigate. Suddenly, Mishrak stopped and made a hard right turn. He led the group into a small glade surrounded by giant hardwoods. Vines ran from tree to tree and moss hung over everything. In the center of the glade sat two stone benches with a large space between them. Sitting on one of the benches was an elderly man with stark white hair. Gunnar smiled when he saw him.

"Greetings, Balitardi," Gunnar bowed slightly. "I thank you for allowing me to meet with you."

"Do I know you?" the councilor's eyes narrowed. "You do not seem familiar to me."

"I knew it," Mishrak said victoriously as his spear began to lower towards Gunnar. "You have been led around by your nose, Talot."

Talot stepped forward and grabbed Mishrak's spear and ripped it out of the man's hands. The giant's powerful arms bulged as he bent the spear. With an earsplitting crack, the thick shaft of the spear broke in two. Talot threw both haves into the foliage.

"You will show respect within this sacred place," scowled Talot. "The prisoner is to be respected until the Council rules otherwise. Leave us."

One of Balitardi's eyebrows rose at the confrontation, but he said nothing. Mishrak looked to the councilor for a reprieve, but he received only an empty stare. The Lomite glared at Talot for a moment and then stomped out of the clearing.

"Was that called for?" Balitardi asked Talot.

"Mishrak has been threatening the foreigners since they were discovered," nodded Talot. "This man may be a trespasser, but he has acted with respect and a fair amount of knowledge of our laws. I await your decision on his disposition."

"So the charge is trespassing," Balitardi nodded. "What is your name, stranger?"

Gunnar looked briefly at Talot before answering. He had wished to speak to the councilor in private, but he realized that that was not about to happen.

"I am Prince Antion of Arin," declared Gunnar. "At the funeral of King Eugeon in Tarent, you invited my father, King Caedmon of Arin, and his family to visit Lom."

Balitardi stared at the prince for a long time without speaking. His eyes traveled over Prince Antion as if memorizing every inch of him. Finally, he shook his head.

"How you came to this knowledge," Balitardi stated, "I do not know, but I did make such an invitation. I have two problems with your supposed invitation. First, I have no reason to believe your claim of identity, and second, you were not present to hear the words I uttered. That means that you merely have come into some information that you think will allow you to trespass. You are sorely mistaken."

"May I reach for my pouch?" asked Prince Antion.

Talot moved to stand before Prince Antion, and the councilor nodded his approval. The prince very slowly opened his hidden pouch and extracted his royal ring. He gently handed it to Talot who presented it to the councilor.

"This does appear to be proper," mused Balitardi, "but it could also be stolen."

"The first day of the meeting," Prince Antion stated, "you wore a robe with a dark green hue. The next day you wore brown. It was on the second day that you extended the invitation to my father. King Caedmon said that he would be pleased to accept your invitation, but that it might be some time before he could arrange it."

Again the councilor's eyebrow rose. "How do you know these things?" he asked. "Had the Prince of Arin been present, I surely would have been introduced."

"And you should have been," nodded the Arin prince. "When my father and King Hector saw the defensive soldiers manning the walls of Tarent, they became rather uneasy. We have been blessed with so many years of peace that it is hard for any of us to imagine anything else, but my father has what he calls a gut feel, and that gut feel told him that something was not right in Tarent. He instructed me and Prince Derri of Salacia to don full-face helms. Without stating our identities, we accompanied our fathers into the Royal Palace. I am sure that most people assumed that we were bodyguards, and in a sense we were, but that is why you do not recall my presence there."

"And is it normal for the Prince of Arin to travel in such a condition as yours?" Balitardi questioned, obviously unconvinced.

"No, it is not," admitted Prince Antion, "but these are not normal times. There is much happening in the Land of the Nine Kingdoms that I do not think you are aware of. One of my reasons for requesting to speak to you was to inform you of impending war and other deceits being perpetrated by one of your neighbors."

The councilor said nothing for a long time as darkness claimed the glade. Talot lit four torches and the light from the flickering flames illuminated things somewhat, but the long shadows on the councilor's face made it impossible to read his expression."

"The prisoner is to remain here for the night," Balitardi commanded as he rose. "See that he is here in the morning."

Without another word, the representative of the Council of Lom walked into the darkness.

The Lomite guards kept a distance from the three prisoners, but their attention was never diverted. As the sun set and the sky grew dark, Kerzi reclined on the ground and closed his eyes.

"Can you believe that he is going to go to sleep?" whispered Monte as he nodded towards the old man.

"What should he do?" shrugged Horst, his hand absently stroking the back of his head where his tail used to hang. "We are being held captive, but we have not been threatened in any unusual way. Let the old man rest."

"I guess you are right," sighed Monte. "We will need all our strength and speed to get out of this trap."

"Do not think of trying to escape from the Lomites," Horst warned. "We would never get very far."

"We just killed fifteen trained warriors," retorted Monte. "There are not that many natives guarding us."

"We killed men who attacked us with the intent of killing us," Horst shook his head. "These Lomites are merely guarding their country. You cannot equate the two. I will not raise my sword against these men unless they attack us first."

"Go easy on the lad, Horst," Kerzi whispered, his eyes still closed. "He has never killed a man before today. It was a hard thing for him to accept, and now you are making fine distinctions about when it is right or wrong to behave as we have."

Horst smiled as he turned to stare at the old merchant. He turned his gaze to Monte and caught the archer averting his gaze.

"There is no shame in what we did today," Horst explained. "Those men came looking for a fight with murder on their minds. It was not a question of whether or not men were going to die; it was a question of whether the deaths would be theirs or ours. One must always protect himself if he has not wronged another."

"Yet you will not raise your sword against the natives?" puzzled Monte. "They also came with our deaths on their minds. What is the difference?"

"The Lomites came to secure their borders against trespassers," Horst pointed out. "We broke their laws. While one might argue that their penalties for such an infraction are harsh, they have a valid claim against us."

"So we just accept our deaths, and that is the end of it?" balked Monte. "I cannot do that. I would rather die fighting for my life than to submit to an unfair and cruel death."

"I did not propose dying meekly at the hands of the Lomites," corrected Horst, "rather I urge against violence as the only solution. No sane man willingly submits to death for no reason, but there are other approaches to the problem that confronts us, and Gunnar is working on a solution. Give him time to plead our case peacefully."

"Time?" Monte echoed anxiously. "Night has already overtaken us. I fear he has already been killed."

"My friend is not dead," Horst replied with conviction. "Believe in him as you believe in yourself. You will not be disappointed."

"Have you known him a long time?" Monte asked after a lapse of several silent minutes.

"Since we were children," nodded Horst. "We spent many summers together, not just the two of us, but a group of us. We all became friends, but Gunnar is something special. I do not know how to explain it, but there is something different that draws me to him. It is as if I am destined to intertwine my life with his."

"I think I understand what you are saying," nodded Monte. "I have only known him a few days, but I have already felt a similar pull on my destiny. From the first night, I put my life at risk to protect a stranger. It was as if I existed solely to save him. It made no sense to me, but to hear you say such things is even stranger."

Kerzi's eyes opened wide as he listened to the conversation. His mind began to review his own feelings about the compassionate warrior he had hired in Capri.

* * *

Prince Antion awoke with the first rays of the sun as they struggled to penetrate the dense canopy of the jungle. The glade was a dim flickering of shadows, and the foliage beyond the glade was dark and foreboding. The prisoner sat up and stretched as he yawned. As he had expected, his yawn resulted in the immediate appearance of a Lomite guard. The man stood near the entrance to the glade, his eyes scanning the early morning darkness. After a cursory glance, the guard withdrew.

Moments later the Arin prince looked up at the sound of people approaching. He stood up as Talot escorted six men into the glade. One of the men was the councilor, Balitardi, and it soon became clear that the others were councilors as well. Prince Antion nodded to each man in turn as they entered the glade.

Balitardi nodded in return. "I hope your sleep was restful and your dreams intense."

Prince Antion's mind immediately flashed images of the dreams he had had during the night's sleep. They had not been pleasant dreams at all. In fact, the dreams had been a continuous, yet disjointed, stream of interactions with the dark prince. The Arin prince felt as if he had died numerous times during the course of the dreams. He seemed to recall the dark prince cackling evilly each time the Arin prince died.

"They were intense," Prince Antion nodded while he wondered if the glade was magical.

"Legend has it that the Glade of Dreams has that effect on people," smiled Balitardi, "but not everyone has experienced such things."

The councilor waved for Prince Antion to be seated on one of the long benches. As the Arin prince complied, the six councilors sat on the other.

"You have made claims before this council," Balitardi began. "You have also intimated at having knowledge of deceit and treachery which threatens the people of Lom. We will now hear of the information you possess."

"War is coming to the Land of the Nine Kingdoms," Prince Antion began. "I do not understand the reason, but Borunda is gathering soldiers to form a great army. Further, a prince of Borunda is raising spies in the great cities of the land. Some nations are already aware of this information, but others are woefully ignorant of the coming disturbance to the reign of peace."

"And you have taken it upon yourself to deliver word of this impending war to the nations of the Land of Nine Kingdoms?" questioned Balitardi.

"Not exactly," Prince Antion shook his head. "For some reason, this dark prince of Borunda has targeted me for death. I swear to this council that I have not, in any way known to me, offended this dark prince or the nation of Borunda."

"How have you been targeted?" asked Balitardi.

"On our return to Anatar from the funeral of King Eugeon," Prince Antion began, "our party of twenty-four, consisting of the Arin and Salacian escorts, came under attack by fifty bandits in the woods of Capri. Not only is such an audacious attack unprecedented in the current history of the Land of the Nine Kingdoms, but I also saw the dark prince with my own eyes during the attack."

"Your eyes could have deceived you," remarked one of the councilors.

"Such an error is always possible," nodded Prince Antion, "but I would argue against this being such a mistake. A couple of weeks later I saw my own likeness in the marketplace in Koar, one of the great cities of Borunda. They had posted a picture of me requesting my apprehension. There were also many posters calling for the able-bodied men of the realm to join the army. That is public proof of the desire of Borunda to raise an enormous army."

"Such is not a violation of law," shrugged a councilor.

"It is not a violation," Prince Antion agreed, "but neither is it necessary in a time of peace. I am sure that Councilor Balitardi can attest to the decidedly military reception at the funeral of King Eugeon?"

"A king was assassinated," replied Balitardi. "One cannot fault a new regent for taking precautions. I took no offense from it."

"Is that all the information you possess?" a councilor asked, as if he were wasting his time sitting in the glade.

"The dark prince was recently seen in Caxon," offered Prince Antion. "He was concealed under a hood, but I recognized him. He was in the process of hiring a spy for Borunda. That very spy was apprehended later that night and arrested by the authorities. He was showing a likeness of me to innkeepers and asking if I had been seen. The following day, my party was encamped on the Caxon-Kyland Road. In the early morning, we saw this spy and the dark prince ride away from Caxon in the company of thirty riders. Knowing that they sought me, my party decided to travel on lesser-known trails to avoid them. That is how we came to enter Lom. Half of those riders backtracked in an attempt to find us. We did everything we could to avoid the encounter, but in the end we had to stand and fight. It was on the fringe of Lom where we made our stand."

"So you were not coming to Lom as the result of an invitation?" accused a councilor.

"No," sighed Prince Antion, "although I still assert that an invitation had been extended to me. I will not lie to you. We only entered Lom in a bid to remain alive. We have no desire to trespass upon your lands."

"I am told that you travel as a warrior for a lowly merchant," one councilor's eyes narrowed. "Is this true?"

"It is accurate," confirmed the Arin prince. "I have taken the job of warrior for a poor merchant as a way to travel without bringing notice upon myself. It has not been done for nefarious purposes, but rather to preserve my life as I search for answers to these puzzles."

The six councilors began talking among themselves. Prince Antion could sense that there was a fair amount of disagreement among them. After a prolonged and hushed conference, the councilors stood. Five of them filed out of the clearing, leaving Balitardi alone with Talot and Prince Antion.

"The conclusion of the council is that you have spoken the truth as you know it," Balitardi declared. "The council does declare that your invasion of Lom was intentional, but it also acknowledges that you have the weak defense of an issued invitation. I say the defense is weak because it is only pertinent to you, and not your fellow travelers."

"But they are part of my group," protested Prince Antion. "You cannot spare me and condemn them. That is not acceptable."

Balitardi's lips pressed tightly together with impatience, and the Arin prince fell silent.

"You have many admirable traits, Prince Antion," stated Balitardi, "but I think your imagination may run wild at times. It is the council's desire that you return home to your father, but it is not our responsibility to command it. I have managed to get the council to agree to release you and your party. You will be free to leave our lands, but be aware, you no longer have an outstanding invitation to visit Lom. I wish you well on your journey."

Balitardi turned to leave the glade, but Talot moved close to the councilor, and they talked in hushed tones. Prince Antion was unable to hear the conversation, but it appeared to have an agreeable conclusion as Balitardi nodded as he left the glade.

"Come, Prince Antion," Talot said curtly. "I will take you back to your people."

"Thank you," replied Prince Antion. "May I ask a favor of you?"

"A favor?" echoed the giant.

"Some of my traveling companions do not know me by my proper name," Prince Antion said softly. "This is as much for their own safety as mine. I am known as Gunnar to them and would appreciate it if you would address me in that manner in front of them."

The large Lomite stared at his prisoner for a moment and then slowly nodded. Without another word, Talot led Gunnar out of the glade.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky when Gunnar reached the marsh where his friends had been captured. Kerzi, Horst, and Monte rose to their feet as Gunnar and Talot entered the clearing near the brambles. Talot spoke softly to the Lomite warriors, and they faded into the foliage.

"You are alive," grinned Monte. "I feared you would not return. Did they hurt you?"

"The Lomites were good hosts," replied Gunnar, "especially considering that we intruded upon their borders. We are to leave immediately and not return."

Horst had already untied the horses and was smiling as he led them towards the break in the brambles. Talot had picked up their weapons and stood handing them out. Everyone's spirits appeared high.

"Get on," Monte called to Kerzi as he leaped atop his mount.

"I will walk," Kerzi shook his head. "It will feel good to stretch these old legs."

Monte shrugged and rode through the brambles. He was the first to arrive at the wagon and checked it out thoroughly. Horst and Gunnar followed close behind.

"What happened to the bodies?" asked Gunnar.

"The Lomites buried them," answered Horst. "What happened back there?"

"I had to reveal my identity," Gunnar answered softly. "Even at that, they were skeptical of my words."

"They thought you were lying?" frowned Horst.

"No," Gunnar answered. "They made it clear that they thought I believed every word, but they do not believe what I said is actually the truth. Lom will be unprepared for war when it comes."

"Do not take that as a given," comforted Horst. "Lom has never been an aggressive nation, but neither has it ever been conquered. The swamps and jungles act as a natural deterrent to aggressors. Even the ancient Odessians discovered that."

"We shall know the answer in time," shrugged Gunnar. "For now, we have other worries. Only half of Zinan's men attacked us. Where is the other half?"

"Hard to say," mused Horst. "We are only halfway to the junction with the road leading to Oran, even though we have already spent more time than the trip normally takes from Caxon. I am beginning to question the wisdom of traveling on these secondary roads. We are just giving the dark prince more time to find us."

"I agree," nodded Gunnar. "We will rejoin the Caxon-Kyland Road at our earliest opportunity."

The two princes turned at the sound of a commotion at the wagon. They saw Kerzi on the seat arguing with Talot who was standing alongside the wagon. Gunnar and Horst immediately rode towards the wagon.

"What is the problem?" asked Gunnar.

"This great hulk wants to ride with us," scowled the old man. "I think he does not trust us to leave Lom and not return."

Gunnar looked questioningly at the giant. Talot smiled sheepishly.