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"How did your father die?" asked the Arin prince.

"I don't know," shrugged Jared. "He sent me to the market one day, and he was gone when I returned."

"Then how do you know that he died?" asked Kerzi.

"Why else would he not return?" replied Jared. "I waited for weeks for him to return, but he never came back. He would have returned if he were alive."

"Are you sure?" questioned the giant. "Sometimes parents don't come back for other reasons. Maybe he was imprisoned, or he got lost?"

"No," Jared replied emphatically. "My father would never get lost. He knew trails that no one else knew. It would have been impossible for him to get lost."

"There is still imprisoned," offered Talot.

"My father was a good man," Jared shook his head. "He loved me dearly. He told me so every day. He would never steal or attack anyone, so there was no reason for him to be in prison, and he would not abandon me. Death is the only thing that would have kept him away."

Tears welled up in Jared's eyes, and Talot decided to move the conversation away from the lad's father.

"It is hard being off on your own," smiled the Lomite, "but you have learned to take care of yourself rather well. Our horses looked well cared for when I saw them in the stables. You must take your duties very seriously."

"I do," Jared nodded vigorously. "When there are not any customers for the stables, I clean it up and repair things. Many customers have complimented me on the cleanliness of the stalls."

"What of your mother?" asked Gunnar.

"I never had one," frowned Jared, "at least none that I ever knew. My father never spoke of her, and he never seemed much interested in women."

"So it was just the two of you in the house then?" probed the Arin prince.

"We had no house," answered Jared. "We lived in the woods."

"Surely, your father provided some type of roof over your head?" frowned Kerzi. "Maybe you didn't think of it as a house at the time, but it must have been something. You haven't lived in the woods for fifteen years."

"No house," Jared shook his head. "It would not have made sense anyway. We always kept moving around. Why would anyone build a house and then leave it?"

"You roamed all over Salacia without ever having a roof over your head?" Talot asked with disbelief.

"Not Salacia," answered Jared. "We lived in Capri most of the time. Sometimes father would tell me that we were in Arin, but that wouldn't last for long. We would cross back over the river and return to Capri."

"Then how did you get here?" asked Gunnar.

"After my father died," explained Jared, "I didn't want to stay in Capri. The people hunters there were mean and nasty. I like Arin much better, so I left and walked to Anatar."

"People hunters?" questioned Talot.

"He probably means bandits," interpreted Kerzi. "Capri is loaded with them, and the lad is correct. Most of them are a mean and nasty bunch."

"Not the bandits," Jared shook his head. "They hardly ever bothered us. We had nothing for them to steal. Why would they waste their time?"

"Then who are the people hunters?" Talot asked.

"They are men who hunt people," replied Jared. "Father could always tell when they were in the area. Whenever they arrived, we moved onward."

"Why didn't you stay in Anatar?" asked the Arin prince. "Surely, you could have eaten better there than you do here."

"It was a big city," shrugged Jared. "There were too many people for my likes. I found a family that was moving to Kyland, and they let me travel with them, but it wasn't much better, so I kept on going. Some days I walked along the Caxon-Kyland Road, and some days I rode a ways with travelers. One of those travelers stopped here, and I liked it. It is a fine town. The people are really nice to me."

Gunnar rose from his chair and approached the bed. Talot tensed, but Jared did not. The Arin prince kneeled beside the bed and placed his arm next to Jared.

"I want you to place a single finger on my arm," instructed Gunnar. "If I flinch, pull it away, otherwise keep it there. Will you do that?"

Jared look confused by the request, but he obeyed. Gunnar braced himself for a burning feeling, but all he felt was a tingle surging into his flesh. He concentrated on the feeling and tried to analyze it, but he could not.

"Do it to Talot's arm now," Gunnar requested as he rose and sat down on the chair.

Talot knelt next to the bed and extended his arm. Jared obediently touched the Lomite's flesh and Talot shrugged.

"What is the purpose of this?" Talot asked Gunnar as he stood up.

"Did you feel anything?" asked the Arin prince.

"I felt Jared's finger touching my arm," answered the giant. "What was I supposed to feel?"

"I don't know," sighed Gunnar. "I felt a tingling sensation. I cannot describe it, but I am sure that I felt it."

"I felt it, too," interjected Jared. "It felt like a ripple of dull pain to me, sort of like when you stub your toe or cut your finger. Do you know how pain feels when a wound is new? It sort of pulses."

"Do you mean that touching me hurt you?" asked Gunnar.

"No," replied Jared. "There was no pain involved, but the way the sensation moved through my finger was similar to how pain feels. It throbbed and tingled."

"Do you wield the Talent?" asked Talot.

"Me?" balked the lad. "No. The Talent is evil. If I knew magic, I would throw myself off a bridge. Father called it a curse."

"I think we should leave Jared to rest," Gunnar said suddenly as he rose.

"I must get back to the stables," Jared responded. "I don't want to lose my job."

"You stay in bed," ordered Talot as he made for the door. "I will speak to the innkeeper and explain your need for rest today. Tomorrow is soon enough for you to return to the stables."

The three men left the room and closed the door. They went down the stairs and informed the innkeeper that the lad was not fit to work. The innkeeper grumbled until Talot placed a few coins in the man's palm. Gunnar chose a table in the common room far away from the kitchen. They ordered a pitcher of ale and sat silently waiting for the innkeeper to serve it. When the innkeeper had returned to the kitchen, Gunnar spoke softly.

"There is something very strange going on," he said. "That lad looks exactly like the dark prince, and his voice is also the same, not quite as polished, but the same nevertheless."

"What are you thinking?" asked Kerzi. "Tell me you are not scheming to impersonate the dark prince with this lad."

"That idea has merit," chuckled the Arin prince, "but it was not on my mind. No, there is some affinity between the lad and me. I do not know what it is, but I do know that what I felt is not normal, and Jared felt it as well."

"Yet you tried to kill him," reminded Talot.

"I did," nodded Gunnar, "and I am grateful for your intervention. I thought I only had seconds to defend myself before the dark prince's spells struck me down. That also brings up another peculiar thing. I swung my sword at Jared, and the sword stopped short. How do you explain that?"

"Your conscience got the better of your mad rage," suggested Talot.

"No," Gunnar shook his head. "I did not stop the swing. In fact, I would have been incapable of stopping it. One cannot halt a swing so suddenly. It was as if my sword struck some protective barrier, but not one hard enough to cause my sword to bounce back. It was more like some huge invisible hand streaking out and grabbing my sword. I could not move it."

"I had no trouble taking it from your hands," Talot pointed out.

"I know," nodded Gunnar. "Do you think I would have allowed you to do that in my state of mind if I had any control over it?"

"No," Talot replied with a new understanding of what had transpired outside the inn. "So you are saying that the lad is magical, but he denies it. Is he lying?"

"I don't think so," replied Gunnar. "His feelings towards the Talent were heartfelt. That is why I suggested that we leave. Some day Jared is going to learn that he has the Talent within him, and I don't want him to kill himself because of it."

"There is no way for you to help him," shrugged Kerzi. "It is out of your control. You talk as if the lad will discover the Talent within him during the few days that we are here, but it is more likely to occur long after we have left."

"I think Gunnar is thinking along different lines," Talot replied with a suspicious glance at the Arin prince. "Am I right?"

"We can't leave him here," sighed Gunnar. "Somehow the mystery I seek to solve is wrapped up in that lad. We must take him with us."

"I do not wish to spend the rest of my days protecting Jared from you," Talot shook his head. "This is a bad idea."

"I thought he was the dark prince at the time," Gunnar defended himself. "Now that I know differently, I will risk my own life to save his. Jared will have nothing to fear from me."

Kerzi had slept late again, but a broad smile covered his face as he came down the stairs and walked to the table where Talot sat.

"I thought you would sleep all day," greeted the Lomite.

"Some things are to be savored," grinned the merchant. "At my age one must take advantage of a bed when it is available."

"That hardly means sleeping the day away," Talot replied humorously.

"Where is Gunnar?" the old man asked as the innkeeper slid a plate of food before him.

"With Jared in the stables," answered Talot, "just like yesterday. He treats the lad like a mother treats a child."

"Jared does appear to be a bit slow," shrugged Kerzi, "if you know what I mean."

"There you are wrong," Talot shook his head. "The lad is very intelligent, but he has been overly protected. He is naïve about the ways of the world, but do not confuse that with stupidity."

"What makes you think he is intelligent?" quizzed the merchant.

"Gunnar and I talked late into the night about the lad last night," Talot revealed. "Jared can read and write. He knows his numbers, and while he has not traveled extensively, he knows about the nations of the Land of the Nine Kingdoms. He appears to be skilled in all manners of physical things, and there appears to be no task that he cannot accomplish."

"No task?" echoed the merchant. "I am sure that is an exaggeration."

"I am not trying to make him out to be more than he is," explained Talot, "but pointing out that the lad is not dim-witted. He has repaired your canvas and tended to tears in the harness of your team. Evidently some of the straps were cut by arrows during the ambush."

"I should have caught that myself," frowned Kerzi. "I must be getting old."

"We all have had too much on our minds," offered the Lomite. "I do think this rest of a few days was sorely needed."

"I am sure that it is about over," nodded Kerzi. "I had expected Horst and Monte to arrive yesterday. They will be here today for sure. You are taken by this lad, aren't you?"

"I am," nodded Talot. "He is a good man. I could tell that when I first met him. He would fit well in any village in Lom. He is bright and honest, and truly cares about other people. Still, I am not sure that taking him with us is a wise thing to do."

"Not with bandits ambushing us at every turn," agreed Kerzi. "The lad is ill-equipped to defend himself. Maybe you can talk some sense into Gunnar."

"It is worth a try," nodded Talot as he rose from the bench. "I think I will venture out and see what they are up to."

The giant crossed the room and exited the rear door of the inn. He paused as the bright sun flooded his eyes. After a few seconds his eyes adjusted and he stared at the field behind the stables. Jared sat on one of Kerzi's horses, and Gunnar was standing alongside him. As he passed the stables and approached Gunnar, Talot saw the lad ride off.

"What are you up to?" the Lomite called to Gunnar.

Gunnar turned with a broad smile on his lips. "Jared hasn't ridden before. I thought I would give him a few lessons."

Talot halted alongside the Arin prince and gazed across the field at the stableboy. Jared sat stiffly and awkwardly, but his grin was visible even at a distance.

"Perhaps he is not ready to spend days on the road with us," suggested the giant.

"He will be riding in the wagon with Kerzi," Gunnar responded. "I just thought it would be good for him to learn to ride. He is already good with animals."

"Have you considered the danger you will be placing him in?" asked Talot. "It is one thing for accomplished warriors to follow you around, but Jared has never held a sword."

"That is not his fault," frowned Gunnar. "His father did not approve of weapons. His chosen method of defense was to evade the enemy."

"That is not always possible," commented the Lomite.

"Evidently his father managed it for some years," shrugged Gunnar. "Jared said that there were people hunting for them as long as he can remember. The man must have been highly skilled to survive such a concerted effort to find him."

"Have you discovered the reason they were hunted?" asked Talot.

"Jared does not know," sighed Gunnar. "I have phrased the question every different way that I could think of, but I am now sure that his father kept that information from his son."

"He protected his son from everything it would seem," sighed Talot. "His death is a tragedy, but he appears to have taught Jared enough to survive on his own."

"Perhaps," mused Gunnar. "He taught Jared how to fare in the world without starving, but is that all the lad needs to know to survive?"

"What do you mean?" questioned the giant. "What else is there to know?"

"I would think that the reason for being hunted is most important," declared the Arin prince. "He shielded his son from that knowledge, and it may cost Jared his life."

"I am not following your reasoning," replied Talot. "Someone wanted the father dead for some reason, and they eventually accomplished their goal. How does that harm the child other than the loss of the only person who cared for him?"

"Someone pursued his father for a fair number of years," stated the Arin prince. "Few vendettas would last that long without becoming obsessive. Don't you think there would be some attempt to completely wipe out the bloodline of their foe?"

"I had not thought that deeply," admitted the Lomite. "You have obviously given this a great deal of thought, but I do not understand why. Jared knows nothing of the past conflict, so you will never learn any more than you know today. There is nothing you can do to help the lad. Let it go."

"I can't," Gunnar shook his head, "and I won't."

"You are impossible," sighed the Lomite. "What can you possibly do to learn the secrets of Jared's past?"

"I signed on with Kerzi for a trip that ends in Capri," declared the Arin prince. "As long as I will end up there anyway, I intend to find out who killed Jared's father, and why. Perhaps that information will save the lad's life."

The sounds of horses interrupted the conversation, and both men turned to see the arrival of Monte and Horst. Gunnar and Talot turned and walked back to the stables to greet their friends. Gunnar gazed admiringly at the three spare Odessian horses that Horst had brought with him. The Odessian grinned, as he understood the question forming on Gunnar's lips.

"For Kerzi," Horst replied to the unasked question. "If we have to abandon the wagon and run for our lives, the extra mount will prove to be well worth the bother."

"I take it your trip was uneventful?" smiled Gunnar.

"And interesting," Monte replied. "I had heard tales of the Odessian herds, but nothing can compare with the experience of actually seeing them. I will never forget it."

Horst was dismounting when Jared rode around the side of the stables. The Odessian glanced up and his face paled. His hands flew like lightning, and two scimitars appeared in his fists.

"He is not the dark prince," shouted Gunnar as he moved to block Horst's path. "Put away your swords."

Horst halted and stared at Gunnar with disbelief, but he made no move to sheath his scimitars.

"I made the same mistake already," Gunnar said calmly. "Do not terrorize the lad. Put away your swords."

Horst inhaled deeply and nodded as he calmed himself. He slowly sheathed his swords and moved to get a good look at the stableboy's face. He stared in amazement, and Jared trembled in the saddle. Talot quickly moved to Jared's aid and lifted the lad off the horse.

"How is this possible?" asked Horst. "He is the spitting image of the prince."

"And his voice fooled me as well," nodded Gunnar. "The speech patterns are not the same, but the tonal quality would easily fool you. The lad's name is Jared, and he is the stableboy here. He is a good lad."

"I am sorry for scaring you, Jared," apologized the Odessian. "I mistook you for someone else."

Gunnar moved to Jared and placed his hand on the lad's shoulder. He felt the now familiar surge into his hand, but he ignored it.

"These are Odessian horses," the Arin prince said soothingly. "They are the grandest of all horses in the world. Care for them well while I take my friends inside. Can you do that?"

Jared's body ceased trembling, and the lad looked at Gunnar with admiration. A smile crept onto his lips, and he nodded to the Arin prince.

"I will treat them well," Jared declared. "You know that I will."

"I do," smiled Gunnar. "Let's go inside and get a bite to eat and an ale," he suggested as he turned to Horst and Monte.

Horst, Gunnar, and Monte left the horses in the care of the stableboy and entered the inn. Talot paused for a moment to make sure that Jared was all right and then followed. Kerzi was still seated at the table sipping a mug of ale. The group seated themselves at the same table, and the innkeeper soon brought mugs and a pitcher of ale to the table.

"I'm glad you were at the stables when we arrived," Horst said to Gunnar after tasting the ale. "My reaction would have caused needless bloodshed. How did you react when you saw him?"

"The same," replied Gunnar. "Fortunately, Talot restrained me, but Jared also had some other protection. My sword refused to strike him."

"Your sword refused?" Monte interjected. "That makes no sense."

"Magical?" asked Horst.

"I am sure of it," nodded Gunnar. "Do not mention this to Jared yet. He has been taught that magic is evil, and I fear he might harm himself if he learns the truth."

"What do you mean by yet?" Horst asked with suspicion. "Is he coming with us?"

Gunnar merely nodded.

* * *

The sun had not yet risen, but the sky was light enough for the preparations to get underway. Talot led Kerzi's horses to the wagon and hitched them, while Horst and Monte saddled the Odessian horses. Gunnar led the sleepy stableboy around to the side of the stables and placed his hands on Jared's shoulder. He barely felt the now familiar tingle.

"I am sad to see you go," Jared said sadly.

"I want you to come with us," declared Gunnar. "Would you like that?"

"Why?" puzzled the lad. "Where are you going?"

"We are bound for Kyland first," answered Gunnar, "but eventually we will be going to Capri."

"I like you," offered Jared, "but I do not want to return to Capri. It is not a nice place. Why must you go there?"

"It is something that I promised to do," answered Gunnar, "but there is another reason to go there. I want to find out what happened to your father."

"He died," Jared said uneasily. "What is there to discover?"

Gunnar sighed and dropped his hands to his sides. His eyes roved about in every direction except towards Jared.

"You have become like a big brother to me," offered Jared, "and I don't want to see you go, but Capri scares me. My father never harmed anyone, and they killed him. It is not a safe place for me to be."

"Nowhere is a safe place for you, Jared," Gunnar replied without thinking.

Jared moved uncomfortably and reached out to touch Gunnar to get his attention. Gunnar turned and stared into Jared's eyes.

"What do you know about me that I do not know?" the stableboy asked. "Tell me."

Gunnar hesitated as he weighed his words carefully. "I know very little about you, Jared, but I have suspicions. I think we both have secrets inside us that we cannot talk about just yet. All I can ask of you now is to trust me. It will be dangerous for you to ride with us. There are men seeking to kill me, and I want you to know that before you agree to come with us, but I truly think you will be safer with us than staying here or trying to hide somewhere else."

"These men that are trying to kill you," asked Jared, "are they the same men who killed my father?"

"I don't know who killed your father," answered the Arin prince, "but I intend to find out. There is something inside of me screaming to learn what really happened. Aren't you curious to learn the truth?"

"I am," admitted Jared. "My father was a man of peace. It is hard for me to imagine that anyone would want him dead, but I cannot hide from the truth, no matter how vile it might be. Yes, I want to know whom, but more importantly, I want to know why. I will go with you to Capri."

* * *

They had been on the Caxon-Kyland Road for several days when they saw the Salacian soldiers approaching. It was a mounted patrol and not unusual in any regard except for the small number of soldiers. Gunnar knew that most Salacian patrols consisted of at least a dozen riders, the same number as the army of Arin used. It was not an arbitrary number. Both armies were well organized, and the smallest organizational unit was a squad, which consisted of twelve men. This particular column had only five riders.

The soldiers eyed the merchant's wagon and the warriors that accompanied it, but they did not stop to investigate. Gunnar rode forward and relieved Monte of the scout position. It was nearly time to stop for the night, and Gunnar remembered a spot where he had spent the night with Prince Derri of Salacia. He scanned the sides of the road trying to remember exactly where it was. If he had not been looking at the forest so closely, he would never have seen the lone Salacian soldier amongst the trees. He kept his eyes moving past the soldier and did not act as if he had seen anything, but the puzzle intrigued him.

Less than an hour later, Gunnar found the narrow trail leading away from the Caxon-Kyland Road. He waited until the wagon was close enough to see him before he left the road to check out the campsite. A short ways off the main road was a decent sized glade with a small brook running by it. A stone ring sat with the ashes of a previous fire evident within it, and a circle of log stumps encircled the ring to provide seats near the fire. It looked just as he remembered it.

Gunnar rode back out to the roadway in time to direct the others to the campsite. The merchant's group had grown since leaving Capri, and the campsite was set up quickly. Talot set up the fire while Monte hunted for dinner. Horst and Jared took care of the horses while Kerzi inspected the wagon for problems. Gunnar walked along the narrow trail to the road and stood silently for a time to make sure no one had plans to visit them unexpectedly.