Search for Audric (35 page)

"What are you thinking?" Kenra asked.

"It will be the hour of the day when officers are still asleep," explained Gunnar. "It is also in the wee hours before the sun rises that many local deliverers are moving about to get the inns ready for the new day. A wagon of ale moving through the streets of Tarent would not be unusual. What would happen if such a wagon were to break down right in front of the palace gates?"

"The guards would tell the driver to move his wagon," replied Sandar.

"And if the driver had already left to find someone to fix the wagon?" posed Gunnar. "Or if there had been no driver? Perhaps a runaway cart?"

"The soldiers would be forced to move the wagon themselves," answered Sandar. "They could not let it sit in front of the palace. Their superiors would be livid."

"And if in moving the wagon," chuckled Kenra, "some of barrels were accidentally damaged, who could blame the men. That is deviously brilliant, Gunnar."

"We will need a wagon or cart," Gunnar decided, "and barrels of ale."

"That will cost a great deal of gold," Kerzi pointed out.

"Are we short of funds?" Gunnar asked as he fixed his eyes on the merchant.

"A habit," laughed Kerzi. "While I would gladly give my gold to a bandit to save my life, the merchant in me adores collecting gold. I will arrange for it before the sun sets. How do we arrange for the cart to break down?"

"I can handle that," offered Talot. "I will disconnect the wheel so that it falls off when the horse makes the turn in front of the gates."

"Are you sure you can do that?" asked Gunnar.

"I have done it before," grinned the giant. "Practical jokes are popular in Lom. I will tell you about it someday."

"Oh, yeah," quipped Monte, "the Lomites are a real funny people. I remember the practical joke the Lomites played on me once. They pretended that they were going to kill me for trespassing."

The giant's eyes narrowed as he turned and stared at the archer. "Perhaps I made a mistake in letting you go that day."

While Talot looked as if he would attack Monte at any moment, Gunnar knew that the two men had become close friends. He laughed and shook his head.

"If all of the patrols will be busy at the front of the palace," Monte said, ignoring the giant's false threat, "I could make our task in the garden much easier. Rather than spend a great deal of time scaling the rear wall of the palace, I could shoot an arrow into the king's window. The arrow can carry a string, which we will attach to a rope. King Caedmon could pull the rope up and attach it and then climb down."

"That works if no one is around to hear the song of your release," nodded Gunnar, "but if just one soldier foregoes the ale, we will be discovered."

"I like it," interjected Kenra. "It is much quicker than scaling the wall, and time can be our enemy. If there are stragglers from the patrols, Horst and I will take them out."

"It is the best plan we are likely to come up with," agreed Horst. "Jared and his guards are still needed in case something goes wrong, but I doubt he will be needed to speak."

* * *

The sky was black, and the stars shone brightly with no moon to detract from their beauty. The streets of Tarent were practically deserted as Talot walked the horse and its cart to the end of the alley. He stood at the mouth of the alley watching the gates of the palace. When the outside patrol passed by, the giant started counting numbers in his head. He led the horse into the center of the street and turned it so it faced the gates of the palace. The giant bent down and pulled the pin that was holding the wheel on the axle and then retreated to the mouth of the alley. He pulled a sling from his waistband and placed a small pebble in it. The horse stood stoically in the street, and the giant counted numbers in his head.

When Talot reached the number he had been given, He fired the pebble into the rear of the horse. The horse bolted forward, and the giant loaded another pebble in case the horse faltered. It was not necessary. The horse raced forward and suddenly saw the closed gates before it. The horse turned sharply, and the sabotaged wheel kept going straight. The cart tipped and barrels of ale spilled onto the street. The horse struggled to pull the wreckage, but it finally gave up as the outside patrol rounded the corner and halted in surprise.

Far along the eastern wall of the palace where the patrol had just passed by, Horst and Kenra ran up to the wall and threw hooks over it. They pulled the ropes taut and made sure that the hooks were properly seated. They held the ropes out away from the wall as Gunnar and Sandar, dressed in Borundan uniforms, ran and grabbed the ropes and hauled themselves up the wall and dropped onto the grounds of the palace. Next over the wall were Jared and Monte. Jared, dressed in his black robe, immediately dropped to the ground, while Monte hesitated astride the wall and unsnapped his bow. He nocked an arrow and looked in each direction for any sign of opposition. Seeing none, he unnocked the arrow and dropped to the ground.

Horst and Kenra scrambled up the ropes and sat on the wall as they reversed the hooks and pulled up the ropes. They dropped the ropes into the palace grounds and slid down them to make sure the hooks were seated. Monte nocked an arrow once more, and the six men raced across the grounds of the compound to the side of the palace. Gunnar halted next to the gate and studied it as best he could in the dark.

"I am going to try the gate," Gunnar whispered. "There are no patrols nearby."

"Do it in one quick motion," advised Monte. "It will be less noticeable."

Gunnar nodded and quickly swung the gate open. It screeched loudly and everyone froze waiting for any sounds of a response. There were none.

Gunnar urged Jared through the gate, and he and Sandar immediately flanked the young mage. They marched into the garden as if on an errand, but there was no one present. Gunnar waved his other friends forward. Monte, Horst, and Kenra rushed past the three men dressed as Borundans. They ran through the garden until they reached the section that Zalman had drawn a map of. Monte quivered his arrow and withdrew the special arrow with the long string attached. He dropped the coil of string on the ground and nocked the arrow. The proper window was easy to spot; King Caedmon had placed a burning candle on the sill. Monte drew back and stared at the window. He did not want to accidentally skewer the Arin king. He watched for movement inside the room before letting go of the bowstring. The coil of string rapidly unwound as the arrow soared upward. The arrow sailed through the window and stuck in the ceiling of the room.

Monte saw someone furtively look out the window and then the string moved sporadically. Kenra was already tying the end of the string to a rope when King Caedmon stuck his head out of the window and looked down. Monte grinned and waved to him. The king grinned back as he began pulling up the string and the rope attached to it.

The three foreigners waited anxiously as the rope continued to jiggle. After a few minutes, King Caedmon stepped out of the window and slid down the rope. Without letting go of the rope, he turned and began to lash it against the wall of the palace.

"What are you doing?" whispered Monte.

"Taking the rope with us," answered the king as the rope suddenly fell lax and dropped to the ground. The king jumped back so it would not hit him. "The longer we keep them guessing where I am or how I left, the safer our journey home will be."

"We aren't taking you home," Monte commented as he snapped his bow to his sheath and bent to pick up the fallen rope. "At least not directly."

"This way, King Caedmon," urged Kenra as he guided the king towards the corner of the garden where Gunnar, Jared, and Sandar waited.

The four men raced through the garden, but the king faltered when he saw Prince Zinan and two Borundan guards.

"It is Jared and Antion," Kenra said softly as he urged the king to continue onward.

"You two go on ahead," urged Monte as he moved to the king's side and ran alongside him.

Kenra and Horst dashed through the gate to the outer wall of the compound. They clambered up the ropes and gazed down at the street below. As King Caedmon and Monte ran through the gate, the king noticed a third Borundan guard, but the man's body was slumped against the building. He raced past them all and allowed Monte to guide him to the ropes. He climbed the rope and saw a merchant's wagon sitting in the street below. A small herd of Odessian beauties sat beside the wagon. He slid down the rope and Kenra pointed to a horse. The king nodded and swiftly mounted the horse. Kenra, Monte, and Horst mounted and moments later, Jared did as well. Gunnar arrived carrying the rope and hooks, and Sandar carried the dead Borundan guard. Both of them dumped their loads in the wagon and mounted their horses. Gunnar waved to Kerzi to start the wagon moving and then rode next to his father and clasped his hand tightly.

"It is good to see you, father," Prince Antion smiled.

Capri had no capital city; in fact, it had no major city at all. The royal family resided in a large castle that sat upon a hill overlooking the sea. The castle was a magnificent structure with towers and turrets that afforded long views in every direction. Below the hill that the castle sat on was one of the most beautiful beaches in the Land of the Nine Kingdoms. The smooth white sand stretched for miles in each direction, and palm trees dotted the coastline. King Quanto had ordered the construction of dozens of thatched-roof huts among the palm trees; the huts were a favorite playground for the royal family and visitors alike.

The base of the castle was surrounded by thousands of huge boulders, piled upon one another in a random fashion, which made attacking the fortress a difficult endeavor. While Capri had no army to defend its borders, the castle was defended by five hundred men chosen from the population of Capri. The position of a castle defender was a highly prized job, which could only be won by combat and only when a rare vacancy afforded a contest. Whenever the king announced a contest, thousands of men converged on the Castle of Capri to fight for the elite position.

Prince Zinan had raced hard to catch up to his cousin before the king reached the Castle of Capri, but he had been unable to do so. He was in a sour mood as he turned off the Koar-Anatar Road and saw the massive black hulk of the castle. There was only a tiny sliver of a waxing moon, and the king's advisor slowed considerably as he rode towards the castle. His strategy had been to force the king to turn around and return to Tarent, but that would no longer work, as Garrick was already fully entrenched within the walls of the castle. Getting him to leave would be difficult. The dark prince began to formulate a new plan. He boldly rode up the ramp to the huge gates and announced himself.

Word spread quickly to King Garrick that Prince Zinan had arrived, and a message was sent to the dark prince even before King Quanto was roused out of bed to greet the foreign dignitary. King Garrick told his cousin that he did not wish to be disturbed before morning. The dark prince angrily crumpled the note and threw it on the floor.

"I apologize for making you wait, Prince Zinan," said King Quanto as he shuffled into the room. "King Garrick had not informed me that you would be arriving."

"The fault is mine," smiled the prince as he saw Princess Tamil move up behind her father. He bowed in respect to the king. "I am sorry that my arrival has caused you to lose sleep. Please, return to your chambers, I will allow your staff to comfort me until morning. Although the matter is urgent, I will not even disturb King Garrick this evening. All must wait until the morning."

"Urgent?" the king asked with concern. "Is it something that I should be made aware of?"

"It does concern the army of your neighbor, Arin," shrugged the prince, "but I do not believe there is any danger to Capri. It is my cousin that they are after."

"King Garrick is safe within these walls," assured King Quanto. "In addition to my men, he brought three hundred of his own. Arin would not dare attack him here."

"That is why it can wait until the morning," smiled the prince. "I bid you to return to your sleep."

"Very well," the king said as he turned and saw Princess Tamil. "My daughter will gather the staff to attend to you. Good night, Prince Zinan."

The king turned and toddled off, and the princess moved into the room with a broad smile.

"I will arrange for your comfort," smiled the princess.

"I was hoping that you would," smiled Prince Zinan. "The ride has made me tense, and I was thinking that a nice walk along the beach would allow me to unwind. Would you accompany me?"

"My father did command me to see to your comfort," grinned the princess. "Let me have the staff prepare a room for you and then we can go for a walk."

* * *

The wagon loaded with nuts bumped along the narrow trail and came to a halt under a towering tree at the edge of a small clearing. It was the first stop since leaving Tarent early in the morning and everyone was stiff and tired. King Caedmon dismounted and stretched. He watched in admiration as the small group of warriors efficiently set up the camp, prepared a meal, and took care of the horses. Not a word was spoken until the individual warriors started returning to the campfire after performing their chores.

"Is there something that I can help with?" asked King Caedmon. "I feel as if I am not pulling my fair share of the duties."

"You can taste my stew," smiled Kerzi. "I am not used to cooking for royalty, and my spices might be off."

"I think you might have been cooking for royalty longer than you think," commented Monte as he glanced at Gunnar approaching the fire.

Gunnar halted and stared at the archer with a questioning tilt of his eyebrow.

"I heard you call the king your father this morning," Monte said. "You could have told us, or did you think we would risk our lives for you and then betray you for some gold?"

King Caedmon's eyebrows rose as he observed the reactions of the rest of the group.

"He's the same person he has been since we started this," scowled Talot. "What difference does it make to you who his family is?"

"Talot's right," Kerzi chimed in. "If I remember correctly, you were the one begging to join the group in Caxon to get away from Caroom. It didn't matter to you then who he was."

"I don't care who he is," defended Monte. "It is the principle of it all. Do you trust us, or do you not, Gunnar?"

"I trust you with my life," Gunnar said softly to Monte, "and you are right to be upset with me. I am Prince Antion of Arin, and I am not ashamed of that. I hid my true identity because the Borundans can read the minds of people, and I thought that the less my companions knew, the safer we all would be. I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. I apologize to you all."

Kerzi coughed and stared at Horst. The Odessian shrugged and stepped forward.

"I am Prince Umal of Odessia," Horst stated. "If that makes any of you feel differently towards me, that is a problem you will have to work out for yourself."

"And I am Prince Derri of Salacia," Kenra joined in.

"Now you are all making fun of me," scowled Monte. "I am sorry that I brought the subject up."

"Listen closely to your friends," King Caedmon said softly to Monte. "You are privileged to be in the company of some of the greatest men in the Land of the Nine Kingdoms, and they call you their friend. They do so for a reason, young archer. You are a man that is among equals. You may not carry a title, but your skill and your deeds have distinguished you as a great man of the land. Do not let small things come between you and your friends."

Monte stared at the Arin king with wide eyes. His mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. Gunnar moved to Monte and hugged him roughly across the shoulders with one arm. Monte's face turned red and everyone began laughing.

"They really are princes?" Monte asked Gunnar softly.

"They are," answered the Arin prince.

"I feel quite the fool," admitted the archer. "I don't know what to say."

"Then say nothing," chuckled Gunnar. "We are all friends here. We are allowed to be fools occasionally."

"Here's some stew to stuff in your face," grinned Kerzi as he handed a bowl to the archer. "It's not polite to talk with your mouth full, so that's an easy way to avoid talking."

"Where did the body come from?" asked King Caedmon as the camp settled down.

"Someone must have heard the gate open," answered Gunnar. "He was fooled by our disguises at first, but he asked Jared if we needed help. Jared froze, and the guard grew suspicious about what might be going on in the garden. We had no choice but to kill him. We brought the body so that it would not be discovered while we rode out of the city."

"Smart thinking," nodded the king as he glanced at Jared. "It was dangerous to bring him to Tarent."

"It would be dangerous to leave him anywhere else," shrugged Gunnar. "Besides, we are on our way to Vineland to seek out a master of the Talent. I could not leave him behind."

King Caedmon nodded as he lowered his eyes in thought. "I wondered where we were heading when we headed east out of Tarent. I am going to have to leave your party before Vineland. I must return to Anatar before my general does something foolish."

"General Fergus is aware of our plans," Gunnar informed his father. "He is at this moment sending a large force towards Koar, not to threaten an invasion of Borunda, but to appear like an escort to take you home once you reach the border. It will keep the Borundans off our trail for a few extra days. The Odessians will be your true escort. We will be met as soon as we cross the Odessian border. They will take you through Natura and across the Arin River where an Arin army will be waiting for you. Sandar will accompany you."

"You coordinated this with Anatar?" the king asked with surprise.

"We did," nodded Gunnar. "Evan, General Fergus, Kerzi, Zalman, and I worked out the details."

"Zalman?" balked the king. "Explain that."

"Zalman is Jared's father," declared the Arin prince. "He is the twin of Zinan."

"That explains a great deal," frowned the king, "but…"

"Zalman did not kill Princess Orenda," interrupted Gunnar. "Naveena did. Somehow she managed to make the Borundans believe that Zalman did, and they chased him."

"Lavitor," nodded King Caedmon. "Naveena charmed the king's advisor with her magic. I should have figured that out long ago. I noticed the change in him, but I could not figure why he had changed. His actions since that fatal day were a marked change from the good man he was known to be."

"So I don't have to go through the great deal of convincing you that I know what I am talking about?" Gunnar asked with surprise.

"No, son," smiled the king. "I know your instincts are good, and I was there the night Princess Orenda died. My gut told me then that something was wrong with the stories that were floated around. I just could not imagine the truth. That family has had a tragic time of it. I only hope that they keep their tragedies within their borders."

"And I hope we live to get outside their borders," commented Kenra. "We still have a long way to go."

* * *

Prince Zinan stood with his back flush against the sidewall of the small alcove so that the sun gleaming through the window would not cast his shadow into the corridor. He waited patiently, his shallow breathing heard only by his own ears. He waited for over an hour, but eventually the door to Princess Emilie's suite opened and King Garrick walked out. The king strode merrily along the corridor and down the stairs, whistling a jovial tune on his way to meet with King Quanto for the morning meal. Prince Zinan waited a few moments to make sure that his cousin was beyond the sight of the princess's door. He stepped into the corridor and hurried to the door. Without knocking, he opened the door and entered the suite.

Princess Emilie called out upon hearing the door open. She supposed it was King Garrick returning, but the dark prince did not answer. Instead, he marched through the room and entered the sleeping chambers. The princess whirled from her closet, dropping the gown she had chosen to wear for the morning.

"I am sorry to have scared you," smiled Prince Zinan. "I was looking for my cousin."

"He is not here," exhaled the princess as she picked up the gown. "I thought Garrick said that you had remained in Tarent?"

"I did," the prince replied as he walked closer to the princess. "I rode straight through to speak with Garrick. It is a matter of urgency. He was not in the chambers reserved for him, and I assumed he was here."

"He was," blushed the princess, "but he has left already. He is meeting my father for the morning meal. You should join them."

"And so I shall," grinned the dark prince as he stretched his hand out to touch the princess's head. "You have a stray lock of hair."

The princess did not shy away from Prince Zinan's touch as his fingers gently swept her hair back over her ear. When she felt his fingers stiffen, her eyes clouded in confusion and eventually closed. The gown once again fell from her grasp to the floor.

Princess Emilie opened her eyes and gazed around the room. There was no one present, and she shook her head in confusion. She saw a gown on the floor and picked it up, holding it away from her as if to imagine herself wearing it. She shook her head in displeasure and placed it back in the closet. Instead she chose a less formal dress, one that better suited her exciting mood.

The princess hummed to herself as she got dressed and skipped out of her suite. She pranced down the stairs in such a jovial mood that the servants stopped and stared at her as she passed. Down the stairs and through the corridors of the castle she danced her way to the courtyard. The soldiers stopped and gazed at her beauty and her joyful spirit as she ran into the one of the seaside towers and raced to the top. Many of the soldiers were still watching as the princess stood on the crenel at the top of the tower with her arms outstretched as if to embrace some cosmic lover. They cried out in anguish as the princess stepped off the crenel and plummeted downward to smash upon the boulders at the base of the tower.

* * *

"Ah, here he is now," smiled King Quanto. "I thought he would be awake early to speak to you."

"Prince Zinan," King Garrick nodded informally as Prince Zinan entered the dining room. "How nice of you to join us."

"I am afraid it is not for pleasure that I have come, King Garrick," the dark prince responded. "There is a matter of urgency that we must speak about."

"So I understand," sighed King Garrick. "You always seem to throw a damper on my happiest moments. Sit down and we will discuss this problem over the meal."

Prince Zinan bowed slightly to both kings and sat next to the Borundan king.

"I understand that this problem has to do with Arin?" asked King Garrick.

"It does," confirmed the dark prince. "General Ortega is seeking permission to send the bulk of the army northward. As you had ordered that the army remain in Tarent, I did not feel comfortable altering your orders, but I do think the situation is grave enough to require your immediate attention."