Konic looked over and gave a weak smile to his friend. “I know that, Alan, without asking. It is not you or I that I am worried about. I would gladly trade my life for the boys, but even that will not help. The only thing that I can think of is to send the boys away.”
“How will that help?” Alan asked. He was just finally reunited with his son after three years in a bottle and he wasn’t too happy to even think of sending him away. “They will be in danger no matter where they are. Why shouldn’t they stay here?”
Konic rubbed the tears from his eyes. “Because if they stay here, the townspeople know how old they are. Someplace else, they can lie about their age and perhaps survive until the rumors go away.”
“Well, why can’t we go with them, then?” asked Alan. “That way, we could get them away from the townspeople who know them and still be close enough to protect them.”
“I thought about that,” replied Konic, “but we would stick out like a small bandit gang and, sooner or later, one of the larger gangs would eliminate all of us. If the boys go alone, they can make their way to another town or city and become apprentices without raising too much suspicion. If they lie about their ages when they first arrive, everyone in their new town will vouch for their ages because it will be as they always knew. It is the only solution that I can think of and I am going to miss them both very much.”
Alan could only nod in agreement because his throat was too choked up to speak. Konic reclined on the sand and a few moments later was sleeping soundly. Alan figured the stress of the day had finally taken its toll on his friend and reclined to ponder the dilemma, hoping to discover some solution that was more palatable than losing the son he had just rediscovered. It was not long before Alan was also asleep and nobody woke Tedi to take his turn at watch.
Garth climbed the stairs of the Fisherman’s Inn and opened the door to his room. Sitting in a chair reading was a beautiful woman in a long, black dress and long, flowing black hair. “Did you learn anything interesting?” she asked.
“Quite a bit,” Garth smiled. “The father of one of the boys came to confront me. Even though most of the people in town say that they are younger than what we are looking for, I believe they are all lying.”
“What makes you think the townspeople would all lie to save two sons of fishermen?” she queried.
“The townspeople are very hesitant to talk about the boys, but quick to tell me their ages,” Garth answered. “The father’s face when I told him about the Prophecies was the real teller. At least one of those boys was born in the year of the Collapse, maybe both. I am sure of that.”
“Couldn’t the father be a better actor than you think?” she teased. She knew Garth did not offer an opinion as fact unless he was really confident about his conclusion.
“The father is as honest a man as I’ve ever met,” Garth laughed. “He had the chance to lie to me about their ages and he couldn’t bring himself to utter that lie, even when he knew the dire consequences. I like the man, Kalina. He knew me for the type of man that I am and he still had the spunk to stand up to me and even threaten to kill me if I harmed either boy. He meant it, too. I have no doubt that if he thought I had harmed his son, he would spend the rest of his life tracking me down and killing me. I think you should meet the boys socially without the fathers around.”
“Do you know where they are staying?” Kalina asked.
“Of course, my pet,” Garth smiled. “Did you think for a moment that such a small detail would escape my grasp?”
“Certainly not,” she responded, “but if I don’t keep asking, you will get lax. How are you going to get rid of the fathers?”
Garth’s face grew serious. “I will never be lax about this matter,” he protested. “Normally, they would go out fishing for the day, but I doubt those two will be fishing tomorrow. They will react quickly. Arik’s father used to be a soldier. A long time ago, perhaps, but his training will take over and he will start to make decisions like he was on a battlefield. We have a day at the most before the boys are sent on their merry way. I’m afraid I told him about the Dark Riders.”
“That is probably for the better, Garth,” Kalina responded. “In the morning you will show me where they are staying. When the time is right, I will move and you will remain hidden. Now, we should get some sleep. Fishermen are known to be early risers.”
To the north two Dark Riders came to a halt.
“There is no way that they went north from the town,” the older rider said.
“As she half suspected,” sighed the younger rider.
“That will mean a fast ride back to the town and the men are beat now as it is. Let’s rest the men until morning and then decide that the boys didn’t come this way,” ordered the older rider.
“You will get no argument from me or the men,” answered the younger rider. “In the morning, we will be sure that they did not come this way.”
Tedi woke as the sky lightened somewhat and looked around the campsite. Fear set in when he could not see either of the two men and he quickly shook Arik awake.
“What is it?” Arik asked groggily. “Is it my turn for watch already? It feels like I just got to sleep.”
“It is past the time for your watch to end,” snarled Tedi. “Nobody woke me for my watch and neither of our fathers are here.”
Arik jumped to his feet and grabbed his bow and quiver. Tedi also grabbed his and the two boys looked for signs of a struggle. Arik quietly motioned to Tedi to search the inland side of the camp while he went towards the sea. When Arik reached the beach he saw the two bodies sprawled on the sand and shouted for Tedi to come running. At the sound of his shout, both men leaped to their feet and looked around in confusion. Seeing no danger, the men sat back down as Tedi came running out of the woods.
“What is it?” yelled Tedi. “What happened?”
“That is what I would like to know,” demanded Arik. “Nobody woke either of us for our watch. When I got here I thought you both were dead. Why are you here on the beach and why weren’t we awakened for our watches?”
“You will make a fine officer someday,” Konic laughed. “I feel as if my Sergeant has just caught me asleep at my post.”
“That is exactly how you should feel,” Alan stated, “except it was my responsibility to wake Tedi. It is my fault, not yours.”
“Let us not start this day off with ill feelings,” Konic decreed while looking at Alan. “I wanted to think last night and I like smelling and hearing the sea when I think. I’m afraid that I enticed Alan down here. That is not what’s important though. You two boys get breakfast started. Master Markel and I will be along shortly and explain everything.”
Arik looked at Tedi and shrugged. He certainly was not about to argue with their fathers and breakfast sounded like a fine idea. Arik and Tedi went back to the campsite and Arik started a fire while Tedi got a couple of pots of water from a nearby stream. Within minutes the coffee was underway and the two men showed up with handfuls of clams. “I think these will stretch that oatmeal a little bit.” Alan quipped.
Konic fished in his pouch and brought out the Lanoirian Star. He handed it to Tedi as he began to relate the basics of the story of the previous night. Both boys sat listening as Master Markel took over the cooking. When Konic had finished the story, he asked the boys what they should do next. Alan handed out the bowls of breakfast and sat studying the boys.
“Why did he give this Lanoirian Star back to you, Master Clava?” Tedi asked.
“He sent it back with a message, Tedi,” Konic began. “It is a message that you both need to hear and remember. He wanted it to be a reminder to you that you should never underestimate your opponent. He demonstrated quite adequately that he could just have easily put that between your eyes.”
“So you think he might be a friend?” asked Arik.
“I don’t know what his game is,” admitted Konic, “but I know a killer when I see one and this man is a very
