flew as true as the first and Arik noticed that a man in the crowd was collecting money and making wagers on the final shot. The merchant was sweating now and wringing his hands as Arik nocked his third arrow. A hush fell over the crowd as Arik’s third arrow sailed through the air and pierced the center of the target. If the second arrow had been left in, the third would have hit it. The crowd roared its approval and many a hand slapped Arik on his back as the crowd dispersed.
“You are as fine a marksman as I have ever seen,” the merchant admitted, “and I have seen a few. Still, a deal is a deal and you have won your discount fairly. It’s safe enough to say that my shop will be the talk of the town for a week, at least, and that brings paying customers around.”
Arik paid the merchant and also purchased a fine, soft leather case for the bow. Tanya was suitably impressed not only with his shooting, for she knew him as a good shot, but with his negotiating skill. He and Tanya spent the rest of the day shopping and Tanya made a few more purchases of items, which Arik had no idea what she was going to do with.
Fredrik’s luck was fair with cards as well as any other game, but the young gambler earned his money at dice and wheel games where his magic could affect the outcome. Fredrik’s attire marked him as a wealthy man and saw him admitted to the more lucrative games where the stakes were higher.
Fredrik had played this game for so long, he knew the rules well. He did not win too much at any one establishment, but moved on to the next before people started howling about his luck. With a city the size of Melbin, Fredrik could gamble for a month before anyone would get wise to his extraordinary ability to win. Still, he kept in mind Garth’s warning about cheating the merchants and he was sure that applied to gambling as well. By working his way from the poorer establishments to the richer, Fredrik had managed to amass several thousand crowns for his several hours of work. At the last establishment he had encountered two other gamblers he had run into earlier in the afternoon and decided to end his gambling for the day.
Fredrik made his way back to the Fluttering Jib and noticed Arik and Tanya in the common room. He worked his way over to them and sat down.
“Where are Tedi and Niki?” greeted Fredrik.
“We haven’t seen either one of them since we arrived,” Tanya stated. “We spent all day at the market. I picked up some knives for you at the market in case you didn’t get a chance to get there before they closed.”
Fredrik kicked himself for forgetting about the market. When he started gambling he always lost track of time. He was thankful now for the conversations he had had with Tanya about what he was looking for in knives. “Thanks, Tanya,” he said. “I lost track of time and didn’t make it to the market. I’ll look at them after dinner, but I’m sure that what you bought will be just what I want. If you haven’t eaten yet, it will be my treat. I’ve had an exceptional run of luck today.”
Tanya grinned knowingly and Arik gritted his teeth. Tedi came into the common room looking harried and slid into a seat at the table. “We have some serious problems,” Tedi whispered.
Arik looked around the common room to see if anyone was paying too much attention to their table. Satisfied that no one was paying any attention to them, Arik asked the obvious question. “What kind of trouble is serious?”
“There is a Melbin guard trying to kill Garth,” Tedi whispered, “and Niki was arrested.”
Ale slopped out of Arik’s mug as he lowered it to the table and his jaw almost dropped as low. Looking around again, Arik suggested that they retire to one of the rooms to talk.
The four Rangers beat a hasty exit from the common room and went upstairs to the boys’ room. Everyone found a spot on one of the beds to sit before Arik demanded an explanation.
“Garth, or rather Mikal Obanik, is not welcome in Melbin,” Tedi began. “He was shown the gate by King Alfred five years ago after killing four men and wounding two others. Three of them were Melbin Guards. One of those guards is out to kill him. I overheard him and another guard talking earlier and I’ve spent the day trying to find him. While I was down in the Oddities Market, I saw two guards escorting Niki to the Palace. She did not look happy.”
“Great,” exclaimed Fredrik. “I wonder if she was stupid enough to use magic here.”
Arik and Tanya both shot Fredrik a wicked glare and he turned red when he realized what he had said. He smiled weakly and shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry,” he apologized. “I really meant stupid enough to get caught using magic.”
Arik and Tanya were not impressed with the subtle distinction Fredrik was making. “Niki is the more important of the two,” Arik stated. “Garth can take care of himself and Niki is likely to use magic on the King and get herself killed. How can we find out where she is and what she has done?”
“I know a guard,” suggested Tedi, “who appears honest and might tell us. I don’t really know him, but I know his name and what he looks like. He is the one who was talking about Mikal Obanik and what happened five years ago. His name is Lomar.”
“If this guard is honest and knows Mikal is in town,” Tanya asked, “why is he not arresting him?”
“He thinks what Mikal did was correct,” Tedi said. “The King was mad because Mikal refused to be his General of the Army. That is what got him thrown out of the city and Lomar won’t arrest him to face the King again.”
“That is a story I want to hear more of,” Tanya said, “but right now we have to get Niki to safety. In most cities, you can just go up to the Palace Guard and ask them if somebody has been arrested and what for. I’ll go try that and come back.”
Tanya left as Fredrik said, “It is most likely that she used magic. If that is the case, they will execute her. We have to find out where the prison is and how to get her out.”
“I am not enjoying my first trip to the big city,” Tedi remarked. “I’ve spent all day frantically looking for Mikal before someone kills him and now we have to plan a prison break.”
The boys sat and pondered their situation for a short time before Tanya returned. “She was arrested for something she did in Caldar. Something about using magic to take clothes from a woman,” Tanya informed them. “The woman is here in Melbin and recognized her.”
“Can they arrest her for something she did in another country?” Fredrik asked.
“The King can do whatever he wants in his country,” Tanya explained.
The four Rangers sat lost in thought for some time. Garth would be furious with them if they didn’t get Niki free and this would probably be the last city they ever saw for the rest of their lives.
“If this woman can have Niki arrested for something that happened in Caldar,” Fredrik stated forcefully, “then I can have her arrested for something she did in Cidal.”
The others looked at Fredrik like he was crazy. Fredrik smiled and explained, “I am known as Lord Wason in Cidal, the Lord of the Manor. We had to leave the town rather swiftly because Niki used magic to hold one of my maids off the floor. She was in a rage and they would have killed her. She rode out on a horse and I pretended to be chasing her. As far as anyone in Cidal knows, I am still chasing her. I will go to the King and demand her arrest. He will turn her over to me and we can leave.”
“That sounds pretty good,” Tedi admitted, “but will the King even see you?”
“If he is really Lord of the Manor in Cidal,” Tanya speculated, “the King probably will see him. Do you know anybody there that the King might know?”
“Just before we left town, I was in a meeting with Captain Grecho, head of the Cidal Mercenary Company. The King may have heard of him,” hoped Fredrik.
“I heard about them today in the same conversation,” Tedi exclaimed. “They are known here in Melbin and have a good reputation.”
“Well, Lord Wason,” bowed Arik, “it would appear that you are about to see the King of Melbin.”
Fredrik straightened out his clothes and headed for the Royal Palace, which was an imposing mansion in the heart of the city. The Palace itself was set back quite a bit from the road and Fredrik feared he would look foolish walking in from the street. He turned around and headed towards a carriage house he had seen earlier in the day. For twenty crowns, he rented a large, ornate carriage for the trip to the Royal Palace.
The carriage pulled up to the gate to the Royal Palace and the driver announced Lord Wason of the Cidal Manor having just arrived in the city to seek audience with the King. The guard looked inside the carriage and
