made a difference in their effectiveness. Seeing no need to intervene, he walked over to check on the stew that was cooking over the fire.
Niki recovered well from the drug and was rattling on to Kalina about her captivity and how she had been good in Melbin and how it wasn’t her fault. Garth smiled broadly and announced that dinner was ready. Dinner was fairly quiet as the stew was ravenously devoured. After dinner Garth lit his pipe and the questions started about what they should expect when they arrived in Alcea.
“I am not really sure,” Garth admitted. “It has been years since I was there. The information that I am getting leads me to believe that things have gotten progressively worse. King Byron was assassinated and Queen Marta fled the city. I do not know who rules it now. There has been a power struggle in Alcea since the time of the Collapse. Many refuse to accept Alcea as their new country. They prefer to call the city Tagaret, which was its name when Targa still existed. I think many would prefer to resurrect Targa to its former greatness. They, of course, would not be the ones whose blood was shed doing it.”
“You mentioned patriots in prison,” Tanya stated while checking Kalina’s reaction to her acknowledgment that Garth had spoken to her. “Who are they and why are they important to Alcea?”
“I do not know the full scope of the problems in Alcea,” Garth declared. “One of those who is captive is General Gregor. He was the General at the time of the Collapse and supported the move to rename the Kingdom to Alcea. He was the strongest supporter of King Byron and I suspect his imprisonment was meant to keep him out of the way while the King was killed. They probably are now afraid to release him because he would be steadfast in bringing to justice whoever killed the King.”
“This power game that they are playing… ” quizzed Arik, “wouldn’t one of them point out who had the King killed? I mean… wouldn’t it be to someone’s advantage to reveal the killer?”
“It would, indeed,” Garth agreed. “The problem is that it would be to so much advantage that everyone is probably claiming it was everyone else. The name that they have given to their petty scrambling is the Contest of Power, and they do see it as a game. Alcea, like Targa before it, has a Council of Advisors who meet with the King to determine what must be done for the Kingdom. I have heard that this Council has somehow made their powers equal to the King’s and I would suspect that most of our Contest players have a seat on it. Actually, I should say that the Council members are probably big players in the Contest. There are probably twenty Contest Players for each seat on the Council.”
“So they would not have to replace the King to rule,” summed Arik. “They would just need the agreement of a majority of this Council.”
“Exactly,” Garth agreed. “Someday we will have to face this Council, but that is not for this trip. I mean to get General Gregor out of prison and possibly find the Queen and get her to safety. The General may well be instrumental when the heir returns to Alcea.”
“The Queen may be the grandmother of one of us,” proclaimed Niki. “We have to see to it that she is safe. Do you know if she has red hair?”
“Is your face well known in Alcea?” asked Tanya.
Garth looked at the young woman as if seeing her for the first time. “I suppose it is to some people,” Garth answered. “Why do you ask?”
“It may be too dangerous for you to get General Gregor out of prison,” explained Arik. “This may be a job better suited to the younger Alcea Rangers.”
Garth looked at the young faces around the campfire and groaned. Certain that he had created a monster, he voiced his objection. “Look,” he said authoritatively, “you all did a great job in Melbin and I’m proud of the way you handled yourselves, but you can not just go throwing yourselves into danger at every opportunity. There are people in Alcea who will recognize me, but that is something I can deal with. There were people in Melbin who knew me and hunted me. That didn’t stop me from doing what I went there for.”
“What did you do with Hanjel?” Tedi asked.
Everyone must have seen Garth’s mouth drop open because they all started laughing, even Kalina. Garth quickly shut his mouth and began to speak, but Arik cut him off.
“We know that Kalina and you are trying to protect us and train us at the same time,” Arik began. “That is not an easy task, but hear us out. We are not trying to step mindlessly into danger, nor are we trying to keep you out of it. We are doing what you have taught us and what you are not doing yourself. We are approaching the problem considering all of the assets available to us. We are asking you to do the same. You may look at us like children, but we are the ones the Prophecy talks about and it is our responsibility to do what is necessary.”
“We are not trying to revolt or chase you away,” added Tanya. “In fact, we realize now, more than ever, how much we need you. Just try using us as fellow soldiers and not precious artifacts that need to be preserved.”
The silence lasted for several moments before Garth spoke. “It has been many years since any of my men gave me a dressing-down,” he chuckled. “This one has been well deserved. I think some of your particular talents may well prove to be useful.”
“Do you mean like Lord Wason going before the Council to seek better relations with Targa?” Fredrik asked.
“Or someone with lock-picking ability getting thrown into the dungeon?” added Tedi.
“A magical diversion,” suggested Fredrik.
“Or better, a beautiful diversion,” Tanya chuckled as she threw her long blond hair over her shoulder.
“I like them all,” laughed Garth and noticed that Kalina was laughing so hard, she was doubled over.
Niki pouted about not having anything to offer to their grand plan and left the campfire. Nobody took special notice of her leaving. Garth instructed Fredrik to spend some time with Kalina for magic tutoring and then he challenged Arik, Tedi, and Tanya to try him with their practice swords. The three warriors readily agreed and raced to the open area to get their wooden swords.
The three young warriors proved that they could work as a team and Garth got a decent workout from them. He was tempted to protest when Tanya got his legs wrapped up with the bola, but realized that practice was best when it came close to simulating the real world. Instead, he spread his legs as far apart as the bola would allow, and swung his sword to sever the cord. Tanya let out a yelp when she saw that her bola would have been sliced into pieces if Garth had more than a wooden sword, but Garth did not give her time to cry. He threw his body to the ground and quickly rolled into her and Arik, knocking them to the ground. Garth was up again quickly enough to fend off Tedi, who had leaped over the two bodies. Eventually, the cord around his legs did Garth in and the three young warriors converged on him for the kill.
“I’d like to replay that with a real sword,” chuckled Garth.
“What made you think of cutting it?” Tanya asked. “If you had a real sword, the bola wouldn’t have even slowed you down.”
“I don’t know that it is something I can teach you,” Garth answered. “You train your body to react to threats. With enough practice, you do things by instinct. I don’t know what instinct would make me react to a weapon, which I have never faced, but it did. The only advice I can give you in this area is to keep practicing. Even after you are the best there is, keep practicing.”
The warriors returned to the campfire discussing different portions of the practice and sat down to cups of coffee. They were discussing plans for Alcea when Kalina and Fredrik returned to join them. They discussed contingency plan after contingency plan until sleep started to overtake them and one by one they drifted off to their blankets.
Chapter 19 Tagaret
Niki was in despair. Arik spent all of his time with Tanya, Fredrik hung on Kalina’s every word, and Tedi spent his time alone. Garth didn’t even know she existed. Niki was used to being the center of attraction, but ever since everyone else had such a grand time rescuing her in Melbin, nobody paid any attention to her anymore. She vowed that Tagaret would be different. She would find some way to make them pay attention to her again. Perhaps she would rescue this prisoner who everyone thought was so important. She would use her magic skills to break open the dungeon walls or freeze the guards and just walk in. She would do something grand.
