Niki woke out of her musings when everyone started talking excitedly. She looked up and the city of Tagaret, or Alcea, whatever people were calling it, was spread out in the distance. It looked much larger than either Melbin or Trekum. There appeared to be at least three walls. The first wall must have been miles long and it appeared fairly new. Far beyond that, she could just make out a smaller wall, which was probably the size of Melbin’s. Yet up on a hill in the center of the city, she could see a third wall surrounding a large castle which must be the Royal Palace. Her despair gave way to excitement. Even if she could not rescue this General, there must be people in a city this large that would accept her as their Queen. Niki definitely began to get a good feeling about Tagaret.
“The arrangement we had in Melbin worked fairly well,” Garth said. “Kalina and I will stay at the Sword and Shield. Fredrik, Arik, and Tedi at the Palace Shadow. Tanya and Niki will use the Golden Sword. Remember, if anyone needs to get a message to the others, go to the Pawn Shop and ask for a book about growing turnips in a sandy soil. Leave your message in whatever book the clerk gives you. The message will be delivered.”
“What is this about turnips?” Niki asked.
Garth and Kalina exchanged glances. Kalina had noticed the way Niki was acting and believed it was a left over effect of the drug that was used on her in Melbin. “Tanya will explain it to you,” Garth answered.
As they got closer to the outer wall, Garth reached into his pack and extracted a gray hat, which he placed on his head and lowered it to conceal his face as much as possible. Next he extracted a gray cloak and fastened it around his neck. The simple disguise could not hide Garth if you were looking for him, but it changed his appearance enough to think him a stranger if you were passing him on the street.
“Fredrik,” Garth said suddenly, “you need to replenish your wardrobe at the first opportunity. One fancy suit will not go far in convincing people that you are a Lord. If you know the colors of Cidal, get Arik and Tedi appropriate clothes in those colors or have some made up. These people may be fools in some respects, but in others, do not underestimate them. If you run into anyone from Grecho’s company, you may be in trouble.”
“We will be all right,” supplied Arik.
The conversation ceased as they approached the gate through the outer wall. Garth’s eyes roamed everywhere. The guards on the gate wore standard Targa uniforms and they were very young. People roamed the streets with a casual attitude and there didn’t appear to be any omen of distress hanging over the city. Fredrik, Arik, and Tedi picked up their pace and put distance between themselves and Garth, while Tanya and Niki lagged behind. They were three separate groups traveling who just happened to have entered the city at the same time. Nobody would give it a serious thought.
The city had grown tremendously since Garth was here last. The outer wall did not exist then and most of the buildings between the two walls were new. Garth had seen similar things all over the continent. People were abandoning their farms and land and moving to the cities for protection. The bandits had become brazen and well organized and a single farmstead was too tempting for them to leave it alone for long. In normal times the results would have been disastrous because the farm output would drop precariously, but these were not normal times. The constant lack of sunlight since the Collapse had already destroyed most farming. Cows, pigs, and horses were now raised in cramped quarters close to the cities. Smaller animals were even raised in people’s yards.
Garth saw the three boys far ahead as he and Kalina turned down an intersecting street. The Palace Shadow that the boys were going to was probably the fanciest inn in the city and was next to the Royal Palace. Garth and Kalina would be staying in much more modest accommodations, with Tanya and Niki somewhere in between. The Golden Sword was not far from the Sword and Shield and the girls followed Garth’s turn.
Garth passed the Golden Sword and continued on a short distance to the Sword and Shield. After they dismounted, Garth told the stableboy he would be staying if there were rooms available. The young boy took the reins and nodded. Garth and Kalina entered through the back door, which led to a hallway instead of the common room like many other inns. Garth gazed down the hallway to the small counter where the innkeeper normally stood. A young man he did not recognize looked back at him. Garth signaled that the man should come to him and he did.
“Can I help you, Sir?” the young innkeeper asked.
“You are very young for an innkeeper,” Garth commented.
“Inheritance, Sir,” the innkeeper replied without emotion. “What can I do for you?”
“We require a room with a view out the front,” Garth answered.
“Sorry, Sir,” came the quick reply, “our rooms are mostly long term and the front ones are already occupied. May I have your name for the ledger, Sir?”
“Kyle Agrat,” Garth replied.
“Thank you, Sir,” the innkeeper said as he headed for the stairs. “If you follow me, I will show you to your room. My name is John and I will do whatever I can to make your stay more comfortable.”
John marched up two flights of stairs and opened the door to a room and promptly left. Garth and Kalina walked in and put their packs down. Kalina walked to the window and looked down at the street below. Garth gently took her arm and pulled her away from the window.
“This room is in the front,” Kalina said. “He said he didn’t have any front rooms.”
“They will always say that unless your name is Agrat,” Garth chuckled. “I wasn’t sure that this place was still run by the Spiders or not because I didn’t recognize any of the young faces.”
The Spiders were a secret spy organization for Targa before the Collapse. It was set up by Prince Oscar Dalek and General Gregor, who was a Colonel at the time, to gather information on the Black Devils. It was so secret that even King Eugene did not know it existed. Within moments of their arrival the door opened to admit a man and closed again.
“You old renegade!” the newcomer greeted as he walked over and embraced Garth and then embraced Kalina. “And you brought your lovely woman to embarrass the rest of the city ladies, too.”
“Some things never change and you, Larc, are one of them,” Kalina smiled. “We have missed friends like you.”
“You have been missed, too,” Larc sighed as he sat on the floor. Larc never sat above floor level in any of the front rooms since before the Collapse.
Garth and Kalina followed his example and ignored the chairs in the room. “Tell us what has changed, Larc,” Garth requested.
“Too many things have changed,” Larc let out. “I assume that you heard about King Byron and Queen Marta or you would not be here. The Contest of Power grows stronger every year. Assassination of Council members is the new fad and someone decided it was time to include the King in the list. We got Queen Marta out in time.”
“Where is she?” Garth asked.
“I don’t know,” Larc admitted. “You know how the Spiders work. I handed her off to a contact outside the city. He handed her off to another who was known to him, and so on. The only way to find her is to repeat the process and every one of those contacts would have to agree. The chance of one of them breaking is slim, two never.”
“Well, at least she is safe,” Kalina said.
“As safe as can be,” Larc stated. “The Council several years ago started this mess. King Byron was ill and the Council ruled in his place for several months. During that time they managed to change some of the laws that restricted their power and as a result they eliminated the King’s influence over the country. I don’t need to tell you that Alcea is a dead issue. They passed a proclamation that the official name of the country is Targa and the city is Tagaret. They have dreams of reestablishing the Kingdom of Targa in its entirety and the only thing that stops them is each other. As soon as one group gains prominence, another group cuts them down. We can’t even keep track of who is in what group any more because they change their affiliations quicker than they change their clothes.”
“Why does the Army stand for it?” Garth asked.
“The Army is a joke,” Larc grimaced. “The Rangers were the first to be eliminated. They were folded into the regular Army by Council decree. Most of them would not accept it and quit. A year later, they did the same thing to the Red Swords. A lot of them accepted the change, but many others did not. Since that time, however, even the ones who accepted it have retired or quit. The Army is full of youngsters now.”
Garth nodded as it confirmed his suspicions. “What happened to the leaders of the Rangers and the Red Swords?”
“Mitar Vidson and David Jaynes,” Larc stated. “Why do you want to know?”
