The Unwilling Accomplice (Book 5) (5 page)

"Did you not have another young man with you the last you came to see us seventeen years ago?" the king persisted.

"I did, but he passed on," Ned explained.

"Cedric Osgood, I believe you gave his name?" the king wondered.

"Yes, that was his name," Ned confirmed, evidently not of the humor to speak of the topic.

"He was quite proficient in magic, if I recall, and very gifted in foretelling the future," the king mused.

"Oh yes, I recall him now!" Telana exclaimed. "He had a very unusual staff, did he not? Something he had acquired from his homeland?"

Ned smiled and bowed his head, but his lips strained to keep the smile on them. "You are both quite right, and as we are on the subject of my last visit I am curious to know why I do not see Tatrin. Is he not in the city?"

Telana and her father glanced at one another, and their faces showed anguish. "I am afraid you will not find my son here, and we ourselves can not find him anywhere else," the king revealed.

Ned raised his eyebrows. "What? Is he missing?"

"Yes, these last ten years. There was some disagreement between Tatrin and my cousin here," the king explained.

"Perhaps we are prying, and this would be better spoken about in a quieter setting," Ned suggested.

The king shook his head. "No, my family does not keep secrets from my people, so they know the story as well as we. A duel was scheduled for the following morning Come sunrise my son was nowhere to be found, and his horse was missing. Later that day his horse returned with saddle, but without rider. We have heard nor seen anything of him since," the king told them.

"Perhaps he fled out of fear," Ransan suggested.

Telana's eyes flashed with indignation. She stood and her hands at her sides glowed with the color of their magic. "My brother was a brave man, and would never have fled," she argued.

"Whatever the reasons, he is gone and Telana is the sole heir to our kingdom unless Tatrin returns," Theowin added.

"She is the beauty of our kingdom, but the thorn in every man's side," Ransan spoke up. "Every day we men are graced with her presence, and yet she chooses none to be her husband."

Telana opened her mouth for a quick, snapping response, but her father set his hand atop hers on the table. She quieted. "I know you yourself are eager to marry her, cousin, but she has the right to choose her husband as any of our women have the right to find their love," the king reminded his kinsfolk.

"He would not care for me were I not so wealthy," Telana muttered, and her cousin overheard her remark.

Ransan smiled and bowed his head. "Even if you were the poorest creature in our kingdom I would still vie for your hand," he insisted.

"I'm sure, my dear cousin," the king replied. He didn't sound convinced. "But here we are speaking of old times and arrangements of marriage when there is a feast to be eaten and dreams to be dreamed. Come, let us eat."

"If you will excuse me, dear cousin. I have duties to attend to in the port," Ransan commented, and strode out of the banquet hall.

"You must excuse Lord Ransan. He is very straightforward in his speech, but a competent administrator of the port. We have never had the port run as smoothly as under his command," the king commented.

"I am sure he grieves at the loss of his cousin, and the topic is a sensitive one for him," Ned suggested.

The king stroked his chin and furrowed his brow. "Perhaps, but enough with the past. Let us celebrate your long-awaited return, Edwin, with some of our delicacies. Servants, the food!"

At the king's words the food was brought into the hall, platters and platters of covered dishes. Each guest received their own covered dish and the servants pulled away the lids to reveal a small bit of greenery with an ounce of meat and a serving of chocolate that would have fit into a thimble. Many of the companions were disappointed, and Canto was disgusted.

"What is this?" he growled.

"Our delicacy. Each piece comes from the far reaches of the world. The meat from the herds to the south, the greenery from the marshes of your own homeland, and the dessert is a specialty of the islands to the west of our continent," the king explained.

Fred no longer had to wonder how the elves kept their figures. They starved themselves to achieve those hour-glass shapes. The feast was quickly devoured, and soon thereafter the companions returned to their rooms hungry and worried the hospitality of the elves would starve them to death.

CHAPTER 6

Fred retired and through sheer force of will ignored his rumbling stomach and slipped into sleep. At midnight he was awoken by the sounds of horns. Fred shot up in bed and looked around him wondering if a stampede of bullfalo were barreling down on him. He quickly realized the noise came from the window. Fred swept aside the covers and went to the window. The city was ablaze with the blue light from elven hands as people flitted through the streets. Their shouts carried up to the castle, but he couldn't make out the words because they were spoken in Elvish.

Fred's attention turned to the door where he heard a clamor of steel. He grabbed his transformed staff and hurried into the hall. Elven guards were positioned at every corner, and Ned was deep in conversation with one of them at the top of the stairs a few yards down the corridor. Ned noticed Fred, spoke a few more words to the guard, and hurried over to his young apprentice. Their other companions hurried out of their rooms in various states of disarray and with their weapons in hand. Ruth was transformed into her gargoyle form.

"What's all the racket for?" Canto growled.

"It seems the city defenses have been breached," Ned told them.

"An army?" Percy guessed, but Ned shook his head.

"Nothing so dramatic, but something far more bold. The guards at the bridge were manning their posts three hours ago when a stranger in a dark cloak emerged from the forest. The person pulled aside their cloak to reveal a beautiful woman who enchanted them and forced them to open the barrier. She passed through and slipped into the city."

"Three hours ago, and only now alerting the city?" Percy wondered.

"The guards were only just now freed from their enchantment," Ned explained.

Fred furrowed his brow. A beautiful woman who had the power of a castor. "A beautiful woman?" Fred repeated.

Ned grimly nodded. "Yes, and I agree with your thoughts, my young apprentice. Martley has followed us from Kite."

"Martley? What's she got to do with anything?" Canto questioned them.

"She was disguised as a soothsayer in String and told me I needed to beware of men in white cloaks," Fred told them.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Was this before you were attacked?"

"Yes," Fred replied.

"Then we may have some thanks to give to her for the warning, little as it helped," Percy commented.

"Whatever her intentions she has invaded the city, and that cannot be forgiven" Pat pointed out.

"Aye, and was needed to be welcomed in to do it," Canto reminded them. "That makes her something more than just another pretty face."

"I must concur. She must have had a reason for the way she entered. It was a great risk to reveal herself," Percy agreed.

Ned stroked his beard and nodded. "Yes, she, as Ruth and I, could not enter the city without the barrier being pushed aside. We must assume she is very gifted in magic, and not merely proficient at disguising herself."

"She is such a powerful castor and yet you still do not know who she is?" Pat questioned him.

Ned shook his head. "Not the faintest. Her abilities and appearance are not at all familiar to me."

"Could she be the castor who tried to kidnap Fred in String, and meant to fool us with the warning?" Percy suggested.

"No," Ned replied. His answer was so firm that all in the company turned to him. Ned cleared his throat. "The person who attacked Fred was certainly a man," he added.

"Then we are at a loss as to who she is, and what her intentions are," Percy sighed.

"I don't think she means to hurt me, or any of us," Fred spoke up. All eyes turned to him, but he didn't waver from his comment. "She warned me about the man who attacked me and she tried to keep me from going to the Valley of the King."

Pat scoffed. "So she makes herself out to be a guardian while helping as little as possible," she commented.

Fred furrowed his brow. "That's just it. I think she's been helping me since Galaron. There was an old woman there who I don't think was an old woman, and she gave me the key to the trapdoor to lead us through Ruth's home and outside, and there was an old woman at Tramadore after the battle who gave me the comb for Fluffy."

Ned stroked his beard. "Most mysterious. I wonder if you, Fred and Pat, recall that we were assisted on our way at the very beginning by an old woman in a cart?"

Pat frowned. "The one who drove us into the first town after we found Fred?" she wondered.

"The very one," Ned agreed.

"But how could she know about Fred before he arrived at Galaron?" she pointed out.

"That is a question only she can answer. We will have to keep a sharp eye out for our follower and see if we are able to converse with her on the subject," Ned suggested.

"And Fred should be kept to his room," Pat added.

Fred frowned. "I'll be fine," he argued.

Pat scowled back at him. "We don't know what her intentions are toward you, so the safest place would be the castle and your room," she insisted.

"She doesn't mean to hurt me. If she did she would have done so a half dozen times already," he protested.

Ned held up a hand and smiled at the pair. "I agree with Pat that Fred should be on his guard, but Fred would be safest with us. I will keep him by my side at all times outside the castle," he promised. Pat frowned, but didn't protest the arrangement.

Fred was none too pleased. "I can handle myself," he argued.

"Against a common foe I believe that, but we are dealing with an uncommon foe and measures must be taken," Ned insisted. Fred opened his mouth to continue his protest, but Ned shook his head. "No more arguments, my apprentice. Let us all return to our beds and sleep away what little of this night remains."

The companions returned to their rooms, but Fred entered his and forsook the bed for the window. He leaned against the sill and looked out on the city. The guards wandered from street to street, but he knew they wouldn't find her, not when she was capable of transforming into whatever disguise she needed.

"Who are you really?" he wondered. The air didn't answer, so he turned back to his bed and slept fitfully the rest of the night.

A knock on his door awoke Fred from his sleep. He creaked open his eyes and saw the sun had risen, but the light was the weak brilliance of a half hour after sunrise. The knocking insisted he rise, so Fred tossed aside the covers and shuffled over to the door. He opened it to find Ned on the threshold of his room with a bright smile on his face.

Ned swept into the room and over to the bed where he turned to Fred who still stood by the door. Fred slowly shifted so he partially faced his energetic master. "Good morning, my apprentice. I trust you slept well after that little surprise last night," he commented.

"Ugh," Fred replied.

"Excellent! I hope you don't mind the early rising, but we have a long and interesting day ahead of us. Telana has promised to take us for a tour, and the city is so large and has so much worth seeing that it takes a full day to appreciate its beauty," Ned told him.

"Ugh," Fred answered.

"Good, then I and the others will meet you in the dining hall in a few minutes. We hope to gather enough provisions to satisfy our appetites, but nothing is guaranteed unless you hurry." With that friendly warning of starvation Ned hurried out of the room and shut the door behind himself.

Fred stumbled through clothing himself and in a few minutes was downstairs with his friends. A banquet table full of breakfast foods sat against one of the feasting hall walls, and Ned had produced a basket from his cloak into which Canto and Percy were stuffing the food. The servants watched with disapproving looks, but didn't stop their pillaging of the table.

One did lean toward their companion and speak in a low voice, "they take as much to feed an elf for fifty days," he whispered.

"Fifty days? This is my breakfast," Canto scoffed.

Ruth and Pat stood close by watching the packing. They wore their usual clothes and Pat's sword lay at her hip. She wouldn't take any chances with Martley loose in the city.

Princess Telana entered the hall a few minutes after them with a bright smile on her face and Anduvis the hawk on her shoulder. In her hands was the Chronos box. "Good morning, dear friends," she greeted them as she joined them by the table.

Ruth reached out and stroked the hawk's feathery chest. "Your hawk is already well?" she wondered.

"He is not yet able to fly, but that needs only time to heal," Telana replied. She held out the box to Ruth. "I am forever grateful for the use of this precious gift," she thanked the young woman.