Unicorns' Opal (15 page)

“How dare you accuse me of trying to hurt Tedi,” blasted Niki. “What about what she did to me? You don’t have any right to treat me this way. You don’t own me.”

“Another thing,” retorted Alex. “You will use no magic in the future unless you are given leave to. If we have to cart you around in a wagon, we will do it. Now save the rest of your tirade for someone who cares to listen to it, because I am not in the mood to hear it.”

Alex nodded to Jenneva as Niki’s mouth flew open again and they turned and rode down the hill leaving Fredrik and Niki behind.

“How can you let them treat me this way?” Niki screamed at Fredrik.

“They are upset,” pleaded Fredrik. “You almost killed Tedi with that tree mine.”

“Oh so when the great Jenneva throws one it is okay,” growled Niki, “but when I try it is all my fault. She is the one who taught me the spell. She didn’t teach me well enough. It is not my fault it didn’t go far enough. Why is it always my fault?”

“Jenneva warned you not to use magic, Niki,” reasoned Fredrik. “Those men from Tice are coming with us. Jenneva didn’t want them to know we are mages. Many towns frown upon magic use and we would not be able to get on a ship.”

“But the goblins were going to kill Tedi,” insisted Niki. “I saved his life and I get blamed for it. I don’t want to travel with them anymore. I want us to leave right now.”

“Niki,” pleaded Fredrik, “we are in the middle of nowhere. We cannot leave them now. We would not even know how to get out of here. Even Tice is so remote that we will have to leave on a ship to get to Tagaret. We cannot possibly leave the group now. Try to control yourself. I am sure they were just upset. We must leave now or we will lose track of them. Promise me you will behave until we get to Tagaret and then we will go off on our own.”

“Do you mean it?” grinned Niki. “I knew you would side with me. I want so much to be free of them. I will behave until Tagaret, I promise.”

Fredrik nodded and led the way to the rise. He could just see Alex and Jenneva on the trail ahead far ahead of them. The others were already lost in the distance.

Jenneva glanced back and saw Niki and Fredrik crest the rise.

“They are coming now,” she said. “Weren’t you a little harsh on her? If you push too hard, she will leave. It does not serve our mission to lose the one who must kill Sarac.”

“Nor does it serve our mission to lose the heir,” snapped Alex. “That girl has been nothing but trouble since we found her.”

“Perhaps she has her mother’s spirit,” frowned Jenneva.

“Perhaps,” sighed Alex. “Can you freeze her somehow until we need her? I mean she is not required to find the gems and her part in this will not begin until the Sword of Heavens is whole again.”

“No,” chuckled Jenneva. “Freezing someone that long would cause their death. I admit that I am not looking forward to the long period we shall have to endure her, but this is the task to which we have devoted our lives. Nobody ever said it was going to be an easy task.”

“No,” retorted Alex, “but I only expected to have to fight creatures and try to stay alive. I had not anticipated being slowly tortured to death. There is something seriously wrong in that girl’s mind.”

“You will get no argument from me on that point,” frowned Jenneva.

“I want you to put a tracking spell on her cloak,” declared Alex.

“You think she will leave us?” questioned Jenneva.

“I have no doubt that she wants to,” nodded Alex. “Perhaps we should let her go and then track her down when we need her.”

“We are to protect the Children,” reminded Jenneva. “If she leaves our protection, we may lose all that we have worked for.”

“I will not try to chase her away,” promised Alex, “but I fear that she will leave anyway. We must be able to find her again.”

“I will do it tonight when she is sleeping,” agreed Jenneva. “I did have a chance to examine the necklace when I was tending to Tedi. Only the original tracking spell is on it. No new spells at all.”

Alex nodded as he spotted the rest of the group in the distance in front of him. He checked behind to make sure that Fredrik and Niki were still following and then lapsed into silence.

Damon rode up alongside Alex as Tice came into view.

“I am thankful that you have allowed us to join you on this journey,” smiled Damon. “If there is anything that I can do for you in Tice, it would be my pleasure to assist you.”

“I am grateful for the offer, Damon,” responded Alex. “Your brother and you have been good guests. Our only goal in Tice is secure passage on a ship.”

“Well, I am not sure if we have arrived in time for it,” frowned Damon. “They sail infrequently. You may be stuck in Tice for some time. I have no fears for yourself as only a fool would confront you, but the young ones should be kept off the streets as much as possible. Tice is very much a frontier town and the army dissolved during the Collapse. There is no law and order inside those walls. I know you have avoided the question before, but what type of group is this? There are not too many families that dress in uniforms.”

“Our clothing suits our travel,” smiled Alex. “We search for lost things so we spend much of our time on the trail. I guess we have no flair for color.”

“I understand,” chuckled Damon. “I will pry no further. Still, if you have need of us in Tice, just ask. We are well known there.”

“Thank you,” nodded Alex as the approached the wooden wall and the closed gates to Tice. “Are there many inns in Tice?”

“There are only two,” answered Damon. “The Tice Inn and the Crow’s Nest. Both are old and seldom used. Tice does not get many visitors. Mostly the inns survive on meals and I suspect they barely survive at that. The Tice Inn is quite large. The shipping company built it shortly before the Collapse. The Crow’s Nest is much older and smaller. I would suggest the Tice Inn.”

“I will accept your recommendation,” responded Alex.

“It is on the waterfront,” continued Damon. “You will have no trouble locating it.”

Damon waved to the man on the platform by the gate and called out to him. The man waved back and the gates opened to admit the group. The main road of the town ran straight to the waterfront. Damon and Charl turned off as soon as they were through the gates and waved a farewell as the Rangers continued down the road.

Tice had been a fishing village before Targa built the garrison to stake their claim to it. After the Collapse, the army disbanded and the soldiers had to fend for themselves. While fishing was still the mainstay of the economy, trapping, mining, and hunting became necessary to support the population. The ride down the main street convinced Alex that the town had seen better days. The newest buildings in Tice were the barracks that had been built for the Targan army before the Collapse. Some of the former soldiers continued to live in the barracks and use them as their homes.

As they reached the waterfront, Alex directed the Rangers to the Tice Inn while he headed for the Tice Shipping Company to check on the sailing schedule. The shipping company building was a large warehouse and Alex walked through a set of doors large enough to allow passage of wagons. Inside the cavernous building were some old wagons, a stable far to the rear, and little else. A gruff old man approached Alex as he entered.

“We aren’t hiring,” the man declared.

“Actually, I am looking for Fram,” Alex said. “I am an old friend.”

“You must be an old friend,” cackled the old man. “Fram has been dead for fifteen years.”

Alex nodded as he realized that Fram had been an old man when he knew him. “Who runs the business now?”

“His son, Kripp,” the old man replied. “Up the stairs over there. There is an office at the top.”

Alex nodded his thanks and headed up the stairs. He never knew that Fram had had a son and suddenly Alex began to feel the weight of the years he had spent in search of the Children of the Prophecy. The door to the office was open and Alex walked in. There was an empty desk with papers upon it and a door to another room, which was open. Alex walked through the second door and saw a young man whose eyes carried the twinkle he remembered in Fram’s eyes. The man had a wild mess of red hair and an oversized nose.

“You must be Kripp,” smiled Alex as he extending his hand. “I knew your father, Fram. My name is Alex.”

Kripp rose and shook Alex’s hand and nodded to a chair. “Can’t say as I remember him knowing an Alex,” murmured Kripp. “What brings you to Tice?”

“My party needs passage to Tagaret,” Alex said as he sat in the chair. “There are seven of us.”

“I hope you don’t mind waiting,” stated Kripp. “Haven’t got enough cargo to make the trip worthwhile right now.”

“Well I suppose we will have to wait then,” frowned Alex. “I would like to get to Tagaret as soon as possible, but I understand your needs. How long of a wait do expect it will be?”

“Hard to tell,” drawled Kripp. “Might be a month or more. Trappers are finding it harder to score any game.”

“A month?” echoed Alex. “There must be something going out of here sooner. Maybe a ship to Centerport?”

“This is the only shipping company in town,” Kripp shook his head. “Every ship out of here goes to Tagaret. There isn’t much business in between to be bothered with.”

“Well, I can ride there in less time than a month,” sighed Alex.

“Might be sooner if the trappers get lucky,” Kripp said. “Problem is they have to go farther out to get anything worth shipping. I might have a better idea when Damon and his three brothers get back. They are a pretty good indicator of what the others will bring in.”

“Damon is back,” frowned Alex. “He only has one brother now. They were attacked by goblins and ended up riding back with my party.”

“That is not good news, friend,” declared Kripp. “Goblin attacks are something we have rarely seen. That means the others will not venture out very far and there will not be much to ship. Word of a goblin attack will spread through this town quicker than the wind. A month might be wishful thinking for the next voyage. Not only that, but if goblins are in the area, your party will never survive the trip to Tagaret by land. They are nasty creatures for sure. I am surprised that Damon even had a brother to bring back with him if they ran into goblins. Must have been a real small group of them.”

“It was about twenty. Well at least I got to meet Fram’s son,” smiled Alex. “He never mentioned a son to me, but then I had little contact with him after that trip to Kalamaar.”

“You rode with my father?” asked Kripp. “He hadn’t been on a wagon since I was born.”

“I was pretty young myself at the time,” nodded Alex. “Not much more than a boy at the time actually. I still remember the trip fondly though. I rode as a guard on your father’s wagon and he filled my head with loads of stories. He taught me a lot. That was the trip that Oscar hired Fram and started his own shipping company.”

Kripp jumped to his feet and stared down at Alex. “Oscar?” he asked. “Do you mean Oscar Dalek?”

Alex rose cautiously and faced Kripp. “Yes,” he answered. “Oscar, Larc, and I signed on as guards when the caravan lost the other guards. It was the only time I was in a wagon caravan.”

“And you are Alex?” Kripp quizzed. “Alexander Tork?”

“Yes,” Alex answered hesitantly.

“I thought you were dead,” Kripp said excitedly. “My father talked about that trip to his dying day. I can still hear him telling that story. Him riding with Oscar Dalek and Alexander Tork. You would think that was the highlight of his life. I guess it was. I am mighty glad to have had the chance to meet you in person. My father used to ask every stranger that came into town if he had heard anything about you or Oscar. Do you know if Oscar is still alive?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Alex. “I have not heard of him dying, but if he is alive, now is not the time for him to surface.”

“Why?” questioned Kripp. “He is the Prince of Targa isn’t he?”

“Actually, he is probably the King now,” frowned Alex. “His father was murdered recently. The Queen has gone into hiding. Tagaret is not a very safe place these days.”

“I hadn’t heard,” Kripp said as he sat back in his chair. “I really would like to know if he is alive. Nobody knows, but I am sure I can trust you with the information in case you see him. This business is nine-tenths his. That was the secret agreement he had made with my father. Ninety percent of our profits have been secured in Tagaret for him. If he is not alive, I need to know who his heir is, if he has one. If you find him, would you tell him I need to talk to him?”

“I will do that,” promised Alex as he weighed how much to share with Kripp. If Fram had put all that money aside for Oscar and his son continued to do it, Kripp could hardly be expected to reveal anything to an enemy.

“I have more than my father’s nose,” chuckled Kripp. “You know something that you are debating with yourself whether I am trustworthy to divulge it to. My father owed everything he had to Oscar, as do I. Business is low now, but it has not always been so. Oscar’s generosity has made me a rich man. I am indebted to him and will never compromise him. Still, if you think it is better left unsaid, I will understand. In any event, my ship will sail when you want it to. I can afford the loss to see that Alexander Tork gets to Tagaret quickly.”

“That is most generous of you,” responded Alex. “And you are right. I know things that I am hesitant to reveal. People’s lives hang in the balance. They must be protected, but I also need allies and you could be a very important one. I do not think you would ever purposely reveal anything, but I would also be endangering your life by sharing the information.”

“You are talking about the Targan throne,” guessed Kripp. “My father made me promise before he died that I would keep Tice Shipping Company active and ready for the day when the rightful King of Alcea was to be crowned. We have bolts, catapults, and rigging for each of the ships in storage for just that purpose. You have only to say the word and the Tice Shipping Company navy will arrive in Tagaret.”

“Who would man these ships?” quizzed Alex.

“This town is filled with old soldiers that would love to be part of Targa again,” grinned Kripp, “regardless of what it is called. You would be surprised at the amount of support you would find in many of the old Targan towns.”