Dwarven Ruby

by Richard S. Tuttle

  “Stop it now,” ordered Adan. “Release the basta.”

  Caroom let go of Tedi. Rax came running out of her wagon and halted next to Tedi.

  “What is the meaning of this?” demanded Adan. “I thought the basta was to be chained up.”

  “There is no need for that,” sighed Rax. “He has no memory. The blow from the trail was very severe. The basta can cause no harm. I was coming to tell you as soon as I changed clothes.”

  “I thought he was escaping,” complained Caroom. “Or planning to steal from one of the wagons.”

  “And that gives you the right to beat him repeatedly?” accused Natia. “It was obvious that he was deferring to you.”

  “He is a basta,” spat Caroom. “Why do you care what happens to him?”

  “I would not beat an animal senselessly,” scowled Natia. “Why should we care less for another human who has caused us no harm? Remember, he did not choose to come here and attack us. It was you who beat him off of his horse.”

  “Enough,” stated Adan. “We are feasting and this is no time for quarrels amongst ourselves. Caroom, return to the fire.”

  Caroom stomped off, and Adan helped his sister up.

  “You should know better than to cross Caroom without your weapons,” frowned Adan. “He is too strong for you. Lock up the basta and return to the fire.”

  “No,” Natia said defiantly. “You heard Rax. He has no memory. I will not lock him up like an animal. You did not see what happened here. He cowered and was submissive before Caroom until Caroom hurt me. Then he attacked without thought of harm to himself. I cannot reward that behavior with chains.”

  “Then he is your responsibility,” Adan shook his head. “Your word is given that he will not escape?”

  “It is given,” Natia declared.

  Natia gently took Tedi’s hand and led him to the fire. She seated him on the log next to herself. The rest of the gypsies hushed when the basta joined their ranks. Many gave Natia a strange look, but she ignored them. A few moments later, Adan and Rax joined the group around the fire.

  “Enough talk of old times and times yet to come,” Adan stated loudly. “Let the feast begin.”

  Women scurried about while men set up several tables near the fire. Some seating logs were moved to make a large open area, and some men appeared with musical instruments. Within minutes, the campfire area was alive with music as large bowls of vegetables were placed on the tables. Mugs of ale were passed around as a gypsy began carving slices of meat off of the roasting boar.

  “Will you sit quietly and not move while I get you some food?” Natia asked Tedi.

  Tedi nodded and Natia was soon back with two plates. She handed one to Tedi. Tedi tore into the boar as if he hadn’t eaten in quite a while. Natia watched him curiously as she ate from her own plate.

  “I guess you were hungry?” smiled Natia. “Why did you attack Caroom?”

  Tedi shrugged, “He should not pick on you like that.”

  “But you do not mind him picking on you?” pressed Natia. “Why is that?”

  “I do not know,” frowned Tedi. “I guess I was doing something wrong. I didn’t mean to. I was just looking at the wagon. It was very pretty.”

  “That was very brave of you,” smiled Natia. “Of course it was a little stupid too. Caroom could break you like a twig. We joke about him being the giant gypsy. He is not really a giant, but he sure is big. But I guess you know that by now.”

  Tedi just nodded. Rax came by with a plate of food and sat next to Natia.

  “If the staff is any indication,” she said softly to Natia, “his name is Tedi. See if you can get him to remember anything.”

  Natia stared into the fire, but kept Tedi in her peripheral vision. “Would you like an ale, Tedi,” she said.

  Tedi kept eating as if he had not heard her. She turned her head to face him and repeated the question. Tedi understood that she was talking to him and nodded. Natia held up her hand and a man came over with two mugs of ale. She handed one to Tedi. Tedi gulped the ale and started coughing. Natia quickly reached out and held Tedi’s plate so it didn’t dump all over the ground.

  “What is that?” coughed Tedi. “It tastes horrible.”

  “You have never had ale before?” laughed Natia.

  “Or maybe not real ale,” chuckled Rax. “Some of what they serve in cities is not fit to be called ale.”

  “You called me Tedi. Is that my name?”

  “It is,” nodded Natia. “Can you remember anything at all?”

  Tedi shook his head, “I keep trying, but I cannot.”

  Some of the gypsies had finished eating, and they migrated to the large cleared area. The music changed slightly and the gypsies began dancing. Those still sitting began clapping in beat to the music. As the tempo of the music increased, so did the volume of the music and the clapping. Natia had been watching the dance and turned to look at Tedi. He was smiling broadly and clapping away just like the rest of the gypsies. She grinned.

  “Would you like to dance?” asked Natia.

  “I would,” answered Tedi, “but I can’t remember how.”

  Rax chuckled and Natia turned towards her with a puzzled look.

  “I doubt he ever knew,” whispered Rax. “Teach him.”

  Natia smiled and reached for Tedi’s hand. Tedi rose hesitantly, but he let Natia drag him over to the cleared area. Natia tossed off her shawl and began moving to the music, while Tedi stood there staring. He turned and looked at the other male dancers and began to imitate what they were doing. The gypsies howled with laughter, but Tedi did not seem to notice.

  Adan walked over and sat next to Rax. “He seems innocent enough,” he commented.

  “He does at that,” agreed Rax. “His calluses speak of training, though. And fishing. His body is well toned as well. The lad is a fighter.”

  “That is what I thought when I saw the weapons,” nodded Adan. “I bet he has a story to tell. How long will the amnesia last?”

  “It is impossible to know for sure,” answered Rex. “Maybe only a couple of days. Maybe he will never regain his memory. He is fortunate that his head was not split open. I think if the blow had been to his face, he would have died.”

  “I cannot just force him out into the forest with no memory,” frowned Adan. “Still I do not want to keep a basta that will cause dissention and trouble among my people. What is your advice?”

  “As long as his memory is gone,” answered Rax, “he poses no danger to us. He does not appear to be aggressive, despite his array of weapons.”

  “Natia certainly seems to be enjoying him,” remarked Adan. “I guess he can stay until he recovers. Then we will have to make a decision.”

  “She was touched that he would defend her,” chuckled Rax. “Little does he know that Natia could probably do more damage to Caroom than he could.”

  “Caroom is beginning to worry me,” frowned Adan. “He grows more aggressive by the day.”

  “You choose to be blind,” frowned Rax. “Caroom thinks he should be leading the gypsies. Every time you leave, he hopes you will not return. There is trouble brewing down that road, my friend.”

  “He is a good fighter,” sighed Adan. “At this time, the gypsies will need every fighter we can get. I do not think Caroom will ever do more than dream about leading. The people would not follow him.”

  “You and I know that,” Rax agreed, “but Caroom does not. Be careful of turning your back towards him.”

  “It is so wasteful to have to worry about fighting among my family,” sighed Adan. “There is so much danger in the world for us now.”

  “Forget the dangers for this night,” smiled Rax. “It is the night of the feast. Go and enjoy yourself. The boy can stay in my wagon at night. I think he means us no harm.”

  “Are you sure, Rax?” frowned Adan. “Letting a basta inside your home?”

  “Look at him,” chuckled Rax as she pointed at the dancing gypsies. “One could almost imagine tha
t he had grown up here. Except for his dancing of course.”

  “Yes,” laughed Adan. “Perhaps I can have someone teach him how to dance.”

  * * *

  “A wonderful turkey, Master Khatama,” smiled Lara.

  “Thank you, Lara,” smiled Boris. “It pleases me that you enjoyed it.”

  “What is it that Bin-lu is doing?” asked Kamil.

  “The Lanoirians practice a different technique of fighting than most cultures,” answered Boris. “Surely you have seen examples of this during your stay at the Imperial Palace?”

  “We saw very little of Lanoirian life,” replied Kamil. “We did see men exercising in the mornings on occasion, but nothing as frantic as what Bin-lu is doing.”

  “The lad has more experience than he lets on,” nodded Boris. “He is very modest. In many cultures it is called shadow fighting. It is not as effective as sparring with a partner, but none of us would provide a decent challenge to Bin-lu. He is pretending that he is fighting a worthy opponent. His moves are the moves he would make to win the bout.”

  “You must have seen much of this world during your travels,” smiled Lara.

  “That I have,” nodded Boris. “It feels like I have traveled this land forever.”

  “Amazing that you never found the parents of that gypsy girl you mentioned,” commented Kamil.

  “Gypsy girl?” questioned Boris.

  “She means Tanya,” Niki said on the way to the stream.

  “Oh,” smiled Boris. “Tanya is not a gypsy girl. It is true that a gypsy family was looking for her, but they were not her family.”

  “How do you know that?” asked Kamil as Bin-lu halted his practice and grabbed a cup of coffee from the fire. “You said you searched for them for years?”

  “No,” Boris shook his head. “I searched for Tanya’s parents for years, but they are not gypsies.”

  “Then who were Ora and Beka?” asked Bin-lu.

  “Ora and Beka are gypsies,” replied Boris. “They were looking for the baby at the time I found Tanya. They asked around at many villages. That was how I was able to find them.”

  “You said the other day that you never did find them,” frowned Lara. “You said you have looked for years.”

  Master Khatama frowned and stared at the two women. Slowly he nodded at them.

  “My memory has been going bad for sometime,” explained Boris, “but it is crystal clear now. I can remember my conversation with Ora and Beka like it just happened. I am sorry for the confusion.”

  “It was a different baby they were looking for then?” asked Lara.

  “No, it was the same baby,” answered Boris, “but it was not theirs. Ora and his family were traveling, as gypsies often do. They came across a wounded man and his dead horse. They nursed the man back to health, but he kept babbling about a baby. The gypsies had not seen a baby, but they promised to help him look. I found the baby they were looking for, but the man had gone his own way before that time.”

  “So the bandits attacked this man and took the baby?” asked Lara.

  “Leaving the man and horse for dead,” nodded Boris. “Those same bandits ended up getting killed by dark elves. That is where I entered the scene.”

  “A sad tale,” frowned Kamil. “Too many families are broken up these days. Do you know this man that you search for? Do you have a good description of him?”

  “I know the man,” nodded Boris sadly. “I need to get word to Tanya. Blast my memory. To forget what you are searching for after so many years. I wish my memory had come back before Tedi left. He could have informed her.”

  “Why is your memory coming back now?” asked Niki as she sat down next to Boris. “Every day it appears to be getting clearer for you. Just the opposite of the trip down here when every day you forgot something new.”

  “That I do not know,” Boris confessed. “Someone losing their memories is not that strange as one ages, but to gradually get it back is most mysterious.”

  “Maybe you hit your head when you passed out on the beach,” offered Niki. “That is when your memory started improving.”

  “I will be going to join the Rangers after we get to Tagaret,” offered Bin-lu. “I could deliver the message for you.”

  “That will have to do,” nodded Boris. “We cannot afford to go that way at this time.”

  “What is the message that you want me to deliver?” asked Bin-lu.

  Master Khatama gazed at the people in the campsite and shook his head.

  “Perhaps it is something that I should tell her myself,” Boris said softly. “I do not know how she will take it.”

  * * *

  “Good hit, Wylan,” Alex called out as he strode over to the practice area. “You are progressing very well. Arik, your mind is not on what you are doing. Is something bothering you?”

  “Yes, Alex,” sighed Arik as he stuck the practice sword under his belt. “I cannot get my mind off Tedi’s mother. I should have gone with him.”

  “We have been through all of this before,” sighed Alex. “Do not continue to punish yourself for not being able to be in more than one place at a time.”

  “What if it was my mother?” posed Arik. “Would I have passed up the opportunity to rescue her? I know that I could not have. Why should my mother matter more than Tedi’s? I know the logic of your reasons, but that is not the type of person I want to be.”

  “That is the type person that you must be,” frowned Alex. “You are going to be facing some very tough decisions in your life, Arik. Some of them you will not enjoy making, but your life is not your own any more. I thought you had realized that.”

  “Not everybody sees it with your clarity, Alex,” taunted Tanya. “That is the way you have run your life, but is it right for Arik?”

  “Do you mean would I make the same decisions if I had to make them over again?” growled Alex as he clenched his fists.

  “Would you?” asked Tanya.

  Jenneva walked over and laid a calming hand on Alex’s shoulder. He turned and looked at Jenneva and smiled thinly.

  “I don’t know, Tanya,” Alex answered. “I know that I have made the right decisions for the benefit of the world, but there are times that I would rather just have my family and forget the world’s problems. Why does it have to fall upon my shoulders to save the world?”

  “Your decisions were the right ones to make, Alex,” Jenneva said softly. “Had you made other decisions, you would now be beating yourself for being selfish while the world around you crumbled.”

  “So you would do the same then, Jenneva?” pressed Tanya.

  “Here is an exercise for you Tanya,” Jenneva smiled thinly. “Think of the person that means the most to you of all the people in the world. Now picture that person’s life about to be extinguished. You can save that person if you want, but only if thousands and thousands of innocent people die because of your choice. Thousands of families torn apart and destroyed because of your actions. Children torn from their parents. Husband torn from wife. What would you do?”

  Tanya starred at the ground for a moment, but Jenneva pushed harder.

  “The time for the decision is now, Tanya,” shouted Jenneva. “You do not have the luxury of time. Make your choice.”

  “I understand now,” sobbed Tanya. “I guess it just bothered me so much that you two famous people lost your child and never looked back. It did not make sense to me. You are so wonderful on one hand and so…careless on the other. I guess I should not be so quick to judge you having never had to make the decisions that you have been forced to make. I am so sorry.”

  Tanya ran crying into the woods. Wylan and Arik avoided the conflict by making themselves busy cleaning up the campsite. Alex rose, and Jenneva put her hand on his arm.

  “Let her be,” Jenneva said softly. “She has been pushing you on this since we met her. Let her think about it for a while.”

  “I cannot,” Alex shook his head. “I do not care to have her bring this subject up,
but it is not fair for her to suffer for not understanding what it is like.”

  Alex strode into the woods and found Tanya crying near the stream. He sat down beside her and put his arm around her.

  “How can you comfort me after the way I have treated you?” sobbed Tanya.

  “Because I know how you are feeling right now,” Alex answered. “Nobody should ever be put in the position that Jenneva described. I was, and I have hated myself ever since. The funny thing is, I would hate myself no matter which choice I made. Jenneva is right about that. The worst part is that I really did not have a choice at all.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Tanya.

  “Our child was taken when we weren’t at home,” explained Alex. “I went to Cordonia to find her, but there were no leads to follow. Even if I made the choice to let the world destroy itself, I still would not have found my child. I hope that you never have to make a choice like that. Nobody should have to.”

  Tanya wrapped her arms around Alex and hugged him.

  “But isn’t that what you are telling Arik that he must do?” sobbed Tanya.

  “It is,” nodded Alex. “I hope that it never comes to that for him, though. I fear what it may do to him as a man. The best advice I ever gave to the men I trained, was to never look back on your decisions. I have tried to follow that advice myself. That is why it hurts so much when you bring it up. It resurrects the pain, and it is a pain that never stops hurting.”

  “I will never bring it up again,” promised Tanya.

  “If you do,” chuckled Alex, “I will get very angry with you, just before I forgive you.”

  Chapter 10

  Elven Ruins

  Arik called a halt as he approached the ruins made up of great white stones. As far as his eye could see, giant pieces of white stone littered the ground. Long pieces of metal were strewn about. The pieces of metal were rusted and misshapen. Ancient bridges were cracked and sticking half out of the river. He looked down at the ground and saw vast paces of white marble squares with weeds protruding between them. The most striking ruin was a massive white tower, which had fallen to the ground and splintered into thousands of pieces. It stretched out farther than Arik could see.