The Warrior Elf

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  They nodded.

  “That’s fine. We can take you.” Then Kevin looked at Cpt. Lawrence. “Have you eaten lunch?”

  The captain shook his head. “We came in here as soon as we got back.”

  “Then why don’t all of you go to the dining room and get something to eat? I’ll meet you back in here in an hour and we’ll take you home then.”

  After the men left with Cpt. Lawrence, Kevin asked, “What do you want me to do with them if I take them home and the place is deserted? I doubt they’ll want to stay there by themselves.”

  “No, but they may want to pack up. I would,” Joan said.

  “All right. Do I leave them there on their own?”

  Karl shrugged. “If that’s what they want. We haven’t had a report of any slaver raids in over two months now. They should be safe enough.”

  “And if they decide not to stay?” Kevin asked. “Can they stay in the barracks until their wives get here?”

  Joan nodded. “That was arranged before Cpt. Lawrence went to get them.”

  “Okay, let me know when they’re back.”

  “I’m going with you when you take them,” Karl said. When Kevin looked at him, Karl shrugged. “I feel like I should, especially since they might be walking into a deserted village.”

  Kevin nodded. “See you later, then.”

  Two hours later Kevin and Karl took the first man home. When they got there, he was greeted by a couple of brothers, their families, and several friends. The second man walked into a similar situation, but the third man, Tyric, found nothing but desolation in his settlement. Some of the front doors had been broken during the raid and were still hanging half-open. Debris left by squirrels and other small animals littered the porches and floors. After they looked around, Karl asked Tyric what he wanted to do.

  “I’d like to stay for a couple of days, sort through things, and pack up anything we might be able to use.” Tyric stared at his house. “A couple of the men who lived here are still at the camp. I’d like to talk to them before I make any decisions. Can I go see them before my wife comes?”

  Karl nodded. “We’ll be back Wednesday morning. That’ll give you plenty of time. In the meantime, do you want us to bring you anything? Maybe some food?”

  Tyric shook his head. “I’ll be fine. See you Wednesday.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Monday evening, shortly after dinner, Kevin and Nikki went down to Doreen’s to see if Rhianna wanted to join them for a walk. She was sitting on the porch when they got there.

  “Waiting for us?” Kevin asked with a grin.

  “Not really,” Rhianna answered. “I wasn’t sure you were coming down this evening. I just wanted some quiet.”

  “House a little noisy now?”

  “Yes, but it’s a good noise, full of laughter and fun. Even Eryn’s joining in. But then, all of them have something in common. They were all slaves until recently.”

  “I’m glad they can laugh,” Kevin said softly. “If that had happened to me...”

  “I know. I feel the same way, but I think it helps having them here together.” Rhianna shrugged. “It makes me feel like an outsider sometimes, but I’m not complaining. That’s one group I’m glad I don’t belong to.”

  Kevin held his hand out to her. “Come with us. We’ll be our own group, you, Nikki, and me.”

  Rhianna laughed, took his hand, and pulled herself up.

  After they’d walked for a while, Kevin asked, “Did you get a chance to find out how Doreen feels about having children around?”

  “I talked to her this morning. She doesn’t mind as long as there’s room, but she doesn’t want to be responsible for the child.”

  “She won’t be.”

  “And she wants some ground rules, like the child isn’t allowed in her office, the tool shed, or anywhere near any construction. The main thing she’s worried about is the child getting hurt. She’d feel responsible.”

  Kevin nodded.

  “Doreen wants to talk to the mother first and be sure she’s not expecting the other women who live here to take care of her child. Watching someone else’s child wasn’t part of the bargain they agreed to when they moved in.”

  “She can talk to the woman at the castle and if she thinks there’ll be a problem we’ll find somewhere else to put them.”

  Rhianna shook her head. “I’m not sure she’d tell you.”

  Kevin laughed. “This is Doreen we’re talking about, right? The one who told me if I’d been doing my job she never would have been captured in the first place?”

  “She didn’t really say that, did she?”

  “She sure did, the same day she told me she wanted me to fix her life back like it was before I let the slavers ruin it.”

  “That must have been fear talking. Now she figures she owes you for backing her up about her boats.”

  “I didn’t have anything to do with that. She might owe Cryslyn a thank you for getting her a good deal, but that’s it.” Kevin paused. “Maybe I should find someplace else for them now, before they get here, and not involve Doreen with this one.”

  “Don’t worry about it. If there’s a problem and you need to move them, I’ll let you know.”

  “Are you sure she’ll tell you if it’s not working out?”

  Rhianna laughed. “She won’t have to tell me. I live with her. I’ll be able to tell, but trust me, if anything upsets her, I hear about it, whether I want to or not. And if it’s serious, I’ll let you know you need to make other arrangements. Don’t worry about Doreen. I’ll handle her.”

  Chapter 30

  An Interrupted Lunch

  Cpt. Lawrence was in town running errands for Gen. Crandal Tuesday morning, so he decided to stop at Fenway’s for lunch. He tried to eat there at least once a week. He enjoyed the food and atmosphere, but the main reason he went was to listen to gossip, especially any involving strangers or newcomers in the area.

  Petar and Callie were sitting at a table near the kitchen when Cpt. Lawrence walked in. He wasn’t sure where Petar lived, but he’d come to the captain’s attention a year ago when he started hanging around Fenway’s. Before long the reason became obvious - Callie. Everyone in town kept expecting them to get married. Cpt. Lawrence wasn’t sure which one of them was hesitant to make the move, but for now Petar was a fixture around the tavern.

  Another man was sitting with them. Cpt. Lawrence didn’t know his name or where he lived, but he’d been around long enough the captain no longer considered him a stranger.

  Cpt. Lawrence made his way to a table in the far corner of the tavern. He liked that table. It was out of the general walkway, and if he sat with his back to the wall, he could watch the whole tavern while he ate. Unless someone beat him to it, that’s where he sat whenever he was at the tavern.

  As soon as he sat down at the table, Ainsley set a mug of scog in front of him. “Want a bowl of stew? Everyone says it’s good.”

  “Does she have any fresh bread to go with it?”

  “Came out of the oven not even half an hour ago.”

  “Stew and bread then,” Cpt. Lawrence said as he picked up his mug.

  As Ainsley walked away, the man who was sitting with Callie and Petar picked up his mug and made his way over to Cpt. Lawrence’s table. “Mind if I join you for a few minutes?”

  Cpt. Lawrence motioned towards the chair opposite him.

  “My name’s Garen, Cpt. Lawrence,” the man said. “I’ve been hoping to run into you. I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes if you have the time.”

  Cpt. Lawrence nodded. “What can I do for you?”

  “Truthfully? Get me an appointment with Myron.” Garen took a swallow of scog as he watched the captain’s reaction.

  “I’m not the one you should talk to about that. You need to see his assistant, or maybe Gov. Karl. I have nothing to do with Myron’s schedule.”

  “I know,” Garen said, “but he listens to you.”

  Cpt. Lawrence shook hi
s head. “You need to see someone from his office.”

  Garen played with his mug for a moment. “I’d rather not do that. I’m taking a big chance talking to you, but of all the people involved, you’re the one most likely to understand what I’ve got to say.” Garen took a deep breath. “When I first got here, you were the captain of the castle guard, Badec was ill, and no one had any idea where Myron was or when he’d show up. My men and I did everything we could to get information, but no one knew anything and no one seemed to be concerned about it. None of your guards were asking questions, even amongst themselves. Everyone seemed to be sure he’d show up by the time he needed to be here and that was all they needed.”

  Cpt. Lawrence couldn’t help but smile. His men had followed their orders well.

  “When we got here, there were seventeen of us, but only eight of the men were from my original squad. The others were assigned to me when I was given my orders.”

  “That means you’re the ranking officer. What’s your rank?”

  “Captain.”

  Cpt. Lawrence had noticed that since Cpt. Garen had sat down with him, three men had come in and sat down between them and the door. Callie had gone back to the kitchen, but Petar was still there, drinking another mug of scog.

  “Those men who just came in are part of my squad. And unless I miss my guess, there are a few more outside. I tried to convince them to let me come on my own, but they’re loyal, the kind of loyalty that’s built up over years of serving together.”

  “I get the feeling I’m not going to like what you have to say.”

  “You probably won’t. I wouldn’t if I were in your place but I’d appreciate it if you would hear me out before you make up your mind, or before you do something hasty we’re both going to regret.”

  “You’ve got my attention.” Cpt. Lawrence leaned back in his chair. “Go ahead.”

  “The man who sent us here, the man who gave us our orders, was Rolan, the Seated Sorcerer of Brendolanth.”

  Cpt. Lawrence’s face tightened and his hand settled on the grip of his sword. “And what were those orders?”

  “To kill Myron before he took his seat as Master Sorcerer.”

  “You failed,” Cpt. Lawrence said through tight lips.

  Cpt. Garen nodded. “It’s not like we didn’t try to carry out our orders, at least at first. We set up a camp in the mountains and started watching. I was at one of our lookout posts the day you led Myron and his friends through town and up to the castle, but I didn’t know who he was at that point. If I had, I’d probably have taken a shot. I was under orders, and we both know it’s a guard’s duty to follow orders, not to question them, same as soldiers.”

  Cpt. Lawrence nodded, but he didn’t relax.

  “We spread out and watched the castle and Milhaven. We saw Myron, but not often, and never alone. We heard about his morning drills in the grove of willow trees, and we thought about trying to get a shot at him there, but that little grove provides Myron a lot of cover, and the castle guards keep a good lookout over the whole area. There was no way to get close enough to get a clear shot. You trained them well.”

  Cpt. Lawrence smiled as Cpt. Garen took another swallow of scog.

  “We kept watching and waiting, hoping for a chance to take care of our assignment before the April council meeting. We tried to get close enough to get a shot off during the funeral, but he was surrounded by too many other people, and then when Glendymere showed up, we gave up.”

  Cpt. Lawrence laughed. “I bet.”

  Cpt. Garen smiled. “By that time, we’d been in the area for a while, and in our attempts to get information on Myron, we’d spent some time around the people of Milhaven. We found out the people around here really liked Badec. They felt the same way towards him the people at home felt towards Tsareth.” Cpt. Garen shook his head. “Rolan’s a different story. Everyone’s afraid of him, for good reason, and Myron, like Rolan, was an unknown. Just because the father was a decent man didn’t mean the son was. Rolan taught us that if nothing else, so we kept watching. If we could have gotten a shot at Myron, we’d have taken it, but we didn’t get the chance.”

  “Good thing you didn’t try,” Cpt. Lawrence said, the tension seeping back in his voice.

  Cpt. Garen shrugged. “After Myron was seated, we more or less gave up. Some of the men decided they’d had enough and left. By the first frost, only eight of us remained, and as far as we were concerned, we were no longer bound to Rolan or his orders. He’d made it clear we weren’t to return unless Myron was dead, so we decided to bide our time and maybe offer our services to Myron.”

  Cpt. Lawrence’s eyes popped wide open. “You want to work in the castle? Our castle? Around Myron? The same Myron you were sent here to kill? I don’t think so.”

  Cpt. Garen laughed. “That’s what my reaction would be if our roles were reversed. No, I’m not suggesting you convince Myron to hire us on as guards. That’s not why I’m here.”

  “All right,” Cpt. Lawrence said. “Then why are you here?”

  “I want to talk to Myron about Landis.”

  Cpt. Lawrence shook his head, stared at Cpt. Garen for a minute, and shook it again.

  “Wait a minute. Hear me out.” Cpt. Garen paused until he had Cpt. Lawrence’s attention again. “I was a castle guard when she came to visit her parents. Tsareth made no secret of the fact that he wanted her to follow him as the next Seated Sorcerer of Brendolanth. He didn’t trust Rolan, and neither did anyone else in the family.” Cpt. Garen frowned. “I can’t prove it, but I think Rolan killed Tsareth, and I know he’s trying to kill Landis. You know that as well as I do, and I’m sure you know you have assassins camped out near Milhaven right now, waiting for her to show up.” Cpt. Garen paused again. “You don’t have any reason to trust me and I’m not asking you to. All I’m asking you to do is get a message to Landis that Cpt. Garen would like to offer his services and the services of his men. My loyalty was never to Rolan. It’s always been to Tsareth and the House of Gergin. She’s the chosen heir, and she needs protection. We want to provide it.”

  “Rolan can’t get to her. She’s under Myron’s protection.”

  “His assassins came pretty close last November.”

  “She was in no danger. The guard saw to that.”

  “But if the elf hadn’t disabled the assassin, things might have ended differently.” Cpt. Garen sighed. “When we thought Myron had a warrior elf protecting her, we were willing to wait until she took over Brendolanth’s seat and offer our services directly to her, but the elf isn’t with her anymore, so we can’t afford to wait. She needs our protection now.”

  “You don’t know that she’ll ever be the Seated Sorcerer of Brendolanth. She may decide not to go that route.”

  “She doesn’t have much choice. She’ll have to challenge Rolan out of self-defense if nothing else. Otherwise he’ll keep sending men out to kill her until someone gets lucky and actually does it. The warrior elf was a good deterrent, and we were willing to leave Landis in her hands until she’s trained, but we’ve seen the elf around Milhaven enough lately to think her involvement with Landis might have been incidental to her relationship with Myron. Now that the elf is no longer providing protection, Landis needs people around her who are dedicated to making sure she survives.”

  “And you think you and your men are the ones to do it.”

  “I do. But we can’t do it unless Myron agrees and takes us to her.”

  Cpt. Lawrence shook his head. “I’ll tell Myron everything you’ve told me, but as to whether or not he talks to you, that’s his decision. In the meantime, I want you and your men to stay far away from Myron, the castle, and everyone connected with it. Go back to your camp and stay put until you hear from me.”

  Cpt. Garen nodded. “When and where do you want to meet again?”

  “Here, in the tavern, at lunch, one week from today.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  After Cpt. Garen left, Ainsley brought Cpt. Lawrence
his lunch. “You two looked rather intense so I didn’t want to disturb you,” she said as she set the bowl of stew and plate of bread on the table. “Careful. The stew’s hot. I just spooned it up.”

  “Thanks, Ainsley.” Cpt. Lawrence had been hungry when he’d come in, but his appetite had vanished during his conversation with Cpt. Garen. He stirred the stew, sipped a little broth, ate a bit of the bread, and gave up.

  As he finished his scog, he mulled over everything Cpt. Garen had said. He couldn’t make up his mind about the man. One moment he believed him and the next he thought it was some elaborate scheme to get Myron to drop his guard. After he finished his scog, he stood up to go.

  Ainsley, who had come back out of the kitchen to clear some tables, frowned when she saw that the bowl of stew and bread had barely been touched. “I can get you something else to eat,” she said as she put the bowl and plate on her tray. “What would you like?”

  Cpt. Lawrence shook his head. “The food was fine. I just don’t have any appetite. Sorry.”

  By the time Cpt. Lawrence got back to the castle, he still hadn’t made up his mind whether or not he believed Cpt. Garen. He decided to run it by Darrell and then the two of them could go see Myron.

  When he reached Darrell’s office, he asked Kort to go to the kitchen and see if there was some cheese and bread left from lunch.

  “Would you like some coffee?” Kort asked as he stood up from his desk.

  “That would be good,” Cpt. Lawrence said with a nod. “You might want to pick one up for Cpt. Darrell, too.”

  “I got him a carafe a little while ago. There should be some more in there, but I’ll get you a fresh cup, just in case.”

  After Kort left, Cpt. Lawrence went into Darrell’s office and sat down. “I had an interesting conversation in Fenway’s today.”

  Darrell looked up. “Who were you talking to?”

  “A man named Cpt. Garen, and you’ll never guess why he’s been in the area for the past year or so.” Then Cpt. Lawrence told Darrell everything Cpt. Garen had said. As he was finishing, Kort walked in carrying a small tray with cheese, bread, and a cup of coffee on it. He set the tray on a table near Darrell’s desk and asked if there was anything else. After Cpt. Lawrence thanked him, Kort walked out of Darrell’s office, pulling the door shut behind him.