Accidental Champion Boxed Set

by Jamie Davis

  As soon as he arrived back at their hiding place, Mona spoke up. “Why are there so many patrols? You said there weren’t that many out and about when you went on your scouting runs.”

  “There weren’t. Something else is going on tonight. I wish I knew what it was.”

  “It could be they are making their move on Tandon,” Stefan suggested. “I got a junior officer from one of the naval vessels to talk a little more than he should two nights ago. He told me their admiral had received word of a new mission. It might be they’re going to try and blockade Tandon to keep the Duke there from doing anything to stop the plans to put Timron on the throne.”

  “We have to get past them,” Mona said. “We don’t have much time if we’re going to make it to the fishing fleet as they leave the harbor for the morning’s catch.”

  “I hope they don’t keep them in the harbor,” Hal said. “If there is a major operation going on, it might cause them to tighten security down there like they have here in town.”

  “We have to get out of the city, Hal. Cari is going to need our help.”

  “I know, honey. Come on, let’s go down this branch in the alley and see if we can find a way to get closer to the harbor and the fishermen’s docks.”

  Mona and Stefan fell in behind Hal as he led the way down the alley until they reached the next intersection. There were no patrols in sight so he led them across the street to the other side. They darted into another alley leading in the direction of the harbor.

  He shared Mona’s concerns about increased security. He also shared her determination to get out of the city and on the road to helping their daughter.

  The next alley continued for some distance before opening on to a market square. Hal stopped at the opening of the alley, listening carefully. He could hear the tromp of booted feet on the cobblestones. There was a patrol somewhere nearby. He couldn’t see where it was. The market stalls in the square blocked his view.

  “You two stay here. There’s a patrol out there, somewhere. I can’t figure out which direction they’re going. Let me check on their location then I’ll be right back.”

  Mona and Stefan nodded and he turned, sneaking out into the market square. Slipping from stall to stall in the market, Hal stayed in the shadows as much as possible. There was a little moonlight and the gas lamps in this part of town were few and far between. It gave him plenty of opportunities to keep out of sight.

  The patrol had stopped on the other side of the square and the soldiers sat down on one of the picnic benches set up in front of a line of market stalls. They must serve food here during the daytime. The guards were taking their break and sat in a place where they could both rest and see the street in both directions. That was bad. This was the only way down to the fishermen’s docks. There was no way he, Mona, and Stefan were going to get past them without being seen.

  Hal started to back up and sneak back the way he came when his boot knocked over an empty bucket in one of the stalls. As it clattered and rolled across the cobblestones, every single one of the guards resting on the picnic bench turned and looked in his direction.

  “Jenkins, go over there and see what made that noise. There’s not supposed to be any townsfolk out and about in this area. Only the fishermen are allowed up and out this early.”

  “Aw, Sarge, it’s probably just a stray cat chasing a mouse.”

  “Yeah, well suppose it ain’t? We are supposed to be patrolling for people breaking curfew and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Now get over there and check out that noise or I’m going to put you on report again.”

  Hal looked around looking for someplace else he could hide. There was no way he could move from the shadows in which he hid without stepping out into an area that was relatively well lit. The guards were all looking this way and would spot him immediately.

  The biggest problem was Jenkins. He walked in Hal’s direction and Hal knew the guard was going to spot him as soon as he turned the corner around this market stall. Hal drew one of his daggers and prepared to fight. He had to make this fast and silent.

  As soon as the unlucky soldier turned the corner, Hal jumped forward. He shoved his dagger up under the hapless guard’s chin and into his brain. The young man’s body stiffened and then let go of his musket. Hal reached out with his free hand, grabbing the gun before it fell to the ground. He hugged the patrolman’s body against his own before slowly lowering him to the ground. They were behind the market stall so no one could see them.

  2,500 experience awarded

  “Jenkins, what do you see?”

  Hal checked the musket. It was loaded and primed for firing. He shook his head, reconsidering using it against the guards. Any gunshots at this time of night would draw every nearby patrol instantly. Hal laid the musket down on the cobblestones. There were only five other guards in the patrol. He could take them. After all, he’d done it before back in the old days.

  Hal waited a few more seconds, sheathing his dagger, then charged around the corner directly at the seated guards at the picnic table. Hal’s hands whirled in a continuous motion, firing a stream of throwing knives from the sheaths strapped across his chest. The first four flew true, striking each of the closest guards. Two knives embedded deep into the backs of both men. They never saw it coming. They slumped off the bench to the ground, dead.

  2,500 experience awarded

  2,500 experience awarded

  Three to go, Hal thought. He pointed his fingers at the sergeant and summoned the simplest, quickest magic spell he knew. Some of his magic still worked though it was not as reliable as it had been on his trips to Fantasma years before. The simpler spells seemed to work just fine, however, so he kept things simple.

  Razor sharp shards of ice flew from Hal’s fingertips, impaling the sergeant from neck to groin in a continuous line. He grunted in surprise before falling dead to the ground.

  3,500 experience awarded

  The remaining two guards sat frozen, their eyes wide at the death and destruction unleashed on their comrades. Both stood, dropped their muskets, and ran for the street at the edge of the market square.

  Hal couldn’t afford to let them get away. Chasing after them, he readied another spell. Suddenly, vines grew up between the cobblestones grasping at the legs of the running guards. One of them managed to slip free, but the other was tangled enough that he fell to the ground rolling over and kicking to try and free his legs. Hal ran past pausing only long enough to stab down once with his dagger, killing the guard with a thrust to the heart.

  2,500 experience awarded

  The final guard had almost made it to the street and might manage to escape. Damn, Hal wasn’t going to catch him in time. He had to try, though. That guard could bring every one of Charon’s goons down on the three of them and spoil their plan to escape the city.

  Just as the guard started to turn the corner at the edge of the square, a crossbow bolt slammed into him followed immediately by a second. Both bolts were barely an inch apart, striking him squarely in the middle of the chest. The force of the blow threw the guard backward to the ground where he lay still. His eyes glazed over, staring up at the sky. Hal relaxed and slowed down. Mona stepped out from the shadows at the edge of the street followed by Stefan, his sword drawn.

  “Nice shot, honey.”

  “Retrieve those crossbow bolts. I don’t have that many to go around and we may need them again.”

  Hal groaned but did as he was asked. It was a grizzly task, cutting those barbed crossbow bolts free of a body without damaging the shafts. He made quick work of the task, though, and handed the bloody darts back to his wife.

  Mona finished re-cranking the clockwork mechanism on her repeating crossbow and reloaded the two crossbow bolts into the magazine before slinging the crossbow back over her shoulder. “Come on, let’s get moving. There’s bound to be another patrol along soon and they’ll find the bodies quickly. We don’t have time to hide them.”

  Hal nodded. His wife w
as right. He took the lead and turned left, leading them down the street. They had almost reached the fisherman’s district of Morton Creek. They would be able to walk more openly there. The fishermen were allowed to be up early during the curfew time.

  A few blocks later, they reached the area of the harbor known as the fishing docks. Hal turned to Stefan. “You’re up kid. Where’s the fisherman you found who agreed to transport us out of the city?”

  “He’s just over here. His name is Buckingham.”

  Stefan took the lead. Hal and Mona were right behind him as they walked down the narrow pier. Small fishing vessels were being readied for the morning catch on either side of them. Nets were being laid out, ready to cast overboard, and lines were strung with bait. Stefan stopped at one of the boats and called out. “Buckingham, are you here?”

  “Who wants to know?” a voice from inside the small cabin said. The man belonging to the voice stepped out from the small structure in the center of the boat and scowled up at them “Oh, it’s you, boy. I suppose you’re ready for me to sneak you out of town?”

  “Yes, sir. These are my companions. What would you like us to do?”

  “You’ll have to hide down in the fishing hold. It’s smelly, but there’s no place else to put you. Once you’re down there, get under this tarp and stay there until I tell you we are clear of the harbor mouth. It don’t do anybody any good if somebody on one of those ships spots you as I sail by. They’re watching us carefully and a single one of those cannonballs could blow us out of the water before we would be able to get away.”

  “How far up the coast will you be able to carry us?” Hal asked.

  “I can carry you as far as you want to go. The boy here said you had the money to pay for me to take you just about anywhere. I assume that’s true?”

  Hal nodded and jangled the full purse at his belt so that the captain could hear the coins jostling about inside. “There’s plenty of coin here and more where that came from when we get to where we’re going.”

  “And where would that be?”

  “I’ll tell you when we’re clear of the harbor. Until then it’s better if you don’t know.”

  “Mysteries cost extra, Mister.”

  “Understood.” Hal jumped down from the pier into the small boat. He turned and held up a hand to help Mona. She waved him off and jumped down next to him with ease. Stefan joined them and together the three of them climbed down into the open fishing hold at the front of the boat. It was where the captain kept all of his catch to bring back to the market.

  Buckingham was right. It smelled awful.

  The three them settled down against the side of the boat keeping the hull at their backs while they pulled the canvas tarp up to cover themselves. They felt the boat start moving soon after they settled in place. Not much later, they were underway, headed for the harbor mouth.

  The small fishing boat’s rocking soon became more pronounced and Hal realized they’d cleared the harbor mouth, entering the open sea beyond the headland. His guess was confirmed when Captain Buckingham called out from where he sat at the ship’s tiller.

  “You can come out now. We’ve moved out of sight of the last Imperial vessel.”

  Hal poked his head out from under the tarp to see the harbor and rooftops of Morton Creek disappearing into the distance amidst the rays of the early morning sun, just cresting the eastern horizon. “Good work, Captain.”

  “Of course it is. I know what I’m doing. You’re not the first person I’ve smuggled in my day. Now, which way am I headed? I’d rather not sail in circles out here if I don’t have to.”

  “Tandon. Tandon is where we want to go. How long will it take us to get there?”

  “The Clarabelle is a fast, little boat. I’ll have you there inside of seven days.”

  “Make it six and I’ll add an extra hundred gold pieces to the payment.”

  Captain Buckingham spat something over the side and turned back to Hal with a grin. “You’re on. I never shy away from a challenge, not where gold is concerned.”

  Hal smiled back. They were on their way again, finally heading back on the trail to track down Cari and get her back home where she belonged.

  Chapter 16

  Three days after exiting the Dwarven tunnels under the mountain, Cari and her four companions joined a caravan traveling east. It only cost them a few silver pieces for the right to a sheltered place under one of the wagons when they camped and a place for them to ride occasionally as the caravan trundled along on its route towards Hyroth.

  On the day they exited the tunnels, Cari completed the under-mountain quest and received a new quest notice.

  Quest completed — travel through the tunnels under the mountain

  15,000 experience awarded

  Quest accepted — complete journey to Hyroth

  During this time Jaycee rarely left Cari’s side. Ever since the little girl had named Cari her champion, the two of them seemed to be joined at the hip. Cari didn’t mind so much, but she wanted the young empress to be more independent. She wouldn’t be around forever and Jaycee needed to understand there were others she could count on. Cari mentioned as much to Helen during one of the rare times when Jaycee was off playing with Percy.

  “She’s only six, Cari. You can’t expect her to be all that independent. She lost her entire family and apparently has decided that you will fill that role for the foreseeable future.”

  “But I’m not a mother. I don’t know how to do what she needs. I’m not the type of person who can fill that role.”

  “I think you’d be surprised,” Helen said with a smile. “You’re the type of mother she needs right now partly because you’re the one she chose. You’re also the right choice because she needs someone strong. She needs someone able to protect her from anything that comes along, someone she feels she can trust more than anyone else.”

  Cari thought about the words Helen used to describe the type of mother she had become to the young girl. She found it funny because she could’ve used those same words to describe her own mother at times. Her mom had always been protective, had always been her biggest champion, even when she disagreed with some of the things Cari was doing. Her mom always came to her fencing competitions and always cheered while watching her daughter sparring with competitors.

  Cari nodded. “I think I understand. I can do this and be what she needs me to be. At least I can do it as long as it takes us to get her safely on the throne. Once we rid her of any immediate dangers, we can talk about finding someone else to take over.”

  “Careful, Cari. I suspect you’re going to become more attached to that little girl than you think. You’ve taken on more or less of a permanent position whether you like it or not.”

  Cari looked over at where Jaycee and Percy played with some glass marbles in the dirt. The young man was surprisingly patient with Jaycee. He took the time to show her how to flick the marble with her thumb and forefinger in such a way that they would knock other marbles out of the ring they’d drawn in the dirt. Cari watched them play and shook her head. A lot was riding on that little girl. A lot was riding on them staying safe until they got to where they were going.

  The caravan was large enough it didn’t encounter any trouble as it traveled east. Cari and the others walked and rode along for over a week and a half. They might have been able to travel faster on their own but there was an advantage to being just another anonymous caravan traveler coming into the city, dusty from the road. Plus, it didn’t take that much longer. Soon the caravan rolled up to the outer gates of the city of Hyroth.

  Cari paid off the remaining silver they owed to the caravan master, then the five companions walked through the gate and into the city.

  Quest completed — complete journey to Hyroth

  12,000 experience awarded

  Inside the caravan gates, a great square opened up with market stalls all spread around open space in front of them. It wasn’t the stalls that caught Cari’s eyes first, tho
ugh. It was the enormous statue of a hooded man standing guard over the entrance to the city. The statue was armed with a long sword in one hand and a dagger in the other.

  Before she caught herself, Cari pointed at the statue and said, “Who is that?”

  A woman passing by, pushing a cart of turnips smiled and nodded at the statue. “That’s Prince Hal. That statue was built soon after the old Empress took her throne. The city and the people of Hyroth built it in commemoration of the fifth anniversary of his leading the revolt that overthrew the Emperor’s factors in the city, setting us all free.”

  Cari murmured her thanks as she stared upward at the giant statue erected to her father’s memory. She wondered if he knew about it. It would be just the sort of thing he would want to brag about.

  Shaking her head, Cari led the others through the square searching for an area where she could find an inn. She, for one, was looking forward to getting a nice, hot bath and sleeping in an actual bed for the first time in nearly a month.

  As she walked along, Cari saw a sign that caught her eye. It was a stylized drawing carved into the wood of an imperial dragoon complete with the colored cape and a sword. “Let’s try this inn over here. Something about it tells me we can find someone friendly to our cause there.”

  The inn’s common room wasn’t very crowded, seeing as how it was midday. It probably filled up towards the dinner hour and afterward in the evening. Cari walked up to the bar while her friends stayed at the door. An old man with a thin line of short gray hair circling his mostly bald head stepped out from the kitchen door behind the bar and nodded at Cari. “What can I do for you miss?”

  “I’m hoping my companions and I can find a room for the night, perhaps even several nights?”

  “Rooms we’ve got. There’s five of you. Will you need five rooms?”