Cari found Merrick waiting for them at Smiley’s carriage. The four companions marched away from the camp leading not just Merrick’s men and women, but all the drafted imperial soldiers. It turned out all of them were eager to return to their lives and homes. Cari and the others made sure to burn the sergeant’s records of their enlistments so none of them would fear any retribution.
“Merrick,” Cari said as they walked up to the carriage. “I didn’t expect to see you here so close to the action.”
“I wanted to be here to escort my people back into the city. Besides, I have something that belongs to you.” Merrick reached into his coat pocket and pulled free Cari’s holocube.
Cari reached out and took back what she’d once offered as collateral against Prince Timron’s debt.
“So, we’re all settled up then?”
“We are.” Merrick nodded towards his gathered men and women as well as all the others filtering back into the city from the army camp. “You have fulfilled your end of the bargain and then some. I said I would wipe away your debt from our earlier agreement. I have done so.”
“Then I guess this is it unless we somehow meet again.”
“I want you to know, Cari, I am as committed to your ultimate mission as you are. Having Timron on the throne would be devastating, not just to me, but to many of the merchants in and around the empire. The Duke of Charon and his machinations have gone a long way to destabilizing many of our most profitable business ventures as he seeks to control many merchant markets for himself and his allied factions.”
“So, you’re offering direct assistance? I thought you tried to remain in that background and stayed out of politics.”
“I believe this may be a time for more overt action. When you get to the Crystal City, or even close to the Crystal City, and have your plans worked out, reach out to me. I’ll be back in my offices in the Canal District. I will lend what aid I can.”
Cari nodded and reached out, clasping wrists with Merrick. “I’ll do that. I suspect we are going to need all the help we can get.”
Merrick smiled and gathered up his people leading them back into the city walking with the rest of the former imperial troops heading for the city’s north gate.
Cari looked at her friends. All of them were injured in one way or another and needed medical attention. “Come on, let’s get back to the inn. Chance should be able to heal up most of your wounds with his elven magic. We have a lot of planning to do.”
Together the four of them climbed back into the carriage. Cari rapped on the roof with her knuckles, signaling to the driver as she called out. “Back to the inn, Smiley.”
“As you wish, ma’am.”
The carriage once again jolted to a start and took them back into Hyroth. Cari settled back in the seat and closed her eyes as she thought again about how Major Novachik had just disappeared right in front of her. She was sure the two of them would meet again and Cari wanted to come up with a way to counter the trick so he didn’t get away again. She worked through many possible solutions all the way back to the inn.
After they left the carriage and headed into the inn, Cari and her friends found the three Dragoons seated in the upstairs room talking amongst themselves. In the far corner, Percy sat watching over Jaycee. The young princess was curled up on top of a small stack of folded blankets on the floor. She was sound asleep.
Cari pointed to the little girl. “Why isn’t she sleeping in her bed like a normal person?”
“Our little Empress is quite determined and knows what she wants,” Liam said.
Chance laughed. “Determined isn’t the word for it. Stubborn is more likely. She refused to go to bed until you returned from your mission. She threatened to sneak from her room and go down to the common room to wait if we didn’t let her stay.”
Cari smiled at their characterizations of the girl. Determination and stubbornness were things that would stand her in good stead when she took the throne.
“Let’s get her settled back in her room. Percy, you can sit outside the door and guard her while the rest of us come back here and make plans for what we’re going to do next.”
The three Dragoons nodded, and Cari continued. “Chance, is it possible you could lend some healing aid to the others while I get the princess settled? We’re all a little beat up after our fight at the army camp.”
“Of course. Why don’t you three come over here and sit down while I have a look at you.” The elf opened his belt pouch picking out some bandages and herbs. Cari knew he would use some of his elven earth magic in addition to the more traditional first aid. The spell would help the most serious wounds. The rest would be bandaged and treated to heal on their own.
Cari walked over to Percy. “You’ve done an excellent job watching over her, Mr. McShea.”
“I have to, ma’am. She’s important to us all.”
“Agreed. Come and help me get her up. We’re going to take her back to our room. You can stay there and watch over her, alright?”
Percy nodded and helped Cari get Jaycee to her feet. The girl was a little groggy, but as soon as she laid eyes on Cari, she woke enough to wrap her arms around Cari’s neck, giving her a fierce hug.
“I’m so glad to see you back and not hurt, Cari,” Jaycee said. “I was very worried about you and the others. You are alright, aren’t you?”
“We are here, and none the worse for the wear; just some cuts and scrapes to wrap up. See, the others are getting tended to by Chance now.” She pointed behind her to where the elf had started treating a laceration on Rod’s shoulder.
Helen lent a hand, as well, until it was her turn to get her own wounds looked at.
“We’re taking you back to the room, Jaycee,” Percy added. “You said you wouldn’t go to bed until they got back. Well, they’re here. It’s time for bed.”
Jaycee resisted a little bit, grumbling at Percy. She stopped when Cari leveled a stern stare at her. Jaycee gave her chosen champion a shrug and together the three of them went back to the room they shared. Cari tucked the little girl into bed, turned down the oil lamp on the bedside table. As she left, Percy took his position to stand guard at the door.
By the time she returned to the meeting room, Chance and Helen had finished dealing with each of her companions’ wounds. Chance was finishing up, wrapping a bandage around Helen’s injured arm when Cari walked in.
Liam, leaning in his chair against the wall, reached out with his foot and hooked a neighboring chair with his foot and slid it away from the table for Cari. “Your friends tell me you completed the mission for the merchant.”
“We did. It was a close call and I ran into one of the Duke of Charon’s people that I’d run into before, though I didn’t know his name the last time. “
“You have his name now?” Liam asked. “What is it?”
“He called himself Major Carson Novachik.
“Novachik,” Thad growled. He spat on the floor beside his chair and sneered. “It would be that bastard you ran into.”
“Who is he?” Cari asked.
“He used to be one of us. He was a sworn Dragoon sergeant like Chance, Thad, and I,” Liam said.
“I thought you all took an oath? How was it he came to work for the Duke?”
“He was caught stealing from the imperial coffers,” Chance explained. “The Dragoon commander at the time wanted him put to death for betraying his oath. Empress Kareena said we must show mercy to him for his past faithful service. He was merely drummed out of imperial service and stripped of his Dragoon rank by the regiment. We’d heard the Duke of Charon had snatched him up, adding him to the payroll. We weren’t sure, though. It’s interesting to find out what he’s been doing since then.”
“He claimed to be in charge of the Duke of Charon’s security force.”
“Carson always did have a high opinion of himself,” Thad said. “What I wouldn’t do to cross blades with him just once. It would be good to take him down a peg or two.”
“He’s very good with the sword,” Cari said. “The first time I met him, he almost killed me. This time we fought to a draw and he managed to escape.”
“It’s a shame you couldn’t manage to capture him,” Liam said.
His tone and the look on his face sent a chill down her spine. Cari shook her head. “He got away before I got the chance. It was the darnedest thing. We were fighting a desperate duel, one on one. Then, when things turned against him, he just disappeared. One minute he was there, the next he was gone. I found boot prints in the dirt that might have been his walking away, but I couldn’t be sure.”
Chance let out a wry chuckle. “Looks like he’s still got it, Liam.”
Liam nodded. “It’s that damned invisibility ring of his. It’s some sort of family heirloom. He had it back in his days in the palace, too.”
“He’s always bragged about how that thing was going to bring him to high places,” Chance remarked. “We always suspected it was the way he managed to get access to the imperial treasury’s coffers. We never did recover all the gold and silver he stole.”
“Is there any way to track him once he disappears?” Cari was curious. These men knew more about this adversary and she had a feeling she’d run into him again. “I found tracks like I said, but it’s not practical to try and spot his boot prints in the midst of a fight. There must be another way to track him in a battle, so he doesn’t sneak up behind you.”
Chance nodded. “Such things and powers usually have limitations. In his case, Novachik can only use the ring’s powers once per day. Plus, if he were to attack while invisible, it would dispel the magic instantly leaving him visible and without a way to escape should things turn against him again.”
“That’s good to know,” Cari said.
Cari settled in the chair and took in the group she’d assembled around the table. She had the three Dragoons back again, as well as Rodrigo, Helen, and Francesca. It was time to talk about moving on towards the capital.
“I don’t think we can stay here any longer. Word is bound to get out of the rescue from the imperial camp. People are bound to put two and two together and connect me with the incident. That’s bound to alert the wrong people that we’re in the city.”
“Plus, there’s the problem of Novachik running around out there,” Helen added. “He’s going to let his boss know exactly where you are. I agree we should leave Hyroth first thing in the morning.”
“That leads me to my next question,” Cari said. “Do we just head straight back to the Crystal City by the most direct path?”
“We have no way of knowing where Timron is,” Chance pointed out. “If we don’t take the most direct route, or something close to it, we may find ourselves out of time. Once the prince assumes the throne, he will have all of the resources of the empire along with the Duke of Charon behind him. It will be tough to dislodge him once that has happened.”
“The direct route is best, then,” Cari said. “I’ll head down and check with the innkeeper before I go to bed. Hopefully, he and his wife can put together some travel rations for us to use on the road. It’s probably best we avoid any sort of inn or towns along the way, at least as a group. We’ll camp outside any villages and send one or two of us in for supplies. That should make it harder for the Duke and Novachik to track us down.”
“That’s a good idea,” Liam said. “We can travel with you, though at some point, the three of us are going to have to split off from your group and go out to the countryside around the capital to gather our former comrades in arms. I agree with your earlier request of us. It’s time the Dragoons reformed again and came together to serve their empress.”
“Then it’s settled. We’ll travel together as far as we can, then we’ll meet back up in the Crystal City to bring our final plans together. I suggest an inn called The Last Retreat.”
Liam nodded. “We know that place. They’re friendly to the cause and will help conceal us. We’ll meet back up there if we get separated sooner than expected.”
Cari stood, joined by her new, larger group of companions. “Let’s all get some rest. We’ll leave right after dawn and an early breakfast.”
Quest accepted — Get Jaycee to the Crystal City