Covert Activities

Rick devises a scheme to rescue Ant and Jevon.

13.

Covert Activities

 

“Lord Deryck!”   Rick, Tadd and Muld exclaimed in unison.

“You know him?”   Shel asked.

“He is practically a member of the royal family!”  Rick replied, then turning to the prisoner, “You are certain of this?”

“Yes, Hobnail was very excited to get such a highly placed spy.”

“But why?”   Shel asked.

“I don’t know all the details, but we heard that he was bitter at being slighted by the Losasidhe King.”

“I’ll bet it was Syndi,” Tadd said, shaking his head, “He had it bad for Syndi.”

“How do you know that?”  Mutt asked his friend.

“Muld mentioned it once.”

“We’ve got to get word to the King’s regent there,”   Rick exclaimed, “so they can arrest him.”

“He won’t be there - he’s rendezvousing with Hobnail after they snatched your people.”

“Where is this rendezvous supposed to be?”  Rick demanded of the pirate.

“That I don’t know - I do know that they were to meet up with Hobnail’s airship and his ship would escort the Silver Pegasus into the Carcaicasse Mountains.”

There was a long moment of silence and finally Rick spoke, “Well, now we know what we’re up against.   We’ve got to locate that airship and rescue Ant and Jevon.”

“But how?   We don’t even know where to look?”   Tadd asked.

“We don’t look for them at all - we make them come to us,”   Rick answered, receiving quizzical looks from all the others, “I have a plan.”

 

 

***

 

It was another boring evening hanging around the luxurious royal guest apartments in Westmark, and Jain was about to pull her hair out at the inactivity.

King Eiolmoel and Queen Synthaeia had sailed away on the ‘rescue’ mission of Muld and Syndi, but all of the queen’s handmaidens had been left behind.

It was not what the young elven girl wanted at all.    Working for Hobnail along side Lord Deryck was the biggest thrill she had ever had experienced as a Losasidhe elf and she craved more excitement.   

Toying with the stupid human man, Rick, was part of the fun, but he had brushed her off and she was livid that he would give her the cold shoulder for a nasty, brutish Orc.

Now her work as a spy was probably just about completed, for Hobnail didn’t need her to tell him when the ‘rescue mission’ returned to Westmark.    It would be known far and wide and he would no doubt know about it probably as soon as she did.

So now she just stayed around cooling her heels with nothing to do.   With a long sigh, Jain slumped down on the window seat and stared blankly out the window.   For a long time she just daydreamed, but movement on the street below caught her attention.   In the midst of workers trudging home from another long day at work, someone was waving their hands and calling out, trying to get the attention of someone else, further up the street.

Curious, Jain looked and was surprised to see that it was a recognizable figure -  her old beau, Rick, was trying to get the attention of the Goblin Practical Magician who went by Mutt.  He finally heard him calling to him and hurried back to meet him.   They spoke in the middle of the street for a moment, and then Rick pulled him over to the side of the street across from the palace.

She was terribly curious what conversation they were having, but she had to settle for watching their expressions.    Mutt looked surprised after Rick told him something, they talked for a few more moments, then Rick pointed to the towering Airship docking platform which could be seen over the top of the buildings, a couple of streets away.   Mutt nodded and both of them rushed off in that direction.

She was dying from curiosity, so she decided that she’d follow them.   Hurrying out of the palace, she had just rushed out the palace gate when she nearly bumped into the Halfling Tadd.

“Oh!   Well, hi Miss Jain!”   Tadd said with his usual boyish smile.

Although Jain detested Halflings, she knew he might know some information about what Rick and Mutt were talking about, so she smiled sweetly and knelt down to his level.

“Hi, Tadd, how are you?”

“I’m sort of frustrated, ma’am.”

“Oh, why is that?”

“Well, I’m trying to find Rick and Mutt, but they’re no where to be found.   I’ve gone to all their job sites today, but I can’t find them.   Have you seen them, perhaps?”

Jain looked him squarely in the eyes and shook her head, “No, I’m afraid I haven’t.    Is it something important?”

Tadd squirmed a bit, “Well, it is a bit top-secret, really.”

Jain batted her eyes and purred, “A secret?   Oh, how exciting!”

“I wish I could tell you, Miss Jain, but-“

“I won’t tell anyone, Tadd!   You can trust me - King Eiolmoel and Queen Synthaeia do, and so obviously I can keep a secret.”   She feared that she was sounding too desperate to find out, but hopefully the foolish little creature would not sense that.  

The Halfling hesitated, but he had the light in his eyes that a child gets when they have a wonderful secret that they are just desperate to share, though they were told not to do it.

“I don’t know if I should…”  Tadd nervously glanced around, to make sure no one was watching, then glanced at the elven lady’s pretty face and took a deep breath, “Well, I guess it is alright, since you work for Syndi’s parents.”

Jain squatted down close to him so he could whisper to her, “What is it?”

Tadd leaned in close, “Don’t tell anyone - not even other servants of your king, okay?”

“I promise,”   Jain answered with a reassuring smile.

“Well; you know that there was a rescue mission sent to find Princess Syndi and Master Muld, right?”

“Yes, that is why I’ve been so bored for the past few days; the queen summoned her handmaidens, then left us behind.”

“Well… that rescue mission is just a decoy,”   Tadd whispered.

“A decoy?”

“Yeah,  you see, Lady Sophia was able to find them with her magic and teleport them back - somehow- a few days ago.”

“She did?!”   Jain asked in surprise.

“Yes, but they learned that some of those pirates of Hobnail were planning to try to capture Muld for his part in destroying most of the pirate fleet and their base on Windhaven.    So they kept their return a secret to throw off these kidnappers.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, then they concocted this story about a rescue mission.”

“So Muld and Syndi were hidden on those airships going on this rescue?”

“No, that was just a decoy.    King Eleazar figured that the pirates might follow their convoy of ships.    Muld and Syndi are still here in Westmark and they are going to be taken to Losahome tonight on a simple merchant ship - the White Buck and hid up there.    The King suspects that the pirates will probably try to attack the convoy to get Muld and Syndi, or else wait until they return from the ‘rescue mission’ and try to abduct them when the ship docks here.   But of course they won’t be here and the King can set up a trap for the pirates!”   

Tadd grinned happily, “Pretty sneaky, huh?    They didn’t even let any of us know until late this afternoon.    King Eleazar sent a messenger when Rick and I were about to close up for the day, and he went looking for Mutt, for the King wants all of us to sail with him.    Jevon is already in Losahome, so we’ll fill him in when we arrive there.”

“So Muld and Syndi are leaving by airship for Losahome tonight, and all of you are going with him?”   Jain asked.

“Yes, but don’t tell anyone, okay?   I know I can trust you, Jain.    I had better get moving; I’m supposed to be at the White Buck in an hour and we’re set to leave in about two hours.    Remember, Jain; this is top secret, okay?”

Jain smiled, “Absolutely, Tadd!   Top Secret.”

“Good!   Well, it was good to see you again!    I’d better run!   Bye!”

He bowed quickly and hurried up the street as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Jain just waved, her heart beating excitedly, “Hobnail will be thrilled to hear this.”

She waited until the Halfling was out of sight before she rushed back into the palace, already trying to think of a concealed place to use her crystal ball to tell her pirate boss.    This is a much more exciting day, she thought as she worked out the details.

 

***

“Do you think she saw us?”  Mutt asked Rick as they sat on a bench on the docking platform.

“I saw her looking out the window a little while before we put on our little act, so I’ll wager that she did.”

“I hope so; if she didn’t then--- hey, here comes Tadd!”

The Halfling was winded from his climb up the stairs of the airship docking platform, but between gasps of air he relayed to them of his encounter with Jain.

Rick smiled a bit deviously, “Good!   So far my plan is working.    Now let’s get ready for stage two.”

 

***

Jevon paced back and forth in the hold of the airship, listening for any sound from the decks above that would tell him what was going on.    He had tried to mentally contact Ant for hours but he heard nothing and feared that she might be dead.    Surely if Hobnail had captured her, he would have bragged about it to him.

Yet he’d been left alone in the dark hold.   Out of boredom, he began snooping inside the handful of shipping crates that shared the hold with him.    They were mostly bolts of cloth and some barrels of apples.    He sampled one to ease his hunger as he strained to come up with a plan.    But nothing came to mind and he spent the entire weary night stressed and frustrated.

Soon after the sun rose, the trapdoor opened and three pirates descended.   He meekly waited for them at the bottom of the stairs, and remembered his earlier act.   Wringing his hands together, he nervously asked, “Did you find her?   Did you kill the vampire?”

“She’s disappeared - maybe she did change into a bat and fly away, because we spent all of the damned night searching for her and she’s not to be found anywhere on board.    Seeing that you are still alive, you haven’t seen her either, have you?”

“No… thank God for that!”

The pirate sneered at the mention of the deity and gestured with his drawn sword to the ladder, “Go on; you’re going topside.   Captain’s orders.   He has some distressing news to tell you.”

The other pirates laughed but he didn’t ask them what the news was, knowing that he would find out soon enough.    Instead, he just started climbing the ladder out of the hold, flanked on either side of the ladder by pirate guards.

 

It was early morning and Hobnail and his lieutenants stood staring at the newly risen sun just coming over the top of the mountains.   They pushed Jevon forward until he was standing in front of the Dwarf.

“I see that the Vampire-woman didn’t kill you.   We didn’t find her; which is strange.   I think ye know more than ye are tellin’ me.    But that doesn’t matter right now.”

Jevon looked down at the dwarf, puzzled at his words.   Hobnail saw his expression and continued.

“One of my spies has learned about a secret plan that ye don’t know about.    T’would seem that your master and his lady were found and secretly brought into Westmark.    They heard about my plans to snatch them, I reckon.”

“They’ve been found already?”

“Aye, and King Eleazar wants to sneak them off to Losasidhe and hide them from me until his airships find me.    But I’ve got a bit of a surprise for them instead.”

Jevon didn’t say anything, suspecting that the pirate captain would end up telling him soon enough.    His assumption soon proved to be right.

“You see, we know the name of the airship takin’ him to Losasidhe.   That was a mistake on their part, for the ship is an old merchant airship, powered by sails.   We will overtake them by this evening and attack them before they reach the elven kingdom.”   The dwarf’s eyes narrowed menacingly, “But once we have Muld, ye won’t be needed, now will ye?   So I will either kill you or let you serve as one of my slaves.     What do ye think I should do with ye?”

Jevon smirked, “Somehow, I don’t think my opinion really matters with you, does it?”

The dwarf laughed heartily, “Not one damn bit.    But I could use a Practical Magician to cast spells to protect my ship.   Ye could do this, couldn’t ye?    Or would ye prefer to die?   Either way, it doesn’t matter.”

“You want me to serve you?”

“Either serve me or I’ll gut ye -‘tis your choice, boy.”

“Can I think it over?”

“Ye can until we have your master.   Then it’ll be too late.   So make up your mind soon, boy.”

“What choice do I really have?”

“Not much of one, either way.   If ye will help me capture your master’s Airship, I’ll spare ye.   I need protective spells cast on this ship before we attack tonight.     If ye say ye will do it, but ye just pretend to enchant this ship, then think about this one thing, boy:   If this ship is destroyed, ye will die with us.   So it is in your best interest to protect it.”

“You have a point there.”

“Aye.   So I’ll have Nygrais give ye a list of protection spells we’d like.”

“What if I don’t know all of them?”

“Just so ye know some of them - I have other wizards, boy.”

Jevon just nodded, hoping to stall for time by agreeing to help the pirate.

Hobnail grinned, “Good choice, boy.    Lads, escort him into Nygrais’ quarters and tell the wizard to get him ready.   Ye made a good decision, boy!   Ye might live to see the sunset after all.    Take ‘em to Nygrais, immediately!”

As the guards pushed him toward the wizard’s cabin on the foredeck, Jevon wondered what had happened to the Changeling girl, Ant.     Where was she, he wondered, not realizing how near she truly was at that moment.