Chorus Skating (11 page)

A full head taller than any of his companions, the third member of the quartet ventured his own opinion. “It seems to have been an accident.”

“Please accept my apology.” Sheathing his sword, Jon-Tom extended a hand.

“'Ere now, mate!” Mudge protested. “'Twere an 'onest mistake. We don't 'ave to apologize for …
umph!
” He bent double as a smiling Jon-Tom elbowed him gently but firmly in the solar plexus.

“Fair enough.” The mongoose eyed the furless palm and took it in his own. The small, almost delicate-appearing fingers gripped like steel.

“It's funny,” said Jon-Tom as he drew back his hand, “but we were thinking that
you
four might be bandits.”

“Don't be ridiculous, mate.” Mudge sucked air. “Look at 'em! Much too clean-cut to be proper robbers.”

“We are soldiers of the Great and Noble Kingdom of Harakun!” The officer straightened visibly.

“Never 'eard o' it.” Rubbing his chest, Mudge favored his traveling companion with a look more eloquent than any extended verbal commentary.

“It lies far from here, along the gentle eastern shore of the Farraglean,” the officer added.

Jon-Tom brightened. “As a matter of fact, that's the direction we're headed. Not necessarily to your Harakun,” he added quickly, “but the Farraglean. If you don't mind our presence, we'd be pleased to accompany you.” He volunteered his most accommodating smile. “Since we've already made each other's acquaintance, all that's needed is to formalize it. I am called Jon-Tom, and this is my friend Mudge.”

The mongoose smiled hesitantly. “I am Lieutenant Naike, and these are true soldiers of Harakun.” He pointed them out as he named each one. “Heke, Pauko, and Karaukul. What you suggest has merit, for truly there is strength in numbers. But while I have no objection to your joining us for a portion of our homeward journey, we must first complete our mission. For that, alas, we must now travel in a different direction.”

“Quite possibly to our deaths.” The tall one called Karaukul wore a somber expression that seemed permanently etched into his face. A black streak that ran vertically down over his left eye only added to a naturally funereal air.

“Righty-ho,” said Mudge briskly. “Well, nice chattin' with you lot.” Sheathing his sword, he waved energetically in the direction of the hovering, slightly skittish cloud of music.

“Come along then, mate, and leave us be on our way.”

“Just a moment, Mudge.”

The otter winced visibly. Those four simple words had nearly been the cause of his demise on more occasions than he cared to remember.

Jon-Tom eyed the officer sympathetically. “I don't understand.”

“We are here because a great honor has been bestowed upon us.”

“Uh-oh,” mumbled Mudge. “Any time I 'ear ‘honor' an' ‘death' in the same frame o' reference I know we're goin' to 'ave problems reachin' any sort o' mutual understandin'.”

Naike barely glanced in the otter's direction. “But our difficulties are no concern of yours. Though our initial encounter was somewhat acrimonious, it need not inhibit us now. In such a lonely place it's always good to hear the tales others have to tell.” He gestured toward the remnants of the scattered campfire. “Please join us for a while. A pleasant exchange of conversation will be a good way to begin what might be our last day on earth.”

“Oi, 'tis definitely time we were on our way,” Mudge said quickly. “Clothahump would 'ave a fit, 'e would, if 'e thought we were malingerin', an' our trippin' tune is growin' impatient as ever.” He pulled forcibly at Jon-Tom's sleeve.

Deeply intrigued by the mongoose, the spellsinger disengaged his companion. Mudge indulged in a heavy, deep sigh of resignation.

“What quest brings you so far from your homeland?”

The Lieutenant set himself to explain. “Again, it is no worry of yours, but since you ask, I can tell you that we four have been charged with restoring the Princess Aleaukauna ma ki Woluwariwari to the bosom of the distraught royal family from whence she has been disappeared.”

“Princess?” A gamut of expression passed over Mudge's face in the blink of an eye. “Um, perhaps we might could spare a minim to listen to the details of your story. Be bloody impolite to rush off without at least grantin' 'em a listenin' to, don't you know.” He folded his short legs under him as Pauko and Heke strove to restore the meal that had been so unexpectedly upset.

“First you must know that the Princess is somewhat headstrong.”

“A characteristic common to many princesses, I believe,” ventured Jon-Tom sympathetically.

“After what I am told was a protracted disagreement with her mother, the Queen, she chose to try and lose herself in the northern wilds. This protest caused no immediate alarm within Harakun because no one believed she could get very far, and that before she could place herself in danger, her anger would subside and she would return to the palace of her own accord.” At this Karaukul muttered something under his breath and the Lieutenant frowned in his direction.

“Everyone was dreadfully wrong on both counts, and several court advisers lost various important parts of their anatomies as a result. Furthermore, the Princess has shown herself to be resourceful beyond imagining. Many were set on her trail, but as far as I know we are the only ones who have actually succeeded in locating her. There is great concern for her safety in Harakun.”

“With good reason.” Pauko didn't look up from his work. Instead of chastising him for interrupting, Naike nodded in agreement.

“At what we believed at the time to be the limit of our wanderings,” the officer went on, “we learned she had been seen in a coastal town south of here.”

“Mashupro,” Jon-Tom guessed.

Heke was surprised. “You know the place, then?”

“No. Never been there. That's to be our next destination.”

“Ah.” The soldier looked disappointed.

“It seems,” Naike continued, “that the Princess's presence was noted by one Manzai. Although descriptions are imprecise, and were apt to be colored by everything from fear to admiration, this individual apparently enjoys a status somewhere between that of a brigand and a noble. He has carved his own little private fiefdom out of this detestable country, wherein he exercises absolute power.

“If what we learned is to be believed, it is he who has kidnapped our Princess.”

“Oi!” Mudge was on familiar ground. “Ransom!”

“Apparently not.” Naike's brow creased. “It is possible she was abducted for unmentionable activities, though there is no certainty of that. Our sources were somewhat obscure on the matter.”

“Oh, them.” Mudge leaned back against a mossy log.

Heke glared at the otter. “Do you disrespect our Princess?”

“Can't,” Mudge responded nonchalantly. “'Aven't met 'er yet.”

The soldier hesitated, uncertain, and decided to return to his chores.

“We are sworn,” the Lieutenant went on, “to bring back the Princess or perish in the attempt.”

Mudge closed his eyes, pulled his feathered cap down over his face, and crossed his hands over his middle. “Oi, why ain't I surprised?”

“Then that is your honor,” Jon-Tom commented thoughtfully. The chords tickled his right ear and he brushed away the impatient music.

“Yes.”

“Actually,” Karaukul muttered softly, “we were sort of volunteered.” He did not sound especially ennobled.

“There was a lottery to decide which of us in the royal service would be so honored,” the Lieutenant explained.

“I bet,” Mudge murmured knowingly.

“We
will
rescue the Princess.” But there was more determination and assurance in the Lieutenant's voice than in his face.

“This Manzai,” said Jon-Tom. “Is he holed up in some kind of fort, or walled compound, or something?”

“We know nothing of his abode, or what may be his household strength. He is a shadowy figure in this part of the world, and we are far from Mashupro. The citizens of that worthy community prefer the coast to the pestilences and dangers of the interior, for which one cannot blame them.” The Lieutenant stood tall. “We will press on, to glory or death.”

“That's wot they always say.” Mudge scrunched back against his log.

Unable to ignore the otter's gibes any longer, the indignant Naike glared in his direction. “At least our cause is noble. Something which, from the look and sound of you, is alien to your personality.”

“They ain't very edible, are noble causes.” Unperturbed, the otter peered out from beneath the brim of his cap. “I find 'em damn hard to digest, an' not particularly nutritious.”

Naike let out a snort that was more of a squeak. “I would expect that from an otter, a tribe noted for its narcissism and laziness. I've yet to encounter one with half the fortitude and determination of a mongoose.”

Eyes flashing, Mudge sat up quickly. “Is that so? That's interestin', comin' from someone with a striped behind. I'll 'ave you know that—”

“Not now, Mudge,” said Jon-Tom irritably.

The officer was willing to drop it. “I do not have time to squander in frivolous argument.”

“Princess, eh?” Mudge switched mental gears easily. Visions of a lissome mongoose beauty swathed in silks and ever so grateful to her rescuers pirouetted through his brain. Because of their official position, the noble soldiers of Harakun would doubtless be constrained from accepting anything more than her formal thanks, while he would be under no such restrictions. Thrilled by her rescue and anxious, perhaps even desperate to show her gratitude to someone, the beauteous Aleaukauna would have no one to devote herself to but himself.

Under those conditions it would be highly impolite to do anything other than render what assistance he could.

“I expect it 'tis a bit o' a noble enterprise. Under such circumstances we'd be glad to 'elp out… in the background, o' course,” he added hastily. “We wouldn't want to divert any o' the glory from those on whom it ought properly to fall.”

Jon-Tom's brows rose. “That's what I was going to say. Mudge, this isn't like you.”

The otter adopted a hurt mien. “Wot, can't me own noble instincts come to the fore every now an' again?”

“Sure. It's just that over the years I don't seem to recall ever encountering any.”

“You always were a bit shortsighted, mate.” Mudge indicated the rosy miasma drifting lazily behind his friend. “Wot about the bloomin' beatitudes?”

“You know,” murmured Naike, “I was going to ask you about that.”

“Yes, what sort of mischief is that?” Heke wanted to know.

Jon-Tom waved his fingers at the notes, which responded by chiming softly. “A lost piece of music. At least, that's what we think it is. For some reason it wants us to follow it.”

“Not necessarily a noble quest,” commented Naike speculatively, “but surely an unselfish one.” He reached toward the cloud, which drew back from his fingers, ringing softly. The mongoose eyed Jon-Tom with new respect.

“Perhaps you are in truth what you say you are. A spellsinger, or any sort of sorcerer, would be a most useful ally. We are grateful for any assistance you can render us.”

At last! Jon-Tom thought. Something to test their long-dormant abilities. Rescuing a kidnapped princess was a cause both difficult and worthy. It was more than he'd hoped for when they'd first set out to trail the beckoning music.

“We'll do what we can.” Once more he extended a hand. The officer shook it, his own paw covered in short beige fuzz.

Behind them, the three soldiers were evaluating their new allies.

“You think the human's telling the truth?” Heke wondered aloud. “About being a magician, I mean?”

“I expect we'll find out.” Pauko stirred the pot. “Most surely that's a strange instrument he carries.”

“At least they can both fight,” declared Karaukul. “Though in a tight place I don't think I'd want that otter guarding my back.”

“They strike me as a little old for this,” Heke observed.

Karaukul shrugged. “Ofttimes experience is a fair tradeoff for speed and strength, but that they have as well. Did you see how smoothly they fought together?”

Pauko squeaked softly. “I expect we'll find out more about that, too.” He tasted of the stew and sighed. “I wish we had a little cumin, and some cardamom as well.”

Karaukul passed him a small wooden cylinder. “Use some salt. And remember, if that doesn't do it, there's always more salt.” Pauko essayed a friendly nip in his companion's direction.

Naike regarded the tall human. “For our mission to succeed we will need to employ stealth as well as daring. In that the aid of a spellsinger could prove more valuable than any sword.”

“Like I said, I'll do what I can.” Jon-Tom reached back for the duar. “If you're still unsure, I could give a little demonstra—” A hand forestalled him.

“That's all right, mate.” Mudge had risen like lightning from his resting place. “I'm sure there'll be opportunity soon enough to show your skills.”

“Yes, I suppose you're right.” To the otter's great relief, his friend passed on the notion.

“How wondrous are the consequences of a chance meeting. As you've agreed to share our destiny, so too must you partake of our poor hospitality. Come and eat.”

While they dined on Pauko's surprisingly adept stew, Jon-Tom regaled the soldiers with stories of his and Mudge's exploits. In return, the mongooses gave freely of what they had learned and experienced on the long, arduous journey in search of their Princess, as well as describing the beauties of their homeland.

Chapter 7

THE FOLLOWING MORNING
the rescue expedition, its number strengthened by two, broke camp and struck out in what the mongooses had been told by a nervous trapper was the approximate direction of Manzai's dwelling. Humming briskly, Mudge trailed along in the rear, working to convince himself that the potential rewards of this little digression would somehow far exceed the actual risks he might have to take.