Garinor slept soundly, despite his disappointment at being sheltered for the night instead of welcomed openly into the camp. But he agreed with Brush’s logic that they, too, needed protection from outsiders. He awoke before his guardian and noted several painted canvases around the room. Then her name made sense to him.
After a small breakfast that was brought in by Dodger, Garinor was finally taken outside the tent. “You will first meet with another new recruit who has only been with us a very short time. He’ll give you some instructions about the camp and, as soon as he is able, the General will send for you.” Garinor followed in silence as Dodger brought him to a tent on the northern edge of town. He was gestured inside, but Dodger didn’t follow.
Garinor walked in with his head down. “I was sent to speak with you,” he said by way of introduction.
“Why so formal, Garinor?”
He recognized that voice. “Tomli! But—how?”
Tomli laughed and ran over, giving his best friend a quick embrace and then a playful punch in the shoulder. “Don’t be ridiculous. You told me to come this way.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a chain with the symbol of the Daggerfists on it. “It was in the pocket of your nightshirt, remember?”
He stared at it in amazement. “And you thought I put it there on purpose?”
Tomli’s smiled faded a little. “You didn’t?” Then he laughed. “Well, one way or another it got me here.”
“I can’t believe you’re actually here. Tell me everything that’s happening.”
They sat down and Tomli poured out some water for them. “Well, after we saw you in the forest, we did our best to hold off the hunters. Luckily they didn’t seem to be after us, but…” and his voice drifted off to silence.
“But what?”
Tomli sighed and stared at Garinor. “Besfa was hurt, but he’s going to be fine. It’s Marrin, though. He didn’t make it.”
The blood drained from Garinor’s face as he listened to Tomli’s description of how Marrin had jumped in front of one of the archers to stop her from loosing her arrow. Even after he had been badly wounded, he tried fighting on, but the life went out of him in the end.
They raised their cups in homage to their friend and sat in silence, remembering him.
The conversation then turned to their journeys. “When we finished burying Marrin, I took that necklace I found and decided I had to go do something. My gran wasn’t going to let me go, but I’m faster than she is.”
“Isn’t she about sixty-five or something?”
He grinned. “Well, yeah.”
“But,” Garinor couldn’t help asking, “how did you know to use that necklace as a guide?”
Tomli’s face reddened, and Garinor knew his friend well enough that it meant he didn’t want to reveal the answer to that just yet. “It was a gut feeling.” He shrugged. “But in the end it got me all the way here. And now you’re here, too, so I was right.”
Garinor laughed. “I’m glad your trip was easy as that.”
Tomli shook his head. “It wasn’t. There were patrols we had to avoid, sometimes inside towns. It wasn’t very safe. But I have to say that you look like you’ve seen a lot more action than I have.”
Garinor revealed some of the key aspects of his journey, winding up to the one mystery that he still hadn’t solved. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the bloodstone. “One of the things I found on the way was this. I have no idea what it’s for, but I was told to find it and keep it with me.”
Tomli took it and inspected it. “Why is it so hot?” he asked, handing it back.
“I don’t know. It’s been like that pretty much since I found it.” He returned it to its hiding place and sighed. “Maybe it will tell me one day what it’s for.”
Tomli laughed. “Stranger things have happened.”
“Like talking necklaces,” Garinor chortled.
They reminisced for a while until a guard came to the tent and announced, “The General is ready for you now.”
“See you, Gar. Have fun,” Tomli said with a funny glow in his eye.
“He asked you to come as well,” the guard said.
Garinor and Tomli went to the western edge of the camp to a tent that was more worn, but also sturdier than all the other tents. It was clearly where the most important figure waited. The man outside the tent opened the flap to admit them and Tomli hurried in first and scooted off to the side.
Garinor entered next and he looked ahead to the man sitting on a tree stump. He thought his eyes would fall out of his head. “Father!”
“Greetings, Garinor,” said Terrian. “I’m so glad you made it here. I’ve been so worried.” He walked over and embraced his son, then poured out three goblets of wine. “A toast to our current health.”
“Current health?” Tomli asked. “Then the prince is close by?”
“Yes,” Terrian and Garinor said in unison.
Garinor’s father sat down and motioned for the others to do the same. “Son, there are things I need to share with you and it’s not all easy to say.”
“I already know about it,” he said offhandedly. “And I understand.”
Terrian’s smile was a bit mystified. “Really? What have you learned on your quest, my son?”
He took a sip of wine and explained, “I know that there is a prophecy that involves the prince, the true heir to the throne, and someone else who is supposed to choose between them. I also know about the scepter and that it’s near here, a little further north I think. The prince has been trying to find the heir and now he has a portrait that—er—shows who the heir is and he’s been looking for him in earnest.” He couldn’t bring himself to point the facts to himself and in turn tell his father that he knew he wasn’t his real father.
Terrian nodded his head. “I see. Well, that is true, indeed.”
Tomli looked at Garinor seriously. “We were told about it years ago, Garinor. Me, Besfa, and Marrin. We knew we had to look out for you, but we wanted to also. You know? It’s… not like we were just—you know—trying to be friends with the future king.”
Garinor grinned at his friend as he tripped over his words. “I get it.”
Terrian spoke next, rising to his feet and pacing about. “Son, there has been a great deception and you have been in danger. I hope you can one day forgive me for it.”
Garinor looked at the grave expression on Terrian’s face and he nodded, “Of course, Father. I understand.”
“Not quite,” Terrian said. “It was about sixteen years ago when the king first entered our land, seeking to take over. War broke out all over and people were dying because our king and queen would not surrender. We fought for our land, as all people do, but it was clear that there was no end in sight, for King Vehn drew additional forces from his home kingdom in order to besiege us.
“At the start of it, the king and queen had no children, but they knew of the prophecy and so they had never feared for having a son. Near the end of the war, one was born. But also, the invading armies had made some devastating attacks and it was clear that if it continued, this entire country would be ruined.
“The heir needed to be protected and so he was sent away with a young servant and another newborn child was sacrificed and given to their majesties in place of their own. It was the only way to protect their son, as horrible the price was for his protection.”
“So Vehn, he—” Garinor started.
“Yes, he ended the king’s line then and there. It was his true goal, I think, to ensure that no one could rightfully claim this land. It wasn’t until later that he learned of the prophecy and began a hunt to find the missing heir.” He paused for a moment. “But back to the girl. She brought the child to Paligar, a place she knew of, and it was decided by a select few of us that we would protect the heir at all costs. We never heard from the girl again. I can only hope she fled the country.”
Clearing his throat, he continued, “The great deception was born that night as a few of us argued about the best way to protect the newborn babe. Luinna was heavy with child and due to give birth any day. She did so and it was a healthy boy. We knew that we had to make a great sacrifice.
“Tomli,” Terrian said with deliberate slowness. “You never knew your parents. They died of sickness when you were very young and so you were raised by your grandmother. You know this, but we’ve watched over you.”
Tomli gasped. “Then you’re my real father!”
Terrian closed his eyes and released a deep sigh as Garinor bit his lip, trying to decide what to make of all this. Terrian steadied himself and continued, “It was a deep deception, indeed. We leaked word that we had taken in the heir and that your parents, Tomli, had given birth to a son. We made it seem as if we didn’t want anyone to know that information, but in truth it was the exact story we wanted them to discover if ever anyone went looking. And we knew one day the king would learn of the prophecy and so would seek the heir.”
He turned his eyes to Garinor. “He would come seeking you, Garinor.” He swallowed painfully and, even as the light of realization sparked in his son’s eyes, Terrian needed to say the words. “We lied about taking in the heir. I don’t know how you could ever forgive me for what I did, Garinor, but you are not the heir. You are a decoy.”
Terrian then turned his eyes to Tomli. “And you are the heir to the throne, born of the noble king and queen of this land, and it has been my life’s work to keep you safe at all costs.”
There was utter silence while the two boys adjusted to this information. Terrian waited while their faces told the stories of what they were thinking, from disbelief to shock to, slowly, acceptance.
“The actions we took to protect Tomli are unforgivable,” Terrian said after a while. “Son, we put your life up as a sacrifice should the king come seeking him. Yet we all believed in our rash, young hearts that it was for the best. For we believed in the inherent goodness that would be born into the true heir, into Tomli, and more than anything else we wanted that line to continue to rule, even if it meant a hiatus before destiny pushed us all to act. We believed that Tomli would inherit his parents’ nobility and selflessness and we acted to ensure his safety.”
“He has,” Garinor said clearly. “In every way I can picture it, he really has.” He looked at his best friend. “Tomli, you thought I was the one who needed protecting and you went out of your way to save me. But even before that, even when we were young, you always stood up for me. You were always there. Then in the forest you risked your life so I could get away, and you even made your way here. You’re the noblest person I know.”
Tomli’s face lit a deep scarlet and he couldn’t find any words to say.
Garinor looked at his father. “I think I understand it. I can’t believe you lied about this all my life, but I know why. If only you had told me, then I could have protected Tomli better.”
Terrian shook his head sadly. “Luinna and I decided when we made the pact that you shouldn’t know, for then Tomli wouldn’t be safe if you were in fact taken from us one day. It is horrible, I know, to think that we value Tomli’s life more than yours.”
There were tears in Garinor’s eyes at hearing these words, for they were creeping into him as well. “But he’s the son of a king. I’m the son of a… I thought you were a travelling merchant,” he ended with a forced smile.
Terrian too forced his grin, “I was for many years, but when this all started, a new task was also born. It was when the Daggerfists were created and I’ve been organizing these operations ever since.”
Before they could talk further, a guard came in. “Pardon me, General, but the prince arrives.”
A stony look came over Terrian’s face and in that expression Garinor could see all the years of guilt traced into every line. “Forgive me, but I must now tend to this. Though, son, your arrival last night afforded us time to make preparations. We’ll talk more this evening.” With that, he strode from the tent.
There was silence for a few moments, then Garinor couldn’t take it any longer. He looked at Tomli, still sitting in shock, and asked, “So, your highness, what do you make of all this?”
Tomli was horrified by the title until he saw the comical look on Garinor’s face. “Real funny,” he said, then shook his head. “I can’t believe it. It’s too much to take in. It was one thing thinking you were the one. But me?”
Garinor winked. “You’re better suited to it.”
“Keep it up and my first order will be to throw you into the dungeon!”
“Somehow, I think my father wouldn’t let you.”
Tomli smiled, but he was distracted. “I can’t believe he did all that. For me. And he didn’t even know how I’d turn out.”
“But he seems to know what he’s doing, doesn’t he?”
“Garinor? I’m sorry you were set up as a decoy to protect me.”
“Don’t even start that. It’s not like you chose it yourself.”
“I know, but still.”
Determined to change the somber mood, Garinor sighed. “Well at least it explains one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Now I know why my father never brought back any great souvenirs from his journeys!”
Tomli looked at him and together they laughed.