Richard Tuttle - Sapphire of the Fairies

“I’ve read about the moon, butit’s hard to imagine the sight you describe,” sighed Arik. “Werethere bandits back then, too?”

“No,” reflected Esta, “banditsdidn’t last very long back then. The army would hang them and thearmy was a friend of the people in Sordoa, not like the armies oftoday. People call them great armies, but they’re just a large bandof ruffians. The Sordoan Army was a real army with uniforms anddiscipline. It was the most feared army in the world, but thecitizens of Sordoa didn’t have to fear them. The merchants used tokill bandits, too. Some young boy from Targa, probably not mucholder than you, made a name for himself and a fortune by becomingthe first merchant with his own army of bandit-killers. It got so abandit would only attack a lone stranger in the woods.”

“Wouldn’t all that sun burnall the crops?” asked Arik.

“Glory, no,” chuckled theinnkeeper. “The plants need the sun. The dark sky is why the cropsget smaller and fewer every year. The animals also suffer withoutenough food to survive on. No, lad, sunshine is a wonderful thing.What I’d give to see another sunny day.”

Arik sensed the innkeeper’s despair andknew his questioning would soon be over. “What caused the changeand when will it change back?” he asked.

Esta frowned and chewed on his lowerlip as he answered. “Some say that a great demon escaped hisimprisonment and collapsed the universes. A god came along andimprisoned the demon again, but not before the demon found theworld’s greatest magician and made him the Dark One and commandedhim to rule over the world for a thousand years. It is said thatthe Dark One abhors the sun and ordered it to remain hidden andnever show its face again.”

“You mean that I’ll never getto see the sun?” exclaimed Arik.

Approaching footsteps warned theinnkeeper of the pending interruption and he rounded on the younghunter. “You won’t get to see tomorrow if you don’t get about yourbusiness and leave me to mine.”

Arik walked out the back door of theinn, jiggling the coins in his purse, pondering a world withoutbandits and an inky black sky. As he turned the corner of the inn,a hand reached out and grabbed him.

“Tedi!” Arikexclaimed.

“Shhh,” whispered Tedi. “Idon’t want old man Esta to hear you.”

“So it was you,” chuckledArik. “What did you do to make the woman scream?”

Tedi pulled his friend down the dustyalley and away from the inn. “I was just making rounds of the emptyrooms to see if anybody left something behind. How was I supposedto know that some woman would be getting dressed?”

Arik shook his head. “I don’t knowwhat’s going to kill you first, falling off a roof or getting beatto death by your father when you get caught.”

Tedi frowned at the mention of hisfather. “If he beats me again, it will be the last time that hedoes. He nearly broke three of my ribs last time. I’m not goingthrough that again. I’d rather take my chances in the woods withthe bandits.”

Arik remembered the last time that Tediwas beaten. Arik was concerned that Alan Markel might kill his sonone day. He knew it wouldn’t be on purpose, but Tedi’s father wasdrunk most of the time and Arik suspected the fisherman didn’trealize how strong he was or how hard he could hit. Alan neverrecovered from the loss of his wife and had spent the last threeyears going from bottle to bottle. Arik’s father, Konic Clava, andAlan used to be best friends and used to take their boats outtogether. Tedi and Arik used to go along and help. Three years ago,bandits raided the town and both of the boys’ mothers had beentaken. When the two fishermen and their sons returned from the seathat day, Alan started drinking. He hasn’t been sober a daysince.

“Why do you do it?” Arikasked. “Why don’t you take your father’s boat out and fish or comehunting with me? There are lots of ways to make money withoutstealing it. I just sold six rabbits to Esta and he’ll take a lotmore if I can get them.”

Tedi kicked a stone down the dustyalley. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I never was much good atfishing and there aren’t that many fish left, anyway. I guess Ilike the adventure, the chance of getting caught and the thrill ofgetting away with something. I was never as good a shot with a bowas you, anyway.”

“We could go huntingtogether,” offered Arik. “We’ll split everything we get no matterwho bags it.”

“Your father needs the moneyas much as mine does,” submitted Tedi. “He’s always having to buythings to fix his boat and nets. He’s hardly making enough to liveon as it is.”

“That doesn’t matter,”declared Arik. “My father and your father have been friends a longtime. I’m sure that he would give whatever he could to help yourdad.”

“Your dad is the only friendmy father has,” admitted Tedi, “and my father doesn’t even realizeit. Besides, anything my father gets is going towards the nextbottle. No, I’ll try hunting with you, but I’ll only keep what Iactually get myself.”

“You’re a good enough shot tobring in plenty of game,” cheered Arik. “Let’s go by my place andI’ll show you the animal trap I made. I’m hoping that I can catchsomething really big with it.”

The smell of fish and salt airincreased as the boys sauntered down the alley towards the dockarea where both of the boys lived. Arik laid his bow and quiver onthe stoop of his house and led Tedi around to the back yard.Proudly, Arik picked up his homemade trap and presented it toTedi.

“It looks like a metal jaw,”commented Tedi. “How does it work?”

“Well, it doesn’t really workyet,” conceded Arik. “I used oarlocks for the jaws and filed theminto teeth. They’ll hold tight whatever gets between them, but Ineed to find a couple of stiff springs to put some pressure onthem. I’ve looked everywhere that I can think of, but I can’t findany. See, the springs will go in right here.”

Tedi was impressed. “I’ll check aroundand see what I can find,” he offered.

“Well, if you find anything,let me know,” smiled Arik. “And don’t steal them. I’ve got enoughmoney to pay for them.”

“I don’t steal,” replied Tediangrily. “Taking stuff that people leave behind before theinnkeeper gets it and keeps it for himself is notstealing.”

“Alright,” conceded Arik, “Ijust don’t want you getting beat again.” Arik wanted to believe inTedi’s honesty, but still he wondered how Tedi could find all ofthe things he had claimed to find. It was mostly the things thatTedi found that kept some food on his father’s table and drink inhis father’s cup. What amazed Arik the most, was the gold necklacethat Tedi wore all of the time. It certainly was a very expensivepiece of jewelry with six strands of delicate gold woven in anintertwining fashion that culminated in a small golden heart.Certainly, no goldsmith in Lorgo had the skill to create such apiece and the thought of some traveler leaving it in a room at theinn was preposterous. The necklace was probably valuable enough tobuy a new home, but Tedi never gave any inclination to part with iteven when he and his father had no food to eat. In any event, Tedistormed off angrily whenever Arik mentioned thenecklace.

“Why don’t we go out to thewoods and try getting some game,” offered Arik.

“Later in the day would bebetter,” Tedi replied quickly. “There are bandits just outside oftown and the way they were carrying on last night, they won’t begetting up early.”

“How do you know about thebandits?” asked Arik.

“I overheard Esta talking to atraveler yesterday,” responded Tedi. “They were talking about amerchant coming down from the North. I was hoping to find theircampsite and hear tales of the outside before the townspeople allcrowded around. You know how nobody will talk about the old timesand I figured if I shared a campfire with him, he would feel betterabout talking. The only thing I found were a group of bandits,though. I don’t suppose a lone merchant will survive to even gethere now.”