Chapter 11 - Farewell

Chapter 11 - Farewell


Opal left Fiona and headed through the crowd. She climbed the stairs to the middle of the platform and approached Felina who was conversing with the Major. Tinder stood by their side.

“I’ll guard the troll on the way to Shorehorn,” said Major Wright. “He needs a man well-versed in combat.”

“I was going to ask you that very favor,” said Felina.

“I’m going too,” said Opal.

“You?” Major Wright laughed.

“How dare you, old man!” said Opal. She glared at him. “I can do things you can’t. I know tongues in case you need someone to translate for you. And I am a full-fledged member of the OCD, which you most certainly are not.”

“Felina?” asked Major Wright.

“Opal, I’d really rather you didn’t do this,” said Felina. “But it’s your decision to make. Success may depend as much upon intelligence as it does in ability at arms, and your witch’s sixth sense might be the ingredient the mission needs.”

“Then I’m going.”

“I’ll drag the little brat along,” said the Major, scowling.

Opal knew his reluctance came out of concern for her. Despite his sarcasm, he felt great affection for her and she knew it.

She winked at Tinder, slapped the Major on the butt, and gave Felina a big hug. “When do we leave?”

#

The head witch summoned Tinder and Major Wright to her private quarters. Opal tagged along uninvited.

Having faced the loss of his citizenship, the day’s outcome superseded any Tinder could imagine. He could not conceive of how his folly had resulted in such good fortune, as he walked to her residence.

You think you’re pretty smart, don’t you Tinder, the troll heard in his mind. Well, stop dancing around like a grave digger hopping over a tombstone. Everyone in Roche will know about your expedition, and all you’ll have to protect you from Porter is one soldier and one trollkin.

Tinder stopped in mid-stride. “I forgot about the bounty hunter,” he thought. “Koop, don’t you think he’s given up? Don’t you think receiving this position is a good thing?”

No, is my answer to the first one, and I’ll give you a maybe for the second. As your ally, you would have made my job a lot easier by keeping a low profile as I asked. But everything works for a reason.

“Koop, just let me be happy for today, okay?”

“Who am I to differ?”

“Hurry up, Tinder,” said Major Wright. “No time to dawdle.”

#

Felina’s cottage was similar to every other citizen's, only more luxurious. While neither extravagant nor ritzy, it was distinct in its trappings, as additional extravagance was needed to make it into a center for entertaining guests. She led the threesome to a serving room, disappeared, and came back with four saucers of pine tea. Tinder and Opal settled on cushioned chairs facing a semi-spherical couch seating Felina and the Major.

“I am sorry to have had to put you in such an awful position, Tinder,” Felina said. “I had no right to do that to you.”

“I thought you would turn us down,” said Opal. “After all, you haven’t been here very long, and you really don’t know a whole lot about the OCD.”

Tinder relaxed. “I did feel somewhat put on the spot. Even now, I’m not sure what I signed up for. But I do want to become a magician and I want to lead my people to freedom.”

“The use of magic requires good intentions on the part of its user,” answered Felina. “If your desire is for personal glory, magic will twist you awry without you even being aware of it. It is as dangerous for the one who practices it as it is for the one who has it practiced on them.”

“Personally, I abhor magic,” said Major Wright.

Felina felt the warm comfort of the Major’s arm around her back.

“Even white magic,” he continued. “Give me a battalion of sturdy men with good hearts and sharp swords anytime.”

Felina said, “It is a gift for those chosen. For others, it can be a curse.”

“Well I’m glad it wasn’t chosen for me,” said Major Wright.

“But what could I have that would make Acumen want me for his successor?” asked Tinder.

Felina considered her response carefully. “I don’t know. I don’t believe you are meant to know. Everything has a purpose. You may possess some hidden attribute that makes you the right candidate. Or it might even be a character flaw of yours. Anyway, you are certainly normal and you are not evil, which makes you as good a candidate as any.”

“Healthy, happy, and bashful,” commented Opal.

Tinder gave Opal a dirty look.

“Remember, Tinder,” continued Felina, ignoring Opal. “Acumen has greater vision than any of us. You were not picked by accident.”

“What bothers me is that he is not even a true member of the Order,” said Opal, turning in his direction. “I am ashamed to admit it, but I‘m jealous of you. I left my family in Gaul to come here and become a minister of the OCD and have worked for years to serve the Order. Nobody’s even heard of it where you came from. I know I’m being awful small, but I can’t help but feel like it’s a little unfair.

“Now, now, my child” said Felina. “There is a purpose for everyone. You have your own personal gift to give. Only one can lead, and the rest must follow. That does not mean that your contributions deserve any less honor.”

“Opal is right though,” said the troll. “I don’t blame her for feeling that way.”

Opal looked at him and smiled.

“Please, stop worrying,” said Felina. “Just don’t ever hide in my coatroom again.”

Opal and the Major joined her in a laugh. Tinder cringed, his face turning scarlet.

Major Wright changed the subject. “When should we leave?”

“As soon as possible,” said Felina. “I don’t know how much time Acumen has left and I would rather err on the side of safety.”

“I want to finish working off my debt to you first,” said Tinder.

Against her wishes, Felina said, “There’s time for that but you shouldn’t delay any longer.” She sensed the genuineness of his request.

“Our road lies to the north as well as to the west,” said Major Wright, “where it’s colder. I think we should wait for the spring thaw.”

“Okay, then. Plan on leaving no later than a month from now. That should allow you plenty of time. This meeting is adjourned.”

Tinder approached Opal on the way out. “I’m glad you are coming. It will be good to have a woman on the trip. And a trollkin at that.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” said Opal.

#

“Tinder’s leaving Fern for a one-way journey to Shorehorn. A soldier, the best in Fern, will serve as his bodyguard with a trollkin coming along for reasons I don’t understand. With a little surprise you can catch them all off guard and waylay them.”

“Thank you, Mr. Finch. Here, take your coppers and be off,” said Amos Porter. Although the bounty hunter found snitches useful, he neither liked nor respected them.

#

To Major Wright, the time to leave arrived all too soon. The April sky was overcast as he led a mounted sortie of the two trolls and himself out of Fern. The Major rode Perrefilio. Tinder sat atop Bail, a mild-mannered steer, and the filly Tilda bore Opal. Major Wright considered it pointless to try to hide their exit from Fern. The majority of the townsfolk attended as if it were a celebration.

The two trolls looked forward to the adventure. Tinder told him he had already said his good-byes and was eager to get going. Opal, for her part, had always wished to break out. The conflict between the tomboy inside her and the grown woman she appeared to be still raged.

The Major, however, felt despondent. As the most able man in Felina’s militia, he would not let any other soldier take the assignment. However, his separation from Felina depressed him.

Felina approached his side as he readied to bid her farewell. She withdrew a small cylindrical package wrapped in a foil cover from her lady’s pouch. She peeled the gold leaf jacket away, and presented him with a wooden rod six inches long. It had a narrow tunnel through its longest axis giving it the resemblance of a flute. The major recognized runes carved upon its exterior as good luck blessings. Its maker had used considerable woodworking skill in crafting the piece.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“A going away present,” said Felina. “I made it myself. It’s an equinar to call your horses with. If you ever become separated from them, blow it, and they will come back to you no matter how far away they are. People are unable to hear it, so it may come in handy if you’re in a tight spot.”

“Your gifts are always unsurpassed,” said the Major. “I will guard it with my best. Goodbye.” As he bent to greet her, he felt her lips meet his.

“Now be off,” said Felina, gasping. “Safe returns to all.” A slight trickle of wetness dribbled down the corner of her eye.

Major Wright resigned himself to the excursion. He tried not to resent the two trolls for the high spirits with which they looked forward to this quest. He led the procession out of town. With a confident nod to his lady, he mouthed, “Hold your head high.” Felina waved, turned, and walked away as the crowd disappeared out of sight.