Kalina wrapped her arms around Tanyaand hugged her. “I, of all people, know Garth,” she stated. “Thewords you spoke were true, too true. Sometimes the truth hurts andpeople have a hard time accepting that. Garth is slow to anger andeven slower to cool off. He is not gone from us, but he is hurtingdeeply. He needs to work the hurt and anger off in solitude. It isthe only way that works for him. He will come back when he isbetter able to accept your feelings for Alexander Tork. In themeantime, he is quite capable of handling himself alone in thewoods.”
“If he is so capable,” Tanyasobbed, “why do you spend all of your time staring off into thewoods for him?”
Kalina turned and gazed at the endlesstrees surrounding them. “He will not suffer at the hands of apredator out there,” Kalina declared. “My fear is for the enemywithin himself. He pushes himself to the limit for others and evenbeyond. When that is not enough to help the others, he blameshimself. He does not consider it heroic when he succeeds. When youidolize Alexander Tork as a hero, he thinks to himself that thereare no heroes. He has seen thousands of good men die trying to helpothers and, in his mind, they are the only heroes and even they arefailures because they are no longer around to help people. Youshould not feel sorry for Garth nor should you feel anger for hisbeliefs. He believes in them deeply, as you do inyours.”
Tanya picked up her Lanoirian Stars asKalina left to sit near the fire. Tanya renewed her practice, butthis time with more skill than anger. Eventually, the Rangersfinished practice and drifted off to sleep. Tanya closed her eyeson the figure of Kalina still sitting and gazing into theforest.
Tanya awoke with a stabbing in her ribsand the smell of breakfast in her nostrils. She looked up to seeFredrik poking her with his staff. Biting back a sharp remark, shefollowed Fredrik’s gaze and saw Garth cooking breakfast. Hurriedly,she got to her feet and headed towards Garth. Fredrik and Tedi wereawakening the rest of the Rangers as she approached the campfire.When she got close to Garth, she started to speak and Garth lookedup at her and held his hand up to halt her words.
“I must apologize to you,”Garth said loudly. “To all of you. You are young enough yet to knowgreat optimism and enthusiasm. It is wrong for me, in any way, todampen that bright outlook you hold on life. I can warn you of thepitfalls which you will face on your journey towards death, but theattitudes you carry with you on that journey are yours, and yoursalone.”
Tanya started to say something andGarth halted her again. “To you, pretty warrior, I owe an extraapology,” Garth smiled. “You are right to seek a person who youthink represents the ideals you would wish for yourself and I waswrong to water the fire of your search for excellence. My views maydiffer from your own, but I will no longer attempt to lessen yourideals. Please forgive me.”
Tanya did not try to speak, but threwher arms around Garth and hugged him. An embarrassed smile cloudedGarth’s face as he returned the young warriors hug. After a fewmoments, he broke the embrace and laughed.
“Now for the fine breakfast Inegotiated out of a Klandon farmer,” he chuckled. “Fresh eggs andbacon with bread and a pitcher of cow’s milk.”
The campsite turned festive as theRangers devoured the breakfast. Kalina stood behind Garth andplaced her hands on his broad shoulders and smiled. Within twentyminutes the breakfast was eaten, the campsite cleaned up, and theRangers were back on the trail.
The days that followed were free oftension within the group. Tanya still showered the other Rangerswith tales of Alex and Jenneva, but Garth did not object, he merelywalked away from the talk and performed other duties that requiredattention.
As they approached the BoulderMountains, Garth began to hear the Rangers speak of Lavinda, thesettlement Alexander Tork led his villagers to when he was a boy.The villagers had named it Lavinda in honor of Alexander’s motherwho died during the trip in a misfortunate accident. Tork hadtaught the villagers to think in terms of defense and the villagewas designed to repel attacks. The design saved the village fromthe Yaki, goblins, and bandits. The village had become famous andthe term “Lavindan” was used to describe someone who was wary anddefensive and usually sat with his back to the wall and an eye onthe door.
Tedi was chosen to ask Garth if thegroup could stop in Lavinda for an overnight stay. Garth smiledgrimly and explained that Lavinda had a reputation for notaccepting strangers and that their path lay in another direction.While Tedi spread the word of Garth’s answer, Garth made thedecision to ride later than usual and camp on the other side of thepass, effectively eliminating the need for any further questionsabout Lavinda.
That evening during the talk sessionwhen Garth lit his pipe, there were a lot of questions aboutLavinda, the unnamed village where Tork grew up, and the cave ofAlex’s first battle with the Yaki, which was somewherenearby.
Garth looked at the eager faces aroundthe campfire and pointed with his pipe at the Boulder Mountains.“That is what should occupy your thoughts,” Garth proclaimed.“Mount Kalas, the highest mountain of the Boulders, is where theDark One is imprisoned. We are at the center of Sarac’s domain andon a trip that will lead to his death, or ours. If this were apleasure trip, we could all get excited about seeing sights wherelegends were born, but the longer we stay in the vicinity ofSarac’s castle, the longer we dare death to visit us. Let’s get ourpractice going early. I plan to move out of here before firstlight.”
The Rangers split into groups and begantheir practice sessions with Garth supplying instruction as needed.Tanya chose to battle Fredrik with the staff and Tedi challengedArik with knives. Niki and Kalina worked on health magic. Thepractice was especially long and tiring and the Rangers worked up asweat. Fredrik and Tedi were soon stripped to the waist, but Arikkept fighting with his shirt on. Garth wondered if Arik’s rash wasstill bothering him. Since the first night out of Tagaret when therash was noticed, Arik had not removed his shirt except to changeit, which he managed to do when no one was around.
“Break,” Garth called to Arikand Tedi. “Arik, why don’t you shed your shirt? You are going tocreate a muddy pool on the practice area.”
“I’m all right, Garth,” Arikreplied sheepishly.
“Has that rash gone away yet?”Garth probed.
“It’s still there, but Ihardly notice it anymore,” Arik answered. “We’re going to switch tothrowing knives soon anyway and I’ll just catch achill.”
The boys went back to fighting andGarth noticed that Kalina and Niki had split up. He strode over toKalina and spoke to her in a low voice. “Have you checked Arik’srash lately?”
“He won’t let me near it,”Kalina replied. “I think all of the fuss involved with trying toclear it up embarrasses him. It’s not serious, Garth. It is just areaction to something. Perhaps the Palace Shadow has vermin afterall.”
“More likely the RoyalPalace,” chuckled Garth. “I know there are vermin residing there.The Children are progressing better than I could have hoped for.Their skills rival many soldiers whom I have served with. At thisrate, they will soon be able to rightfully call themselves Rangers.How are Niki and Fredrik doing with their magic skills? Are yougetting enough time with Fredrik or should I curtail his staffpractice?”
“Fredrik is doing fine withthe time we spend together,” Kalina commented. “He is a fastlearner and he picked up more than he knows from spying on theBlack Devils. Many spells he has already seen performed, but didn’tunderstand how they worked. Once I explain it to him, he isfine.”
Kalina lowered herself to a sittingposition and Garth slid down beside her. “Niki is another story,”Kalina continued. “She is very stubborn and refuses to accept mydirection. Her ability is not as strong as Fredrik’s and sheinsists it is much greater. Sometimes I think that reality doesn’texist in her mind. Even in the area of health where she has somespecial gift that I have never seen before, she will not take myword for anything. I have to get the book out and show her beforeshe will accept what I am teaching.”