“All right then,” said Alex. “What has the king offered for the Horn’s return?”
“The king has offered one hundred thousand gold coins and a thousand of the finest horses in Alusia,” answered Bregnest. “You should know that Alusian horses are considered the cleverest horses in all of the known lands.”
“Then they must be impressive creatures.”
“Indeed they are. In fact, Shahree is from Alusia, and you know what she is like.”
“Shahree is from Alusia? If she is an example of Alusian horses, then a thousand like her would be worth far more than the gold offered.”
“Well, Shahree does seem exceptional, even by the standards of Alusia,” said Bregnest with a small grin. “And I think perhaps your own opinions about her may confuse your thoughts on value.”
“If the horses the king is offering are anything like Shahree, I would find it difficult to sell any of them,” Alex said firmly.
“We have not won the horses or the gold yet,” Bregnest replied in a stern tone, though his smile remained. “And if we do, you may not need to sell them. I own some fairly large lands in Alusia and would be more than happy to keep the horses there for you, if you wish.”
Alex nodded. “Tell me about the bargain. How many of us will there be?”
“There will be six of us on this adventure. Some of the company you already know. Your friends Andy and Halfdan have already agreed to come along.”
“Andy and Halfdan. We’ll have good company at least.”
“Also an elf named Sindar, who you do not know, though he knows a great deal about you. And Master Valenteen who is waiting with Mr. Clutter,” Bregnest went on.
“And how is it that this Sindar knows about me?” Alex questioned.
“Sindar comes from the dark forest of Vargland. When we were there on our last adventure, he was away on an adventure of his own. He has heard about you from the other elves, however, and from our friend Calysto, of course.”
“Then it should be a merry group,” said Alex, remembering the elves of the dark forest.
“Yes, it should be,” agreed Bregnest. “Now, regarding the shares of the primary treasure, since you are both a wizard anda warrior, I can offer you five shares out of twenty.”
“I’m only a wizard in training,” Alex corrected.
“So you say. Though I know more than you might guess. After all, you’re not the only one Whalen has written to.”
“Very well,” said Alex. “What about secondary treasure?”
“Most of the secondary treasure will be divided equally between the company,” Bregnest replied. “Any treasure found in the Tower of the Moon will be divided into seven shares. The extra share will be given to the finder of the Horn, or, if we find the Horn as a group, divided according to merit as I see fit.”
“It all sounds good to me,” said Alex. “But it also seems you have left out a share somewhere. Shouldn’t the primary treasure be divided by twenty-one?”
“I haven’t left out a share. Since this quest is to aid my kinsman, I am only taking one share as a warrior and three as the leader.”
“Very well then,” said Alex, nodding. “I accept the bargain and will gladly sign the agreement.”
“Before you accept, I need to impress on you how important this quest is. If we do not return the Horn, and soon, there could be war. We are in a race, and it is a race we must win.”
“A race?” Alex questioned. “Are there others looking for the Horn?”
“No, not that I know of,” Bregnest answered. “But we will be in a race against time. We must find the Horn and return it to the rightful king. If war begins before we can return the Horn . . . Well, then our adventure would be a failure.”
“And there will be trouble in Alusia,” Alex added. “But we should be able to do this quickly enough. The magic of the great arch will allow us to return at almost the same moment we leave.”
“If only that were true.” Bregnest sighed.
“What?”
“The magic you speak of—the same magic that let you return home after your first adventure on the same day you left—does not apply here.”
“Why not?”
“Because both Norsland and Alusia are part of the known lands,” Bregnest answered. “Time is constant in the known lands. It has to be or nothing would ever get done.”
“Oh,” said Alex. “I suppose that makes sense. I mean, well, I don’t really understand.”
“And I’m not sure I’m the one to explain it,” said Bregnest. “All I can say is that for the known lands, time is constant. Ten days in Norsland is ten days in Alusia. The magical change of time only works for lands that don’t interact with the known lands. Your world has little or nothing to do with the known lands, so it’s easy for the magic to change time a bit.”
“I see,” said Alex. “And people are traveling and trading in the known lands all the time, so the magic can’t do the same thing here.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, that’s all right,” Alex went on. “I’m still sure we can get the Horn back in time.”
“Excellent. The company will be delighted to have you along.”
“There are a couple of things I’d like to discuss with you,” Alex added.
“Not trying to give away treasure again, are you?”
“No, nothing like that,” said Alex. “But one of the six lost bags that I recovered during our last adventure belongs to someone in Norsland. I would like to return it if at all possible.”
“We will make time for that,” said Bregnest.
“And secondly, you said something in your letter about Skeld and Tayo both finding wives.”
“It seems they have.” Bregnest laughed. “Andy knows the whole story, so I’ll let him tell you when we reach Telous. Attending the weddings won’t interfere with our adventure at all. In fact, it’s on our way to the Tower of the Moon, so that works out well.”
“Well then, where do I sign? I can’t wait to hear about Skeld and Tayo.”
Bregnest showed Alex where to sign the agreement and slapped him on the shoulder in a friendly way. Alex thought Bregnest looked almost as happy as he felt, and he was sure that this adventure would be a great deal of fun.
“Val,” Bregnest called as they entered the main room of Mr. Clutter’s shop. “I want you to meet Alexander Taylor, our sixth member. He goes by Alex. Alex, this is Sedric Valenteen. He goes by Val.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Val replied.
“The pleasure is mine,” said Alex, his eyes searching Val’s face. There was no sign of any bruises, and Alex felt certain that what he had seen before had been a trick of the light and shadows.
“We should be off to Telous,” said Bregnest. “The rest of the company will be waiting, and the midday meal will be ready soon.”
“Gentlemen,” said Mr. Clutter, entering the room. “All set and ready to go, are you?”
“Everything is ready. Will you file this for us, please?” Bregnest handed the adventurers’ agreement to Mr. Clutter.
“Yes, yes, of course. And I hope this adventure turns out as well as your last. Oh, your last adventure was very good indeed.”
“Which way then?” Bregnest questioned, cutting Mr. Clutter off before he could really get going.
“Through the wardrobe, I think,” said Mr. Clutter. “That will put you just inside the Swan.”
The Golden Swan was the finest tavern in Telous and the favorite of most adventurers. Alex had never traveled through Mr. Clutter’s wardrobe, however, and he wasn’t at all sure how it worked.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” said Mr. Clutter, as Bregnest moved across the room. “Master Taylor, would you like to change your age at all?”
“My age?” Alex asked before he remembered what Mr. Clutter was talking about. “Oh, I, well . . . If I could go at the same age I was when I returned from my last adventure, that would be nice.”