Chapter 9

Alladin lived up to his training and more than paid for any inconvenience in taking on a new pupil this late in life. He had prepared a snow bunny in wine as I had expected, but he also managed to find a ripe Ice melon, which went wonderfully with the thinly sliced Bear's liver and crisp pork. He tossed the greens I had given him with pine nuts and a sprinkle of rice wine vinegar.

The look on the old Hermit's face when we walked into the camp was a combination of astonishment and wide-eyed wonder. The boy must have thought the old Mage was starving, because Alladin had him sitting in front of a full plate before I even had a chance to find my spoon. Our young cook basked in the heart-felt compliments the old man managed between bites. I did not tell him what the Hermit had likely been eating. The menu inside an Ogre cave was somewhat limited to Hellfired Ogre and their Hellfired pets. Ick!

The old Hermit was on his third plate of bunny and rice before we managed to get him to say anything other than "Mmmmm... good food." Or other words to that effect.

"Senshi's kid?" He scooped up a few wayward grains of rice with his fingers, licked it off, burped and sighed. "Nope, haven't seen her for a few months."

"Did you see anyone suspicious?" Blaster asked.

"Nah, everyone is pretty predictable in my cave. They all want Stardrops!" He chuckled, "There are a lot more treasures in there than that! Most of 'em don't even know it!"

"What kind of treasure?" Alladin asked, a glint in his eye. It seemed that the young man was well suited to the life he had chosen as a Rogue, walking the Path of Riches.

"Looks like a dead end," I said, disappointed, ignoring Alladin. "If they can't summon her or use a whisper spell, I guess she is not going to be found."

"Maybe we could put up some posters," Alladin said, "Like she was a kitten, you know, Lost: Princess of Buya- If Found Please Return To Palace For A Reward?"

"Har!" The old man guffawed into his beard, "May be a way to get to her. Seems kinda obvious to me."

"What? How can we find her?" Muse Blaster had seemed quite in awe of the old man's power, but now he looked ready to grab the Hermit's grimy beard and shake him.

"Seems simple... what do you boys know about Love rings?" He asked, indicating that I should refill his cup.

"Princess Lasahn is not married, she has no Love ring," Blaster said, curtly. The old man ignored him, smiling as I poured him his wine.

"Please, go on," I said.

"Everybody thinks Love rings are so blessed magic," he took another big gulp of wine. At his rate of consumption, either we will run out or he will pass out soon. "Makes me think no one knows anything about the nature of magic anymore."

"Tell me about Love rings," I prompted, "This is really very important."

"I know that," the old mage snapped at me, "If it weren't for Senshi... well, let's just say I owe the old coot a favor."

"There is nothing much special about a Love ring," he explained, "Just a band of gold. It's the link that is formed by the marriage priest that is magical. Love doesn't have anything to do with it. Course, when the two are in love for real, some pretty unusual things happen. I heard this one story about this guy found a Love ring inside a Zibong..."

"We heard that story, too." Blaster was grinning at me. I steered the old man back to the subject, "What does this have to do with the Princess?"

"I was getting to that," he took another long drink, then continued, "Your problem is that you can't summon her or whisper to her, right? Did you think to try using a Priest and someone that truly loves her?"

"Would King Senshi work?" I asked, thinking about the trouble there would be in finding someone that loves the Princess. She really needed to work on her popularity.

"That would be my best guess," the Hermit burped and rolled himself into a fur bedroll. "Let me know if it works."

Snores started rising from the heap of fur, announcing that our interview was over.

"Let's pack up. Fast. We are Scrolling back to Buya. Blaster, I know you are Kugnaean, so we will wait for you to catch up. Leave the horses loose." I started throwing items into packs, then glanced at the sleeping Mage. "Think he will be alright?"

Blaster laughed. "Nothing short of a Dragon will come anywhere near him. He reeks of Hellfire!"

"Let's get going." I pulled out a Yellow scroll, "Meet at the Palace. Hurry!"