Berlina's Quest by James Hartley Page B

as it isn’t busy, I can get by without them for an hour or so. I expect those men will take their time with the girls.”
    The three sat down and ate. When they finished, Berlina laid the gold coin on the table, and they got up and left.
    When they were outside, Felistia asked, “Where did you get the gold, Bee? I thought we were broke.”
    â€œFairy gold, Fee. Fairy gold. I just hope he doesn’t touch it to cold iron before we get out of here.” She turned to Lathan. “Can you remove the decorative barding from the troopers’ horses and put it on our nags? Quickly?”
    â€œI can do dat.” Lathan went to work and quickly accomplished the task.
    â€œGood,” said Berlina. “That will make the glamouring easier.” She muttered a spell, and suddenly, the three nags looked just as the troopers’ horses had before the barding was removed. “Mount up, and let’s get out of here.”
    She untethered one horse and mounted. Felistia and Lathan did likewise. They headed down the road through the middle of the town. They held the horses to a fast walk, so it would not look as though they were fleeing.
    They were almost to the far edge of the town when they heard a shout behind them. The bartender from the tavern had run into the road and was yelling, “My gold. My gold.” Behind him, one of the prince’s troopers had hobbled into the road half-naked with his pants around his ankles. Two upstairs windows flew open, and the other two troopers were looking out.
    The one in the road talked briefly to the bartender, then suddenly realized his state of undress and pulled his pants up. He gestured to the ones upstairs, who abandoned their posts and rushed down into the road. They went to mount the horses they thought were theirs, but quickly realized something was amiss. They discovered the saddles were illusions, and that they were mounted bareback. Nevertheless, they attempted to give chase.
    The nags moved forward at the best pace they could, but by now, Berlina and her companions had brought their horses to a full gallop and were outdistancing the troopers. One of the troopers attempted to spur his horse to a faster pace, when the horse suddenly collapsed and fell over dead, pinning the rider to the ground. The other two troopers came to a halt and went back to help their fallen companion. By the time they freed him, Berlina and the others had disappeared in the distance.
    Now, the glamour faded from the dead horse. It was obviously an old farm nag wearing the decorative barding. The troopers looked at the other two horses and the glamour faded on them too. It revealed two more old nags instead of their fine mounts. They took the reins, and walking, led the two horses back to the tavern. “After all,” said one of them, “we paid for the girls. We may as well go back and get our money’s worth. After that…well, we can figure out what to do.”
    * * * *
    A few miles out of town, Berlina and the others slowed their horses to a walk. “Don’t want to overexert them. It’s best to vary the pace every once in a while.”
    â€œThat’s for sure,” said Felistia. “I think one of those idiots killed the nag he was riding by pushing it too hard. I’m pretty sure I saw it go down just before we got out of sight. The guy deserves a good whipping.”
    â€œI don’t know about that, but now, they have two horses for three of them. That may be enough punishment.”
    They reached a small stream they easily forded. There was a path on the other side leading upstream along the banks. Berlina signaled that they should turn off the road. They followed the path until they reached a pleasant clearing surrounded by oak and elm trees. “We’re out of sight of the road. I think this would be a good place to stop for a rest. I want a chance to check out the saddlebags on these horses and see if there’s