Adventurers Wanted, Book 4: Sands of Nezza Read Online Free Page A

face. “Many of the noble houses of Nezza recognized his claim to the kingship, though he never made the claim himself. He has recently come of age, and if he was not missing, he would become the lord of Karmus, removing Lazar from power.”
    “The people would have accepted Rallian as their king,” Alex said, more to himself than to the soldier.
    “Most of the people would accept Rallian,” the man answered, sounding determined. “But he has vanished from this land, and Lazar remains in power.”
    “What reason has Lazar given for Rallian’s disappearance?” Alex questioned.
    “Lazar claims the prince has gone on a quest, but he won’t say anything more.”
    “Do many people believe that story?”
    “The servants of the prince have all vanished as well, so there is nobody to ask if the story is true.”
    “I see,” Alex said, filing the information away in his mind. “Now, tell me about travelers who come from outside Nezza. What does Bray command you to do with them?”
    “If they surrender themselves to us, we take them before Bray,” the man answered. “Then Bray sends them to Lazar. What Lazar does with them we do not know, but no travelers have ever returned from Karmus.”
    Alex pondered the soldier’s words, looking deep into the fire as he thought. Was Lazar a dark wizard trying to take control of Nezza? Was he simply an evil king who bullied people into doing what he wanted? What had really happened to Prince Rallian? Did any of this have anything to do with Skeld and his fellow adventurers? He was here to help Skeld and his company, not to change things in Nezza, but something in the back of his head told him he needed to know as much about this land and its people as he could.
    “Have you caught many travelers from outside of Nezza?” Alex asked.
    “A group of adventurers about a month ago,” the man answered. “They surrendered to our men and were taken.”
    “How long would it take them to reach Karmus after your men caught them?” Alex asked. He hoped that Skeld and his company had not been in Karmus for long.
    “Three, maybe four weeks to reach Karmus on foot. All prisoners must walk to Karmus—that is the order of Lord Lazar.”
    Alex considered this information. If it had taken three or four weeks for Skeld and his company to reach Karmus, then they couldn’t have been there long. What would Lazar do to them when they got there, and how soon would he do it? He forced his worries out of his mind and returned his attention to the men sitting around the fire.
    “Have other people from Nezza gone missing?” Alex questioned. “People that Lazar might fear, for whatever reason?”
    The soldier nodded. “The young lords of the inner kingdoms. They were close to Rallian—one was his cousin. We know they went on a quest of their own, as a group, but what that quests was, we do not know. Some say they traveled north, following the path of the last king. If Lazar has done something to them, we know nothing about it.”
    “Sleep,” said Alex softly. “Sleep and forget all that you have seen and spoken.”
    Alex watched as the three men closed their eyes and fell into a deep, enchanted sleep. He knew they would wake up when the sun rose and would not remember anything from this night.
    Alex needed to move fast. If Lazar was in fact a dark wizard, there was no way of knowing what he might do to Skeld and the rest of his company. And if Lazar was a dark wizard, Alex’s duty as a true wizard demanded that he face him and try to break his power. While Alex wasn’t afraid to face a dark wizard, there were dangers that he would need to consider.
    Alex unsaddled all three horses and then pulled his own saddle from his magic bag and placed it on the strongest horse. He tied the other two horses to a nearby tree. He would ride west, staying south of the main road into Nezza. If he was lucky, he would find the retired adventurer Mr. Clutter had told him about and learn more about what was