“I have been there on two occasions Your Majesty” Pem began. “I had business with a spice merchant there, at least that is what she claimed to be on the outside. In reality she had gotten her hands on some mageroot”.
“Mage root is illegal” Mary replied.
“Yes it is but I think I can be forgiven” Duchess Pem laughed. “She called herself the shadow and has quite the residence. It is not too big but it is filled with a lot of fine items, her tea and wine are good enough to kill for”.
“Do you think she is the paranoid type, you know the kind to have secret passages all inside her house?” Mary asked.
“I am positive she is” Pem laughed. “Yadia had heard about the mage root and I think she was behind sending the Axe to retrieve it. We barely escaped with our lives but was forced to leave behind a small sample of the root for him to take back to his employer”.
“Then this is where we will make our stand” Mary said as she pointed at Bufford. “I want almost every building here leveled except for this Shadow’s house along with enough poor large buildings to house the rest of their troops. We will pack this house full of even finer items and leave behind enough food for a feast. For the rest of their troops we will leave vegetables and things of that nature so they can eat also. My plan is that high ranking officers and other leaders are most likely to commandeer the best residence for themselves. If we can place our people in the place, then at night we can launch an attack to kill them all. Afterwards we can offer their men a safe trip back home, if they decide not to take it, I am sure something will come up that we can use to kill more of them”.
“Well the army is still a week away from Bufford” Pem said as she looked at the map. “Since they will be fighting and retreating it should take them almost three weeks to be in the city proper. The only problem is which one of us is going to go? I think you are safer here on this island than out there, I think I should be the one to lead the troops we have available in your name. If I die your name still lives and I have a daughter to avenge me, if you die then this whole thing has been for naught. Let me take the horde, along with your champion and fight in your name. You still have a nice small army in that town of yours, we could at least fight our way to the generals and give them an ultimatum. If they refuse we will kill them all, I am still a decent mage. Besides most of the other mages have been called back to the capital to watch out for Xander”.
Mary wanted to go but could not find fault in in Duchess Pem’s way of thinking. The only thing to do now was make sure Yadia stayed holed up in the capital. Mary had been thinking of ways to do this, but in the end decided trickery could get the job done. She would have her agents inside the city set fires to certain buildings and leave her banner out front. Men and women will tell tales about seeing a warrior dressed in all red somewhere in the city. This should be sufficient enough to have Yadia double or triple whatever guards she has while ensuring Mary could regain control of the army and kick out any traitors. Yadia and the rest will regret ever having tangled with her, their magic while powerful wasn’t everything, Mary would take her brain over the ability to use magic anyday.
“You leave tonight” Mary said as she looked at the duchess. “The horde will go to Bufford where they will start getting things ready and meet you there. You will take the ship we have moored here and travel to our allies then head straight for Bufford. Once you get there start destroying building and such until the Macomians have only what they need. This should be done long before our army reaches Bufford. From there send out messengers to Raisa and any other generals with my demands, if they laugh or deny them, send and iron ball attack or Max to punctuate your threat. Unlike the Macomians our leadership can be easily identified. Hang some bodies, impale some people, that sort of thing to have them see our way of thinking. Don’t be shy to offer some of the men fighting a place in the real army instead of being under a traitor. I think Raisa will find it difficult fighting a war being sandwiched in, if she decides to then we have plans for that. Just hold out long enough until you see the Macomians then retreat, Raisa will have to just flee through the city instead of gathering any supplies and the Macomians will still fall into our trap”.
“What about the Yadia your majesty?” Pem asked. “While we are gone I am sure you can hold this island indefinitely, but I am also sure Yadia has her own spies hanging around this place by now. Those new griffin riders we took in a while back, Yadia would be stupid not to have one of them feed her information”.
“I already know who the spy is” Mary said with a smile. “I make sure that by the time he sends his birds, the attack would already be a forgone conclusion. This time we will tell the others that we are supposed to attack the capital directly, but covertly. I want that bird to reach Yadia, when it is sent, that’s when we will go to Bufford. I still have agents in the city who have instructions to make it look like Max had attacked various buildings. Yadia would lock the place up so tight and double her guards to the point I don’t have to do anything”.
“Do we have a plan to ultimately get Yadia out of power?” Pem asked.
“Well we are certainly not going to attack the capital” Mary laughed. “The place was made to withhold a siege and Yadia has the most powerful mages along with the strongest fighters in Gale protecting her. I will let her stay in the palace and just cut it off from everything. There will be no trade and anyone leaving would not be able to return. She could probably hold out there for years but it wouldn’t matter, she would only rule a single city, and that’s only if they don’t revolt first. I am content to do to her what she thinks she is doing to me, except she has no way to get payback”.
“So you are content to let her rot in the palace?” Pem asked.
“I am content to let her rot in the palace” Mary laughed. “Besides, money would run out soon enough, if we let people leave but not come back they will take all their treasures with them. My biggest problem is gathering new nobles, I don’t plan on executing my prisoners but I have a worse use for them. I plan on making them poor, their lands will be stripped and they will be penniless. I think this will become a reality especially after what I have learned from the dragon”.
“You talk to Xander?” Pem asked surprised.
“Not really but Max does” Queen Mary said with a smile. “Apparently years ago mages were not only female and they stretched out to all corners of the world. A sickness was created, one that only targets mages, which killed off a great many bloodlines. The only antidote was Galean sea salt. Xander believes a Galean made the disease and knew since our salt was eaten all over Gale we would not be harmed. It was during the deaths of the mages another weapon was created, something that can strip the power away from mages permanently”.
“You never told me of such a weapon” Pem said a little shocked.
“I did not want you to worry about me ever using it on you” Mary said as she stopped playing around with the map. “The sword Max carries does more than get hot; it can strip magic from mages. One touch from the sword begins the process, at least that is what Xander believes”.
“Have you tried this yet?” Duchess Pem asked. “This stripping of magic?”
“I wanted you here to witness it” Mary replied. “It will be you who will strip whatever mages you find disagreeable during your trip”.
Mary had gathered Max and brought him to her dungeon along with Duchess Pem. Her prisoners had long since stopped being difficult with her, it could be because she would stop feeding them while ensuring they underwent sleep deprivation. Max had already known this day would come soon, but Mary suspected he wasn’t fully appreciating the significance of the moment. Not being a mage had haunted Mary since she was young, it was the only reason the coup ever happened and certainly why Yadia was able to gather so many to her cause. Mary had a potential equalizer at her disposal; this could possibly stop the talking that had been done behind her back about her short coming. Having a way to neuter her enemies would go far.
“I am going to let you go this night” Mary said as she looked at the women cowering in their individual cells.
“Are you going to kill us?” Baroness Xenia asked as she stepped towards her cell bars.
“No, I am not” Mary said as she had a guard lift the door to the first cell. “But when you leave here, you are stripped of any money, lands and titles you had. Furthermore, you are restricted to the border lands after the completion of this war. If you are caught anywhere else, you will be dragged back to the capital where you will have a public execution”.
“You are not a fool girl” Countess Regalia said, her voice dripping with doubt. “Your grandmother was more direct with her enemies, had she been in your shoes we would have all been food for the crows. You are definitely her progeny, mage or not you are every bit her equal when it comes to waging war. Now you stand there with your demon lap dog and your only loyal ally and you want us to believe you are just letting us go? Even banished to the borderlands we still have people who would no doubt send us resources to live more than comfortably. We would eventually gain power there, albeit on a smaller scale unless you plan on punishing our family also”.
“Regalia” Mary laughed. “Any of you who have children need not worry about their treatment from my hands. If they choose to help you out, I will not deny them the right. If you somehow gain enough followers and build your power base back up, then good for you. You will be treated as any other resident of the border lands, you won’t be allowed to tax anyone or as I call it, stealing from the crown which will result in a very painful death. Until the war is over though, you will stay on this island. If you want to stay within my walls you will all do whatever work I see fit, whether that is digging ditches or fishing. Any of you who feel they are above such manual labor are free to leave and hang out on the beach. The only caveat to all of this is that you will undergo a more significant punishment of sorts. Of course you can opt out of it but that would keep you in this cold, wet and drafty cell instead of by a nice fire like everyone else. Those of you who wish to leave, stick your hands out of the cell”.
The result was somewhat anticlimactic for Mary, she expected screaming and bright lights followed by smoke or something by received none of it. Max had told her he could feel the sword getting much stronger whenever he killed a mage, but even death had some type of show attached to it. What Mary was currently witnessing involved Max barely drawing any blood at all as he punctured their palms slightly with the tip of his sword. Mary was uncertain if the process was working but Max assured her it had been. Mary could only trust Max as she let the women out who did not seem to notice anything. If the process did not work she could always throw them back in jail, it wasn’t like they could go anywhere on the island. Now all Mary had to do was wait for the rest of her plan to go into effect, she still regretted it was Pem and not her going to war.
CHAPTER 14
Max was content flying beside Xander high up on the currents, his armor and gear tied down safely on the dragon’s back. They had allowed the griffins and the Duchess Pem sometime to get back to the small town on the coast then to the meeting point where they would go into Bufford together. Mary had just let them leave last night after she was satisfied the women she had let go were no longer mages. The women cried from their loss and one even tried to commit suicide by throwing herself from the wall, all she ended up getting out of it was a broken arm and leg. Max thought it was funny in a sickening sort of way these women were so attached to their power they wanted to die without it and wondered if he would ever get to that point.
The change in his body from being dragonbreed had given him more power recently, he was heavily armored and his strength had evolved as well. His sword though scared him now, the amount of heat it put out was dangerous to any in its area of focus, how it managed to abruptly cut off at a certain distance was still something Max couldn’t figure out. Max was once a weakling though, a boy everyone could bully. Now he was the red warrior and had riches, despite males not being able to own property if he wanted he could rent out a fine home indefinitely complete with servants. If his scales, tail and wings were taken away tomorrow would he miss them? As Max flapped his wings and let the draft stream take him even higher he decided he would miss things, but doubted he would kill himself over them. Max saw Xander tuck his wings somewhat and make a dive, Max did the same and followed him a little disappointed. Max could only remain aloft in the higher altitudes where the winds were stronger, once he dipped below a certain level he would just glide back down to the ground. As Max followed Xander he could see the horde was already on the ground along with other men who had remained loyal to Mary and now stood ready to fight, this war could still be won.
Max dove until he reached Xander and let the dragon take him down, all Max currently had on was a strong cloth to protect his modesty but that is all that would be needed. As Xander landed Max held his breath as he thought it would be trouble. There were 10 dragoons there, each with awestruck looking riders as they gaped at Xander. Max pat Xander on the neck and telepathically reminded him what this was all for and that they would need all the help they could get. Max got off of Xander and could feel eyes on him as well, what he saw though made him laugh out loud. Mary had taken this propaganda thing way too far. Standing in front of him were large men dressed in armor that unlike his own had been painted red. All of them had pretty realistic looking wings attached to their backs, Max could tell though unlike his own they were glued on. Their gauntlets and boots resembled his claws and even had metal points on the end of them. The funniest thing of all though were the tails, Max could tell they were hollow and segmented to move easily. If imitation is the best form of flattery then these guys had him nailed.
“Are they supposed to be me Your grace?” Max asked Duchess Pem as he walked up to one of the men. “Am I being replaced?”
“They are you Max” Duchess Pem replied. “At least they will be, with ten of you running around the enemy is bound to surrender”.
“So you are the Red Devil?” one of the men dressed up as him asked. “We all got this job because we were bigger than the rest. When do we get our special swords?”
“What special swords?” Max asked wondering if they would receive swords like his, which he thought was one of a kind.
“You will get your swords shortly but they are not for steel on steel fighting” Pem said as she inspected some of the men’s wings. “They are hollow with little holes drilled along the length of the blade. Inside will be dense cloth soaked in oil. Once you somehow get that cloth lit the swords will flame up only for a short while, they should only be used to set things on fire. Your claws are your real weapons when it comes to a fight”.
Max was astounded as ten swords were brought out, unlike his, these were works of art with detail that had to be seen to be believed. The hilts of these weapons came off and Max could see the blade was indeed hollow on the inside as a cloth was crammed down inside. The sword was then put back together as Pem dipped the tip of it in a fire. After a couple of seconds the sword blazed to life, the fire coming out of the little holes drilled along the blade that made a much better visual show than his real sword did. All his did now was glow white, theirs let out streams of yellow, orange and red flame. The effect lasted longer than a few moments, and Max had to admit in their armor holding those swords they looked intimidating. Is this how he looked to his enemies?
“So what is our overall plan Your Grace?” Max asked still a little unsettled by his doppelgangers. “Are we supposed to be some kind of team?”
“The plan is simple, we will walk into Bufford where I will take over and begin evacuating the populace” Pem began. “Anyone wishing to stay may do so with the knowledge they will receive no help from the army when the enemy inevitably comes to the gates, they will need to find their own way out. During the time where we are making the place suitable for the incoming army, a messenger will be sent to our own forces asking for all the commanding generals
to step down. I of course expect them to laugh at me until they get to Bufford and find themselves stuck between two armies. I think once the Macomians are beaming down on them, many men will defect to our side anyway. This would make the few mages not in the capital step down, they are not built for the hard life of the military, nor do they have the toughness to resist. You will depower them and send them on their way, the generals however will probably have to be killed, but another member of the red devils can handle that task”.
“Your Grace where is this red devil stuff coming from” Max asked. “I am supposed to be the red warrior”.
“Well people speak of you being a fire setting devil and the name just stuck, which leads me to your new mission” Pem replied.
“My new mission?” Max said confused.
“The men you see before you were chosen only for their size” Pem said as she gestured to them. “Some of them are in shape, some have a few extra pounds under all that armor. They know which end of a sword is pointy, but that was due to the tournaments which none of these men won or came close to winning. Your job is to teach them to fight as you do; surely you had picked up some tricks that has enabled you to surprise a few of your opponents?”
“I guess I can try” Max said as he looked at the men.
“What do you mean try?” one of the men said as he stepped up, this man slightly taller than Max. “We aint no charity cases, our claws are just as sharp as yours”.
Max looked at the angry faced man even through the impressive helm he was wearing and sighed. Their armor was more elaborate, they looked scarier than Max did. Their claws while sharp would only have the force behind it of any ordinary man. Not only that, Max construed that the armor they wore was not like his. Theirs had to be heavy as it was made from something other than the relatively light red steel, even it was made by the exact same stuff Max was sure he could move around much faster than they could. At least none of them had a shield, that would slow them down even further if they went into battle. Still, they were on the same side and even with no fighting prowess their look alone would discourage the enemy. Add the fact that Max despite all the training he had received from various sword masters Mary had paired him with was still a relative novice, only his physical traits allowed him victory.
Max the Dragon Warrior Page 10
