The king waved his hand in the air and pointed to the door. Out of the shadows at the far end of the room a black-cloak appeared and headed for the door. The king followed the mage’s progress until he exited the room.
“We were prepared for you to strike, Garth Shado,” stated the king. “I am pleased with the direction your fight took.” The king turned his attention to the prince. “Harold, you are young and idealistic. That is understandable, but you will learn over the coming years. Nothing is ever as simple as you think it is.”
“Things can always be simpler than they are,” retorted the prince. “Do you really put the Federation above Ertak? Do you truly consider speaking ill of the Federation as treason?”
“We are a part of the Federation,” frowned the king. “To speak against the Federation is to speak against ourselves. You must never utter such words in public. To do so is to invite death. Promise me that you will watch your tongue.”
“I will try, Father,” the prince responded, “but it will be hard for me. Tell me, who are the enemies of Ertak these days?”
A puzzled expression fell over the king’s face. “Our enemies are many,” he replied. “There is a country across the sea named Alcea. That is where your brother, Montero, has gone. By all accounts, he has died over there. Then there are the horse countries, and now we must add Karamin and Vinafor to that list.”
“Karamin and Vinafor?” echoed the prince. “What evil do they have planned for Ertak?”
“For Ertak?” asked the king. “They will pose no danger to Ertak, but they have withdrawn from the Federation. That must not be allowed.”
The prince nodded and a thin smile appeared on his lips. “I have heard mention of a second army in Farmin,” he said innocently. “I believe it is led by General Larus. That is a name that I have not heard before. Is he loyal to you?”
“Be wary of General Larus,” warned General Harford. “Especially with your thoughts about the Federation. He serves Grand General Kyrga, not your father. His army may be stationed here for foul purposes.”
“I see,” the prince said, his smile getting broader. “Let me see if I understand this completely. Karamin and Vinafor, who mean Ertak no harm, are our sworn enemies, but General Larus and his 34th Corps who seeks to rule Ertak for the Federation is our friend. Is that correct?”
The king frowned deeply, but General Harford chuckled. The king shot a glare at the general, but Harford could not contain himself.
“There is nothing wrong with the lad’s reasoning, Sire,” offered the general. “The truth of the matter is that no one really cares about the countries west of the Barrier. They were taken into the Federation to fill the rolls of the army and to get horses for the Alcean war. I can’t imagine expending the manpower to bother conquering them again.”
King Harowin raised an eyebrow at the general’s words, but he eventually nodded in agreement.
“There is truth in your words, Harold,” the king said seriously, “but keep such thoughts to yourself. I am serious about the grave consequences of publicly going against the Federation. I will not be able to save you if you go too far.”
“Nor will Garth Shado,” added the general. “The Federation has spies everywhere. Do not speak ill of them.”
The prince noted that the general used the word “them” when speaking of the Federation. He wondered if the general was revealing more about himself than he intended.
“I am inexperienced in such things,” admitted the prince. “I will watch my words carefully. Still, this whole conversation started when you spoke of me joining the army. I know that I must hone my skills in the art of warfare, if for no other reason than to inspire our soldiers, but if you will give me leave, I would like to concentrate on other areas for the crown.”
“Like what?” the king asked with suspicion.
“I had a chance to spend some time in the slums of Farmin,” answered Prince Harold. “I think the conditions there are deplorable and a blight on your good name. I would like to try my hand at doing something to change the impression visitors get when they visit our fine city.”
“A prince in the slums?” balked the king. “Are you daft?”
“Not at all, Father,” smiled the prince. “How much tax revenue do you get out of the slums now?”
“Tax revenue?” echoed the king. “People are in the slums because they can’t afford to pay taxes.”
“I can change that,” the prince said confidently. “It may take a little gold to get the project started, but I think I can manage on a prince’s allowance. Do you think if I can prove to the tutor that I do not need any further lessons that I might also gain access to the funds that would have been used to pay the tutor?”
“You mercenary scoundrel,” laughed the king. “You don’t want to take my life. You are here to take my gold. Very well then. I will allow you to dabble in creating new tax revenues, but I will expect results. And you will not get the tutor’s wages until you can prove that you no longer need him. Oh, it is good to have you back again, Harold. Let us leave these two military men and sit and talk in my study. I want to know everything that has happened to you since you left home.”
The king and the prince rose and left the room by a door to the residence wing of the palace. Garth looked at General Harford with a questioning glance.
“I apologize for the deaths of your men, General,” Garth said softly. “I had no idea that it was merely a test.”
“Their deaths are not on your hands, Garth Shado,” the general said sadly. “They were warned that you would try to escape. Their deaths are the result of their own unpreparedness. Still, I wish I had foreseen your great abilities. I was serious when I said that you are wasting your talents. If you would consider it, I would be pleased to sponsor you in the Federation army.”
Garth smiled. He knew that Harold would have to end up telling of his rescue from Montero’s castle, so he decided to have some fun with the general. “What rank would I have?” he asked.
“Rank?” frowned the general. “Your skills are exemplary, but I could not make you an officer without being sure that you knew how to handle men.”
“A pity,” replied Garth. “The last time I was in the Federation army I was a colonel. I was sort of expecting to be made a general this time.”
“You were a colonel in the Federation army?” puzzled the general. “What army?”
“The 11th Corps,” chuckled Garth.
“That is my army,” scowled the general. “And you were never a colonel in the 11th Corps. I would surely know. Why lie to me?”
“It is not really a lie,” shrugged Garth. “I was known as Colonel Belasko.”
The general’s face paled, and his mouth hung open. “That was you?” he gasped. “You stole Prince Harold right out of Montero’s castle. Why?”
Garth turned serious. “I had heard of the prince’s plight,” Garth said. “It bothered me that everyone had given up on him. I knew of an extraordinary healer, but there was no chance of getting either Montero or the king to listen to me. I did the only thing that I could do. I spirited the prince away and got him healed. Was that wrong?”
“Goodness no,” answered the general. “Don’t misunderstand me. I would have hanged you if I had caught you, but I am glad that I did not. I remember Prince Harold as a lad. He was always sickly, and my heart went out to him. You can’t imagine how I felt when he walked through that door today. He has turned into quite a handsome young man, and he seems to have a good head on his shoulders, too.” The general chuckled. “I think King Harowin is going to have his hands full with the young prince. Harold always was idealistic, but I no longer see his views as juvenile. I could see the hurt in his eyes when he talked about the slums. The king will allow Harold to do what he wants as a way to humor him, but I believe the prince will actually do some good there.”
“He will,” agreed Garth. “If you find it in your power to aid him, please do so. He truly wants a better Ertak for the citize
ns.”
Chapter 29
The Walls of Tagaret
The vanguard of the Federation force halted. General Askor and General Eylor were in the front third of the column when it halted, and both generals left the column and rode forward. When they reached the vanguard, they discovered the reason for the halt. The forest ended and a broad grassy plain spread out before them. In the distance, the walls of Tagaret could be seen.
“Tagaret,” General Askor said breathlessly. “We have reached it unscathed.”
“Hardly unscathed,” frowned General Eylor. “We lost three of our battle mages and another two are not fit to fight. All of our men have welts all over their bodies, first from the insects and then from the bees that accosted us earlier today. A couple of hundred men are so bad off that they will not be able to fight at all, and most of our cavalry units are without horses.”
General Askor sighed irritably. “I meant unscathed by an attack,” he scowled. “Stop dwelling on trivial matters. Look at the wall, Eylor. That is the first obstacle that we must breech.”
“The city has three walls in total,” stated General Eylor. “This is but the outermost one. What are your orders?”
General Askor turned in his saddle and saw Colonel Hildon not far behind him. He waved the officer forward, and Colonel Maxwell of the 38th Corps came with him.
“I want our armies camped along this broad plain,” instructed General Askor. “The 37th Corps will occupy the southern section and the 38th Corps the northern section. All command tents will be situated between the two armies but at the rear of the encampment. I want a defensive camp established with barricades on three sides. Leave the forward facing side unencumbered. Once the defensive barricades are established, send out foraging teams, and get the engineers started on making the siege engines. Also, assign a large group of men to make scaling ladders. I want everything ready for an attack tomorrow.”
Colonel Hildon frowned, but said nothing.
“You have a problem with my orders, Hildon?” asked General Askor.
“No, Sir,” answered the colonel, “but the men are not in the best of shape. Many of them spent the better part of their energy today merely by walking. Your tasks will keep them up half the night. I was assuming that we would be resting the men for a day or two before attacking the city.”
“The Alceans knew somehow that we were coming,” answered General Askor. “I have no doubt that they have already sent out messages for reinforcements. I have no intention of giving them the time they need to be reinforced. We will attack tomorrow.”
“I will see that your orders are carried out, General,” Colonel Hildon replied.
Colonel Hildon immediately began issuing orders to the men of the 37th Corps. Colonel Maxwell turned his horse and headed back along the trail to inform the 38th Corps of the orders. The two generals sat for a while in silence, staring at the distant walled city. On the walls of that city, a small group of Alceans stood, staring westward at the edge of the forest.
“I am sure of it,” stated General Gregor. “I have seen several glints of their armor already. The enemy has arrived.”
“Seeing as we were expecting them yesterday,” offered Colonel Borowski, “I am not surprised to see them. They will probably spend the day tomorrow making siege engines.”
“It is dangerous to make such an assumption,” the general said dryly. “The fact that they force-marched their army from the portal tells me that they are in a hurry. I would not be surprised to hear them felling timber tonight for those siege engines.”
“Our defenders will be ready for an attack in the morning,” declared King Arik. “We have all worked hard to prepare for this battle, I will not have us caught napping when it begins.”
“I wish Jenneva had known about this,” Queen Tanya said. “I could use her help.”
“How could she not know?” asked the king.
“We got word that Garth had been arrested in Farmin,” answered the queen. “She separated from me to see if he needed help. I didn’t find out about the attack until I returned to the Red Swords.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” said King Arik. “These armies only have eight black-cloaks assigned to them.”
“Only?” frowned the queen. “After all these years, you still do not understand magic well. While I might prevail against any one of them, or even a group of them, they can easily split up, denying me the chance to counteract their spells. Also, I will be needed mostly for shields to save as many of our men as possible. Trust me, I could use Jenneva by my side. Even Theos would be a boon, but I sent him and Balamor to Ur. Karl has no mage up there, and I suspect that he desperately needs some.”
“And that leaves only you to shield the king,” frowned General Gregor. “That is most disturbing. Do you know how to make fire glue, or is Jenneva required for that?”
“I know how to make it,” answered the queen, “but there should be ample supplies in the palace.”
“Not ample enough,” interjected King Arik. “We sent a lot of it through to Zara. We are going to need more.”
The queen sighed and nodded. “Then I had better get busy,” she said wearily. “I will be in the palace if I am needed.”
The queen left the wall to return to the Royal Palace. King Arik watched her go and then turned back to gaze at the western horizon. The sounds of trees being felled carried on the wind, and the king nodded knowingly.
“They are wasting no time,” he said to no one in particular.
“They are felling trees for barricades,” stated General Gregor. “If the sounds last more than an hour or two, we will have notice that they are working on the siege engines.”
“It looks like they are setting up camp only before the western wall,” Colonel Borowski commented a while later. “I would have expected them to camp outside all three sides of the city.”
“They are not trying to stop us from escaping,” replied General Gregor. “As long as they can guard their flanks when they attack, I suspect that they will concentrate their entire force on just the western wall. They seek to overwhelm us quickly.”
A fairy flew down and landed on King Arik’s shoulder next to Prince Midge. The fairy prince ordered the other fairy to report on the enemy.
“They will attack tomorrow,” reported the fairy spy. “They will spend tonight building siege engines and scaling ladders. There seems to be some problems among the enemy. They spoke as if the men had had a hard time getting here.”
“What do you mean?” asked King Arik. “Were they attacked?”
“That is not clear,” frowned the fairy. “They spoke of welts covering the men’s bodies, and the loss of most of their horses. Three battle mages died and two were badly injured. Whatever happened, there is discord among them. The men want to rest, but the generals are committed to attacking tomorrow. That is all that I know.”
King Arik and General Gregor exchanged puzzling glances.
“This would be the prefect time for a Ranger attack,” General Gregor sighed. “Anything that would keep those men up all night would keep them exhausted.”
“We do not have Rangers available,” countered the king, “but that should not stop us from harassing the enemy. Prince Midge, send out some fairy spies. I want a clearer picture of what happened to the enemy army and just how exhausted those men are. Also try to find out exactly where the siege engines are being built.”
“I will see to it, Bringer,” replied Prince Midge. “You shall know everything about the enemy before morning.”
“I want the information in the next four hours,” stated King Arik. “It can not wait until morning. Let us learn what we can in that timeframe and then use that information to our advantage. I will be napping in my quarters at the castle. Wake me when they return.”
* * * *
Colonel Hildon had just checked on the progress of the men making the siege engines. He was in the process of returning to his tent when he heard shouts from the direction
of the southern barricades. He halted and stared in that direction, but there was nothing to see. Most of the campfires had already burned to embers, and the moon had not risen yet. As he stood silently staring into the darkness, the shouting grew closer, and it spread at an alarming pace. He frowned deeply wondering what was going on, but he was not going to charge headlong into the darkness until he was sure that it was not a diversion. He stood still, listening intently. The shouting continued to come closer, but there were also other sounds now. He could hear the snap of bowstrings in the distance, but also another sound that he could not identify. It was a softer sound, a strange sound, and he focused on it. Suddenly, flames split the sky, and a loud roar thundered through the encampment. Colonel Hildon glanced up and gasped.
A massive dragon was flying over the encampment, and instantly the colonel knew what the sound had been. It had been the flapping of the creature’s wings. He instinctively ducked as the dragon flew overhead. All around him, men were shouting and scrambling for their bows, but he knew such efforts were futile unless the dragon made another pass over the camp. The creature was too fast to target without a bow already in hand. The colonel rose to a standing position as the dragon continued northward. He listened to the spreading shouts until the dragon passed over the northern barricades.
“There you are,” called Colonel Maxwell. “I was looking all over for you. Did you see the dragon?”
“He flew right overhead,” answered Colonel Hildon. “I never heard that there were dragons in Alcea.”
“I thought they were mythical creatures,” replied Colonel Maxwell. “The whole camp is awake now,” he added with exasperation. “Do you think Askor will still demand an attack tomorrow?”
“He will,” answered Colonel Hildon. “He is determined to conquer Tagaret as quickly as possible. Do you hear any reports of the dragon attacking anyone?”
“No,” answered Colonel Maxwell. “It just flew over the camp, although I heard that it spit flames out of its mouth.”
Alutar: The Great Demon Page 36
