Jon appeared to be keen to play his part as soon as possible, although he wanted his weapons back before he was willing to start anything. To keep the secret within the group, Farley had volunteered to trim Jon’s hair, whilst Kellan changed into less flamboyant clothes, although Leo thought even these looked expensive. The ranger clothes removed by Jon were a fascination to Farley, although not even Alec was quite sure how they were made. The literary apprentice promised, time permitting, to browse through some of the books he had brought along with him for some clue. All he was sure of, was that the special, almost chameleon effect, they gave off was somehow created by imbuing magic into the item of clothing.
Jon walked out of the bedroom that would now be his temporary residence. Dressed in a fine pair of black trousers, with shiny black leather boots, and a white silken shirt, the youngster looked like a completely different boy to the one that had entered. “Where can I put my daggers?” he asked holding them in his hand.
“The prince does not, nor would not, carry daggers,” Edwin replied walking around Jon nodding his head thinking the transition was a good one. “I’ll find somewhere,” Jon said deciding to hide a small knife in his boot, and another sheathed dagger tucked into the waist of his trousers and hidden from sight under his shirt.
Chad and Leo both ditched their robes for clothing normally adorned by the palace staff, much to Alec’s amusement. Although Leo felt a complete idiot dressed as he was, he said nothing and tried to see the funny side of it. To any stranger now looking on, Kellan was merely a guest in the royal house, with Chad and Leo his two young servants. Just to give the appearance he was related to royalty, they had Marlo, one of the Caldronian warriors, change his colours to those of Arandor, and act as an escort.
Jon would now stay in the royal suite, with Beth and Anden still dressed in their robes, as well as having numerous guards positioned strategically along the corridors leading up to his room. The young ranger was clearly finding the entire charade quite funny, and had to be reminded on more than one occasion that he needed to act regally for this plan to work properly.
With Leo and Chad temporarily out of action, Reece found himself without a tutor, although would now at least have a chance to prove himself to his fellow sorcerers. Whilst the bullying had stopped immediately after the incident which saw Lars and Leo almost come to blows, it was still clear the young sorcerer was still treated as an outsider. With the king mustering a small force of his best magicians to aid his soldiers, he now had a chance to win them over.
Edwin knew he needed to swoop quickly in gathering all those suspected of being traitors. If he could arrest them all simultaneously, the risk of leaving any free was reduced, or at least that was his theory. With little time to amass his small force without the risk of drawing attention to it, Farley briefed them on their respective targets.
They knew the identities of the infiltrators, mainly thanks to their own undercover man. Each group consisted of four persons, three soldiers and one of the newly trained Arandorian apprentices. The decision to use them had seemed too good of an opportunity to miss. If they had any failings here, at least there was a chance of rectifying them quickly.
Within just one hour, Reece found himself following three burly looking guards down the palace corridor and into the kitchens. Their target was a young man in his early twenties who had taken up a position cleaning pots and pans. Had their own inside man not pointed him out as a spy, there was little to suggest he actually was one.
His guilt though was soon revealed. On seeing one of his fellow kitchen staff pointing him out, the man turned tail and started to run. Barging kitchen staff and cooks aside, he sent a series of pans clattering to the floor, as he tried to make his way to the rear exit. Reece was left with no choice but to give chase, as the soldiers with him did likewise.
The young sorcerer spotted a small gap between the work surfaces in the kitchen, and an opportunity to perhaps cut off the fleeing man. With no time to tell anyone what he was planning to do, he pulled up and slipped beneath and between the work counters that ran around the large kitchens.
Reece had just gotten back to his feet and turned to see the man they were pursuing running straight at him. At least being still, gave him the few seconds he needed to concentrate. The man was stopped in his tracks as Reece’s shimmering barrier of light surrounded him, allowing the soldiers still in pursuit to catch up. Not sure how much longer he could maintain a steady shield he was thankful when his colleagues did so,
After releasing the shield, Reece watched on with some self-satisfaction as two of the soldiers grabbed the man they were after. Despite wriggling and cursing loudly, there was little he could do to escape the grasp they had upon him, although Reece tried to maintain some modicum of alertness all the same. Despite being a little out of breath, and his heart beating so hard it sounded like a drum, he felt happy to have played his small part, especially when one of the men with him gave him a pat on the back, praising him for his actions.
Chapter 24.
Jon had initially found playing the part of the prince exciting. However, since the apparent lack of action he had quickly bored of it, and once more longed to be back in his ranger gear. Despite managing to arrest eight people in the palace, the Arandorian king and his commander, Farley, were still convinced others might be laying low, awaiting their chance to strike.
If assassins were indeed still out there, they would surely remain anonymous, moving about unseen. With this still a very likely scenario, Jon had been told he would need to keep up the pretence for a while longer yet. As a result, the ranger had taken to staring out of the window in his room, looking out yearning for the fresh air blowing in his face, and the feeling of being free as he ran through the trees.
Anden and Beth had both tried to keep the lad entertained, but having little in common with him, and being a few years older they both found it difficult. As a result, the young ranger thought to liven things up a little, and decided to give his guards the slip. Even without his ranger gear, he saw it as a challenge to hide from the two sorcerers keeping watch over him.
Jon watched with a smile peeking out from his hiding place, whilst the his two Caldronian sorcerers searched for him. He even afforded a silent chuckle as some of the guards were then called in from outside the room, “The prince is gone!” one of them shouted, although technically only the boy playing the prince was actually gone, and even he was only hiding.
Several minutes passed by as Jon watched dozens more panicked looking guards enter the room, before all leaving. With the door open and unguarded and his own two sorcerers no longer watching him, he slipped down from atop the four-poster bed where he had been hiding. Keeping a watchful eye out for any movement, or sounds of people, he moved slowly and quietly into the corridor.
He glanced left to see two soldiers talking, and took the opportunity to make a dash to the right. Quickly as he could he turned the corner, and realising it was bereft of people, walked casually down the middle of it grinning from ear-to-ear. “Easy!” he uttered to himself with a skip and a spring in his step.
Jon froze, stopping dead in his tracks. His ranger instincts kicked in as he heard footsteps creeping behind, and dived forward just in time to miss a swipe from a sword aimed his direction. He turned, quickly getting back to his feet to see the same two guards he had just spotted in the corridor. Both were dressed in Arandor colours yet were clearly intent on doing him serious harm.
The first man lunged forward again, causing Jon to sway to his left just catching his arm. The blow may have only been slight, but it hurt enough to make him yelp in pain. He fumbled about with his other arm trying to free the dagger he had tucked into his trouser waist. He looked up to see the second man moving in to position with his short sword held high, ready to strike him. Thinking his life was about to end, he held an arm up to defend himself.
One of the soldiers struck down with his blade only to find it strike a magical barrier. The other cried
out as he was struck by several energy blasts from further back down the corridor. With one attacker falling, the other turned to see two black robed sorcerers, before dropping his sword and running. Beth kept her shield over Jon for a few moments, whilst Anden fired again striking the fleeing man in the shoulder. Although hit, the man stumbled onwards turning the corner getting him out of the sorcerer’s range.
As soon as Jon was released he wasted no time, and despite his minor injury, he darted after the injured man. Anden had just managed to turn the corner to catch sight of the young ranger leaping up onto the wounded man’s back and thrusting a small dagger into his throat. Jon was clearly not letting go, and despite a stream of blood squirting out and up the wall, the youngster did not remove himself until the enemy started slumping to the carpeted floor.
Beth and Anden stayed close to Jon, as several more guards appeared. With them now unable to determine friend from foe, Beth threw up a shield around the three of them, whilst Anden prepared to fire at anyone who attempted to move any closer. The guards, already passing one dead in the corridor, spotted the second body, still oozing blood through the fatal wound inflicted by Jon’s dagger.
A stand-off occurred, whereby neither side was quite sure of the other’s intentions. The Caldronians could not be certain if any of the soldiers in view were a danger or not, and the guards were obviously confused as to why two men wearing their uniforms were now dead at the hands of their guests.
Fortunately, Farley was soon on the scene before any further conflict. Deciding to take the initiative, the commander slowly and carefully replaced his sword back in its sheath, before gesturing for his men to do likewise. Beth looked to Anden for advice, and although he gave a nod for her to drop the shield, he for one was certainly not standing down. The young sorcerer kept his defensive stance, ready to fire should anybody make an aggressive move towards them.
Jon was the first to explain what happened. Never shy in saying what he thought, the youngster pointed to the dead man on the floor before him, “They tried to kill me!” he said wincing slightly as the pain in his arm returned. Farley did not argue, despite the fact that the two men lying dead could as well have been his own. “Take the bodies away and have them examined thoroughly,” the commander snapped to two of his soldiers.
Farley felt angry. The rage was not due to the fact two men lay dead at the hands of the Caldronians, but that these two men had been his own guards. These were people he had checked and vetted thoroughly, and if indeed they turned out to be traitors, then he had seriously let his king down.
Anden, Beth and Jon were allowed to make their way back towards the royal suite, where Sara was already waiting for them. The healer immediately set to work, removing Jon’s bloodied shirt, before cleaning the wound on his arm. “Not too deep. Just a flesh wound,” she added, turning to her small kit of medical supplies. Although it was clear the healer was unsure as to why the young ranger was wearing the clothes of the prince, she asked no questions.
The room suddenly filled, as Edwin and a small entourage of soldiers filed in behind him. That was quickly followed by Kellan, Leo and Chad dressed in unfamiliar clothes. Farley barged his way past the guards on the door with a small slip of paper in his hand. “We found this note on one of the dead men Sire,” He said proffering it towards his king. Edwin looked sternly at his commander, before taking the slip of paper and spending a few moments to read what was upon it.
Edwin remained stern looking for several moments, before ordering Farley to clear the room of any non-essentials. This basically meant that any person not knowing of their ploy in swapping the prince for Jon, should wait outside. The only exception was Sara, the healer who refused to leave until she had finished placing the smaller strips on Jon’s arm to keep the wound closed.
Once the last person was out of the door, Farley immediately apologised to everybody that he had failed. Edwin told the man to be quiet, “What’s done is done Farley. Nobody knew they were traitors. What I don’t understand is how they managed to be alone with our guests?” Jon looked up rather bashfully, “I think that may be my fault Sire,” he said, before explaining his actions. “I hid and everyone thought I had left the room, so they all ran off looking for me. When the coast was clear I slipped out…only them two caught sight of me.”
Edwin frowned as he listened. The ranger may have been stupid for behaving in such a way, but at least it had forced the enemy to reveal themselves; a thought he shared with the others.
Although Farley explained he would have all his palace guard re-checked, Edwin did not think it was any longer necessary. “So long as we keep a guard we know we can trust on the prince, then we should be fine.” Edwin went on to explain that he doubted another attempt would be made anytime soon. Although he did think there maybe eyes and ears keeping track of their progress in the city, he thought that there were unlikely to be any more left inside the palace. “We check everybody in, and everybody out,” he added turning to Farley. “No slip ups!”
With the words still ringing in his ears, the commander turned about and headed for the doorway. Those left in the room were now left to decide what to do next. Swapping Kellan and Jon had in some ways worked, although not quite how they had presumed it would have happened. Keeping up the pretence was probably no longer necessary, especially as half the palace guard now knew Jon was not the prince.
Edwin did think that the young ranger had been stupid, putting people’s lives at risk, yet could not fault the lad’s bravery. “I do not want this episode putting any doubt or mistrust between us,” he said to everybody still in the room. Kellan nodded, and explained he would ensure his guild members would be a little more thoughtful in future; staring at Jon whilst speaking.
With the decision made to revert everybody back to their normal places, the one good thing that had come from the day’s incident, was the fact both Anden and Beth had proven themselves more than capable. This would at least allow Leo and Chad to continue their tutoring roles with the Arandorian sorcerers.
Chapter 25.
Leo watched on, feeling somewhat confused as to why dozens of men wearing red robes were exiting the city. With their hoods up covering their identities, as would be expected, they moved out, riding alongside about a hundred or so regular troops. He had never thought himself a genius, but even he knew something here did not add up.
Fortunately, Alec was on hand to explain what was going on. “You’re thinking how come we have so many sorcerers aren’t you?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” he replied.
Pulling Leo by the sleeve, he leaned in closer to whisper, so as nobody nearby could overhear. Edwin and Farley were all but certain that the Belarians would still have people watching in the capital, and probably several other large towns and cities. By having it look like there was a large army of sorcerers marching southwards towards the Belarian border, they were certain word would soon get back to the Belarian king.
Leo nodded as if understanding, before asking, “But we don’t have that many sorcerers…”
Alec grinned, “You know that, and I know that, but the Belarians watching on don’t know that do they?” Leo rolled his head back as the penny finally dropped. “Ah! Now I understand. Why are they leaving now?” he added. Alec just smiled and shook his head, “Didn’t you listen to anything when all this was explained?”
“Nope!” Leo replied.
Edwin had sent messages to all his southern-most nobles, for them to start amassing soldiers on the border with Belaria as soon as the weather turned. With springtime likely to be upon them very soon, the first of these armies were preparing to make their move. Although not actually planned to be used in combat, at least not yet, this was the part of the plan which they hoped would fool the enemy into moving its own forces back out of Caldronia.
It was hoped that if the enemy king saw his own borders at risk, he would have no choice but to move the forces in Caldronia south to defend his own country. Edwin’
s own spies, along with those Caldronians able to get messages out of the city had already told them, that the Belarian’s were reinforcing their numbers, and had been through-out the winter months.
As to where the Belarians planned to strike next, those in Arandor could only guess. However, judging by the fact they were moving soldiers and more sorcerers in and around Surmont would suggest any move would be made northwards, probably to remove the last major pocket of resistance at Riverdale. From there it was likely they planned to remove the Farasavians who had taken part of the north eastern sector of Caldronia.
However, with Arandor placing so many troops on its own southern border, most of these would be forced to return back from whence they came. If this happened, it was likely the Belarian king would only leave a much weaker, and smaller force to keep the Caldronian capital under his control. This would be the real target of Edwin and his own army, in addition to his new sorcerers. It was hoped that a message could be gotten safely and discreetly to those in command at Riverdale, asking them to push south towards the capital when the time was right.
The King's Sorcerer (The Caldronian Guild Book 3) Page 18
