by David Wells
The man stood. He was shorter than Alexander but outweighed him and had broad shoulders and a barrel chest. “I’m called Arlo,” he said nervously.
“Hello, Arlo. My name is Alexander. I am the King of Ruatha.” The man’s eyes widened. “Headwater is making war on New Ruatha and I’ve come to see to it that Headwater loses.”
“Lord Alexander, I’m just a teamster,” Arlo said. “I drive a wagon to support my family. I don’t want no part of any war but I have to do what the Teamsters Guild tells me or I’ll lose my chit.”
“What do you mean you’ll lose your chit?” Alexander asked with a frown of confusion.
“Elred Rake, Master of Headwater, has decreed that no man with a skilled trade can work unless he belongs to a trade guild. If I don’t do as I’m told by the guild, they’ll take my chit away from me and no one will hire me to drive their wagons.” He held up a copper coin with a horse stamped in the face of it. “I need my job. Guild jobs are the only ones that pay well enough to feed my family.” The men all around nodded in agreement. A few held up similar copper coins.
“Elred Rake won’t be running Headwater for very long.” Alexander drew his sword and held it so the men could get a good look at it. There were murmurs and gasps from the crowd. “People have the right to do whatever work they can get so long as they obey the Old Law. As for you men, I have no desire to harm you, but these supplies are meant to feed the soldiers advancing on New Ruatha. I’m curious, where exactly were you taking these wagons?”
Arlo hesitated. “If I tell you that, I’ll be killed by Rake for sure.”
Alexander pointed the Thinblade at him in silent threat. The man started trembling.
“Please don’t kill me, Lord Alexander. I have kids that need me,” Arlo begged as he fell to his knees.
Alexander lowered the blade and spoke more softly. “Arlo, I don’t want to hurt you, but I need to know where these supplies were being taken. You are serving a master who is waging war against the Old Law. He’s serving the interests of Prince Phane. I’m trying to protect the people of this island against the suffering that will engulf us all if Phane wins. You have a choice to make. You can side with me and serve the Old Law and the cause of life or you can choose to serve Elred Rake and Prince Phane. There is no middle ground. And Arlo, as much as it pains me, I will kill you if you choose to serve my enemy; then I will make one of your fellow teamsters kneel over your corpse and I will ask him where you intended to take your cargo. I’ll have the answer to my question—but you’ll still be dead.”
Another man stood up. “Lord Alexander, my name is Bradley. Please don’t kill him, he has a family he’s trying to protect. If he tells you what you want to know, Rake will hurt his kids and make him watch.”
“Sounds like Elred Rake isn’t very well liked,” Anatoly observed. Many of the men nodded their heads.
“What do you propose, Bradley?” Alexander asked.
“I’ll tell you what you want to know on two conditions.” Bradley looked nervous and afraid, but he held his ground and didn’t waver from Alexander’s glittering gaze.
“What are your conditions?” Alexander asked with a hint of menace in his voice.
“Let these men live and give me safe passage to New Ruatha. I just want to live my life. I hate Rake and all his rules and meddling. I just want a place where I can work and earn a living. I don’t have a family, so Rake can’t do nothing to me if I betray him.”
Alexander smiled and nodded. “Bargain struck. These men can leave, on foot, with water and food for the walk back to wherever they came from. You will show us where you were headed and then I’ll send you to New Ruatha.”
Bradley smiled. “Thank you, Lord Alexander.”
Another man stood, then another, then several more. Seventeen of the hundred teamsters stood and looked around at each other for a moment before one spoke. “Lord Alexander, can we come live in New Ruatha, too? None of us have families, so Rake has nothing on us. We all work hard and we just want to make an honest living.”
Alexander scrutinized their colors for a moment. They were all simple people without ambition or guile.
“Very well, you will all be given safe passage to New Ruatha. As for the rest of you, I will allow you to return to your homes, but know this: Headwater is waging war against Ruatha; if you continue to act in service to Headwater’s aggression, your life and liberty will be forfeit,” Alexander said.
A few of the men still sitting looked with hate and anger at those who had chosen to flee Headwater, but most looked envious at the thought of being free of Rake and the trade guilds. Once the majority of the teamsters were sent on their way, Alexander spoke to the rest.
“We’ll be taking these supplies to a rally point where we can resupply the Rangers operating in the area. You will help move these wagons under supervision of the Rangers and then you will be escorted to New Ruatha. Bradley, you will take me to the destination of this supply train. Once I’m satisfied, you’ll be given safe passage as well. We have a few hours of light left. I want these supplies well off this road before dark.”
Duane snapped a salute and started issuing orders. Within minutes, the teamsters and the Rangers were organized and driving the wagons off the road and toward a preset rally point that would serve as a good forward base of operations.
***
Bradley led Alexander and his companions to the enemy supply depot. He said he’d made three similar trips from the outlying estates to bring food, weapons, and tools for the war. The supply depot was huge. They stopped well short and Isabel sent Slyder in to take a closer look. She reported that it was a giant staging area with at least a thousand soldiers guarding it. From the way she described it, Alexander surmised that it was the central supply depot for the entire Headwater army.
They made it back to their base of operations by late afternoon of the next day. Duane had secured the area with a trench and a low berm wall just inside it. The wagons were lined up neatly and the Rangers were busy conducting an inventory of the captured supplies. Duane met Alexander at the entrance of the fortified encampment.
Alexander dismounted, appraising the work that had already been done. “Looks like you’ve been busy,” he said, taking Duane’s hand.
He nodded. “I’ve sent out scouts to look for any enemy activity in the area. Looks like most of Headwater’s soldiers have been called to the main assembly area, so the small towns and estates in the area are relatively unprotected. I’ve sent forward observers to watch over three different roads and sent riders to find the other companies working nearby to let them know about this forward base.”
“Outstanding,” Alexander said. “We have a target. Bradley has shown us the location of a huge supply depot. It looks like it might be the main staging area for food and equipment for their entire army.”
Duane whistled. “Did you see what kind of garrison they had?”
“Looked like about a thousand soldiers,” Isabel said. “Mostly it’s just workers moving wagons and huge herds of meat on the hoof.”
“That’s a pretty light guard for such a valuable target,” Duane mused. “Either they don’t expect us to attack this far inside their borders or they have some form of magical protection. I suspect they’ll increase their guard forces as soon as they get wind of our operations.”
“I agree,” Alexander said. “So we need to move quickly. Send word to the companies in the area to assemble here. We’ll attack as soon as we have an adequate force.”
“I’ll dispatch riders at once,” Duane said.
Moments later, six men on horseback thundered out the narrow entrance as Alexander and his friends made their way to the makeshift mess area.
Ranger companies began arriving the next afternoon. They each reported on their activities during the previous days. They were able to fill in details about the surrounding area and the forces still protecting the many small villages and estates. Several of the six companies reported successful raids ag
ainst supply trains and a few smaller garrisons.
They had followed Alexander’s orders to the letter. Hit and run. Attack by surprise and retreat before the enemy could mount an effective defense. From the reports, Alexander knew it would only be a matter of time before a much larger force was sent to defend the supply depot.
By evening, he had a force of six hundred Rangers assembled at his forward base. He invited the commanders to dinner. They ate well from the stores of captured food before Alexander began his briefing. All of the Rangers were eager to strike out at such an important target and understood the urgency. Once Headwater realized they had an entire legion of Rangers wreaking havoc within their borders, they would no doubt deploy some of the soldiers they’d assembled to secure their own territory. The first place they would defend was their supply depot.
Plans were made for the attack. The six companies would depart the forward base before dawn in two units and attack the supply depot with fire from two directions. As soon as the enemy mounted a defense, the Rangers would retreat and circle around to attack again from another angle. Isabel reported that the soldiers guarding the depot were mostly infantry with only a few horses; Alexander’s troops would be able to use speed to their advantage and hit them repeatedly without facing heavy opposition.
Chapter 12
Alexander went to his tent with the feeling of calm certainty he always got from having a plan.
He understood that knowledge was often the deciding factor in any conflict, so he chose to use what magic he had to gather what information he could. He sat on a cushion while he quieted his mind and relaxed his body. He’d grown familiar with the process for reaching the state of empty-mindedness that was his doorway to the firmament, but it still took several minutes. Sometimes he was simply unable to impose the serenity on his consciousness that was required but he was getting better at it with practice.
Soon he was drifting on the surface of the firmament, with the music of existence playing in the background of his mind. He allowed his awareness to float there on the leading edge of the wave of time and simply experienced the totality of creation.
After a few moments, he focused on a specific person. He felt the familiar rush of his awareness condensing from the whole of reality to one location and found himself floating near the top of a large tent. It was well lit with a number of freestanding brass lamps. The floor was lined with thick carpets and there was a sturdy folding table surrounded with plain-looking yet well-made chairs. Alexander saw the man he was seeking almost immediately and realized that his timing was perfect. Jataan P’Tal was meeting with the enemy commanders.
The man at the head of the table was a big man, six and a half feet tall with broad shoulders. He had dark brown eyes and medium-length, dirty brown hair with just a little grey showing at the temples. He wore a well-trimmed mustache over crooked teeth and looked like he hadn’t shaved for two days.
To his left sat a younger man of average height and slight build with sharp features and droopy dark brown eyes. He had long black hair tied back in a ponytail, a waxed mustache, and a braided goatee with a bead dangling from the end.
Jataan P’Tal was to the big man’s right, sitting next to the giant. The other four chairs were filled with officers of the Headwater army.
One of the officers was giving a report: “New Ruatha has sent Rangers into our territory to disrupt our supply lines and interfere with the assembly of our forces, but they won’t stand and fight. I have several reports of raids where the Rangers showed up from out of nowhere, attacked and fled before our forces could fight back.” The officer paused for a moment before continuing. “Master Rake, I recommend we consider redeploying some of our forces to defend the more vital estates.”
“No,” the man at the head of the table said. “Send a legion to secure the supply depot. The nobles can fend for themselves. Once we have New Ruatha, I’ll buy their loyalty back with plunder.”
“Dexter, what word from the front?” Rake asked the man to his left.
Dexter’s voice was as droopy and languid as his eyes. “Ruatha has deployed their forces in a defensive line across the valley. The commanders on the ground claim they will suffer heavy losses if they charge the line. It seems Ruatha has a large number of archers to support their infantry and there are also several wizards working with them to defend the city. By all accounts we will not be able to break their line without additional forces.”
Elred Rake turned to Jataan P’Tal. “What of Prince Phane? Is he going to send us any assistance or does he expect us to carry the day for him and then hand over the spoils for the privilege of fighting in his name?”
Jataan P’Tal regarded the Master of Headwater calmly for a long moment. Several of the soldiers seated around the table fidgeted nervously at the tension building in the room.
“Prince Phane is otherwise occupied. We will defeat New Ruatha with the forces at our disposal, and then you will bow to Prince Phane when he comes to collect your tribute.”
Rake’s face reddened with anger. He stood and started pacing.
“That’s not good enough!” he shouted. “I’ll withdraw my entire army right now unless you give me a reason not to. What is Phane doing that’s more important than conquering Ruatha?”
Jataan P’Tal regarded him calmly. “Very well, Master Rake. If you must know, Prince Phane is going to the Temple of Fire on Tyr so that he may use the ancient powersink located there to retrieve the Sovereign Stone from the aether and reunite the Seven Isles under the banner of the Reishi Sovereign.”
Rake stopped pacing and stared for a moment. Alexander saw the cold calculating nature of the man. His colors fluctuated from fear to deceit to shrewd opportunism. “All right, I’ll accept that for now, but Phane will pay a heavy price when he comes to collect.”
“Master Rake,” Jataan said wearily, “you have already been promised the rule of the entire Isle of Ruatha provided you can deliver it to Prince Phane. What more do you want?”
“I want his help defeating that upstart king, that’s what I want,” Rake said with exasperation. “If I could conquer the Isle of Ruatha without Phane’s help, I would have done it already. When you showed up, you said Phane would help us win this war but so far all he’s sent is you.”
The giant belched and all eyes turned to him. He shrugged without a word.
“More comes,” Jataan said.
Elred Rake’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Prince Phane has everything well in hand. There is a sizeable force of Andalian cavalry assembling for transport to Kai’Gorn as we speak. Once they arrive, the forces of Ruatha will face an enemy on two fronts. Then, when they are spread thin and fighting for their lives, Prince Phane will use the Sovereign Stone to awaken the Reishi Gates and half of the Reishi Army Regency will pour forth into the heart of Ruatha. So you see, Master Rake, Prince Phane is sending much more. For the moment, it’s enough to keep the Rangers and the forces of New Ruatha occupied and distracted while Prince Phane makes the preparations necessary to crush them once and for all.”
Elred Rake sat down heavily at the scope of the preparations that were being made outside of his control. He was used to being at the center of important decisions and he was coming to see that he was only a small part of a much bigger picture. Alexander saw the fear swell within him at the clear loss of control he faced, only to watch it be replaced with cunning opportunism.
He nodded with a smile. “That’s all you needed to say, Commander P’Tal. Now that I know the score, I can play my part with a smile.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Jataan P’Tal said. “I recommend you send the infantry and archers forward to the front and keep your cavalry in reserve to respond to any surprises the enemy may present. Your decision to leave the petty nobles to fend for themselves is wise. They have already delivered most of the supplies they have and can offer little in the way of further support. However, the situation with your supply depot has me concerned, es
pecially with a legion of Rangers roaming around your backyard looking for soft spots. I recommend you distribute your supplies to ten smaller depots and increase the garrisons assigned to guard them.”
Rake frowned. “I don’t like to divide things up like that. I much prefer to keep all the supplies together so I can keep an eye on them. Central authority is the guiding principle of my whole territory.” He took a deep breath like he was considering the suggestion before slowly shaking his head. “No . . . I think it’s much better to just send a legion of infantry to guard it and keep it all in one place.”
Jataan P’Tal shrugged. “Suit yourself, but understand this: Prince Phane doesn’t care one bit about your guiding principles—he wants results.”
Rake tried, unsuccessfully, to mask his irritation at P’Tal’s tone before he answered, “Phane will have his results.” He stood, and the officers at the table stood with him. “Gentlemen, I believe we’ve decided on our course. Tomorrow, a legion of infantry will be dispatched to the supply depot, two legions of infantry and a legion of archers will march to the front, and my cavalry will remain encamped here.”
Alexander let his focus slip and his awareness faded back into the firmament. He gently returned to his body. So many times he’d wished for magic that could be used to attack but he was somewhat humbled by the sheer power of what he’d just accomplished. He got up and dug his journal from his pack, sat down at the field desk in his tent, and wrote for an hour. First he recorded all that he’d learned about the enemy’s plans. Then he wrote a letter to his father. He dripped hot wax on the parchment and sealed it with the butt of his sword.
He lay down to sleep feeling a sense of urgency to depart for the Pinnacles. The Rangers’ mission was vital but not nearly as important as preventing Phane from getting the Sovereign Stone. If the Reishi Prince was successful at the Temple of Fire, it would be a race to see who could get to the Reishi Keep first. Alexander decided to separate from the Rangers after the raid on the supply depot and make haste to the Pinnacles and the Fairy Queen. He couldn’t allow lesser concerns to distract him. Everything would be won or lost with the Sovereign Stone.
