Knights of Alcea

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "Our people recognize Kail as an intellectual," interjected another advisor. "They know that he has studied the ancient scrolls in detail. When he speaks about the humans sacrificing dwarves to appease the dragons, they tend to believe him."

  "That was thousands of years ago," objected Sayrak. "Have the dwarves been such a peaceful people for so long? Are we to hold the humans to a different standard than ourselves?"

  "You are talking philosophy," the first advisor retorted. "This is different. Last night humans slaughtered a dwarven hunting party, and their own words promised a massacre of all dwarves at their hands. Are the people supposed to ignore the danger this incident brings to Lanto? Are we to just submit to the inevitable and die peacefully?"

  "I will not die peacefully," declared a third advisor. "I have spent my life defending Lanto from the goblins. I will not yield to the threat of war from humans. We fight them as we do the goblins."

  "Let them try entering our tunnels," spat a fourth advisor. "The humans will learn a lethal lesson about the true nature of dwarves."

  Prince Darok had heard enough. Being from Dorgun, he had no standing to interfere in the political maneuverings of Lanto, but he was still a dwarven prince and given the opportunity of speaking, he would interfere. He was also a Knight of Alcea, and he knew that the queen would honor his request to speak. He rose silently from his cushion and walked up to the queen. Wordlessly, he bowed to recognize her as the sovereign of Lanto.

  "Welcome to Lanto," greeted Queen Lywen. "While this meeting is about the defense of Lanto, neighboring Dorgun is equally at risk. Would you care to join with us in discussing the events of last night?"

  "I would be pleased to represent the dwarves of Dorgun in this discussion," Prince Darok smiled thinly as he turned to face the advisors. "If no one has any objections, I would like to present the findings of the Dorgun party that brought your fallen hunters home to Lanto."

  "We have heard their report already," replied one of the advisors. "They agreed that it was humans who attacked our people."

  "Indeed it was," agreed Prince Darok. "About two dozen humans if my trackers are proficient in their skill, and I assure you that they are. Still, there is something that I must say. Sitting and listening to the discussion here today troubles me. One of our hunting parties was attacked by a small group of humans, and everyone is acting as if a war has been declared between the races. Why blow this event up to massive proportions? Does one band of renegades constitute an invasion?"

  "This was not just a simple attack," retorted the advisor. "The deer were not taken, and the gold pouches were not even touched. It was not a group of bandits seeking treasure at the expense of the dwarves. This was different."

  "And the humans were heard to say that they planned to exterminate the dwarves," added another advisor.

  "True, true," Prince Darok shook his head with disappointment. "All of your words spring true, but what are you missing?"

  Confusion spread over the faces of the dwarves of Lanto. Most of the advisors were ready for an argument from Prince Darok, but the Dorgun prince's attitude of disappointment was unexpected.

  "What are we missing?" asked Sayrak.

  "A number of puzzling questions comes to my mind," answered Prince Darok. "The first is why a group of humans who is bent on exterminating the dwarves would leave one alive?"

  "They thought he might be human," answered one of the advisors.

  "Nonsense," retorted Prince Darok. "While Kail may be taller and leaner than most dwarves, no one could possibly mistake him for a human. Besides, if he were human, why did they not rescue him and carry him away from the slaughter?"

  Not one advisor responded, and Prince Darok continued.

  "Why did the humans reveal their plans for exterminating the dwarves before they knocked young Kail unconscious?" asked the dwarven prince. "By doing so, they have forfeited the element of surprise. Are there any here who see any validity in such a foolish military plan?"

  After a long pause of silence, Sayrak spoke. "They wanted to terrorize us, but why?"

  "That is an excellent question," smiled Prince Darok. "It is one that I do not have an answer for, but it is the most important question we need to answer."

  "Someone wants us to believe that the humans seek to kill us," frowned one of the advisors. "You have made us see that clearly, but who and why escapes me."

  "I know this much about the humans that I have met," declared Prince Darok. "Most of the humans are much like the dwarves. While they may get decidedly defensive when threatened, most do not go looking for trouble. Those that I met in the service of Garala were friendly and accepting of dwarves. They were curious to a fault about dwarves, but so was I about humans. Whoever these humans were, they were not Garala's men. Of that I am sure."

  "You have a lot of faith in King Arik," noted one of the advisors.

  "Prince Darok is a Knight of Alcea," Sayrak pointed out. "How could he not have faith in the human king?"

  "I am a Knight of Alcea," declared Prince Darok, "and I take great pride in having been chosen to represent the dwarves, but there is more involved here than my pride. King Arik is our Garala. Have we dwarves so quickly forgotten the prophecy that binds us to Garala? Each of us has sworn fealty to him. Fealty, my fellow dwarves. How can any of us not have faith in him?"

  The assembled dwarves nodded in shame. It is not that they had forgotten their fealty, but rather that they had acted in such a way as to have the Knight of Alcea question it.

  "What is your advice on this matter, Prince Darok?" asked Queen Lywen.

  "I think we need to find out who the humans were and why they attacked us," answered the Prince of Dorgun, "but we must do so in a way that does not ignite the very war that we were fearing a moment ago."

  "How can we do that without entering the world of humans?" asked Sayrak.

  "And how do we explain our intentions to our people?' asked one of the other advisors. "Right now they are doting on Kail's every word."

  "You have mentioned two very distinct problems," admitted Prince Darok. "I can think of only one solution to get around both of those snags. With the permission of Queen Lywen, I will take Kail to Tagaret for a meeting with King Arik."

  "Why is this your proposed solution?" questioned the queen.

  "We cannot send parties of dwarves into the human cities to investigate," explained Prince Darok. "That would lead to trouble. King Arik, on the other hand, has the resources to discover who these men are and what they are up to. As for Kail accompanying me, the trip will accomplish two things. It will remove him from Lanto so that the rest of you can bring sense and order to your tribe, and it will expose him to the truth about the nature of humans."

  "And while you are away in Tagaret?" asked Sayrak. "What about our hunters?"

  "Lanto and Dorgun should cooperate on hunting," replied Prince Darok. "Each hunting party should be accompanied by warriors searching for humans and goblins. The goblins we know how to handle. If humans are sighted, we should not attack them as natural enemies, but rather observe and track them. If they make no threatening moves against our people, leave them in peace. It is imperative that we do not provoke a war before Garala has had the opportunity to investigate."

  * * *

  The training room was empty except for the two officers engaged in a deadly struggle. Wei-ra's stiff fingers shot out towards Bin-lu's throat, and the junior officer leaned backwards and swiftly brought his arm up to deflect Wei-ra's hand. Bin-lu knew that the thrust was a feint, but he concentrated hard not to show it. Wei-ra pressed forward to take advantage of Bin-lu's defensive stance. Although Bin-correctly anticipated the next attack, he refused his natural instinct to counteract it. Wei-ra's foot slapped against the side of Bin-lu's head, and the junior officer fell to the floor.

  "Enough for today," Wei-ra announced as he extended a hand to help Bin-lu to his feet. "You are learning quickly, but you must learn to anticipate the attacker's next move. My thrust to yo
ur throat was not meant to succeed. It was meant to do exactly what it did. When you avoided my thrust, you left yourself exposed to my kick. Tomorrow I will teach you how to avoid such a move."

  "I am honored to have such an experienced teacher," Bin-lu bowed with respect.

  Wei-ra smiled inwardly as he gazed at his personal student. The young officer was turning into more than Wei-ra could ever have hoped for.

  "You are an exceptional student, Bin-lu," Wei-ra returned the compliment. "Your transfer came through today. You are officially under my command now, although that secret will be shared by only the two of us. You are to appear as if you are still attached to Barouk."

  "Then it shall be our secret," promised Bin-lu.

  "Tonight you will embark on your first mission," Wei-ra continued. "There will be a large service at the Temple of Balmak. You are to attend."

  "I have been there before," commented Bin-lu.

  "This time will be different," Wei-ra declared as he gave Bin-lu a slip of paper. "You are not to wear your uniform. Go to this address, and leave your uniform there. There will be a plain robe for you to wear to the service. There will also be a black wristband with the robe. Put it on your left wrist. It will allow you to enter the temple and move around without being stopped. If anyone tries to interfere with your movements, make sure that they see the wristband, but do not be obvious about showing it to them. Others must not learn of its meaning."

  "And what does it mean?" asked Bin-lu.

  "It identifies you as one of the chosen," replied Wei-ra. "Without it you will be treated like everyone else, which probably means that you will not even get inside the temple."

  "But I have been inside already," Bin-lu frowned in confusion. "Why would tonight be any different?"

  "There has never been a Priest of Balmak at our temple before," stated Wei-ra. "He arrived only yesterday, and tonight will be his first speech. The crowd will be quite large."

  "I understand," Bin-lu replied. "What is my purpose for being there tonight?"

  "There are several reasons to send you," answered Wei-ra. "You need to learn more about Balmak than I have explained already, and this is an easy way for you to get that knowledge. You also need to watch the crowd for disruptors. You are to do nothing unless instructed to do so by another who wears the black wristband, but observe everyone. If you see anyone who appears to be there for reasons other than to learn about Balmak, make note of them. See if you can befriend them and learn their names, but be discrete. It is better to fail than to be discovered for what you are."

  "What I am?" Bin-lu asked with confusion evident on his face.

  "A spy," grinned Wei-ra. "You work for me now, and you must learn my trade."

  "I understand," Bin-lu grinned excitedly. "I shall not fail you."

  "We shall meet in the morning to discuss your experience," Wei-ra said in a manner of dismissal.

  Bin-lu bowed once again to his superior and exited the room. He walked calmly to the corner of the corridor and then moved swiftly towards Rut-ki's quarters before Wei-ra would have the chance to catch up to him. The corridor was clear when he reached the door, and he quickly unlocked the door and entered the room. He scooped up the letter that had been shoved under the door and promptly left, locking the door as he did so.

  Bin-lu hurried to his quarters in the junior officer section and opened the letter from Rut-ki. He noted with satisfaction that she was settled into her new home in Chi-Chan and was working at a bakery. She had already attended several services at the temple, but she had not found anything amiss other than the religion itself. She promised to start asking around about Mu-chen and would report the following week.

  Bin-lu burned the letter and gathered the ashes. He leaned out the window and let the wind scatter the ashes from his hands. He sat for a while pondering the meaning of Rut-ki's concern with the worship of Balmak. From what he had learned so far, the unknown god was a god of benevolence. He promised to protect the downtrodden in return for their worship. At least that is how the god was portrayed by Wei-ra.

  With his curiosity aroused, Bin-lu hurried to get his evening meal out of the way so that he could arrive at the temple early. He found the address that Wei-ra had given him and entered the small house through the unlocked door. The house was sparsely furnished with the poorest of furnishings, yet it was clean and tidy. Draped across the lone bed in the house was a worn gray robe and a black wristband with a strange design carved into it. Bin-lu stripped off his uniform and donned the robe. He slid the wristband over his left wrist and left the building.

  The followers of Balmak had taken over a seldom-used Temple of Thun in Ongchi. The old temple sat in the northern section of the port city well away from the docks and a far walk from the Imperial Palace.

  Bin-lu walked quickly, but his mind wandered as he crossed the city. Mostly, he pondered how a new god suddenly came into being. Bin-lu remembered seeing the statues of the gods at the wedding of King Arik, and there had been no statue for a god named Balmak. Of that, Bin-lu was certain. So where did this god come from? How did one become a priest of an unknown god? Why would anyone begin worshipping such a god? None of it made sense to the Knight of Alcea.

  The sounds of people filling the streets interrupted Bin-lu's mental meanderings long before he reached the temple. Scores of people were filing onto the streets and heading towards the northern section of the city. Bin-lu pushed his musings out of his mind and began to watch the crowd as it moved along with him. When he arrived at the plaza in front of the temple, Bin-lu halted and gazed in amazement. Hundreds of people packed the plaza and all of them were pushing towards the entrance to the temple. It was obvious that not all of the people would fit inside the old temple.

  Bin-lu tried to work his way forward in the crowd, but he soon realized he would never even be able to get close to the entrance. The people were packed too close together to be able to move freely. Not wanting to mess up his first assignment, Bin-lu worked his way out of the crowd and walked away from the temple. He took a series of turns that eventually brought him to the rear of the temple.

  Two very large men flanked the rear door to the temple. Each man held a short, sturdy club and scowled in Bin-lu's direction when he approached the temple.

  "There is no entry here," spat one of the guards. "Go around to the plaza if you want to hear the lecture."

  Bin-lu did not reply. He walked up to the guards and halted before them. The guards tensed and shifted their weight as if getting ready to strike out at Bin-lu. Bin-lu raised his left arm and absently scratched his head. He watched one of the guards closely and saw the flicker of recognition on the man's face as the sleeve of Bin-lu's robe fell back to reveal the black wristband. He felt the guards soften their stance, and moved forward to enter the door.

  "Wait," commanded one of the guards. "I do not know you."

  The guard moved his arm and banged heavily on the door to the temple. The door opened within a few moments and a black-cloaked man peered out. The man looked around before waving Bin-lu inside the temple. The door closed quickly behind Bin-lu, and the hooded man turned to face the newcomer.

  "Who are you?" he asked.

  "I am Bin-lu," answered the newcomer.

  "Your answer means nothing to me," countered the hooded man. "Who are you?"

  Bin-lu was not sure of his position and was afraid to reveal too much. It was clear that his interrogator was asking how he deserved to wear the black wristband, but Bin-lu could not afford to answer the question without knowing where Wei-ra fit into the organization. He certainly was not going to admit that he was a spy.

  "I am Bin-lu," he repeated. "That is all that you are required to know. If you will show me to the front door, I will merge with those waiting to enter the temple."

  "You insolent dog!" retorted the hooded man. "I will teach you what I am entitled to know."

  The hooded man's hands rose and Bin-lu leaped backwards against the rear door. Only then did Bin-lu's eyes no
tice the man's stance. Bin-lu had just made a fatal error. The hooded man did not raise his arms to physically attack the newcomer. The raised arms were in preparation for a magical attack. Bin-lu should have moved closer, not farther away.

  "Stop!" demanded Wei-ra's voice from somewhere that Bin-lu could not see. "He is one of mine."

  The hooded man lowered his arms. "Then why is he not trained in the proper methods?" snarled the hooded man as Wei-ra stepped into view.

  "I wished to observe his natural methods of gaining entry," answered Wei-ra. "I will take care of him from here."

  The hooded man snarled something under his breath and stormed away. Wei-ra chuckled when the man was out of sight.

  "You almost died here, Bin-lu," stated Wei-ra. "The hooded ones are mages. To have a chance fighting a mage, you must get in close. You moved the wrong way, but that is not your fault. I have not yet taught you how to recognize a magical attack. Perhaps we will address that in the training room tomorrow. Come with me."

  "You have not informed me very well for this mission," Bin-lu complained as he followed Wei-ra along a corridor. "I had no idea that the people of the temple were aware of your identity. I dared not mention your name or my orders."

  "That is how I intended it to be," chuckled Wei-ra. "I had to see how you would respond to being challenged. You did well."

  "But I would have died," Bin-lu protested. "You said so yourself."

  "Quite true," agreed Wei-ra, "but you would have revealed nothing in doing so. That is very important in our field. I am impressed. As for dying, I will teach you how to survive every possible attack."

  "So I have failed my first mission?" inquired Bin-lu.

  "Not at all," answered Wei-ra. "You have done well. I purposely gave you the wrong time for the lecture figuring that you would want to be early to ensure that you got in. That left the rear door as your only possible avenue of approach, which you properly deduced. You also must have shown your wristband in a casual manner, or the two guards outside would have killed you."