Captain Marez sighed deeply and nodded. “I know what must be done, but I did not agree to take this position just to send men to their deaths. If there was any chance at getting men inside the keep and getting the information we need, I would order it this evening, but there is not even a slim chance of success. General Marashef and his personal guards are the only true Federation troops allowed inside the keep. The rest of the soldiers in there are King Mectin’s men, and the king is not foolish enough to accept new members to his guard. He knows that there are people in Tyronia plotting against him. He distrusts everyone.”
Karl glanced once again at Althea, and she immediately looked away. He shook his head and returned his eyes to the crude drawing. “That distrust is the only wise thing Mectin has done in his life. I don’t know the answer, Marez, but we need to discover it. Time is running out for us.”
“Have you gotten new information on the timing?” Captain Marez asked anxiously.
“No.” Karl shook his head. “I just know that the sands are dropping quickly. Call it a gut feeling, but I think the Federation moved into Tyronia to get horses for the war. Now that they have them, there is little reason for delay.”
Captain Marez sighed and nodded as he rose to his feet. “I need to step outside for a minute. I will be right back.”
“I will get fresh ale for us,” Althea said cheerily.
The captain slipped out the rear door of the inn and Althea headed into the kitchen. She returned moments later with three mugs of ale. Karl nodded his thanks and took a sip as he leaned over the crude drawing, one hand flat on the table to support himself. Unexpectedly, he felt another hand rest on top of his. Karl withdrew his hand instinctively. He turned and stared questioningly at Althea’s flushed face.
“I could go into the keep,” she volunteered. “They may be leery of soldiers, but they would never suspect a woman spy.”
“Under what pretense?” frowned Karl. “Why would they let you in?”
“I will think of something,” shrugged Althea.
Karl glanced at the rear door as it opened and Captain Marez entered. The Knight of Alcea turned back to Althea and shook his head exaggeratedly.
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” retorted Althea. “I can do it. You know that I can, or are only men capable of such daring deeds?”
Captain Marez frowned at the conversation as he quietly took his seat at the table.
“I said no,” scowled Karl. “By the gods, woman! You know what that beast does to women. What is wrong with you?”
Althea slammed her mug of ale on the table and stormed out of the inn. Karl gazed at the rear door long after she had slammed it. He shook his head in confusion and sat down.
“She has a point,” the captain said softly. “Mectin would never suspect a woman spy.”
“Does insanity run in your family?” spat Karl. “I can’t believe that you would let your sister enter that keep.”
“I didn’t say that I would be in favor of it,” Captain Marez said calmly. “I merely pointed out that she was correct.”
“Well, I will not stand for it,” Karl declared assertively. “I can’t even imagine why she would offer to do such a thing.”
“To please you,” Captain Marez said softly.
Karl’s eyes grew wide as he stared at the captain. “To please me? What are you saying?”
“She loves you, Karl,” Captain Marez stated. “Just as you love her. How can you be so blind to the truth?”
“I am a married man,” Karl stated forcefully. “I will not abandon Lyda. Ever.”
Chapter 27
First Link
Morro stood in the chamber near the secret dwarven door. He stared at the stack of doors as he tried to think of a plan to switch them for the real Doors in the mystery valley. Sparky stood on his shoulder, but the partners did not speak. Both of them turned at the sound of someone approaching. Garth Shado entered the chamber and walked over to stand next to the elven thief.
“This will take many trips,” sighed Morro. “The night might not be long enough.”
“There is an alternative,” Garth said slyly.
Morro glanced suspiciously at the Knight of Alcea. “Does this new plan involve you entering the valley? While you are the quietest human I have ever known, you are still not quite an elf.”
“There are some who would disagree with you,” smiled Garth, “but no, it does not involve me entering the valley. Should we be discovered, a human and an elf working together would set off alarm bells. The party should be all humans or all elves.”
“So what is your alternate plan?” asked Morro.
“Instead of relying on the hourglass to give you access to the Doors, why not let Sparky use the hourglass to safely approach the soldiers. While time is stopped, the fairy can put the soldiers to sleep.”
“That is an interesting approach,” mused the elven thief, “but that buys me little. I would still have to move over twenty doors.”
“Not if there were others to help you,” grinned Garth. “Prince Rigal and his men are greeting the dwarven king as we speak. The four of you could move a dozen doors in short order.”
“And they move like only elves could,” brightened Morro. “Can Sparky keep the soldiers asleep long enough for us to accomplish the switch?”
“Mite and Bitsy can go with Sparky,” offered Garth. “While only Sparky will be able to put the soldiers asleep, all three fairies could keep them asleep indefinitely.”
Morro stared at the doors in silence for a moment and then nodded his head in agreement. “That will work. With four of us, we could carry a dozen doors in one trip, and do it quietly.”
“And quickly.” Garth nodded.
“Is Prince Rigal aware of your plan?”
“I have told him what I thought might work,” answered Garth, “but I also told him that the operation was yours to command. It is your decision.”
“Your plan is solid,” stated the elf. “Sparky, go round up our new helpers.”
“The elves will be here before Bitsy stops yawning,” promised the little man.
Sparky leaped into the air and darted into the darkness of the dwarven tunnel. Garth chuckled softly and stuck a finger into his pocket. A tiny blue head immediately appeared.
“There is no need to poke,” scowled Bitsy. “That loud-mouthed Sparky already disturbed my nap. And I do not yawn.”
Morro tried to hide his laugh as Bitsy yawned almost immediately. Bitsy glared at the elf, but she couldn’t keep up the pretense. The tiny woman soon started laughing herself. Within a few minutes, the other three elves arrived. Mite climbed out of his pocket and settled on Prince Rigal’s shoulder. Morro expected Garth to lay out the plan, but Prince Rigal and his men looked expectantly at the Dielderal elf. Morro smiled inwardly as he explained the plan. When he was done, Sparky crawled out the spy hole and returned a few minutes later.
“The way is clear,” reported the fairy. “There should be no one between us and Door twenty-four, but Bitsy and Mite will join me in making sure that the situation does not change.”
“Then let us go,” stated Morro. “Prince Rigal and I will take the first six doors. Lyron and Gerant will get the next six.”
With a nod from Morro, the dwarves opened the secret door into the mystery valley. Morro and Prince Rigal grunted with effort as they lifted the top six doors off the stack. The three fairies darted through the open door and disappeared into the forest.
“How far is our destination?” Prince Rigal asked as the weight of the doors strained his arms.
“About three leagues,” Morro answered. “We will take breaks along the way as needed.”
“I was hoping that you would say that,” chuckled the elven prince. “Let’s go.”
Morro and the elven prince moved slowly through the door as Gerant and Lyron picked up the other six doors. When the four elves entered the forest, the dwarves closed the secret door behind them. Morro kept up a s
teady pace, one that was neither fast nor slow. He had already been over the intended route several times, and he had several selected resting places in mind. When he reached the first one, he halted and nodded for the prince to set the doors down. The other two elves mimicked their behavior.
“How is everyone feeling?” Morro asked softly.
“The doors are awkward to carry,” offered Lyron, “but I am fine.”
“It will help if we switch places at each stop,” suggested Gerant.
“A good idea.” Prince Rigal nodded.
Morro waited for a couple of minutes before signaling the elves to continue the trek. With Prince Rigal now leading the group, Morro whispered instructions periodically about which way to proceed through the forest. Several stops later, Morro was leading the group when Sparky shot down through the canopy and hovered in front of him.
“It is time to use the hourglass,” Sparky said softly. “You are getting close to the soldiers.”
Morro signaled for a halt and the elves set their burdens on the ground.
“We will take a break before you put them asleep, Sparky,” stated Morro. “Keep watch for a few minutes and then return.”
Morro signaled for the elves to gather around as he explained the next step of the mission.
“Not far from here is the stack of Doors,” said Morro. “There are only ten of them now, so the trip back will be a little lighter, but we will also be a bit more weary. It will be important not to become too weary to maintain stealth. If anyone needs a rest on the way back, tell your partner and then stop. The fairies will only maintain the sleep spell for an hour after we switch the doors. That should give us enough time to get well away from the area.”
“Why only an hour?” asked Gerant.
“Two reasons,” answered Morro. “I don’t want anyone to come along and find the whole camp asleep, and the fairies will be needed to scout the area between us and Tarashin. We accomplish nothing if we are detected switching these doors. In fact, we will do a great deal of harm to our cause. If we are discovered, we must kill everyone, or die in the attempt. This is not something we can just flee from.”
“And take the enemy’s bodies with us,” agreed Prince Rigal. “Let’s try to avoid detection. Otherwise it just gets too complicated.”
Morro noticed the return of Sparky, but he kept talking. “We will leave these doors here for now. As soon as the fairies put the soldiers to sleep, we will go and retrieve the ten Doors. Lyron and Gerant will then place their doors exactly where the other stack was. Prince Rigal and I will place our doors on top of the stack. We come back here, pick up the Doors, and retrace our steps back to Tarashin. Any questions?”
There were no questions, and Morro held out his palm with the hourglass sitting upon it. The fairy landed on the elf’s palm and triggered the device. Morro had been watching the hourglass when the fairy triggered it. In an eye blink he saw the hourglass emptied and knew that Sparky had completed his task. He motioned for the other elves to join him as he moved swiftly through the trees.
The elves exited the forest and came to the stack of Doors. The elves from Glendor stared anxiously at the Federation camp not far away, but Morro ignored it. He counted off five Doors and swung them a bit to get a handhold. Prince Rigal quickly joined him, and they lifted the top five Doors off the stack and hurried into the forest with them. Gerant and Lyron were close behind. The four elves set the Doors down and picked up the doors. They moved back into the field and placed the doors exactly where the Doors had been. Within minutes they were carrying the ten Doors towards Tarashin.
* * * *
In the closed shop in Waxhaw, two soldiers stood in the dark. The sergeant looked again at the corporal and shook his head.
“I don’t like it,” Sergeant Zito said. “Captain Terazini is not the type of officer who would give a second thought to the queen. The captain is known for looking out only for himself. Why would you trust him?”
“I am not sure that I do,” admitted Corporal Aniello, “but he could bring a lot of men to the cause if he is serious.”
“Or this could be a trap,” warned the sergeant. “Break it off. Tell him that you were drunk and having sport with him.”
“It is too late for that,” frowned the corporal. “Don’t worry about it. I will never tell him anything if it is a trap.”
“They will torture you to find out who Crusher is,” argued Sergeant Zito.
“I do not care what they do to me. I will never tell them about the Vinaforan patriots. I swear that to you.”
“It’s not too late to run,” pleaded the sergeant. “Crusher will get you safely out of the city. Let’s just get out of here before he arrives.”
“It is too late for that,” Corporal Aniello whispered as he saw the captain approaching the door of the shop. “Get into your hiding place quickly.”
Sergeant Zito swore under his breath as he slid into the closet. He closed the door and stood in total darkness. He would not be able to see the meeting take place, but the closet had two advantages to it. The sergeant would be able to hear the conversation, and the closet had a hidden door in it that led to the shop next to it. He settled in and waited for the conversation to begin.
“Your shop?” Captain Terazini asked as he crossed the floor to stand before Corporal Aiello.
“Just an empty shop,” answered the corporal. “There are so many of them in the city these days. Waxhaw is not the grand city it used to be.”
“It will be grand again,” shrugged the captain. “Tell me about the patriots.”
“I am sure that you already know a great deal about them,” replied the corporal. “They are not much of a secret in the city. We plan to bring Queen Romani back and throw off the harness of the Federation. That is something that every true Vinaforan would want, isn’t it?”
“Of course.” the captain nodded. “It will be a glorious day when Queen Romani returns. When do you expect that will be?”
“I have no idea,” answered the corporal. “Only Crusher would be privy to that information.”
“Just who is Crusher?” asked the captain. “I hear so much about him, but I can’t believe that he actually exists. He is like some mysterious, mythical being. He is just a fictitious figurehead, isn’t he? Who really runs the patriots?”
“I actually don’t know,” replied the corporal. “Nor do I want to know. Such knowledge is dangerous.”
Captain Terazini shrugged. “I don’t suppose it truly matters. So what do I do in the patriots?”
“The most important goal at this time is to gather others who want to stand for the queen. You control quite a few men, Captain. Do you think any of them would be wiling to join the patriots?”
“I have a few in mind,” replied Captain Terazini. “Of course, there are also a few who would not fit in. I would have to be careful in selecting recruits. I would also want assurances that those above me will keep the names of my men secret.”
“You have no fear in that area,” smiled the corporal. “The patriots are organized with secrecy in mind. The men that you recruit would report directly to you.”
“And who would I report to?” asked the captain.
“To me,” answered Corporal Aniello.
“To you,” balked the captain. “You can’t be serious. You are but a corporal, and I am a captain. I should report directly to Crusher, if he even exists.”
“At this stage of organizing,” replied the corporal, “rank means nothing. As time goes on, Crusher will reorganize the patriots. At that time, you will be reassigned to a higher position, but it is not needed right now. So many officers are joining that we would be constantly changing the ranks of the organization. Besides, we are all after the same goal. What need of rank do we have?”
“I have worked long and hard to get to the rank of captain. I demand that I be accorded a higher position in the patriots.”
“I will pass your request on,” promised the corporal. “You do control a
lot of men. Perhaps Crusher will have something special in mind for you.”
“Let’s go talk to him right now,” demanded the captain.
“I told you,” frowned the corporal. “I do not know who Crusher is. All I can do is pass along your request to the person I report to.”
“I do not believe you,” scowled the captain. “No one would join the patriots without knowing who they were working for.”
“The organization is built on secrecy. I have no need to know who Crusher is. I only need to know what the patriots stand for and the person I report to. That eliminates any chance of the organization being infiltrated.”
“Hardly,” countered the captain. “All one has to do is follow the chain upstream.”
“That would not be as easy as you think,” stated Corporal Aniello as he began to get a bad feeling about the captain. Terazini was asking too many questions about the organization and not enough about how he could help with the return of the queen. The corporal knew that the meeting was turning sour. “Let me do this, Captain. I will speak to my contact about arranging a meeting between you and Crusher. I am sure that he will oblige you.”
“And who is your contact?”
“You have no need to know that.”
“That is where we disagree,” snarled the captain as he drew his sword and held it towards the corporal. “You may or may not know who Crusher is, but you will be the first link in my chain.” The captain blew a whistle, and a soldier barged in the front door of the shop. Another soldier came in the rear door. “Tie him up,” ordered the captain. “We have some information to ply out of him.”
Sergeant Zito grimaced in the dark. He heard the footsteps of the two soldiers, and he heard the threats. He dared not barge out of the closet in an attempt to rescue the corporal. Instead, he silently slid through the hidden door to the shop next door.
* * * *
Shawn Cowen and Colonel Pfaff, known as Crusher to the Vinaforan patriots, sat in a private room at the Wine Press Inn in Waxhaw. The colonel moved his finger across a map on the table while a fairy stood on Shawn’s shoulder.
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