Captain Beck turned to look at Natia, but his eyes refused to focus. He turned back to the table, downed the last of his drink, and pushed himself to his feet, nearly toppling the chair he had been sitting in. Natia took his arm and guided him out of the room.
“I think they were cheating me,” the captain said loudly in a slurred voice.
“Keep your voice down,” Natia urged in a whisper. “If you accuse them of cheating, they will not allow us to return and win our gold back.”
“How are we going to get it back?” he scowled. “I can never get my hands on that kind of money again.”
“I can,” promised Natia. “Don’t worry about it. Be quiet so we can come back.”
Captain Beck wanted to argue the point, but he was incapable of it. The words that came out of his mouth made no sense, and Natia guided him out of the building. Had the captain been sober, he would have questioned how Natia knew the way to his home, but the thought never occurred to him. She helped him up the stairs and steadied him as he unlocked the door. She guided him to the bed, and with a gentle shove, sent him sprawling into unconsciousness.
She immediately unclipped his key ring and then lit a candle. For half an hour, she explored the small apartment and smiled triumphantly when she found his hiding spot. Most city dwellers had some hiding place in their homes to make it difficult for thieves to rob them. Beck’s was a large knot in the floorboards. He had removed the knot and shaved it down to a thin covering. In the small space underneath was a small pouch. Natia opened it and counted the coins. It was a meager twenty-three in gold. She shoved the coins back into the pouch and placed the pouch back into its hiding place. A moment later, a tall figure appeared in the open doorway.
“Do you have the keys?”
Natia nodded and handed the key ring to the man. He took it and disappeared out the door. Natia blew out the candle and closed the door without locking it. She sat in a chair and waited. Two hours later, the man returned. He didn’t bother to knock as he entered the apartment. He handed two key rings to Natia and waved silently as he retreated out of the apartment. Natia lit the candle again and examined the two key rings. One was new and shiny, and she shoved that one into her pouch. She returned the other key ring to Beck’s belt and then left the apartment, leaving the door unlocked.
* * * *
Garth Shado stood near the window in the dining room of Sidney Mercado’s estate outside Ur. He watched as three riders approached the main building of the estate. When he recognized the riders, he moved onto the front porch to greet them.
“I see my message was delivered,” greeted Garth.
“It was,” replied Karl Gree. “I thought I would bring Captain Marez and his sister out to meet you.”
“I have already met Althea,” smiled Garth. “Captain Marez, I am pleased to meet you.”
“I have heard much about you, Garth Shado. Your exploits are the tales of legends.”
“I hope those legends are not associated with my name,” frowned Garth. “That could make life a little uncomfortable for me.”
“Actually,” replied the Tyronian patriot, “you are referred to as the Death Stalker. Only a few of my senior men are aware of your true name. I felt that was necessary should something happen to the three of us.”
“I do not think it is wise to cater to such legends,” Garth said. “Each and every fighter is a patriot, and we would be wise not to focus on some mythical being. I am every bit as much flesh and blood as you or your sister.”
Captain Marez was obviously disappointed by Garth’s reaction, but he sighed and nodded in acceptance. Garth looked at Karl and noticed that Althea could not keep her eyes off of the Cordonian hunter. Troubling thoughts started to intrude on Garth’s mind, and he pushed them away. He nodded towards the door of the house and led the others into the dining room.
“My time here is extremely short,” Garth said once they were all inside. “Are there any problems that you need me for?”
“Everything is going as well as can be expected,” Karl replied. “We still need a way into the keep, but we are working on that. How is everything else going?”
“Well,” Garth replied evasively as he turned to Captain Marez. “We will be stirring the hornets nest in a couple of days. You should have your people ready just in case. I do not expect it to affect you up here in Ur, but you can never tell how the Federation might react. It is better to be prepared.”
“We will be ready,” promised Captain Marez.
“Excellent,” Garth replied. “As I said, my time here is short. If you two don’t mind, I would like a few words alone with Karl about Alcea.”
“Of course,” Captain Marez said immediately.
The captain turned to leave, but Althea remained frozen next to Karl. Her brow had deep furrows and her eyes showed fear. Her brother eventually tugged on her arm and led her out of the building.
“There is something going on here that I am not aware of,” Garth said softly. “What is Althea afraid of?”
“You mentioned news from Alcea,” Karl sighed. “I am sure that Althea thinks it is news about Lyda. Is it?”
“No,” answered Garth. “I think I am beginning to understand now. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really,” Karl said, “but I probably should just to ease your mind. Althea and I have been getting closer together as the days go by. I keep trying to discourage her by telling her that I will remain faithful to my wife, but she will not back away. Blast it, Garth, I find the whole thing troubling, but I am drawn to Althea like a moth to a flame. I know that I should not, must not, get involved with her, but…”
Karl averted his eyes and stopped talking. Garth sighed heavily and nodded.
“Come upstairs with me,” ordered Garth. “Perhaps this will take your mind off things.”
The Knights of Alcea climbed the stairs, and Garth led the way to Sidney’s private study. Garth halted in front of the closet door and held his hand out towards Karl. In his hand was a key.
“I have changed the door to the closet. For now, this secret must be kept close, but that Door now leads to Tarashin. Guard that key with your life.”
“A portal?” gasped Karl. “How?”
“We stole Doors from the Federation. From Tarashin we can now go to six different places. Ur is one of them, and Tagaret is another.”
“We have a way back to Alcea?”
“Yes.”
Karl Gree stared at the Door in silence. Garth knew from the look on Karl’s face that the Cordonian’s mind was in a small infirmary in the Cordonian city of Kantor. He gently placed a hand on Karl’s shoulder and then left for Farmin.
Chapter 35
Nocking the Arrow
When Garth Shado arrived in Farmin he immediately headed to the Bluff House Inn where Kalina had already reserved a room. He knocked softly on the door and waited. Kalina opened the door and moved her eyes to one side, alerting Garth that she had company in the room. Garth nodded silently and walked into the room. He saw an older man sitting in a chair. The man had scars on both sides of his face, and Garth smiled upon seeing him, but he waited until Kalina closed the door before speaking.
“It is good to see you again, Juggler,” greeted Garth. “I trust Kalina has been explaining everything to you?”
“She has,” replied the head thief of Farmin. “It is a mighty ambitious plan and one wrought with a fair amount of danger.”
“Does that give you pause?” Garth asked as he sat down next to Juggler.
“Of course,” Juggler said without hesitation, “but pause is far removed from fear. You have already shown tremendous skill in doing the impossible. In fact, your feeding of the poor here in Farmin sort of started a tradition. The Federation food convoys have been hit three times since your last visit. The army is wary now, and the convoys are heavily guarded.”
“That means fewer men patrolling the streets,” smiled the Knight of Alcea. “Did you manage to procure enough uniforms?
”
“That was not a problem. The general’s bars were a bit more difficult, but we have them.”
“And what about General Omirro?” asked Kalina.
“From what I have been able to determine,” frowned the thief, “he is still somewhere up near Sebastian Pass, but I cannot guarantee that. The generals have quite a bit of leeway with their armies unless they are called to a particular duty. General Omirro was sent north when it was thought that the rebels would try to escape west of the Barrier.”
“That was before Tyronia fell,” frowned Kalina. “That was quite a while ago.”
“It matters little,” interjected Garth. “The important thing is that he is not in the city right now. By tomorrow night it won’t matter where he is.”
“Tomorrow?” questioned the thief. “I thought we had one more day. The night of the new moon is when it was supposed to be.”
“The night of the new moon is perfect for such an adventure,” replied Garth, “but not for Farmin. We have a bit of a logistics problem as we only have one ship to share between Farmin and Valdo. The attack in Farmin will have to occur one day earlier than the rest.”
“That adds another wrinkle to the plan,” frowned Kalina. “There is a priest in Farmin, and he has the ability to communicate over long distances. He will have to be killed before the evacuation, or the other cities will be alerted to guard the reeducation centers.”
“Then K’san must die.” Garth nodded with determination.
Juggler raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had heard of the invincibility of the Balmak priests. “Is that even possible?”
“It is,” Garth assured the thief. “The world should be rid of those demonkin in any event, so I will not shy from the duty of dispatching this one.”
“I do not disagree with your sentiments,” frowned Juggler, “but I am skeptical about your ability to actually kill him. They are invincible.”
“Not invincible,” corrected Kalina. “Garth has killed them before.”
“What about the men you have chosen to go with me?” Garth asked the thief. “Are they capable of the task?”
“They are all ex-military,” answered Juggler. “They all hate the Federation, and they are capable warriors. They are the best fighters out of my entire group, and that is a sizeable number of men.”
“The odds are going to be strongly against us,” warned Garth. “Can I meet with them today to judge for myself?”
“They are already dedicated solely to this mission,” replied the thief. “I have had them practicing and sparring since Kalina informed me of their need. Still, I think it would be good for you to meet with them right away. The more they know about your intended plan, the better the odds are of them surviving.”
“We think alike,” Garth smiled thinly. “I will put each of them to the test today. Perhaps I can use the short time available to us to increase their skills somewhat.”
“While you are playing with your men,” Kalina quipped, “I will spy on K’san and see what things look like there.”
“Don’t get too close,” cautioned Garth. “We will have no Rangers to tag along with us on this temple visit. It will be just you and me.”
* * * *
Clint guided the unicorn down through the trees in a remote area of Bloodwood. He rode eastward for a couple of hours before coming upon his group of men. The Federation soldiers all wore the patch of the V Corps, but they were beholden only to General Forshire. The general rode into the camp and dismounted. Colonel Hardi quickly approached with a wide smile on his face.
“Welcome back, General.”
“Any problems, Colonel?”
“None,” answered Colonel Hardi. “The bridge is complete and ready to deploy.”
“Excellent. The night after tomorrow night is when we will swing into action. I will need all of your men in Despair that night except for those needed to deploy the bridge. You and your men need to be aware that real members of the V Corps will be in the city. Your men must avoid them at all costs.”
“Do you know where they are located?”
“They are housed in the garrison barracks nearest the palace,” answered General Forshire, “but they are not restricted to barracks. They could conceivably pop up anywhere in the city.”
“What happens if we do run into them?” asked the colonel.
“You try to avoid them, but if you cannot, remove them.”
“Kill them?” questioned the colonel.
“Do you have a problem with that, Colonel?”
“No, sir, but I wanted to make sure that I understood you correctly.”
Clint rummaged through his pack and extracted a long, hooded cloak. He pulled it on, and the colonel’s eyebrow rose questioningly.
“This is an important mission, Colonel,” stated the general. “We are going to raid the elven reeducation camp in Despair.”
“We are going to kill children?” frowned the colonel.
“No,” the general smiled thinly. “We are going to release the children from their bondage. We will be escorting them to this campsite and then across the bridge to Elfwoods. After that, they will be on their own, but the beauty of the operation is that we will blame their escape on General Garibaldi. That is why you must not let anyone know that there are fake V Corps soldiers running about.”
“I see now,” smiled the colonel. “So we avoid the real V Corps if we can, and eliminate them if we can’t.”
“Exactly.” The general nodded. “I have to go into the city well before you, so I will leave it up to you to describe the mission to your men. Do you anticipate any objections?”
“Not a one,” promised the colonel. “Each and every man in this army is devoted to you. If you have a particular place in mind for assembly, I will send the men into the city in small groups.”
“There is a shoemaker shop near the reeducation center,” replied Clint. “It has been closed for some time. I will make sure that the lock on the rear door is defeated. Have your men assemble there and wait for me.”
Clint mounted his unicorn, and Colonel Hardi saluted. Clint rode out of camp towards the city of Despair. As he neared the city, he pulled the hood up over his head. When he tried to ride through the gates, the gate guards waved for him to stop. He kept his face hidden while he reached into his pouch and brought out a piece of paper. Without looking at the guard standing next to his horse, Clint handed the paper showing him to be a special agent for Sidney Mercado. He could feel the guard’s eyes gazing at him, but he refused to acknowledge the man other than keeping his hand out for the return of his papers. Eventually the guard complied and handed the papers back. Clint rode through the gates and headed for the Emporium.
Once he reached the Emporium, Clint entered the room on the top floor reserved by Garth Shado. He hung a red scarf out the window and waited. An hour later a knock sounded on the door. Clint opened the door and let Scorpion enter. The head thief of Despair crossed the room and sat in one of the chairs. Clint closed the door and joined him.
“I am glad to see that you made it back safely,” greeted Scorpion.
“Thanks,” Clint responded. “How are we setup for the diversion?”
“We have two options for diversions. We can stage a fight in the western section of the city. That should draw most of the soldiers who are on duty away from the center of the city. We could also stage the diversion directly in front of the reeducation center once the children are free. Personally, I like the second option the best. Should any of the soldiers in the center decide to tell someone about the children, we could accidentally slay them when they try to get through our two bands of fighters.”
“So the idea is to stage a fake fight?” asked Clint.
“I think that is the safest path. We will have two gangs supposedly fighting one another. Regardless of where it is held, it will draw in soldiers from all over the city to break it up. That should leave the northern area of the city woefully understaffed.”
�
��How many fighters are you talking about?”
“Hundreds,” answered the thief. “Some of them will be arrested, and others will be hurt, but it will accomplish what you requested.”
“If the soldiers at the center do decide to check on the orders,” mused Clint, “they will only send a single soldier to do so. Schedule the diversion for the northern section of the city. Have an additional six men hang out near the center. If any soldier other than one from the V Corps tries to leave after the children are freed, kill him and hide the body.”
“Why not the V Corps?” asked Scorpion.
“Soldiers of the V Corps are going to be the ones freeing the children,” grinned Clint.
Scorpion frowned deeply. “I have men in the V Corps. I have heard nothing about this from them.”
“How many men do you have in the V Corps?”
“Four.”
“Have them desert the day of the rescue,” ordered Clint. “When this operation is discovered, the men of the V Corps will be hunted down by the emperor. You don’t want to leave your men in that army.”
“I would prefer to get them well out of the city then,” objected the thief. “Can I have them desert today?”
“If they can do so without causing alarm, and they know nothing about the reason for their desertion. Nothing must happen to alert the Federation to our plan. That is imperative.”
“I understand,” agreed Scorpion. “I am most curious about the parts of the plan that I have not yet heard. How are you going to get soldiers of the V Corps to free the children?”
“The men will not be members of the V Corps,” answered Clint. “They will only appear to be members. Surely you must have realized that when I requested the patches?”
“I knew that you had some plan of deceit, but not exactly what it entailed. This plan indicates to me that you have three-hundred men under your command. Morro led me to believe that you represented a small band of people from across the sea. Where are you getting such resources?”
“It is better if you do not know,” stated Clint.
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