Army of the Dead

by Richard S. Tuttle

  “But the garrisons in each of those cities are at least three thousand strong,” frowned Lady Mystic. “The elves will be slaughtered.”

  “That is not what is being reported,” Xavo shook his head. “It sounds as if Teramar and Eldamar have already fallen. The attack caught the Motangans sleeping in the barracks. The elves also managed to get into the temple undetected. In each case only the lone surviving mage sent the message.”

  “What about Sudamar?” asked Lady Mystic. “Is that also under attack?”

  “We don’t know,” replied Xavo. “There was no answer when the mages tried to reach Sudamar. The generals suspect that it might have also fallen. They are in a panic. They expect an attack here in Vandamar at any moment.”

  “Bah,” snorted Lady Mystic. “There are thirty thousand troops in this city. Three thousand elves will not attempt such a thing.”

  “The generals think a much larger force is heading this way,” replied Xavo. “They have sent out scout ships towards Elvangar with mages aboard.”

  “They know where Elvangar is?” frowned Lady Mystic. “Why was I not informed?”

  “They don’t actually know where it is,” replied Xavo, “but it is known to be to the east. That is why the southeastern city is named Eldamar. It was the port nearest the elves.”

  “What should we do?” worried Lady Mystic. “We shouldn’t let the elves stumble into a trap. They probably have no idea how many soldiers are here in Vandamar.”

  “I thought we should tell Emperor Marak what we know,” shrugged Xavo. “I am no battle-hardened general, but I am willing to do whatever I can to help the elves, although I doubt that I can make much of a difference.”

  “You underestimate yourself,” grinned Lady Mystic. “As Vand’s disciple, you are the most senior person left in Vandamar. You can override the generals’ plans and cause great havoc.”

  “I may technically be the most senior person here,” frowned Xavo, “but that is not what Vand meant to have happen. I was supposed to go with him to Fakara. I doubt that the generals will listen to me. Vand has probably already told them that I am not to be trusted once he realized that I missed the boat.”

  “I doubt that Vand even knows that you have missed the boat,” mused Lady Mystic. “He will not be holding court over there like he did here. He is in the land of his enemy. He will keep himself surrounded by only those he trusts dearly. Everyone else will have to go through Premer Tzargo to get a message to Vand.”

  “But the mages here would surely keep him informed of what is happening in Vandamar,” countered Xavo. “If he hears my name, he will be incensed.”

  “No doubt he would be,” nodded Vand’s daughter. “Well, we must make sure that no word gets to him then.”

  “Impossible,” retorted Xavo. “There must be a thousand mages still in Vandamar. Any one of them is capable of sending a message to Vand.”

  “Then we must eliminate a thousand mages,” shrugged Lady Mystic, “and we must do it quickly.”

  Xavo’s jaw dropped as he stared at Lady Mystic. For several long moments he stared as if he thought his lover had gone insane.

  “You can’t be serious,” he finally said. “Such a plan is suicidal, even if it was possible. I am willing to give my life to help my daughter and her people, but I will not give yours.”

  “I have no wish to remain behind when you leave this world,” Lady Mystic replied with a smile. “While I have not learned to appreciate your daughter’s people as you have, I know what evil my father is. I will do anything to stop him.”

  “But a thousand mages?” balked Xavo. “It is impossible. Even our combined talents will not be enough to overwhelm such a group. There are many talented mages left in the city. Some of them even approach our skills. It is just impossible.”

  “So it would seem,” shrugged Lady Mystic, “but it must be done. Not only that, but we must then deal with the generals. If we fail, the elves will surely perish. Are you willing to allow that to happen?”

  “No,” Xavo sighed heavily. “This madness must be stopped. I will contact the Torak and see what he can suggest.”

  “You trust Marak, don’t you?” asked Lady Mystic.

  “Very much so,” nodded Xavo. “He is a clever man, and one can tell that his heart is in the right place. He showed me what a fool I was after my wife died, and he has impressed me ever since.”

  “Then contact him immediately,” advised Lady Mystic. “We do not have time to waste.”

  Xavo nodded and wove an air tunnel to Khadoratung.

  * * *

  The large room at the rear of the temple was filled with black cloaks. Some of the Motangan mages looked perplexed; others were merely curious. A few hosted skeptical glares as Xavo entered the large room and called for quiet. Vand’s disciple let his eyes rove over the assembled crowd without a hint of the nervousness that he held inside himself.

  “I have had a coded communiqué from Vandegar,” Xavo announced. “The situation here on Motanga is extremely serious, but there is worse news. The enemy has found a way to intercept our messages when we use air tunnels. Even worse, the enemy has been forging messages and sending them to Vand. The messages appear to originate from here, but they always contain information meant to deceive our people. The Emperor has commanded that we temporarily halt the use of air tunnels to him so that he can discover who is trying to deceive him. He will only accept messages from one of two people, and those messages will be encoded.”

  “What two people?” scowled one of the senior mages.

  “Myself,” answered Xavo, “and Vand’s daughter, Lady Mystic.”

  “I thought Lady Mystic was rebuked?” retorted the senior mage.

  “You are correct,” nodded Xavo, “but Vand has changed his mind. Do you wish to argue with him?”

  The senior mage frowned, but he did not speak. Xavo continued with his speech.

  “It is believed that the elves utilized false air tunnel messages to take over the three southern cities,” declared Xavo. “Vand also believes that a huge army of elves is currently heading towards Vandamar.”

  “We will be ready for them,” shouted a mage in the back of the room. “With thirty thousand soldiers and a thousand mages, we could conquer Elvangar, wherever it is.”

  “A bold statement,” frowned Xavo, “but the elves are not interested in defeating our armies.”

  “What do you mean?” questioned the senior mage. “Why else would they attack Motanga?”

  “To kill you,” Xavo answered as he stared at the questioning mage. “The reports coming out of the southern cities indicate that the targets of the elves were the mages housed in the temples. I suspect that that will be true in Vandamar as well. They will avoid our thirty thousand men if they can, but they want to annihilate every mage in Motanga. Our knowledge of air tunnels is the gravest threat to their existence. They will sacrifice whatever they must to see us all dead.”

  “Let them try,” sneered one of the mages. “They will be sorry to have misjudged us.”

  “Indeed they will be sorry,” Xavo grinned as his eyes passed over the mages. “Vand has developed a plan to crush the elves completely. It requires your immediate action and without delay.”

  “What is this plan?” asked one of the black cloaks.

  “All of you are to board a ship within the hour,” explained Xavo. “Take nothing with you. The temple is to appear as if you are still in residence.”

  “You want the elves to attack the temple thinking that we are still inside it?” asked one of the mages.

  “Exactly,” nodded Xavo. “Once the elves commit themselves to the attack, you will be brought to land to attack them from behind. You,” Xavo said authoritatively as he pointed at the senior mage who had been asking all of the questions, “are to organize the elements of the attack. I would suggest five groups of two hundred mages each, but the choice will be yours.”

  The chosen mage swelled with pride and immediately lost his skept
ical glower. “Do we expect the elves to attack by sea or by land?” he asked.

  “While we cannot be sure,” Xavo smiled inwardly, “I suspect that it will be a combination of the two. I think their land forces will be meant to distract and engage our military forces while the bulk of the attackers arrive by the sea. Your ship will be around the western edge of the jungle. They should not be able to see it when they approach.”

  “And how will we know when the time has come for us to attack?” asked the mage. “You have already ruled out the use of air tunnels.”

  “Either Lady Mystic or I will go to the beach and signal the captain of your ship,” explained Xavo. “The two of us will be remaining on land to spy on the elven movements.”

  The senior mage smiled and nodded. Xavo spent a few more minutes answering questions that were easily handled then he ordered the assembled mages to head immediately for the docks where a huge troop transport was waiting for them. It took an hour for the ship to load and sail out of the harbor.

  “How did it go?” asked Lady Mystic when Xavo returned to their secret cove.

  “Much easier than I expected,” smiled Xavo. “Now we have to deal with the generals. I hope Marak’s plan works as well as he thinks it will.”

  Chapter 19

  The Tasks of Mages

  Xavo and Lady Mystic watched as the mage ship sailed out of the harbor and rounded the western point of land. Within minutes its lanterns were lost to sight as the ship sailed behind the jungle just west of the city.

  “How long will it take?” Xavo asked softly.

  “Providing they all have a drink of the water,” shrugged Lady Mystic, “they will be asleep within the hour.”

  “It’s risky,” frowned Xavo. “Not all of them will drink at the same time. Some are sure to notice the others falling asleep. They will be alerted and search for the cause. Those mages are not stupid.”

  “I never suggested that they were stupid,” smiled Lady Mystic, “but they are used to being pampered. I made sure that the captain took on fresh food for the voyage. I even suggested that he host a feast for the mages as they would soon be called into battle.”

  “How nice of you,” Xavo replied dryly. “So now they will be well fed when they come storming back ashore.”

  “Hardly,” chuckled Lady Mystic. “The food supplied to the captain was indeed food deserving of a royal banquet, even if it had been prepared with a bit too much salt.”

  Xavo stared at Lady Mystic with a puzzled expression, but his features softened as the impact of her statement registered. Within seconds his face bore a wide grin and he laughed.

  “I imagine that they will all drink at the same time,” he chuckled. “You are a devious one.”

  “As if you hadn’t already known that,” smiled Lady Mystic. “Let’s go deal with the generals.”

  Xavo smiled and took the hand of Lady Mystic. Together they walked away from the docks and towards the temple. When they got within eyesight of the temple, Xavo let go of Lady Mystic’s hand and fell back a few paces to let her approach the front temple guards on her own. As Lady Mystic purposely mounted the long stairs leading to the front door of the temple, the guards stiffened and moved to block her entrance to the temple.

  “You are not allowed inside the temple,” declared one of the guards.

  Lady Mystic glared at the guards and her mouth slowly opened to speak. Xavo quickly halted alongside her and addressed the guards.

  “Perhaps you have not been informed yet,” Xavo said loudly, “but Vand’s daughter is back in the good graces of the Emperor. For the continued good health of the temple’s security force, you had best make sure that word of this spreads quickly. I am afraid that even Vand’s disciple would be at a loss to discipline Vand’s daughter if she were to become enraged by your careless questioning of her rights.”

  The guard’s face registered shock as he realized that his life was in danger. He quickly bowed low to Lady Mystic and offered his sincerest apologies. He remained bowed while his partner moved quickly to open the doors to the temple and hold them while the two dignitaries passed through. Xavo smiled as he realized that word of Lady Mystic’s return to prominence would spread through the temple faster than a raging fire.

  The traitorous duo made their way to the temple’s library and sent a soldier to summon the first of the three generals. While they were waiting for the general, Xavo got a map of the island and spread it out on a large table. The map was an exquisite work of art that overflowed the table. Xavo stared at the detailed markings of terrain and elevation. He was so engrossed in studying the map that he almost missed the knock on the door. Fortunately, Lady Mystic went to the door and opened it. The general entered with a look of apprehension evident upon his face.

  “Join me at the map, General,” Xavo said as he waved the general towards the table. “The Emperor has been updated regarding the elven invasion. He has sent very specific instructions in regards to the movements of the armies left here for the protection of Vandamar.”

  “Movements?” questioned the general. “Our plan is to fortify the city and defend it.”

  “That is your plan,” snapped Xavo, “but not the Emperor’s. Your army is to move out of the city within the hour.”

  “Where to?” asked the general, clearly unhappy with the turn of events.

  “Your army is to head south towards the center of the island,” answered Xavo as he tapped his finger on the map. “You will divide your army into five groups of two thousand men each. I have placed coins on each of the five places where your men will make camp.”

  The general’s eyes grew large as he studied the map. His head shook noticeably from side to side as he looked at each coin and its location on the map.

  “There must be some mistake,” balked the general. “Those positions are untenable.”

  “You wish to dispute my father’s wisdom?” scowled Lady Mystic.

  “Certainly not,” the general swallowed hard, “but it is my duty to make sure that the Emperor is acting with the best information possible. Each of the chosen positions yields the high ground to a potential enemy and by dividing my forces I would further endanger them. If the elves are marching northward from the southern cities, they may strike any one of these positions and cost us two thousand good men. Further, my armies will be well outside the limits of being able to respond to an attack on Vandamar. Surely, there has been a mistake in the translation of the orders. I am sure that the other generals would agree with my assessment. I beg of you to ask for their advice.”

  “You are assuming that the elven armies will march north,” Xavo responded, “but they will not. As for the safety of your men, that is the reason that your armies are being sent out of the city.”

  “I do not understand,” admitted the general.

  “That much is obvious,” replied Xavo. “Your armies are being hidden, General. That is precisely why they are being split into smaller groups and being sent to low-lying valleys. When the elves arrive by ship, your armies will receive orders to move northward and flank the elves.”

  “Vand’s spies discovered documents that have been delivered to the elves by one of the officers in Vandamar,” interjected Lady Mystic. “Those documents lay out all of the standard defenses that would be erected during an invasion. It is imperative that your armies be absent from the city when the elves attack.”

  “Your men will be the saviors of Vandamar,” nodded Xavo. “The elves will be smug about their knowledge of our defenses, but your men will surprise them.”

  “A spy in our ranks?” frowned the general. “That is unbelievable.”

  “To a loyal patriot like yourself,” nodded Lady Mystic, “but the evidence is irrefutable.”

  “Which is exactly why your armies have been chosen to hide outside the city,” interjected Xavo. “Vand has complete trust in you. You will not mention your destination to anyone until you are well away from the city, not even the other generals. I must stress th
is need for secrecy. Do you understand?”

  “Completely,” nodded the general. “The chosen locations make perfect sense for armies that are trying not to be noticed. They are well off the normal routes and their low elevation will keep them hidden from anyone passing by. One problem still bothers me, though. We have no mages detailed to us. How will our orders be communicated in time for us to flank the elves? We will not even be able to communicate between the five groups.”

  “That is precisely why your men must be stationed precisely where I have indicated,” answered Xavo. “Lady Mystic and I are familiar with those places and we will personally send the orders to each group. Obviously, if your men are not there, the orders will never be heard. You must ensure that you follow these directions precisely. You are the only hope we have of surviving this elven invasion.”

  “You can count on my men,” the general assured Vand’s disciple. “We will be out of the city within the hour.”

  The general saluted and left the library. Xavo sighed with relief after the general left.

  “I must go out to the balcony and contact Marak,” said Xavo. “He will get those locations sent to the elves. You send for the next general.”

  “Shouldn’t we wait a while to let the first army get out of the city?” questioned Lady Mystic. “We don’t want both armies tripping over each other as we send them to indefensible positions.”

  “Good point,” nodded Xavo. “I hope the elves don’t run out of arrows before they reach the city. What are we to do with the third ten thousand men? They will never believe the need to abandon the city.”

  “I don’t know,” admitted Lady Mystic. “I cannot think of anything that would make the last army leave the city. Perhaps the best that we can do is to make them believe that the attack is not coming after all.”

  Xavo brightened as he smiled at Lady Mystic with appreciation. “That might work,” he smiled. “We can tell the last general that the other two armies have engaged the elves in the south and defeated them.”