Army of the Dead

by Richard S. Tuttle

  “A wise move,” nodded General Luggar. “Let Shamal’s troops deal with the western hordes after they are done with Khadora.”

  “You think Shamal will have an easy time of it in Khadora?” asked Cardijja.

  “I would not say an easy time,” Luggar shook his head. “The Khadorans are the most organized lot the enemy have, but the Khadorans will stand and fight. They will not run and hide, as the Fakarans are wont to do. Just finding the Fakarans will take up the bulk of our time.”

  “That is a problem,” nodded Cardijja. “We are also tasked with finding Angragar, so the search for Fakarans will not be in vain. Our scouts also report that there are large forests to the east of the Meliban River. Fighting in such an environment will limit the capabilities of these Fakaran horsemen. They may charge swiftly on the plains, but they cannot do so in the woods.”

  “I look forward to that,” smiled General Luggar. “What about the port of Meliban and our supply lines?”

  “We will leave ten thousand men to secure this city,” answered Premer Cardijja. “They can spend their time fortifying it against the Fakaran hordes. Our supply caravans will be heavily guarded. That will be our weakest point and the most alluring target for the Fakarans. I would like to set up some traps for the enemy along our supply routes. It will be most demoralizing to them that they are not able to disrupt our supplies.”

  Chapter 21

  Unexpected Arrivals

  HawkShadow waved a large white flag in the air and shouted for attention. The flag was crudely made from the white uniform of a deceased Imperial Guard and attached to a long branch. StarWind stood alongside the assassin and held her hands well away from her sword. They were quickly noticed, and nearby Motangan soldiers flowed out of their tents and unsheathed their swords. Ranks of archers soon appeared, but no one came out to meet the Sakovans.

  “I didn’t think our flag of truce would be very welcome just yet,” HawkShadow said under his breathe. “They have not been sufficiently terrorized. I have learned to gauge such things rather well.”

  “I have no doubt about that,” replied the spymaster, “but we will follow Lyra’s orders. She wants a truce, and we will get one, no matter what it takes.”

  “Oh,” grinned HawkShadow, “we will have one before the day is out. Count on it. Look. A black cloak has managed to survive.”

  StarWind gazed into the Motangan encampment and saw a mage and a general conversing behind the line of archers. Her lips curled with hatred as she watched the two men.

  “His name is Zatho,” spat StarWind. “He is the one who captured me. His heart is dark, and I would love to liberate it from his body.”

  “I would assume that is true of all Motangan mages,” shrugged HawkShadow.

  “I have no way of knowing that,” replied StarWind, “but Zatho seems to delight in torture. I am sure that he was extremely disappointed to find me missing from the encampment.”

  “They are waving us forward,” HawkShadow said. “I am not sure that we can trust them.”

  “I will not trust Zatho,” declared StarWind as she raised her hand and waved for the Motangans to come outside the perimeter of the camp. “This meeting will be on neutral ground or not at all.”

  The stalemate lasted for over ten minutes, as each side tried to get the other to come forward. Finally, HawkShadow shook his head in frustration.

  “I am going forward half the distance to the perimeter,” he said. “You may remain here. If they attack me, flee.”

  “I am going with you,” StarWind declared. “I will not show cowardice to the enemy, but we go no further than half way.”

  “Agreed,” nodded HawkShadow as they started walking forward.

  They quickly covered half the distance to the perimeter and stopped. HawkShadow called loudly for representatives to come and talk. The Motangans continued to wave for the Sakovans to come closer, but HawkShadow shook his head exaggeratedly. Eventually the general and Zatho came forward and stopped a few paces away.

  “You are afraid to enter our camp?” Zatho sneered at StarWind. “I thought all Sakovans were brave.”

  “It took you long enough to come out and meet us, Zatho,” retorted StarWind. “You should not question the bravery of two Sakovans who have already been inside your encampment.”

  “Enough,” scowled the Motangan general. “What is the purpose of this meeting?”

  “The Star of Sakova wishes to meet under the flag of truce with Premer Doralin,” stated HawkShadow. “We have been sent to request such a meeting.”

  “Is the Star of Sakova intending to surrender?” asked the general.

  “Surrender?” laughed HawkShadow. “We are not the ones starving to death.”

  “Then you are wasting our time,” spat Zatho. “Crawl back to your camp and prepare to die. There will be no meeting and no truce.”

  “We do not know the reason for the meeting,” StarWind interjected quickly. “We have only been sent to request one.”

  Zatho grinned victoriously, and StarWind glared at the black cloak.

  “I do not know where you get your information,” stated the general, “but we have no problems with our supplies. If you can guarantee that the Star of Sakova wishes to surrender, I will recommend that Premer Doralin appoint someone to discuss terms with her. I can see no other reason for such a meeting.”

  HawkShadow opened his mouth to speak, but StarWind cut him off.

  “The meeting must be between the Star of Sakova and Premer Doralin,” the spymaster stated. “No other Motangan is acceptable. We will come back tomorrow morning to ask once again for the meeting. In the meantime I suggest that you reevaluate your food stocks.”

  HawkShadow and StarWind backed slowly away from the Motangans. Zatho’s hand rose menacingly, but the general reached out and restrained the mage.

  “You will never break a truce in such a manner without the premer’s instructions,” berated the general. “Join me in a trip to Doralin’s tent. He will want to hear both of our impressions of this meeting.”

  The meeting had been held close enough to the Motangan encampment that some of the soldiers had been able to listen in. Word spread quickly through the encampment, and hopes of a Sakovan surrender raised the spirits of the Motangans. The general and Zatho reported immediately to the premer’s tent. General Valatosa was present when they arrived. The general reported the conversation verbatim, adding in as many of the nonverbal details as he could.

  “Why was I not called?” asked Premer Doralin.

  “I feared that it might be a trap,” stated the general. “While our archers would have surely avenged our deaths, I would not want the premer to be in such an indefensible position.”

  “A fair answer,” Doralin nodded with satisfaction. “What do you make of their request?”

  “I am puzzled,” admitted the general. “Their tone was certainly confrontational, but the woman seemed to leave open the possibility of a Sakovan surrender. Frankly, I don’t trust them. The Sakovan tactics have been irregular. If they had met us in the open and fought, they would have been annihilated long ago. I suspect trickery.”

  “The Sakovans are not to be trusted,” interjected Zatho who had remained silent so far. “The female was StarWind. She is the one who escaped from here after being taken hostage. I was led to believe that the male with her was the one who rescued her. I think they intend to assassinate you in the hopes that the rest of us will flee.”

  “A possibility,” nodded General Valatosa. “The fact that the Star of Sakova chose the two people who have already been into this camp as messengers might be significant. StarWind knows what you look like, Doralin. There is danger lurking in this proposed meeting.”

  “True,” nodded Doralin, “but their evaluation of our food problem is very accurate. If we don’t get some food into this camp in the next day or two, we must break off the fight. Do you think that the Sakovans might know about the men we sent to Alamar?”

  “That is poss
ible,” shrugged Valatosa, “but not certain. The Sakovans are surely to the west of us, and might have missed our men going east, but they also seem to have no trouble finding our camp. It is just as likely that their spies reported the column leaving.”

  “Which is why they must strike now,” interjected Zatho. “They know that we will guard the food caravans with a great number of men. We will only be anxious to talk to them while we are hungry. Once the food shipment arrives, there will be no reason to discuss anything with the savages. It is all a trick. I say that we wait them out.”

  “Your advice has been noted, Zatho,” frowned the premer. “Valatosa?”

  “If it were not for their insistence that you be present,” Valatosa replied, “I would suggest accepting the meeting, but some fears are justified here. I personally would like to hear what they have to say. Such a personal meeting always gives one an insight into the enemy’s state of mind.”

  “Well said,” nodded Doralin. “I, too, am curious. Would the Star of Sakova actually expose herself to danger so close to our camp? Do we have any way to verify her identity?”

  “Clarvoy reported that she bears a strange mark on one of her fingers,” offered Zatho. “It is a blue star that she normally keeps covered by a ring.”

  “A tattoo?” asked the premer.

  “Not a tattoo,” Zatho shook his head. “It was described as a blue gem imbedded in her skin. There is a possibility that we can turn the tables on the Sakovans,” the mage added with a grin. “We could accept the meeting and assassinate the Star of Sakova. It would demoralize the enemy and make their destruction that much easier.”

  Doralin frowned at the mage and shook his head. “The two of you are dismissed,” he said with finality. “In the future, I will be notified personally before any more such meetings take place. Make sure that the entire camp is informed of my order.”

  The general saluted and led Zatho out of the tent. Doralin shook his head and spat towards the door flap.

  “I detest such people,” he said with disgust. “Where does Vand find them?”

  “The mage ranks are full of them,” replied General Valatosa. “While it may hamper our ability to communicate, I do not miss the mages we lost at the ridge. They were a despicable lot.”

  “Well,” sighed Doralin, “the Sakovans missed one of the worst. Zatho is like a rabid dog. He should be put down.”

  * * *

  It was late afternoon when the wagons appeared. Cheers and shouts of joy started at the eastern edge of the perimeter and soon rippled through the entire encampment. The sentries quickly moved aside as the wagon train galloped into the encampment. Motangan soldiers crawled out of their tents and rushed to form a human corridor for the food shipment. Even Premer Doralin came out of his tent to see what the commotion was about. General Valatosa was at his side. They watched the first wagon race past and smiled broadly. Doralin’s smile faded almost instantly when the second wagon came into view.

  “Something is wrong,” Doralin scowled. “There is no escort.”

  “And the soldiers driving the teams are too wooden,” added Valatosa.

  “Stop those wagons!” shouted the premer, but his words went unheard.

  The Motangan camp was roaring with cheers. The jubilation finally died when one of the wagons ran over a tent stake and crashed. The wagon flipped, spewing dead Motangan soldiers over the nearby tents. The encampment grew deadly quiet as word quickly spread. Soldiers leaped out and halted the wagons. Others sprang forward and ripped off the canvas coverings. Howls of protest and revenge spread through the encampment like wildfire. Premer Doralin clenched his fists in rage.

  “Get me a count of the bodies,” the premer snapped at General Valatosa. “I want them identified, although I suspect that I already know who they are. Report to me as soon as you are done.”

  The premer spun around and marched into his tent. General Valatosa sighed heavily and walked off to do his duty. He already knew whom the bodies belonged to. He recognized more than one of the soldiers who had just recently been sent to Alamar. He also knew that Doralin would now accept the invitation to parley with the Sakovans in the morning. He walked to the nearest wagon and inspected the way that the dead Motangan soldier had been tied to the seat of the wagon. He shook his head and spat on the ground in disgust.

  * * *

  Thousands of Khadoran archers lined the western side of the second trench, while thousands of Motangan archers opposed them on the eastern side. Arrows flew through the air in numbers uncountable. Bodies on both sides of the trench fell and were immediately replaced by others. Lord Saycher of the Morgar clan watched from a knoll a safe distance behind the front lines. He cursed at the losses his forces were taking and called for an air mage.

  “The archers are to move back twenty paces,” Lord Saycher barked at the air mage. “The Motangans are killing too many of our men.”

  The air mage nodded and sent the message out to other air mages all along the front lines. Lord Saycher watched as the archers began to move backward. The Motangan archers immediately moved to the brink of the trench, trying to extend the reach of their arrows. Behind the Motangan archers, enemy soldiers started carrying long planks forward. Suddenly, an officer wearing the orange and yellow of the Balomar clan galloped up the knoll. He leaped off his horse and raced over to Lord Saycher.

  “What are you doing?” shouted the officer. “Why did you order the archers moved back?”

  “Because they were dying too quickly, Marshal Berman,” Lord Saycher replied brusquely. “What would you have me do? Should I let the Motangans kill them all? It was your advice to move back earlier. Now you try to fault me for it.”

  “My advice was to withdraw to the third trench,” snapped Marshal Berman, “not to move the archers back and allow the Motangans to cross this trench. They will swarm all over our armies before we can retreat in an orderly fashion. Either defend the trench or retreat to the next. There is only death and defeat in half way measures.”

  “The third trench is the last,” retorted Lord Saycher. “We cannot afford to give up ground so quickly. The Emperor has asked us to buy time to assemble the armies of the Imperial Valley. That is exactly what I am doing.”

  “That is not what you will accomplish,” scowled Marshal Berman. “Where is your marshal? Ask him for his advice if you do not believe me.”

  “He is dead,” scowled Lord Saycher. “Besides, he would have agreed with my orders. I was the marshal of the Morgar clan before I became lord. I think that I can handle the job.”

  “I think not,” Marshal Berman retorted emphatically. “You are not waging war against another Khadoran clan, Lord Saycher. There are several hundred thousand Motangans on the other side of that trench. They can afford to fill that trench with the bodies of their dead and march over them if they have to. You must order a retreat to the third trench immediately. This battle is lost.”

  “You are distracting me, Marshal Berman,” snapped Lord Saycher. “Please remove yourself from my presence.”

  Marshal Berman whirled around and stormed off. He marched purposely towards the group of air mages at the rear of the knoll and picked one out.

  “I need to talk with the Emperor immediately,” Marshal Berman said softly.

  The air mage nodded dutifully and wove an air tunnel to Khadoratung. Within moments Emperor Marak spoke into the air tunnel.

  “I am sorry for this breach of protocol, Emperor Marak,” the Balomar marshal said, “but it must be done. This is Marshal Berman and the situation at the second trench is critical.”

  “I recognize your voice, Marshal,” replied the Emperor. “What is the problem?”

  “This army cannot be run under Lord Saycher,” the marshal said emphatically. “While he may be a strong ally of yours, his actions will cost the lives of many Khadorans.”

  “This is very disturbing to hear,” frowned the Emperor. “I have a great deal of faith in the Morgar lord and his marshal, as I do you. Why do
you feel that there is a problem?”

  “The Morgar marshal is dead,” replied Marshal Berman. “Were he alive, I believe he would agree with me. The second trench is about to be overrun, but we have not even started to move towards the third trench yet. Lord Saycher believes that he is buying your armies more time, but he does not realize the speed with which we will be overrun. Our infantry and mages will be unable to reach the third trench in time to get across safely. We are about to have a catastrophe of unspeakable dimensions.”

  “What is your solution, Marshal Berman?” asked the Emperor.

  “We must start the retreat immediately,” Berman said without hesitation. “The archers will have to be brought forward and probably sacrificed unless we can get reinforcements to slow down the Motangans. Saycher just ordered the archers to move twenty paces back from the rim of the trench. That is all the Motangans need to bring planks forward, which they are in the process of doing.”

  “Do you understand the implications of my overriding Lord Saycher’s orders?” asked the Emperor.

  “I do,” replied Marshal Berman. “I am willing to take full responsibility for this decision. I will forfeit my life, but you must order the retreat. If you do not, thousands will die needlessly.”

  There was a long silent pause at the Khadoratung end of the air tunnel. Marshal Berman knew that there would be a heavy political price to pay for countermanding Lord Saycher’s orders, but he also believed that it was necessary. He was prepared to murder the Morgar lord if it was the only way.

  “Get me Lord Saycher,” the Emperor commanded the air mage.

  The air mage walked towards Lord Saycher, carrying the air tunnel with her. Marshal Berman followed silently.

  “Lord Saycher,” said the air mage, “Emperor Marak wishes to speak to you.”

  Lord Saycher turned and looked at the air mage. He saw Marshal Berman, and his lips curled in rage.