by Guy Antibes
~
Rimmel ran up to Shiro, who sparred with Chika, both of them using staffs. “They’ve returned.” He wore a wide grin.
“I know. Did the duke capture the princess?”
“They did. Her second in command and half of the officers had already come over to our side.”
Shiro noticed the ‘our side’ from Rimmel. He could no longer trust the man. “What happened to the army?”
“They let more than half of them flee into the forest. We don’t have enough food to keep them all and quite a few were from Prola, anyway.”
“Country on the northwest coast?”
Rimmel smiled. “Good. You’re learning.”
Shiro couldn’t hide the snort. “Where will we be assigned?”
“We’ve won.” Rimmel said as if the war with Valetan had ended.
“A mixed army? There couldn’t be more than four or five thousand troops,” Shiro said.
“How can you know that?”
Shiro shook his head. “How many men will fit in that stockade? Less than three thousand, I’d imagine. You said they split the army. Likely because the Prolans showed up unexpectedly.”
Rimmel scratched his head. “I guess so.”
“Thank you for the information. I imagine Captain Beech has returned.”
“Everyone has returned. I’d best be getting back.”
Shiro bowed to Rimmel. “We appreciate your visiting.” He turned his back to the man and motioned for Chika to continue their practice. As soon as Rimmel had left the field he stopped and asked a woman to fetch Tishiaki.
They continued to spar until Tishiaki appeared.
“The Valetan princess has arrived and is likely in the dungeon. I will visit her tomorrow and then see if Mistad has been killed in the fighting. Be prepared.”
Chika followed Shiro back to his tent. “The wait is over,” she said. “We will be fighting the duke’s forces in days.”
Shiro nodded. “Anything and everything could go wrong. We have no friends, no allies.”
“You have a very good friend,” Chika said and put her arms around him.
“I can’t relent. We have to stay focused,” Shiro said.
Chika broke off and looked at him. “You’re afraid. I must say you hide it, well, better than a disguise.”
He clutched the stone underneath the neckline of his robe. “We haven’t…”
“Haven’t what? Touched the stone together? I just want us to touch together. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? I only know I don’t want to wait to make love to a corpse. It just wouldn’t feel the same.”
She moved closer to Shiro, who shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t fool you, can I?”
“You still can and that makes our lives together just that much better.” She pressed her lips to his and they spend the rest of the afternoon alone, both worried that this might be their last chance to show each other how they truly felt.
~~~
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
~
“PRINCESS?”
The woman seemed to hesitate a bit, but then said, “I’m here.”
“My name is Shiro. I lead the Ropponi wizards. Why did they capture you?” Shiro could have kicked himself for asking such a stupid question. There were traitors and she didn’t have a choice.
She paused again. Shiro didn’t blame her wondering about a strange person whispering to her on the other side of her dungeon door. “I had a rare gem called a Moonstone in my sword. They captured me for that. The Dakkoran Emperor wants it as well as the Bloodstone of the Red Kingdom.”
“I thought as much. We were surprised why the Happly duke wanted our help in the first place. I’m afraid I don’t have enough people to assist in your escape. Had you arrived with your army, perhaps we could have changed sides.” Shiro knew that he would have undoubtedly changed his allegiance. He worried about his band even more, now that the Moonstone had been retrieved.
“There are others heading to Happly.” The princess paused again. Was she wondering if she could trust him? Shiro didn’t want to share the Sunstone with her. “Go south and then west. There is a wizard-warrior who is heading our way. His name is Lotto Mistad. Tell him they have the Moonstone and have no use for me.” The Happly Duke didn’t have any use for his people, either. They were allies if they wished it or not.
“I have heard of him. This man has Affinity?”
“Yes. A lot.”
“We can find him then. I make no promises, but I will attempt to locate him and bring Lotto Mistad to you.”
~
“What did you find out?” Tishiaki said. The three of them shared warmed wine, ready for Shiro’s return.
“We will help the Valetans. The woman has insufficient guile. Somehow she knows Mistad is still alive and coming. I will use the stone to find him and speak with him tonight. I still don’t know what we will do.”
Chika paced. “We can free the prisoners. If they run rampant in the streets we can attack the keep.”
“Without armor and weapons? A diversion, but they’ll be cut down if they confront the Happly army.”
Tishiaki gave a cup to Shiro. “The bulk of the army is made up of impressed peasants. They barely know how to hold their weapons. I took the time to observe them at the edge of their camp. The real army doesn’t approach the number of Valetans in the stockades, but all of the captured men are in bare feet. If we could get them weapons…”
“No. We don’t even know where there are that many weapons except for inside the keep and with men back from a victory, however dubious, will make any move we make suspect. I feel we are missing an element, an edge.” Shiro looked at Chika. He wished to squeeze her hand, but not in front of Tishiaki. He needed the assistance of both of them. “I will intercept Mistad and perhaps he might provide the spark of creativity that we need to move in a better direction.”
Shiro sent them out. He didn’t want any distractions. Chika returned for a good luck kiss, but she seemed to understand his need for solitude.
The book that Rimmel had given him on the Red Kingdom had a section on the Moonstone. The Moonstone gave strength, but where the Sunstone allowed access into many minds, the Moonstone only permitted a pairing. He thought back to the princess’s knowledge of where Mistad was and wondered if they hadn’t bonded in some way. At least she could sense where he was, somewhere to the southwest.
Shiro didn’t want to activate the Sunstone in the camp and waited impatiently for the sun to set. In the murky end of the day, he dressed in his best Ropponi robes and then put on the dark red robe of the Red Rose. He took a deep breath, hoping that inspiration would come, and teleported to the southern road, on the edge of Happly Keep.
The blackness felt comforting as it embraced him. Shiro felt the peace of anonymity. The forest knew him not and the silence calmed his nerves. He pulled out the pouch and lifted out the Sunstone. He felt his power recharge as he concentrated on detecting those who shared Affinity with him.
It seemed that he could detect a cluster of energy that felt like dim yellow lights to the north, his Red Roses. His attention turned to the west and found sporadic lights, weaker than to the north except for a few good lights and one that he would regard as bright. Mistad? He hoped so. That meant the man had prodigious power. That had to be him. Shiro couldn’t teleport so far in the dense forest, wishing he could fly like a bird. But then it dawned on him. He knew how to levitate.
He rose in the air until he hovered above the treetops. He could now teleport a few miles at a time to places that he could dimly see in the waning light. Onward he jumped from place to place, towards the direction of the bright light.
The dim twinkle of firelight caught his attention. He descended a few hundred paces into a small clearing from the camp to check the stone. Mistad’s light glowed strongly in his mind. He wandered around until he found a smaller, more protected glade and gathered enough wood for a fire to keep him warm while he waited until the men would more than likely
be asleep.
Shiro caught himself nodding off and smiled. If I am tired, then they are too, he thought. He pulled out the stone and concentrated on the light.
“Come to me. Come to me, Mistad.” He repeated the call, not knowing quite how the stone would summon Lotto Mistad, but he finally felt the light move in his direction. At least he wouldn’t have to disturb the man’s camp.
He heard rustlings in the quiet forest.
“Lotto Mistad?” Shiro called out in the darkness, his hand gripping his sword. “Come further, you are among friends.”
The rustlings came closer and a tall man entered. The man was very young. “I’m Mistad,” his visitor said.
“Ah, there you are.” Shiro rose from the fire and bowed. “Sit with me, there is much to discuss.” He gestured for Lotto to sit on the ground.
“My name is Shiro. I am a sorcerer from the land of Roppon. I must admit, I’m a bit of a renegade there, but for good reasons, I hope. I have something to show you.” He pulled the Sunstone from its pouch and held it out. “Touch it. This is the Sunstone of Roppon and one of the four Warstones.”
Lotto paused for a moment and did as Shiro asked. Shiro had been thinking in Ropponi and Mistad might not understand his thoughts so he concentrated on thinking in Bessethian. The man’s confusion settled down and Shiro looked into a most interesting mind, filled with much more power than Chika’s—maybe even more than his own.
“I am a powerful sorcerer,” Shiro projected at Mistad, “and what you are touching is the Sunstone. I was thinking in Ropponi and that confused you. Now I will concentrate on Bessethian.”
“I don’t think you need to,” Lotto said. “I think I can reach past language.”
Mistad was right. From that point, they did not think in any language but searched each other’s minds for truth. Shiro found the boy’s memories from when he touched the stone. He did indeed have a link of sorts with the princess, but it paled to that of the Sunstone. The link broke and Lotto fell right back into the dirt. Shiro reeled a little from the experience and patiently waited for Lotto to recover from the experience.
“You believe that I am on your side?”
Lotto nodded. “You’ll help me save the princess?”
Shiro smiled. “Of course. All I have to offer are my three hundred warrior-sorcerers. We all are more powerful than anyone the Duke has except for Peleor, the Dakkoran, who visits the keep from time to time.” Shiro sorted through Lotto’s thoughts and realized that an army followed behind. “You have an army following you and I am surprised. I was told, dismissively, that you were a middling wizard, but your power rivals mine, although unschooled. You don’t have a good understanding of the nexus.”
“You know about them?”
“I do. We Ropponi have known about them for hundreds of years, but our culture is insular, bureaucratic and vicious. We regard all others as barbarians—no better than cattle. Roppon has no interest in conquest and perhaps it’s better to leave them to their delusions.”
“So why did you leave?”
“To escape a place that holds no future for me. My followers are exiles, like myself. We thought that Besseth might offer a place for us to settle. We needed funds, so we became mercenaries. However, there is an enemy that we both share. Emperor Daryaku desires all four of the stones. He wishes to use them as war stones to conquer all of Goriath.”
“So we know where three of the stones are,” Lotto said.
“The Bloodstone is lost,” Shiro said. “That only makes two on Besseth.
Lotto shook his head. “Hidden, but not lost. I imagine that the Emperor carries the Purestone?”
“Purestone, no longer. It became the Darkstone at the time of the cursing of Ayrtan. I learned that from my gloating enemy. I don’t see why all four stones would make the difference between ruling the world or not. The powers of each stone are limited. I’m sure they were created that way since communication between continents comprised their principal purpose ”
“We can speak of this later. You will help me?”
Shori nodded with his hands placed on his knees. He bowed deeply to Lotto. “We are allies from this point on.”
“My goal was to disable the Ropponi wizards.”
“We will help you take back the keep, especially with the additional troops. I worried about finding ways to arm your captured men. Many of the Happlyan soldiers are peasants and will run if attacked.”
“Then I intend on entering Happly Keep from the east with just a few men. We can make our way to a building that adjoins the back of the castle. I have a spell that will turn mortar into sand so we can silently get into the keep and essentially go through stone walls.”
“Good. I don’t know of such a soundless spell. I would probably go crash! Boom!” Shiro clapped his hands together and laughed. “You can rescue the princess. The duke holds her in the dungeons. There is only a small block of them at the bottom of the keep.”
“When our army attacks, disrupt the Happlyan soldiers. Can you heat up their weapons?”
Shiro chuckled. “We have our ways. Don’t worry. Just don’t have your men shoot arrows at us. We will be wearing red robes.” Shiro shook the edge of his robe.
“I must save the princess.”
“Do not delay. The duke is a cruel man. Do you know the city?”
“We do and we have maps. All you need do is go to work once my soldiers enter the city from the South.”
Shiro smiled. He now had the direction he so desperately sought. “We will do so and then our people will help you take the keep.”
“I truly know I can trust you,” Lotto said.
“And I, you. Good luck. We will have to talk more when all of this is over.”
“Indeed. In a few days time, then.”
Shiro rose. “Until then.” He teleported back to his tent.
Chika propped up on one elbow, covered in a blanket on his sleeping mat, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “I thought you would need additional diversion tonight.”
He grinned. “Gladly. I met Mistad. Lotto. He passed the Sunstone test. He’s a creature of the Moonstone and very powerful.”
“I thought you surmised that.”
“Oh, I did.” Shiro couldn’t keep the grin off of his face. “He brings a large army with him. They will run wild through the city streets in two days time. We are to provide a different kind of diversion than the one you plan tonight.”
“I would hope so. Can Shiro talk of such things tomorrow?”
“Shiro’s mind is clear tonight, my love.” Shiro took off his red robe and let it drop to the floor.
~~~
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
~
ONE OF TISHIAKI’S STRONGER SORCERERS APPEARED with a soldier in a red uniform in front of Shiro’s tent.
“I’m Shiro,” he said as he exited his tent. The day had a few hours before it arrived.
“I am Lieutenant Astana in the Prolan Army under the command of General Lessa.” The man swayed and Shiro caught him and helped the exhausted man into the tent. Shiro remembered his first teleportation. Once the soldier recovered they began to plan.
“We will attack one hour before the sun sets.” Astana took another sip of wine and pulled out a sheaf of wrinkled parchment. “This is what we will do. You can augment our actions as you see fit.”
“Do you have battle wizards?”
The lieutenant shook his head.
“Then the Red Roses, our contingent’s name, will accompany you back to your lines under the direction of Tishiaki, one of my two commanders. The others will free your compatriots. We’ve only been able to fashion crude weapons for them, but our powers will make up for some of that deficiency. Chika, my other commander, will lead them. I’ll take a small force and assist with the taking of the keep. Tell your General Lessa that, please. Also, I have some good news. Two or three thousand experienced fighters have headed south towards the Red Kingdom. Fewer skilled fighters will make our mission easier to
accomplish.”
“You’ve given yourself a large roll in this invasion. Is your little group up to it?”
“Don’t worry about us. I feared that I might have to confront ten thousand soldiers with my little three hundred,” Shiro said, giving the lieutenant a grin and patting him on the shoulder. “We will succeed with your troops and my Red Roses.”
~
Shiro took ten warrior-sorcerers with him. The Sunstone told Shiro that the greatest concentration of Happly’s wizards sat behind the Keep walls in one of the barracks close to Rimmel. If Shiro had the opportunity to confront Captain Beech, so much the better. He hadn’t seen Peleor in some time, so the man would likely be stirring up trouble in Valetan or the Red Kingdom.
They all teleported to an alley, close to the Keep’s main gate. Shiro decided to wait for two hours or until there were stirrings inside the Keep’s walls.
“You fight for the Red Roses,” Shiro said to the men and women as the wait began to make them fidget. “We fight for new lives and respect. We will have new friends and real allies after Happly is taken… and it will be taken today. Remember to use your power. The soldiers know you are all sorcerers, so you do not need to hold back. Remember, once your power fades, you have only your skill at arms to keep you alive.”
The sound of commotion on the city streets began to close in on the keep. The gates opened quickly, but Shiro kept his soldiers back. “They go to sally with Lotto’s forces. We will let them pass and then rush in.”
The stream of armed men, both mounted and on foot ended and before Shiro could get his forces into position, the gates began to close. Shiro looked up for climbing holds. He didn’t think they’d be scaling the walls until he heard fighting over the gate.
“Those of you who can levitate to the walls, follow me. The rest stay here until we get the gate open.” Shiro lifted himself up into the air. Six followed him up the walls, but only three could make it all the way up. He landed on the ramparts to find three men fighting off a group of guards.
Shiro nodded to his fellow fighters and they closed in on the backs of the guards. One of the three men went down and Shiro levitated quickly beside the remaining men.
