Council of War

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "Excellent," replied the Knight of Alcea. "Listen up everyone. Tonight we turn west. Before morning we will be out of the desert and on our way to Sebastian Pass, but we have an extra chore to perform before we start our trek."

  The Rangers, elves, and sailors stopped what they were doing and turned to listen to Karl.

  "We are going to build a large fire pit outside the hideout before we depart," explained Karl. "Anything that is burnable and no longer desired should be left in the pit. I also want the doors left on top of everything else. If any of you have other things that can be done without, I need articles that a fleeing army would discard."

  "What are you planning?" asked Clint.

  "I want to start a fire large enough to grab the attention of the Federation," answered the Knight of Alcea. "From the location of the fire, I want to leave a trail of discarded items for about a league straight north. The items should preferably not be light enough to be blown away by the desert winds. I want them to stay where we leave them, but they must be things that would seem reasonable to abandon."

  "A false trail," Max Caber nodded with approval, "but the fire will be spotted before we leave the desert. I do not think that is wise. Why risk calling attention to our location even if the trail is false?"

  "There are two reasons to draw the Federation up here," answered Karl. "We do not want the Federation to accidentally stumble upon Aranak. It is too important to our future plans to allow it to be discovered. The other reason is that Garth and his group are heading south, deeper into Federation territory. If the Federation fails to find any sign of us at all, they will widen their search, which endangers all of us. I propose to give them a scent that will keep them focused on this blasted desert, but in an area far away from Aranak. As to when the fire will be lit, I think our little friends can deliver a jar of fire glue after we leave the desert."

  "I shall do that!" volunteered Peanut. "I will be like the hawk swooping down on the unsuspecting prey."

  Mite rolled his eyes, and some of the men chuckled, but Karl looked at the little man with a smile and a nod.

  "A predator you shall be then," Karl declared. "Alright," he said to everyone, "two piles. One for the fire pit and one for the false trail. Look through what you are carrying and donate what you can. The fairies will create the false trail as we start heading westward."

  * * *

  The ships sailing in the harbor of Despair altered course rather than cause the sleek yacht to be forced to maneuver. The yacht's captain evidently expected such deference from the other captains, as he made no attempt to alter his own course. Such was to be expected, as the yacht bore the Royal Flag of Aerta from its pole, and any collision with such a vessel would be punishable by death.

  King Anator appeared not to notice such things. The affairs of the common people were beneath his notice. He was, after all, one of the four most powerful persons in the world. While the Federation had already grown to seven countries, it was the four countries bordering the Sea of Tears who truly held the power of the Federation. The Big Four considered Candanar a backwater hamlet, and Vinafor and Karamin were recently gobbled up merely to supply soldiers for the army. No, it was Aerta, Ertak, Spino, and the Empire of Barouk that really wielded the power in Zara. No one else really mattered.

  The captain shouted orders as the yacht approached the Imperial Palace dock. King Anator stood and surveyed the docks. He noted that the royal yachts of Ertak and Spino were already docked. That was to be expected, as the journey was shorter for each of those monarchs. It bothered King Anator somewhat as it allowed Queen Samir and King Harowin to talk with each other without including him, but on the other hand, it pleased him that they were forced to wait for his arrival before sitting down with Emperor Jaar. In a way it made him feel much more important than either of them.

  The crew of the yacht was proficient, and the ship was tied off quickly. The soldiers on the dock extended a polished walkway to the yacht and stood at attention until King Anator had stepped ashore. Federation soldiers immediately formed a cordon around the King of Aerta and escorted him the short distance to the Imperial Palace of Barouk. The palace was a massive, sprawling building with hundreds of balconies. The grounds were impeccably maintained, and terraced gardens spread in every direction. A pang of envy raced through King Anator, as he pictured his own Royal Palace in Giza. It was the most splendid building in all of Giza, but it could not compare with the Imperial Palace of Barouk. The soldiers led King Anator into the Imperial Palace and deposited him in a magnificent sitting room. Queen Samir and King Harowin were already seated, and they looked up at his arrival.

  "How fares the state of your kingdoms?" King Anator greeted the others.

  "Times have been better," replied King Harowin. "The people are starving, and we had food riots last week. Now we have a hundred fewer mouths to feed. When are you going to start sending us more food?"

  "I send what is available," shrugged King Anator as he took a seat near the other two. "You might try cultivating some of your own fields if food is scarce."

  "Must we go through this each time we meet?" Queen Samir said with a sigh. "You both knew that food shortages were coming. The whole idea was to make it necessary for men to join the army in order to feed their families. Why must you play these petty games?"

  "Samir is right," King Harowin said with a slight nod and a smile directed at the queen. "The starvation is only temporary. Once we have pillaged the riches of our foes, there will be plenty for everyone."

  "The attack won't be all that soon," retorted Queen Samir. "The loss of the attack fleet will put the invasion back for a long time. Someone should have guarded those ships more carefully."

  "That was not my task," balked King Anator. "We made most of the ships, but we turned them over to the Federation once they were completed. Do not try to lay their destruction at my feet. They were supposed to be anchored off of Valdo."

  "And clog up the harbor of Spino's major seaport?" retorted Queen Samir. "That is nonsense, and I said so at the time the plan was suggested. Regardless of where the fleet was located, someone failed miserably by not protecting it."

  Grand General Kyrga's lips twisted in an imitation of a smile as he watched the three powerful monarchs argue amongst themselves. He enjoyed watching them bicker, but he could only afford a small amount of time to enjoy it on this particular day. The monarchs were so engrossed in their conversation that they had not noticed him entering the room, so he cleared his throat to announce his presence. The three powerful rulers looked towards the door and saw the general standing there.

  "Emperor Jaar awaits your presence," announced the general.

  Grand General Kyrga pivoted and marched out of the room. King Anator and King Harowin looked at each other and chuckled.

  "If anyone was ever full of himself," quipped King Harowin, "that general takes the prize."

  "I do not understand why Emperor Jaar promoted him over the other generals," Queen Samir said softly. "He has never won a battle that I know of, and most of the other generals cannot stand him."

  "I suspect that Emperor Jaar is too insecure to have a real warrior lead so many men," stated King Anator. "Think about it. Kyrga couldn't plan a campaign if his life depended upon it, but some of the generals under him certainly could, and some of those generals might be tempted to seize the throne by force. This way, Jaar has neutered them all with his hand-chosen puppet."

  "He does do whatever the Emperor wants," nodded King Harowin as he rose to his feet. "I guess that is valuable at times. We had better not keep the Emperor waiting. You know how he detests that."

  "Yet he does not worry about keeping us waiting," retorted King Anator as he also rose. "That is hardly the way to treat your equals."

  "Perhaps you should set him straight, Anator," Queen Samir chuckled with a mischievous grin as she stood.

  "Perhaps I will," countered the Aertan king as the three monarchs exited the room and walked to the conference room tha
t was always set aside for their meetings.

  The monarchs entered the conference room and found Emperor Jaar already seated at the special table he had had built for the room. The table was trapezoidal, and the Emperor's chair was situated in the center of the longest side. The other three monarchs took their seats, which left each of them facing the Emperor. Grand General Kyrga stood at the side of the room. The Emperor was dressed in a black robe with silver edgings. Behind him stood two Imperial Guards dressed in white with gold trim. The guards were battle-hardened warriors, and their eyes took in every movement in the room without appearing to do so.

  After staring at each of the other three monarchs, Emperor Jaar began the meeting. "It has been over a month since the destruction of our attack fleet, where are the rebels?"

  "They are not in Ertak," King Harowin was quick to say. "We have searched the entire country."

  "Were they in Spino," smiled Queen Samir, "I would have already dealt with them."

  Emperor Jaar ignored the statements of the other two as he stared at King Anator.

  "I have over ten thousand men searching for them," King Anator said softly. "It is like looking for a leaf upon the waves of the sea. We have searched clear over to Suicide Point and up to Olansk. There are now soldiers combing the Sands of Eternity. There has been no sign of them."

  "No sign of them?" the Emperor said, his voice rising slightly. "Did you think to look inside the walls of Giza? I have a report that your shipyards were totally destroyed. Do you think the soldiers of the Federation Army did that?"

  "The city is sealed off," King Anator replied defensively. "If the rebels are inside the city, we will find them."

  "If?" scowled the Emperor. "Are you telling me that there is a chance that you already let them escape?"

  "We do not know for sure that it was the rebels that attacked us," replied the King of Aerta. "The shipyards were destroyed by lightning. No one mentioned that the rebels had a mage."

  "But you captured one of the enemy," taunted the Emperor. "Did he not tell you who was in the party?"

  "He told us very little," King Anator replied softly. "My men were most horrendous in their treatment of the sailor, but he refused to reveal anything of importance. We finally let him go with a plan to see if anyone contacted him, but the plan failed."

  "Failed?" questioned Emperor Jaar. "How did it fail?"

  "I am not sure," admitted King Anator. "My men had the building surrounded, but something went wrong."

  "Something went wrong," chastised the Emperor. "They destroyed your shipyards to get their comrades free of your net. That is what went wrong. You are a disappointment, Anator."

  The words came like a slap in the face. Not only was the Emperor talking down to him instead of as an equal, but he had also been addressed as a common citizen. King Anator's face turned red with anger, and he slowly rose to his feet and clenched his fists.

  "How dare you speak to me in such a fashion?" scowled King Anator.

  The Imperial Guards stiffened and their hands went to their hilts, but they did not move because the Emperor's hand was vertical as a signal to hold back.

  "How dare I speak to you in such a fashion?" Emperor Jaar echoed snidely. "Grand General Kyrga, how many soldiers of the Federation Army are in Aerta right now?"

  "Over fifty thousand," the general stated.

  "And how many would be needed to execute every living person in Giza?" asked the Emperor.

  "Not nearly that many," smirked the general.

  Queen Samir and King Harowin gasped, but King Anator merely stared at the Emperor in disbelief.

  "You wouldn't?" King Anator said in horror. "I thought we were equals?"

  "We are equals," smiled Emperor Jaar, "but you must understand that you are not holding up your end of the agreement. The sooner you begin to realize that, the sooner we can work together to accomplish our goals. Now sit down."

  King Anator trembled with a mixture of rage and fear. As the Emperor stared defiantly at him, the fear won out. King Anator dropped into his chair.

  "Report, Grand General Kyrga," ordered the Emperor.

  "We now know that there is at least one mage within the rebel group," the general declared. "We also know that a water witch has joined forces with the rebels. The attack on the fleet was accomplished through a combination of the two. The Remora was stripped of its masts and guided through the Needle by the water witch, whose name is Haditha. Yolinda, the mage, created a bank of fog to conceal the transit through the Needle. The group of warriors includes three elves and eight humans, two of which are female. The Remora itself started with a crew of eleven. Three died during the journey, and we found a body of another who must have been killed during the attack. Counting the sailor who just died in Giza, that leaves six sailors unaccounted for."

  "So we have eighteen rebels running around and we can't find them?" questioned the Emperor.

  "At a maximum," nodded the general. "It is possible that others have died, and we just have not discovered their bodies, but yes, eighteen are unaccounted for, including the water witch."

  "Do your sources think that they might still be in Giza?" asked Queen Samir.

  "It is doubtful," answered the general. "In addition to destroying the shipyards, the mage blasted a rather large hole in the city wall. There were numerous reports of riders fleeing the city through the cloud of smoke that was created by the explosion."

  "I will have my soldiers line the Aertan border in case they decide to come south," offered King Harowin.

  "The generals do not think that is likely," replied the general. "For months the foreigners have hidden the fact that they have a mage among them. We think that the trap set for them almost succeeded and that the only way to escape was to use their talents. It is expected that they will now flee as far from Giza as they can get."

  "I want the passes through the Barrier closed immediately," stated the Emperor.

  "I have already ordered it so," smiled the general. "Every single person seeking to traverse the passes will be checked thoroughly. We could use some more men to start a sweep through Candanar. I think once they are halted from going through the pass, they will seek to hide within the Kyber Woods."

  The Emperor looked at the monarchs expectantly.

  "I will send twenty thousand men immediately upon my return to Valdo," offered Queen Samir.

  "I will match that when I return to Farmin," agreed King Harowin.

  "Will forty thousand be enough?" asked the Emperor.

  "Forty thousand is a lot of men," answered the general. "A lot will depend upon how the commanding generals utilize what we send them. They will have to be careful not to have our men tripping over one another."

  "How severe is the damage at the Giza shipyards?" asked Queen Samir. "If it will take a long time to repair, I could expand the facilities in Valdo to make up for the production loss."

  "The shipyards in Giza no longer exist," declared the general.

  "No longer exist?" gasped King Harowin. "Surely, you are exaggerating?"

  "I do not exaggerate," the general said seriously. "All four cradles were obliterated as well as the buildings. The ships that were on the cradles were vaporized. The hole in the city wall was large enough to drive several wagons alongside each other through the gap."

  "Incredible!" gasped King Harowin. "A mage with that kind of power is extremely dangerous to our plans. She must be destroyed."

  "They might have employed several mages," the Emperor said dismissively. "We only have heard about one of them being a mage because that is all the sailor was aware of."

  "The sailor?" questioned King Anator. "I do not understand. My men were the ones who questioned the sailor, and we got none of this information from him."

  The Emperor looked to Grand General Kyrga for clarification.

  "I am only aware of what is in the reports," shrugged the general. "I read about two interrogations. One yielded nothing, and the other yielded little information. Wha
t does it matter?"

  "It matters to me," frowned King Anator. "I want to know who got the information out of the sailor. Perhaps I should be using his services instead."

  "I will look into it," promised the general.

  "What are we to do about ship production?" Queen Samir asked. "If there are no longer shipyards in Giza, the rest of us must increase our production schedules, or it will be years before we can launch the attack."

  "And why are we scheduled to produce cargo ships?" asked King Harowin. "That is something I wanted to ask before I even learned about the destruction in Giza. Since the attack fleet has been destroyed, shouldn't we have switched production to warships?"

  "Cargo ships are in demand," the Emperor smiled thinly. "The rest of us will have to increase production until the shipyards in Giza can be rebuilt, but we will not be making warships. The cargo ships will suffice."

  "So we are postponing the attack then?" asked Queen Samir. "How long will the delay be?"

  "I have not announced any delay in the invasion date," replied the Emperor. "If that does become necessary, the delay will be one of weeks not months."

  "I do not understand," admitted Queen Samir. "We cannot transport our armies on cargo ships. Am I missing something?"

  "Only your faith in me," smiled Emperor Jaar. "I will arrange for the transportation of our troops. The most important thing right now is to locate the rebels among us. That is all that I have for you today. Have a pleasant journey home."

  Queen Samir and King Harowin exchanged puzzled glances, but King Anator quickly rose and fled the room. Emperor Jaar also rose, and the Imperial Guards escorted him through a door in the rear of the room. Grand General Kyrga impassively remained in the room, so the other two monarchs rose and calmly left. They walked together to the docks and saw King Anator impatiently waiting for his ship to dock and pick him up. They stopped alongside the Aertan king, but Anator ignored their presence.

  "You really showed him who is boss," needled King Harowin.

  King Anator swiveled, and his face filled with rage. "Do not try me, Harowin," he spat. "I noticed that neither of you spoke up when the Emperor threatened my life. You might want to congratulate yourselves on having dodged his threats this time, but there is nothing stopping him from doing the same to both of you."