Council of War

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "Now there are two sets of eyes," he reported softly.

  "So you have them, too?" asked Max.

  "No," Karl replied tensely, "I meant that there are two sets in my sector. Your set makes three."

  Both warriors slowly rose to their feet and drew their swords.

  "I have three sets now," reported Max.

  "As do I," stated Karl. "The others spoke as if there was only one set of eyes during their shifts. I do not like them multiplying."

  "Should I wake the others?" asked Max.

  "Not yet," answered Karl. "So far they appear content to just gaze at us, and the others will need their sleep, but be ready to move quickly if I change my mind."

  "How about putting an arrow right between a pair of those eyes?" asked Max. "Maybe that will scare the others off."

  "I don't think that whatever is out there is much afraid of us," replied Karl. "They are acting cautiously, but they don't seem afraid to be noticed."

  "Clint said that Prince Rigal thought they were trying to scare us. Do you think that is possible?"

  "The elven prince is a wise man," mused Karl. "I think he might be right, but I am not about to bet my life on it. We have already seen things in this forest that defy all explanations. I will take nothing for granted. How tall do you make these creatures to be?"

  "I have pondered that since we first saw the eyes," frowned the Ranger. "I can't tell because it is impossible to determine how far away they are. If they are close then they are short, but I would expect to be able to see some sort of shape if they were that close to us."

  "The eyes are too far apart for them to be very far away," commented Karl. "Of course, they could be the size of humans and be kneeling. I think it is time to find out. Wake up the elves."

  "Just the elves?" asked Max.

  "Yes. Clint and Shawn have just gone to sleep. I won't wake them unless we have to."

  Max moved slowly across the clearing and nudged Gerant with his foot. The elf opened his eyes immediately and sat up with a questioning gaze. Max pointed to the elven prince and nodded towards Karl. Gerant nodded and woke Prince Rigal. The two elves grabbed their bows and followed the Ranger. Prince Rigal scanned the dark forest and saw the multitude of bright eyes watching him.

  Karl sheathed his sword and nocked an arrow to his bow. "Each of us will aim for a different set of eyes," he instructed the others. "Max, you and I will immediately drop our bows and pull swords while the elves nock another arrow. Let's see what type of creature is stalking us."

  The four warriors each faced a different direction as the eyes now shone from every side of the encampment. Karl started a slow countdown, and the four warriors fired simultaneously. The sounds of the snapping bowstrings sounded quite loud in the still air, but they heard no cries of pain. In fact, every set of eyes instantly disappeared.

  "What in the name of the gods is going on?" Max remarked. "Could we all have missed our targets? Do these creatures not cry out in pain when they are hit?"

  "We hit nothing," declared Prince Rigal. "The arrows slammed into trees."

  "Perhaps they are spirits without form," Gerant suggested nervously. "Maybe the arrows passed right through them."

  Unexpectedly, the forest suddenly spun. The four warriors reached out to one another as they each lost their balance. The movement only lasted a second, but the warriors were shaken as they fought for firm footing. The men sleeping in the clearing began moaning in unison, but there were no other sounds in the woods.

  "Did you just feel what I felt?" asked Gerant.

  "We all felt it," stated Prince Rigal. "It is just like the dreams we had last night when the bells went off. I suspect that those sleeping just had a dream about it."

  "What have we gotten into?" asked Max. "The world does not just turn around when it wants to."

  "This forest does," Karl said softly. "I wonder if the creatures knew it was coming. Could our salvo of arrows have been just poorly timed?"

  "I saw the eyes when I let my arrow fly," Gerant shook his head. "Nothing could have moved out of the way in time to save itself."

  "The rules of our world do not apply here," declared Prince Rigal. "I will take nothing for granted until we are out of these woods."

  "Which will be never," scowled Gerant. "We are going to die in here, and we won't even know what has killed us."

  "Enough of that kind of talk," berated the elven prince. "If we die, we will die with dignity, not like whimpering dogs."

  "Why die at all?" retorted Gerant. "Let's turn around and go back the way we came."

  "There are thousands of Federation soldiers waiting back there for us," interjected Max.

  "I don't care," Gerant shouted. "I will gladly die fighting the Federation, but I refuse to end up like Alando did. I want to see my enemy when I die."

  "Enough!" snapped Karl as the sleeping men began to waken. "I will not have my men going to pieces on me. Get a hold of yourself."

  Gerant's face filled with rage and fear as he glared at the Knight of Alcea. Prince Rigal gently laid his hand on Gerant's shoulder and spoke softly.

  "There is nothing in this forest that will bring fright to elves. Whatever stands in our way will be killed in due time. Come and help me check on Lyron. I am worried about him."

  The touch from Prince Rigal seemed to calm Gerant more than his words. Slowly the rage faded from his face, but the fear remained. He nodded wordlessly and turned towards Lyron. Prince Rigal talked softly to Gerant as the two elves moved away and knelt next to Lyron.

  "Don't blame the elf," Max said softly to Karl. "He is no coward."

  "And I do not take him for one," Karl replied. "The fact is, all of the men are wanting to get out of this forest by the shortest route. Even I have the urge to turn around and head back to the Kyber Woods, but that way is certain death for all of us."

  "Does it really matter?" sighed Max. "With over a week to go in this infernal forest, we are pretty sure of dying in here, too."

  "Perhaps you are right," conceded Karl, "but there are worse things than death. Do not forget that there are two men among us that the Federation would love to get their hands on. I will not let that happen."

  "The sailors?" asked Max. "What is special about them?"

  "Cirris and Ecaro carry some knowledge that the Federation wants badly. I personally do not know what it is, but Garth warned me that they are not to be captured by the enemy."

  * * *

  Bitsy flew high over the Federation Highway north of Farmin. She counted the soldiers escorting the three wagons and then soared southward. Farmin sat on a bluff, and the Federation Highway sloped upwards for several leagues before the city came into view. Near the top of the slope, but out of sight of the city, the fairy dove towards the trees alongside the road. Well hidden from passersby, the fairy found Kalina and landed on her shoulder.

  "You have about an hour before they get here," Bitsy reported.

  "Is there anyone on the road before them?" asked Kalina.

  "Three groups of riders," answered the tiny blue woman. "One will be here in just a few moments. It is an army patrol. The other two groups are about half an hour away. One group is a single-wagon merchant with two riders, and the other is a group of four riders."

  "Thank you," replied Kalina. "I will wait for all of those groups to pass by before fulfilling my task."

  "I must report to Garth," stated the fairy, "but I will come back and check the road again before it is time for you to act."

  The fairy leaped into the air and disappeared. Kalina watched the army patrol pass by. Half an hour later the other two groups that Bitsy had mentioned also passed by. As soon as the merchant's wagon had passed, Bitsy landed once again.

  "There is no one on the road before the supply caravan," announced the fairy. "I also checked the road far behind them. There is no chance of anyone passing them before they get here."

  "You have done well," smiled Kalina. "Tell Garth that I will make sure that the caravan
takes the bait before I enter the city."

  "I shall deliver your words," saluted the fairy.

  Bitsy departed and Kalina picked up a sign and made her way to the Federation Highway. She planted the sign alongside the road and retreated into the trees. The sign said, "North gate closed for repairs." She waited patiently for the caravan to arrive, and she listened closely as they got close enough to read the sign. Two officers led the caravan, and they cursed loudly when they saw the sign.

  "We will have to go around to the west gate," said one of the officers.

  "And go through that warren of shacks?" balked the other officer.

  "I am not taking this caravan all the way around the city to the south gate," declared the first officer. "It will be nearly dark by the time we enter through the west gate, and I am looking for some time off. I am not going to spend that time going around the whole city."

  "You are cruel," retorted the second officer. "It will take hours for the men behind the wagons to clean the muck off their horses and uniforms."

  "That is their problem," chuckled the first officer. "My duty is to that cold mug of ale waiting for me. Ride back and tell the drivers what we are doing."

  Kalina watched the caravan roll by. In addition to the two officers leading it, there were three wagons with two soldiers upon each of them. Behind the wagons were a dozen riders. The soldiers on the wagons seemed to take the news in stride, but the soldiers at the rear cursed louder than the officers had. Kalina nodded in approval as the men validated Garth's assumption of their reactions. Kalina waited until the caravan had passed before moving out to the road and removing the sign. She moved back into the trees and transformed into an eagle.

  The eagle rose in a tight spiral and then soared over the caravan and into the city. It gazed down upon the slums of Farmin and thought that it looked a lot like the mazes that tutors drew for children. Dead ends and twisting alleys dotted the slums. Most of the buildings in that area of the city were one level shacks, but there were a handful of old stone buildings, and several of them were four stories high. The eagle aimed for the roof of one of the tall buildings and landed. In a blurring of the air, the eagle disappeared and Kalina appeared. Two uniformed officers immediately approached her.

  "They have taken the bait," reported Kalina. "They should be here within the hour."

  "Excellent," said Garth.

  "Your uniform is dashing," quipped Kalina, "but why is Natia wearing the other one? I thought it would be Tedi."

  "Tedi has another part to play," replied Natia. "He will use his staff to disable the wagons if something goes wrong. One touch from his staff will destroy the spokes on the wheels, and the wagons will not be able to leave the trap."

  "I don't think that will be necessary," commented Garth, "but it is a good backup plan. Your use of fog is also a backup plan," he said to Kalina. "If everything goes right, we will not need it."

  "How will I know if it is needed?" asked Kalina.

  Garth led his wife to the edge of the roof and pointed down at the intersection of a narrow street with a narrower alley.

  Kalina gazed down at a three-way intersection. The street bent in each direction so that someone in the intersection below could not see another intersection. The alley also bent sharply in the distance.

  "This is the crucial point of their journey," he explained. "By the time the caravan reaches here, we will have inserted a wagon between the officers and the first caravan wagon. The officers won't care for it much, if they notice, but there is little that they can do about it. The streets are too narrow for them to stop and let the wagon by. The caravan wagons will lose sight of the officers because they can't see past the other wagon, but when they get to this intersection, they will see Natia and me riding along the alley to the north. We want them to mistake us for the officers and follow us."

  "What about all the soldiers following the wagons?" asked Kalina.

  "We plan to insert another wagon after the three army wagons and before the remaining soldiers," answered Garth. "The problem is that the soldiers may see the army wagons heading down the alley. We need to prevent the soldiers from seeing them."

  "Why not just let me project an image of a shack where the mouth of the alley is? That way the alley would not even appear to exist?" asked Kalina.

  "That would be perfect," brightened Garth. "If you can do that without sending out magical vibrations."

  "The image need not be large," replied Kalina, "and I cannot imagine the Federation watching for illusions. Besides, it will only be in place for less than a minute. It will not cause any alarm."

  "Then you have the final piece of the solution," stated Garth.

  "What happens after you have separated the food wagons from the escorts?" asked Kalina. "There will still be soldiers on the wagons."

  "There will be," grinned Natia, "but not for long. That alley to the north bends around a corner and then narrows. Garth and I can keep riding, but the wagons will not fit in the narrower section of the alley."

  "They will be stuck in an alley with nowhere to go," grinned Garth. "Behind them will be hundreds of hungry people converging on the wagons. I expect that the six soldiers will understand their predicament rather quickly. They will abandon the wagons and run after Natia and me."

  "If they need help making up their minds," added Natia, "Tedi will use his staff to break the wheels of the last wagon. They will need a lot of men to drag the wagons out of there with broken wheels."

  "But the escorts will notice the wagons missing rather quickly," frowned Kalina. "Won't they double back and start searching for them?"

  "Of course they will," replied Garth, "and they will find them, but the food will already be gone."

  "That quickly?" Kalina asked doubtfully.

  "Juggler already has everything in place," replied Garth. "There are carts positioned in the buildings along that alley, and a path has been cleared through the buildings to the next street. All three wagons will be stripped within three minutes."

  "Impressive," Kalina said. "There will be no bloodshed to rile the emotions of the soldiers."

  "Hopefully," sighed Garth. "There is still much that can go wrong with this plan. Our success will hinge on how good a grip the Juggler has on the poor people of Farmin."

  * * *

  Morro watched as the army caravan rolled through the western gates of Farmin and entered the maze of the slums. The officers predictably started their journey by choosing the widest avenues through the warren of shacks, and the elven thief nonchalantly walked alongside the lead wagon. About a quarter of a league into the slums, the lead officers slowed. The broad avenue before them was filled with thousands of the poor citizens, and they didn't appear ready to disperse. Large campfires had been built in the center of the street, and the people were camped out around them. Morro continued walking as the caravan ground to a halt. When he came up alongside the lead officers, he halted to listen to their words.

  "They have no right to block the streets," scowled one of the officers. "We should just plow through them."

  "And ride over the fires?" retorted another officer. "I have no desire to spend the next few hours trying to bring order to this decrepit area Let's take another path and be done with it."

  "I agree," said the third officer. "The sooner we get rid of this shipment, the sooner I can have an ale and relax. Let's head to the right."

  The soldiers waved to the drivers of the first wagon and then turned to the right. The wagon drivers dutifully followed, and the caravan began a twisting convoluted trek towards the coast. Once off the main avenue, the streets began to narrow, and frequent turns were required because of the numerous dead ends. Morro had dropped back and continued to walk alongside the lead wagon. No one questioned his presence as the slums were teeming with people walking about. In fact, so many people were darting out in front of the lead wagon to cross the street that a gap had opened up between the first wagon and the officers. As the officers turned a cor
ner, a wagon pulled in front of the lead caravan wagon. The soldiers on the first wagon shouted indignantly, but the noise in the slums was such that no one could hear his words.

  Morro halted as the caravan wagons dutifully turned at the corner and followed the local wagon. He started walking again alongside the third army wagon. He smiled inwardly as he noticed that the crowds of locals were now choosing to cross the street behind the wagons instead of before them. The escorting soldiers at the rear of the column were more aggressive in lashing out at the locals that got in their way, but their brutality did little to influence the wanderings of the citizens. As hard as the soldiers tried to force their way through the crowds, a gap began to develop between the last wagon and the escorts.

  As the caravan passed through another intersection, another local wagon joined the parade between the last caravan wagon and the trailing escorts. Morro grinned as he was forced to stop walking alongside the wagons. As narrow as the street was, the locals had piled crates and garbage along the edges of the street. Morro was forced to wait as the caravan moved by. He saw the escorting soldiers crowd up behind the local wagon and try to get by it, but there was no room for them to pass it. The elven thief chuckled inwardly as he entered the street and began following the riders.

  * * *

  Tedi stood a few paces into the alley, his eyes focused on the street that passed by its mouth. Every few seconds he glanced upwards toward the roof of the tall building across the street from the mouth of the alley. He saw Kalina signal that the event was about to begin. He smiled tautly and spoke softly to Garth and Natia.

  "Kalina has sent the signal. Get ready to start moving."

  Garth and Natia were mounted and dressed as officers of the Federation. They waited patiently in a small courtyard just off the alley. Garth nodded a silent acknowledgment to Tedi and waited for the next instruction.

  "The officers have just passed by," Tedi announced. "Bring yourself into the alley so you will be seen."

  Garth and Natia rode out of the courtyard as the first local wagon started slowing to a halt. Garth briefly rode to the mouth of the alley and lingered until he was sure that the first caravan wagon had noticed him. When one of the soldiers on the wagon pointed towards him, Garth turned and started riding slowly away from the intersection. When he reached Natia, she joined him, and the two Knights of Alcea rode slowly down the alley. Tedi slipped into the small courtyard to let the wagons roll by without seeing him.