Council of War

by Richard S. Tuttle

  And a potential replacement for a king, Clint realized as he recalled mention of General Garibaldi's appointment in Vinafor.

  "What about soldiers?" pressed Clint. "I am a general meant to command an army, not a squad leader. You are only assigning twenty men to me."

  General Marashef's eyebrows rose at the audacious lust for power the Tyronian displayed, but he was also pleased with the reaction.

  "I will speak with Grand General Kyrga on your behalf," promised General Marashef. "We have not agreed to allow any of the western representatives to hold command of an army, but I think we might make an exception for you. I feel your strong need to ride into battle and die for the Federation."

  "I will ride into battle," Clint said with confidence, "but I will not die. I will emerge victorious."

  General Marashef rose from the chair. "Welcome to the Federation army, General Forshire. See that you have proper uniforms tailored today. You leave in the morning for Despair."

  General Marashef turned and marched out of the room. Clint closed the door and sat down. He sighed anxiously as he realized that his covert mission was about to change in ways that were no longer under his control. On the positive side, if something happened to Mectin, Clint would become the king of Tyronia. On the negative side, the king of Tyronia held no power. Clint was sure that General Marashef would be the real ruling power in Ur, so becoming king held no allure for the Alcean. He thought briefly of getting on his unicorn and fleeing, but the temptation to view the heart of the Federation was too strong. He rose and headed for a tailor.

  * * *

  The unicorns skimmed over the dark waves of the Sea of Tears and landed on the Isle of Despair with only the light from the stars to guide them. Squirt immediately darted out of the mine entrance to see what the commotion was.

  "Welcome to the Isle of Despair," chirped the little blue woman as she recognized the Alceans. "Everyone is sleeping."

  "Then we shall sleep, too," announced Garth. "Is there room inside for the unicorns?"

  "Oh, yes," replied Squirt. "The mine is quite spacious in places."

  "Only a fairy would think of a mine as spacious," chuckled Kalina. "Lead the way, Squirt."

  The Alceans dismounted and followed Squirt into the mine. The entrance room pleasantly surprised Kalina, and the unicorns were left there. Squirt showed the Alceans to a series of smaller rooms, and everyone but Natia bedded down for some sleep. She took time to see to the unicorns' comforts before retiring. Only a few hours later, the Alceans were awakened by the sound of voices. Everyone recognized the voices, so there was no sense of alarm, but they all rose anyway. They walked to the entrance room and found Captain Gomery and Haditha marveling at the unicorns. Kalina noticed that the water witch and the captain were holding hands.

  "Such beautiful creatures," grinned Haditha. "I can hear them when they talk to me."

  "They are very intelligent," smiled Kalina. "How are you and Captain Gomery holding up here in isolation?"

  "I have always preferred isolation," smiled the water witch. "We are doing fine."

  "What brings you to our island paradise?" asked the captain.

  "I am anxious to see the room you discovered with the deep chasm," answered Garth. "Can you give us the tour?"

  "Wouldn't you care for a morning meal first?" asked Haditha. "I could prepare something for you."

  "After," Garth shook his head.

  "It is all the way at the bottom of the mine," stated Captain Gomery. "I will show it to you."

  Haditha stayed behind as everyone else filed into the tunnels leading downward. When they reached the bottom, Garth stared at the piles of dwarven clothes. He walked close to the pile with the silver ring atop it and bent down to pick up the ring.

  "You shouldn't touch it," warned Captain Gomery. "The clothes are ancient, and they will turn to dust."

  "I am only after the ring," Garth replied as he carefully picked the silver ring up without his fingers touching the cloth.

  "It still bothers me," frowned the captain. "It is like desecrating a grave. Why steal from the dead?"

  "I have need of it," Garth said as he walked to the wall where he saw the carvings. He stared at them and nodded at their familiarity.

  "This is not like the Garth I knew on the Remora," grumbled the captain.

  Garth turned and made eye contact with the captain. "I do not think the dwarves jumped into this chasm. I believe that they tunneled to Elfwoods and escaped the Federation. I want the ring to let them know that I was here."

  "I am sorry," the captain said quickly. "Still, Haditha said the dwarves have been gone for over four hundred years. Surely, they couldn't still be alive without someone knowing about it."

  "I hope that you are wrong, Captain," replied Garth. "I need to find the room above this one that is one hundred feet closer to the surface."

  "I have been all through this section of the mine," replied the captain. "There is no tunnel leading to the mainland."

  Garth sighed and stared at the captain.

  "Alright," Captain Gomery nodded. "I will take you to where you want to go. Follow me."

  The captain led the group up a slanting pathway that circles away from the wall with the writing and then circled back. There was a rectangular room with nothing distinguishing in it. The walls were smooth as if it had been used as a storeroom, but whatever used to be in the room had vanished long ago. Kalina moved immediately to the south wall and began examining it. She turned and took the torch from the captain's hand and held it up towards the ceiling.

  "Squirt, see if you can find an opening up there?"

  The fairy fluttered near the ceiling and finally disappeared. She reappeared a moment later. "There is a tunnel behind this wall," she announced. "It is long and dark."

  "Is there a stone holding the door closed where you flew through?" asked Garth.

  "I did not see a door," frowned the fairy, "but I did have to squeeze past a block of stone that was separate from the wall. That is how I got through."

  "So the dream was accurate," Kalina said to Garth.

  "It would appear so," nodded Garth.

  "Do you want me to use my staff on the door?" asked Tedi.

  "No," Garth shook his head. "It is meant to be opened from the other side. It may be useful to keep it that way."

  "Where is this all going?" asked the captain. "Even if there is a tunnel back there, the fairy found no dwarves."

  "Let's go get that meal and discuss this," suggested Kalina.

  Garth nodded, and Captain Gomery took the torch from Kalina and led the way back to the surface. Haditha had already prepared a meal, and everyone sat down to enjoy it.

  "We need to find fighters willing to wage war against the Federation," Garth explained in between bites. "We have made contact with the horse countries and the elves, but we need more. I intend to find out where the dwarves went. Whether they are alive or long dead, I intend to find where they went."

  "How does the tunnel help you find them?" asked Captain Gomery.

  "It doesn't really," answered Garth, "but it helps in another area. In order to get the elves to help us, we must rescue all of the elven children currently held in the Federation cities. Once we rescue them, we need a place to hide them. The Isle of Despair is one of the places we have chosen. The tunnel will allow some of them to come here. Others will be brought by boat."

  "Where will you find a boat?" asked the captain.

  "We found one in Ur," answered Garth. "It is on the way here right now. It is loaded with food that will be stored here for the elves to eat."

  "You mean the children," corrected Haditha.

  "More than just the children," stated Garth. "Once the children are safe, all of the elves will be coming here until it is time to attack."

  "How many elves?" asked Haditha.

  "I am not sure," answered Garth. "We will be going to speak with the elves when we leave here, but I would plan on thousands of them."

  "Who
is crewing the boat?" asked Captain Gomery.

  "The only four sailors left," replied Garth. "Chanz, Warren, Cirris, and Ecaro. They will also be staying here for a while."

  "We've lost a few on this voyage," frowned the captain. "You mentioned freeing some of the children by ship. I assume that you want me to rejoin the group and pilot the ship?"

  "I will leave that decision to you," answered Garth. "I know the sailors respect you and will take orders from you, but I also understand your hesitancy in getting involved again. I will not order you back into service."

  Both Captain Gomery and Haditha frowned, but Kalina knew that it was for different reasons. Haditha immediately turned cold towards the Alceans, but Captain Gomery squirmed and looked at Garth imploringly.

  "Haditha's skills would be welcomed as well," offered Kalina. "Perhaps the two of you should discuss this in private."

  "What is there to discuss?" snapped Haditha. "Garth has laid an adventure at Gomery's feet. Surely, you know that he will accept it?"

  "Would you prefer that I tell the captain that he is worthless?" retorted Garth. "Should I tell him that we don't need his years of skill in freeing a bunch of elven children from their imprisonment?"

  "Garth…" Kalina tried to interrupt.

  "I know what you are going to say, Kalina," Garth scowled. "I am not blind. The point is, Haditha, there are other people that are depending upon us. I know that you and Gomery love each other, and that is wonderful, but all of us have had to put our private lives on hold to serve the better good. That does not mean that I would ever demand that of anyone else. Both you and Gomery are free to do as you please. It is a decision that each of you must make, but do not try to make me feel guilty for presenting the opportunity to Captain Gomery. He is a fine man, and he deserves to have the choice presented to him, just as you deserve it as well. Whatever your decisions are, I will accept them without question. I do not even need an answer right away. Discuss it with him after we have gone."

  "We will do just that," Captain Gomery said softly. "While you are here, Garth, perhaps you could bring us current on what has been happening in the world outside the mine."

  Chapter 34

  Tunnel

  Garth and Kalina sat on the rocks of the Isle of Despair watching the sun set over the Sea of Tears. Within the hour, the Alceans would mount their unicorns for the journey to Elfwoods.

  "You were pretty hard on Haditha this morning," Kalina said softly. "She has pointedly avoided all of us today."

  "Is it considered being hard on someone to present them with reality?" retorted Garth. "I do not demand that either of them aid us in our fight against the Federation. We will succeed without their help, but their help would raise our odds of success. I know from the many months we spent with Captain Gomery that he would very much like to be involved, but she abhors the idea."

  "There are times when I do not like what you do," stated Kalina.

  "I understand that," sighed Garth, "and you usually let me know that you do not approve, but you do not cling to me in a smothering way. Gomery is who he is, and that is the man she fell in love with. By trying to restrict him, she will lose him. She cannot see that right now. He may well yield to her demands and not get involved with us, but it will eat away at him, especially if we fail. Over time he will begin to hate himself and the relationship that caused him not to act when he should have. I would not wish to see that happen to them."

  "She fears losing him," Kalina replied.

  "I know," nodded Garth, "and I would feel terrible if he did accept the challenge and died during the mission. Do not misunderstand me, Kalina. The only point I was trying to make this morning was for the two of them to talk this out between themselves in a mature manner. She is crushing his spirit with demands before they have even considered their involvement. Such an ultimatum will not sit well with the captain."

  "Well," shrugged Kalina, "that is for them to work out. It is time for us to get ready to go."

  The Alceans packed up and mounted their unicorns as soon as it was dark enough to make the trip safely. Captain Gomery waved as they took to the air, but Haditha had not shown up. The trip to Elfwoods was only fifteen leagues, and the unicorns were back on the ground before the night had barely begun. During the afternoon, Bitsy had scouted the area and located the campsite of Prince Rigal. Now the Alceans rode into the camp and dismounted. Prince Saratoma was visiting, and Prince Rigal introduced him to the Alceans.

  "Have you had any luck in locating the entrance?" Garth asked Prince Rigal.

  "None," Prince Rigal answered. "There are some caves much farther to the east, but they are in the Badlands. There is no cover there, and I doubt the dwarves would have chosen to reveal themselves in such a dangerous fashion. Besides, that would not be due south of the mine."

  Garth nodded and looked at the young Dielderal prince. "If we are able to free the children, how many elven warriors can we count on to fight the Federation?"

  "Everyone who is able will fight," promised Prince Saratoma. "The Dielderal are anxious to end their slavery no matter what happens."

  "And how many warriors might that be?" pressed Garth.

  "Six thousand," replied Prince Saratoma, "but the timing will be critical. Thousands of my people are always in the Badlands working the mines for the Baroukans. If we are to suddenly disappear, we must do so on the day the shifts change. It is the only time when the miners will be available."

  "Then we will time it accordingly," vowed Garth. "You do understand that the day of your freedom will not be soon?"

  "Prince Rigal has told me," nodded Prince Saratoma. "Many pieces of the puzzle must come together before we strike. No matter how many months away that grand day is, the time will go quickly for the Dielderal. We have much to do. While we are all skilled with the bow and arrow, King Elengal has mandated practice for everyone. We are also preparing food stocks for the children and our warriors for when they must remain hidden. We have much to do before we are ready."

  "Good," smiled Garth. "I didn't want to raise your expectations to unreasonable levels."

  "You and your people have brought hope to the Dielderal," smiled Prince Saratoma. "That is something we have not had for many generations. No matter how long we must wait now, we know that one day we will be free once again."

  "Have you come to help us look?" asked Morro.

  "No." Garth shook his head. "We are trying to get all the enemies of the Federation to join together. To do so, we must gather twenty thousands warriors, otherwise the horse countries will not be persuaded to help. My main purpose for stopping here was to determine how many elves we could count on. We are not staying the night. We are off to find the dwarves if they still exist."

  "The dwarves?" frowned Prince Saratoma. "Even if they still live, why would they help the Dielderal?"

  "I don't know that they will," conceded Garth, "but I must pursue the matter. There are few enough places to find fighters. Dwarves have fairly long memories, and the Empire did enslave them. If we do find them, I will try to get them to commit to helping the elves. I think it would be wise of King Elengal to prepare the Dielderal by dispelling the old tales of hatred towards the dwarves."

  "We now know that our histories were wrong," nodded Prince Saratoma, "but it is hard to throw away feelings that were ingrained in you from birth."

  "It must be done," declared Kalina. "The future of the Dielderal may depend upon it."

  * * *

  In the library of the Royal Palace in Tagaret, Zack Nolan placed a large map of Alcea on the table and unrolled it. He took nine small pieces of wood with red numbers on them and began placing them on the map. The others crowded around to see what he was doing.

  "These are the approximate locations of the nine Doors we have tracked so far," declared the Alcean spymaster. "Four of them have been placed in barns, two in temples, two in inns, and one in a private home. Of the nine Doors, two are in Cordonia, two in Lanoir, two in Sordoa, and three in T
arga. The Doors are numbered from sixteen to twenty-four. What does all this tell us?"

  "It tells me that we have missed the placement of fifteen Doors," frowned Prince Oscar. "We are playing a dangerous game here, King Arik. I think we should destroy the nine Doors that we know about."

  "Not yet," disagreed the king. "If we start destroying Doors now, we will inform the Zarans that we know about the portals. I do not want them to know that we know."

  "But we have already missed fifteen of them," countered Prince Oscar. "They can send an awful lot of men through that many Doors in a short period of time."

  "We will have to find the Doors that were installed before Runt warned us about them," said Queen Tanya.

  "By searching all of Alcea?" frowned Lord Clava. "You are asking the impossible. One of those Doors is in a private home. If we start paying a lot of attention to Doors all over Alcea, we will notify the Zarans that we know about the portals just as sure as if we destroyed the ones we know about."

  "He is right," agreed General Gregor. "We would have to locate the Doors without appearing to be looking for them. It is an impossible task. If we could narrow it down in some way, we might be able to be covert about searching for them."

  "I am curious," frowned Sheri. "How do you install a Door in an inn and not expect it to be used?"

  "They were installed as doors connecting two rooms," answered Zack Nolan. "In each case, one of the rooms was rented for a year in advance."

  "So they are going to bring thousands of men into a room at an inn?" questioned Wylan. "That hardly sounds practical."

  "The two cities where they chose inns are both in Sordoa," replied Zack Nolan. "Much of Sordoa was destroyed during the war. The populations of Pontek and Caldar have never recovered from the devastation. It would not take many soldiers to secure those cities while the rest of the army filed through the inn."

  "And there are not many farms for sale in Sordoa," added Lord Clava. "I suspect, based on the number we are seeing, that barns are their first choice. Am I to presume that the Doors in barns are on farms owned by Snakes?"