"You let me worry about our loyalty to the Federation," stated General Forshire. "That is not something you or your men should worry about. As your general, I am your focus, your reason for living, and the object of your loyalty. Were it otherwise, you might question my orders, and I will not stand for that from men in my command. There is a reason that I demand such loyalty. While I should not have to explain it to a mere captain, I will do so. Being a general in the Federation is very challenging. There will be other officers superior in rank to you, and these officers might seek to benefit from my demise. They might even be unscrupulous enough to convince my men to do something foolish in the name of loyalty to the Federation in order to gain advantage over me. Is it starting to become a little bit clearer?"
Captain Magee sighed with relief, and he nodded vigorously. "I understand," he stated. "You will have no fears in that regard. I would never betray my general."
"We shall see," General Forshire replied skeptically. "I will let you in on a little secret, Captain. I was given the honor of becoming a general in the Federation army because of my performance as the Commanding General of Tyronia, but there are some in high places that expect me to merely fade into obscurity when we reach Despair. I have other plans."
"I am sure no one expects you to fade," the captain replied in a show of false confidence.
"Honesty," scowled the general. "Already you are forgetting my two requirements."
"I am sorry," the captain said quickly. "I just meant to show my confidence in you. Surely they did not make you a general just to have you fade away."
"No," asked the general. "Then why did they assign me a group of castoff misfits for my personal guard?"
"Misfits?" balked the captain. "Whatever gave you that impression?"
"Everyone in this detail has been passed from one command to another," stated the general, "including you. I have watched each of you closely since leaving Ur, and I understand why these men have been assigned to me. We are meant to be the laughingstock of Despair when we arrive. Is that what you want for your future, Captain?"
"No, sir," replied the captain. "I may have had a few problems with the colonel I served under, but I can assure you that I am no misfit. I will not embarrass you. I promise. Give me a chance, and I will make you proud."
General Forshire did not respond right away. He sat silently for a long time and let the captain dwell on his situation. He knew from the fairy's spying that none of the men in the detail had any love for the Federation. They had all joined the army for the food coupons that were issued to their families. General Marashef had assigned them because they were misfits, but misfits are exactly what Clint required right now. He smiled inwardly as he let the captain sweat. Finally, he turned and stared into the eyes of the captain.
"I can do wonders for your career," the general said softly, "and the careers of each of the men in this detail if I so desire, but I demand honesty and loyalty from each and every one of you. As captain, it will be up to you to see that the men fall into line. Do you think you can handle that task?"
"I certainly will try," vowed the captain.
"Promises are cheap," scoffed the general. "Officers under my command must have the self-confidence to know that they can succeed."
"I will succeed," declared the captain. "By the time we reach Despair, I promise you that you will be proud of each and every one of these men."
"We shall see, Captain Magee. I want to march into Despair with one of the best units in the city. That is not going to be an easy task to accomplish, but I will help you with it. I want nightly training so that all of the men are proficient warriors. I want proper sentries each night, and I demand silence on the trail. In addition, I want complete honesty from each of you. I will test each of the men during the trip, so I suggest you find time tomorrow to speak to each of them privately. If I catch any man lying to me, everyone will pay for it. Do you understand?"
"Perfectly, General," the captain replied without hesitation.
"And I demand loyalty from each and every one of them. I can handle unorthodox feelings, and the men must know that I will look out for each of them, but they must be loyal only to me. Anyone who cannot abide by those terms will be allowed to leave the group without repercussions."
"I will whip them into shape," vowed the captain.
"I think you just might, Captain," the general smiled thinly. "As the testing of your men will not begin until morning, I think I will go for a walk now. Perhaps you can use this time to start talking individually to the men."
"And abandon the watch?" frowned the captain.
"Just for this night," nodded the general.
Clint rose and walked into the trees. He did not bother to turn to watch the captain wake the first of the men for his talk. Instead he roused Peanut from his pocket.
"Spy on the camp," he softly instructed the fairy. "I want to know how each man reacts to the captain's talk."
* * *
Shawn Cowen cupped some water from the mountain stream and brought it to his nose. He crinkled his nose and let the water fall from his hands. With a last look at the riverbed, he mounted his unicorn and took to the sky. A few moments later he landed near the peak of one of the mountains of Barrier.
"We are getting closer," announced the Ranger. "I don't think we are too far away."
Garth eased the scope away from his eye and turned to look at Shawn. "I haven't been able to find any sign of the dwarves," he said. "Are you sure the runoff is getting stronger."
"Positive," nodded Shawn. "Someone is tanning in these mountains, and the metal shavings are even more numerous than before. Someone is working up here, and it is not just a single cabin. It has to be a sizeable community. If these streams didn't run into the Chute, someone would have noticed this a long time ago, but the waters from the Chute empty right into the Endless Swamp. Anyone sensing the runoff at that point would think it was coming through from Elfwoods."
"Maybe the fairies will have more luck than we are having," interjected Kalina.
"Maybe," Garth said thoughtfully. "Let's move several peaks northward and try again. If we don't find something there, we will find a secluded valley and set camp for the night."
The Alceans mounted their unicorns and flew northward over the peaks of the Barrier. When Garth saw a large flat area near one of the peaks, he gently patted Kymia and the unicorn descended and landed. Most of the Alceans followed, but Shawn banked his unicorn and flew down the side of the mountain. He landed alongside the creek winding its way through the valley. He dismounted and tested the water once more. When there was no sign of tanning present in the runoff, the Ranger rose and turned to face south. He mounted his unicorn and headed south along the narrow valley. The valley turned and twisted around the base of a large mountain, and Shawn heard the sound of a distant waterfall. The sound of rushing water grew louder and louder as he continued southward until he eventually saw the cascade falling from high over the valley.
Filled with excitement, Shawn continued downstream towards the base of the waterfall. When he reached it, he dismounted and immediately smelled the falling water. He knew that he had found the source of the contamination. As he leaned back to look up, he saw a huge net descending on him. With no time to react, Shawn cursed under his breath. Shawn lost his footing and fell to the ground, but his unicorn had also been caught in the net. The unicorn's horn suddenly appeared, and the unicorn began slashing his head back and forth. The cords of the net were no match for the unicorn, and the net soon lay in tatters. Shawn crawled to the unicorn's side and pulled himself onto its back. With a derisive snort, the unicorn took to the air and flew upward and away from the waterfall.
The incident had not gone unnoticed. Up near the peak of the mountain, Garth had watched as Shawn followed the stream southward. He saw the net thrown out, but instead of following its descent, he moved the scope upward and saw the dwarves who had thrown it. The dwarves watched as the unicorn shredded the net and then th
ey disappeared behind the waterfall. A few minutes later, Shawn arrived on the mountaintop.
"I saw what happened, Shawn," Garth said as the Ranger dismounted. "The dwarves appear to have sentries half way up that mountain. They disappeared behind the waterfall."
"So what now?" asked Shawn. "They do not appear to be open to a discussion."
"Perhaps not," replied Garth, "but they didn't kill you either. They wanted to take you captive, and that gives me hope that we might be able to talk with them."
"At least we now know that the dwarves did survive," commented Natia. "We could use the fairies to put the sentries to sleep and then sneak into the mountain."
"That might work if we were dealing with thieves," Garth shook his head, "but dwarves are known to have additional sentries inside their tunnels."
"Plus their vision in the dark is much better than ours," added Kalina. "Someone would die, and it wouldn't be a dwarf."
Bitsy glided down out of the air and landed on Garth's shoulder.
"There are only two dwarves behind the waterfall," she proudly reported. "There is a cave entrance back there, but I did not go into it. I could hear others moving about inside."
Garth looked around for the other fairies to see if they had returned yet from their scouting missions. Button stood on Tedi's shoulder, but Runt was still out exploring. Garth rummaged in his pack until he found the copy of King Drak's words that he had made at the Isle of Despair. He placed the paper in his pouch for easy access.
Kalina curiously watched him. "I can sense a plan starting to take shape in your mind. What have you got up your sleeve?"
"You and I are going to visit the dwarves," explained Garth, "but first the fairies will put the sentries to sleep just long enough for us to get into position."
"I thought we had just abandoned that plan?"
"We are not going to enter their tunnels," replied Garth. "Putting the sentries to sleep is only being done to allow us to reach their ledge without starting a fight. We will talk with the sentries and try to get an invitation to enter the tunnels."
"Risky," frowned Kalina. "We could have thousands of dwarves rushing out to kill the intruders."
"Which is why you will have us shielded both magically and physically," smiled Garth. "The rest of you are to keep watch until we disappear behind the waterfalls. If we have to flee, provide a distraction if you can, but do not kill any dwarves. We need their help for the Council of War, and we will never get it by killing them."
"Just until you disappear?" frowned Tedi. "What about after that?"
"Once we are taken inside," instructed Garth, "head for a valley south of here. There is no sense in your staying in the bitter winds up here. Choose a valley far enough away so that the dwarves will not feel threatened if they see you. Bitsy will be going in with Kalina and me. If we need help she will notify you."
When Garth was sure that everyone understood the plan, he sent Bitsy and Button down to put the sentries to sleep. He mounted Kymia and watched the waterfalls with his scope while he waited for Kalina to mount her unicorn. Garth could not see the dwarves through his scope, but the fairies soon returned victoriously. As soon as Bitsy climbed into his pocket, Garth and Kalina lifted off the mountaintop. The unicorns glided down the side of the mountain and landed effortlessly on the ledge. The Knights of Alcea dismounted, and the unicorns returned to the peak to wait with the others.
Garth and Kalina gazed at the two sleeping dwarves behind the waterfall. They walked as close as they could to the closest dwarf without going behind the watery curtain. Garth fiddled with his pouch and removed two objects while they waited for the dwarves to wake up. When the dwarves did awaken it was with a cry of alarm. The closest one jumped backwards and held his battleaxe ready to strike. Two more dwarves raced out of the tunnel, and all of them stared at the humans with wonder.
"We have not come to fight," Garth said quickly. "We have come to speak with King Drak." He held the piece of paper out for the dwarves to take.
The dwarves looked skeptically at the humans, and none of them stepped forward to take the paper. Garth bent down and placed the paper on the ledge. He placed a stone on top of it and then stepped away, ushering Kalina along with him. One of the dwarves cautiously moved forward and picked up the paper. His brow knitted as he read the words. Without comment, he handed it to the dwarf behind him. The dwarf with the note dashed into the tunnel while the other three dwarves remained behind, ready to strike out at the humans on the slightest provocation. Minutes later, a group of dwarves appeared on the ledge. One of the dwarves was a broad figure, and he talked with an air of authority.
"Bind them."
"We will not be bound," Garth said quickly. "We have come to speak to your king in a peaceful manner. Respect us as we respect your ways."
"As you have respected our ways?" scowled the broad dwarf. "Your kind has enslaved us. Be thankful that we are only binding your hands instead of crushing your skulls."
The broad dwarf pushed two of his warriors forward, and the dwarves tried to seize Garth, but they bumped into Kalina's shield and nearly toppled off the ledge.
"Mage!" shouted one of the dwarves as he scrambled away.
More dwarves flowed out of the tunnel, but these new dwarves were not running. They walked purposefully, and a small-nosed dwarf held up his hand to silence the others.
"What is going on here, Gortha?" demanded the small-nosed dwarf.
"One of them is a mage," scowled Gortha.
The small-nosed dwarf frowned and looked at the dwarf on the ground at Garth's feet. "And you found this out how? Did the humans attack?"
"No," answered Gortha. "I ordered that their hands be bound and they refused."
"We have come in peace," Garth declared. "I asked that we be treated with respect. Our only use of magic has been to shield ourselves from harm. We have come to talk with King Drak or his descendant."
"I am King Drakarik," declared the small-nosed dwarf. "King Drak was my father. How have you come by this piece of paper?"
"I have been to the Isle of Despair," answered Garth as he bowed slightly in respect. "I have heard stories of the despicable enslavement of your people. I wish to speak to you about it."
"There is little to discuss," stated the king, "except what we are to do with you. Our survival has remained a close secret for hundreds of years. How did you find us?"
"We figured out what your father's message was meant to mean," answered Garth. "We know about the tunnel. As to what to do to us, if you will allow us to talk, you will find that no harm will come from our visit. The Federation is our enemy."
"Federation?" echoed the dwarven king. "What is the Federation?"
"During the time of King Drak, it was called the Empire of Barouk," replied Garth. "They have grown and multiplied since then."
King Drakarik stared at the humans for a long time before nodding his head decisively. "Drop your shields and come inside."
"No humans have ever been inside," protested Gortha. "You are giving away our secrets."
"They are not alone, Gortha," retorted the king. "If they know of our location then soon everyone will know. I want to hear what they have to say, and I do not want to do it standing exposed on this ledge. They will drop their shields, and you will not harass them in any way. If the Baroukans are foolish enough to attack Tarashin then they will die."
The king turned and retreated into the tunnels. The king's escort immediately followed him, but Gortha and the other warriors remained on the ledge staring at the humans.
"Drop the shields," Garth said softly to Kalina. "We are going inside."
Kalina nodded and dropped the shields. Garth started forward, and the dwarven warriors moved aside. Gortha stood blocking the entrance to the tunnel, but he backed up as Garth approached. With a sigh of defeat, he nodded in acceptance.
"Follow me," Gortha said as he turned around and entered the tunnel.
The broad dwarf led the humans through a twistin
g maze of tunnels. The journey ended in a large circular chamber more reminiscent of Dorgun than Lanto. He wondered if the dwarves who had been taken as slaves by the empire had actually come from Dorgun. The large chamber was round with two thrones occupying one side and a semicircular arrangement of benches on the other side. King Drakarik was seated in one of the thrones. The other was empty. Already seated on the benches were a number of dwarves who appeared to be more scholarly than the warriors on the ledge. Some held scrolls instead of battleaxes, and Garth figured them for the king's advisors. As they entered the chamber, Garth bowed to the king and held a silver ring in his outstretched palm. A dwarf took the ring and walked over to the king with it.
"I believe that was your father's ring," Garth said respectfully. "I thought you would want it back."
"And it proves that you were in the mine on the Isle of Despair," noted the king. "Thank you. Please have a seat and tell me who you are."
"I am Garth Shado," Garth replied as he and Kalina sat in the first row of benches. "This is my wife Kalina. We are not from this land. We hail from the lands of Lanto and Dorgun."
"You know of Lanto and Dorgun?" the dwarven king said in awe. "How is this possible? Lanto was destroyed by the elves, and no humans were known by the dwarves of Dorgun."
"Much has happened since your people were abducted," replied Garth. "In fact, there is much that happened before your abduction that you do not know about. Lanto still exists. There are also other dwarven settlements that you are probably unaware of. Talman and Cazra exist in the northern mountains that the dwarves from Lanto tried to reach. Kalina is a much better teller of the histories than I am. I will let her explain to you what has happened to the dwarven people and their relationships with the elves."
Chapter 36
Oykara
King Drakarik glanced at the dwarven historian who was toying with his long white beard. "What are you thinking, Aardo?"
Council of War Page 44
