Council of War

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "One of the men has stepped outside," the fairy reported, "but I don't think he is coming this way."

  "Go and wait by Frea," commanded the queen. "I will be along shortly."

  Queen Tanya decided to take no chances. She issued a spell, and her body shimmered in the dark barn and then disappeared. In her place sat an osprey, and the bird immediately launched itself into the air and flew up to the rafters to wait for the man to go back inside the house.

  The bird cocked its head as it listened intently for the sounds of the man. In the distance the bird heard a door slam shut, and prepared to launch itself into the air. In the brief second before the osprey leaped from the rafters, a loud click sounded in the barn. The bird gripped its perch tightly. The door the queen had been inspecting suddenly opened. Three figures stepped into the dark barn. Two of them were covered in black cloaks with the hoods pulled forward to conceal their faces. The third figure was a tall black priest. The door was closed and locked with another loud click. The three men moved stealthily to the door of the barn and peered outside. Seeing no one around, the figures slid out of the barn and moved quickly away from the farm.

  The osprey gave the visitors a few minutes head start before dropping from the rafters and flying out of the barn. It climbed swiftly into the dark night sky and then gazed downward. The three figures from Zara were walking along the road towards the city of Darcia. The osprey banked sharply and dove for the stand of trees where the unicorn was waiting. In a shimmering of light the bird disappeared and Tanya appeared. She leaped upon Frea and started riding towards the city on a path that would loop far away from the road. In a few minutes she was in her room at the inn. King Arik looked up as she entered and smiled broadly.

  "I found it," he announced. "Number fifteen is in the inn down the street, just as we suspected. I asked the innkeeper if I could rent the entire inn next month. He said we could have it all except for one room. I asked him which room and when he told me, I said that I needed them all. After I left, I sent Prince Midge in to check the doors. He found it!"

  "Interesting," Queen Tanya replied, "because I also found a Door in a barn. It is number nine."

  "Nine?" puzzled King Arik. "I don't understand."

  "Nor do I," agreed Tanya, "but that is not all. While I was in the barn, the Door opened. K'san and two mages came through from Zara. They are walking to town at this very moment."

  "I wonder what they are up to?" frowned the king.

  "I don't know," admitted Tanya, "but I think we should ambush them. K'san has a key for Door number nine. It may also fit the other Doors."

  "Won't that let the Zarans know that we know about the Doors?" asked the king.

  "I thought about that on the way here," replied Tanya. "If we saw a K'san walking around, we would attack him anyways, wouldn't we?"

  "We would," agreed the king, "but we take a big risk doing it this close to a Door. We cannot afford to let the Zarans figure out that we know about their portals."

  "Can we afford to have another demonkin running around Alcea?" retorted the queen. "I think not. They have the ability to rouse thousands to their side. We cannot afford such a diversion right now. Let's take them down before they reach the city. You will have to strike K'san first. Do not give him any warning. If you do, he may be able to inform the Zarans before he dies. We still don't know how they communicate."

  Chapter 37

  Boric

  King Arik slid into the bushes and eased the Sword of Heavens out of its sheath. He crouched low, avoiding the temptation to peek out at the road to see if his prey was on the way. He thought about having Prince Midge take a look and keep him informed, but he was afraid that K'san might sense the fairy moving about. His heart was beating fast, having raced to get into place before the Zarans approached the city, but it slowed down as the wait turned into a long, uncomfortable crouch. He began to wonder if the Zarans might have turned off the road somewhere before the city. Just as he was about to open his breast pocket to let Prince Midge out to check, Arik heard sounds of someone approaching. There was no talking on the road, but the sounds of footsteps became louder with each passing second. King Arik breathed shallowly and waited. The king saw three figures walk by and almost immediately the sounds of footsteps ceased.

  "What is that?" a deep voice asked softly.

  "Just a rider," replied a lighter voice.

  "That is not just a rider," the deep voice argued. "That beast has a horn on its head. It is a unicorn. Both of you move a couple of steps forward and create shields. We will wait here and let it approach us."

  "Perhaps you should slip into the bushes, K'san," suggested the lighter voice. "We can handle this."

  "No," retorted the deep voice. "Whoever it is must be destroyed. Set up the shields and let him come to us."

  "The shields are up," replied the lighter voice. "Whoever it is, he is not in a hurry."

  Suddenly the night sky lit up as lightning blasted the shields of the Zarans.

  "It's a mage!" shouted the lighter voice, "and he is strong."

  "Retaliate," commanded the deep voice.

  Almost immediately the air tingled with magic as the black-cloaks responded with magic of their own. King Arik gripped the Sword of Heavens tightly and raced out of the bushes. As Tanya had predicted, K'san stood a couple of paces behind the mages. The king raised his sword and rushed towards the demonkin. K'san must have sensed something behind him. He turned with his arm outstretched before him, but he never got off his spell. King Arik swung the Sword of Heavens, and it sliced deep into K'san's neck. The priest's eyes grew large with fear as the king drew his sword back and plunged it into the priest's chest. K'san's legs buckled, and the black giant fell to his knees, his hands going to the wound on his chest.

  "He is incredibly strong, K'san," said one of the black-cloaks, unaware that his master had already been struck down. "We might need your help."

  K'san's body tumbled to the ground, and one of the black-cloaks spun around and stared in terror at the sight of the king holding his bloody sword over K'san's body. He opened his mouth to shout a warning, but only a scream emerged as the king pivoted and brought the Sword of Heavens around in an arc at waist level. The black-cloak crumbled in a spray of red mist. A second later a lightning bolt slammed into the last Zaran. The battle was over.

  While Tanya rode towards the bodies, Arik searched the body of K'san. He found two pouches tied to the priest's belt. One held a silver key, and the other held three diamonds and a bunch of Cordonian gold coins. The king tied the pouches to his own belt. The queen arrived and slid off of Frea.

  "Find the key?"

  King Arik nodded. "He was also carrying Cordonian coins and diamonds. He planned on spending a fair amount of gold here. I wonder what he would have spent it on?"

  "We'll never know now," shrugged the queen. "What do we do with the bodies?"

  "We bury them," answered the king. "Perhaps it will be some time before they are even missed."

  * * *

  "If we have to lift this huge rock one more time," quipped Shawn, "I am going to make you cook the meals for the next week."

  "It will work this time," promised Max. "I guarantee it. It just needed a little adjustment the last time. This time it will work flawlessly."

  "Let's give it a try," said Karl Gree.

  "Let the elves try it alone," suggested Max. "They are going to be the ones that have to use the mechanism. Prince Saratoma, come on over, and I will show you how to work the mechanism."

  The Dielderal prince approached Max and got down on his hands and knees.

  "Let the other elves try to budge it first," the Ranger explained to Prince Saratoma. "They should not be able to. Once you flip these two levers, it will be easier to lift, and it will stay up until you lower it."

  Max pointed to the two levers and the prince nodded.

  "Okay, elves," grinned Max, "give it a try, but don't strain yourselves."

  Prince Rigal, Gerant, Lyr
on, and Morro gathered around the huge rock and tried to lift it.

  "It won't budge," complained Morro. "It is as if you tied it to the ground."

  "I did," chuckled the Ranger as he tapped the Dielderal prince on the shoulder. "Flip the levers."

  Prince Saratoma flipped both levers and moved back to watch. Max ordered the elves to lift the rock again. Once again the four elves put their back into their work, but this time the rock rose smoothly. As it rose, two large vertical wooden posts rose with it. When the rock was raised high enough to reveal the stone steps below it, Max tapped the prince again.

  "Flip the levers back to lock the posts," instructed the Ranger.

  Prince Saratoma flipped both levers and scrambled back to watch. The other elves let go of the rock and leaped away, but the rock didn't fall.

  "The hard part will be lowering it once you are on the steps," declared Max. "There won't be room for four of you to get at it. You will need a couple of strong men to ease it down and lock it."

  "We will do fine," Prince Saratoma said confidently. "This mechanism is wonderful. We are indebted to you."

  "I like tinkering with things," smiled the Ranger. "Anyone want to take a trip out to the island? I understand that the dwarves locked the other end. I am anxious to see that locking mechanism and compare it to mine."

  "It will take a day and a half each way," frowned Karl.

  "For humans maybe," grinned Morro. "We elves could do it in a day easy."

  "What about returning?" frowned Prince Rigal. "If the rock is locked down, how do we know if anyone is in the area? We might push the rock up to find a squad of soldiers sitting on it."

  "The dwarves were pretty clever," Max said with admiration. "There are four peepholes drilled through the rock. About the only place soldiers could hide would be directly on top of the rock. I suspect that is why they left the surface so ragged. No one would want to sit on it."

  "Let's go," Prince Saratoma said enthusiastically. "I am anxious to see what our new home looks like."

  "I will send Mite on ahead to let them know that we are coming," said Prince Rigal.

  "Everyone go on in," suggested Max. "Karl and I will close it up from inside."

  "We will close it," stated Prince Saratoma. "We cannot depend on having you around when we need to use it. We might as well experience it now."

  Max nodded in agreement and scampered down the steps and into the tunnel. The others soon joined him with Prince Saratoma and Lyron coming last. The two elves braced the rock while Prince Rigal flipped the levers to release it. The weight of the rock pushed down on the two elves, and they strained to lower it slowly. They finally let it drop the last bit and leaned against the wall fatigued. Prince Rigal flipped the levers to lock it and then sat down on the steps to give the two elves time to catch their breath.

  * * *

  Garth entered the common room of the Spoke and Wheel Inn in Calusa. He glanced quickly around the common room and headed upstairs to his room. He opened the door and stepped into the room to find Kalina, Tedi, and Natia sitting and talking. He closed the door and walked over to join them.

  "There is not a foul word said about King Vlador anywhere in this city," frowned Garth. "I know there are people who detest him, but they are afraid to say so publicly. I think we are wasting our time here."

  "Perhaps we are," agreed Natia. "King Vlador rules with an iron hand. If you are heard saying something disparaging about him, they haul you off to the dungeon, but our trip to Karamin might not be in vain. We were just talking about moving out of the city and into the forest."

  "Natia thinks that there are bands of bandits in the forest that might fight the Federation," explained Kalina.

  "I don't know," frowned Garth. "Dealing with thieves in the city is one thing, but bandits in the forest have a tendency to kill their victims more often than not. I doubt that we could trust them."

  "These ones might be different," suggested Tedi. "It seems that the locals actually call some of the bandits by name, as if they knew them before they became bandits. I think we might be talking about men who have been forced to become bandits rather than those who are bandits just because it is an easy way of life to take things from others."

  "What have we got to lose?" asked Kalina. "We are not finding any prospects here in Calusa."

  "Our lives for one thing," frowned Garth. "We know nothing about these bandits. Some may be decent men forced to it, but others will cut our throats to steal our horses. Why risk a fight when there is little hope of a return?"

  "Because we need twenty thousand warriors," retorted Kalina.

  Tedi and Natia grinned, and Garth shook his head in defeat as he sighed heavily.

  "Let's enjoy one last night in a bed," Garth said. "We will leave the city in the morning."

  * * *

  "Hold the torch higher," Max said. "I can't see how this works."

  Karl Gree lifted the torch, spreading long flickering shadows through the dwarven tunnel. He held it close to the ceiling of the tunnel while Max stepped up onto a small ledge built into the wall. The big Ranger squinted as he gazed at the crevices in the wall. Suddenly, a wide grin spread across his face.

  "Simple, but ingenious," Max declared as his hands pushed into two of the crevices.

  Max lifted a large square rock out of the wall and placed it in an alcove carved into the side of the tunnel. He jumped down off the ledge and moved to the wall blocking the exit. He signaled Karl, and the Knight of Alcea helped the Ranger slide the lintel towards the void created by removing the keystone. A loud click echoed through the tunnel and Max leaned on the wall and pushed it to the right. Slowly the wall began to slide, an opening appearing in its place, and Karl stepped through.

  "It's the mine," he called to the others. "Come on through."

  While the group filed into the mine, two fairies suddenly entered the chamber from the mine side.

  "They are here like I said they would be," chirped Mite. "Tell the others."

  Squirt turned and darted out of the room. As soon as Max entered the chamber, he turned and examined the secret door from the mine side. The others stood around and waited while he did so.

  "There is no way to lock it from this side," frowned the Ranger. "It was never meant to be reused. The flight of the dwarves was meant to be one way only."

  "A dozen archers in here could hold off an army," stated Prince Saratoma. "There will be no need to lock the door as long as we have it watched."

  "Welcome to the Isle of Despair," Captain Gomery said with a broad smile as he walked into the chamber. "Your arrival could not be more opportune. Chanz and the others have just arrived with a shipload of food. We could use some help in getting it unloaded and brought into the mine."

  "Show us the way," replied Karl Gree. "We will get the ship unloaded in no time."

  "I highly doubt that," retorted the captain. "Follow me."

  Captain Gomery led the group to the surface and out into the sunlight. A huge old scow loaded with barrels and crates had been run up on the beach. The four Alcean sailors were struggling with a large crate, and the Rangers rushed to help them. Karl's eyes scanned the large vessel from one end to the other. He shook his head in amazement.

  "I have not seen so much food since we arrived in this world," Karl commented in awe. "It will take days to unload."

  "I only hope that it is enough food," countered Prince Saratoma. "It will have to feed thousands of my people for many months."

  "I would not expect it to be enough," commented Prince Rigal. "The Dielderal must continue with their plan to bring more food out here."

  "We will," vowed the Dielderal prince. "Now that we have a way to get the food out to this island, we will start implementing the plan.

  * * *

  Garth halted Kymia in the middle of the Calusa Road, and the other Knights of Alcea halted alongside him.

  "What is it?" Tedi asked softly.

  "Nothing," sighed Garth. "That is exactly what i
t is. Nothing. We have spent two days riding up and down this road and two nights camped in the forest. The bandits are all over these woods, but they have no intention of attacking of us. Why?"

  "Perhaps we do not appear wealthy enough for them to be bothered with," replied Kalina.

  "We have beautiful mounts," Natia retorted. "That alone should cause them to attack us. I agree with Garth. Something is wrong here."

  "I could send Button out to find the bandits," offered Tedi.

  "There is no need," Garth shook his head. "I have seen several of them in the last hour alone. I know that they are out there, just as they have been for the past two days. They simply are not interested in us."

  "Maybe I was wrong to drag us out of the city," frowned Natia. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

  "No," retorted Garth, "you were correct. There was nothing in Calusa for us to find. If the bandits will not come to us then we will go to them."

  "What do you have in mind?" asked Tedi.

  "Release Button," replied Garth. "Have her work with Bitsy to discover the base camp of the bandits. We will make camp early this evening and later we will pay a visit to the bandits' camp."

  "There will be a fair amount of risk involved in that," frowned Kalina. "While they may not appear eager to attack us now, they will defend themselves with vigor."

  "We shall see," retorted Garth as he woke Bitsy.

  Garth instructed Bitsy to work with Button, and the two female fairies shot into the air and disappeared. As soon as they were out of sight, Garth turned Kymia towards the forest and started leading the Knights of Alcea into the woods. An hour later they established a camp for the night and waited for the fairies to return. A fairy fluttered down out of the trees, but it was a male. He landed on Garth's shoulder and saluted.

  "What news do you bring Runt?" asked Garth.

  "The tunnel has been found and explored," the fairy reported, "and the ship has arrived at the island. The food is being offloaded. Karl requests his next assignment."

  "Have him join back up with us," Garth said. "He is to bring the Rangers with him, but leave the elves in Elfwoods. There will be less talk in the horse countries if we do not return with them up there. The elves are to assist King Elengal in any way that they can. The sailors should remain at the Isle of Despair and await instructions."