by Wilbur Arron
I gave everyone a chance to think about that for a moment before I went on. “The leader of the horsemen will approach me. I will harm no one as long as no one tries to harm anyone here.”
Zila and the others were looking at me in shock. “I have never seen a fireball even close to that size before,” she said in amazement.
I just nodded and watched the other horsemen closely. The horsemen formed a group, and there was much talking before a single rider rode toward me. Like all the Zilar, he was wearing a light-yellow tunic, pants and leather boots. He had a bow, lance, shield, and sword. He rode erect as if showing he was not afraid. I still kept my force casting up just in case he was stupid enough to do something violent, but I also readied a thunderbolt. I stood up and walked down.
“Stay out of my line of fire,” Melina said. “If he lowers his lance, I will put an arrow into him.”
“Thank you,” I told my wife.
I watched the rider approach. When he got near, he stopped and looked me over as if I were pond scum. “You are the Mage Sopholus,” he said with contempt.
“Yes,” I answered calmly. “Why are you here in my domain?”
“Your domain,” he yelled at me. “This land belongs to the God-Leader Zilar and his horde.”
I pointed to the number of bones still lying on the ground, and the rotting remains of the three stone-throwers. “They thought the same thing,” I said. “They are dead. My friends and I killed them. If you want to join them in Hades, I can easily arrange that.”
I let him look around for a moment before I pointed my finger at him like a father admonishing a naughty child. “This is my domain. I am the protector of this place. I did not invite you to come here. Take your men and go, before I get angry and turn you all to dust.”
I saw him go as red as a radish growing in my garden. “Impudent peasant,” he called out. “My orders come from Zaleck himself to destroy these traitors. Zilar has personally ordered their death. I have but to raise my hand—”
“And you and your men will be dead,” I interrupted, showing my annoyance. A new smaller fireball took shape in my hand. “You can leave here, or you can die here. It is your choice.”
I stood there and waited, tapping my right foot impatiently. He glared at me; his face still bright red. I knew he wanted to run me through with his lance, but he remained stiffly upright in his saddle. After a few moments, he turned his horse quickly and rode back to the others. There was a commotion in the group, but soon they all rode off the way they came. All left except one rider who remained. As soon as the others were gone, he slowly came toward me. I saw no weapons. He was dressed differently than the others; he wore a yellow robe, but he was no mage. He rode up keeping his hands in plain view until he was about ten paces away and then stopped.
“I am Aristion Davos, servant of the great God-Leader Zilar,” he said and bowed his head slightly.
“What can I do for you?” I asked.
“He is one of my father’s advisors from Argos,” I heard Zila call from behind. “He could teach the snakes how to slither.”
Davos shot a glance back to Zila on top of the hill that could have petrified Medusa. There was no mutual admiration here. “Ahh,” he said with a fake smile. “The bitch traitor is here herself.”
“What can I do for you?” I repeated, with growing agitation.
“I wish to talk to you privately,” he said. “I believe there has been some misunderstanding between my master and you.”
I fought back the urge to laugh but instead motioned to the humans and others to stay where they were. “Oh, I think I understood your master very well,” I said, pointing to the remains around me. “It is your master who does not understand me.”
Davos looked coldly at me. “Lord Zilar lost an army and a favorite son here. I assure you, he understands perfectly.”
I had my doubts about that. I glared right back at him. “That did not stop him from sending another scouting party after me, or destroying the Polis of Dysiasty, or trying to take over my forest with the help of that traitor Lycus. No Davos, I do not think the Lord Zilar understands a thing about me or my forest. If he did, your raiding party would not have come here.”
Davos sat bolt upright in his saddle. Obviously, he was not used to someone talking back to him. “You are impudent and disrespectful of your betters,” he growled. “One day I will teach you a lesson in manners. Nevertheless, I would still want to talk with you in private away from that bitch.”
“Shall I kill him, my Lady,” Gyras said loud enough so all could hear.
“No, you will not,” I said just as loudly. “What I said to the Zilar is also meant for you. We will all go back to my home peacefully.”
With that, I looked up into the hills and spoke to the Old Ones. “Watch and make sure the others leave. If they come back, tell me.”
“We will do this,” the voice came thundering back.
I turned to Davos. “I suggest you return in a few days either alone or under a light escort and we will talk. For your own safety, remaining here now is not a good idea.”
The robed man looked about him and nodded. “That advice I will take, Mage Sopholus.” With that, he turned his horse and followed the others to the north.
The rest of us returned to my home the way we came, only in daylight. In the distance, we could hear the movements of large animals through the forest as they traveled hidden in the trees.
I invited Zila and Gyras to share another light meal of cheese, bread, well-watered wine, and some olives. The bread was a bit stale, but with some olive oil and honey, it still tasted good enough.
“You should have at least a few servants to do the work around here,” Zila commented seeing Melina serve the wine. “You are a noblewoman, and it is undignified for you to serve food like a common innkeeper’s wife.”
“I do not mind,” my wife said. “Besides, few people would serve here, considering our many friends.”
“Just who are those friends?” Gyras asked.
“Creatures like me who share this forest and wish to be left alone,” I cut in. “If I were to bring them here, I am afraid your troops would panic and do something stupid and try to hurt them out of fear. That would be tragic for them.”
“They take some getting used to,” Melina said, sitting down and eating some bread and cheese.
“And they speak with you?” Zila asked.
“Yes, they are all highly intelligent,” I said. “You heard several of them yourself.”
Zila looked out the window at the forest. “Then what the legends say about this place is true. It is very much a place of mystery. One mystery is how you can cast a fireball the size of a man. Even our most powerful mages in Syrina cannot do that.”
“One of the powers I have learned,” I said simply.
“Who is this Zaleck?” Melina asked to get off the subject.
Zila hesitated before answering, as if carefully considering what she said. “He is my older half-brother by my father’s third wife. He is a fine warrior, skilled in battle formations, and a proven stratigos.”
“I assume this Davos is not a military man?” I asked.
“Him, no,” Gyras said with disgust. “I would not have him in any force I command.”
“He is a servant of my father,” Zila went on. “My father uses him to gather and report on information from our spies. He is also an expert at getting prisoners to talk. He enjoys his work well. No doubt, he was here in case they captured me. He would have enjoyed torturing me for what I know. Or just torturing me for the fun of it.”
“I see,” I said. “I shall be wary of him.”
“Just like you are wary of us,” Zila said pointedly.
I saw what she was getting at—she thought I should trust her with all that has happened. “Yes, Lady Zila, I am wary, very wary. In the last two years, your father has sent three large scouting forces and a small army here to try to kill me. He worked with my own archon to take this forest o
ver. Mages from Syrina have tried to kill me twice. My own ethnarch has sent people in to spy on me. My betters, as they call themselves, punished me falsely and accused of me of treason.” At that point, I paused to take a deep breath. “Yes, I think I have just cause for being wary.”
I could see that made Zila and Gyras very nervous. I saw his muscular hand start to lower toward his sword belt, but then stop when I stared at him.
“If I wanted to hurt you or your troops, I simply would have let that idiot attack your camp by surprise,” I said. “I am not saying I will not trust you; I am saying I do not trust you yet. What I said earlier about discussing your offer of help with my friends is the truth. It is their lives, too, and they hold them just as dear as you hold your own lives. I also hold them dear to me. They get a choice in this just as you do. That is my final word.”
There was an awkward silence after I finished. Finally, Zila got up and spoke formally. “I understand your situation. I find myself in the same situation. In the last year, my father has also decided to kill me. He has not put forth the level of effort as he did for you because my father does not consider me at the same level of threat as you. Nevertheless, my offer is still open. If you wish to contact me, you know where I am.”
“I hear what you say,” I told her. “After I discuss this with the others, you will hear from me.”
Zila nodded and tried to smile. “Very well, we will leave immediately and spend the night at the edge of the forest. We will ride back to Dysiasty tomorrow.”
“I wish you well,” I said, “Safe journey.”
We watched them both get up and leave out the front door. There was an immediate flurry of activity as the small party quickly struck camp, loaded packhorses, and mounted up. By the time the orange sun had set halfway in the sky, they were gone. Only when they were well away from the house did I feel free to talk to Melina.
“What do you think?” I asked her.
“If it is a trick, it is surely an elaborate trick,” she said. “Those Zilar did come to kill them, on that I feel sure. As for the rest of her story, I have no idea.”
“I agree,” I told my wife. “It seems an honest offer. It is not her offer that concerns me. What concerns me is how I could help protect them in Dysiasty. It is a two to three-day ride from here at best. There is also the fact that once we leave here, then we lose any advantage the forest gives us. Out on the open desert, we are easy to attack.”
“Will you talk this over with the others?” she asked.
I nodded. “Of course, I will. I will also discuss it with your brother, Philie and Iolaos.”
The next day I called all my friends together, including the Old Ones, and told them what Zila had told me. I explained they wanted to be our friends. They seemed interested, but the world of human politics means little to creatures of the forest. They were happy that there were some humans that did not want to hurt us, but only as long as they stayed out of the forest. That was their main concern. The following day, both Melina and I snuck into the palace through one of the secret entrances to see Cleon and the others. We had a private dinner, just the six of us.
“It is interesting that the Zilar have their own problems,” Cleon said. “One of the great fears about them is that they are this one massive horde that acts like an army of ants.”
“I still do not see how you can help them in Dysiasty,” Iolaos said. “That is a long ride and all in the open, Homer could find you out there.”
“I do not see how I can help them either,” I answered. “There is no way any of us can help them from there. They are too far away.”
“Could we bring them here?” Theresa asked.
“What!” Cleon said, sitting up on the couch. “Bring them to Korpolis? Bring over a hundred trained soldiers I do not trust into my polis?” He just shook his head. “I might as well sharpen the knife they cut my throat with.”
Theresa sat back down, looking timid at her husband’s rebuke. I would not have put it that strongly, but I did agree with him. Bringing them here would be a mistake. Then I started thinking. An idea popped into my head.
“Not here,” I said. “What if they rode south along the main road for about a day? The farms surrounding our polis thin out after a day’s ride, leaving the land open and unfarmed. The ground is well watered; the land looks fertile, but we do not have the people to farm it. What if they built their settlement there?”
Everyone stopped eating and looked at me. “That is possible,” Cleon said. “I would need to get the archon’s permission first. Next month he will be here on his scheduled tour of the eparchia. I could ask him.”
“All he could say is no,” Philie added. “I think it will be a great idea. The problem is, can we trust them?”
“I am sure the Zilar want them dead,” Melina added. “That attack looked real to me. The Zilar hate them. They could end up as allies if there is an invasion.”
“Speaking of which,” I said. “How goes the preparation for the Zilar attack?”
Iolaos spoke up. “Xanphos has deployed his army just to the north of Erinia. If the Zilar land in Aegae, they will be in for a rude surprise.”
“What about the North Pass?” I asked.
Philie answered, “The archon has rebuilt some of the defenses of Midas. It is not a huge fort, but a thousand troops with no siege equipment will have trouble taking it.”
To me, it seemed they had done all that anyone could do. The problem was, it was the Zilar that could pick the time and place of their attack. We in Argina had no means to go after them. We had no fleet or experience in sending large numbers of troops across the unpredictable seas.
“Then that is about all,” I said, getting up. “I will leave tomorrow.”
“There are two more things,” Cleon said with a smile.
I sat back down. I nodded my head for the oligarch to continue. He smiled broadly, “Theresa is pregnant,” he said almost beaming with joy. “I will be a father in the fall.”
I shot to my feet and held out my hand. Melina just embraced her brother and then Theresa.
“As will I,” Iolaos said and looked toward Philie.
That surprised me, but I should have expected it. I first shook Iolaos’ hand and then went up to kiss Philie on the cheek, even though she had to bend over for me to do it. Melina followed. That was genuinely great news. I was glad. I was also a bit sad because it reminded Melina and me that I could never father a child. My childhood illness when I was young forever prevented that. No magik I knew could ever correct that.
We spent some time in pleasant conversation. Later on, we all went to bed. Melina and I went to her old room where we lay down next to each other. I admit I felt a wish to make love to my wife, but she had turned over and presented me with her back.
“I am sorry, I wish I could do that with you,” I told her softly.
I thought I heard her sob, “You told me at the start that you could never have a child and I accepted that. Besides, we will soon have the other children to play with.”
I wished there was something I could say to comfort her, but I could not. I went to sleep but slept uncomfortably.
The next morning after a meal of bread and honey, both Melina and I went back to our house. We took one of the secret passages that led from the palace out past the walls and into the fields. This one came out into a dry well on which there were steps carved into the side. We climbed up and out of the well and started to walk back. As I did, I called out to my friends we were back. Melina and I walked on and into the forest. I had detected nothing nearby when I heard Kypos call out.
“A man is riding up the road from the desert,” he told me. “He is alone, but three men wait for him at the forest edge.”
That had to be Davos, and he was back sooner than expected. He could not have ridden to the fort by the North Pass and back here again so fast. That meant he did not come here from the fort. I motioned to Melina that we had guests. We walked away and met Lycos and Lykina in
the large clearing.
“I will meet Davos,” I said aloud so Melina could hear me.
“I will watch him,” Melina said and took her bow off her shoulder.
“We will watch also,” Lycos said.
From the road, I watched the lone figure approach, and when he got closer, I could see he was still dressed in the same robe as before. I waited until he was about fifty paces away before I walked out into the road. I had charged the Speaking Stone already, and I put a force shield around me. He stopped and got off his horse. He got within five paces of me and then stood still.
“I came alone,” he said, “Although whatever is following me kept a close watch on me. I expected him to attack me, like the others that disappeared here.”
“Did you try and attack him first?” I asked.
“Of course not, do you take me for a fool?” he said with indignity.
“Then you are wiser than those who came before you,” I told him.
He looked at me for a moment and then nodded in realization. “I see your point, Mage Sopholus.”
“Good,” I said, smiling. “Now, what do you have to say?”
“I have come to warn you not to involve yourself with Zila and her followers,” he said. “Zilar and his horde will soon take care of them.”
Now Davos must think I was stupid. “I doubt that, Master Davos.”
“Why is that?” he demanded.
“Because you have no supply bases to launch a major attack in this desert,” I went on. “Your supply base by North Pass can support 2000 infantry, perhaps. You need those to invade Argina. The base you had at Dysiasty is gone along with all the people you killed. You would have to come across the desert with siege engines to destroy their new fort. I doubt you can do it, even if you can rebuild your siege engines.”
“We did it before,” Davos reminded me.
“You had the desert tribesmen to help carry the food and water needed. The distance was also shorter from the west coast than from the north coast. Now you have to bring everything all the way from your North Shore base, and that will take much more time and many more supplies. Unless you strip your supply base by North Pass, you cannot attack them with a large force and frankly, they can likely beat off a small attack.”