“How will you extract my men from the swamp?” the general asked.
“We have four boats available,” answered Adan. “We will draw off forty men at a time and lead them to wagons to be transported to the camps. There they will be fed and checked by local healers. When the war is over, they will be repatriated to Zara. No harm will come to them unless they demand it by trying to revolt or escape. Your instructions to the men would be helpful in that regard, General. We truly do not want to harm your men.”
“And our horses?” asked General Pryblick. “Surely you are not thinking of ferrying them by boat?”
“Certainly not,” grinned Adan. “I am a gypsy. I would never harm a horse. After your men are completely evacuated, my men will restore the bridges and lead the horses to safety. The gypsies will welcome them as new additions to the herd.”
Despite the tenseness of the situation, General Pryblick actually laughed. “If nothing else you said was true, you are no doubt a gypsy.”
“All of my words were true, General,” smiled Adan. “I will ask that you instruct your men to abandon their weapons on the island before entering the boats. That is a requirement, not a request.”
General Pryblick nodded. “Have me taken back to my men. I will prepare them for the evacuation.”
* * * *
Lord Kommoron entered the sitting room at his palatial estate in the Sanctum. He stared at his guest with more than a hint of annoyance.
“Why have you come here?” Lord Kommoron scowled.
“We have had an urgent message from King Harowin of Ertak,” answered Grand General Kyrga. “I took the message to Emperor Jaar, but he saw no need to act upon it. I thought you should be informed immediately.”
“You were told to work under Emperor Jaar,” retorted Lord Kommoron. “What is the urgent message?”
“Two of King Harowin’s sons have been assassinated,” reported the Grand General. “He is demanding that General Montero be returned to Ertak immediately.”
“Demanding?” shouted the noble. “Who does he think he is to be demanding anything? Does he not know that we are in the midst of a war? Is he so afraid that the Alceans will hurt his precious heir? What nonsense is this that you disturb me with?”
“You misunderstand, Master,” cowered the Grand General. “King Harowin is not afraid for Montero’s life. The king believes that the general is responsible for the assassinations. In fact, he captured the assassins and interrogated them. They all agreed that they were working under General Montero’s express orders. The king wants his revenge, and he wants it now. King Harowin is threatening to leave the Federation if his demand is denied.”
Lord Kommoron glared at Kyrga, but he turned away from the Grand General before he spoke. Lord Kommoron had the troops necessary in Farmin to force Ertak to rethink its position, but to have Ertak even thinking about pulling out of the Federation was dangerous at this stage of the game. If he used his new armies to crush King Harowin, the other petty monarchs would sit up and take notice. Now was not the time for that to happen. While the noble was thinking about his options, the door opened and a servant entered unbidden. The man approached the noble and whispered something in his ear. Lord Kommoron glanced briefly at the Grand General before wordlessly leaving the room.
The noble made his way to a special room of the mansion. He entered the room and quickly closed the door behind him. He turned around and stared questioningly at the demonkin standing before him.
“I received a message from Tagaret,” explained K’san. “I felt it urgent enough to disturb you.”
“What is the message?” asked the noble.
“The Alceans knew that the attacks were coming,” replied the demonkin, “even before the use of the portals was complete, and they did not seem overly concerned as they should.”
“Where have you gotten this information?”
“By way of Artimor,” answered K’san. “He sent a human to me with the information. He says that you have a spy in the upper echelons of the Federation, one who was capable of sharing the locations of the portals and the timing for the attacks. He further suggests that you use the portals to send additional armies to Alcea, armies that will not be expected.”
Lord Kommoron nodded. “Do you believe Artimor’s words and agree with his thoughts?”
“The Claw of Alutar has powers far beyond my own,” the demonkin conceded. “I must put faith in his words.”
Lord Kommoron nodded. “The message has been delivered. Return to your world, but be aware that this portal may not be available for a while. I have need to move it to the palace.”
The demonkin bowed slightly and departed through the portal. Lord Kommoron turned and left the special room. He returned to the sitting room where Grand General Kyrga waited.
“Send a message to Camp Destiny,” instructed the noble. “Tell General Tauman to relieve General Montero of his command. Montero is to be brought back under guard. Tauman can appoint one of his own colonels to take Montero’s place, or he may promote one of Montero’s colonels. I will leave that up to Tauman. Additionally, I want Tauman’s 1st Corps readied for war.”
“Readied for war?” gasped the Grand General. “In Zara or Alcea?”
“Alcea,” answered the noble. “I want from you a list of every person who had intricate knowledge of the locations of our portals in Alcea.”
The Grand General opened his mouth to answer the question, but Lord Kommoron held up his hand to belay the answer.
“I do not want an impromptu answer. I want a definitive one. Think hard before you submit the list. Lives will depend upon it.”
Chapter 35
Uses of Magic
Six unicorns flew over the Coastal Highway north of Tagaret. When they were about halfway to Miram, they slowly descended and landed on the Coastal Highway. Within minutes Alcean Rangers greeted them. The black-suited warriors bowed to the king and queen.
“Where is Colonel Vidson?” asked King Arik.
“He is meeting with Colonel Jaynes on the hill to your right,” answered the Ranger. “I will have you escorted to him.”
The king nodded and one of the Rangers ran into the woods and returned mounted on a horse. He silently beckoned the king and his party to follow him. Alex and Jenneva passed the king and queen to follow the Ranger, leaving Theos and Balamor behind the royal couple. The Ranger led the small group through the forest and up a trail to a small makeshift camp just shy of the summit of the hill. Colonel Mitar Vidson, the head of the Rangers, stood waiting for them as if he had been expecting them. The colonel bowed to the king and queen.
“David will be with us in a moment,” stated Mitar. “We were just discussing the last fairy report out of Tagaret.”
“We were promised six-thousand Alcean soldiers,” quipped Colonel David Jaynes as he walked out of the trees. David was the head of the Red Swords, and he promptly bowed to the king and queen. “Now I understand that we are just getting the six of you. I guess we got lucky.” David grinned broadly and winked at Alex.
Both David and Mitar had known Alex since the day he first joined the army in the reign of King Eugene. They had been among the men that had accompanied Alex on a deadly mission into the northlands to spy on the goblin armies, and their lasting friendship had been forged in those frozen lands.
“Tell us about Team Miram,” suggested Alex. “What are we up against?”
“We have a wily opponent,” replied Mitar. “While the other teams in Alcea are commanded by a single general, Team Miram is not. Bledsoe has allowed General Kozinski to retain command and control of the 17th Corps, although Bledsoe has the ultimate authority. This allows the 7th Corps and the 17th Corps to work independently or together depending on what the situation calls for.”
“And they have been clever in using that capability,” added David. “For example, to get around the problem of us attacking the foragers, the two armies now split just before setting up camp. Both armies leave the road on opp
osite sides, and they converge at the campsite. This traps a fair amount of game between the two armies while not allowing us the opportunity to pick off stray foragers.”
“Clever,” conceded Alex. “What about the black-cloaks?”
“We were ordered not to enter the camp to kill them,” frowned Mitar. “I think that decision might come back to haunt us. The black-cloaks have been making night flights. I suspect that they might be visiting other teams. If so, they will now be especially wary about assassination attempts. Our window of opportunity may have been closed.”
“The black-cloaks have not visited Team Danver Shores,” interjected the queen. “Adan reported that their black-cloaks all perished last night. I am sure the gypsies would have noticed if there were visitors.”
“That still leaves Team Mya,” frowned the king. “My order may have been a poor one in retrospect, but I was not willing to sacrifice my best people to eliminate the black-cloaks.”
“We will find another way to remove the black-cloak threat,” declared Queen Tanya. “Where is Team Miram now?”
Mitar waved the group towards the top of the hill. Just before the crest was a small dugout and Mitar waved for the others to enter.
“It is too small for all of us,” stated Mitar, “but David and I have seen enough for now.”
Balamor decided not to enter, and so did Jenneva and Theos, allowing Alex, Arik, and Tanya to occupy the dugout. Alex immediately reached into his pack and removed the elven scope that had been given to him by Galdan many years ago. He raised the scope to his eye and gazed at the approaching armies. After a minute, he passed the scope to the king and exited the dugout. Several minutes later, Arik and Tanya exited the dugout and Tanya returned the scope to her father.
“The armies are not totally segregated,” Alex stated. “The eight black-cloaks ride together.”
“Between the two armies,” nodded David.
“What do they do when the armies split?” asked Alex.
“They become the tail end of the 7th Corps,” answered Mitar. “What are you thinking?”
“I am thinking that they need to die,” answered Alex. “Can you estimate where the armies will split?”
“I think so,” answered Mitar, “but they have only pulled that maneuver twice so far. How precise an estimate do you need?”
“Bow range,” answered Alex.
“They will have physical shields up, Alex,” frowned Jenneva. “They would be fools not to.”
“I agree,” interjected Theos. “They might not bother with physical shields in the middle of twenty-thousand men, but I would almost bet that they erect them when they become exposed like you are talking about.”
“Alright,” mused Alex, “but it is an opportunity nonetheless. We will have all eight of them together, and there will not be a whole host of soldiers in the way. And we have three battle mages of our own. We should be able to develop a plan to eliminate them.”
“And get away alive?” frowned David. “Once you attack the black-cloaks, both armies will move to converge on your position. Mitar and I will not be able to get all of our men in close enough to support the mages without being detected and spoiling your surprise.”
“Then we need a diversion,” grinned Alex. “A diversion that is sure to capture the attention of both armies.”
“I’ve seen that look in your eyes before, Father,” stated the queen. “What are you planning?”
“Let me see the terrain before I speak,” Alex replied. “Mitar, will you take me there?”
“Just you?” asked Mitar.
“Just me and Bitsy,” nodded Alex. “The fairy will record the terrain for the others to inspect. While I am gone, our battle mages can discuss what spells might be necessary to get around the shields of the black-cloaks.”
Mitar nodded and started down the hill. Alex walked up to the king and spoke softly to him before following the Ranger. The king nodded and woke Prince Midge.
“What is he up to, Mother?” asked the queen.
“He will tell us when he is ready,” Jenneva replied. “Let’s talk about the black-cloaks. I was thinking that tree mines could come in handy. The thousands of projectiles they create will wreak havoc on physical shields. I can’t think of anything that will weaken shields quicker.”
“I am not familiar with that spell,” frowned Theos. “I will have to leave that to you and Balamor.”
“Balamor will not be using offensive magic,” Jenneva responded. “He is not a battle mage. He is an illusionist.”
“I have been known to dabble with other tricks,” Balamor quipped, “but I will not take umbrage at your words.”
“But Alex said that we would have three battle mages,” frowned the Tyronian mage. “Who is the third?”
Jenneva glanced at Tanya and giggled. “Have you been hiding your talents again, Daughter?”
“I know some magic,” the queen said with a smile.
“But you are called the Warrior Queen,” Theos replied with confusion. “Is that just a title to match the Warrior King?”
“She is handy with a sword, too,” chuckled Jenneva. “I guess she picked up a little from both her father and me. Anyway, Theos, I can teach you the spell rather quickly. It is not complicated.”
“I would appreciate that, Jenneva,” the Tyronian mage responded.
“I will be going with you,” stated Balamor. “If nothing else, I can provide shields for you while you attack the black-cloaks.”
“Excellent,” smiled Jenneva. “Let’s find a place to sit and discuss this.”
* * * *
General Bledsoe of the 7th Corps of the Empire of Barouk looked up as a shadow suddenly darkened the woods. He gasped when he saw the massive creature diving out of the sky straight for him.
“A dragon!” shouted one of the soldiers. “Take cover!”
The soldiers in the vanguard scattered, seeking whatever cover they could find. Some cavalrymen leaped off their horses to seek shelter, while others spurred their horses in their haste to flee. Chaos reigned all around him, but General Bledsoe pulled his sword defiantly and raised it high over his head. He need not have bothered. The dragon ended its dive level with the treetops and soared over the column, heading from the vanguard to the tail. General Bledsoe frowned at the attack. He had never seen a dragon before, but he could have sworn that he heard it cackle as it flew overhead.
The chaos that had started in the vanguard spread throughout the column as the dragon flew just above it, tongues of flame shooting from its mouth and tendrils of smoke wafting out of its nostrils. Like a rolling boulder parting the tall grass as it rolls down a steep slope, the dragon parted the column of soldiers and sent the men scurrying for safety. At the very rear of the column were eight black-cloaks, and while they had never seen a dragon either, they did not scurry and hide. While the warriors’ weapons might have no effect on such a beast, their magic was not as limited in range or effect. The lead mage shouted orders to the others, and magical projectiles shot upwards towards the dragon.
The display of battle magic further convinced the soldiers to seek cover, and the black-cloaks stood alone, defiant to the flying threat. The first round of magical projectiles had no effect on the dragon as it swerved at the last minute and avoided them, almost as if the creature had expected the attack.
Behind the black-cloaks, the air shimmered. What had appeared to be a large thorny bush suddenly disappeared, revealing four humans standing in a diamond formation. Jenneva, being the point of the diamond closest to the black-cloaks, sent the first offensive spell at the Zaran mages. Sheets of flames dissipated upon striking their invisible shields. She had not expected to find the enemy unprotected, but the battle would have ended immediately if they had been. It had been an appropriate choice for the opening salvo.
The black-cloaks whirled around to face their opponents, secure in the knowledge that they were well shielded. Tanya and Theos, who were flanking Jenneva, let loose with tree mines. The s
pells flew into two trees near the black-cloaks and exploded. The trunks of the trees disappeared in a mist, thousands of jagged wooden shards flying outwards with explosive force. The shields of the black-cloaks lit up like a swarm of a thousand fireflies as the wooden projectiles slammed into them. The soldiers nearest the mages screamed out in agony as the flying splinters pierced their bodies, but the black-cloaks were unhurt. The Zaran mages immediately attacked with a variety of spells. Fireballs dissipated upon impact with Balamor’s shield, while lightning bolts illuminated the shields with a dazzling display of raw energy.
The tops of the trees, whose trunks had been blown apart, came smashing down to the ground, one of them rebounding off the shields of the black-cloaks before crashing to the ground. More soldiers screamed in pain as they were caught under the falling trees, but other soldiers nocked arrows and fired at the Alceans. Jenneva joined Tanya and Theos with another set of tree mines. They aimed behind the black-cloaks to discourage the archers while also weakening the physical shield protecting the mages. Three more trees exploded in a thick mist. Again the Zaran shields lit up from the impact of the projectiles, and Tanya nodded to herself as if she just noticed something important.
“They are moving apart,” Theos warned as he saw the black-cloaks spreading out.
“Tanya,” Jenneva said with a sense of urgency.
“I’m on it, Mother,” the queen replied. “Shake them up. Theos, target the second from the right. He is holding the physical shield.”
The black-cloaks sent another salvo of assorted spells as they started to separate into two groups and move away from each other, but Balamor’s shields held firm. As the black-cloaks tried to spread farther apart, they ran into invisible walls halting their progress. Tanya smiled knowingly. Theos concentrated on creating a small whirlwind. The tiny cyclone grew in intensity. As the winds picked up dirt, twigs, rocks, and other debris, the whirlwind grew in size, millions of physical particles twirling around at dazzling speeds. As Theos was directing the tornado towards his chosen target, the ground rumbled and shook. The trees started swaying and soldiers began to lose their balance. The black-cloaks also had trouble standing, and their attack halted momentarily as they tried to secure their footing and understand what was happening.
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