Ossendar: Book Two of the Resoration Series

by Williams, Christopher

  A long rectangular table sat in the middle of the room, with plain wooden chairs clustered around it. The surface of the table was a giant map that showed in detail from the western sea to the impassable White Mountains in the east. The map showed the frozen wastes of the far north to the three fingers jutting out into the ocean to the south. Flare wondered how accurate the map was, after all no one traveled to the wastes of the north.

  The king sat at the head of the table, as was his due. The king's council sat arrayed around the table, and less prominent people stood. The king sat at the far end of the table in the only high backed chair in the room, Angaria sat to the king's left. Angaria was leaning over and talking quietly to the king.

  A guard stationed to the right of the door stepped close to Flare and said, “My Lord. The king understands this is the first time you have attended a meeting here. Please stand with the others and he will attend to you soon.”

  Flare merely nodded, and moved to stand behind the other attendees. Most of the people in the room were familiar to him. Seated at the table were generals and lords of Telur. Standing behind the table were lesser nobles and military men. Flare crossed his arms, wondering why a prince stood in the back of the crowd, although he was grateful that he was not the focus of attention.

  “Let us start the meeting.” King Darion said, “Guards, please leave us.”

  The guards bowed and left the room. Flare was thoroughly thrown off guard by the events so far. He had not expected to partake in a secret meeting with so many high ranking people. 'This doesn't bode well.'

  All talking had ceased with the king's words, and the group waited patiently for the king to begin. The nobles and generals seemed anxious, and Flare found that anxiety to be contagious.

  The king took a deep breath, “I have assembled you because we have received some bad news.” He paused momentarily, “Lord Maltin, please brief the assembly.”

  A man stepped forward from where he had been standing behind the king's chair. Flare hadn't even noticed the man before, and it quickly became apparent as to why.

  Lord Maltin was in every sense a 'plain' man. He was of average height and weight, with nondescript skin coloring. His facial features and clothing made it apparent that he would blend in just about anywhere in Telur.

  Maltin scanned the room before he spoke. “For those of you who do not know me, I am Lord Maltin Dela Narra. I am in charge of gathering news on what our neighboring countries are doing. It is my duty to inform you that the kingdoms of Natesh and Molain have signed a peace treaty.”

  Quiet was the only response to Maltin's words. Flare knew the kingdoms that Maltin spoke of. Millennia ago, Molindor had fought beside Telur against Golteranth in the dragon-lord wars. However, Molindor was a huge and diverse country that civil war had split into smaller kingdoms. Over time, smaller kingdoms had been absorbed into larger kingdoms, until now Natesh and Molain were the only two kingdoms left of any significance. Natesh was east of Telur, and Molain was south of Natesh, but it still bordered with Telur.

  Lord Maltin paused to let the full affect of his words settle. For several moments, quiet was the rule, but that soon passed and a multitude of conversations broke out. Quite a few just looked around confused.

  Lord Maltin raised his hands, and after a moment he was rewarded with quiet. “My informants tell me that the dismantling of the seven keeps on the border of the Broken Mountains is a condition of the treaty.”

  Looks of confusion were evident on the faces of many, and Flare was relieved that he wasn't the only one who had no idea what Maltin was speaking of.

  Lord Maltin quickly realized his mistake and moved to correct it. He pointed to the map on the table, along the border of the two countries, as he spoke. “My apologies, I just assumed that you would be familiar with the conditions that exist between Natesh and Molain. The Broken Mountains run between most of the two kingdoms and there are only seven passes that are large enough to move a significant number of troops through. There is a keep on either end of all those passes. One of the keeps is controlled by Natesh and the other is controlled by Molain. Right now these keeps are heavily fortified, as they are the only defense from the other side marching right through. With these garrisons removed, a huge number of troops will be freed up.”

  An older man that was seated at the table, whom Flare didn't recognize, spoke up, “Those two have been fighting for centuries and they just all of a sudden agree to dismantle their forces?” His tone was rather incredulous. Although Flare didn't recognize the man, he wore the colors of House Morningstar which clearly marked him as the Morningstar representative.

  Lord Maltin took a step toward the man as he spoke, “They have been negotiating for some time now but we didn't expect anything to come of it. We were completely surprised by their agreeing to peace, and even more surprised that they agreed to reduce the forces along the Broken Mountains.” He clasped his hands behind his back and his voice took on a lecturing tone. “The keeps will not be abandoned, but the forces will be dramatically reduced. Apparently, both King Almarin and King Travis agreed because royal family members will be placed in the capitals of the other nation. Those royal family members are the guarantee that one kingdom will not attack the other.”

  Flare smiled at Maltin's words and thought, 'I guess that a King can always find family members that he doesn't like.' The smile faded somewhat as he thought of Solistine and his distant family. 'That could have been me.'

  “Good for them. What does that have to do with us?” Asked a young man with a round face, standing along the wall to Flare's right. He seemed rather disinterested.

  Lord Maltin turned a disapproving frown in the young lord's direction. “You see, as long as the two kingdoms were fighting with each other, their attention and resources were not focused in our direction.”

  The young lord with the round face seemed to reconsider his earlier rash statement when he thought of all those troops moving toward Telur.

  “Not all of the troops are part of the standing army, some of them are sworn to various lords and nobles, and will no doubt return to their service. Those do not concern us, it's the soldiers that are part of the standing army that we are worried about,” Lord Maltin said.

  “Do you know where they are to be sent?” Flare asked, before he thought better.

  Lord Maltin sighed, “It seems that the troops are to be sent to the western borders of the two countries.” He said as he pointed along the map. “That will put them on the border with Telur.”

  Once again a multitude of conversations broke out in the room. Some quickly concluded that war was descending on Telur from the east, while others seemed to still cling to hope that war would not come.

  Flare noticed the young Lord with round face, who just a little bit earlier had seemed indifferent. He now seemed anxious and he had one finger in his mouth as he chewed his nail.

  The Morningstar representative spoke again, “We can't allow this to happen. As it is, raiders cross the border in droves and attack our farms and villages. We must increase the number of Telurian soldiers patrolling the eastern border.”

  “Lord Allis, If you can't defend your own lands, then why should we?” Asked a man that Flare knew to be Lord Colpin. Lord Colpin was sworn to Lord Justin of House Darkvale, who controlled the northern territories. Lord Colpin was a fat man who had little restraint when it came to eating, but the few times that Flare had met him, he had noticed the man's calculating eyes. He was a shrewd man and one to be watched.

  Lord Allis, the Morningstar representative, puffed up at Lord Colpin's remarks. “How dare you question us, when you grow fat and powerful because we are fighting the intruders?”

  “Like last spring? When we sent all those troops south and east, and the attack came from the west?” This comment came from Lord Marin, sworn to Lord Roderick of House Efflen, he was seated next to Lord Colpin.

  “And what of it? The kingdoms to the east were marshaling their forces and it app
eared an attack was imminent.” Lord Allis answered in a huffy tone.

  “So they marshal their forces again and once again we send all these troops to the east?” Lord Colpin asked. “Maybe they are a decoy again, and the real attack comes from the west. Perhaps, Fort Mul-Dune is the target again.”

  Lord Allis opened his mouth to speak, but it was King Darion that spoke first. “Fort Mul-Dune has been reinforced and never again will we allow the garrison there to be depleted.” The king motioned to a man sitting at the table, several seats from the king. “General Dunn feels this could be a prelude to war.”

  General Dunn cleared his throat, “The information that Lord Maltin has provided us, indicates that the numbers of troops that are scheduled to move dwarf the number that moved last spring. They cannot keep that number of troops in the field for long without attacking us or sending them home. We feel the attack could be as early as mid to late spring.” The general spoke easily and seemed comfortable talking to this large group of nobles. Flare had met him several times and the man had seemed extremely competent, but gruff as only a life-long military man can be.

  Lord Colpin crossed his arms, “Exactly what I would expect a man sworn to House Morningstar to say.”

  The general's eyes narrowed and he rose to his feet glaring at Lord Colpin. “And what do you mean by that, you fat slob of a man.”

  Lord Colpin's eyes widened in shock and he opened his mouth to retort, but the king beat him to it.

  The king slapped his hand down on the table, making a loud wham sound. “Colpin. Allister. Both of you will be civil. Is that understood?”

  Both men nodded and grumbled something, but Lord Colpin continued to glare at the man in a way that said the slight would not be forgotten.

  The king also glared at the two men for several moments, before shaking his head and then continuing, “Lord Colpin, you will tell Lord Justin that he is to send the troops to the east. General Dunn will give you the particulars. Is that clear?”

  Lord Colpin nodded his head to the king. “Of course, sir. My liege will be honored to do as you command.” The words were the right thing to say, but the tone implied disapproval.

  The king paused a moment and then turned his head, “Lord Marin, you will inform Lord Roderick that he is to send troops to the south, and this time I expect him to send them,” the king paused in mid-sentence, “promptly.” His tone was quiet, but he put special inference on the word 'promptly'.

  Lord Marin paled, but he covered it by bowing his head, “As you command, my King.”

  Finally, King Darion spoke to General Dunn, “Allister. See to the particulars of the troop deployment.”

  The general bowed his head but said nothing.

  The king nodded to Duke Angaria, who had apparently been waiting. He seemed to vault from his chair at the king's nod. “Besides the marshaling of the standing army, the king is issuing a further call to arms for each of the great houses and minor houses. Each house will be expected to send their knights, bond-men, and mercenaries to support the army.” He paused and looked around at the Lords.

  No one met the Duke's gaze and it was clear that the king's commands were not pleasing the crowd. Whether it was because of what the king had ordered, or because it was Duke Angaria that was relaying the commands, Flare didn't know.

  Duke Angaria scanned the faces for several moments, “Only the standing army is being called at this moment. The knights and assorted bond-men are to be ready to depart for the border immediately upon receiving the king's call. Have them sharpen their swords and ready their horses. The king will not look favorably on those that delay in coming.” Still no one met the Duke's gaze, but several had gone red around the ears. “Any questions?” He asked, but no one responded. “Fine. You're dismissed.”

  He turned to leave with the rest of the crowd, but Duke Angaria's voice stopped him. “Prince Flarantlas, please wait a moment. The king wishes to speak with you.”

  Flare turned back away from the door, trying to hide his surprise as he did so. Angaria had almost seemed cordial, and normally not even the king's presence made him so.

  At first the wave of Lords and military men seemed like it would rush over him, but Flare stood his ground and glared at those nearest to him. The glare worked, and they parted to pass around him. Those in the back, that were heading out, followed the lead of those in front, so Flare stood in a bubble in the midst of the wave of departing men.

  Several moments later, the room was clear except for Flare and three other men. Those men caused a knot of fear to form in his stomach, but he swallowed hard and strode forward to the table. The king still sat at the head of the table, but he smiled as Flare walked up. It was the other two men that made little beads of sweat break out on his forehead. The other two men were Duke Angaria and Lord Maltin.

  Steeling himself for the worst, he half-bowed before the king. 'What do they want with me?' He asked himself. Surely they didn't know about his magic and sorcery lessons. If they had, several squads of the King's guard and the Guardians would have come for him. They wouldn't send members of the nobility, but that fact did little to quiet the weakness that swirled in his stomach.

  “You wished to speak with me, Sir.” Flare directed at the king.

  “Yes. Tell me what did you think of the meeting?”

  Flare shrugged, “Lord Maltin gave a good report on the threat, although I think it was understated.” He paused, not sure if he should proceed.

  The king apparently sensed Flare's reluctance, “Is that all?”

  “Well, I was rather dismayed by the noble's reaction to the news. They didn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation. Or worse, perhaps they did realize the danger, but since it didn't affect them they didn't care. Either way, Telur is in for a long hard battle if those troops come across the border.”

  The king nodded, “Very astute.” He sighed, “Yes, some of them are too stupid to know what this means, but it's not them that bothers me. It's the ones that do understand what this means, and yet they see only their own gain in this mess.”

  Flare spoke before he thought better of it, “Do you think that House Efflen will send their fighters?”

  “Yes, but do you want to know why?” The king leaned forward in his chair, “It's not that they feel threatened by me. No, I think that they had a deal last spring to delay their troops being sent to the east. I think that they expected the east to be overrun and for me to be overthrown.” He stopped and watched Flare.

  'What does that mean?' Flare wondered. 'They held back their troops so that the east could be overrun. But what deal?' The answer came to him in a flash. “You think that Lord Roderick was to rule what was left of Telur?”

  The king's smile deepened, “You see, Angaria. The boy is quick.” Duke Angaria said nothing; he merely kept watching Flare and the king. “That's exactly what I think. I believe Roderick was offered the throne in my place.”

  Flare nodded, “And you can't go after him, because that would start a civil war just as Telur is being attacked from the east.”

  “Roderick always was ambitious. His family once ruled as kings before the four provinces became one kingdom. I think he dreams of being King Roderick and restoring his throne.”

  Flare glanced at Duke Angaria and Lord Maltin. Was it safe for the king to be saying these things in front of the two men? The king seemed to read Flare's mind.

  “Don't worry Flare. No one trusts Angaria, except me that is. And Lord Maltin has proven himself loyal to me over the many years. Maltin has been my spy master for almost fifteen years.” Seeing the confused look on Flare's face, he added, “Maltin is in charge of gathering information on what my loyal followers and our neighboring kingdoms are doing. He's quite good at it, I might add.”

  Flare snorted and looked over at Lord Maltin. “I take it that last spring wasn't your greatest moment.”

  Lord Maltin flushed red. “Uh, no. It was a brilliant plan, and whoever it was knew what they were doing. I
f not for your little bit of heroics at Fort Mul-Dune, Telur would have fallen and it would have been my fault.”

  The king waved his hand, “Never mind that just now. That's not why we're here.” He reached for a glass of water, took a sip, and replaced it on the table. “Flare, what did you mean when you said, you thought the threat was understated?”

  Flare paused, trying to put his thoughts into the right words. “Well, what I meant is that you told us enough that any of these nobles that are reasonably intelligent should be scared to death. If you told us that much, then the threat must be far worse than what we heard.”

  “Why?” The king asked. “Why must things be worse than what we said?”

  Flare smiled a rueful smile, “Things are always worse than they seem.”

  The king matched Flare's rueful smile with one of his own, “See Angaria. I told you he was a smart one.”

  Angaria rolled his eyes, but only when the king was not looking at him. “As you say, my Lord.”

  “Can you guess the rest of the bad news?” Lord Maltin asked, his piercing eyes seeming to bore into Flare.

  “Has to be the south.” Flare said, without a moment's hesitation.

  All three men seemed a little taken aback. “Why?” The king asked.

  “Well, you're sending reinforcements to the south. Which I don't think you would be doing if the only threat was from the east.” He frowned as his own words sank in, “How bad is it?”

  The king dropped his gaze to the table, and it was Lord Maltin that answered. “Worse than you could imagine.” He pointed to the map on the table, “Not only does it look like troops will be along our southern and eastern borders by summer, but it looks like there is coordination going on between the different kingdoms.”

  The words hit Flare hard. It was bad enough if the southern and eastern kingdoms were massing individually, but if they were coordinating, then they could overwhelm Telur. He swallowed hard, “We'll be overrun. I don't see how we can stop them, seeing as how much we will be outnumbered.”