Knights of Alcea

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "And what do I do?" asked the elven prince.

  "You can enter from the north and wait in the darkness of the forest," answered the king. "Stay completely hidden no matter what happens until I call for you to enter."

  "Is that wise?" frowned the elf.

  "It is what I wish to happen," replied Arik. "If we are attacked, I do not think they will kill Tanya or me. You will have to free us, so stay hidden."

  Prince Garong nodded, but his face showed his disappointment. The trio split up, and Arik headed for his confrontation with the western sentry. He proceeded soundlessly until he was able to mark the sentry's position. After a few minutes of watching the sentry, Arik formulated his plan. He slowly worked his way around the man and came up quietly behind him. He silently slid his sword out of its sheath and placed it on the man's shoulder.

  "Do not move," whispered the king. "I have come to talk with Karl Gree, not to fight."

  "You have a strange way of introducing yourself," the man commented nervously as his hand slid towards a knife on his belt.

  "Perhaps," replied Arik, "but I will sever your hand if it moves closer to that knife. Put your hands on top of your head and then we will both walk into the campsite to talk to Karl."

  The sentry grumbled, but he complied with the order. His eyes measured Arik as he slowly turned around, and he decided that it was unwise to fight the intruder alone. Still, the sentry's eyes scanned the forest around him looking for any other accomplices.

  "Move slowly and quietly," instructed Arik.

  Arik silently sheathed his sword once the sentry was heading towards the camp and was not in a position to notice. It took only a few moments for the sentry to lead Arik into the campsite. Most of the men were sleeping, but several noticed the approach and the sentry's hands on his head.

  "What is going on?" one of the hunters demanded loudly enough to stir most of the men.

  "I have come to speak with Karl Gree," Arik declared loudly. "I come into this camp in the spirit of friendship and mean no harm to anyone."

  Several of the hunters laughed at Arik, but one man rose from the ground and walked towards the king. The others parted way for him.

  "Put down your hands," the leader snapped at the sentry before turning to face Arik. "I am Karl Gree. What do you want of me?"

  "I have heard the tale of the massacre at Hega," answered King Arik. "I offer my condolences for your loss. I have come to find those responsible and see that they are punished."

  "You have, have you?" snarled Karl. "While I appreciate your sentiments, I lead this group, and it is I who will say if you stay or go. As for who is responsible, we already know that answer, and they will pay for their crimes by dying. Now tell me why you feel this great need to join my army?"

  "The massacre at Hega was an unfathomable crime," answered Arik, "but your army might commit an even greater one if you blindly seek to kill every elf that comes along. I want to make sure that only those criminals who murdered your friends and kin pay the penalty for the crime."

  "An elf is an elf," spat one of the hunters. "Who cares how many of them die?"

  "He looks like one of those people we saw earlier today," commented another. "There were three of them. Where are the other two?"

  Karl frowned as he nodded in agreement. He pointed at a large man and nodded towards the east. The large hunter turned and started to exit the clearing, but he backed up as Tanya shoved the other sentry into the campsite. The man's face was contorted and his mouth moved rapidly in fear, but no sounds came out.

  "What is going on here?" demanded Karl. "Who are you people? What have you done to my man?"

  "I guess I scared him speechless," smiled Tanya. "I am sure he will get over it soon."

  Several of the hunters drew knives from their sheaths, and the campsite seemed on the verge of murder.

  "I am King Arik of Alcea," Arik declared. "I have come to see justice done, not to fight against you. Put away your knives."

  The men hesitated as they looked at Karl for instructions.

  "Sheath your knives," ordered Karl Gree. "This lad might be a bit crazy, but he has not harmed any of us yet." Karl turned to face Tanya and shook his head. "And I suppose you are the queen?" he chuckled.

  "I am Tanya," she replied, "Queen of Alcea."

  Several of the men laughed loudly and shook their heads. Karl sighed with frustration at being denied his sleep because of a pair of lunatics. He motioned for Tanya to stand next to Arik so he didn't have to keep turning around. Tanya shrugged and complied, but she still grasped her staff firmly.

  "I have little patience for jokes," stated Karl. "Bring in your friend and let's dispense with the hilarity. Say your piece and be gone so we can get back to sleep."

  Arik stripped off his tunic and displayed the Breastplate of Alcea. Several of the men gasped, but others remained unconvinced. Karl looked skeptically at the breastplate.

  "The King of Alcea is not going to leave Tagaret to speak to me," he finally stated. "Bring your friend in, or I will send my men out to find him."

  Several of the hunters were eager to search the surrounding forest, and Arik felt his control over the situation disintegrating.

  "I will bring him into the clearing," Arik said loudly, "but anyone who tries to strike him will be dealt with sternly. I do not subject my allies to abuse. Prince Garong, enter the clearing."

  Some of the men stared eastward, while others gazed westward. The elven prince entered silently from the north, and several men near Karl pulled their knives. Tanya's staff instantly whirled. Shouts of surprise erupted from the hunters as Tanya smacked the knives out of their hands.

  Karl stared dumbfounded at the woman's quick movements. He shook his head uncomprehendingly until his eyes landed on the elf. His own hand started moving towards his sheath.

  "Don't do it," King Arik warned loudly. "That is Prince Garong of Elderal, and I have asked him to accompany us to find the elves that attacked Hega. He is your only chance at getting the justice you deserve."

  "What King Arik says is true," interjected Prince Garong as all eyes turned to stare at him. "I will gladly help track down the animals that attacked Hega. No man should ever perpetrate such a heinous act on other people no matter what his race is."

  "Those animals were your people," spat Karl Gree.

  "They were elves," agreed Prince Garong, "but they were not my people. In fact, I believe they were Dielderal, an ancient foe of my people."

  Karl Gree seemed to weigh the words of the elf. He was still not sure he believed any of the intruders, but he recognized the possibility that the words of the elf were sincere. He turned back to look at the man and woman who pretended to be the king and queen of Alcea.

  "Give me one reason why I should believe the words of you three," Karl said. "No king would travel this far without an escort."

  "I would," answered Arik. "A large escort would only draw attention to my travels, and I still have enemies that would wish me dead. As to why I came, your army has the potential for splitting Alcea into factions who will fight each other to the death. I suspect that is exactly what the attackers of Hega desired to do. Why else would they have let your bride survive? Ask yourself why the elves left a witness to describe the attack?"

  "I have wondered about that every night," Karl conceded. "I can only assume that they wanted me to suffer knowing who they were."

  "The attackers do not care what Karl Gree thinks," interjected Tanya. "They seek to use your rage and the rage of others to accomplish their own goals. Are you going to reward the attackers by doing exactly what they want you to do?"

  "She speaks the truth," added Prince Garong. "The elves stood alongside the humans and others at the Battle of Tagaret. We did so because we have sworn allegiance to King Arik, but what people would not react to blind attacks upon their populace? If you strike out at elves, do you not think the elves will respond by attacking other humans?"

  "Yet you are saying that we should not be
allowed such vengeance?" retorted Karl. "Why is it alright for the elves to retaliate to my attacks, but I must suffer the loss of Hega without reacting?"

  "We are saying no such thing," stated King Arik. "You shall have your vengeance, but only on those who attacked Hega. The elves of Elderal will march by your side if that is what it takes to hunt down and destroy the elves that committed the atrocity."

  "I wish I could believe in you," Karl sighed, "but I cannot believe that I am known to those in Tagaret. It is too tall a tale for me to swallow."

  "What do you know of the King of Alcea?" asked Prince Garong. "How would you know him if you ever saw him?"

  "He rides a unicorn," offered one of the hunters. "So does the queen."

  "He is known as the Warrior King," stated another hunter. "And his bride is the Warrior Queen. Perhaps a bout will settle the question?"

  "It is said that he has fairy slaves," mentioned a hunter. "Do you have one?"

  Arik smiled and stuck his finger into his pocket to awaken Prince Midge, but the movement was unnecessary. The fairy prince was already leaping out and glaring at the hunter who spoke last.

  "We are not slaves," scowled the fairy prince. "I am Prince Midge, and I lead the fairy people in serving the Bringer freely. We are his most loyal subjects."

  The hunters stared in awe at the little green man that perched on Arik's shoulder. Tanya smiled broadly as she sent messages to Chaco and Frea. Before the assembled hunters could express their amazement at Prince Midge, the unicorns pranced into the clearing, their horns proudly displayed for all to see. The crowd gasped in amazement, but Karl Gree dropped to one knee before King Arik and bowed his head low.

  "I beg your forgiveness, King Arik," Karl said loudly. "I am ashamed of my performance after you have traveled so far to speak to me."

  The other hunters saw Karl drop to one knee. To a man they all knelt and bowed their heads.

  "Your only fault, Karl Gree," smiled King Arik, "is not understanding the mystery surrounding the attack on Hega. You are not alone in that lack of understanding, but together we will solve it."

  "What will be done to me?" asked Karl.

  "Done to you?" replied Arik. "You are not to be punished, if that is what you mean. Your army will be immediately disbanded. Send your men home to be with their families. You will join Prince Garong, Queen Tanya, and me as we search for the answers to the mystery. Only after we have solved the puzzle will there be need of an army."

  Chapter 8

  Off Course

  The two dwarves halted at the edge of the woods outside Trekum. Prince Darok's nose rose as he sniffed the cool night air, and Kail gazed in disbelief at the high walls surrounding the old Sordoan city.

  "There must be thousands of humans within those walls," Kail remarked. "Wouldn't it be better to continue our trek by night as we have been? Why risk going to Trekum?"

  "Tagaret is a long ways away," Prince Darok replied as he looked at the young dwarf. "It would take us forever to walk there. Can you swim?"

  "We are going to swim to Tagaret?" asked Kail.

  "No," answered Prince Darok. "I am thinking about avoiding the gates of the city. We can get around the walls if we enter the sea and swim around them. Can you swim?"

  "I can," answered Kail, "but I thought you said the humans were our friends. Why are you now afraid to enter the city?"

  "Garala has declared that the dwarves and humans are friends," replied Prince Darok, "and I truly believe that, but it has been a few years since we retreated to our caves. That is long enough for some people to forget. I do not want to take the chance of being attacked before we speak to Garala and report what has happened."

  "Then why enter this city at all?" questioned the dwarven student. "We do not need provisions."

  "There are friends in Trekum who can speed our journey northward," answered Prince Darok. "These friends of Garala are certain to aid us."

  "You put far too much faith in humans," scowled Kail. "I think King Arik was only a friend to the dwarves when he needed our help to win the wars."

  Prince Darok turned and glared at the young dwarf. "You will call him Garala," berated the prince, "and I will not hear you question his loyalty to us. Never forget that we are sworn to his service."

  Kail's head hung in shame as the dwarven prince admonished him, but he secretly held doubts about any allegiance to a human. Humans and dwarves had never been friends until the human king had needed the aid of the dwarves.

  Prince Darok turned towards the sea and moved through the forest. Kail wordlessly followed. When the dwarves reached the coast, the prince hesitated only long enough to ensure that no one was looking before walking into the surf until only his head was above the water. He checked briefly to make sure that Kail was following before turning north and paralleling the coast.

  "This salt water will rust our armor," Kail complained softly.

  "Be quiet," Prince Darok snapped softly. "We may have to abandon our armor to get around the wall."

  The dwarven prince kept his eyes on the wall nearest the sea as he walked steadily northward. The night sky was overcast, and Prince Darok knew that the darkness would aid with his infiltration of the city, but there was always a chance that some human would be gazing at the sea. He felt terribly exposed with nowhere to run to.

  The dwarves moved slowly through the water. At times the waves crested over their heads, but neither of them uttered a cry that could be heard from the land. When they reached the wall, they saw that it extended into the sea. Prince Darok held up his hand to halt the student.

  "We must leave our armor here," instructed the prince. "We can not get around this wall and still keep our feet on the bottom, and the armor would pull us under."

  "Can we come back for it?" asked Kail.

  "If we can find it," nodded Prince Darok.

  Kail reached into his pack and pulled out a long spike. He quietly tapped the spike into a crevice in the wall and then used twine to hang his armor. Prince Darok looked on and smiled at the student's ingenuity.

  "Whatever prompted you to bring such a long spike?" he whispered.

  "I have never journeyed away from Lanto," shrugged Kail. "I had no idea what to pack so I brought along a little bit of everything."

  Prince Darok chuckled under his breath as he removed his armor and hung it from the spike. With the armor removed, the dwarves set out to swim around the wall. The going was slow at first as they bucked the waves rushing to the shore, but the end of the wall was soon in sight and they swam around it. Instead of heading directly for shore on the city side of the wall, the prince kept swimming northward until he saw a long dock protruding into the sea. He headed straight for it.

  When the dwarves reached the dock, they moved underneath it and eventually felt the sand below their feet once again. They moved as close to land as they could before Prince Darok stuck his head out and surveyed the area.

  "Be silent and follow me," whispered the prince.

  The two dwarves crept out of the sea and momentarily hugged the side of a large warehouse before the prince turned the corner and moved inland. Halfway along the wall of the warehouse was a door, and the dwarven prince stopped at it and knocked. The door opened and a human stared at the two waterlogged dwarves in surprise. The prince did not give the human time to react. He barged through the door, nearly knocking the human over in his haste to get inside. Kail followed and shoved the door closed.

  "I am Prince Darok of Dorgun," the prince said to the shocked human. "Get us blankets, and tell Eddie that we are here to see him."

  The human hesitated only a moment before wordlessly dashing into the dark warehouse. Moments later the sound of footsteps approached.

  "The blankets will be here shortly, Prince Darok," greeted Eddie. "Come into the other room. We have a fire going."

  The dwarves followed Eddie through the dark warehouse. Eddie opened a door and light flooded out. The dwarves followed him into a large room with a fireplace. As t
he dwarves huddled before the fireplace, a man showed up with two blankets and handed them anxiously to the dwarves.

  "Was I right to allow them in?" asked the man.

  "Prince Darok is a Knight of Alcea," smiled Eddie. "To have refused them would have been an insult. Leave us alone. If I need anything, I will call you."

  "At least one human has not forgotten the dwarves," Prince Darok commented after the other human had left. "I was not sure of our welcome in Trekum."

  "You are always welcome here," smiled Eddie. "What brings you to Trekum?"

  "We have to get to Tagaret," answered the dwarven prince. "It is a matter of urgency. I was hoping that you could send us on a ship."

  "We have one leaving tomorrow," stated Eddie, "and you are welcome to board it. May I ask what the urgency is?"

  "Humans attacked the dwarves of Lanto recently," answered Prince Darok. "While it might be an isolated incident of mere criminals, they made comments about the extermination of the dwarves. I need to be sure that Garala has not forsaken us."

  Eddie sat on a crate and stared into the fire without answering. Prince Darok gave the human a few moments to think before pushing for a response.

  "You do not appear shocked by the attack on us," frowned the prince. "Have we lost grace with your king?"

  "No," Eddie replied instantly. "King Arik would never abandon his friendship with the dwarves. What causes me a hesitation in answering you is the thought that the attack might have been prevented if I had acted sooner."

  "What do you mean?" questioned the dwarf prince.

  "Some people have been stirring up anger towards the dwarves and elves," answered Eddie. "We have been monitoring the situation, but I never imagined that anyone would act upon the words of a deranged priest. I am sorry."

  "So even if Garala is still loyal to us," posed the prince, "the rest of the humans are not?"