K'san abruptly turned and strode through the curtain behind the altar. Murmurs rippled through the large room as worshippers rose to their feet. Arik and Tanya merged with the flow of those leaving the temple. They did not speak until they were well away from the crowd.
"Clever," remarked Tanya. "Very clever."
"That pretty much rules out a direct assault on the temple," sighed Arik, "and K'san never leaves the building."
"I didn't think that a direct assault was an option," replied Tanya. "Haven't we been saying that we didn't want to cause the rebellion to grow because we attacked the religion?"
"We did," agreed Arik, "but things are changing quickly. Bin-lu and the others destroyed the temple in Ongchi. They discovered some interesting information that might cause us to change our minds. The temples are only one facet of a much larger plan. We may not have time to handle Balmak in any other way. This ring of protection complicates things a great deal. Rangers will not attack women and children, and K'san knows that. He is tying our hands and laughing at us at the same time."
"Why haven't we heard about the attack in Ongchi?" asked Tanya.
"I thought it best to hear from them in person," answered Arik. "They are on their way to Tagaret now. We will have a meeting this evening."
* * *
The library in the Royal Palace of Alcea was packed with people. All of the Knights of Alcea had been called to Tagaret and were present for the meeting. The king's advisors and top military leaders also attended, as did the spymaster, Zack Nolan. The last to arrive in the library was Prince Garong of Elderal, and he brought Karl Gree with him.
"To bring you all up to date," King Arik began, "three Balmak temples have been attacked and the priests destroyed. All of you have already heard about the destruction of the temple in Chi-Chan. Since that time, Alex, Jenneva, and Balamor took down the temple in Pia. They attacked at night and killed everyone inside the temple. The following morning, Balamor conducted a service using an illusion. That attack was necessitated by the advanced stage of revolution in Pia. During that service, the gods appeared and seemed to destroy the priest."
"The K'san in Pia," interjected Jenneva, "was about to launch a rebellion that would have demanded Za-chan to openly declare war on the followers of Balmak. We could not let that happen."
"I agree," continued the king. "A week later, Bin-lu, Rut-ki, Tedi, and Natia attacked the temple in Ongchi. Word of the attack in Pia had already reached Ongchi, and the K'san there was aware of the true status of Bin-lu and Rut-ki. In short, our chances to learn more about these strange priests have come to an end. The purpose for today's meeting is to reveal what has been learned about our enemy and to devise a plan to defeat Jenneva, why don't you start us off?."
"We discovered several things in Pia," Jenneva declared. "The priests are not only magical, but they have a powerful ability with mind control magic. This magic is used to control those people who cannot be convinced to follow them. It is also used as a form of attack. During the physical battle with K'san, the priest attempted to turn Alex to his side. It took considerable effort to block that spell, but it is possible to do so. One other point of note," she continued, "is that the priest is susceptible to myric poison, although it will be extremely hard to administer. Alex used his considerable strength to open up a cut in the priest's side. Only by directing the quill into that cut was he able to poison the priest."
"It is not easy to cut the skin of those priests," added Alex. "I struck him hard enough to cut a normal man in two, and it only opened his flesh with a small wound."
King Arik nodded to Tanya's parents and called for Bin-lu to speak.
"In both Chi-Chan and Ongchi," Bin-lu began, "the priests were killed by Tedi and the staff that Master Khatama gave him. It is extremely effective in killing them, but the trick is getting close enough to use it. In Ongchi, K'san did use the mind-control magic that Jenneva spoke of. It immobilized both Tedi and me. Had it not been for the quick work by Rut-ki and Natia, Tedi would never have gotten the chance to attack. The spell that K'san uses must require continuous concentration because it broke as soon as they toppled him."
"It sounds as if K'san was holding both of you at the same time," mused Jenneva. "I wonder if the spell would have broken if he was only concentrating on Tedi?"
"I cannot answer that," Bin-lu replied before continuing. "The K'san in Ongchi appeared to be a major figure in the rebellion. He was in constant contact with the other temples in Lanoir, and possibly the ones outside Lanoir. We found a multitude of papers in his office. While we have not made sense out of all of them, some things have become clear. The Balmak religion is not the major thrust of the attack. There is an army somewhere that plans to attack Alcea. Wherever it is, it is not in the land of Alcea. In addition, there is a group that they call Snakes. The Snakes are provocateurs and their goals are to sabotage the government of Alcea and to organize rebellion. This rebellion is in addition to that of the temples, although the Snakes seem to coordinate with the priests. In Ongchi, several of the Snakes had taken over the intelligence section of the Lanoirian government."
"This is important information," interjected Zack Nolan. "We have been focusing on the temples so much that we might be missing other infiltrators."
"Indeed," agreed Prince Oscar. "Are the Snakes converts?"
"Some are," answered Bin-lu, "but most of them are not from Alcea. Za-hong found that the records in Ongchi had been created. Under close examination, the histories of these people were false. Wu-kang, for example, never truly existed, yet he ended up in a very important position."
"How was this done?" asked General Gregor.
"Other fake Lanoirians were created at lower levels first," explained Bin-lu. "Those false Lanoirians were then used as references for superior officers. Wu-kang's record was exemplary, and he succeeded at his job once given the chance. These people have planned this attack for some time."
"That matches what we found out from the Dielderal that we finally captured," interjected Prince Garong. "This plan started many years ago, even before the death of Sarac."
"I agree," added Fredrik. "Wylan managed to capture some of the assassins. I have been interrogating them. Men from this other land have been coming here for years. Some of those false histories were probably created during the Great War. They already know a great deal about us and our country."
"So infiltration might have started some time ago," mused Zack Nolan. "That will make it harder to ferret them out."
"So the Dielderal are involved in this?" Alex asked Prince Garong.
"Very much so," the elven prince replied. "In fact, the dwarves did not wipe out the dark elves. The Dielderal live in that other land. The ones we captured were sent back here specifically to attack humans. It is a part of their plan to break up Alcea into factions."
"They live in some other land?" frowned Jenneva. "I am confused. How did the Dielderal even know about this unknown land?"
"I am not sure how it came to be," admitted Prince Garong, "but the Dielderal have known about Zara since before the collapsing of the Universes."
"Zara?" questioned Queen Tanya.
"That is what they call their homeland," nodded Prince Garong. "In Zara, the dark elves and humans live together. I tried to discover where this land was, but I did not succeed."
"Are you still interrogating them?" asked Prince Oscar.
"No," frowned Prince Garong. "One morning we found the prisoners dead. We are not sure how they were killed, but we don't think they killed themselves. Still, there were no tracks to follow."
"No tracks?" Alex echoed as he raised an eyebrow. "It is hard for me to imagine any killers who didn't leave tracks that an elf could follow. What about your captives, Fredrik?"
"They are still alive," the Royal Sorcerer replied, "but they know little of where they are from. I have gotten the names of cities, but none of them are known to me. They were dropped off at a place called Sandy Point and told to track down the sai
lors. One of them carried a rather complete map of Alcea, but I do not think these men are familiar with our country."
"You need to question them about Zara," stated Alex. "We need to know all there is to know about their homeland. We need to construct a map of Zara, and we need to locate it."
"I will redirect my questions to find out more about Zara," promised Fredrik.
"What are you thinking?" Tanya asked her father.
"We need to know our enemy," Alex replied. "That is imperative. They have had years to plan for the coming attack, but we know nothing about them."
"And how will a map of Zara aid us when they attack?" Tanya asked as her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Alex didn't answer, and the room grew silent, as everyone knew where the question was leading. Finally, Jenneva cleared her throat to break the impasse.
"That is talk for another time," interrupted Jenneva. "What is crucial in this meeting is how we are going to deal with the remaining temples. While we have strived to avoid the appearance of attacking the followers of Balmak, it now seems that time is rather important to us. The temple in Pia was on the verge of starting the revolt. Can other temples be far behind?"
"It is worse than just the temples now," interjected Bin-lu. "Among the papers we found in Ongchi were some that dealt with the goals of the Snakes. Those provocateurs are intent on disrupting the cohesion of Alcea. Assassinations of Alcea's leaders and the destruction of our security forces are their primary objectives. We are already fighting a two-front war."
"And the armies over the seas will be the third front," added Alex. "We cannot allow the enemy to control the timing of this war. While we have striven to avoid openly attacking the Temples of Balmak, I think it is time to end that policy."
"That may spur the people to revolt," warned Prince Oscar. "That is the reason that we decided to work covertly."
"I understand," replied Alex. "I wholeheartedly agreed with that plan, but things have changed now. We can no longer ignore the threat posed by the temples. They gain new followers every day that we delay, and each day brings us closer to the day that foreign armies will set foot on our shores. I firmly believe that we must take down the temples now, no matter what the risk. If we can do it covertly, fine, but if it must be overt then let it be overt. There are far too many factions opposing the rule of King Arik. We would attack the Snakes if we knew who they were, but we don't. Let us attack what we can clearly identify as the enemy."
"The Temples of Balmak," nodded Bin-lu. "Let's shake them up and see where the rats scurry to."
"I agree," stated Zack Nolan. "If Alcea is to survive, we must take some action immediately. If we do not, we will face too many fronts when the war begins."
"Then the temples must be dealt with as soon as possible," declared King Arik. "They are one faction of the enemy that we can target immediately. What do we know about them?"
"Of the temples left in Lanoir," answered Bin-lu, "only one of them has a priest. That is the one in Marchek."
"Trekum in Sordoa has a priest," added Zack Nolan, "as well as Kantor in Cordonia. If we add the temple here in Tagaret, that makes four temples with priests."
"And four in Lanoir without priests," offered Bin-lu.
"If we are going to openly attack the temples," suggested Prince Oscar, "I think we should attack them all at the same time. Why give any of them advanced notice?"
"How do we quell the rebellion?" asked General Gregor.
"I think we should attempt to attack covertly," replied Alex, "but not limit ourselves because of a possible rebellion. Maybe King Arik can speak to the people and explain the need for removing the temples."
"You could give a speech explaining the attacks to the people," Tanya suggested to the king. "The fairies could record the speech and deliver it throughout the kingdom on the morning after the attacks."
"That just might work," brightened Prince Oscar. "Can we manage to attack them all at once?"
"Za-hong can take out the four temples without priests," offered Bin-lu. "That would leave us the other four. The main problem we will face will be killing the priests. Tedi cannot be in four places at the same time."
"Jenneva and I can lead one of the assaults," offered Alex.
"As can Tanya and I," agreed the king.
"If you take Fredrik with you to counteract the mind control," Tanya said to Arik, "I can lead one of the other assaults. I am sure that I can strike hard enough to open up a wound to stick the myric quill in."
The king frowned at the thought of Tanya going off alone. It was not because he didn't think that she could handle it, but rather the thought of not being there if she got in trouble. He looked to Alex to intervene.
"She will do fine," Alex declared in response to the unspoken question. "Each of the assault groups should include a fair number of Rangers. While we have taken down temples with only a few combatants, it was not by choice."
"Agreed," Tanya replied, "but we have a problem with the temple in Tagaret. K'san is having the temple surrounded by women and children. We cannot attack them."
"Women and children?" asked Sheri. "Why?"
"Precisely to halt an attack," answered King Arik. "The local temple will be surrounded by innocents all day and all night."
"I think I can change that," offered Sheri. "Most of the children in Tagaret know me through my role as Queen's Helper, and their parents were probably among those that I fed when they were starving."
"That should work," Wylan nodded vigorously. "They still look upon her as one of their own."
"Then it sounds like we have the beginnings of a plan," stated the king. "Let's discuss it."
Chapter 22
The Plan
The library was a hive of activity as the four assault groups worked out their plans. Each group was assigned a dozen Alcea Rangers. Mitar Vidson, the head of the Rangers had already chosen the men and invited them to join the discussion and plan the attacks. Each Ranger was apprised of the need to use myric quills in any open wound created by the warriors.
Tedi was grouped with Natia, Bin-lu, and Rut-ki, and they would be returning to Lanoir to attack the temple in Marchek. Their Rangers would be housed on a merchant vessel in the Marchek harbor so as not to arouse undo suspicion. King Arik had chosen to journey to Trekum with Fredrik as his mage. In addition to his Rangers, the king would be able to call upon the mercenary groups of Sordoa for crowd control if needed.
Alex and Jenneva decided to take Kantor as their target so that the queen could remain close to the throne. Karl Gree volunteered to go with them so that he could visit with his wife who was still under the care of a healer in Cordonia.
The attacks had been coordinated to occur on the night of the new moon to lessen the chance of being seen. They had two weeks to plan the attacks and get everyone in position. Chaco had already left for Monoceros to raise an army of unicorns, and fairies had been dispatched to spy on the temples in case some new developments arose that might require adjustments to the plans.
The room was noisy with a dozen conversations going on at once. Those not directly involved in any of the groups remained in the library to offer whatever expertise they could. While Jenneva and Mitar discussed the situation in Cordonia, Alex slipped away and visited with Prince Oscar.
"What are the odds that you can get a large Cordonia ship for a couple of weeks?" Alex asked his old friend.
"When?" Oscar asked without showing his surprise at the question.
"As soon as possible," Alex replied. "It would be better for the troops going to Marchek to be on a large ship than one of the ones you use out of Dalek."
"I could arrange for one in a day or two," answered Prince Oscar, "but I am sure that you already realize that it could not dock in Dalek. The water is too shallow."
"Understood," Alex smiled, "but docking would not be necessary. All of the teams will have unicorns. We can fly out to sea and land on the ship."
"True," frowned Prince Oscar, "but you are
not involved in the Marchek operation. What are you really after?"
"Piracy," Alex grinned. "Can you have the ship armed?"
"I can," the prince nodded, "but not until you level with me. I know that you would never do anything to intentionally hurt Arik and Tanya, but unintentional mishaps can be just as costly in dire times such as these. Tell me your plan?"
"I think I know where Sandy Point is," Alex said softly.
"You do?" Prince Oscar inhaled sharply. "Where?"
"There is a long peninsula extending out of the Great Sordoan Desert," explained Alex. "I believe that is Sandy Point."
"That sounds like a good guess," shrugged Prince Oscar, "but it still sounds like a guess. What if you are right? There is nothing there. There is no town, no buildings, and no people. So what?"
"I spoke to a sailor in Pia," explained Alex. "He was on a ship making runs between Pia and Kantor. He told me about a mysterious ship that they encountered. His captain ruined a rudder by running aground in an attempt to avoid the ship. The funny thing about it is that the ship was heading towards the desert where there are no ports. I think there might be a good chance to seize one of the enemy's ships."
"Interesting," mused Prince Oscar. "If their ships are coming from past the Isles of the Sea, they could get to the Great Sordoan Desert without encountering other ships. One of their ships would have sailing charts. We could find out exactly where Zara is."
"And we could sail into their waters without arousing suspicions," grinned Alex. "Not to mention that I would have two-dozen Rangers onboard if both the Marchek and Kantor groups were onboard."
"You have thought this out," remarked Prince Oscar. "Why am I not surprised? There is one question, though. Why haven't you brought this up during the meeting? Shouldn't everyone be made of aware of this?"
"Not yet," Alex said conspiratorially. "You know that Tanya would protest my going to Zara, but I think it is necessary. I can't help but think that Egam gave Jenneva and me those elixirs for a reason. It is as if our lives were meant to be dedicated to fighting the evil that Alutar has spawned."
Knights of Alcea Page 28