Knights of Alcea

by Richard S. Tuttle

  “All he needs now is rest,” answered the elven healer. “He will be fine in a day or two.”

  “You also need rest,” smiled the king. “I can never repay you for all that you have done, Zalaharic. Ask what you will of me; it will be yours.”

  “I live to serve Valon,” smiled the healer. “There is no greater joy in life than to be of service to you.”

  The elven healer dropped to one knee and bowed to King Arik.

  “Then you need to get some rest,” smiled Valon. “Rise and I will send someone to escort you to your chambers.”

  The elf rose, and King Arik bowed in gratitude before leaving the room. As the king made his way to the library, he noticed the sun already streaming in through the windows. He opened the door and found the Knights of Alcea assembled and waiting for him. The group looked tired, and King Arik decided to get the meeting over with as quickly as possible so everyone could get some well needed rest.

  “I have just come from Fredrik’s room,” the king announced. “Zalaharic reports that the Royal Sorcerer will survive. In fact, he will be good as new in a day or two. What have you to report?”

  “Kantor was successful,” reported Alex. “We returned with a load of papers that will need to be gone over, but that can wait until we all get a bit of sleep.”

  “Tagaret was also successful,” announced Queen Tanya, “but they knew that we were coming. We walked into a trap.”

  “How could they have known?” asked the king.

  “I intend to find the answer to that question,” vowed the queen. “I would like to say nothing more of my mission at this time.”

  King Arik frowned as he turned and glanced at the people assembled in the library. Besides the Knights of Alcea, only the king’s closest advisors were in attendance. He looked quizzically at his wife.

  “I have full trust in everyone in this room,” the queen stated as the king’s concern became clear to her, “but I will still remain quiet until I have completed my investigation. There is always a chance that someone has found a way to record what happens in the palace. Indulge me.”

  King Arik nodded in response. He turned his eyes to Bin-lu.

  “Our attack was flawless,” frowned the Lanoirian, “but I cannot report success. The temple was completely taken over without a single casualty, but K’san disappeared.”

  “Disappeared?” asked the king.

  “He was there for the evening service,” replied Bin-lu, “and no one saw him leave the building, but we could not find him once we had taken over the temple. I am at a loss to explain it.”

  “Then we have unfinished business in Marchek,” declared the king. “We cannot afford to leave a single K’san alive to foment rebellion. Let us all get some sleep and reconvene after high sun.”

  * * *

  The mage checked the alley carefully before sliding open the door to the old warehouse and slipping inside. He immediately felt eyes upon him and whirled around, ready to attack.

  “Easy, Magra,” cautioned Fletcher. “It is only me.”

  “You shouldn’t scare me like that,” the mage scowled as he sighed in relief.

  “A little edgy, are we?”

  “The message said that Tedesco wanted to see me,” retorted Magra. “Is he here?”

  “Follow me,” replied Fletcher as he led the way across the dirty floor and through a doorway.

  “You failed me,” scowled Tedesco as the mage entered the small room. “I gave you my best men. Where are they now?”

  “Dead,” snapped Magra, “and don’t scold me about failure. Look to your own people if you wish to fault someone.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” asked the head of the Snakes. “I gave complete control of the mission to you. How could you have bungled it so much as too lose all of your men is beyond me.”

  “It was a trap,” spat the mage. “They knew we were coming.”

  The scowl on Tedesco’s face slowly softened. He waved his arm towards a chair. “You are making a serious charge,” the leader said calmly. “If there is a spy among us, we are all in danger. How do you know it was a trap?”

  “They were all there,” Magra answered more calmly as he sat down. “Every Knight of Alcea was in the Royal Palace waiting for us. They hunted us down like dogs. I barely escaped with my life intact. None of the others even made it to the wall.”

  “Perhaps it was a coincidence that all of the Knights of Alcea were gathered,” interjected Fletcher. “It doesn’t mean we have a spy within our ranks.”

  “Inconceivable.” The mage shook his head. “I started the attack by sliding two Stone Vipers into the king’s sleeping chambers. I had barely left the corridor when someone came running towards the king’s chamber screaming about snakes. There is no way anyone could have detected the vipers. They had to have been told about them in advance.”

  “If they had known in advance,” posed the leader, “you would not have been allowed to get as far as you did. If there is a spy, it was among the mages you took into the palace with you. That would explain the timing of their alarm.”

  “He has a point there,” agreed Fletcher. “Who did you tell about the vipers?”

  “No one,” frowned the mage. “It was my secret until we entered the palace. The vipers were meant to cause such a commotion that the other teams would have no trouble striking their targets.”

  “And what happened?” asked Tedesco.

  “They hunted us like animals,” recalled Magra. “It was like a game to them. They divided into pairs and tracked us down. They blasted fire and wind down empty corridors to shatter our illusions. They shot us with bows and hurled knives at us. They even greased the outer wall of the palace to stop us from escaping. How could they have been so prepared if they had no foreknowledge?”

  “Perhaps we underestimated the Knights of Alcea,” frowned Tedesco. “I have received reports that all of the temples in Alcea were attacked in a single night. I think your group just happened to attack the Royal Palace on the wrong night. The Knights of Alcea were probably gathered to plan their own attacks.”

  “Now that is bad luck,” sympathized Fletcher.

  “Perhaps,” Magra grudgingly conceded. “What happened with the temple attacks? Are the Knights of Alcea no longer a problem?”

  “The reverse,” scowled Tedesco. “The temples are no longer a problem to King Arik.”

  “You can not be serious,” balked Magra. “The K’sans did not stop the assaults?”

  “The priests are all dead,” replied Tedesco.

  Magra gasped.

  “Not quite,” corrected Fletcher. “I just received a report while I was waiting for Magra. The priest in Marchek was not in the temple when it was attacked. There is at least one K’san still living.”

  “Does the king know this?” asked Tedesco.

  “He must,” answered Fletcher. “Surely his Knights of Alcea would report the lack of a priest at one of the temples. Why do you ask?”

  “Because King Arik will not let K’san live,” replied Tedesco. “He will be forced to go after him. That gives us a location besides Tagaret where the king will certainly appear in the future. Perhaps we should arrange a reception for him.”

  * * *

  Alex sighed heavily and dropped the pile of papers onto the table in the library. He turned and walked to the balcony doors and opened them. He stepped onto the balcony and saw the sun sinking towards the horizon. He sighed heavily again and stared out at the city.

  “Something is bothering you,” Prince Oscar said as he joined Alex on the balcony. “What is it?”

  “I guess I am not used to spending my days reading piles of papers.”

  “There does appear to be little gained in reading the papers taken from the temples, but it must be done, and it must be done by people with knowledge of the situation.”

  “Perhaps,” shrugged Alex, “but we have been going through the papers for three days now. We have learned precious little from them. If
we seek to know our enemies, we must go to Zara and spy on them.”

  “You surely must know that Arik will not let you go,” Prince Oscar replied. “Why do you torture yourself so?”

  Alex said nothing to his old friend as he watched the citizens of Tagaret go about their business, unaware that a new war was looming over the horizon. A tinge of sadness filled his eyes, and his jaw tightened with determination.

  “I have seen that look on your face before,” the prince said softly. “Are you going to defy the king?”

  “Perhaps it is better if you do not know my plans,” retorted Alex as he turned to see the three provincial governors enter the library. “Besides, I can do nothing until all of the K’sans in Alcea are dealt with. We have had no word from Bin-lu and the others yet. Until we do, our focus must remain on finding the last priest.”

  “It has only been three days,” commented the prince. “Even with the help of Tedi and Natia, Bin-lu and Rut-ki will have trouble tracking down the missing priest. It could be months before they report back.”

  “We do not have months to waste,” Alex said tensely. “If they don’t find him within the week, I will go looking for him myself.”

  “Without Jenneva?” questioned Prince Oscar. “Where is she anyway? I haven’t seen her since the day you all returned from the temple attacks.”

  “She is doing some research in Egam’s cave. Something about Balmak has been tickling her memory. She is looking for answers in the old texts the Mage left behind.”

  “Is Tanya with her?”

  “No.” Alex shook his head. “She is trying to ferret out the spy who tipped off the priest in the Tagaret temple.”

  “And you are stuck here going through temple papers,” chuckled Prince Oscar. “I think I now understand your mood better. You were never one to handle idleness well.”

  “Not when there is an enemy lurking about,” Alex agreed as he turned to face the prince. “Oscar, many of the people in this room will likely be dead by the end of this coming war. I know that Arik is concerned about losing his Knights of Alcea, but he cannot afford to protect them. We are weapons that are meant to be used. By restricting us, he is actually increasing the odds of our deaths. We need to discover as much about our enemies as we can, and we have little time to do it. What we need to know is not going to be found in the papers we seized from the temples. Someone has to go to Zara.”

  “And there is no one more qualified to go then you,” Prince Oscar nodded in agreement. “I am on your side in this, Alex, but Arik will not even discuss it with me. I just don’t want to see a rift develop between the two of you.”

  “Nor do I,” sighed Alex, “but I will do what I know must be done. I would not be who I am if I were able to turn a blind eye to the troubles coming our way.”

  Prince Oscar sighed and nodded towards the library door as Jenneva entered the room. “And what about your wife? Will she also try to stop you?”

  Alex shook his head. “We have talked a lot about this. Jenneva is in total agreement with me. She will be going as well.”

  “Let me know what I can do to help,” Prince Oscar smiled thinly. “But now we should rejoin the others before our absence is noted.”

  Alex nodded and led the way off the balcony. Jenneva saw him and immediately moved to his side. When Queen Tanya entered the library a moment later, the king called for everyone’s attention.

  "Thank you all for coming," the king began, "and I apologize to those who had to wait for the meeting to begin, but it is important that we all understand where we are right now. In short, our missions to bring an end to the Temples of Balmak were mostly successful."

  A few hardy cheers interrupted the king, and he waited patiently for quiet to return.

  "Unfortunately," the king continued, "that is only the first battle of the coming war. Many of the documents we captured speak of an invading army so immense that the combined armies of Hanchi and Sarac pall in comparison."

  "How can that be?" interrupted Governor Mobami of Sordoa. "There are not enough people in the whole world to support such a large army. It cannot be."

  "In the known world," corrected Alexander Tork. "The army that is coming our way is not from anywhere that we have ever been. There is a land far over the ocean. That is where our enemy is coming from."

  "Alex is correct," declared the king. "There is a land called Zara across the ocean. It is from that land that the priests of Balmak originated, and it is from there that the armies will come to destroy us. The people of Alcea have much to do to prepare for this invasion. It will require the greatest efforts of all of our people. That is why I asked for all of you to be here today. We must pull together and work in unison if we are to survive."

  "How can we prepare for the unknown?" asked Governor Za-chan of Lanoir.

  "An excellent question," nodded Alex. "That is why some of us must journey to Zara and determine the capabilities of our enemy."

  "There will be no journey to Zara," the king said brusquely. "The Knights of Alcea are needed right here to help prepare our people. There is little time as it is, and every Knight will be needed in Alcea."

  Alex started to open his mouth to argue with the king, but Jenneva spoke before he could.

  "There are other concerns that you are not aware of," she said to her husband. "You know that I suspected that the Zarans were using some form of scrying when we were in Kantor. Tanya and I think it is more devious than that."

  "The local priest here in Tagaret knew that we were attacking the temple," declared Queen Tanya. "Our attack plans were closely held, and the enemy's knowledge of us coming concerned me greatly. I have spent the last three days delving into that mystery."

  "And what did you find?" asked Alex.

  "The enemy has a far more potent tool than scrying," answered the queen. "It took me a while to solve the mystery, but I discovered that their information came from a Red Sword."

  Alex shot a dark glance at David Jaynes, leader of the Red Swords.

  "Do not be so quick to place blame, Father," Tanya said softly. "No Red Sword would willfully divulge such information. The Zarans have a mastery of mind control that we cannot fully comprehend. The Zarans managed to gain control over the mind of a Red Sword. By doing so, they were able to see through his eyes and hear through his ears."

  "I want to talk to this Red Sword," Alex said bitterly.

  "He would remember nothing," stated the queen. "This was not a willful act on his part. In fact, he had no knowledge that he was relaying information. It was only under the spell of my mind probe that I was able to extract the information from him."

  "Still," Alex argued, "if the Zarans can subvert one Red Sword, they can subvert others. You cannot possibly probe the mind of every person in Alcea."

  "Precisely why we need the Knights of Alcea at home," declared the king. "We cannot properly prepare for war if we have to suspect every one of our comrades. The Knights of Alcea will be needed to ferret out those among us who may have been put under a Zaran spell."

  "There are not enough Knights of Alcea to handle all of the provinces," remarked Governor Fernandez. "Is there any solid way that we can tell when someone is under the spell of the Zarans?"

  "Not that we know of," sighed the queen. "I was only able to discover the Red Sword by carefully considering what the Zarans knew about our attack and what they didn't know. It allowed me to narrow down the possible leaks, but the soldier showed no visible signs of being under a spell."

  "That is something that we can continue to investigate," offered Fredrik. "There is usually a way to detect any spell. We just need to learn how to do it."

  "And that will take time," added the queen. "If we succeed at all."

  "In the meantime," stated the king, "we need to begin making preparations for the invasion. You will have to forego your journey, Alex."

  "It is crucial to be aware of our enemy," Alex retorted. "Listen to what we are talking about right now. The Zarans understand the i
mportance of knowing their enemies. They have the ability to use magic spells to gain their knowledge, but I have no doubt that they would use other means if they needed to. Battles are won and lost based more upon knowledge and strategy than mere numbers of soldiers. They already have us beat on the numbers, if the documents are correct. Can we truly afford to allow them to have better knowledge as well?"

  The king fell silent for a moment as if considering a change to his earlier statement.

  "We already have a ship and a crew," interjected Karl Gree. "If the king will permit it, I will take the voyage across the sea. I truly believe as Alexander Tork does. We desperately need to know more about our enemies."

  The king glanced at Karl and then Alex, as if making up his mind. His eyes continued moving and they eventually landed questioningly on Prince Garong of the Elderal elves.

  "Karl will make an excellent Knight of Alcea," the elven prince offered, "but he still needs more training. For him to take the trip alone would be suicide. We gain no knowledge from a life thrown away."

  "I concur with Prince Garong's assessment," stated Alex. "Karl has skills that make him an excellent candidate for the Knights of Alcea, but he cannot handle the trip alone. I mean no disrespect, Karl. You have vast potential, but you are not there yet."

  "I take your statement in the manner in which it was given," Karl responded. "I am not eager for death, and I have thought long and hard about your words spoken in Kantor. I do not seek to take this journey for revenge, nor do I intend to die while on it. I do offer to take the trip because I truly believe in what you have said here today. We need to know as much about the Zarans as we can. I see the voyage as a way that I can help Alcea."

  Alex nodded to the hunter with a smile upon his lips. He was pleased with the words spoken by Karl and the manner in which they were delivered. In that moment he knew that Karl was ready to become a Knight of Alcea.

  "We will discuss the voyage to Zara at another time," declared the king. "Today we need to deal with making plans to prepare a defense of Alcea. I think we should start the planning on a provincial basis, which is why I requested that the governors attend this meeting. Each governor will be responsible for seeing that his province is moving along the path of preparedness. Prince Oscar will handle the Targa province. The full resources of the Knights of Alcea and anything else that I can offer will be available to each of the provinces. When we are well along the way to being prepared at the provincial level, we will begin to start coordinating the whole defense."