“How are we doing, Colonel?” the general asked.
The colonel pulled a map from his pouch and consulted it. “Right on schedule. We have another four hours before camp.”
“Keep them moving, Colonel,” instructed General Montero. “As long as the 13th Corps doesn’t falter, keep them in sight. If they do falter, bypass them, and don’t let General Ruppert give you any guff about it. I am taking a squad out for a ride in the Dark Forest. I will meet you at the camp before morning.”
The colonel saluted and then nodded knowingly as the general turned off the road and called for his personal squad to assemble. Whenever the 15th Corps got near this area of the Federation, the general always left the column to visit his brother. Everyone knew about the sickly prince, but no one mentioned Prince Harold. His name was never spoken within range of the general’s hearing, not if you wanted to stay in the good graces of General Montero.
The squad formed around the general and headed into the forest. Several hours later, they approached a large castle upon the hill. Shouts rang out from the wall, and the Royal Family Pennant was raised to welcome the Crown Prince of Ertak. General Montero let his eyes gaze up at the ramparts. The soldiers of the castle stood proudly visible, knowing that the heir was arriving. He nodded with approval. Captain Ergard was waiting in the courtyard for the general, as he usually was, but General Montero sensed a certain nervousness in the officer that had never been present before. The general said nothing as he dismounted and let his horse be led away. The captain saluted and then led the general into the sitting room as was customary.
“I have ordered a meal to be prepared for you and your men,” stated Captain Ergard. “Will you be spending the night?”
“No,” answered the general. “How is my brother?”
“He has not gotten any worse than he was on your last visit,” answered the captain.
“Nor any better?”
“I have noticed no change.”
The general stared into the captain’s eyes, trying to determine what it was that the captain was afraid to say, but he could determine nothing.
“Bring him down,” ordered the general.
The captain started sweating profusely. Most of the visits by General Montero were just to speak with the captain and discuss the health of Prince Harold. It was rare for the general to actually see his brother, and he had never before ordered the sickly prince to descend out of the tower.
“I do not think it is wise to ask the prince to make such a journey,” the captain said nervously.
“Why not?” the general asked sternly. “What are you not telling me, Ergard?”
The captain swallowed hard as his eyes widened in fear. He thought he would be able to act calmly when the general visited, but it was obvious that General Montero knew something was amiss. Delaying the truth could only make things worse.
“Prince Harold is not here,” the captain answered meekly. “The king sent soldiers to take him to be healed.”
The general’s hand moved so swiftly that the blow took the captain by surprise. He stumbled backwards and collided with a chair. Both the chair and the captain tumbled to the floor. When the captain rolled over to get back to his feet, there was a sword extended towards him, and the tip moved towards his throat.
“This had better be an amusing story,” spat the general. “I am not in a kindly mood.”
“A colonel from the 11th Corps arrived with a full regiment,” the captain replied in a quaking voice. “He had orders from the king to have the prince inspected by a black-cloak. I resisted at first, but it was made clear to me that the king’s wishes would not be denied. I still tried to arrest the colonel, but the mage attacked me. That is when the colonel explained the situation in clearer terms.”
“Clearer terms?” the general echoed in disbelief. “What are you talking about? Why was I not told about this immediately?”
“The colonel explained that the king specifically forbade anyone to tell you. He claimed that he did not want you to worry on the eve of war, nor did he want you to think that Prince Harold would take your place while you were away. I finally agreed to let the mage examine him.”
“That does not explain his absence,” snapped General Montero.
“I am getting to that,” stammered the captain. “The black-cloak examined Prince Harold and thought that his illness was curable, but it would require moving the prince to another location. I told them that such a thing was impossible and would not be agreed to, but they had already proposed the trip to Prince Harold, and the prince had agreed to go with them. They promised to return him before anyone noticed him missing.”
“Before anyone noticed?” balked the general. “Do you mean other than the company of men stationed here? You are not only a fool, but you insist on making me look like a fool.”
“No.” The captain shook his head vigorously, and the general had to retract his sword slightly to avoid slashing the captain’s throat. “No one knows. I had all of the men assemble in the rear courtyard for an inspection while the colonel’s men carried the prince out. No one knows that he is not here. His meals are still delivered and his room is still tidied. I altered the staff’s schedule so that there is always a plausible reason for the prince to be out of his room. No one knows that he is no longer residing here.”
“Except my father and a regiment of the 11th Corps,” scowled the general. “What was the colonel’s name?”
“Colonel Belasko,” answered the captain.
The general frowned and shook his head. “I have never heard of Colonel Belasko. Are you sure he was with the 11th Corps?”
“I am positive,” answered Captain Ergard. “If he was not with the 11th Corps, I would not have believed that he was sent by the king. They guard the Royal Palace.”
General Montero sheathed his sword and turned away from the captain. He paced across the room and stood staring into the fireplace. The captain hesitantly got up off the floor and quietly stood at attention. A few minutes passed in silence and then the general turned around and glared at the captain.
“You have failed me, Captain Ergard,” the general said threateningly. “Do you know what the punishment for your failure is?”
The captain swallowed hard and nodded barely perceptibly. The general had stressed the weight of the responsibility on him many times in the past, and the captain knew that it was futile to try and run.
“I beg you to give me another chance to serve you. I will find Prince Harold and restore him to his room upstairs, even if I have to seize him out of the Royal Palace.”
“You will do exactly that, Captain,” replied the general. “You have one-hundred men under your command. You have three tasks to accomplish and only three weeks to accomplish them. The first is to bring my brother back here and guard him, if he is still alive. And he is not to leave when you return him to the tower. Not for any reason.”
The captain nodded exaggeratedly. “If he is alive? Do you think the healing attempt might kill him?”
“Healing attempt?” The general snorted derisively. “Prince Harold has been kept here to keep the king from killing him. Nothing that Belasko said changes that. I fear that my brother is already dead. No doubt the king plans the same for me, but I know how to play this game as well as he does. You will do my bidding while I am away at war. The king will not expect anything to happen while I am in Alcea.”
“I shall,” the captain replied with eagerness. “What are the other two tasks to be accomplished in your absence?”
“You will kill my father’s two bastard sons.”
* * * *
Lord Kommoron entered the emperor’s office in the Imperial Palace in Despair and sat in the chair before the desk, not bothering to bow. Emperor Jaar looked up with a scowl upon his face.
“You must show respect to the emperor,” complained the black-cloak appearing as Emperor Jaar. “Do not abandon your conditioning at this stage of the game. You might slip up in public.”<
br />
“Do not lecture me,” the Lord Kommoron replied testily. “I have been playing this game since you were but a youth. What do you have to report?”
“Report?” echoed the impersonator. “This is the most boring task I have ever undertaken. I never imagined that being the emperor could be so lonely. Everyone is afraid to talk to me. I would discover more by skulking through the corridors at night and listening to the chambermaids chatter.”
The Chosen One sighed and rose to his feet. He glanced at the emperor on his way to the door. “You will not skulk the halls at night. You stick to playing the part given to you. I will get my information elsewhere.”
Lord Kommoron really needed to visit the emperor only to create a reason for coming to the Imperial Palace. His real goal was to meet with Grand General Kyrga, but he knew that such a visit had to be seen as incidental to avoid rumors spreading about a secret alliance with the Grand General. Fortunately, Kyrga was in his office and the noble did not have to suffer through an embarrassing wait. He waited until the guard retreated and closed the door before speaking.
“What is the strength of the new armies?” asked Lord Kommoron.
“We have six new armies fully formed,” answered the Grand General. “I am still working on the seventh.”
“And have the men I specifically asked for been given the promotions?”
“They have,” frowned the Grand General, “but if you don’t mind me asking, why those men? None of them are very distinguished. I certainly would have chosen others to receive the promotions to general.”
“I reward those who are loyal to me,” answered the noble, “and those men are known to be loyal. They will do fine as generals. Remember, Kyrga, there were some who thought you would be unfit for the position of Grand General. Look how wrong they were.”
Kyrga smiled and frowned at the same time. He wasn’t entirely sure if the noble was making fun of him or not. He wisely decided not to ask.
“What are we to do with these new armies?” Kyrga asked.
“Send Hedstorus to Giza, Larus to Farmin, and Kartacus to Valdo. Make sure that each of them understands that he reports only to you or the emperor. I do not want them taking orders from the local monarchs.”
“The monarchs will not stand for that,” warned Kyrga.
“The monarchs have no say in the matter,” retorted Lord Kommoron. “Must I spell everything out for you, Grand General? These new armies are mine. They are to be put into place to balance anything the local monarchs can do to interfere with my destiny.”
“I understand,” Kyrga replied, still unsure of what the armies were meant to do. “What of the other armies?”
“General Brennus will remain here in Despair. The other three armies are meant for the countries west of the Barrier, but I fear that getting them in place in time will prove to be difficult.”
“Blood Highway is closed,” Kyrga pointed out. “The armies going to Alcea are all moving along it. It will not open up again until the last of the armies has gone through the portals.”
“That will be too late,” frowned the noble. “It hardly matters. Those three countries together aren’t worth a mention in the scheme of things. Keep the fifth and sixth armies here in Despair. We will use them wherever we need them, but the others are moving out today. You can send the army going to Valdo by land, but use ships for those going to Farmin and Giza. I want all of the troops deployed in a matter of days.”
“By ship?” balked the Grand General. “Do you know how many ships that will take?”
“No,” scowled the noble, “and I do not care to know. That is not my problem, Kyrga. It is your problem. Do not bother me with minutiae. Get those troops in place before news of the battles in Alcea start arriving back here.”
Chapter 9
Day One
Colonel Ednor of the 9th Corps woke with a start, an unclear sound lingering momentarily in his consciousness before fleeing. He felt as if he had just gone to sleep, but he quickly brushed the feeling aside. It was the eve of war and sleep would be a luxury for the next two weeks. The colonel rose to his feet to figure out what had woken him. He gazed around at the thousands of sleeping forms littering the floor of the valley known as Camp Destiny. He frowned when he saw no one stirring. Suddenly, he heard the sound again and whirled towards the corral. Although the horses were kept fairly distant from the troops, the colonel could see movement in that direction. He pulled his sheath over his head and moved off into the night. As he drew closer to the corrals, he saw soldiers leading the horses away. Racing towards the thieves, the colonel drew his sword and shouted loudly, waking the entire camp. As the colonel got closer, his brow creased with confusion. General Kolling, Commander of the 9th Corps, stood staring at the approaching colonel. Colonel Ednor sheathed his sword and slowed to a walk as he wondered what the general was doing with their horses. The general turned away from the approaching colonel and urged the soldiers leading the horses to continue with their task.
“What is going on?” Colonel Ednor asked the general.
“The 1st Corps are taking the horses for use by Team Cordonia,” the general answered calmly. “Fresh horses are waiting for us in Lanoir. We discussed this possibility months ago, Colonel.”
“I understand,” frowned the colonel, “but I thought it was just a possibility. Why are they doing this in the dark of night?”
“I requested it,” answered General Kolling as he watched hundreds of his men racing towards the corrals with their swords drawn. “Order your men back to camp before someone gets hurt here.”
The colonel turned towards the charging horde and flushed with embarrassment. He waved his hands wildly over his head to get the men focused on him. “I will send them back to their beds.”
“No,” countermanded the general. “Instruct them to get the rest of the camp up and ready to move out. The morning meal should be simple but nourishing. We have a long day ahead of us.”
Colonel Ednor moved towards the approaching men and shouted orders to them. The soldiers sheathed their swords and turned around, and the colonel returned to the general’s side. He glanced up at the night sky and frowned deeply.
“When I woke moments ago, I had the feeling that I had not slept very long. I quickly dismissed the feeling, but the sky tells me that the feeling was accurate. Why are we leaving at such an early hour?”
“A number of reasons,” answered General Kolling, “not the least of which is that I am a cautious man. We are stepping into hostile territory this morning, and such a step should never be taken lightly. There is also a time difference between Zara and Alcea. It is closer to morning there, and I want to time our entrance to occur before dawn.”
“I understand,” the colonel replied, but the general was not finished talking.
“We are also the first unit to be deployed to Alcea,” the general continued. “I promised that we would report to General Tauman on the experience. He is particularly interested in finding out how close his estimates were regarding the timing of getting completely oriented once we arrive in Alcea. Our results will be used to make corrections in the estimates for the units that follow us. Gather the other colonels, and I will address all of you over the morning meal.“
Colonel Ednor saluted and dashed off. General Kolling turned back to watch the corrals being emptied, but his thoughts were not on the actions of the soldiers leading the horses away. His thoughts were focused on the monumental step his army would be taking in a very short while. Within the hour, the first men of the 9th Corps would make history as they launched the invasion of Alcea. Beaming with pride, General Kolling smiled inwardly, knowing that he would be remembered for leading the vanguard in the greatest war the world had ever seen. The general pivoted and marched towards the camp to address his colonels.
General Kolling found the group of colonels sitting outside his tent. The men were eating bread and dried fruit, but the general declined an offer from the men to join in. He was not hungry. He
sat quietly for a while letting the men eat and then he addressed them. He spoke about the great significance of their next move and the part that it would play in history. He encouraged the colonels to share the spirit of pride with their regiments and then he got down to specifics.
“The cavalry will be carrying their saddles through the portals,” he began. “There are four-thousand horses waiting for us at the farm we are going to. That will be two-thousand for the 9th Corps and two-thousand for General Gertz’s 25th Corps. It will be a full league before we meet up with General Gertz, so it is up to us to lead the additional horses to the rendezvous point. Two of the infantry regiments will be assigned to that task.”
One of the colonels raised his hand and the general nodded to him to speak.
“My regiment can handle half of the horses,” volunteered the colonel.
The general nodded in agreement, and another colonel volunteered his regiment to handle the other half of the horses. The general agreed.
“I know we have discussed this before,” the general continued, “but I will go over it one last time. Colonel Ednor, your regiment will be the first to go through the portal. Your men are tasked to secure the area so the rest of 9th Corps can get through the portal safely. The cavalry regiments will go next. That will give your riders time to choose horses and get saddled up while the rest of the army is forming. Be quick about your task because the army will not be standing around on the farm to wait for your men. As soon as the army is formed, we are moving out, and I need your riders on the road before that happens. I want a full company to secure the rendezvous site where we will meet up with General Gertz, and I want a squad sent forward to verify the supplies cache at the end of today’s march.”
13 Day War dc-6 Page 11