"It also might reveal more about the Snakes," added Zack Nolan. "I doubt that they plan to raise a Door in the middle of the woods. It would stand out and people would start talking about it. They will need to place the Doors where doors are common. To do that, they will need local people to allow it and safeguard it."
"I agree," nodded Prince Oscar, "but we need to make sure that we do not lose track of the Doors. That is going to be difficult when we are not even sure of where the ship will land."
"Fairies can patrol the coast," offered Runt. "We can fly much faster than a ship can sail. If we start looking for the ship from the Isles of the Sea, we could notify people in Alcea long before the ship gets here."
"I like that idea," remarked King Arik. "Can we also use the fairies to track the Doors?"
"That would be hard at night," commented Tanya. "There are two magical ways to track the Doors. If we can get close enough to cast a spell on them, either Fredrik or I could cast a tracking spell on them. We would then be able to locate them much the same way the Sword of Heavens located the gems."
"What is the other magical way?" asked Fredrik, the Royal Sorcerer.
"Niki has a special talent with animals," answered Tanya. "If we can not get close enough to cast tracking spells on them, I think Niki might be able to use her skills to talk to the animals and get them to track the Doors for us."
Niki beamed with pride and nodded her head vigorously. "I can do that," she declared. "Squirrels and rats can follow the Doors, or even the horses that are transporting them. They will all tell me where the Doors are going."
King Arik remained unconvinced. While he would not say so out loud, he remembered far too many times when Niki's magic did not work as planned. The Doors were far too important to lose track of.
"I think we should strive to use both magics," he declared. "That will require the three of you to find a place on the west coast and wait for the fairies to report on the ship."
"Fredrik and Niki can handle both ends of it," stated Queen Tanya.
"I think the queen is anxious to get back into the field," stated Prince Oscar. "That episode in Trekum was too close for both of you. Alcea needs our monarchs alive to guide us."
"It was close," conceded the king, "but we dealt a major blow to the Snakes in Sordoa. A couple more events like that one, and we will be free of the provocateurs in all of Alcea."
Tanya was anxious to change the subject. "What about our people in Zara? It sounds like they no longer have a way to return to Alcea. Could we possibly use one of the Doors to keep in touch with them?"
"We don't know where the Doors come out on the other side," replied Prince Oscar. "Anyone entering from this side might very well walk straight into a firestorm."
"Why can't the reverse also be true?" asked Lord Clava. "Once the Zarans place their Doors where they want them, can't we then move them to where we want them?"
"That has great potential," nodded Zack Nolan. "Could you imagine the Zaran soldiers filing through the Door onto an isolated island?"
"Or into a cave full of the dragons," grinned Prince Oscar.
"Any respectable officer would be cautious before leading his men through a portal," interjected General Gregor. "I am confident that the Zarans will periodically test the Doors before sending all their troops through them."
"Would they?" asked Lord Clava. "Depending on where the Door is placed, it might arouse too much suspicion to test it regularly. While they might test it just before deployment, that in itself would give us valuable information of when they are attacking if we keep close watch on them."
"I agree," stated General Gregor. "We must maintain a constant watch on each Door we know about, and we must actively search for other Doors."
"The fairies can provide the constant surveillance," stated Prince Midge. "I also think we can use fairies to keep in touch with those Alceans in Zara."
"How do you mean?" asked Queen Tanya.
"As long as the Zaran's are using ships between the two worlds," explained the fairy prince, "we can hide fairies aboard the ships. I might also be able to find volunteers to sneak through the Doors if they are ever opened."
"I like the idea with the ships," King Arik said, "but I need to think about using the Doors before I authorize it."
"The problem with using the ships," retorted Prince Midge, "is the amount of time it would take to get a message to our people. If we need to get something to them quickly, riding the ships will not suffice."
"We can live with the delay for now," the king said. "I am not sure that we can afford to leave Doors operational forever. Our people in Zara must get some estimate of when the attack will come. Runt, you will return to Zara on the first available ship. I will prepare the messages for you to deliver."
* * *
Grand General Kyrga peeked into Emperor Jaar's study and saw the emperor napping on the couch. He silently moved away from the door and returned to his quarters. Grabbing an old, shabby, gray, hooded cloak, the general pulled it on and slipped out of the Imperial Palace. He moved quietly through the darkness to avoid the patrols until he came to the tall hedge that lined the outer wall. At the appropriate spot in the hedge, he eased his body into the bushes and slid open a hidden sliding door. Silently moving through the door, the general found himself behind another row of hedges on the opposite side of the wall. He quietly slid the door closed and peered out at the street. A lone pedestrian was visible, and the general waited until he was gone before easing through the hedges and onto the street.
With the hood pulled close around his face, the general moved quickly, but not conspicuously towards the Temple of Balmak. When he neared the temple, he pulled a black and gold bracelet out of a pocket of the cloak and slid it onto his wrist. He made his way around to the back of the temple and approached the guards. He allowed the bracelet to be seen in the torchlight near the backdoor, and the one of the guards knocked on the door. It opened instantly.
Kyrga stepped into the temple to find a mage examining him. He ignored the mage and walked by him. While the mage might not know the identity of the person in the old gray cloak, he knew that the man was a regular visitor, and he knew better than to interrogate him. Kyrga made his way straight to the office of K'san. He raised his hand to knock, and the door opened before his hand touched the door.
"I was expecting you," K'san said without inflection.
Kyrga moved into the office, and K'san closed the door. Both moved to their chairs and sat down.
"I would like to replace King Anator," Kyrga stated.
"Why?"
"He tried to hire an assassin," answered Kyrga. "I think the intent was to kill me. I would prefer to eliminate him, but the emperor does not agree. Jaar likes having Anator right where he is."
K'san waved dismissively. "Solve the problem some other way. In this matter I agree with the emperor. We are too close to our goal to switch horses now. Hire your own assassin to catch Anator in bed some night, but the man is only to issue a warning. I want Anator left alive."
"As you say," Kyrga sighed in frustration. "What do you mean when you say that our goal is close? Has it been found?"
"It has," smiled K'san. "The Alceans were foolish enough to bring some of the sailors all the way across the sea to us. We got to one of them."
"Where is it?" asked Kyrga.
"It is on an island off the west coast of Alcea," answered K'san. "The island is home to the Mountain of the Gods. Fitting, wouldn't you say?" he added with a smirk.
"Has it been brought home yet?" asked the general.
"No," the priest replied. "We will need a special boat to carry it. Unfortunately, the boat needs to be larger than any of our current shipyards can build. That is why King Anator needs to live. The destruction of the shipyards at Giza might actually help us. They are currently in the process of rebuilding them, but I want to make a change in their plans. We need to replace two of the cradles with one larger cradle. I have the plans all laid out for
it, and I will give them to you when you leave."
"Do you want me to present the plans to Emperor Jaar?" asked Kyrga.
"No," answered the priest, "but I want them to appear to have come from him. King Anator is currently afraid to bring anything up with the emperor. That is why it is ideal to leave him where he is. A new king would ask too many questions."
"I understand now," nodded the general. "I will see that the plans are set in motion. What about Tyronia? We are already short of horses and we are still raising more men for the army."
"Tyronia will soon join the Federation," smiled the priest. "I may need you to move some men from Candanar up to Sebastian Pass."
"Those men are searching for the Alceans," frowned Kyrga.
"They won't find the Alceans in Candanar," replied K'san. "They passed through the Forest of Death. They are now in Traginak."
"Through the Forest of Death?" balked the general. "How is that possible?"
"I am not sure," admitted the priest. “They were detected early enough. That is where we captured the sailor, but then they disappeared. Somehow they got through. They are out of reach to your men now."
"Then they will die in the attack on Zarocca," shrugged the general.
"There has been no final decision on attacking the horse countries," stated K'san.
"No final decision?" questioned the general. "I am confused. We need the horses for the army. I thought you were already transporting portals up there?"
“The Alceans present us with a problem," explained the priest. "It was thought that the horse countries would offer the perfect chance to test the portals under true attack circumstances, but that has to be rethought now. We do not know if the Alceans have a method of communicating with their kin in Alcea. We cannot afford for the Alceans to learn about the portals. It could devastate our plans for the larger war."
"But the horses," objected Kyrga.
"An alternate plan has been devised for horses," stated K'san. "We are currently buying horses in Alcea. When it comes time to attack, we will have everything that is needed."
"I will need to be kept abreast of the horses," stated Kyrga. "I will need to know the numbers and locations."
"You will receive the information when we have it."
"I am still not comfortable with leaving the horse countries intact," the general said.
"They will not be unscathed," smiled the priest. "The only matter to be decided is when they will be attacked. Remember, we need millions of voices wailing to usher in the Age of Balmak. We will not accomplish that without crushing Alcea. Perhaps the horse countries can wait until after Alcea is conquered, perhaps not. That is a decision to be made by the master, not by us."
"You are correct," the general nodded. "If we are not going to attack the horse countries, should I attempt to get some men up there to take out the Alceans?"
"That might not be necessary. Twelve of them are in Traginak, and they are scheduled to be executed. That leaves only four unaccounted for, and they might have died already in the Forest of Death. There were battles involving the ogres. We can't be sure how many Alceans survived."
"Very well," said Grand General Kyrga, "but make the decision quickly. If I am to steer Emperor Jaar down the correct path, I will need to know who we are attacking first."
"You will be informed of the decision when I am," K'san replied emotionlessly.
* * *
King Persimon leaned forward, and Baron Ohmson placed a pillow behind his back.
"Thank you," the king said weakly as he returned his attention to Kalina. "How long do you think I was under Sven's spell?"
"It is hard to say," answered Kalina. "Sven did not control you like a puppet. It was much more subtle than that. His magic produced two effects. One was to make your mind foggy, and the other was to bind you to him. The second effect was promoted by making you believe that his advice was always wise. Because you were kept confused enough not to see the truth, you would always believe that your rulings were just and the best that could be made for Zarocca. This technique made the changes in your behavior rather gradual. I suspect that those changes caused some private grumbles within these halls, but if Sven had attempted to speed the process along, there would have been public complaints, and that might have caused people to look too closely. Sven was a clever man."
"Not so clever when he attacked your husband in public," remarked Baron Uloof. "How did he think he could possibly get away with that?"
"Actually," answered Kalina, "he might have. He would probably concoct some story about Garth threatening the king's life. People might have been confused and bothered by such a charge, but the king would have accepted it. Despite that, Sven must have thought killing my husband was more important than maintaining his position here. I think the Federation is growing increasingly concerned that they have not been able to apprehend him."
"Well Zarocca has much to thank you and your people for," the king smiled weakly. "Had you not uncovered Sven, he would have remained in a position to cause much damage to us."
"He has caused much already," frowned Baron Uloof. "The search of his quarters turned up evidence of crimes that will be debated in the court for weeks or months. It causes me to question if there are other Federation spies in high places."
"I think it would be best to assume that there are," replied Kalina. "We found their tentacles reached very deep in Alcea."
"We need a high level meeting to discuss this problem," declared the king. "Perhaps we should invite King Wendal to join in the discussion. I am sure that the Federation is also planting spies in Korocca."
"I concur," nodded Baron Ohmson, "but that also reminds me of something Garth said yesterday. Queen Romani of Vinafor is not dead. She is alive and is seeking asylum here. Perhaps she would have something to offer to the discussion with King Wendal."
"An excellent idea," brightened the king. "In fact, we should invite King Myer of Tyronia as well. That would include all of the monarchs outside the Federation. It is time that we started thinking in terms of a coalition to fight against the Federation."
"Queen Romani is hardly a monarch any more," frowned Baron Uloof. "While I do believe we should offer her asylum, Vinafor is now part of the Federation."
"That should not exclude her from the meeting," stated Kalina. "There is in place an organization of Vinafor patriots that are willing to fight the Federation to restore her to the throne. I also would like to request that Garth be allowed to attend the meeting to represent Alcea. While the distance between our countries is great, we face a common foe."
"Without question," nodded the king. "Both Garth and Queen Romani are welcome to attend. How are we to contact her?"
"Garth can contact her," answered Kalina. "He will extend the invitation to King Myer as well, if that is appropriate."
"Very appropriate," answered the king. "Where is the Alcean ambassador? I thought he would be here with you."
"He is meeting with his men," replied Kalina. "They were only here to flee the Federation, but the time has come to stop running and start acting."
Chapter 26
Traitor
The column of Tyronian soldiers entered the gates of the Royal Palace in Ur without a word being spoken to the guards. The guards knew better than to question General Skye, commanding general of the Tyronian army. The general's personal escort consisted of a dozen men, but on this particular day, there was an additional soldier in the column. The guards noticed the addition not because they counted the general's escort, but rather because the soldier hidden in the middle of the column had a black cloth sack over his head, and his lapels had been ripped from his uniform.
When the column reached the front entrance to the palace, General Skye uncharacteristically separated from his men and dismounted. His column, however, continued around to the side of the palace where the entrance to the cells could be reached without passing by the prying eyes of the palace servants. General Skye marched up the steps and entered
the palace and headed straight for the king's quarters. He found the king in his private study and asked the king to dismiss his private guard. While the request was unprecedented, King Myer did so without question. Only when the two men were alone did the general feel comfortable enough to speak freely.
"I suspect that you will be the bearer of ill news," sighed the king as he shoved his papers aside to give full attention to his commanding general.
"I am sorry that it has come to this," stated General Skye, "but your son has almost demanded this meeting."
King Myer sadly nodded. "I notice that you no longer refer to my son as Prince Mectin."
"I am sorry, Your Highness," replied the general, "but I mean no disrespect to his office or you, but I sometimes wonder if he is your son after all."
"I understand, General Skye," the king said. "What has my son demanded of you?"
"It is not what he has demanded of me," replied the general, "but what he has demanded of others. Prince Mectin has arranged to sell horses to the Federation. Oh, he is not doing so directly, but that is the truth of where they are going. He has sanctioned the creation of new ranches in our southern frontier. Those businesses are buying horses as fast as they can. Those horses are then sold directly to the Federation army in contravention of our laws."
"That is outrageous," scowled the king. "Does he not realize that he is feeding the wolves at our door? Withholding those horses from the Federation is the only thing that keeps the Federation at bay. Have the general of the Southern Command close down those ranches immediately. And then have him demoted for his failure to act sooner."
"The commander of the Southern Command is General Forshire," stated General Skye, "and he was not only aware of the sales, he was complicit in them."
King Myer rose from his chair with his face full of rage. He slammed a fist on his desk in fury. "I will see him hanged. I want him arrested immediately."
"My men are depositing him in the dungeon at this very moment," stated General Skye, "but hanging him will not solve the problem. It is your son that is at the heart of the problem. Prince Mectin knew full well where those horses were going. He orchestrated the whole thing. You have been too lenient with him."
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