13 Day War (11 page)

On this particular day, Dorforun was speaking before the guild about a spell that could create flexible watertight seals. While the process of creating the seals was complex, manipulation of the seals after their creation was amazingly quick and simple.

“As you can see,” summarized Dorforun, “the seals can be quickly expanded or contracted. Other than our little display basin here, can anyone think of uses for these seals?”

“The obvious use is for sealing doors where water might intrude,” stated one of the dwarves.

“That is obvious,” snorted another magician, “but there are other potential uses. The generous amount of expansion and contraction suggests another use to me. If these seals are strong enough, they could be contracted and fitted into a crevice in the rock. They could then be magically expanded, forcing the crevice to widen.”

“Excellent,” smiled Dorforun. “The seals would indeed be strong enough, as long as the mage who created them made them strong enough. That is a variable in the creation that must be taken into account to match the use of the seals to their task.”

“Then we should also have a rating system for these new seals,” suggested one of the guild members. “We wouldn’t want to inadvertently use a weak seal for a task that requires a strong one.”

“Correct,” nodded Dorforun.

Dorforun was pleased with how the lecture had gone. He stood listening to the discussion of various uses for the seals and how the rating system should be devised and implemented. He purposely left the discussion to the others and did not try to steer it or manage it any way. He knew that some of the dwarves considered him to be too intellectual and not active enough in the actual day-to-day operation of the mine, and he didn’t want to appear as a schoolmaster. After a while, Dorforun quietly exited the chamber where the guild met. He strolled aimlessly through the finely hewn corridors of Tarashin to give the guild members time to develop their own thoughts. He had planned to return after an hour to see how the discussion was developing, but that was not to be.

Dorforun halted suddenly. He had meandered into one of the oldest
 
sections of Tarashin. The corridor had been created in the days of King Arak, but the dwarves of Tarashin had moved on to richer areas where the veins flowed with precious metals. The dwarven magician warily glanced around, wondering what had caused the sudden feeling of unease. Uncharacteristically, the dwarven mage called forth a protective shield to envelop himself.

“That is hardly necessary,” smiled Fakir Aziz as he stepped out of the darkness. “I am not here to harm you.”

Dorforun stared at the human with a mixture of suspicion and unease. “Then why are you here? And how did you get here? You certainly did not walk past the guards.”

“The how is not important,” smiled the Mage. “As for why, I think you already know. Your services are required.”

Dorforun blinked. He was positive that he had never laid eyes on the human before, yet he suddenly felt as if he knew him. Were he younger and less experienced, he would have suspected the human of casting a spell upon him, but the feeling was not caused by magic. Dorforun was sure of that. A feeling of awe swept through the dwarf’s body, and suddenly he understood.

“Why me?”

“You are more powerful than even you know,” Fakir said with a smile. “Dress in a long cloak with a hood. You will be going into the land of humans, and they must not see a dwarf.”

“How long will I be gone?” asked Dorforun. “I will want to tell the others when to expect my return.”

“You will tell no one,” instructed the Mage. “As for the duration of your commitment, I can give no answer. Perhaps you will never return.”

The dwarf swallowed hard as the Mage’s words struck home. The human had not explicitly said that death awaited him, but it was clear that the possibility was more than minimal.

“Everyone will know that I have left,” countered the dwarf. “Even if I don’t say farewell, the guards will report my leaving.”

“The guards will not know of your departure,” declared the Mage. “No one is to know. I will wait for you in the valley south of Tarashin. Do not be long.”

Alex, Tedi, and Natia passed through the Door and entered the Royal Palace in Tagaret. Alex spoke briefly to the guards stationed there and then the Knights of Alcea made their way to King Arik’s study. They entered the study to find the king and queen talking to Theos, the Tyronian mage. The conversation immediately halted as the royal couple turned to greet the newly arrived Knights of Alcea.

“I was hoping that you would show up,” welcomed King Arik. “The meeting started some time ago, and I wanted to hear from you before attending myself.”

“I had some things that needed to be taken care of,” apologized Alex. “Has Jenneva arrived yet?”

“No,” frowned Queen Tanya. “The fairies assured me that she has been notified.”

“Time is getting scarce for all of us,” mused Alex. “I suspect that we are all running a little tight on time right now. It is not going to get any better. There are more coming from Zara. I took the liberty of asking the guards to have the others report directly here instead of going straight to the meeting.” The Knight of Alcea nodded to Theos, and the mage nodded in return. “Has Theos been introduced to everyone yet?”

“Not yet,” answered King Arik. “I was planning on doing that at the meeting.”

“Do not introduce him as Tyronian,” suggested Alex. “It is not that I expect any of the group to betray a confidence, but it would be better if no one slipped and called him the Tyronian mage.”

“Good point,” nodded the king.

The door opened and Zack Nolan, Wylan and Sheri entered the room. Directly following them was Jenneva and Clint McFarren. The Ranger was still dressed in his Federation uniform.”

The Tyronian’s eyes widened nervously.

“That is sure to get some attention at the meeting,” quipped the queen. “How did you get past the guards?”

“I had to vouch for him,” chuckled Jenneva.

“Even though they knew who I was,” complained Clint.

“I am surprised that you found time to leave Zara,” commented King Arik. “I thought you were hurrying your army to Despair to free the emperor?”

“Plans have changed,” frowned the Ranger as he turned and faced Jenneva. “I think a mage has taken over the emperor’s body. I need to know how I can verify that.”

“Tell me why you suspect such a thing,” replied Jenneva.

Clint detailed his conversation with Colonel Taerin and added in his suspicions based upon the emperor’s behavior. Jenneva nodded increasingly as he spoke.

“It sounds very much like Reflecting Pool,” stated Jenneva, “but it could be some variation of it that we are ignorant of. If it is Reflecting Pool, getting the emperor to cast a spell will break the illusion, but it must be done at an appropriate time. Once the illusion is broken, there is nothing to stop the mage from reconstituting it. If you wish to reveal him to someone, make sure that person is present before you force the mage to cast a spell.”

“Like the emperor’s son,” stated Zack.

“That will not be necessary,” smiled Clint. “I have made contact with the heir of the Empire of Barouk, but now is not the time to discuss that. There is more important news. Grand General Kyrga has ordered the movement of troops. The 9
^th
Corps of Barouk and the 25
^th
Corps of Aerta are already on the move. They have received orders to report to Camp Destiny. The war is starting soon.”

“How soon?” asked the king.

“About two weeks,” replied the Ranger. “It depends on where General Kolling and General Gertz have stationed their troops, so I can not be positive of the timing, but the fairies will surely report their arrival in Camp Destiny.”

“We cannot wait for their arrival in Camp Destiny,” the king replied anxiously. “We have our own troop movements to accomplish. Why are they starting so early? Has spring arrived earlier in Zara than here?”

“The northern portion of Zara is having one of the worst winters on record,” answered Alex. “There is no hint of spring there.”

“I agree,” offered Theos. “I have never seen a winter so severe.”

“But that is not true in the south,” retorted Clint. “And it is in the south where their armies are massed and waiting for orders.”

“What about near Camp Destiny?” asked Jenneva. “That is farther north and it is close to the Barrier.”

“I do not know,” answered Clint. “I can check it out when I return to Zara.”

“The fairies can handle that,” interjected Alex. “You have too much on your plate already. Do not spread yourself too thin. Where is the A Corps now?”

“They were marching on Despair,” frowned the Federation general, “but I stopped that. If Emperor Jaar is not going to honor our agreement, and he will certainly not if he is dead, there is no reason for my troops to go to Despair. I turned them around and headed them towards Ramaldi Pass to aid in the liberation of Vinafor.”

“We should get to the meeting and let the others know that the war is coming sooner than expected.”

“There is more,” warned Clint. “The Federation has continued to grow their army. It is hard for me to get accurate information as I am not supposed to be in Despair, but the best estimate that I can come up with suggests that they have added another sixty-thousand troops.”

“Sixty-thousand?” gasped the king. “Are they coming here?”

“I can’t be certain,” answered Clint, “but I suspect that they are not. There has been no formal announcement of the new armies, and the new generals seem interested only in training their new troops.”

“They are for crowd control,” suggested the Alcean spymaster. “Whoever is planning on taking over the Federation is gathering the armies to ensure that he is not foiled in the attempt. If I am correct, expect to see those armies stationed in the major cities of the Federation, especially Despair.”

Alex nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense, Zack. The usurper is planning to seize control while the bulk of the Federation armies are in Alcea. The new armies are to counteract any resistance from the home guard.”

“And that is why they needed to replace Jaar,” agreed Clint. “It does make sense now. Jaar had gotten out of hand, and they could not afford to attempt a coup with eighty-thousand loyal troops in Despair. Those troops would unerringly follow the heir, but I suspect these new troops will be under the control of Grand General Kyrga. The new generals will owe their allegiance to him alone.”

Alex paced wordlessly to the window and stared out at the blustery winter scene. The others turned and stared at his back, wondering what he was thinking about. The king opened his mouth to ask that very question, but the queen stopped him with a slight touch on his arm and a shake of her head. The room stood in silence as Alex pondered the ramification of the new information. Eventually, he sighed heavily and turned to face the others.

“Do not send your troops into Vinafor, Clint,” commanded Alex. “They may be needed in eastern Zara.”

“What do you mean?” scowled Theos. “The liberation of the western countries was promised. You cannot just walk away and leave those patriots under the heel of the Federation.”

Alex looked the Tyronian mage in the eye. There was no reprimand in the gaze, only sympathy. “The western countries must all fall in succession, and they will, but only when success is assured. We are now facing one-hundred-forty-thousand troops when we expected only eighty-thousand. Even that lower number left us woefully outnumbered. Now we are facing odds that require a reassessment of our strategies.”

“If the liberation of the western countries is timed properly,” suggested Zack, “some of those new armies would be forced to respond. Perhaps that might be the key.”

“Clint?” prompted Alex.

“General Tauman would probably be the first to respond,” declared the Federation general. “The 1st Corps is considered to be the finest army in the Federation, and Camp Destiny is close enough to arrive in Vinafor quickly.”

“He wouldn’t leave Camp Destiny unguarded, would he?” asked Wylan.

“That depends on timing,” answered Clint. “As long as he thinks the Doors are still working, no, but if he discovers that he is guarding nothing important, he would eagerly respond to an uprising. He certainly will not keep his army tied down in Camp Destiny if it is worthless there.”

“Which also makes him a threat to any action we take in the eastern countries,” stated Alex. “Tauman and the 1st Corps have to be neutralized. Can you accomplish that, Clint?”

Clint frowned heavily. “I am proud of what I have made the A Corps into, but they are not Alcean Rangers. 1st Corps outnumbers us five-to-one, and they are far better trained from what I have heard.”

“Can you do it?” pressed Alex.

“We will do it,” Clint promised, “but I don’t know how just yet.”

“Station the A Corps close to Camp Destiny,” instructed Alex. “I will let you know when all of the Doors have been neutralized.”

“You two can work out those details later,” interrupted King Arik. “We have a room full of people waiting on us. Let’s get that meeting over with so they can all return home and prepare for this war.”

The discussion ended and King Arik led the group out of his study and into the meeting room. General Gregor was addressing the group and King Arik nodded for him to continue as the smaller group filed into the room.

“The holding pens need to be dispersed,” instructed the general. “It is dangerous for them all to be located in the same place, and it is not wise to have them near the capital cities. The maximum number of prisoners in any one pen is to be one-thousand men, and that should be broken up into smaller segments if possible. Remember, the purpose of these pens is to keep the enemy from regrouping and causing havoc after they are captured, so keep the locations of pens secret. If any one pen is compromised, it will be easier to handle if they cannot help others to escape.”

“Transporting large numbers of prisoners will not be easy,” complained Governor Mobami of Sordoa, “especially if we are still engaged with other prongs of the attack.”