13 Day War (60 page)

“They have us surrounded,” gasped the colonel. “Look!”

General Stemple looked at the ridges without a visible display of emotion. “It doesn’t surprise me,” he said calmly. “In fact, I would have been surprised if they were not up there. The Alceans have planned this well. The question now before us is if we can figure a way out of this trap.”

“Do we have a choice?” the colonel asked distractedly as he watched a commotion before them. “General Ritka is the team leader, and there is little doubt to what his orders will be. Much blood is going to flow this day.”

“What is going on?” asked General Stemple as he also focused on the commotion.

“I am not sure,” admitted the colonel as the two officers halted their horses near the large group of men gathered around a pair fighting. “Stop!” he shouted with an air of authority. “Stop it this minute!”

The group immediately noticed the officers and backed away from the scuffle. As the colonel’s eyes focused on the two fighting men, those in the group slowly backed away, getting lost in the maze of soldiers.

“What is the meaning of this?” demanded the colonel.

“He was planning on deserting,” one of the men said, pointing at the other accusingly. “I saw him drop his sword at the eastern edge of the valley. Now he claims that he has lost it.”

“I did lose my sword,” the accused soldier said defensively. “He is lying.”

General Stemple looked at the arm patches of the soldiers and recognized them as his men. He dismounted and walked up to the fighters. He glanced at the accuser and dismissed him before turning his attention to the swordless man.

“Who told you to leave your sword in the eastern half of the valley?” he asked.

The soldier started shaking his head as if the general had misunderstood the situation, but as he opened his mouth to reply, the general interrupted him.

“Do not even think of lying to me,” the general warned in an ominous tone. “I asked you a question and I expect a truthful answer. Disappoint me and you will wish you had not.”

The soldier swallowed hard and nodded shamefully. “We heard the instructions given to you, and we know that General Ritka will refuse to surrender. None of us want to die to dwarves, General.”

“Who told you what was said at the parley?” asked the general.

“No one told us, General,” replied the soldier. “We heard your voices. The whole valley heard it all.”

The general glanced at Colonel Pierce with a worried look on his face. The colonel said nothing. The general returned his attention to the soldier.

“Go find your sword,” he ordered. “I will not have my men taking things into their own hands. I still command the 29
^th
Corps and you will follow my orders until I no longer command.”

General Stemple returned to his horse and mounted it. Without a backward glance at the soldier, he started riding slowly towards the large command tent. Colonel Pierce rode alongside him.

“I have been thinking about the words that were uttered while we were with the Alceans,” the colonel said softly. “If everyone heard what was said at the parley, we will not have a functioning army much longer. They will know about the dwarves and the fate of Gattas and Montero.”

“I know,” agreed General Stemple. “I now understand all of the dwarf sightings of the past few days and the spread of rumors in Valdo. The Alceans are playing mind games with our men, and they are winning.”

“You think they are bluffing?” asked Colonel Pierce. “Are they trying to get us to surrender because that is the only way that they can win?”

“I am not sure,” answered the general. “I would have readily said yes before, but that would not explain how they managed to defeat Gattas and Montero. The truth is, we don’t know how strong the enemy is. What we do need to understand though is how weak we are. Ritka thinks he still has twenty-thousand men under his command.”

“And you disagree?”

“Strongly,” General Stemple said with a nod of his head. “Look around, Pierce. These men are all scared out of their wits. More than half of them would bolt given the slightest chance, and I am not sure about the other half. Given a strong dwarven charge, or even an effective use of battle magic by that black-cloak they have, and these armies would collapse. The flow of Federation blood would be immense.”

“They must have more than one mage,” frowned the colonel. “The black-cloak was not present when we met with the mercenaries, and that is where leaving the swords in the eastern part of the valley was mentioned. It does seem like the Alceans have outsmarted us, but none of this will change General Ritka’s mind. He will never surrender.”

“Then perhaps it might be time for Team Gortha to have new leadership,” the general replied softly.

The colonel’s eyes grew large as he understood the meaning of the general’s words. The only way that General Ritka could be replaced as head of Team Gortha was if the Spinoan general was dead.

“You can’t be serious?” balked the colonel.

“Pierce,” the general said in a serious tone, “there is more than a good chance that you and I will both die today. If Ritka orders an attack, and we both know that he will do so, half of the men in this valley will refuse to fight. They are more afraid of the dwarves than they are afraid of Ritka. How will Ritka respond to that?”

“He would not stand for it,” the colonel answered without hesitation. “He will order the shirkers seized and punished.”

“So we will have our very own civil war here within the valley,” declared the general, “while the enemy still waits for us to emerge. Or better yet, the dwarves can enter the valley while we are fighting among ourselves. They have us beat, Pierce, and they didn’t even have to unsheathe their swords to do it.”

The colonel nodded in agreement.

“What are you going to do about this situation?” asked General Stemple. “Are you ready to watch your men die needlessly?”

“You want me to die so my men can surrender?” frowned the colonel. “That is what you are asking of me. You must realize that. If I kill General Ritka to save the men, I will be hung. I would rather die fighting the dwarves.”

“If Ritka orders an attack, you won’t live long enough to see another dwarf,” retorted General Stemple. “Mutinous men will kill their officers first. Besides, there is no reason for you to die. With Ritka dead, I would inherit the position of team leader, and it would be my right and duty to pass sentence on you.”

“And you would spare me?” questioned the colonel.

General Stemple smiled. “I would reward you. In fact, I think you would make an excellent replacement as general of the 21
^st
Corps. You could claim that Ritka had lost his senses, and I would praise you for noticing it and taking action. Who is going to argue against us?”

“And what good would a promotion do me?” questioned the colonel. “I would only lead the 21
^st
Corps for an hour at most as the men lined up to surrender.”

“The Alceans promised to repatriate us,” the general pointed out. “You would return home as a general. A defeated general to be sure, but we will all return home defeated in any event.”

“Unless the Alceans fail to defeat the remaining teams,” argued the colonel.

General Stemple shrugged. “If Omirro manages to defeat the Alceans, he will rescue us from wherever the Alceans imprisoned us. Then you will return home as a general of a victorious force. You have nothing to lose, Pierce. It is the only way that either of us will survive this day. Do you have the guts to see it through?”

For a long time, the colonel remained silent. Eventually he nodded. “I do not care much for this solution to the problem, but I can find no better. Ritka would expend the life of every man in this valley rather than bend his knee to the Alceans. I cannot let such senseless pride be the cause of such massive destruction, but I will handle this my own way. Dismiss the squad when you reach your tent, and stay away from Ritka. Find an excuse not to meet with him. I do not want him to know anything about the southern exit.”

General Stemple nodded in agreement, but he raised an eyebrow at the request. Colonel Pierce turned his horse and headed back towards the southern exit without an escort.

Colonel Pierce rode through Hendy Valley towards the southern exit. As he rode through the camp, he watched the men closely. He noticed many of the men moving towards the western side of the valley, and he noted that they had all seemed to have lost their swords. He shook his head at the effectiveness of the Alcean plot. Up until now the officers had worried about the men fighting over scraps of food, but a deadlier game was about to unfold unless he acted quickly. Soon it would be those wishing to surrender against those loyal to General Ritka, and the squabbles would be bloody.

 
When he reached the exit, he halted and dismounted instead of riding up to where the Knight of Alcea stood. He signaled for Tedi to approach him alone. The Knight of Alcea hesitated, but he eventually complied with the request.

“I do not want my words heard in the valley,” the colonel said in a whisper. “Instruct your black-cloak of my desire so that we may speak plainly.”

“Our words are only between the two of us,” Tedi assured the colonel. “What is it that you wish to speak about?”

“I need your help. General Stemple and I have agreed to surrender, but General Ritka must die for that to happen without greater bloodshed.”

“And you don’t want to kill him yourself?” asked Tedi.

“Would you want to kill your superior officer?” countered the colonel. “I am a soldier, not an assassin.”

Tedi hesitated to reply. He stared at the colonel for a moment and then gazed blankly at the ground before returning his eyes to the colonel.

“If I kill General Ritka,” asked Tedi, “do I have assurances that both the 21
^st
Corps and the 29
^th
Corps will surrender?”

“General Stemple has already agreed,” answered the colonel. “He will become the leader of Team Gortha upon Ritka’s death.”

“And you agree as a colonel of the 21
^st
Corps?”

“You have my word,” replied Colonel Pierce. “I will find an excuse to bring him here.”

“No,” Tedi said quickly and firmly. “We have extended what amounts to a flag of truce here. I will not attack an enemy under those conditions unless he attacks me first. Can you get General Ritka to do that?”

“No,” frowned the colonel. “He would never be so foolish as to draw his sword surrounded by your archers.”

“I didn’t think so,” replied Tedi.

“Then you will not help save my men?” the colonel asked, his voice soft with disappointment.

Colonel Pierce saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned to see a beautiful saddled horse walking towards Tedi.

“Mount up, Colonel,” Tedi said. “We are going to see General Ritka.”

The colonel turned to the Knight of Alcea, his eyes wide with awe. “You are going to ride into a Federation camp alone and kill the commanding general?”

“I am not going alone,” Tedi smiled thinly. “You are going with me.” Tedi turned to the dwarf and the black-cloak as he mounted his horse. “I am going to see General Ritka,” he called to them. “Nothing has changed until you hear from me.”

The black-cloak nodded in understanding, and the two riders turned their horses and headed into the valley.

“Will your soldiers attack me?” asked Tedi as they rode into Hendy Valley.

“Not unless they have cause to,” answered the colonel. “While you are riding with me, no one will disturb you, but I cannot speak for their reactions after you kill the general. The command tent will have four guards stationed outside, and Ritka might bring them inside if he understands who you are. I will try to protect you, but they may ignore me when they see Ritka dead. Some of the men are fiercely loyal to him.”

Tedi merely nodded, and they rode on in silence for a while. Tedi glanced around the encampment with curiosity, and the soldiers gazed back at him with an even greater curiosity. He could only imagine what they might be saying to one another about the strange visitor. They had to know that he was an Alcean.

“I really must apologize,” Colonel Pierce said softly. “You must think me a fool, but I never imagined that you would simply ride into camp. Perhaps it would be better if I found another way to accomplish this. I have no right to ask for your life to save my men.”

“With luck,” Tedi replied, “only General Ritka will die this day, but I can make no promises. If your men attack me, I will vigorously defend myself. Do what you can to stop your soldiers from trying to kill me.”

“I can keep the men away from you except for the four guards,” promised the colonel, “but they will be more than sufficient to kill you. Ritka chooses the best for guard duty on his tent. Let’s turn around.”

“Turning around now would cost you your life,” Tedi pointed out. “General Ritka would surely hear about you riding through the camp with an Alcean at your side. What do you suppose his reaction would be?”

The colonel glanced around and saw everyone staring at him and Tedi. He shuddered as he realized that the Alcean was correct.

“I’ve really made a mess of this, haven’t I?”

“You appear to be a good man, Colonel,” Tedi replied. “You are doing your best to save the lives of your men, and that is exactly what a good officer should be doing. I can kill General Ritka in a manner that will be deniable, but if the guards attack me, everyone will know that I killed them. That will make my exit from your camp a dangerous proposition. In any event, you do not want to remain inside the tent with me. Lead me to General Ritka and then depart.”

The colonel had taken a sudden liking to the Alcean, but Tedi’s casual boasting of killing the four guards after being told that they were the best in the 21
^st
Corps rankled Pierce. He sighed deeply as he tried to think of a way out of the mess he had created. All too soon they arrived at the large command tent and dismounted. The colonel glanced at General Stemple’s tent next door and wondered if the Aertan general could order the guards to remain outside. It was worth a try, but Pierce was not sure if they would obey Stemple.