Alutar: The Great Demon (39 page)

“You truly do not understand your situation, Daramoor,” Clint responded. “You murdered the leader of the 31
^st
Corps. General Pfaff has his hands full right now. He is trying to stop the men of the 31
^st
Corps from storming the palace and tearing you apart. If you are looking for leniency, I am the best hope you have, but my A Corps has not entered the city yet. I may not be able to protect you much longer, which is why I am trying to get this trial over quickly. If the emperor sends a message deciding your fate, the men of the 31
^st
Corps will not dare go against it.”

“I don’t understand,” frowned the king. “How can the emperor possibly respond to something he is unaware of?”

“He is already aware,” answered Clint. “I sent a message off to him hours ago and asked for his ruling.”

“But you haven’t even had the trial yet,” protested the king. “How can you ask the emperor to judge me?”

“There is no doubt as to your guilt, Daramoor. Both of us know that. I merely sent a message to the emperor asking for leniency for you. I did, however, tell the emperor that I would have a signed confession from you. That was needed in order to ask for leniency. Without a confession, there could be no contrition, and therefore no leniency. I expect a reply soon. Do you wish to start the trial, or would you rather just write the confession?”

“And what if the emperor offers no leniency?” asked the king.

“Then I would have you hanged,” answered General Forshire.

“Hanged?” protested the king. “Am I supposed to be pleased with your solution?”

“I am sure that the emperor will offer leniency,” Clint smiled tautly. “But even if he does not, wouldn’t you prefer a quick hanging to being torn limb from limb by the men of the 31
^st
Corps? They are quite outraged over the death of General Nazzaro, and some of them have promoted some rather vile methods of ending your reign. I do not consider myself squeamish in any sense of the word, but I would not want to watch you die at the hands of those angry men.”

King Daramoor shuddered as he thought about dying at the hands of the 31
^st
Corps. He also had a vivid imagination, and he did not like the visions that were coming to his mind. He grabbed a writing utensil and paper and began writing. When he was done, he shoved the paper across the desk to General Forshire.

“Should the emperor offer leniency,” the king said, “I would like to be transported to east of the Barrier. I am sure that I can find a home there.”

Clint nodded to Stan and the Ranger opened the door and waved the three soldiers in. He then closed the door, leaving the two door guards outside.

“These men were to be witnesses to the trial,” Clint stated. “Instead, I will just have them witness your confession and then we can wait for word from Despair.”

* * * *

Sidney Mercado’s warehouse was closed for the day, as were most businesses in Waxhaw. It was, after all, not every day that the king of a country was publicly hanged, and no one wanted to miss it. Still, there were several people in the upstairs office of the warehouse. In the corner of the office was a door, seemingly leading to a closet, but it really was a portal to Tarashin. Three men sat in the office waiting for the door to open. When it did, Sidney Mercado stepped out of the closet, closely followed by Queen Romani. General Pfaff bowed low to the queen, but General Forshire and Stan Fargo merely nodded to show their respect. The queen crossed the room and took both of Pfaff’s hands in her own.

“I see that you have become a general,” she said with a smile.

“Not just a general,” chuckled General Pfaff, “but the Commanding General of Vinafor. I can’t believe Daramoor actually did that. I have General Forshire to thank for making that possible.”

“That is good,” smiled the queen. “It is one less detail that I have to worry about.”

“I don’t mean to keep the title, Your Highness,” blushed the Vinaforan general. “It was helpful to control the army, but I would not presume to declare myself the Commanding General.”

“You are not declaring yourself,” replied the queen. “Had Daramoor not already done so, making you the head general of Vinafor was one of the first items on my list. You have earned that title and much more, Pfaff. You have earned my respect and admiration. Without your steadfast devotion, I doubt that this day would have ever arrived.”

Turning to General Forshire the queen smiled motherly. “How did Daramoor take the trial?” she asked.

“Better than expected,” answered Clint. “He did try to have his men kill me, but Stan and I managed all right. I had expected him to try intimidating me, or haggle for a better deal, but I think deep down he knew that his grand act was over. He has a deep fear of being handed over to the men of the 31
^st
Corps. Once I threatened him with that, he became docile. I did let him down slowly by letting him think that Emperor Jaar might show leniency, but he has accepted his fate.”

“Is he aware of how you and Pfaff manipulated him?” asked the queen.

“I do not think he has managed to put it all together yet,” answered Clint. “I feel confident that if he did, he would not submit to his punishment.”

“Daramoor never was very bright,” stated the queen. “He rose by eliminating his competition, not through his brilliance. I only wish I had detected his vile ways earlier. When I did discover the kind of man he was, it was too late for me to do anything about it.”

“When is the hanging?” asked Sidney Mercado.

“Within the hour,” answered General Pfaff. “After that is over, we can bring the queen out of hiding, and she can announce our withdrawal from the Federation.”

“I do not plan to hide,” stated Queen Romani. “I came to see Daramoor hanged. I plan to be there when that noose is put around his neck, and I want you two generals by my side.”

“That is risky,” frowned Clint. “Daramoor will surely figure out that he has been tricked.”

“Good,” replied the queen. “That is exactly what I expected. I want that vile beast to understand that he was brought down intentionally, and I want him to know who did it.”

“He may still have confederates foolish enough to try to rescue him,” warned General Pfaff. “I agree with General Forshire. It is too risky for him to see you before he is hanged.”

“Who is the executioner?” asked Sidney.

“Major Stark,” answered General Pfaff. “Why?”

“I have an idea that will solve this dilemma,” grinned the merchant. “If I might talk to Major Stark before the execution, I think the queen’s wish can be granted safely.”

“I will take you to him immediately,” offered General Pfaff.

The two men left the office. Clint and Queen Romani talked for a half hour about the state of the War in Zara until both of them were up to date with the latest developments. As they finished up, the two men returned. Sidney handed the queen a hooded cloak and helped her into it.

“We have little time,” announced Sidney. “I have reserved a very prominent viewing location, but I do not know if the men stationed there can hold it against the growing crowd. Let’s go.”

Sidney reached towards the queen and pulled the hood forward, concealing her face. The group of five descended the steps and left the warehouse. They walked to the Royal Palace and merged with the thousands of people waiting to see the hanging.

The hanging was to take place on the lawn of the Royal Palace, and the gates were uncharacteristically wide open for all to enter. Not twenty paces from the gallows was a square stone platform that rose one pace above the lawn. It had been the base of a statue of King Daramoor, but someone had vandalized the statue, knocking it off the stone base. The statue had been carried away, but the platform remained. Standing on the platform were six caravan warriors who worked at Sidney’s warehouse. As the queen’s group approached the platform, some soldiers were trying to dislodge the caravan warriors to get the prime viewing spot for themselves. General Forshire stepped forward and cleared his throat. The soldiers immediately faded away. When the caravan warriors recognized Sidney Mercado, they immediately stepped down, allowing Sidney and his group access to the platform. Sidney helped the queen get up on the platform. General Forshire and General Pfaff followed and then moved to stand directly in front of the queen. She did not complain.

The generals standing in front of a woman caused some in the crowd to whisper and point, but their interest was short-lived. Within minutes of the queen’s arrival, horns announced the beginning of the event. Everyone’s attention turned to the doors of the Royal Palace as King Daramoor was led out of the building. Major Stark climbed the steps of the gallows and waited. As the king was led up the steps of the gallows, many in the crowd began booing. Daramoor paused, his eyes running over the crowd. He glared at those booing and then returned his attention to the steps. When he reached the top of the steps, two soldiers led him to the rope and Major Stark placed the noose over his head and adjusted it. The major than moved to his position at the lever.

Daramoor sighed deeply as his eyes scanned the crowd of ungrateful peons before him, looking for at least one friendly face. That was when his eyes landed on the two general standing on a platform. As he stared at General Forshire and General Pfaff, they each moved slightly to opposite sides. When they moved apart, the king saw a hooded form in between them. The woman stepped forward to stand between the two generals and then she raised her hands and lowered her hood. Daramoor gasped as he recognized Queen Romani. As he stared in disbelief at the queen, she reached out and took the hand of General Pfaff. She also reached out with her other hand and took the hand of General Forshire. She smiled broadly at Daramoor. It was in that instant that everything became clear to Daramoor. He understood that Pfaff was the queen’s man and that he always had been. It was also clear that General Forshire, whoever he really was, had manipulated Daramoor into his present circumstance. Daramoor’s hands curled into fists and a raging scream of anguish ripped from his throat. At that instant, Major Stark pulled the lever. Whatever words were about to follow Daramoor’s scream never had a chance to be heard. The trapdoor fell open and Daramoor dropped to the end of the rope’s extent. The crowd cheered wildly, and Queen Romani pulled her hood forward so that General Pfaff could get her into the Royal Palace without too many questions being asked.

Major Stark addressed the people present for the hanging. He told them to remain where they were because the Royal Palace had an important announcement to make. Minutes later, Queen Romani, General Pfaff, and General Forshire appeared on a balcony. The queen announced that the illegitimate reign of Daramoor was over and that she would be assuming the throne. She also announced that Vinafor was withdrawing from the Federation. She welcomed the men of the 31
^st
Corps to join the Vinaforan army, settle as free citizens, or leave in peace, whichever they desired. She announced that General Pfaff would remain as the Commanding General of Vinafor. When she was done, General Forshire stepped forward and declared that as the Imperial General of the Federation, he was accepting Vinafor’s decision to withdraw from the Federation. He officially dissolved the 31
^st
Corps and warned the soldiers that they were now guests in a foreign land, and that proper behavior was expected of them.

Lord Kommoron glared at the messenger. The soldier shuddered, but he remained silent, hoping that the noble would wait for him to leave and then take out his wrath on one of the servants. He cast his eyes down at the floor so that he was not forced to make eye contact with the angry lord.

“Tell your master that I will be there shortly,” snapped Lord Kommoron.

The messenger nodded exaggeratedly and quickly left the room. Lord Kommoron did not notice the messenger’s anxiety. Indeed, the messenger had already been dismissed from his mind. His thoughts now were focused on Emperor Jaar, or rather on Zycara, the black-cloak using magic to impersonate the emperor. The lord had been very specific to both the emperor and Grand General Kyrga that he was not supposed to be contacted at home. While the private security force guarding the Sanctum was not supposed to record the comings and goings of the residents, everyone kept an eye on everyone else. Messengers from the Imperial Palace were always noticed, and Lord Kommoron had been having too many of them recently. As he called for his carriage to be made ready, the noble thought about moving into his mansion in the city until the current crisis was over. The problem with doing so was security. In the Sanctum he was extremely well protected. Such a level of protection could not be had in the city. When it was announced that his carriage was waiting for him, Lord Kommoron pushed the thoughts from his mind and left his mansion for the ride to the Imperial Palace.

When the noble arrived at the Imperial Palace he went directly to the emperor’s office. There were two other men already present when he entered the room, and he looked at one of them curiously. He had only met the leader of the black-cloaks a few times, but Feragyna was not someone who was easily forgotten. The head mage’s left arm dangled uselessly by his side. Lord Kommoron raised an eyebrow, but did not mention the deformity. He took a seat in front of the emperor’s desk and waited to hear the urgent news.

“I apologize for disturbing you at home,” Emperor Jaar started out, “but there are developments that you must be informed of.”

“Urgent enough to disregard my directives?” scowled Lord Kommoron.

“Yes,” Emperor Jaar answered calmly. “We will start with the Black Citadel. Feragyna?”

“One of my men brought urgent news from the north,” Feragyna stated. “The horse countries have assembled a large army, and they are marching off to war.”

“Marching to war?” echoed the lord. “Where? How?”

Feragyna ignored the interruption and continued, “In addition to the twenty thousand lancers that he saw, there were three thousand Red Swords led by King Arik. My man thought that they were heading for the Forest of Death. He also postulated that the boy king is said to be favored by the gods. He worried that perhaps the army would have some kind of protection from the Forest of Death.”