Alutar: The Great Demon (6 page)

“We have a journey to make this night,” the general instructed the four soldiers, “and it is one that must be made in secrecy. No one is to know that I have left the camp. Secure a path out of the camp for me and then return.” Almost as an afterthought, the general added, “You four will be going with me, so pack some rations for us, and find a way to keep people out of my tent for the next day or two. Perhaps tell the door guard that I am sick and that I am not to be disturbed until I request otherwise.”

The general returned the note to the container and then shoved it into his pouch. Satisfied that Clint’s desire for secrecy was being met, Peanut stealthily made his way out of the tent and sped back to the Alcea Ranger to get the next container.

* * * *

The sun was well into the sky when General Ross and his four men made it to the rendezvous. The Baroukan general saw General Forshire and four men waiting for him. He rode purposely up to General Forshire and dismounted.

“You have a lot of questions to answer, Forshire,” opened General Ross, “not the least is how you came to be here where no else should be.”

“All of your questions will be answered,” smiled General Forshire, “but I beg your indulgence for just a few more minutes. I asked General Alden to join us, and he is just over that rise to the north. I trust you told no one else about our meeting?”

“Only the men who escorted me,” frowned General Ross. “Why the secrecy?”

“Black-cloaks have more than one purpose in your armies, General,” Forshire replied. “They are meant to watch you as much as help you. Besides, I am sure that your men are emotionally troubled at this time. I would not want to raise false hopes among their ranks.”

The Baroukan’s eyebrows rose at the mention of the duties of the black-cloaks, but he nodded in understanding. A moment later, five riders came into view from the north. The two generals stood silently watching General Alden and his escorts ride towards them. When the Aertan heir arrived, the three generals motioned for their escorts to back away to allow for privacy at the meeting.

“All right, Forshire,” General Ross began. “Where exactly are we and how did you get here?”

“You are in Cordonia,” Clint began, “but not the Cordonia you were to conquer. It is a little complicated to explain, but you are in another Universe. This Universe looks like the one we come from in most respects, but it is also different. One major difference is the lack of Alcean enemies.”

“Oh, we have enemies,” retorted General Ross. “They have been killing my black-cloaks.”

“But not your men,” Clint pointed out. “There is a reason for that.”

“You are Alcean!” gasped General Ross. “I cannot believe it. I am usually a good judge of character, but you truly had me fooled.”

The Federation escorts suddenly tensed, not knowing the nature of the threat, but clearly seeing the sudden tenseness of General Ross.

“Calm your men, General,” Clint said softly. “I am not your enemy. I could just as easily have had you killed instead of merely leaving a message with you.”

Ross turned and looked at his men and nodded in understanding. He waved dismissively at his escorts, and the men softened their stance. The Baroukan general turned back to face General Forshire.

“Nevertheless, you are Alcean,” he declared. “What game are you playing?”

“A very dangerous one,” sighed Clint. “Force Cordonia was sent into this Universe so that we did not have to battle you. It may surprise you to know that the Alceans have no desire to kill you. In fact, we plan to repatriate you and your men when the Federation is destroyed.”

“Destroyed?” balked General Alden. “You are delusional. Force Cordonia alone has enough men to destroy Alcea. You will never crush the Federation.”

“Do you?” smirked General Forshire. “Look around you, General Alden. Tell me how you will find an Alcean army to attack. Show me the cities that your men will pillage and plunder. Count the women among your forces and tell me how your new civilization will last past the days of your last man here. You have sixty-thousand men who may easily live out the rest of their days in peace, but once your last man dies, there will be nothing here once again.”

“You came here somehow,” General Ross pointed out. “There must be an escape route somewhere.”

“There is,” Clint agreed, “but it will not be available to your men until they surrender.”

“So that is it?” asked General Ross. “You are here to solicit our surrender? You and your four men?”

“No, General,” replied Clint. “That will come later. I wanted to speak to the two of you because I think we have interests in common. We have a common enemy, the Federation.”

“Why would the Federation be an enemy to a general of the Federation, Forshire,” frowned General Ross. “You are making no sense at all.”

“There is an insidious rot in the upper echelons of the Federation, General,” replied Clint. “It is a rot that no more benefits Barouk or Aerta than it benefits Alcea.”

“Are you suggesting that Emperor Jaar is an enemy of Barouk?” scoffed General Ross. “That is ridiculous. He is one of a long line of emperors, and he has always promoted the best interests of the empire.”

“You make my point for me, General,” Clint said as he reached into his pouch and handed a paper to the Baroukan general. “Emperor Jaar knows that I am Alcean, yet he proclaimed me to be the first Imperial General in history. Do you want to know why?”

Ross and Alden gathered together to read the proclamation. They looked up with surprise and suspicion on their faces. General Ross nodded in answer to the question.

“Someone is trying to take over the Federation,” declared Clint. “Badgers abducted the emperor’s family from their hidden estate, but they could not locate the heir. They have taken Jaar hostage and are using Grand General Kyrga to run the Federation until they have no further use for Jaar. The A Corps managed to ambush the Badgers and regain custody of the women, but we have been unsuccessful in finding out who is behind the coup.”

“Would I be wrong in supposing this all happened during the celebration?” asked General Ross. When Clint nodded, the general continued, “Why you, Forshire? There were dozens of generals in attendance that week. If he knew that you were Alcean, why would he choose you?”

“He didn’t know at the time,” admitted Clint. “What he did know is that I was not in league with Kyrga. He could not be sure of anyone else, but I had successfully investigated Kyrga and reported the results to the emperor. I also turned down an offer to replace Kyrga.”

“Jaar offered an Alcean the post of Grand General?” scoffed general Alden. “Why didn’t you take it?”

“Because my purpose in Despair was to gain information, not lead the enemy’s armies,” answered the Ranger. “Jaar learned the truth about me after I rescued his wife and daughters. We made a deal that night. He made me the Imperial General and ordered me to gather my men and attack the palace to free him. In return, he promised to halt the war in Alcea. While Jaar could be as devious and underhanded as any man could be, I truly believe his offer was sincere. Conquering Alcea meant little to him compared to saving the Empire of Barouk from the hands of a usurper.”

“That I can believe,” nodded General Ross, “but it appears that both of you failed to deliver on your promises.”

“True,” sighed Clint. “That night in the emperor’s chambers, a demonic priest came to wrench the emperor’s memories from his mind. I killed K’san in the emperor’s bed chamber and then left. The following morning as I was leaving to gather my army, Emperor Jaar left the palace and met me on the way to the gates. He seemed different to me than the man I had talked with mere hours before. Plus, we had both taken pains not to be seen in each other’s company. It did not take long for me to understand what had happened. A black-cloak had killed the emperor and used a magical spell to impersonate him.”

“That is rather far fetched,” frowned General Ross. “You use the black-cloaks as a source for all things you wish to portray as evil, but the Black Citadel has been loyal to the Federation from the beginning.”

“Really?” retorted Clint. “Did I fail to mention that the Badgers were holding the emperor’s family in the Black Citadel? The A Corps attacked them when they were leaving the Black Citadel to move the women into the Elfwoods.”

“Your story paints a bleak picture, General Forshire,” replied General Alden, “but why should we believe you. We are isolated here and cannot verify the truth of your words.”

Suddenly, one of Clint’s men nocked an arrow and sent it flying skyward. Everyone’s head snapped towards the archer at the sound of the arrow’s release. They looked up and saw the body of a black-cloak falling to the ground. The Federation soldiers immediately grabbed their bows, but General Ross shouted an order to halt before they could fire on Clint’s men.

“I suspect he could not stand not knowing where you were,” Clint said softly. “It is his duty to watch you.”

General Ross merely nodded and turned his gaze to the Alcean. “What is the status of the war in Alcea?”

“It is over,” answered Clint, “but the war in Zara is just beginning. Alcea holds 175,000 prisoners, including your 60,000 men. The rest are dead.”

“How is that possible?” balked General Alden. “Alcea faced overwhelming odds.”

“I would like to think it is because they had good intelligence on what the enemy planned to do,” Clint smiled thinly. “In truth, we have known about the Federation’s attack plans much longer than either of you have. Team Danver Shores was tricked into becoming stranded in a swamp. Team Chi was caught in a flood when a dam broke. A collapsing cliff destroyed Team Pontek. Team Elmor was caught on an oil soaked road that was then set aflame. The rest of the teams were forced to march without horses and food because we either poisoned the feed or removed the hidden caches before the armies got to them. They were not allowed the safety of foraging. The point is, generals, we planned well for the invasion and Kyrga did not. By keeping his generals in the dark, he did more harm than good.”

“Now that is the truth,” sighed General Ross.

“You believe him?” balked General Alden.

“I do,” nodded General Ross. “The traps were clever, but believable. If General Forshire could think of them now just to impress us, is it hard to believe that the Alcean strategists could not think of them over the course of the winter?”

“But what about the black-cloaks?” questioned General Alden. “Surely, they could have protected the armies somehow.”

“Indeed,” agreed General Forshire. “That is why they were our first targets. The black-cloaks were mostly killed on the first day in the country while the generals still thought they had arrived in Alcea without notice.”

“Which is why you destroyed the ones attached to Force Cordonia,” nodded General Ross. “What exactly do you want from us, Forshire?”

“I want your help in destroying the Federation and bringing peace to your countries as well as mine,” answered Clint. “Ross, I feel certain that you will become the Grand General of the Baroukan Army when the heir takes the throne, and Alden, you will become the King of Aerta. I need to be sure that both of you will use your positions of power to heal your nations, not abuse others.”

The night sky over the false Cordonia was clear, and brilliant stars dotted the black sky. The three generals sat on logs arranged around one fire while the twelve escorts sat around another some distance away. The conversation among the generals had been ongoing since midday, and the generals were beginning to understand that they truly did have much in common.

“You have given me a rare appreciation of your Alcean king,” remarked General Alden. “I could not imagine myself facing such tremendous odds and still paying mind to a directive to spare the soldiers of my enemy. He must have great faith in this Mage that you speak of.”

“The gods speak of the Mage as the Creator,” replied Clint. “Many of the Knights of Alcea have had personal relationships with him in one guise or another, but to answer your unspoken question, yes, the faith we have in the Mage is strong. We know him to be the archenemy of Alutar, who is known as Balmak in your country. It is the Great Demon who is behind this war. Supposedly, he requires the tears of a million to stage his resurgence. King Arik is determined to avoid that.”

“Have you not already done enough to spoil his plans with the defeat of Federation forces in Alcea?” asked General Ross.

“We have thwarted one plan,” answered Clint. “I have no doubt that Alutar and his minions will merely turn to another. There are more ways to gain tears than by pitting one nation against another. You need merely to look within the cities of the Federation to see the misery that lurks there. Your citizens are dying in the streets for lack of food and healing, while Kyrga raises yet more armies.”

“More armies?” echoed General Alden.

“Yes,” nodded Clint. “I thought you had known, but how could you have? Kyrga has commissioned another six armies. The strange thing is the new armies report only to Kyrga and not their host monarchs.”

“Host monarchs?” questioned General Alden. “Where are these armies posted?”

“Three of them have been sent to cities on the Sea of Tears,” answered Clint, “one to each of the three capitols of Aerta, Ertak, and Spino. The other three were still in Despair the last I heard. I do not know where they are bound for.”

“Who leads these armies?” asked General Ross.

“Askor, Brennus, and Eylor remain in Despair,” answered Clint. “Kartacus is in Valdo. Larus is in Ertak, and Hedstorus is in Giza.”

“Hedstorus?” spat General Alden. “That man is no more fit to be a general than Kyrga is to be a king.”

“Nor are the others,” frowned General Ross. “Who chose these men? Surely, it was not Kyrga, and I am certain that Emperor Jaar would not have.”

“That is the golden question,” sighed Clint. “I feel confident that they were chosen for their loyalty, but loyalty to whom?”

The group fell silent for a few minutes. General Ross eventually sighed heavily and looked Clint in the face.