General Mobami, the Governor of Sordoa, sighed with frustration as he watched the Federation column march through the valley. He had been hoping to speak once again to General Barbone, but the Spinoan general had not even glanced in his direction, and the governor did not want to call too much attention to himself. The governor turned his horse and rode away from the column. A few minutes later, he rejoined his own men.
“Any luck?” asked Tedi.
“None,” sighed the governor. “General Barbone did not even glance in my direction. I fear that I will not get a chance to talk to him before the attack.”
“How far is it to the next valley?” asked Natia.
“A few minutes hard ride,” answered the governor. “Why do you ask?”
“I think we can draw enough attention to ensure that General Barbone notices you,” answered Natia.
“What are you planning?” Tedi asked, suspicion heavy in his voice.
“Nothing devious,” answered the gypsy princess. “I think our unicorns would catch the attention of the Federation column. If we merely flew overhead and landed in the next valley, General Barbone would be sure to notice.”
“That just might work,” brightened the governor. “It will take the Federation column about half an hour to cover the distance, but I can be in place much quicker. Give me time to get situated and then fly over the Spinoan general. Land near me so that he cannot possibly miss seeing me.”
“I am going with you,” Tedi asserted as he stared at his wife.
“Afraid that I might run off with a Zaran officer?” quipped Natia.
“Afraid that you might poison the entire column,” laughed Tedi. The gypsy prince grew serious and continued, “You might attract more attention than you want, Natia. My staff can even the odds a great deal if we find some overanxious Zarans coming towards us.”
“I have always enjoyed your company,” smiled Natia. “We will travel together.”
General Mobami laughed at the light-hearted banter and rode away. Tedi and Natia leisurely checked their weapons and then mounted their unicorns. At first they flew north, opposite the flow of the Federation column, and out of sight of the Zarans. When they felt enough time had passed, they rose higher in the sky and banked to the east. When they saw the Federation column marching along the Coastal Highway, they banked again and headed south directly over the column. Shouts rang out among the soldiers below, and the commotion rippled forward through the column. Soon soldiers ahead of the unicorns were turning around to gape at the flying creatures.
Natia had anticipated the Zarans shooting arrows up at the unicorns, and she had chosen an altitude that she thought was safe, but she need not have bothered. None of the Federation soldiers even strung their bows. They merely stared up in wonder and pointed.
“There is General Barbone,” Tedi commented.
“I see him,” replied Natia. “Let’s slow down so he sees us bank into the valley.”
Far below, General Barbone gazed up at the unicorns. He remembered seeing similar creatures the night that the black-cloaks died, and a shiver raced up his spine. He watched anxiously as the creatures flew overhead and then banked into the next valley. When he reached the valley, he gazed towards the west and saw the unicorns on the ground. He also saw the now familiar Governor of Sordoa. The bald-headed Sordoan sat on his horse staring at the column, just as he had earlier in the day. The invitation to talk was obvious, but the presence of the riders on the unicorns concerned the general. He moved out of the column and sat staring at the three figures at the far end of the valley. Before he could make up his mind about chancing a meeting with the governor, Colonel Pineta appeared at his side.
“What do you make of that?” asked the colonel.
“The bald one is General Mobami,” answered General Barbone. “I believe he wishes to talk, but I do not know the other two.”
“He is showing no flag of truce,” remarked the colonel. “Besides, why would he want to talk to just you? Shouldn’t he be talking to General Omirro?”
“He has already spoken to General Omirro,” replied General Barbone. “Omirro threatened him while under a flag of truce.”
After a moment of silence, the colonel said, “If you are thinking of going over there to talk to the governor, I will be going with you. I do not trust the Sordoans to treat you fairly.”
The colonel’s offer tipped the general’s decision towards the meeting. He nodded in acceptance of the colonel’s offer and started riding towards the western end of the valley. The colonel rode by his side. The two Zarans halted before the three Alceans, but said nothing in greeting.
“You asked for proof, General Barbone,” opened General Mobami as he untied a sack from his saddle and tossed it on the ground before the general’s horse. “I said that I would deliver it.”
Colonel Pineta looked at his general questioningly, and Barbone nodded towards the sack. The colonel dismounted and walked to the sack. He opened it and gasped.
“What is it?” General Barbone asked impatiently.
The colonel pulled out the head of General Ritka and held it up for General Barbone to see. The general merely nodded and looked up at Governor Mobami.
“What about Gattas and Montero?” asked General Barbone.
Governor Mobami untied two more sacks and tossed them towards the colonel. The colonel opened each in turn and held up the heads of the deceased generals. General Barbone sighed and nodded.
“You have proved the worth of your words,” he stated, “but that doesn’t change anything. General Omirro is the leader of Team Caldar. You must make your demands to him.”
“And I shall,” replied Governor Mobami, “but Omirro has a hard head. It will take more than the proof of my words to sway him. It will take a great deal of bloodshed as well. I am trying to save the lives of your men, Barbone. I wish you had as much concern for them as I do.”
“Do not lecture me on my responsibilities, Governor,” retorted the general. “I still do not believe that you would treat my men as well as you say. In fact, I see your ploy for what it is. You wish to split Team Caldar in two to make it easier to fight against. I will not betray my country to make it easy for you.”
“Ertak is hardly your country,” interjected Tedi. “And if you meant the Federation when you spoke, that is hardly your country, either. Spino is treated as a lesser member of the Federation. Even Queen Samir understands that.”
“What could you possibly know about Queen Samir and how she feels about anything?” snarled General Barbone. “Do not play childish games with me.”
“Actually,” smiled Tedi, “I have spent time in Queen Samir’s sitting room with Natia. We sold her that huge diamond that she enjoys showing off.”
“Plus the DeCardia figurines,” grinned Natia. “Don’t forget them.”
General Barbone frowned as he looked from Natia to Tedi and back to Natia again. “Just who are you people?”
“I am Tedi and this is Natia,” answered Tedi. “We are Knights of Alcea, but we are known as merchants in Zara.”
“Knights of Alcea?” echoed the colonel.
“The Knights of Alcea speak for King Arik,” explained Governor Mobami. “They are authorized to act in his behalf.”
General Barbone raised an eyebrow. He had indeed heard about the queen’s large diamond, and he knew people who had purchased DeCardia figurines from the queen, but he could not imagine that the two people before him had actually been to Valdo.
“Describe the palace to me,” demanded the Spinoan general.
The question had been directed at Tedi, but Natia answered. She not only described the palace and the queen’s sitting room, but she also described the inside of the elven reeducation center. General Barbone shook his head in amazement.
“So you two are the spies who learned all the Federation secrets?” asked General Barbone.
“No,” answered Tedi. “Grand General Kyrga kept even Queen Samir in the dark regarding the invasion. We were part of the rebels who destroyed your fleet, freed the elves, and destroyed the shipyards in Giza.”
“We know more about the Federation plans than any Spinoan,” added Natia. “That is why we are trying to get you to surrender. Demonic forces are controlling Emperor Jaar. Those forces seek to create a million tears by sending the Federation armies to Alcea. Those tears are needed to restore Alutar, the Great Demon. It hardly matters to the demons who wins this war. What matters is that the death tally be great. That is why King Arik has demanded that we try to get all of the teams to surrender if possible. He not only wants to spare the Alceans from bloody deaths, but the Zarans as well.”
“She speaks the truth,” stated Governor Mobami. “I have forces enough to crush this entire column, but my king requests that I do not. I sense that General Omirro will not agree to surrender. That means that I must destroy the 10th Corps, but I do not wish to also destroy the 22nd Corps. That is why I have been meeting with you separately. Will you surrender?”
“How can you have enough men to crush this column?” the colonel asked skeptically. “You don’t have twenty-thousand fighting men in all of Sordoa.”
“Your spies, and yes I know you were one of them, Colonel Pineta, have done a poor job at evaluating our forces. Take a ride up the hill behind me and gaze upon fifteen-thousand Sordoan horsemen. When you get back, I will tell you about the thousands of dwarves and elves who are already filing into Trekum to man its walls. When your column gets caught between our forces, not a single Zaran will survive.”
The colonel looked to his general, and Barbone nodded his authorization. Colonel Pineta mounted his horse and rode past the three Alceans. He rode up the hill and gazed down upon the Sordoan cavalry. He returned to the parley and simply nodded to the Spinoan general.
“I need time to dwell on this,” stated General Barbone.
“You have precious little time, General,” Governor Mobami responded. “I have revealed my armies, but I will not reveal my plans.”
General Barbone nodded and turned his horse to return to the column. Colonel Pineta waited until they were well away from the Alceans before speaking.
“He didn’t say how many thousands of elves and dwarves were in Trekum. Perhaps it is not enough to make a difference.”
“Their numbers were enough to destroy Team Pontek,” replied General Barbone, “and enough to cause Stemple to surrender Team Gortha. As much I don’t like taking the word of the enemy, I believe we have been given a true picture of the situation. Now we must decide how to react to it.”
* * * *
The sun was already high in the sky on day twelve of the Zaran invasion, and Team Miram showed no signs of breaking camp. King Arik paced the shoreline of a mountain lake while the others sat in the shade of a tree. Eventually, the king turned and walked to the others.
“What is the downside of just letting Team Miram remain in camp?” he asked.
“The downside is if Team Mya suddenly decides to attack Tagaret,” answered Colonel David Jaynes. “We would be caught between two Federation teams.”
“But Team Mya is also staying in camp since the death of General Fortella,” posed the king. “In a day or two, the Army of the West and the Cordonian Army will catch up to Team Mya. Can’t we just wait them both out?”
“It is possible that both Federation teams will remain in camp,” frowned Colonel Mitar Vidson, “but are you willing to bet your kingdom on it? You are talking about forty-thousand Zarans within a day or two of Tagaret. If we do not play this well, we will lose the city.”
“I agree,” stated Queen Tanya. “We have to bring resolution to at least one of the Federation teams. They may be staying in their camps for now, but that is a far cry from surrendering. Do not underestimate the enemy.”
King Arik looked to Alexander Tork questioningly. “How likely is General Whitman to surrender Team Mya?”
“Whitman is a fearful man,” answered Alex, “but not entirely predictable. I would wager that he will stay in camp for several days to allow the other teams to reach Tagaret first and then move his army towards the city with some excuse for being late.”
“What if we convinced him that the other teams would never arrive at Tagaret?” asked King Arik.
“He might then be open to surrender,” frowned Alex, “but there are others in Team Mya that you must take into consideration. The Baroukans will not like serving under an Aertan, especially one they consider a coward. If they manage to get their courage up, they could revolt against Whitman.”
“What would happen then?” asked Queen Tanya.
Alex sighed and stared at the lake for a moment before answering. “It is hard to say. There could be a civil war between the two Federation armies of Team Mya, or one of them could exert control over the entire team. It is also possible that the team will split in two with one army advancing on Tagaret and the other remaining in camp. In short, I truly do not know the answer.”
“Both Federation teams are too close to Tagaret to risk pulling the Targa Army out of the city,” interjected David. “That leaves only the Rangers and the Red Swords to handle both teams, and we are woefully inadequate to handle just one. We need to talk one of the teams into surrendering. If we can do that, we pull the Targa Army out to reinforce us.”
“We do not stand alone,” countered the king. “We still have the Elderal elves, the Army of the West, and the Cordonian Army, although the latter two forces might not arrive in time to be of much help unless there is a siege of Tagaret.”
“What of the men of Tor?” asked Alex.
“I have them posted near Miram to halt Bledsoe’s retreat,” answered the king, “although they would be easily overwhelmed if Bledsoe did turn his armies around.”
“They are not many,” stated Alex, “but they are good fighters. You should send word for them to join us.”
King Arik nodded and then changed the subject. “I do not care much for this uncertainty. While both Federation teams remain in camp, either one of them could move immediately, and we would have to react. I prefer to make things happen rather than wait for them to happen. I am going down to parley with General Bledsoe. Maybe I can talk him into surrendering.”
“Bledsoe will not surrender without being bloodied,” warned Alex, “but I think the parley is a good idea anyway. Having the King of Alcea visit him will let him know that he is the main focus of our concern. That will make him worry about the forces we might send against him.”
“I am going with you,” Queen Tanya said to the king.
“As are Alex and I,” declared Jenneva. “I also think Theos and Balamor need to be in a position to observe the parley in case something goes wrong.”
“I can take the mages to an observation post,” offered David. “It looks down on the southern perimeter of the Federation encampment.”
“Then that is where we shall parley,” stated the king. “Get a fairy off to the men of Tor and tell them to join forces with us as soon as they can.”
The four Heroes of the Mage mounted their unicorns and set off down the trail to the Coastal Highway. Jenneva fashioned a flag of truce on the way to the enemy encampment, and a while later they halted near the southern perimeter. The Federation sentries gawked at the royal couple dressed in their gold-trimmed white armor, but it was Jenneva who rode forward.
“King Arik of Alcea has requested a parley under a flag of truce with General Bledsoe and General Kozinski. Please inform the generals that the king awaits them.”
A runner was sent to inform the generals, but word of the king’s arrival spread through the encampment like wildfire. Jenneva retreated to the side of the road while Alex positioned himself at the other side of the road. The king and queen sat alone in the middle of the Coastal Highway. A thick crowd of soldiers gathered at the barricade to get a glimpse of the Alcean king, and Alex grew tense. His hand slowly moved to a pouch on his belt, and he fisted a couple of Lanoirian stars. The two Federation generals soon arrived, but Alex’s eyes barely flicked towards them as he continued to scan the large crowd. His gut began to tighten, and Alex let out a slight sigh. It was enough to alert Jenneva to potential trouble. She strengthened the physical shields surrounding the royal couple.
“I am General Bledsoe,” stated the leader of Team Miram, “and this is General Kozinski. Are you King Arik of Alcea?”
“I am King Arik,” declared the king, “and this is Queen Tanya. We need to talk.”
Suddenly, a knife flew out of the crowd towards King Arik. The knife impacted the invisible shield that Jenneva held and it fell to the ground. Even before the knife had completed it journey, Alex’s hand whipped out towards the barricade. A Lanoirian star hurtled through the air and impacted in the forehead of a Federation soldier. The soldier fell to the ground and the Federation soldiers shouted and drew their swords.
“Stop!” shouted General Bledsoe, his voice loud and commanding.
For a moment, no one moved. The general turned and glared at the soldiers around the body of the assassin
“Take that body and hang it in front of my tent for all to see,” commanded the Baroukan general. “We stand under a flag of truce, and I will not have that disrespected. If there are some among you who knew of this dastardly attempt on the king’s life and did not prevent it, report to Colonel Sawar for punishment. If you do not report to the colonel, and I discover your knowledge, your body will also hang before my tent. Now disperse.”
The gawkers quickly moved away from the barricade, but the sentries remained. General Bledsoe ordered them to leave as well and waited until everyone was gone before speaking.
“I apologize for such disgraceful behavior, King Arik. I am pleased that you were protected. Shall we retire to my command tent?”
“I prefer to speak here,” replied the king. “My message is short, and your camp needs no more excitement. I have come to request your surrender.”
General Bledsoe smiled slightly and shook his head. “You are young for a king, but certainly not so foolish as you are making yourself appear. One doesn’t request a surrender; one demands it. Unless, of course, one is in no position to demand a surrender, and that is exactly where you find yourself, isn’t it, King Arik?”
“The Federation’s invasion of Alcea is already a failure,” replied King Arik. “Of the twelve teams sent here from Zara, only four remain a threat. Yours is one of those four. It is my desire to end this foolishness with as little bloodshed as possible. You gain nothing by subjecting your men to warfare.”
“So you say,” retorted the Baroukan general, “but four teams is more than enough to crush all of Alcea, and I find it impossible to believe that you have conquered eight Federation teams. If you are so all-powerful, why are you here requesting my surrender? Shouldn’t your massive armies annihilate my team and concentrate on the other three?”
King Arik sighed with frustration. “I know why you have come to Alcea, General Bledsoe, but I doubt that you do. You think you are here to claim all of Alcea for the Federation, but your own people have betrayed you. The purpose of this war is to provide one-million tears to rejuvenate Alutar, the Great Demon. It matters little to Emperor Jaar’s master whether you win or lose as long as the bloodshed and suffering are great enough to produce those tears. My request for your surrender is meant to deny those tears to the Great Demon.”
“It would seem to me,” countered General Bledsoe, “that you could accomplish your worthy goal by surrendering to me. No blood will flow, and no tears need be created. You defeat the will of Alutar, and I fulfill the mission given to me by Emperor Jaar.”
“Emperor Jaar no longer rules the Empire of Barouk,” interjected Alex. “Someone is staging a coup and has replaced him with a double. Your real concern at this point should be supporting the heir against the usurper.”
“I do not believe you,” scoffed the Baroukan general. “How could you possibly know these things? No ships have left the Sea of Tears in months.”
“We have portals of our own,” revealed Alex, “and we don’t have to travel to Camp Destiny to use them.”
General Bledsoe fidgeted as if he were suddenly anxious for the parley to end. Alex smiled.
“Don’t waste your time sending men back to Miram,” warned Alex. “Your portals are no longer there. You have no way to return to Zara except through us. That is why we can afford to be free with the knowledge we share. You have no one to tell it to.”
“Save the lives of your men, General Bledsoe,” urged King Arik. “I vow that they will be well-treated and generously-fed. Surrender to me.”
“No,” the Baroukan general replied. “I have a duty to the Federation and the wherewithal to carry it out. I cannot in good conscience ignore my responsibilities. This parley is over.”
The two generals turned and retreated.
“I pushed too hard,” frowned King Arik.
“No, Arik,” replied Alex. “General Bledsoe needs to be bloodied. In the meantime, you have given him much to dwell on.”
As the Heroes of the Mage turned to leave the barricade, a fairy dropped out of the sky and landed on Alex’s shoulder.
“General Whitman is dead,” reported Bitsy. “Team Mya is preparing to march on Tagaret.”
“What of the Army of the West?” asked Jenneva.
“They will not be in time to halt the advance,” answered Bitsy.
“So,” sighed the king, “we are forced to react anyway.”
“We are,” agreed Alex, “and we no longer have the luxury of trying to save the lives of the enemy soldiers. We either crush them quickly or we lose this war.”