13 Day War (17 page)

“I need a way to get into General Kolling’s camp tonight,” answered Bin-lu. “Now that we have seen the layout, I do not think I can sneak into it, and I do not expect them to alter the layout during the coming days. They appear to be very practiced in setting up camp.”

“For the mages?” questioned Rut-ki. “We were not supposed to kill them until tomorrow night.”

Bin-lu sighed. “I know that was our plan, but I think it is a mistake. They are going to realize tomorrow that they have not succeeded in arriving here unnoticed. Once that happens, they will be on high alert. Tonight is the only chance we will have of attacking while they are still somewhat lax.”

“All right.” Rut-ki nodded before turning away and running towards the farmhouse.

Bin-lu immediately mounted his unicorn and instructed him to head for the coast. The unicorn set down in an isolated cove where the beach was strewn with rocks instead of the fine sand typical of much of the area. While he waited for Rut-ki, Bin-lu untied the Door from the unicorn and set it down on the rocks. Using a thin knife he slowly drilled holes in the top and bottom of the Door. Next he created a rope basket and tied it to the bottom of the Door. He then tied a really long rope to the top of the Door and coiled the rest of the rope, securing it to his saddle. He then walked along the cove looking for an appropriate rock. He found one just as Rut-ki and her unicorn were landing.

“There were no uniforms,” she reported. “Are you done?”

“As soon as I place this rock in the basket,” answered Bin-lu. “Will you steady the Door while we take off?”

Rut-ki nodded and dismounted. She took the rock from Bin-lu and nodded towards his unicorn. Bin-lu mounted his unicorn while Rut-ki placed the rock into the rope basket and pulled it tight. She then raised the Door vertically and held it as Bin-lu and his unicorn rose slowly off the ground.

When the rope holding the Door became taut, Bin-lu signaled the unicorn. As they continued to rise, the Door lifted off the ground, followed by the dangling rope basket. The unicorn continued to rise and then banked towards the sea. Although the night was dark, the unicorn had no trouble finding one of the floats they had set in place the previous month. While the unicorn hovered just over the surface, Bin-lu untied the rope from the saddle and lowered the Door into the water. When he came to the end of the rope, he tied it to the float and dropped it into the sea. When Bin-lu returned to the beach, he saw that Rut-ki had stretched all the ropes out on the ground.

“We have enough ropes for the second Door,” she announced. “How did it go?”

“Except for getting wet from the float,” chuckled Bin-lu, “it went as well as it could.”

“Why are we going through all of this trouble?” asked Rut-ki. “With all that is going on, wouldn’t it be easier to just destroy the Doors and give more attention to defeating the enemy?”

“It would be easier,” Bin-lu replied, “but Doors are very valuable. We do not know how to make them. Storing them in the ocean is an excellent solution. The enemy cannot use it now, yet we can recover it after the war.”

“Providing we win the war,” frowned Rut-ki.

“Providing we win,” agreed Bin-lu. “Let’s go get the other Door. There is still much to do tonight.”

* * * *

The unicorn flew back to shore and landed on the rocky beach. Bin-lu dismounted and stretched. Rut-ki sat nearby with three fairies dancing on her shoulder.

“How did it go?” asked Rut-ki

“It went well,” answered Bin-lu. “What’s with the fairies?”

“They are the fairies who were monitoring the Doors,” replied Rut-ki. “The fourth is in Tagaret informing the king about the arrival of the Federation troops.”

“I know that,” Bin-lu chuckled with a shake of his head. “I meant what is up with their dancing?”

“They are happy,” shrugged Rut-ki.

“Fairies do not like hiding in the dark day after day,” chirped one of the fairies. “We are celebrating our freedom.”

“And the successful completion of our mission,” interjected another fairy.

“We are filled with joy,” grinned the third.

Bin-lu smiled and sat down next to Rut-ki. “I am glad that someone is filled with joy.” Bin-lu sighed wearily as he turned his attention to Rut-ki. “We still have not figured out a method to gain entry to the enemy’s camp, and the night is slipping away from us.”

“Postpone it until we can think of a way to accomplish it,” advised Rut-ki.

“By morning the Federation troops will be leery and on full alert,” Bin-lu said with a slight shake of his head. “Tonight is the best chance we will have to take out the black-cloaks. We need to find a Federation uniform. Maybe we can wake up a tailor in Barouk and get him to make us something that will at least be passable.”

“A tailor who has never even seen a Federation uniform?” balked Rut-ki. “That is not a viable plan. If you are intent on doing this tonight, we will have to take out one of their sentries. That is the only way that we will get a uniform.”

“And alert the whole camp in the process,” frowned Bin-lu. “I should have spent more time planning this part of the mission. Clint could have procured a uniform for me.”

“We could put one of the soldiers to sleep,” suggested one of the fairies as Shrimp climbed out of Bin-lu’s pocket to see what all the commotion was about. “You could use the uniform to infiltrate their camp and then redress the soldier. They will think he just fell asleep on guard duty.”

“Impractical,” retorted Shrimp. “The sentry would be noticed missing before too much time passed. Even if he was not missed immediately, Bin-lu would surely be questioned when he walked in from the woods. Someone will mistake him for a sentry leaving his post.”

Bin-lu nodded in agreement, but the enthusiasm of the joyous fairies was not dampened.

“Why do you want to be a soldier?” questioned one of the fairies.

“Ogre brain!” taunted one of the others. “He just said that he needed to enter the enemy’s camp. He needs to kill the black-cloaks. Do you have seeds in your ears?”

“If he is not disguised,” explained Shrimp, “he will be killed on sight.”

“I know all that,” retorted the inquisitive fairy, “but officers would be quick to question a soldier roaming around the camp at night. It is not a smart way to do it.”

“And you have a better idea?” taunted one of the fairies.

“In fact, I do,” countered the inquisitive fairy. “If he wants to roam freely around the camp, he should be a black-cloak. The soldiers would turn away from Bin-lu before they questioned him. He could go anywhere he wanted except maybe the tents of the generals.”

“How do you know this?” asked Rut-ki.

“I have spent time in Zara,” answered the fairy. “The soldiers do not like the black-cloaks. They always try to avoid them.”

Bin-lu suddenly grinned and nodded enthusiastically. “That is an excellent idea. I can not only move freely around the camp, but no one will even question me for entering or leaving the mages’ tent.”

“And a simple black cloak should be easy to acquire,” nodded Rut-ki. “We may have to wake up a shopkeeper in Barouk, but I am sure that we could buy one there.”

The inquisitive fairy puffed with pride as the other two fairies started to dance again and pretended not to notice. Bin-lu laughed and rose to his feet.

“I will go to Barouk and obtain the cloak,” he stated. “Why don’t you return to the elves and catch some sleep?”

* * * *

The unicorn glided silently just above the tops of the trees, like a dark shadow racing across the terrain. The cloaked figure upon the unicorn’s back sat unmoving, his feet purposely taken out of the stirrups for a quick dismount. Below the canopy, two fairies darted from shadow to shadow, searching for an appropriate place for the attack to begin. Unexpectedly, one of the fairies shot up through the canopy. The other fairy halted the search and hovered in the darkness, his tiny eyes scanning the area for the nearest enemy solider. The attack was about to begin.

Shrimp offered no words of warning as he rose through the canopy and hovered over Bin-lu and the unicorn. He used his powers to levitate the Knight of Alcea off of the unicorn’s back. The unicorn promptly banked to the right and silently glided away. Shrimp silently levitated Bin-lu through the canopy and into the darkness beside a large tree. As Bin-lu’s feet touched the ground, Shrimp darted to his shoulder.

“This is as close as we dared to go,” whispered the fairy. “There are soldiers between us and the tent, but Speck and I will keep watch over you.”

“Where is the tent?” asked the Knight of Alcea.

“You are facing the proper direction,” instructed the fairy. “You have three-hundred paces to go. The last one-hundred will be across open ground. Return here when you are done. Speck will summon the unicorn for your return trip to the glade.”

Bin-lu nodded in understanding and adjusted his hood tighter to better conceal his face. Armed with only a small quiver hidden under his cloak, Bin-lu anxiously stepped away from the tree. His hand subconsciously reached through the rent in his cloak and touched the ends of the myric quills concealed there. He exhaled nervously and returned his attention to the path ahead. The first one-hundred paces were easy. None of the soldiers in the area were awake, and Bin-lu threaded his way through the maze of sleeping bodies.

Bin-lu saw the flames of the campfire before he saw the soldiers sitting around it. He altered his course slightly to take him farther away from the soldiers, but attention was still drawn to him. Of the six soldiers sitting around the campfire, only one of them took notice of the black-cloak roaming through the encampment. The soldier’s brow furrowed as his eyes followed the mage’s path.

“Unlike them to be up and moving about,” the soldier commented.

“Who?” asked one of the other soldiers as he turned and tried to see what his comrade was talking about.

Bin-lu had already passed out of sight, and the second soldier did not see him.

“The black-cloak,” answered the first soldier. “They almost never leave their tent. I wonder what he is up to?”

“As long as he isn’t coming this way,” replied the second soldier, “he can go wherever he wants. But warn me if you see one coming this way.”

Bin-lu was too far away to hear the words, but Speck heard them clearly. He memorized the face of the observant soldier and sped onward.

Bin-lu reached the edge of the Barouk-Ongchi Road and his step faltered. Unlike the darkness of the woods, the area of the large tents was dimly lit, torches scattered around the area so that anyone approaching the tents would be easily noticed. Sentries stood outside the two largest tents, but there were none stationed outside the mages’ tent. That bothered Bin-lu. While it made his task somewhat easier, he wondered if the lack of sentries should be a warning to him. What if the tent was magically protected? What if the sentries were really there but hidden by an illusion?

Bin-lu berated himself as he felt doubts taking hold of him. It was too late to abort the mission. The black-cloaks had to die this night. He pushed his fears aside and resumed his slow march towards the mages’ tent, his eyes scanning the dimly-lit area for anything he might have missed. As the Knight of Alcea reached the tent, his right hand extracted a myric quill. With his left hand, Bin-lu reached out to open the flap to the tent. He halted, fear rising within him.

Eight battle mages resided on the other side of the thin material. If the tent was alarmed, Bin-lu would not stand a chance of surviving the encounter. He suddenly wondered if he could escape if only he would turn around right now and flee. The Knight of Alcea twitched with alarm as he felt a touch on his shoulder.

“What are you waiting for?” scowled Shrimp. “You cannot remain undetected while standing here all night. Get it done.”

This was not the first time that Bin-lu and Shrimp had been together inside an enemy camp. Their first mission together had been the penetration of Emperor Hanchi’s massive army in Sordoa. Both of them had nearly died that night, but they had prevailed because they had learned to trust one another. Bin-lu swallowed hard and nodded. Bin-lu tossed the fairy off his shoulder with a quick shrug. He reached out and pulled the flap aside.

Bin-lu walked through the opening and entered the tent. He found a black-cloak standing inside the opening, staring at him with confusion. Bin-lu reached out with his right hand and shoved the myric quill into the mage. The black-cloak crumbled to the ground wordlessly. Instantly, the fear pressing down on Bin-lu vanished, like a torch being lit in the darkest of caverns. Suddenly, the Knight of Alcea understood everything. He reached for a handful of quills and quickly assassinated all of the sleeping black-cloaks. He retrieved the used quills, tied them together with a strip of cloth and shoved them back into his hidden quiver. With a feeling of confidence, the Knight of Alcea stepped out of the tent and made his way back to the rendezvous point.

Pandemonium reigned throughout the campsite of Team Barouk. Word spread quickly about the deaths of the black-cloaks and the deaths of fifty horses. General Kolling had immediately ordered all regiments to form up in formation and a head count was taken of the troops. No one was unaccounted for, but the orders to break camp were still forthcoming. The troops, rather than wait idly for the generals to issue orders, had taken it upon themselves to patrol the perimeter of the camp. While the soldiers all feared the black-cloaks, the deaths of the mages were taken as a bad omen. Inside the large command tent, the generals discussed the situation.

“I know that the horses were poor stock,” scowled General Kolling, “but horses just don’t up and die overnight like that. Our camp was infiltrated last night.”

“Perhaps it is bad water,” suggested General Gertz. “There was no sign of a struggle in the mages’ tent, no sign of forced entry.”

“And only the mages were effected?” balked General Kolling. “That is preposterous.”

“And the fifty horses,” General Gertz offered meekly. “Or maybe some of the horses were diseased, and somehow it spread to the mages. The sentries reported nothing unusual during the night. These Alceans are not ghosts who can come and go as they please.”