Alutar: The Great Demon (25 page)

“Now, General,” Boric began, “we have you to deal with. I am declaring myself the new King of Karamin. Are you prepared to follow my orders?”

“Are you serious?” scoffed the general. “Your reign won’t last a fortnight. Despair and Waxhaw have already been informed of the threat to Calusa. It won’t take long before forty-thousand soldiers are descending on this city to hang you and every one of your patriots. Your only chance to live is to surrender to me immediately. I will try to put in a good word for you.”

Shouts rang out in the distance and the general looked towards the door with alarm. Boric merely smiled.

“Those are the sounds of this castle being seized,” Boric said softly. “You have done a poor job of protecting it, General.”

“Why? Because you managed to get a handful of people into it?”

“We have over five hundred men inside these walls,” Boric declared. “We have over five hundred Rhodan warriors in here as well. They have been serving your meals and cleaning your clothes. Your throat could have been slit any night, General, but I have a more important task for you. You are going to order your army to surrender. There has been enough bloodshed in Karamin. Do that, and you and your men will live.”

“Did you not hear me?” scowled the general. “The Federation is not going to let you take over Karamin. They will burn this entire city to the ground if you try to go against them. Anyone who surrenders to you will be hung when they reconquer Calusa.”

“The Federation will never survive long enough to come here,” countered Boric. “I doubt that Despair chose to keep you informed of the War in Alcea, General, but it has not gone well for the Federation. Over 65,000 of your fellow soldiers died in Alcea. Another 175,000 are being held captive. As of today, Karamin is no longer a part of the Federation. Within the week, no country on this side of the Barrier will be allied with Despair. By next week, a full scale attack on the eastern countries will begin. By the end of the month, the Federation will be a mere memory.”

“You are crazy,” frowned the general, his words more offensive than he felt. “I can’t believe the lies you are spreading. There is probably an army already marching out of Waxhaw to reinforce us.”

Max Caber walked into the room, his cloak already reversed so that he was now visible. He walked past the general and sat opposite Boric.

“Actually, General Salaman,” Max said, “General Nazzaro has not yet dispatched any troops to Calusa. After your men surrender, we are going to have to ask you to send another plea for help.”

“What?” balked the general. “You want Vinafor to send more soldiers down here?”

“We are counting on it,” smiled Max. “I realize that Nazzaro will never send the entire 31
^st
Corps here, but I am hoping to receive a sizeable portion of it. It will make the liberation of Vinafor go much easier.”

“You are both crazy,” the general shook his head in disbelief. “If Nazzaro sends even half his army, you will be crushed.”

“Half his army would be no harder to destroy than the force led by Colonel Atman,” Max smiled thinly. “Alcean Rangers will not find it much of a challenge.”

“Are those men outside the walls truly Alceans?” asked the general.

“Not just Alceans,” answered Max. “They are Alcean Rangers, as am I.”

“You?” sputtered the general. “I have seen your face around here since I arrived. How could you be Alcean?”

“I have been here for a long time,” smiled Max. “I was part of the group that destroyed your fleet in the Sea of Tears. I arrived over a year ago with Mikal Obanik. I have been advising Boric and coordinating with my fellow Rangers. Everything we have told you is true, General, but it is time to make your decision. If you will not surrender your troops, we will have to eliminate you and deal directly with your men.”

“I am willing to let you and your men settle down in Karamin,” offered Boric, “or they will be allowed to travel to wherever they want, but they will disarm now. What is your decision?”

“You leave me no choice,” sighed the general. “I will surrender my army.”

Colonel Taerin was on his way to the office of Emperor Jaar to pick up papers for filing. When he turned the corner of the corridor, he saw that the emperor’s door was uncharacteristically open. He slowed his approach as heated words escaped the office and glanced at the emperor’s guards who stood sentry outside the door. One of the guards shrugged as if to say that he had no idea what was going on. Colonel Taerin smiled and nodded at the guard and turned left into a smaller corridor before he reached the emperor’s door. The smaller corridor was part of the servant ways, and the colonel was very familiar with the network of narrow corridors. The corridor was short and turned another corner mere paces away from the sentries outside the emperor’s door. The colonel halted, his back against the wall as he tried to hear what was being said in the office.

“Fabio?” Kyrga’s raised voice asked. “Sending Fabio is not a solution to the problem. He should only be needed if we planned to replace Vlador. That is not the situation we are facing. Calusa is under attack. We need to get reinforcements there immediately.”

“And we will,” snapped another voice, one that Taerin had heard before but also one that he could not place at the moment, “but I think Vlador and Salaman both need to be replaced.”

“Perhaps that is a discussion for after this current crisis,” suggested the emperor. “Let us focus on the current problem.”

“Fine,” snarled the mysterious voice. “Order General Nazzaro to take the 31
^st
into Karamin. That will both quell the revolt and put Salaman on notice. If there are Alcean Rangers in the area, we will have a chance to capture some of them and interrogate them.”

“King Daramoor will not allow Nazzaro to remove all of the troops in Waxhaw,” objected Grand General Kyrga.

“Daramoor has little say in the matter,” retorted the mystery man. “His patriot problem seems to have abated, so he should not need an entire army to protect him. If he objects, tell him that we are sending Tauman and the 1
^st
Corps to Waxhaw. He can’t ask for better protection than that.”

“Do we really send the 1
^st
Corps?” asked Kyrga.

“Yes,” replied the emperor. “This is precisely the reason we have kept the 1
^st
Corps in Camp Destiny. They are well situated to reinforce any area of the Federation whenever we need it, and we need it now. Get orders off to Tauman that the 1
^st
Corps is to leave for Waxhaw in the morning. Order Nazzaro to move the 31
^st
Corps into Karamin immediately and then inform Salaman that help is on the way. See to it now, Grand General.”

Suspecting that the Grand General might soon be looking for him, Colonel Taerin immediately moved away from the emperor’s office through the servant ways so that he would not be discovered eavesdropping. As Grand General Kyrga left the room, someone in the emperor’s room slammed the door shut.

“Do we let the sentries listen in on our discussions now?” snapped Lord Kommoron.

“Kyrga can be careless at times,” shrugged the emperor, “but the sentries are extremely loyal to me. They would not dare speak of anything heard in this room.”

“Perhaps,” mused Lord Kommoron as he appeared to simmer down a bit. “This talk of Alcean Rangers troubles me. Even if it is a ruse to intimidate Salaman, it shows that someone among the Karaminian patriots knows far too much about Alcea.”

“Worse,” offered Emperor Jaar. “If it truly is the Alcean Rangers attacking Calusa, it means that the Alceans have a portal of their own. That is something that we cannot allow the enemy to have. The portal must be found and destroyed.”

“You suspect that it is not a ruse then?” frowned Lord Kommoron.

“If the Alceans were to counterattack,” mused the emperor, “what better place to start than at the point farthest away from the bulk of our troops? Calusa is a backwater city at the end of civilization’s road. It is a place that should take us days or weeks to reinforce.”

“Should?” echoed the noble. “What are you thinking?”

“Should,” grinned the emperor. “I am going to do what you should have done months ago. I will call upon Feragyna and the host at the Black Citadel. By high sun tomorrow, we will have hundreds of battle mages in both Calusa and Waxhaw. If there are Alcean Rangers in the area, they will be destroyed before they can gain a foothold in Zara.”

“And if there are no Rangers,” Lord Kommoron nodded in approval, “our black-cloaks will destroy the rebels completely. I like it. When will you go?”

“I will not be going,” stated the emperor. “I can not risk altering my form while holding this disguise. Tonight I will get one of the battle mages from the armies here in Despair.” With a plan in place to attend to the current crisis, the emperor suddenly changed course. “When are you going to assume the throne? It was supposed to happen after the attack on Alcea.”

Lord Kommoron sighed heavily. “The Badgers still have not found Jaar’s family. Besides, we need a victory over the Alceans before I can make the move. Our latest attack force should reach Tagaret soon, but the Badgers have proved to be a disappointment. I wonder if the black-cloaks might be needed to impress upon the Badgers the need for haste.”

“Tread carefully,” warned the emperor. “Pitting two allies against each other may prove to be an unwise move. Feragyna and the Badgers have been working together recently.”

* * * *

Colonel Pfaff was delivering reports to King Daramoor when General Nazzaro stormed into the room. The King of Vinafor looked up with annoyance as the general strode across the room and stood staring down at the king.

“Kyrga has ordered the 31
^st
Corps to leave immediately for Calusa,” the general reported. “It seems that General Salaman has proved incapable of handling his rebels.”

“The entire army?” balked the king. “I think not. I will not leave Waxhaw defenseless.”

“He has already ordered the 1
^st
Corps into Vinafor to provide for the defense of Waxhaw,” retorted the general. “I have no choice but to comply.”

“Send a message back,” scowled the king. “Tell Jaar that I have forbidden you to leave this city until the 1
^st
Corps arrives.”

“If I might make a suggestion?” Colonel Pfaff offered softly. The king and the general immediately focused on the colonel, waiting to hear his thoughts. “I think that a confrontation with Despair would not be helpful in this situation. The rebels here in Waxhaw have disbanded since Major Pezzola died, or at least their recruitment has stopped. If we do have any rebels left in this country, they are surely not in Waxhaw, but probably cowering in the West Woods somewhere.”

“What is your point, Colonel?” King Daramoor asked impatiently.

“My point, King Daramoor, is simple,” smiled the colonel. “General Nazzaro can order his entire army to Calusa immediately, but stage their departure times for logistical reasons. He might, for example, send five thousand men in the morning, saving the other five thousand for rearguard protection. Should that rearguard dally until the 1
^st
Corps arrived, General Nazzaro could hardly be faulted for making sure that his supply lines remained open.”

“An excellent suggestion,” General Nazzaro said with a nod. “I could send Colonel Rhio south with half the army and still remain here until Tauman arrives. Pfaff is correct in saying that there is justification for doing exactly that.”

“Then the problem is solved,” sighed the king, “but I want everyone left in Waxhaw sniffing around for the rebels. I will not let this lessening of our troops be an invitation for them to start trouble.”

“I will double our efforts in that regard,” promised Colonel Pfaff. “If the rebels still exist as a group, I will find them for you.”

* * * *

Dew squeezed through the hole in the secret door from the hidden valley of Camp Destiny to Tarashin. She gazed at the assembled dwarves and raised her tiny thumb high in the air.

“The area is clear for the door to be opened,” she announced triumphantly. “The dwarves may now attack.”

“I’m not sure this qualifies as an attack,” chuckled Frack. “It’s more like a walk in the woods.”

“Don’t spoil the fairy’s fun,” retorted Rik. “If she says it’s an attack, then that is good enough for me.” Raising his voice so that the other dwarves could hear, he continued, “Alright you lazy ale drinkers, this is it. Once the door is opened, we remain silent until our mission is over. There will be no singing, and avoid any fighting if you can. Let’s get in and out without them ever knowing that dwarves have visited their little paradise. Door swingers will be going out first. Cliff climbers will follow. Last one out is to make sure that the door is closed tight. We’ll not be spoiling our own lair tonight.”

Frack eased the secret door open. The sunlight streaked through the door, and the dwarves started filing into the hidden valley. Flying over the steady stream of dwarves were dozens of fairies, and once free of the confines of the dwarven mine, they darted off in all directions. Rik and Frack were the strongest runners in Tarashin. Because of their speed and endurance, they had been chosen for the longest jaunt in the valley. They ran northward along the western edge of the valley while Dew scouted ahead for them. Within an hour of entering Camp Destiny, the two runners had already left the rest of the dwarves far behind, and they still had many hours to go before they reached their destination.

The runners settled into a semiconscious state, their legs mechanically propelling them onward. When dusk arrived, Rik and Frack settled down behind a thicket. They ate, drank and rested for a spell before rising and heading north once again. When they finally reached their destination, dawn was only a couple of hours away.

* * * *

Prince Darok, King Drakarik, Doryelgar and Floro sat around an unused fire ring. The forest around them was dark and the stars above were bright. King Drakarik looked up at the stars and sighed anxiously. He rose to his feet.

“It is time,” the dwarven king announced. “Come on, lads. Let’s get moving.”