Alutar: The Great Demon (64 page)

“How have you managed this?” questioned the general. “I like to think I keep a closer ear to the goings-on within the palace and I have not heard a word about it.”

“Which of the wealthy would you expect to hear from?” chuckled the prince. “Who among them is going to complain to my father that I am extorting table scraps from them? They would be embarrassed to admit that they are seeking my favor with mere food, and rightfully so. No, General, they will continue to send food for as long I desire. It is the next stage of my plan that might cause them to complain, but that time is not yet here.”

“What is the next stage?” asked the general, his curiosity piqued.

Prince Harold grinned. “That stage cannot take place until I am king, but it will be an exciting time. Someone is going to start a rumor about my plans to completely rebuild the slums into an exclusive area of mansions for the wealthy. I suspect that there will be a mad scramble to buy up all of the properties in the slums so that the wealthy can stake their claim to the properties.”

“How does that help the poor?” asked the general.

“Before the rumor is spread,” explained Prince Harold, “the poor will be given the right to pay nominal rents on the buildings to be sold. The crown will subsidize those rents. The poor will not be able to be evicted without just cause and the permission of the crown. The wealthy will accept those limitations because they will think that the rentals will be void when the project begins to create new mansions. After the properties are sold, I will pass a law that requires that all properties in the city be maintained properly. The greedy will be forced to fix the hovels that infest the slums.”

General Harford frowned. “But the poor will not take care of the properties once they are rehabilitated,” he said. “They will turn into slums once again.”

“I don’t think so,” countered the prince. “You see, there will not be enough people to fix all of the buildings, so the poor will be employed to do the work. It will require some tutoring to make the poor useful to the task, but they will then have some coins in their pockets and pride in their work. If after that, there are renters who refuse to take care of their housing, they will be brought before me. They will be given the chance to mend their ways or leave the city. Eventually, I hope to make productive citizens out of those who have the misfortune to reside in the slums, and they will then begin to pay their own rents. In the end, even the greedy will be better off for the experience. They will end up owning rental properties that will return a decent profit on their investment.”

“You have given this some thought,” mused the general, “but not everyone can be redeemed. There are some in the slums who cannot work at all.”

“Agreed,” nodded the prince. “For those who are incapable of working, a sponsor will be found to care for them, but for those who are capable and still refuse to pull their share of the load, they will be removed from the city. I am not naïve, General. The task will not be an easy one, and I know there will be a great deal of resistance from many corners, but my vision of the future involves a vibrant and healthy city for the capital of Ertak. In the end, everyone who participates will be better off than before, rich and poor alike.”

The general quickly looked away, and the prince followed his gaze. He saw Colonel Roval of the 34
^th
Corps watching the training.

“I thought General Larus would send a spy to make sure that we were really training the citizens,” the general said softly. “I wonder how long he will stick around.”

“He must expect that you need time to ready your own troops for the road,” the prince replied. “I will stay with the training and keep it going until nightfall. Even longer if need be. It won’t hurt me to spend a night in the barracks with your men. Go through the motions of readying your men so the colonel does not get suspicious.”

General Harford nodded and left. Prince Harold stayed and watched the training, at times getting involved with matching trainers to citizens. He even got involved in several of the spars himself, and many of the soldiers were surprised that the sickly prince could handle himself so well. He furtively kept watch on Colonel Roval and finally saw the officer leave right after sundown. The prince kept the training going for another three hours before calling a halt. He felt sure that the 34
^th
Corps was long gone from the city, and he settled down to eat the evening meal with the soldiers of the 11
^th
Corps who had been chosen as trainers. After a while, the soldiers began to accept the prince as one of their own, but the camaraderie soon came to a halt when a messenger from the palace arrived. He whispered in the prince’s ear, and Prince Harold’s face paled as he rose to his feet.

“Is something wrong?” asked one of the soldiers.

“The king has been killed,” Prince Harold announced. “See that the city is sealed if it is not already.”

The prince hurried to the Royal Palace where General Harford was waiting for him. The general guided the young prince to the king’s dining room.

“What happened?” asked the prince. “I though we had constant protection around the king?”

“We did,” replied the general, “but not around his food taster. The king was poisoned. We found the food taster dead with a golden brooch on his body. King Harowin was assassinated by Badgers, Prince Harold.”

“You sealed the city?” asked the prince.

“I did,” nodded the general, “but it will do little good. We have no descriptions to go on. No one saw anything untoward. The poison was not fast acting. King Harowin ate over three hours ago. That is why the food taster survived long enough to make it appear as if the food was untainted. There is really precious little we can do except retaliate.”

“Retaliate?” questioned the prince.

“The rumors have proved to be well founded,” replied the general. “And those rumors said that the assassination was paid for by the Spinoans.”

“There will be no retaliation,” declared Prince Harold. “Listen to me carefully, General. King Samuel is a friend of mine. Whatever rivalry existed between Queen Samir and my father, it died tonight along with King Harowin. I will not start my reign with my subjects talking of retaliation against a friendly neighbor. Let the old kings and queens die in the same manner in which they ruled, but all such thoughts are no longer valid, nor acceptable. Make it clear to your men. Anyone who speaks ill of Spino because of my father’s death deserves to be imprisoned, and I expect you to enforce that. Spino is our closest ally.”

“I will make sure that your words are relayed to my men,” promised the general.

“And, General,” Prince Harold said with the slightest hint of a smile, “make sure that the 11
^th
Corps does not leave the city. I think we have a valid reason to ignore Despair’s order.”

“Kyrga is going to have a fit,” warned the general.

“Not nearly as much of a fit as he is going to have when I inform the emperor that Ertak is withdrawing from the Federation.”

The shouts from the walls of Giza were loud and excited. While runners raced to the Royal Palace, curious citizens climbed onto the roofs of buildings to see over the wall in an attempt to gaze upon whatever was causing the commotion. Those who managed to catch sight of the Occan army quickly ran and spread the word throughout the city. Within minutes, the citizens had barricaded themselves behind locked doors, while soldiers raced to the walls to take up defensive positions. Unseen in all the commotion were the thieves who surreptitiously maneuvered to be close to the gates in case their help was needed to let the Alceans into the city. By the time General Antero arrived at the northern gates, the city had fallen silent. The general climbed the steps up to the top of the wall and gazed out at the army on the plain before him. Twenty thousand Occan lancers in full armor were spread out across the width of the northern wall, their pennants waving in the wind. It was a fearsome sight, and the general inhaled sharply. Suddenly, Colonel Fisker, Colonel Corry, and Natia appeared at the general’s side.

“Blessed sword!” exclaimed Colonel Corry as he gazed at the Occan army. “I thought you were exaggerating, Fisker.”

“What are you going to do, General?” asked Natia. “The time for a decision is upon you.”

“I see an Occan army before my wall,” answered the general. “General Alden’s note made no mention of an alliance with the horse countries.”

“But we know that they are allied with the Alceans,” frowned Colonel Fisker. “I saw them sharing a camp with the Alceans.”

“I understand,” replied the general, “but my responsibility is to defend this city. I will not go out and attack the Occans, but neither will I open my gates to invite them in. It is not my responsibility to imagine what General Alden meant in his note, nor am I certain that the note was not coerced. The farthest I am willing to concede is to order defensive fighting only, even though the horse countries have declared war by invading Aerta. There will be no battle if they do not try to enter the city before General Alden arrives and satisfies my desire to know if the note is genuine.”

As the last of the Occans rode out of the forest and took their places in the formation before the city, the center of the line parted. Through that opening in the center rode the Red Swords, and three figures led the Alcean column. The general recognized the king and queen of Alcea from Colonel Fisker’s description of them, but more importantly, he recognized General Alden. For the first time since mounting the wall, General Antero’s face showed a slight smile at seeing the heir, but he still was not certain of General Alden’s true intentions.

“You are in charge of the 11
^th
Corps, Colonel Fisker,” General Antero said with authority. “I am going out to speak with the heir. If I do not return, consider the army before you as hostile.”

General Antero left the wall. The gates opened slightly to let him out of the city and then promptly closed behind him. He walked towards the heir as the Red Swords continued to flow onto the plain. When General Antero got close to the heir, General Alden dismounted and walked forward to greet his old friend. When the two generals embraced, shouts of cheer rang out along the wall.

“It is good to see you again,” smiled General Alden. “Did you get my note?”

“I did,” answered General Antero, “but I am not certain it was written of your own free will.” General Antero glanced around before continuing. “Did the note express your true desires?” he asked softly.

“Very much so,” smiled the heir. “The Alceans are our allies now.”

“And the Occans?” frowned General Antero. “Your note did not mention them.”

“The Occan people have always been allies of Aerta,” answered General Alden. “It is the Federation that considers them enemies, and we are no longer a part of the Federation, or at least we won’t be once I am coronated. Antero, Olansk, our second largest city, is inhabited by Occans, and Sirocca used to be a fine neighbor. Do not think like those fools in Despair. Open the gates to our new allies that they might enjoy some true Aertan hospitality.”

General Antero turned and shouted for the gates to be opened, but the order was not obeyed. General Alden frowned.

“I left instructions to consider this army hostile if I did not return to the city,” General Antero explained. “Perhaps I should do that now.”

“Do so,” urged the heir. “I want to introduce you to some very interesting people.”

General Antero returned to the gates and soon they opened wide to admit the foreign army. Colonel Fisker and Natia raced down the stairs to stand next to General Antero as General Alden led the parade into the city. The three of them mounted so they could ride with the heir to the Royal Palace. Colonel Fisker turned around and saw King Arik and Queen Tanya looking around as they passed through the gate at the head of the Red Swords. His eyes suddenly locked onto the fourth person in the vanguard and his jaw dropped.

“Natia,” he said anxiously in a whisper, “there is a Federation general among the group. He is not wearing his uniform, but we know him. It is General Forshire, the Imperial General of the Federation.”

Natia giggled. “Do not worry about him,” she said in response. “He is an Alcean Ranger.”

“An Alcean Ranger is the Imperial General of the Federation?” gasped the colonel.

Natia nodded. “I told you that we had people placed highly in the Federation. Do not speak of his name, though. He may still have a part to play in Despair, and I wouldn’t want a spy sending off a message about him.”

* * * *

Garth and Kalina sat on their balcony at the Gateway Lodge in Zinbar. To anyone who could see the couple on their balcony on the top floor of the inn, they appeared to be a young couple merely enjoying an idle evening as they sat,
 
sipped wine and gazed out over the city. In reality, they were watching the comings and goings of the Royal Palace of Candanar.

“Maybe word of King Anator’s death has not reached Zinbar yet,” offered Kalina.

“It should have by now,” frowned Garth. “If King Bartomir is thinking of cheating the Badgers, he is making a fatal mistake.”

“Do we care what happens to him?” asked Kalina.

“Not really,” shrugged Garth. “King Bartomir will go along with whoever wins the war, and that will be everyone except the Federation. I do not see Candanar threatening anyone, no matter who rules it.”

Suddenly, a fairy flew onto the balcony and settled on Garth’s shoulder.

“The major is leaving the palace,” reported Bitsy. “He is driving a wagon and has two soldiers accompanying him.”

“Are there chests in the wagon?” asked Garth.

“Two of them,” answered the tiny blue woman. “How did you know?”

“They are packed with gold,” smiled Garth. “He is on his way to pay the Badgers. I want you to follow him and determine his destination. While you are doing that, search for three or four men who are paying close attention to the major’s movements. One of them will have a wagon close at hand. All of them will probably be wearing black, and they will be trying not to be seen. It is important for you to find them all. Report back when you have completed the mission.”