Council of War (42 page)

"Well Zarocca has much to thank you and your people for," the king smiled weakly. "Had you not uncovered Sven, he would have remained in a position to cause much damage to us."

"He has caused much already," frowned Baron Uloof. "The search of his quarters turned up evidence of crimes that will be debated in the court for weeks or months. It causes me to question if there are other Federation spies in high places."

"I think it would be best to assume that there are," replied Kalina. "We found their tentacles reached very deep in Alcea."

"We need a high level meeting to discuss this problem," declared the king. "Perhaps we should invite King Wendal to join in the discussion. I am sure that the Federation is also planting spies in Korocca."

"I concur," nodded Baron Ohmson, "but that also reminds me of something Garth said yesterday. Queen Romani of Vinafor is not dead. She is alive and is seeking asylum here. Perhaps she would have something to offer to the discussion with King Wendal."

"An excellent idea," brightened the king. "In fact, we should invite King Myer of Tyronia as well. That would include all of the monarchs outside the Federation. It is time that we started thinking in terms of a coalition to fight against the Federation."

"Queen Romani is hardly a monarch any more," frowned Baron Uloof. "While I do believe we should offer her asylum, Vinafor is now part of the Federation."

"That should not exclude her from the meeting," stated Kalina. "There is in place an organization of Vinafor patriots that are willing to fight the Federation to restore her to the throne. I also would like to request that Garth be allowed to attend the meeting to represent Alcea. While the distance between our countries is great, we face a common foe."

"Without question," nodded the king. "Both Garth and Queen Romani are welcome to attend. How are we to contact her?"

"Garth can contact her," answered Kalina. "He will extend the invitation to King Myer as well, if that is appropriate."

"Very appropriate," answered the king. "Where is the Alcean ambassador? I thought he would be here with you."

"He is meeting with his men," replied Kalina. "They were only here to flee the Federation, but the time has come to stop running and start acting."

The column of Tyronian soldiers entered the gates of the Royal Palace in Ur without a word being spoken to the guards. The guards knew better than to question General Skye, commanding general of the Tyronian army. The general's personal escort consisted of a dozen men, but on this particular day, there was an additional soldier in the column. The guards noticed the addition not because they counted the general's escort, but rather because the soldier hidden in the middle of the column had a black cloth sack over his head, and his lapels had been ripped from his uniform.

When the column reached the front entrance to the palace, General Skye uncharacteristically separated from his men and dismounted. His column, however, continued around to the side of the palace where the entrance to the cells could be reached without passing by the prying eyes of the palace servants. General Skye marched up the steps and entered the palace and headed straight for the king's quarters. He found the king in his private study and asked the king to dismiss his private guard. While the request was unprecedented, King Myer did so without question. Only when the two men were alone did the general feel comfortable enough to speak freely.

"I suspect that you will be the bearer of ill news," sighed the king as he shoved his papers aside to give full attention to his commanding general.

"I am sorry that it has come to this," stated General Skye, "but your son has almost demanded this meeting."

King Myer sadly nodded. "I notice that you no longer refer to my son as Prince Mectin."

"I am sorry, Your Highness," replied the general, "but I mean no disrespect to his office or you, but I sometimes wonder if he is your son after all."

"I understand, General Skye," the king said. "What has my son demanded of you?"

"It is not what he has demanded of me," replied the general, "but what he has demanded of others. Prince Mectin has arranged to sell horses to the Federation. Oh, he is not doing so directly, but that is the truth of where they are going. He has sanctioned the creation of new ranches in our southern frontier. Those businesses are buying horses as fast as they can. Those horses are then sold directly to the Federation army in contravention of our laws."

"That is outrageous," scowled the king. "Does he not realize that he is feeding the wolves at our door? Withholding those horses from the Federation is the only thing that keeps the Federation at bay. Have the general of the Southern Command close down those ranches immediately. And then have him demoted for his failure to act sooner."

"The commander of the Southern Command is General Forshire," stated General Skye, "and he was not only aware of the sales, he was complicit in them."

King Myer rose from his chair with his face full of rage. He slammed a fist on his desk in fury. "I will see him hanged. I want him arrested immediately."

"My men are depositing him in the dungeon at this very moment," stated General Skye, "but hanging him will not solve the problem. It is your son that is at the heart of the problem. Prince Mectin knew full well where those horses were going. He orchestrated the whole thing. You have been too lenient with him."

King Myer opened his mouth to scold the officer for his insolence, but the words never came out. Slowly the rage drained from his face, and he sighed heavily. The king slumped into his chair and nodded in agreement.

"I suppose I have been too lenient," he admitted, "but he is my only son. He has always been hard to handle. I thought getting him out of the palace and into the Old Keep would allow him to indulge in the debauchery he has become accustomed to, but I never thought he would willfully harm Tyronia. This time he has gone too far. I see no alternative now but to arrest Prince Mectin. Maybe once he is in the dungeon we will be able to talk some sense into him."

"I do not think it will be as simple as that," stated General Skye. "He has fortified the Old Keep. It will take a major battle to get him out of there. Worse, I no longer know which officers I can depend on. If he has managed to turn General Forshire to his side, we must wonder how many other officers he controls. We could bring all of our forces into the city to besiege the Old Keep, and we could still lose the battle through treachery. Worst of all, if we do fail to take your son captive, we will lose Tyronia as a result."

"You paint a bleak picture indeed," frowned the king.

"I am not through," continued the general. "I sent scouts down to Sebastian Pass to spy on the Federation army encamped there. They were the ones who stumbled upon General Forshire's treason. The Federation has had twenty thousand men in the pass, supposedly to capture some rebels attempting to flee the Federation."

"Supposedly?" interrupted the king.

"Supposedly," nodded the general. "It hardly takes that many men to catch a handful of rebels. Nor does it take sixty thousand men, which will be the number of Federation troops in the pass by tomorrow."

"Sixty thousand?" King Myer said with alarm. "They are coming to invade Tyronia."

"It is hard to find any other reason for so many men," nodded General Skye.

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. A messenger entered the room with a sealed message. King Myer waved for it to be placed on the desk and for the messenger to depart. When the messenger had left the room, the conversation continued.

"You must lead our armies to the border and halt the Federation," declared the king.

"That would leave you in Ur without protection," the general shook his head. "Prince Mectin would still have an army in the Old Keep."

"He would not dare try to capture me," scowled the king.

"Pardon my bluntness, King Myer, but I disagree. Although you may be correct in stating that he would not try to capture you, I fully believe that he would take the opportunity to kill you and seize the throne."

"You can't be serious?" questioned the king.

"I have never been more serious," frowned the general. "After the prince murdered you, he would lead his army south, and my men would be caught between two hostile armies. It is not a bad plan, and I am certain that it was not conceived by Prince Mectin."

"Do you think the prince has sold out to the Federation?" asked the king.

"Without a doubt," nodded General Skye.

"Why would the Federation go through the trouble of enlisting my son?" asked the king. "If they were intent on seizing Tyronia, they certainly have the manpower to do so."

"They want two things from Tyronia," answered the general. "They want horses, and they want soldiers. A war with Tyronia would cost them both, but by setting your son up to assume control of the country, they will inherit both without a fight."

"Are you saying that they expect me to just turn over the country to them?" balked the king.

"No," replied the general. "They expect your son to do that. I don't know what they have promised him, but that hardly matters. He will probably never live to see it."

The king sat silently for a long time, and the general did not interrupt his thoughts. The king finally looked up at the general and sighed.

"Is there any way out of this?" he asked.

"If we fight them," answered the general, "we will lose. We will certainly bloody them. We might even make them sorry that they attacked us, but we will lose. If you abdicate, your son will assume the throne, and we will still lose. The Federation will not be bloodied at all, but neither will our people. For the life of me, I cannot see a way out of this."

"If Vinafor had not gone over to the Federation," commented the king, "this would never have happened. Queen Romani would have sent her soldiers to put the Federation in the vice instead of us."

"Which is why they took Vinafor first," nodded the general. "The generals of the Federation are not stupid. They have played a perfect game so far."

"How much time do I have to make a decision?" asked the king.

"I would say a day or two," answered the general.

"Thank you, General Skye," said the king. "Not only for your counsel this day, but for your years of service to Tyronia. Please remain in the palace until I have made my decision."

"As you command," replied the general as he rose and bowed.

The king watched the general depart. His personal guard started to reenter the room, but the king waved them away. While his guards would never intrude, he wanted to be alone in his misery. He sat staring at the desk for a while and tried to decide what would be best for the people of Tyronia. He had no doubt that the Federation would pillage the country, but they were going to do that no matter which path the king took. While he was contemplating the decision, his eyes landed on the message. His hand mechanically reached out and picked the message up. He tore it open and read it. His eyes widened as he read the short message. He shouted for a soldier and told him to summon General Skye immediately. Within minutes the general had returned to the king's study. The king handed the message to the general and let him read it.

"This is rather cryptic," frowned the general. "It speaks of a coalition to fight the Federation, but it does not mention who the members of this coalition would be. It also does not identify the sender. I am leery."

"I am not," declared the king. "The sender is identified, at least to me. That wavy line at the bottom signifies Sidney Mercado. He often signs his messages that way so that others will not know who sent it. Sidney and I go back quite a ways. He has always brought me information from around the world when he thought it might affect Tyronia. His loyalty to our country is unquestionable. He cannot be bought."

"I will agree with that," nodded the general. "Sidney Mercado is a great Tyronian, but it still doesn't indicate who would form this coalition."

"That is obvious," stated the king. "I know that Sidney's son Edmond has recently come back from the horse countries. It sounds like Korocca and Zarocca are planning to fight the Federation, and they are extending to Tyronia a chance to join a coalition."

"If only they had done so a few months ago," sighed the general. "By the time they send help, Tyronia will already be gone."

"Perhaps that is true," conceded the king, "but what is to stop us from taking the country back when those sixty thousand soldiers leave?"

"Those soldiers will be taking our horses with them," the general pointed out.

"Forget the horses," retorted King Myer. "It is the people that I care about."

"They will be taking a lot of them, too," countered the general.

"I know," sighed the king, "but we cannot stop that. Let's work to save what we can."

"You are going to the meeting then?" asked the general.

"I am going immediately," nodded the king. "I want you to join me."

* * *

Garth Shado walked to the front door of Sidney Mercado's estate and stuck his head out. On the lawn not far away the elves, the Rangers, and Karl Gree were sparring.

"End of practice," Garth called out. The Knight of Alcea waited while the men broke off the matches and looked towards him. "Shawn, I want you to go into the city shortly. We need to purchase a lot of food, and I want you to select items that will last a long time. Why don't you and Max get cleaned up."

The Ranger nodded and tugged on Max's sleeve. The two Rangers sprinted for the mansion, and Garth let them pass by.

"Prince Rigal," Garth continued, "the elves will be departing tonight. Make sure you have what everyone will need, and get together with Clint to make sure you understand how to get there without being detected."

Prince Rigal nodded and the elves moved down the hill to the stables.

"Karl," Garth called out, "the sailors are leaving at first light. Find them and make sure that they are ready. If there is anything they might need from the city, Tedi and Natia will be going there in a bit. You can tag along with them and pick up whatever they need."