Council of War (48 page)

"That was quite a show," chuckled Baron Ohmson. "I was sort of disappointed that King Persimon intervened. I would love to have seen you beat some sense into Stikman."

"I should not have let him bait me that way," Garth sighed with disappointment.

"You had no choice," shrugged Baron Ohmson. "Stikman learned long ago that he could bully most people. He had to attack someone in that room, and frankly, King Myer was not up to the challenge. General Skye was his second choice, but you, you were perfect."

"What do you mean?" asked Garth.

"Stikman heard about your joust with Captain Salvesen," explained Baron Ohmson. "The baron thinks highly of Salvesen, and he wanted to see if he could goad you into a joust, but your comeback was totally unexpected. I am not sure if it was fear that I saw in the baron's face, but he certainly wanted no part of a sword fight with you, and the way you presented it, he would not have been able to refuse and retain his dignity."

"This is not the time to be playing games," scowled Garth. "Doesn't he realize the seriousness of this situation?"

"The next session will be calmer," promised Baron Ohmson. "Consider it a form of testing your mettle to see if your words are worth listening to."

"Are you saying that he really does not object to the council of war?"

"I am not saying that at all," replied the baron. "All I am saying is that he will give you a fair hearing now. Frankly, I have reservations about your ideas myself. Between Zarocca and Korocca, we have about fifty thousand warriors. Even if there were a road straight into the heart of the Federation, we would never send more than twenty thousand out to do battle. Neither of our countries would ever abandon our fortresses. Call it stupid or naïve or whatever you like, but that is our culture. Thirty thousand men will be staying inside the walls of our castles and venturing out only in skirmishes nearby."

"Twenty thousand?" Garth echoed with disappointment.

"Do not sniffle at twenty thousand Occan warriors," retorted the baron. "That is enough to bring fear into the hearts of a lot of Federation soldiers.”

"It is better than nothing," nodded Garth. "Let's head back to the meeting."

The two men walked back through the castle together and entered the dining room. Everyone was there waiting for them.

"Let us begin anew," stated King Persimon. "Garth, what exactly is your plan for this Council of War?"

"Throughout Zara we have found people struggling under the heel of the Federation," Garth began. "There is no single group that has a chance of having much effect on the large armies of the Federation, but even small groups working in concert can have a big impact, especially if they are synchronized. My thought for a Council of War is to gather those groups who are willing to stand against the Federation. Gather them and coordinate them. If the attacks are timed for when the Federation is sending the bulk of their armies to Alcea, the effects could be devastating, not only on their supply chain, but on their whole support organization. It could be enough to fatally cripple the Federation."

"That idea has merit," stated King Wendal.

"Assuming that the Federation actually does attack Alcea first," interjected Baron Stikman.

"That is the assumption," agreed Garth, "but once the Council of War is formed, we could be flexible enough to cover contingencies such as an attack on Korocca."

"So these groups you are referring to," asked Baron Stikman, "they would be willing to act to save Korocca?"

"The groups that I am speaking about want the total destruction of the Federation," answered Garth. "Right now they are waiting for the Federation to send their troops overseas. If those Federation troops are sent to Korocca instead of Alcea then yes, they would attack. It would be up to the Council of War to set the guidelines for attacking."

"I see no barriers to exploring this matter further," stated King Wendal, "but I would like to know who Korocca would be getting involved with."

"The patriots of Vinafor are one group," stated Queen Romani.

"And the patriots of Tyronia," added King Myer. "One of the reasons I chose not to battle the Federation was so that we would be able to battle them in the future. I look forward to that day."

"Not to belittle our neighbors," Baron Stikman said as he looked at Garth, "but I haven’t heard of any sizeable groups yet. Korocca and Zarocca could probably contribute twenty thousand warriors, if there was a way to get them to the battle. I would be in favor of considering this council if there were another twenty thousand in all of Zara. Do you have them, Garth Shado?"

"I have twelve at the moment," Garth replied.

"Twelve thousand?" asked Baron Stikman.

"Twelve," Garth repeated, "but every one of them is willing to fight and die to defeat the Federation."

Baron Stikman laughed loudly. "I like your style, Garth Shado. Find me twenty thousand more like you, and you will have your Council of War."

Max Caber was restless. While the others had chosen to go shopping while in the city of Traginak, Max had decided to stay at the Courtyard Shadows. He did not enjoy shopping, but he was bored with staying in the room by himself. The Ranger walked over to the window and leaned out to gaze upon the Zaroccan city. Hundreds of people moved through the streets below in an unhurried display of ignorance of the tumult going on in the rest of the world. In a way, he envied them, but Max was a warrior at heart, and he knew that he would never spurn the duty of protecting Alcea. His eyes lost focus, and the people below became blurred as the Ranger mused about the circumstances that had brought him to this strange and foreign world. His thoughts drifted to Tagaret and the friends and family he had left behind. The opening of the castle gates across the courtyard brought him back to the present.

Max watched an ornate carriage enter the castle grounds, but what truly caught his attention was the man leaving the castle. Fakir Aziz rode out of the gates on a beautiful gray mare, and he was leading three brown mares behind him. Gone was the pack mule the old man had always had with him. That in itself was not so extraordinary. What shocked the Ranger was that he thought he recognized the mares, and they were not horses at all. They were four of the unicorns assisting the group fleeing Tyronia. Max leaned further out the window and desperately scanned the streets below for one of his comrades, but he could not see any of them. With no one around to stop Fakir Aziz, Max turned and raced out of the room.

By the time the Ranger reached the street, the historian was far in the distance and heading for the city gates. Max looked around again for any sign of his fellow Alceans, but they were nowhere in sight. He grumbled under his breath as he ran towards the stables. He hurriedly saddled his unicorn and headed for the city gates. When he reached the outer gates, Fakir Aziz was gone. With a sigh of frustration, Max turned toward the gate guards.

"An old man just came through on a gray mare. Which way did he go?"

The two guards glanced at one another with puzzled expressions.

"We saw no old man," stated one of the guards.

Max frowned deeply. He had been sure that the old man was leaving the city, but he admitted to himself that he might be wrong. He turned around and reentered the city. After he passed through the inner gates, he halted and gazed around for any place the philosopher might have gone near the gates. Most of the nearby buildings were private homes. There were a few shops about, but most of them were open shops and the Ranger could easily see that Fakir Aziz was not in them. The four unicorns were nowhere to be seen. Max rode around the four blocks nearest the gates and scanned the public stables where the residents kept their horses. The unicorns were not there. He sighed in frustration.

"Are you looking for a place to stable your horse?" asked a nearby stableman.

"No," Max shook his head. "I was looking for an old man and four mares, one gray, three brown."

"Left the city about half an hour ago," replied the stableman.

"Left the city?" echoed the Ranger. "I asked the guards and they didn't see him."

"They must be blind then," shrugged the stableman. "I saw him leave. Beautiful mares they were, too. Might have been one of the royal breeds if I'm not mistaken."

Max nodded his thanks and turned his unicorn towards the gates once more. This time he rode through the outer gates without questions for the guards. The ground outside the gates was hard packed, and there was no chance of finding tracks there, so the Ranger scanned the horizon. Far off to the northwest was a stand of trees, and something about them drew his attention. Max headed for the trees while his eyes scanned the ground. His heart fluttered after a few hundred paces when he saw the fresh tracks. Urging his unicorn into a gallop, the Ranger raced after Fakir Aziz.

The tracks showed that the horse thief was not in a hurry, and Max slowed down after half an hour just as the stand of trees were ending. He halted at the edge of the woods and saw Fakir Aziz in the distance. The terrain ahead was grasslands, and there was no effective way to follow the old man in a stealthy fashion. Max let his unicorn cool down a bit and then calmly rode out of the forest. For the next hour, the Ranger rode as a man heading for a destination in the same general direction as the horse thief. He gained on Fakir constantly, but not enough to startle his prey.

Another stand of trees appeared, and when Fakir Aziz entered it, Max picked up the pace. As the Ranger raced into the trees, he found the old man waiting for him. Fakir was letting the unicorns drink from a stream, and Max tried to dismount casually as if watering the horses was a good idea.

"It's not polite to follow your friends, Max Caber," declared the old man.

"It's not polite to steal the horses of your friends, either," retorted Max. "I doubt that Garth or Kalina gave you permission to take those mounts."

"I can't say as I remember speaking to either of them about it," replied Fakir. "If you intend to accompany me to my destination, we might ride together. I would enjoy your company."

"How can you act so casually about stealing horses?" Max replied with shock. "The Zaroccans hang people for such an offense."

"I have stolen nothing," smiled Fakir Aziz.

"Nothing?" balked the Ranger. "I know that gray mare well enough, and I am sure the other three were with our party when we entered Traginak."

"That may be so," replied Fakir. "Are you declaring yourself to be the owner of these creatures? If so, where did you acquire them?"

Max frowned in confusion. "I did not say that I was the owner. Kalina brought them to us."

"Perhaps you think that she is the owner then," mused Fakir as he mounted the gray mare. "I think otherwise, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If she truly thinks she is the owner of these creatures, tell Jenneva to state her claim, and I will promptly return them."

Max stared dumbfounded as the old man rode slowly away with the four unicorns. He was helpless to stop the theft short of killing the old man, and he was not willing to do that.

* * *

A bell sounded from the southern gates of Traginak, and soon bells were ringing all over the city. Garth and Kalina had just left the meeting and were being shown to their rooms when the excitement started. People started dashing about in a frenzy. Their escort, a junior officer, looked as if he also wanted to race away, but he had been assigned the task of showing the Alceans to their suite. He quickened his pace to get the duty completed as quickly as possible.

"What is going on?" asked Garth.

"I am not sure," the young officer replied anxiously. "The bells are sounding the alarm. The city will soon be attacked."

"Take us somewhere where he can view the surrounding area," ordered Garth.

"My orders are to see you to your suite," balked the officer.

"I intend to get to a balcony," retorted Garth. "You can save me time by showing me the shortest route, but we are not going to our quarters."

The officer hesitated only a moment before nodding. "This way. Hurry."

Garth and Kalina ran after the officer as he guided them through a maze of twisting corridors. He finally brought them out on a wide balcony overlooking the city and the plain towards the south. Baron Uloof and Baron Stikman were already there. Far out on the plain were hordes of ogres stomping towards the city.

"They have never attacked this far east before," commented Baron Uloof. "Baron Ohmson has been battling them for years. We are fortunate to have some of his men in the city this day."

"My men will join the hunt," offered Baron Stikman. "We will make short work of them."

"This will not be a hunt," commented Garth as he stared out at the gathering horde. "This will be a battle. I will gather my men and join you."

"Nonsense," scoffed Baron Stikman. "This is a grand opportunity for the Alceans to watch how things are done in the horse countries. You should bring the rest of your men up here to watch."

The barons turned and fled from the balcony, nearly bumping into King Persimon and King Wendal as they entered the balcony.

"You must forgive my baron," King Wendal said apologetically. "Baron Stikman is an excellent fighter and a wonderful patriot, but sometimes even I tire of his braggart ways. His invitation for your people to view the battle, though, is a good one. Perhaps King Persimon will send an officer to fetch them."

King Persimon nodded and signaled for an officer. He issued his instructions and the officer ran off.

"I have met many a braggart in my days," commented Garth, "but few who would let their pride get in the way of doing what is best for their country."

King Wendal glanced at Garth questioningly. "Are you speaking of your offer to battle the ogres or the Council of War?"

"Both," answered Garth. "We have fought ogres before. While they may appear stupid to us in many ways, they do understand battle well enough. For the most part, they are fearless foes, and their strength is incredible. They are not to be underestimated."