Dark Quest (16 page)

The colonel went to the campfire that had been set up for Oscar and John. Alex and Fergy were there, as well. “Well, we are going to need a plan, you know.”

“We need more than a plan,” Alex pointed out. “We need a magician.”

In the morning a small detachment was sent to escort Secor to Duke Whitley’s castle. Oscar had told him which door to go through to get to Atar’s Cove. He would remain there with Callie until things were safe.

The Red Swords left for Tagaret and Alex and his Rangers left for the rendezvous that had been previously agreed to with his other Ranger teams.

When he arrived back in Tagaret, Colonel Gregor went to his office. He knew it would not be long before the General showed up and the approaching footsteps confirmed his suspicion.

“Good to see you back, Colonel, you missed the coronation.”

“Yes, General, but I had some business to attend to.”

“With a thousand men, Colonel? I must admit you had me worried. I was ready to start bringing in troops from the surrounding garrisons.”

“General! How dare you attempt to impeach my character. I had men escorting the heir to the Throne of Targa. That is the duty of the Red Swords. When I heard about the coronation, I rode out to have my orders changed, as the person being escorted was no longer heir. Do you see any breach of conduct in my actions?”

The general was taken by surprise. The colonel had always used cunning to manipulate the general and that is what Clark expected. This outburst indicated that Colonel Gregor had indeed taken offense. “I’m sorry, Colonel, if I have overstepped the bounds of good taste. It is no secret that you do not get along with King Austin as well as you did with King Eugene and I do have to watch out for treachery. I may, at times, get a little overzealous in my duty.”

“General, I have never met King Austin. While I may admit that I was not overly fond of Regent Nelson, now that he is King that is different. You know the Red Swords have a long history of standing by their rightful King unto death. I wholeheartedly endorse that tradition and I will make sure all of my men adhere to it. Can the General withstand some criticism as long as we are getting along so well?”

The general was flustered. What possible criticism could the Colonel have for him? He had been energetic in carrying out all of the King’s orders. “Certainly, Colonel. I am always open to suggestions.”

“Good. My men happened to interrupt an attack on a temple in Cleb. We have brought back thirty bodies that can be used to identify the group that has been causing us all this trouble. One of them is alive and needs to be interrogated. These villains used magic in their defense and the captured man is dangerous in that respect. Do you think it would be possible for you to spare some of the men you have had trailing me to start tracking down who these murders are? Perhaps the ones whom you assign to open my mail and messages?”

The general’s face turned red. His men had been sloppy and the Colonel now knew he was under suspicion of treason. “Colonel, you hold a position of great power and control thousands of men. The Crown must be sure of your loyalty.”

“General, I know that if I executed a treasonous deed, I would hang for it. What would happen to me if I facilitated a treasonous deed done by another because of my lack of suspicion or failure to properly investigate?”

“Colonel, you would, because of your high position, be required to resign. Are you referring to the Tork matter?”

“No, General. I have no knowledge of a treasonous act by Tork. I have knowledge of a warrant for his arrest and I have sent men looking for him. But I also have knowledge that he was in a fight with goblins on the date of King Eugene’s death.”

“A fight with goblins? Why haven’t I heard about this? Who told you this?”

“We ran across a small band of Tork’s Rangers in Cleb. They told me about the goblins and many of the men are known to me. They are loyal and trustworthy men. Who determined the guilt of Tork and what evidence did they use to come to this conclusion?”

“I do not question the King’s orders any more than you should. Did these men indicate where you might find Tork?”

“They told me Tork died fighting the goblins. They said Lieutenant Mitar Vidson and Lieutenant David Jaynes are in command now. Evidently, they are trying to track down the temple attackers and we should expect some more bodies soon.”

Colonel Gregor walked over to the wall map. “You know, General, I wasn’t suggesting that you question the King’s orders regarding Tork. He put you in charge of the investigation. It is normal for the chief investigator to suggest a suspect, is it not?”

“Well, yes, but what is this leading to, Colonel? It is beginning to sound like an interrogation.”

“I do not intend to interrogate you, General. That is beyond my station. Allow me two more questions and a favor. Is it treason to order the murder of an officer of the King’s Army?”

“Yes, unless the execution was ordered by the rightful King of Targa.”

“You have eighteen thousand men under your command. When you issue an arrest warrant for a soldier and state that he is wanted for the assassination of the King, how many of those men do you suppose would rather kill the culprit than bring him in?”

“Are you suggesting that Tork was killed by his own men? I should’ve guessed. You’re right. I should never have expected to see Tork brought in alive. Well, no matter. Look, Colonel, I tire of these games you play. You say that you are loyal to the King. I shall be watching to make sure that you are.”

“General, you are forgetting my favor. You and I have never been bitter rivals. We’ve toyed with each other and always tried to best the other, but I think we have always had respect for one another. I know that I have the utmost respect in your capability for battle strategy. I have seen no finer. I also know that we are heading into a war with Sordoa and it will be your strategy that wins that war. All of this brings me to my request for a favor.”

“Go on. Out with it,” snapped the General.

“If in the next few weeks you should feel the need to resign, I would consider it a personal favor if you would delay your resignation until after the war with Sordoa.”

“What are you about, Colonel?” shouted General Clark. “If you think you are going to force me out of office, you overestimate yourself. I’ll have you cleaning chamber pots if you try to cross me.”

“General, I mean you no ill. I am quite sincere in my request. I think Targa needs your talent and I know that you are a man of honor. I fear that if situations arose that caused you to consider your actions, you might inadvertently weaken Targa’s strategic capability. In short, General, I don’t want to force you out. I want to make sure that you stay in. I want you in charge of those eighteen thousand men, not somebody else.”

The Colonel turned and handed the General an envelope. “Oh, by the way, I didn’t have time to turn in my report on the assassination of King Eugene. I am sorry for my tardiness.”

The general looked fatigued. He took the envelope and returned to his office. The talk with the Colonel had been nonsense. He had planned on making the Colonel squirm so that he might make a mistake. Instead, the General felt like he was being set up for a fall. He opened the envelope and slid out the report.

What nonsense was this? The King was killed first, then the guards. No tracks in the blood. King Olweg’s sword missing. Bodies cold but blood still flowing. Use of magic Freeze Ball. Murderer had to be known or expected by the King and guards. Ah, now the General understood. Put Gregor’s report together with the fact that Tork’s men killed him because of the warrant and the General was supposed to resign in dishonor. Nice try, Colonel, but it wouldn’t work. The General had acted on the orders of the rightful King and that absolved him of any guilt.

Alex and his ten Rangers were camped out in a small clearing in the dense forest not far from Tagaret. He had used these woods for training exercises in the early days of the Rangers and it was the agreed upon meeting place for the Ranger teams he had spread across the country. All week, teams of the elite force had been checking in with their cargoes of Black Devils. There were not many live murderers among the wagons. His Rangers suffered very few casualties because their attacks on the bandits were sudden and surprising. Many of the bodies bore the same black skull seared into their flesh. Each of the Ranger teams was informed of developments and given new instructions. They were then dismissed and sent to Tagaret to unload their cargoes. Alex and his small band of men were waiting for only a few more teams to arrive before leaving for the city.

Colonel Gregor stood watching six more wagons enter the Palace. They had been arriving all week and a problem was developing over the disposal of the bodies. Identities were no longer being checked because there were so many of them and not enough people to commit to the task. The Palace cells were also getting loaded with the few survivors who were brought in.

General Clark strode along side the Colonel. “More wagons? What are we supposed to do with the bodies? Isn’t there any way to stop this, Colonel?”

“Well, General, there won’t be many more. I’ve been keeping track of the returning Rangers and there are only a couple of groups unaccounted for. You must say this for Tork, General, he trained these lads well. For months these murderers have been harassing the Kingdom, now our major problem is what to do with the bodies.”

“Have you gotten anything from examining the bodies?”

“Not much. Many of them sport the black skull insignia, but that is where the commonality ends. We have bodies from every nation on the continent here. Sex and age are varied, but most of them are young males. We have uncovered torn pieces of uniforms from every nation on the bodies, supposedly to plant at the temples after the attacks. Have you had any success with the interrogations of the prisoners?”

The General led the Colonel farther away from the reek of decomposing bodies. “No, they’re a tight-lipped bunch. Their potential for magic has also made things difficult for us. I wish Lord Habas was available. And don’t start on me about his arrest. I follow orders just as you do. The King has ordered my men away from the prisoners for now. I think he fears our men might get hurt or be tricked into opening the cell doors. Now they sit in the dungeon wasting time.”

The Colonel frowned as he thought about the real reason for keeping the interrogators away from the prisoners. “I don’t think your men will get much from them, anyway. I’ll arrange to get the rest of these bodies out of here without the identification exercise.”

“Thank you, Colonel. What are you doing with the Rangers?”

“I’m giving them a few days off. I think they’ve earned it. We should talk about promotions for Vidson and Jaynes when you have time. I was planning on sending them down to the Sordoan border as a quick response force in case the Sordoans got serious about war.”

The General gazed again at the pile of bodies. “Your plans are sound, Colonel. I have no problems with the promotions, they are good men. I was thinking we might send the Rangers out after more of the temple attackers, but that is up to you. I would prefer to send a larger contingent south to the border. Let’s discuss this more this afternoon. I have a meeting with King Austin where I hope to have my mobilization plans approved.”

“Very good, General. I’ll await word from you in my office.”

The Colonel knew what to do with his spare time. He left the Palace and headed for Sword and Shield. It wasn’t long before Larc joined him.

“You still have your shadow, Colonel.”

“I’m surprised there isn’t more than one. I put the General a little on guard earlier this week. What have you got for me?”

“The wagons the Rangers are bringing in help. The description went out to the Spiders and they will follow any caravans with that type of wagon. We’re also trying to find out who made them and who bought them. It won’t be long before we get a lead on where the books are disappearing to.”

“What about Nelson?” asked the Colonel.

“We figure the switch must have been made when he went to his estate in Miram. A team is on its way up there now. They won’t come back until they find him or his body.”

“That makes sense. The Rangers are almost all here. Alex should be coming in a day or two. Are you ready for him?”

“We’re ready. We can get him safely hidden and arrange for him to get back out if need be.”

As the Colonel was returning to the Palace, General Clark was meeting with King Austin.

“General Clark, has there been any sign of Alexander Tork with the other Rangers returning?”

“No, Your Highness. I’ve had every group checked out. Perhaps the stories of his death in the goblins’ raid are correct.”

“Perhaps. My people have been successful with their interrogation of the temple attackers. It appears that they are working for Cordonia. We need to strengthen our forces along the Cordonian border. I believe that an attack is imminent!”

“Cordonia? Your Highness, I find it hard to believe that Cordonia is behind this. Possibly the attackers are lying. The dead attackers appear to be from every country on the continent including Targa.”

“Nevertheless, you will move troops to the Cordonian border. I believe this whole business of war with Sordoa is a ruse to get us to commit our troops to the south. Once our troops are committed, the Cordonians will attack and claim the Disputed Area. I want you to move ten thousand troops to the border of Cordonia.”

“Ten thousand, Your Highness? That’s all the troops we have in the Tagaret area. We would leave the capital defenseless. I must protest, King Austin.”

The King stood and walked towards General Clark. “You will not protest, General Clark. You will obey or I will have you removed from office. I am responsible for the safety of the Kingdom, not you. You dare to question me and the Council of Advisors?”

King Austin turned his back on General Clark and returned to his throne. “If your men are in short supply, stop wasting them on this foolish business of protecting small temples. In fact, I forbid you to continue wasting Kingdom resources by protecting these priests.”