The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus (61 page)

"I will contact you like now when it is time. If something changes, I will let you know first."

"Is that all then?" the younger man asked feeling disappointed. He had hoped that the message would lead to activity, though Karlaan had to admit that too few were ready to be led into any kind of pitched battle yet.

"For now, I just wanted to let you know that this phase continues to progress on schedule. I am certain that we already serve to distract them from you. My spies in the southwest tell me that Duchess Pherena is already threatening her brother if he doesn't help her. Lucky for us, the woman is a complete fool.

"Famel will try to hold her in check, but she is willful and likely to make an enemy out of the man who protects her."

"Will she actually try to attack King Orlaan? His sister would try to take the throne instead?"

"No, she will threaten and bluster. Once Yalan and the north fall to us, we will be able to sweep through her sons. Their armies are small. That is why she complains to Orlaan, so she just feeds her problems."

"So for now I will continue to do what I can to get these people ready. Somehow I will turn them into soldiers," Karlaan proclaimed, though he lacked the confidence in these people that Caldrefan seemed to have.

"Do what you can. I will talk to you when Tseult loses again," the statue finished before going silent.

The young man glanced towards the doorway making sure that Bovan hadn't dared to listen in to his discussion. An old man putting his nose where it didn't belong would be a man without a nose in short order. He didn't care if the other brothers would complain. He could just tell them that Sordrian ordered it and they would likely believe him without Caldrefan's help.

He wondered how Tseult would help them if the king still looked to support his ally. Only time and Caldrefan knew, Karlaan supposed.

Chapter 33- Tylus' Folly

Xerese walked into a tidy looking office to find Alexander sitting in a chair behind his desk reading a document. More rolled up messages like it sat in a basket on the desk to his left. Flat sheets sat in another bin and the girl wondered if he needed to go through both piles to finish his work for the day as the governor of Patris and the local towns.

They had dinner with Alexander and Heralin the previous night, but her cousin hadn't elaborated on what Heralin had mentioned the previous day. She wondered what he might need to tell her that could change her plans to sail to western Yalan. They could use a carriage to ride directly west to King Orlaan's castle or to stay with Philip and Serafene, even her mother's second home in the city was a possibility; but using the Shadron she could check on Ylden perhaps or sail directly to see Marquess Etrine. Itan and Heralin had both let slip that her cousin was not well after the shocking death of her son.

Alexander had even mentioned that Serafene and Alicia had gone to help out the marquess. The woman was known to be fragile emotionally. His death had apparently pushed her close to her breaking point. Perhaps more family would help her out of the depression she was in now and it would give her a chance to see Alicia and Serafene at least.

"Heralin seemed worried over something concerning my travel plans," the dark haired girl said as she settled into one of a pair of stuffed chairs. "Itan didn't say anything about it at all when I was there."

"Uncle Itan probably doesn't know," her blonde haired cousin said cryptically. She looked at the man who had similar features to his youngest sister, though his blue eyes took after their mother. After meeting the cousins from their father's side of the family, Xerese could see more of the elven look to him. Only a quarter part elf, most people wouldn't notice that they weren't run of the mill humans without seeing the other race.

"Doesn't know what? You are sidestepping an answer. Why are you and Heralin acting so oddly about a trip to the capitol? I just walked through a country going through a rebellion. What could possibly be worse than that?"

He winced and Xerese had a feeling that her cousin believed that something was worse. "Your mother has been threatening to pull support from Orlaan. She has been complaining about rogue armies or bandits in her lands and demands that the king take care of it or else.

"The king has been treating it as a temper tantrum according to my father and is giving her time to settle down. They both consider it a rather empty threat. If she can't take care of the bandits herself, then they feel that Pherena would be unwise to break away from Orlaan."

"So she is complaining about bandits or enemy soldiers, but demands that the king take care of it or she'll do what? Is mother planning on trying to create her own country with my brothers' help?

"Is there any news from my father? This doesn't seem like a path that he would let her follow."

"The news I've received hasn't said anything about your father or your brothers' views on the situation. They might not even follow her if she tried to leave."

Shaking her head, Xerese replied, "No, they tend to do whatever mother wants. She is willful and when father is behind her orders, they will likely follow."

Her eyes lifted to look Alexander in the face after looking down a moment in thought. "My brothers are all intelligent, grown men; but they are more like obedient soldiers than likely to think on their own, at least where mother is concerned anyway."

"I know Olaf and Phiman better than your older brothers, but I think that I would agree," the count nodded at her opinion. "That is why I am leery of seeing you sail back to Yalan right now. If Pherena does continue to try and push away, King Orlaan might choose to hold you at the castle until she either backs down or he needs to negotiate with her."

"You think that he would use me against her?" the girl asked, though it made sense.

"What better way to pressure a mother than to hold her child prisoner? Well, I suppose that there might be other ways, but certainly it would make her think twice."

"She wouldn't attack Yalan, even if she did decide to secede. Like you said, her lands aren't powerful enough. Holding me as bait might work in the opposite way. She might be desperate enough to attack to free me." Xerese thought it through a moment before shaking her head, "No, I think that she would leave me to whatever fate Orlaan decided. She has my brothers and, frankly, I think that she loves them more.

"At some point she might use me as an excuse, but it wouldn't be her first option."

"You really think that she values you so little?" Alexander questioned in surprise.

"A son is worth more in this world, don't you think? It is especially true in royal families. They want sons to become a king. No one says that they want their daughter to become queen. They want them to marry a king."

Alexander looked like he wanted to argue, but guessed that it was just a matter of opinions, which meant no one would win such an argument.

"What will you do then? Will you stop in Yalan and risk being held by the king as leverage, or will you go on to Teyas and avoid the capitol?"

Xerese sighed.

After thinking about it for a moment, she asked, "Would it be alright for me to stay here long enough to decide? I mean, in truth there are other options than just those two. I had been considering on checking Ylden or continuing on to see Etrine."

Alexander nodded and replied, "Of course, you are welcome as long as you like."

"You could get in trouble down the road for harboring me," she suggested with a smile, though such a thing certainly was truer than they would like to admit.

Shrugging at the idea, he stated, "It is only harboring if the king is searching for you. At the moment there is nothing saying that you can't visit after such a long and difficult journey, right?"

Xerese let out a brief laugh, but she had to admit that her mother's odd behavior was equally troubling. She was now potentially in the middle of a power struggle. Unfortunately those caught in the middle were often the first among the casualties, the girl thought disappointedly.

Staying a few more days couldn't hurt and Alexander was treating her almost as well as Itan here. Being pampered in the castle for a little while before daring to set sail again or choosing to ride in a carriage for days on end, didn't sound like a bad idea anyway. She would have to tell the others and see if they would stay with her or continue on their way. Nico and Oywen in particular didn't have a true need to stay with her and this news might even push them to try and survive on their own instead.

Their conversation lapsed into less troubling lines of thought before Xerese excused herself to return to her room.

Philip sat in the common room of his home on one of the stuffed couches. The servants looked in on him from time to time uncertain of what to do. He had received a message from the king and shut down in thought. His face looked unhappy and he was often frowning as the man sat thinking.

Unlike the delays in sending messages by horse or bird, the wizards in many of the castles around Malaiy had the ability to send messages by magical means. They could converse directly, at least for a short time before the stress of the spell would force them to break contact.

One of the wizards at Etrine's castle had sent word. The woman had been inconsolable and when those watching her had given Etrine a moment, the depressed mother ended her life.

Thinking of Serafene and Alicia having to be there at this time, Philip worried over their mental state as well. They had tried to ease a sister and aunt to help her get through her grief. Now there would be another funeral.

In the less emotional side of things, he realized that Orlaan had just lost another strong supporter of his rule. Her husband might remain to control the fortress in eastern Yalan, but the king valued having family in charge. Those who married into the line had no direct tie to the throne; and the way the king ran his kingdom, they were family in name but without his royal blood in their veins a spouse could marry and leave the family as well.

Philip didn't necessarily agree with the logic. Pherena was already giving cause to rethink the king's designs.

Sighing at the thought, he wondered what more could happen. Malaiy still had strength, but bad luck or design seemed to be whittling away at what Orlaan had built in his time. His children could be in the line of fire as well, which led his mind to wonder over what had become of Annalicia. His fears for her continued, though in two days he would receive a message from Alexander letting him know what Xerese had told him.

Both girls were alive, or at least Xerese knew that Anna had been before going on a mission for Southwall's king. It was the first good news he would receive and the last for a long time as well as the summer moved inexorably towards its end.

Caldrefan stood on the parapet overlooking the harbor. It was the highest point of Daria and afforded him the best view.

That King Tylus would try to quell the rebellion had been assumed even before he had instigated the changing of the guard in northern Tseult. His men had staged the attacks of the temples and other interests of the brothers in each city and town inciting the anger of the masses against the king. Like in Yalan, he or one of those he trusted had grown a following for the Brothers of the Blood doing good works and often preaching that a king didn't care about his people.

In truth many kings didn't really, but it helped open the door to the belief that Tylus would rather destroy a god's temple than have them need something more than him. He wanted to be their god and he was still a man. With such rhetoric sold to the masses, the brothers could steer them to throw off Tylus' rule and to demand freedom from a southern king.

It would take time to solidify the rule of the brothers over the people officially, but Caldrefan and the leaders of the Brothers of the Blood were already leading them in truth. They would call it a kingdom ruled by Sordrian, but his brother hadn't been a god. He would lead them telling the people that he was the god's servant and would rule as a king or whatever he chose to call himself.

Once these cities were ready, he would lead them to take as much of Malaiy as they could. Orlaan's strength continued to fade. Deaths caused by assassins and fools were already taking their toll. Word of so many deaths in the royal family leant strength to the belief that the gods weren't happy with the king or his family. More and more followed the brothers to Edrin's Crossing to join the slowly growing army.

"Master Caldrefan, Master Caldrefan!" a man in a black uniform with the red sash came running up the steps breathing hard. It was the cost of such heights that a man had to struggle to climb them, he thought with a bit of humor.

"What is it?"

"Five warships are approaching from the west, all fly the flags of Tseult."

"Just five?" he questioned in disappointment.

"They are all massive battleships, master. What will we do? Our ships are nowhere near their size. We'll be crushed."

"Plans are already in place. Go tell Commander Garm to begin readying our strategy. He will know what to do. Now go!" he finished shooing the soldier away.

While just five ships was a little disappointing, it shouldn't affect the timing of his plans. King Tylus had even sent them to him at the perfect time.

By the time the sails of the warships could be seen in the distance, the sun had already set. He wasn't sure if they had hoped to enter the city in the darkness to try taking it back at night, but his plans were ready. He fired a fireball into the air signaling the other wizards and soldiers involved with his plan to begin.

Fog began to build as the warlocks all trained by him over the years used their power to mask the ships in the harbor and the town buildings from the oncoming Tseult fleet. The lights of the lighthouses were shut off as well making the entry to the harbor harder to see.

Caldrefan began to call on his magic also. He called the spell fox fire. Glints of light popped and faded again blinking over and over throughout the fog. A second fireball was hurled out into the fog towards the warships. In the masking cloak, the master doubted that it had fallen close to any of the ships; but it was the message it gave that was important.

Booms of cannon from the city walls and on stone parapets near the docks echoed in the harbor. In echoes of the sound, the lights in the fog blinked as well. He did his best to position the fox fire between the enemy ships. Once one warship believed that they were being attacked it began to fire towards the lights as they continued to fire the cannon of Daria.

Another warship fired back after taking damage. Illusions continued in the fog. Voices and the rumble of cannon made the sailors edgy. The marines readied for a fight and began to see the ghosts of men trying to attack their ships. Helmsmen began to avoid imaginary ships in the fog hoping to line up for broadsides with their cannon.

Caldrefan channeled a lesser version of his fear spell. He didn't want the warships to flee from the harbor nor have the men jump mindlessly into the sea in fright. The wizard had other plans for them in the future. No, this spell merely helped to make them panic and continue making unwise choices in battles that were more of the mind than real.

As the Tseult warships began targeting each other in the confusion, the cannon from the city stopped waiting for another signal. If things worked out the way he planned, Daria wouldn't have to do more to win this battle.

Caldrefan tried to sense wizards on the ships and found none. It was another disappointment. Apparently King Tylus had underestimated the true strength of the rebellion that the brothers had brought about in the north. Distance and haste had made the king move too soon. He had responded thinking that he was just facing peasants and his fleet would pay as magic won the battle without endangering any of his people.

It was over in record time. Two of the battleships were floundering as they sought to stop the water rushing into their hulls through holes made by their companion ships. Two made it to shore beaching themselves from a combination of errors caused by the various kinds of magic spurring them to try to avoid the worst of the fighting. His wizards would work with the soldiers to corral them until Caldrefan had time to get to them and use his magic. Mind magic was dangerous to use. Those affected by the spells often turned on the wizard, but that took time as well. By the time Caldrefan figured that he would need to worry, these men would have served his purposes and many would be dead.

Caldrefan fired two more flares of fire into the air. The last healthy warship remained in the harbor. Though its crew was lost and probably confused, they alone remained ready for a fight. He had a feeling that this ship had taken some damage also, but they managed to hold out.

Three red flagged warships moved in from the east to close off the mouth of the harbor should the ship try to flee. Four more moved into the fog with wizards to guide the ships. Before the enemy knew what was happening, hooks from his two lead attackers pulled the three ships together. Surrounded and frightened, the last vessel surrendered before the fog had the chance to dissipate. Without his wizards strengthening the fog, the wind soon pushed aside the unnatural haze.

Caldrefan looked out over the harbor and saw his prizes waiting for him to claim them. After stopping for some food and drink, the wizard was prepared by the time he was riding towards the nearest of the beached ships. His magic would make these men followers and his army would grow once again.

If Tseult didn't send another force too soon, he could make good his promise to Karlaan.

Four days later an army marched up from the southeast. Ten thousand strong, an army of green clad soldiers and horsemen wore red sashes as well.

Caldrefan greeted the leaders of the army at the south gate of Daria.

The general dismounted and walked up to the wizard dressed in brothers' clothing. Giving a crisp salute, he greeted the leader of the brothers, "Master Caldrefan, the Alwere legion is here as you asked."

Smiling at the general, the wizard nodded and replied, "Your men were a little slower getting here than planned, though we are still on schedule, I suppose."

The man smirked. "We could have been here sooner, but we ran into a small army of Tseult soldiers on the way here. It was about a hundred miles to the south."

"Your army was able to destroy them?" Caldrefan questioned expecting the general not to disappoint him since they were here and the Tseult army was not.

"Our wizards spotted them in time to set up our defenses among the hills. The forests helped hide our numbers and the river funneled them into us.

"Tseult might pride themselves on their dueling prowess, but their generals might wish to study tactics more than their swords," he finished with a chuckle.

"Now, now, General Wayrd, we do have to give them the benefit of the doubt that they obviously didn't expect to find another army so far from the northern cities," Caldrefan reminded him even as he laughed as well. "Did they fall back or did you destroy them?" he added hoping that there would be no more armies to worry about long enough to make headway with Malaiy.

"They had about four thousand men. I would estimate a few hundred escaped, but we brought more than that as captives as per your request. While I don't know why you wished to keep so many alive, we did our best to bring them to you."

"Good work, general. Have your army camp to the south and west of Daria. I will come to see them as soon as I can. If your men need anything, tell Commander Garm and his staff. We won't keep you here too long."

The general nodded and said, "We came only with the supplies that we could protect. Your cities will be the supply line now."

"Understandable," Caldrefan replied. "Now come, we will have dinner and work out the plan for the invasion in the morning."

Caldrefan sat on his horse looking down at the river between him and the fortress guarding Malaiy. Even from a distance, he could tell that the fort was a nest of activity. Along the river wooden barricades made of short walls with spiked poles sticking out before them sought to impede the enemy army slowly marching towards Fort Camden.

From the preparation, he assumed that scouts had been watching the changes happening in north Tseult. Caldrefan wondered if he had telegraphed his move too much or if Orlaan was simply clever enough to decide to protect his border. Investing the country's limited army resources meant that the king had at least guessed that the brothers wouldn't stop with taking over just the one territory. It also made him worry that Karlaan might be in harm's way at Edrin's Crossing. So far the king hadn't attacked the people gathering in the town on the border of the multi-town known as the city of Yalan; but that didn't mean that Malaiy wasn't being organized to deal with the insurrectionist element there.

"Will you use your magic again?" Commander Garm asked his leader where he sat his horse to General Wayrd's left.

"Magic will save our resources. We have a long way to go before we succeed in taking Malaiy, but we need to break their spirit before I can bend their minds. They also have some wizards in this fortress; unlike most of the Tseult armies so far. We have no idea if any of them know mind magic, so we need to test them first.

"We have enough expendable troops from Tseult for now. Let them take the lead. Have your archers and siege weapons ready in support. Our horsemen won't do much good here anyway.

"I will work with our wizards to break their front line and drive them back to the fortress, once we have them holed up in there we can work to break them fully."

Already having most of their plans ready since leaving Daria, the leaders of the army returned to their men to begin sorting the divisions as they prepared to push across the river. It was neither too deep nor broad, but it would slow the men down. Magic could help limit the fatalities, but the first wave would be made up of the men from Tseult that had to be influenced to follow him. Better to have them die breaking Malaiy's defenses than have them turn on him later. The spell would hold on most as it had been refreshed daily by Caldrefan and the wizards capable of using the spell that he had trained over the years.