To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) (46 page)

Sir Brandon nodded affirmatively. “That, in addition to the support personnel is about sixty-seven thousand people. This certainly qualifies as an invasion. I just cannot understand how this happened without us finding out sooner.” He set his opticals aside and wiped his brow.

“You were distracted by the refugees fleeing across your northern border and the only officials who knew about the incursion are still trapped in Polatca and unable to send word. We of the Atlantan Guild and Aakadon knew of the intrusion before the battle at Shantear, but everyone assumed those forces would withdraw after the Serpents were evicted.”

“Why would you think that?” General Righter asked, and his left eyebrow arched quizzically.

Simon shrugged his shoulders. “At the time those forces were attempting to stop the Atlantan Guild and Maestro Reese’s team from reaching the mountain. After we bypassed the blockade, the same way I brought us here, it was believed Kall and his army would withdraw. Clearly they did not.”

Sir Brandon brought the opticals to his eyes again and stared in the direction of the command pavilion. “I did not want to believe those kingdoms actually allied themselves with the Serpent Guild, but I see Pentrosa’s Sutton Guard, Fon Kay’s cavalry, Battencayan troopers, and all openly in the company of nearly a thousand Accomplisheds.”

Soldiers moved about the encampment while the Aakacarns mostly stayed to themselves, obviously too good to have closer involvement with the commoners. It was also likely the soldiers wanted little to do with the spell-casters and preferred the distance.

Simon looked away from the camp, sensing the approach of danger through the spell, Find All. “If you gentlemen have seen enough, we can make our way back to the horses and begin our journey to Polatca. Some of those men I mentioned will soon be in hearing range of our departure.” He hoped they were ready to go because he certainly was.

General Righter took a deep breath and let it out. “I am satisfied. Accomplished, I ask that you take us to the siege.” Sir Brandon answered with a nod of his head.

A three mark ride brought them far enough, given the hills, trees, and thick foliage, that Simon was confident neither the sound nor the harmonic waves of his spell-casting could be detected by the enemy. He focused on, Beeder; a crow flapping his wings over the thick woods several spans from Polatca. They arrived and travelled east until coming to the heights above the besieged city.

“I sense no Aakacarns among the soldiers down there,” Simon informed the witnesses.

The bushes concealed their presence on the ridge from the invaders and both men peered through opticals at the scene below. “Those are Battencayan uniforms. It appears their only purpose is to keep the Sixth Legion contained,” Righter spoke his conclusion.

“The problem is; all of our forces are badly out of position. It will take time to bring enough troops to reinforce New Oben and that must come before we can even think of breaking this siege,” Sir Brandon observed and concluded.

“That is why getting you back to the capitol quickly is so important. The sooner Queen Clarees is convinced of the danger, the sooner Daniel can act. Breaking this siege would not be difficult for the Accomplisheds of the Atlantan Guild. Kall’s forces are another matter. There are Aakacarns with his army and more that can teleport in to reinforce them, but that would not stop us from helping to defend the capitol while other Lobenian legions arrive, and possibly by transporting at least some extra men and weapons. We also have a navy that can attack the ships that will be threatening your shores,” Simon urged, in the hope of impressing upon them how helpful and beneficial allying with the Atlantan Guild would be for their kingdom.

General Righter glanced at Sir Brandon and then put away his opticals. “Take us straight to the palace if you can.”

Simon had not spent his time idly while sitting on the terrace at CriJenna. Quite a few local birds were now a part of his menagerie. He focused on Flitter, a sparrow, who was perched on a statute of the Queen located in the middle of a fountain in the palace courtyard. “Let’s get back to the horses, I will transport us from there, and you gentlemen can testify to the Queen.”

They moved swiftly back to the horses and Simon conveyed them all without even mounting the steeds. Guards in their crimson and silver uniforms and with halberds in hand came running. “Take us to the Queen,” General Righter ordered, the men lowered their weapons and escorted them into the palace.

Simon had thought to stay behind but Sir Brandon motioned for him to follow. They went down halls, through corridors, and in what was clearly a roundabout way to a private room. The Queen, dressed in regal splendor, slightly plump and attractive, was sitting at a long table and in the middle of speaking to her ministers. Her gold hair was woven up into a smaller version of the royal crown and the ministers, male and female, were dressed in their purple finery. Eight of the twelve officials were women.

“Ah, the very reason I called this session,” Clarees said, after a male servant whispered in her ear. Her eyes seemed to briefly register Simon’s presence, and then fixed on General Righter and Sir Brandon, the account keeper clothing must have kept her from recognizing the true calling of the person who had accompanied them in. “Ministers, you have heard what the prisoner believes. When Hanja arrives with one of the Soarers, these distinguished and respected men will add what they have seen to the testimony you heard earlier. The Accomplished will undisputedly verify that the minds of these men have not been tampered with in any way.”

Simon leaned quietly against the wall and in a short while no one seemed to notice he was still in the room. The door opened and in walked a man and a woman wearing the scarlet on black silks of Aakadon. Gray-haired Hanja had the medallion of the Aloe Guild hanging from his neck, and the Soarer with dark curly hair, a bird of prey. Both were Two-bolt Accomplisheds and even though Simon’s potential earned him one lightning bolt, the baton he had hidden inside the brown coat was created by Daniel, and capable of adding six bolts of amplification. Neither of the Aakacarns seemed to take note of an account keeper, their eyes were on the Queen.

“Accomplished Toweran, I thank you for coming again and especially on such short notice,” Clarees welcomed him.

“We of Aakadon are always pleased to be of help,” the old fellow replied. “Just as we verified the Fon Kayan ship Captain did not speak falsely concerning whatever he testified to you about, we are willing to again provide assistance.”

Simon remained still and managed to keep from laughing at the idea of an Accomplished of Aakadon being pleased to be of help to a non-Aakacarn. He could see why Hanja had been stationed here. The man could lie and make it sound sincere.

“General Righter and Sir Brandon will each testify to what they have seen today. It would please the court if you would verify that neither of them has had their minds tampered with by Aakacarn means.”

“This is my colleague, Annette Bissent, Accomplished and Soarer of the Eagle Guild. She possesses the expertise you are requesting.”

Bissent stepped forward. “I will of course perform the necessary spell,” she said and then stood before the General. A beam of light, only Simon and the other Aakacarns could see, flashed from her eyes and into Righter’s. “His mind is free of any tampering,” she announced and then did the same with Brandon.

“My Thanks to you, Accomplisheds, we will be calling on you again soon,” Clarees said, clearly a dismissal.

Bissent looked her in the eyes. “The leader of an illegitimate society is somewhere in this city, as we heard from Sir Brandon marks ago. You can be sure we will locate the renegade and deal with him soon.” She turned to the General and Sir Brandon. “With the presence of Daniel Benhannon in the city, I can see why you would be concerned about the issue of mind control. Be assured Maestro Reese has been informed and Aakadon will respond to the threat the Ducaunan Accomplished brings to your capitol.”

With that, she and Hanja exited the room, which, in Simon’s opinion, is when the real threat to the realm would to be discussed. After each man testified of the danger and everyone was allowed to ask questions, the Queen stood up. “I am satisfied the threat to Lobenia is real. General Righter, Sir Brandon, I appoint you as liaisons to the Atlantan Guild. Our military and the Accomplisheds following Maestro Benhannon will need to work in harmony and it will be your task to work with them and smooth over any misunderstandings.”

The minister at the end of the table leaned forward and cleared her throat. There wasn’t very much gold in her hair, it was mostly silver, but she seemed vibrant and of strong will. “I read the terms you offered the Maestro concerning Shantear and understand how much we need help dealing with the current crisis, especially with our legions so far away. Even so I ask, can we trust that Benhannon fellow or any of the Aakacarns associated with him? After all, Aakadon is not going to look kindly upon what we have done here today.”

“Prime Minister, the Serpent Guild is backing the invaders, and Daniel Benhannon is well known for his ability to strike significant blows at his enemies. Even Aakadon, after declaring him a rogue, allied with him to cast the followers of Tarin Conn from Shantear, so yes, I trust him to help rid the Serpents from this realm. While the sale of the mountain to the Atlantan Guild will be documented, no announcements will be made, and Aakadon will not know of it unless they send Accomplisheds to the public hall of records. We can also trust the Maestro because he has ties to Lobenia that run deeper than politics,” the Queen replied but declined to be specific about those ties. Brandon must have told her of the marriage even over Sheena’s concerns.

“I, for one, am glad General Righter and Sir Brandon are the ones who will be facing the Aakacarns of the Atlantan Guild. I’m nervous just knowing they are somewhere in this city,” a gray-bearded minister half way down the right side of the table commented.

Sir Brandon glanced at the wall where Simon stood. “Some of Daniel Benhannon’s associates can be quite unobtrusive, one could be in the room, and you probably would not notice him.

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Daniel, dressed in his formal knightly uniform, and sitting beside Sherree in her blue silks with the hood up, barely glanced out the window of the coach as it moved slowly along Palace Way, the largest of the thoroughfares in Ducanton, and also the one leading to the royal residence. They had already ridden up and down several hills. The buildings along this route were multi-storied structures, all of marble or granite, and had statues of men on horses or fountains with water flowing from sculptures, some of women and others of fish, with water gushing out of their mouths or the top of their heads or wherever the artist fancied. The mid-day rush had people futilely attempting to get as quickly as they could to one place or another, in cabs, on horseback, or afoot on sidewalks, all of which accounted for the current leisurely pace the driver had set. Daniel had seen it all and was no longer distracted by the sights. “It has been ten days since we learned of Fon Kay’s plan to conquer Lobenia and yet Kall keeps his forces right where they are.”

“They are obviously waiting for a specific date or event,” his lovely wife replied. “Not even Silvia has seen when the attack will commence. On the positive side, the Lobenian Third Legion out of Fort Toben is now close enough to attack Kall’s encampment within a day, and half of the Second out of Brent will soon arrive to reinforce the First in New Oben. The ladies and lords of the realm are mobilizing their musters. When enough Lobenian forces are gathered, Clarees may call for the attack whether Kall moves or not. Leah, along with Design and Development are producing fifty mantas a day and crews are training as we speak. The Department of Seekers are finding and recruiting more Aakacarns every day and bringing Condemneds and Aakademneds to Shantear for restoration. The delay, for whatever reason, is giving us more time to prepare.”

Daniel had been given the same reports and knew she was correct about the delay being beneficial, yet he could not shake the feeling events will soon out pace him. “Tarin Conn is still ahead in the foot race, according to Silvia’s latest vision. I gained on him a little after the events at Shantear and even so, he is once again up and running and leaving me behind.”

Sherree’s hand came to rest on his, even though neither could feel the others flesh because of the personal shields. She leaned in close and spoke softly. “Tim and Gina, along with our patrol boats, and the Royal Ducaunan Navy, are battling all enemy ships that come within the one hundred-span limits. The incursions have been so brief I am beginning to think Joel may be correct about their purpose being to keep us occupied in the Taltin. Our boats are also helping the legions maintain security along the Pentrosan border, patrolling at sea while Generals Malcus and Fisher have their men do the same on land. So, we have accomplished much in the time spent.”

Daniel smiled, at first it was forced but grew warmer as he gazed into her loving eyes. “Yes, we have accomplished much. Deputy Cloven and Mayor Van Lyson managed to alert Van Efery to the presence of Aczencopan legions in eastern Taracopa. I almost feel as if I should thank Colonel Acker of the Aczencopan Sixth Legion for providing testimony and Accomplished Decapus for confirming the truth of the reports. Joel and his squad of mantas have located the enemy fleet in the channel off the coast of Battencay. I wish Clarees would let us sink the warships, but understand she wants us to wait until those vessels enter her waters. It is good she made a deal allowing the Taracopian Navy to use the port in Oben on the condition they help in the defense. That was clever of her and reestablishes positive relations with Van Efery. Conductor Lassiter is preparing to break the siege at Polatca, so we are progressing, and will continue to press on.” He glanced out the window and up at the sky. “I would rather be with Jeremiah and actively help end the siege than go through the formalities and protocol to come. Once we give our report to the Queen, it will be one meeting after another, for marks or more, and I’m not sure how much additional time will be taken up after we make the announcement.”