Alutar: The Great Demon (69 page)

As the Red Swords charged out of the illusion, Queen Tanya started pounding the shields of the black-cloaks with powerful bolts of energy. The bolts slammed into the enemy’s shields with tremendous force and some of the black-cloaks staggered in reaction. As she had hoped, the realization of a powerful enemy forced the black-cloaks to look to their own survival rather than use their spells against the charging Red Swords. The battle mages joined their shields to provide greater protection as they continued to hammer away at the queen’s shields. Tanya aimed her projectiles carefully, seeking the weakest member of the opposition. When she found him, she concentrated her powers on his section of the shield. Within minutes, she managed to punch through the shield. Her next bolt slammed into the weak opponent, exploding his body and splattering the other mages with his blood. The queen immediately sought out the next weakest black-cloak.

While Queen Tanya was battling the black-cloaks, King Arik and the Red Swords were tearing into the Federation column on both sides of the battle mages. Within minutes, the column was in shambles, and the Federation soldiers sought to disengage. Some tried to surge towards the vanguard while others ran in the opposite direction. A few tried to form a shield wall, but too few chose to participate, and the wall was easily demolished.

To the north, the Federation Vanguard faced an attack by the Occan lancers. With a well-honed efficiency, the Occan warriors charged into the cavalry leading the Federation column, turning aside once contact had been made. Wave after wave of Occan lancers pummeled the Federation cavalry until it no longer existed, but the battle had given the Federation infantry time to build a proper shield wall. When the Occans charged the shield wall, thousands of Federation arrows filled the sky. The front line of the shield wall managed to deflect a fair number of the lances, and large numbers of Occan warriors began falling from their mounts. Baron Stikman called for a retreat, and the Occans gathered just outside bow range.

“We need a different strategy,” Baron Stikman said to the commanders around him. “We are wasting Occan lives against the shield wall.”

“Perhaps we can flank them,” suggested Baron Ohmson.

Baron Stikman shook his head. “They will see the maneuver well before we could institute it. They would just build another shield wall along the flank.”

“Focus your attack on the center of the shield wall,” instructed Theos. “I will get you through it. What tactics you use after that are up to you.”

“Can you truly do that?” asked Baron Ohmson. “Can you break a hole in the shield wall?”

Theos nodded.

“That would be perfect,” Baron Ohmson said excitedly. “If we can get through the center, we can turn and attack the wall from behind. If successful, they will abandon the use of shield walls in the future.”

“There are many ifs in your statement,” frowned Baron Stikman, “but I am at a loss for a better plan. Do your magic, mage.”

Theos took no offense at the baron’s lack of appreciation for magic. He rode forward to the very edge of the Federation bow range and looked back to see if the Occans were ready. When he was sure that Baron Stikman’s men were ready, he waved for them to charge. He immediately turned to face the enemy, streams of fire shooting from his fingertips. The flames engulfed the center of the Federation shield wall, and men cried out in agony. Heated swords and shields were quickly abandoned, and soldiers swiftly moved away from the pyres of their fellow soldiers. With a large hole in the shield wall, Baron Stikman led the Occan lancers into the enemy column. As the lancers turned to attack the remnants of the shield wall, the will of the Federation column broke. Some soldiers shoved their swords into the ground and knelt while others broke from the column and ran. Before high sun, the battle was over, and the task turned to corralling the prisoners and discussing what was to be done with them.

Grand General Kyrga walked into the emperor’s office and closed the door. He bowed respectfully and approached the desk. The emperor looked up with annoyance.

“What is it, Kyrga?” Emperor Jaar asked.

“There has been a flurry of messages today,” Kyrga reported. “None of them are good.”

“Perhaps a new Grand General would change that,” scowled the emperor. “Speak.”

“We received a message from King Alden of Aerta,” Kyrga began.

“King Alden?” interrupted the emperor. “What are you talking about? Alden never returned from Alcea.”

“According to the message,” frowned Grand General Kyrga, “he has returned. Worse, he has sent notice that Aerta has withdrawn from the Federation.”

“What?” shouted the emperor. “I do not care who Alden thinks he is, but he is not drawing Aerta out of the Federation. This is someone’s idea of a joke, and I want that person found and hanged.”

“It is no joke,” stated Kyrga. “I also received a message from a spy in Giza. He confirms that Alden has been coronated. He also states that the Alceans and Occans were welcomed into the city. In fact, King Arik was among those visiting the city. There was no battle for Giza.”

Emperor Jaar frowned deeply and stared at the Grand General. “What of the thirty thousand men sent to crush the Occans?” he asked.

“There are three messages concerning them,” answered Kyrga. “Two of the messages were from General Larus. The first indicated that a battle had begun on the Coastal Highway of Aerta. The second message indicated a total loss of our armies.”

“How is this possible?” asked the emperor. “The Occans were outnumbered.”

“Not exactly,” replied Kyrga. “The third message was from King Harold of Ertak.”

“So Harowin died?” questioned the emperor.

“He did,” nodded Kyrga, “just as you predicted. The message stated that King Harold is withdrawing Ertak from the Federation. As such, he chose not to send the 11
^th
Corps north to fight at Giza. He also strongly stated that Federation troops are no longer welcome within the boundaries of Ertak.”

“That insolent pup,” shouted the emperor. “If he thinks that he can dictate terms to me, he is sadly mistaken. I want you to send the armies from Valdo to restore the Federation in Ertak. They are to hang King Harold and anyone who supports him.”

The door to the emperor’s office flew open and Colonel Taerin bowed quickly before ushering in a young officer. The emperor glared at the colonel as a captain stepped into the room and bowed respectfully.

“What is the meaning of this intrusion, Colonel?” Grand General Kyrga demanded.

“The situation is urgent, Grand General,” Colonel Taerin replied. “I would not interrupt otherwise. I will let Captain Sevard explain.”

“The city is surrounded by elves,” the captain declared. “And they are hostile.”

Emperor Jaar and Grand General Kyrga glanced at one another with puzzled expressions.

“Explain yourself, Captain,” demanded Grand General Kyrga, “and leave nothing out.”

“About an hour ago,” the captain began, “a lone elf walked out of the woods and stood staring up at the western gates. One of the men recognized him as King Elengal, the old elven king who came into the city periodically. A sergeant sent out four men to arrest the elf and bring him before you. When the four soldiers approached King Elengal, arrows streaked out of the forest. All four men died. The sergeant was incensed. He ordered his entire squad out through the gates to take revenge on the elves. Hundreds of arrows flew out of the forest. Not one of the men made it more then ten paces away from our wall. I observed this slaughter, and I was not about to let the matter sit. I formed up my entire company, but I was not about to be foolish enough to do what the elves thought I would do. I rode the men through the city and exited through the northern gates to attack the elves from behind. As soon as the last of my one hundred men had cleared the gates, the arrows began flying. Thousands of arrows flew into my men. In an instant, the entire company was murdered.”

“Obviously not the entire company,” scowled the Grand General. “You are, after all, standing before us.”

“That is the strangest part of it,” frowned the young officer. “Not a single arrow was aimed at me. For a moment, I sat there in shock, but nothing happened. They could have killed me easily,” the captain said, his voice quaking as he relived the moment. “Instead, they let me turn around and reenter the city. I have no idea why.”

“They are sending a message,” declared Colonel Taerin, “and you are that message.”

“What do you mean, Colonel?” asked the emperor.

“The elves are telling us that we are confined to this city,” answered Colonel Taerin. “For whatever reason, they will not allow us to leave Despair.”

“Despair has twenty-five thousand soldiers in it,” scoffed the Grand General. “There couldn’t be one tenth that many elves out there. Stop speaking nonsense.”

“They would be slaughtered trying to storm this city,” retorted Colonel Taerin, “but twenty-five hundred archers could cover two gates easily enough.”

“You would expect elves to best us by ten to one?” scowled Kyrga. “Preposterous.”

“They wouldn’t have to,” countered Colonel Taerin. “First off, we would never send all of our men out of the city. The most we would send would be ten thousand. That reduces the odds to four to one. Also, we could not present all of those ten thousand men to the enemy at one time. Our own gates would restrict us. Plus, the enemy has the cover of the forest, while our men would be in the open. It is a stalemate,” the colonel declared. “The elves cannot successfully attack us, but neither can we effectively attack them. The problem that I have is that I cannot conceive of what good their plan will accomplish. We can always move men in and out of the city by sea.”

The emperor and Grand General exchanged worried looks. Colonel Taerin noticed and frowned deeply.

“What is it that I do not understand?” the colonel asked.

“The ships in the harbor can no longer access the Sea of Tears,” stated the emperor. “The entrance to the harbor is clogged up with kelp.”

“Kelp can be cut,” frowned Colonel Taerin.

“We have tried that,” scowled Grand General Kyrga. “It grows faster than we can cut it. As soon as a crew cuts part way through, the kelp replenishes, and the boat is stuck in the middle of the bed.”

The room fell silent as each of the men tried to think of a way around the current predicament. Eventually, the emperor grew irritated with the silence.

“Well, Kyrga?” he scowled. “What is my Grand General going to do about this situation?”

Grand General Kyrga shook his head. He wanted to go ask Lord Kommoron what to do, but he had been forbidden to contact the Master.

“I suppose we could attack at night when the elves are sleeping,” he suggested weakly.

“That won’t work,” Colonel Taerin shook his head. “I would wager that the elves are sleeping in position, and they no doubt will maintain sentries. Their archers could be at full strength within minutes, and our men would still be struggling to get through the gates.”

“Well what would you do, Taerin?” snapped Kyrga.

“I would like to think on it more,” mused the colonel, “but my first thought would be to bring other armies into Barouk. They could work their way through the Bloodwood and come up behind the elves. If they were quiet enough to get close to our walls before engaging the elves, our local armies could then surge out of the gates and catch the elves between our two forces.”

Emperor Jaar raised and eyebrow and smiled at the colonel. “An excellent idea,” he remarked. “Kyrga, send a message to Valdo. Have the 16
^th
Corps and the 35
^th
Corps set out for Despair immediately. It is time to teach the elves a lesson.”

“Both armies?” balked the Grand General. “King Samuel will not care for that, and we hardly need both of them. Just the 35
^th
Corps alone would do. Besides, that would leave Valdo defenseless against the Occan army heading south.”

“The Occan army is precisely why I want both armies in Despair,” retorted the emperor. “There is more at stake here than just some elves. Spino and Barouk are all that’s left of the Federation. I will not be foolish enough to split our armies in half to defend both countries. King Samuel will have to stand on his own. Don’t you see? That is precisely why the elves have us surrounded. It stops us from sending troops to Valdo to defend Spino. The elves seek to keep us in this city until the Occans arrive. I will not fall for that. Gather all of our troops to Despair, and do it now.”

Grand General Kyrga bowed and rushed out of the room. Colonel Taerin and the captain also bowed, and the colonel started to escort the captain out of the room when the emperor called him back. Taerin sent the captain on his way and returned to stand before the emperor.

“You have a clever mind, Colonel,” smiled the emperor. “I may have need of your counsel in the future. What is your name?”

“Taerin,” replied the colonel. “May I ask what happened in Aerta and Ertak to remove them from the Federation?”

“King Anator and King Harowin were assassinated,” answered the emperor. “Their sons foolishly withdrew from the Federation. I suspect that the Occans pressured them. Those two cowards will be dealt with later. Right now we stand alone in preserving the Federation. I may need your help in designing the proper path to victory. Arrange your schedule so that you will be available whenever I need you.”

“I am at your service,” declared the colonel as he bowed once again.

Emperor Jaar waved dismissively, and Colonel Taerin withdrew from the office. Wanting to be alone to think about what he had learned, the colonel left the palace and walked to the bench overlooking the harbor. He was there for only a few minutes before a familiar voice caused him to start.

“I am glad to see that you keep my bench in use,” smiled General Forshire.

Colonel Taerin stared in amazement as General Forshire walked closer and sat on the bench alongside him.

“How did you enter the city?” he asked. “We are surrounded by twenty-five hundred elves.”

“Not true,” smiled Clint. “You are surrounded by sixteen thousand elves.”