Council of War (3 page)

"I am sure that it is," replied Morro. "We have inflicted a tremendous loss on the Federation. I am sure that the Emperor is screaming for results in the investigation."

"Perhaps this is a bad idea then," Kalina suggested. "Can't we find out what the Federation is up to without entering Giza?"

"We could try another city," replied Morro, "but the information on troop movements would not be as accurate. If we must pull our people out of Aranak, we need to know exactly what the Federation is up to. That requires a trip into Giza. If you think it is unsafe for all of us to enter, I will go alone."

"No," balked Natia. "I want to see what one of these reeducation centers look like. If we do get the chance to free the elven children, we will need to know exactly what we are up against."

"Morro was raised in one," retorted Tedi. "Surely he knows what to expect."

"Actually," Morro smiled thinly, "Natia is correct. I have only seen the inside of the reeducation center in Despair. Each one of them will be different."

"We could send a fairy to map the interior," suggested Kalina. "That would be much safer."

"No," Garth sighed as he lowered the scope and placed it in his pack. "Any sighting of a fairy right now would bring the entire Federation down upon us. We must keep them out of sight." Turning to the elf, he asked, "Will they open the gates to admit us?"

"They will gladly admit anyone," replied the thief, "but they will question you much more than they have before. Getting out might be another problem," he added.

"We will deal with that when the time comes," Garth stated. "Kalina and I will peruse the wharves of the city and try to find out what the sailors know. Tedi and Natia can visit some of the lesser common rooms and see what the soldiers are talking about in their free time. Morro, you check with the thieves of the city. We will all meet at the Palace Keep Inn at dusk."

"What about the reeducation center?" pressed the gypsy princess.

"If you can find a safe way into it," Garth responded, "it is permissible, but I urge caution. If the city is closed down as tightly as it appears, I doubt they will take kindly to visitors. I do not want to fight our way out of the city."

"It might raise questions if I ride into the city with the four of you," declared Morro. "I don't think anyone would take me for a special agent of the merchant Mercado. You go on ahead, and I will follow in a bit."

Garth glanced at the thief curiously, but he nodded and led the humans out of the forest. The gate guards noticed them the moment they were clear of the trees, and Garth felt curious eyes fall upon him. As the four riders approached the closed gate, a squad of soldiers gathered to greet them. An officer stared at each of the riders before demanding that they all dismount.

"Where are you coming from?" inquired the officer.

"Olansk," Garth answered as he handed a paper to the officer.

The officer took the paper and stared at it. He glanced up at the newcomers several times before nodding his head and handing the paper back to Garth.

"Not sure I know what a special agent of Sidney Mercado is," grunted the officer. "Should I be impressed?"

"That is up to you," shrugged Garth. "We negotiate the sale of precious items for Sidney Mercado."

"All four of you?" questioned the officer.

"I am the special agent," replied Garth as he nodded at Tedi, "but I like the safety of having another man at my back. On this journey we have brought our wives along. Is there a problem?"

"I'm sure even in Olansk they have heard about our problems," scoffed the officer. "How long have you been on the road not to have heard the news?"

"Oh," Garth said with a taut smile. "Do you mean the loss of the fleet? That was quite some time ago, wasn't it? Haven't you caught those responsible yet?"

The officer raised an eyebrow, wondering if Garth's words were meant as a taunt. He eventually decided that he didn't want to know the answer. He already had to suffer through a daily berating for the failure to find those responsible for the attack. He didn't need to start arguing with strangers about the matter.

"Did you see many people on the Zinbar Trail?" he asked. "Any large groups? Any elves?"

"No," Garth replied. "This trip was rather quiet thankfully."

The officer nodded in satisfaction. He called for the gates to be opened as he stepped out of the way. The Knights of Alcea led their horses through the gates before mounting them and riding to the stables of the Palace Keep Inn. The two couples immediately split up and went their separate ways.

Garth and Kalina strolled through the city streets to the waterfront. It was too early in the day for the common rooms that catered to sailors to be very busy, so they walked along the wharves to the area where the huge shipbuilding yards were. Garth gazed in wonder at the four large ships being built.

"The streets are rather empty," Kalina commented. "Much more so than the last time we were here. What do you suppose it means?"

When Garth didn't answer, Kalina followed his gaze. She frowned in confusion.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"I am not sure," frowned Garth. "If you were planning an invasion by sea and just lost a hundred warships, what would your shipyards be building?"

"More warships?" asked Kalina.

"Exactly," nodded Garth, "yet the Federation is building cargo ships. Look."

"They look a lot like the Remora," Kalina agreed, "but Giza is not the only city that builds ships."

"It is the center of Zaran shipbuilding," retorted Garth. "Even if it wasn't, would you waste the labor on cargo ships when you desperately needed warships?"

"Perhaps their scheduled attack is not as close as we suspected," offered Kalina. "Or maybe they have abandoned the idea of attacking Alcea. Maybe we have dashed their hopes."

"Maybe," Garth said in disbelief as he backed into the shadows in the mouth of an alley and pulled his scope out of his pack. He raised the scope to his eye as Kalina joined him in the shadows.

"What are you looking for?" asked Kalina.

"I don't know," Garth admitted, "but I will know it when I see it. Let's take a walk down by the long pier."

Garth hid the scope as the couple left the alley and began walking along the quay. As they passed the smaller fishing docks, a dark gray blur dashed into an alley. Garth ran to the mouth of the alley, but by the time that he got there, it was empty.

"What was that all about?" questioned Kalina when she caught up to her husband.

"I think it was Smokey," frowned Garth. "If it was, he has seen better days. I could see his ribs."

"Poor dog," remarked Kalina. "You should not have abandoned him when we left here. I bet he hasn't had a decent meal in months."

"I didn't abandon him," snapped Garth. "He ran away. Besides, I don't own him. From the day we first met, he has always come and gone as he pleased."

"We will look for him later," Kalina promised. "The least we can do is give him some food to eat."

The couple walked on in stony silence. While his eyes continued to take everything in, Garth's mind remained focused on the dog. His denial of responsibility rang true to even his own ears, but the truth didn't ease his ill feelings. Smokey had always been independent and did whatever he wanted, but Garth could not shake a sense of shame about having failed to leave the dog in Alcea.

"Garth," Kalina said softly as she touched his hand.

Garth pushed Smokey from his mind and watched the men marching out onto the long pier. The men maintained an obvious military bearing and marched in formation, but their clothes appeared to be that of fisherman and hunters. Garth pulled Kalina's hand and eased into an alley. The two Knights of Alcea watched the column of men march along the pier until they boarded a cargo ship at the far end. Garth retrieved his scope once more and brought it to his eyes. He studied the ship for several minutes before handing the scope to Kalina. The mage used the scope to survey the ship and the men that had just boarded it. When she was done, she tried to hand it back to Garth, but he refused to take it.

"Tell me what you saw?" he asked softly.

"The ship is identical to the Remora," Kalina replied. "The men are obviously soldiers. I think the Federation is still sending ships to Alcea."

"Correct on all three counts," nodded Garth. "What else?"

Kalina frowned puzzlingly and brought the scope back to her eye.

"I see no K'san, if that is what you are suggesting," she said.

"Look at the packages on the dock," hinted Garth. "There are three of them yet to be loaded."

"I see them," stated Kalina. "What about them?"

"They don't seem familiar to you in any way?" probed Garth.

"Even with the scope, I cannot see the contents," answered Kalina. "They are two to three times longer than wide and not very deep at all. What do you think they are?"

"Doors," declared Garth. "Magical Doors. You may not have ever seen them wrapped like that before, but I have. When I was sent to assassinate the Sultan of Sordoa, we had a Door shipped to Trekum in advance. It looked identical to those packages on the pier."

Kalina gasped as she brought the scope to her eye again. She focused on the packages for several minutes before returning the scope to Garth.

"While I can see why you are alarmed," she frowned, "there could be almost anything in those packages. What are the odds that the Zarans are capable of creating an ancient magic that even I do not understand?"

"I know nothing about the odds," replied Garth, "but I do know that such Doors exist, and I know that they are capable of transporting large armies over vast distances. It also seems that the Federation is making no attempt to rebuild their fleet of warships. That suggests to me that they have an alternative plan to get their troops to Alcea."

"We must know for sure," Kalina declared. "Have Bitsy inspect the packages."

"Even one as small as her could not inspect those packages on the pier without being seen," Garth shook his head. "Besides, I have a better idea."

Garth stuck his finger into his breast pocket and stirred the fairy to life. Bitsy stuck her tiny blue head out and yawned.

"You have a mission for me?" the fairy chirped.

"A short one," smiled Garth. "I need a fairy to return to Alcea."

"We cannot fly that far," frowned Bitsy. "My wings would grow tired before I was halfway there."

"Not you," smiled Garth. "I am thinking of sending Squirt, and she will be traveling by ship. Her wings will not get tired."

"Squirt has not been seen for weeks," frowned Bitsy. "She is searching the Sea of Tears for Captain Gomery."

"I am afraid that Captain Gomery is dead," Kalina said soothingly.

"That is what I told Squirt, but she insists on searching until she finds his body," replied the blue fairy. "Fairies do not abandon their missions for any reason. She will search for the captain until she finds him."

"Send Runt," suggested Kalina. "He knows everything we have learned so far, and he can report to King Arik when he arrives in Alcea."

"Very well," nodded Garth as he pointed to the ship at the end of the pier. "That ship is going to Alcea," he said to the fairy. "I want Runt to hide on it. He is not to be seen by anyone until he reaches Alcea and then he is to report to the Bringer personally."

"I will see that your order is carried out," saluted the fairy.

"One more thing," Garth said before the fairy departed. "If possible, I would like to know the contents of those packages waiting to be loaded on the ship. It is too dangerous to do now, but once the ship is underway, a fairy should be able to access them privately. That will require an additional fairy to accompany Runt until we learn what is in the packages."

"We think they may be magical Doors," clarified Kalina. "If they are, both King Arik and we have to know about it."

"I will send Peanut with Runt," promised Bitsy, "but Peanut will only have until the ship leaves sight of land before returning to us."

"They will have five days before the ship leaves the Sea of Tears," nodded Garth. "Get them ready and then return to me."

The fairy saluted again and then darted into the sky.

"If the Zarans do have portals," frowned Kalian, "that will change things drastically."

"Indeed," agreed Garth. "There will be no advance notice by seeing the ships on the horizon. There will be no guarantee that the attacks will even occur along the west coast of Alcea. The Federation could set up Doors all over Alcea. It would be devastating to any defense Arik is arranging. They could even have Doors inside our major cities."

"Let's get away from here," suggested Kalina. "Someone is bound to ask why we are hiding in the alley. Let's try to find Smokey while we ponder about portals."

Garth nodded silently and led the way out of the alley. The Knights of Alcea move through the streets of Giza in a random roaming fashion as they each dwelled on the implications of what they had seen. After an hour of walking, Kalina gasped softly as they neared a corner. Garth looked up and saw a feeble man hobbling along the street. Kalina was about to call his name when Garth pulled her back around the corner.

"That was Tyroma," she said to Garth.

"I know," Garth whispered. "Further along the street were four soldiers watching him."

"The soldiers are watching everyone in this city," frowned Kalina. "Why do these four disturb you?"

"I am not sure," Garth admitted, "but they do disturb me. Their gaze did not appear to be mere curiosity. I think they were following Tyroma."

"Why?" questioned Kalina. "Do you think they suspect he was involved in the attack on the fleet? That is ridiculous. They would have him in a cell."

"Yet Giza is a far distance from where the fleet sunk," stated Garth. "Judging from Tyroma's condition, he did not swim here."

"Alright," conceded Kalina, "but he could have been rescued by a ship. How would they know that he was not one of those assigned to be aboard the fleet?"

"A valid question," Garth replied. "Let's follow him until we can speak to him alone. Just in case?"