The Scarlet King (36 page)

Jason responded, "My offer is a peace
agreement, which includes those of the Red and a single shipment of
the Sacred Water from the royal spring, in exchange for the
services of your scholar for as long as he shall live."

The commanding officer still had a puzzled
look on his face, but responded, "I would agree to these terms, but
how do we implement them?"

Jason said, "We will meet with those of the
Red on the morrow and order a cease-fire, which will begin on the
day following the morrow. Negotiations can begin as soon as the
cease-fire is implemented, but I would expect language difficulties
will make the negotiations somewhat tenuous, for I know not how to
write in your language."

The commanding officer responded, "My troops
will honor the cease-fire beginning at the rising of the sun on the
day following the morrow." He added, "The scholar has been learning
to read the language of those of the Red from captured work. He
will assist us."

As the discussion continued, Heather seemed
to be drawn ever more into her small campfire and said not. Betty
had slipped back into the darkness behind Heather and had let the
Spirits of the Forest fill her with images from the minds of the
scholar and the commanding officer. Heather could perceive these
images in only a vague form, but it was enough to give her an image
of their thoughts. She sensed great conflict in the images Betty
was projecting of the commanding officer whenever he discussed the
scholar who traveled with them. As the discussion was finishing,
Heather spoke again, saying, "I would the scholar who travels with
you pledge his allegiance and services to my people."

When her words were translated, the
commanding officer’s face flushed ever so slightly and Betty could
sense anger, which she transmitted to Heather. Heather but looked
straight into the eyes of the commanding officer and ignored his
words. His eyes told her that he had planned otherwise and was not
yet willing to comply. She spoke again, saying, "The cease-fire
will not begin until I have received his pledge."

On hearing the translation, the flushing of
the commanding officer’s face increased but for once he said not.
Those from the East conferred amongst themselves, and this time the
scholar spoke up, saying, "I will pledge my allegiance to your
people and willingly give you my services, but I wish to maintain
my personal devotion to our God."

Heather looked intently into his eyes and
also received from Betty an image which seemed honest. She replied,
"I accept your services and allegiance for my people." She then
added, "We have much planning yet to do. I would meet again on the
day following the morrow just after the sunset. One of the Forest
will again guide you to the meeting place."

Jason exchanged some formal pleasantries with
those of the East and they stood to leave, but Heather remained
seated and just stared into her fire. She moved not until others of
the Forest reported that those of the East had truly departed,
following their guide back to their camp. Only then did Heather
look up at Jason and ask, "Do you trust the commitment they have
made?"

Jason chewed on his lower lip and said not
for some time before replying, "In their own way they are honorable
people, but their sense of honor differs from ours. It seems the
commanding officer had other ideas for the scholar and was most
unhappy with your request." He then added, "I would expect the
scholar to honor his commitment to you, but also fear that if given
the opportunity he would return to his own people with as much
knowledge of our peoples as he could gather. We may not want those
of the East to have that much knowledge of our cities and
peoples."

Heather asked, "Your advice?"

"It may be best if the scholar returned with
you to the Forest where the Spirits of the Forest could watch over
him. I would he lived in my kingdom, for there is much that I could
learn, but our borders are much too porous."

Heather arose and began kicking dirt on to
the campfire as a signal that it was time to depart. She said no
more during the long ride back to their camp. Dawn was but a few
hours away when she finally climbed into the tent to the sound of
Daniel’s gentle snoring. Her mind seemed more at rest and she was
able to sleep well for a few hours. She completed the morning
ritual with Betty and they joined the others for the breaking of
the fast. She told those of the Forest what had transpired.
Messengers were then sent out to those of the Red.

Heather spent the day in quiet reflection
while Daniel continued to work with his alchemy. The young priest
was assisting him, for even though he knew nothing of alchemy his
memory of the scrolls in the Cave of Knowledge contained much
information. It was early afternoon and Heather was again preparing
to leave to meet with those of the Red. She interrupted Daniel and
asked, "Have you any information I need to share with those of the
Red?"

Daniel began a discussion of many different
tests he had run on the water from the Sacred Spring, but Heather's
eyes wandered off, for she understood not his alchemy. She finally
interrupted him again, asking, "Have you figured out what the
yellow crystals are?"

Daniel looked up from the bubbling solution
he had been stirring and said, "I think it is the substance called
arsenic. From the scrolls the young priest read, it is a slow
poison if taken in excess amounts. It appears someone has been
concentrating the water of the royal spring, which may have caused
the Scarlet King's illness."

Heather asked, "If the water contains a
poison, should anyone be drinking it?"

Daniel replied, "The small amounts given to
the citizens of the city seems not to affect them, but does supply
them with enough iodine to prevent harm to their babies. The amount
the Scarlet King has been getting may explain his illness."

Heather gave him a quick kiss and left to
join the others for the meeting with those of the Red. They
traveled as before but somewhat faster, with Jeremy again going
ahead and picking out a meeting place. The complaints from Jason
were the same as the night before about his dislike of riding a
horse. Jeremy replied, "Happy to let you run along with us instead
of riding."

Jason put his hand on Rheon's shoulder and
replied, "This one runs enough for both of us. Some are built for
travel, others of us are not."

The campfire was lit again as those of the
Forest secured the area and then hid themselves amongst the
boulders. One of the Forest waited outside the secret gate and
guided the commander of the Red and the envoy to the campsite. They
greeted Jason and Heather, but Heather responded not other than
simply saying, "We have much to discuss and plan." Heather still
had difficulty understanding those of the Red when they spoke
rapidly and depended upon Jason to translate.

Jason described their meeting of the evening
before and the proposed trade. The commander of the Red said little
other than, "Those of the East have assumed a purely defensive
posture but fight to the death in every battle. It will be quite
costly to completely eliminate them and their ships in the
harbor."

The envoy was more circumspect and seemed
very interested in the discussion of the pledge of allegiance and
service from the scholar. He wondered why the affirmation to
devotion of their God was so important. Rheon had been in the
darkness behind Jason; she spoke up, saying, "Those you refer to as
being from the East tolerate no other gods but their own. When they
conquered my people you either accepted their God and customs or
you were violently and quickly eliminated." Her speech was as those
of the Red as she had learned from Jason.

The envoy and the commander of the Red simply
stared at this woman of darkness before finally asking, "Where is
such a land with people such as yourself?”

Rheon had some difficulty understanding the
question and Jason spoke for her. "She is from a land far to the
south; we rescued her from one of the black ships. She knows much
of those from the East."

The discussion then centered on the proposed
cease-fire and peace agreement. The notification of all the
different military units and acceptance by the Scarlet King and his
council were the major issues. As the meeting was coming to an end,
Heather remembered her discussion with Daniel about the royal
spring.

She said, "Our healer says your royal spring
contains some of the power of our Sacred Water, but is also a slow
poison which if taken in large amounts will be gradually fatal. The
water your Scarlet King drinks is highly concentrated and the slow
poison may be responsible for his illness."

The envoy had many questions, but Heather had
told them all she knew and but reminded them of Betty's warning.
She did ask who was responsible for concentrating the water of the
royal spring. The envoy replied, "My cousin accepted the
responsibility of making sure the King’s water was pure, but I know
not how he concentrated the water."

As was her custom, Heather simply sat by the
fire as those of the Red prepared to depart. She spoke up, saying,
"I would you check with your scholars and healers about the use of
the concentrated water. It would seem that perhaps preparing a
concentrated water of the royal spring to your King may not have
been accidental."

The envoy stared at her as the realization
set in that someone, possibly his cousin, was purposefully
poisoning their King. He said only, "I will check."

As those of the Red departed so did those of
the Forest, but not back to their base camp near the sea but rather
to a camp along the river about halfway to the battlefield where
those of the East were positioned. Heather slept the rest of the
night by herself, but her dreams were of their small home in the
Forest and of her son. The breaking of the fast was later than
usual, for all needed the rest. The scouts were busy patrolling the
area but those in the camp had a day of forced rest.

As evening approached, word was brought that
the west gate had been opened and a carriage was headed out.
Heather instructed the scouts to guide the carriage to the proposed
meeting site amongst the boulders atop the bank of the river.
Another of the Forest left for their meeting place of two days
prior to guide those of the East to the new meeting site.

Heather and Jason took their time in
traveling to the meeting place and again built their small
campfire. Those of the Red could be heard coming from a long
distance, for their carriage carried much ornament which announced
not only the importance of those aboard but also a warning for all
to give way. The carriage could not navigate amongst the boulders
and those aboard needed to walk the last mile.

Heather sat at the campfire, apparently at
peace, saying not. Jason, however, could not sit still and paced
continuously as he worried about the negotiations. Heather looked
up at him and asked, "Does worrying and pacing make peace?"

Jason could not help but smile as he sat down
and replied, "No, but it seems to help my mind concentrate."

Heather responded, "It may be better to allow
the Spirits of the Forest to guide your mind, but for that to
happen your mind needs to be calm." She turned towards Betty and
asked, "Can you calm Jason's mind so that he can concentrate?"

Betty replied, "I try."

Jason's agitation seemed to gradually calm as
he stared into the small campfire. As his mind calmed, it became
able to visualize the steps required to complete the peace
agreement; he spoke no more but simply watched the flames. He knew
not if he actually heard the others arriving or if somehow Betty
had transmitted their presence to his mind.

Those of the East arrived first and found
Heather sitting as before. She spoke not but simply used her
uplifted hand to invite them to sit at the campfire. They sat
quietly for a few moments before the sound of those of the Red
could be heard arriving. Heather invited them to join on her other
side of the campfire with a simple hand gesture. Jason welcomed
them more formally and introduced those present. He was surprised
to see the one that those of the Forest called the Pet Bird amongst
the delegation of the Red.

The Pet Bird had no sooner settled by the
campfire than he began to complain about meeting in such a
primitive surrounding. A small whiff of smoke from the campfire
shifted his way and he began to cough and sputter and complained
even more. Jason spoke up, saying; "This meeting is at the request
of Heather with the Golden Hair and is held in the open, for that
is the nature of those of the Forest who embrace the night."

The complaining continued despite Jason's
explanation, until Betty stepped forward and simply looked at the
Pet Bird. The images of the giant trees she projected into his mind
immediately stopped the complaining, and she stepped back into the
shadows.

Jason then began the negotiations as he
visualized them. There were as expected many points of disagreement
between those of the East and those of the Red. Heather listened
for some time to the negotiations despite her inability to fully
understand the words being used. It seemed as if the negotiations
were grinding to a halt over what she perceived as trivial points
of disagreement. Looking up from the fire, she said in the tongue
of those of the Forest, "I would have peace amongst our people. If
you wish not to have peace, speak up now or complete the
agreement."

Jason translated her words to both those of
the Red and those of the East. All were quiet for a moment before
the Pet Bird spoke up, saying, "Why would we make peace with those
who have invaded our land? We should crush them now that we have
military advantage." He added emphasis by striking his fist into
his open hand, which conveyed his meaning to those of the East even
though they understood not his words.