General Stemple ignored the bodies of the guards. He moved around the table and knelt next to Ritka’s body to be sure that he was dead. He stared at the bluish tint of the general’s skin and frowned deeply.
“Would you happen to know a Colonel Belasko?” asked General Stemple as he rose to his feet and stared at Tedi.
“I served under him for a time,” Tedi answered with a smirk.
“What are you talking about?” asked Colonel Pierce. “Why bring the deaths of the black-cloaks into this?”
“Because Ritka was killed in the same manner,” answered General Stemple. “His body has the same bluish tint.”
The colonel’s eyes grew wide as he stared at Tedi questioningly. “Who is Belasko really?”
“Another Knight of Alcea,” Tedi answered impatiently. “While I do not mind the questions, I think our time is better spent elsewhere. How will you explain the general’s death?”
For a moment, neither officer spoke then General Stemple walked around to the front of the table and looked at the bodies.
“Where were you when the guards entered the tent?” the general asked.
“In the chair offered to me,” answered Tedi.
“Excellent,” smiled the general. “We told the men that the black-cloaks had died from eating poisonous foods. I doubt that many men believed the story, but that hardly matters. It was the official explanation for the deaths of the black-cloaks, and it will be the official explanation for General Ritka’s demise. These guards,” he continued with a wave at the four bodies, “will be doubly punished, although not severely.”
“Doubly punished?” inquired the colonel.
“Once for attacking an invited guest without provocation,” smiled the general, “and once more for failing to subdue a lone Alcean. I may offer to waive the second punishment out of embarrassment for their performance.”
Tedi chuckled. “Waive both punishments and none of them will speak about what transpired here today. I think you have the situation under control, General. When can Prince Darok expect your surrender?”
“Within the hour,” answered General Stemple. “Colonel Pierce and I have to coordinate things so that we do not have a mutiny in the process. I will provide an escort for your return to the southern exit.”
Tedi looked towards the tent flap and smiled broadly. “I do not think that will be necessary. My people have already become concerned about the length of my stay here.”
The two officers turned towards the flap and gasped when they saw that a black-cloak had been standing silently behind them. They nodded wordlessly as Tedi crossed the room and stepped out of the tent with the black-cloak.
The two Alceans rode silently away from the large command tent. Tedi noticed that while the soldiers were still curious about his presence in the camp, they averted their eyes from the black-cloak. He chuckled inwardly.
“You took a risk coming in after me,” he said softly.
“You would do the same for me,” smiled Natia. “When can we leave to join General Mobami against Team Caldar?”
“As soon as General Stemple surrenders.”
* * * *
Jenneva and Queen Tanya finished up their leisurely morning meal and sat talking to Theos and Balamor about the effectiveness of various spells. When the first rays of sunlight glinted through the forest canopy, Jenneva frowned.
“It is sunrise already,” Jenneva stated. “Why are we not moving south to the next observation post?”
“A good question,” the queen responded anxiously. “Let’s go find out.”
The four mages rose and climbed the hill towards the dugout. When they reached it, they found the king, Alex, Colonel David Jaynes, and Colonel Mitar Vidson talking softly.
“Is something the matter?” asked the queen.
“Neither Bledsoe’s army nor Kozinski’s army have broken camp,” answered King Arik.
“They haven’t even sent out the advance scouts,” added David. “Something strange is going on.”
“It is possible that the loss of their mages has made them hesitant to move before the sun is fully up,” suggested Mitar. “They certainly know that they are now facing more than mere snipers to be used against their foragers. I suspect the four of you hurt them badly yesterday.”
“Have you sent a fairy to investigate?” asked the queen.
King Arik nodded. “Prince Midge went himself. He should be back soon.”
Jenneva frowned. She noticed that Alex was not contributing to the conversation, and that meant that his mind was elsewhere.
“What are you thinking, Alex?” she asked softly.
Alex shook his head as if breaking out of a trance. He looked at Jenneva and smiled sheepishly as if he had just realized that she was there.
“I was thinking that General Bledsoe has shown that he is not a typical Federation general,” stated Alex. “His division of forces to trap game is clever, and he appears more willing than other Federation generals to let his subordinate general exercise near total control over his own army. That means that we might have two large armies to worry about instead of just one.”
“You think they might split up?” asked David.
“I don’t know,” answered Alex. “I was just thinking about what they might do, or more importantly, what we want to make them do. Splitting their armies might help them or hurt them, depending on what we do about it.”
“Whatever we plan to do,” commented Mitar, “we had better start planning it soon. They are only three days from Tagaret.”
“Or longer,” Alex said distractedly.
“What do you mean longer?” asked the king. “They have a schedule to keep.”
“General Bledsoe is not going to destroy his army trying to keep to a schedule,” answered Alex. “He is too smart for that. In fact, I would be willing to wager that his armies do not leave camp today.”
“Why wouldn’t they leave camp?” asked Theos.
“Because we expect them to keep to their schedule,” sighed Alex. “Mitar, you said that the black-cloaks were seen flying in the days before they died. Do you think the Federation was using them only to communicate with the other teams or could they have been spying on your forces as well?”
“I would suspect both,” answered the leader of the Alcean Rangers. “They were careful not to fly low enough to get shot, so their estimates of our forces will not be very good. Our men know how to keep hidden fairly well.”
“You can’t hide four-thousand men and their horses completely,” Alex responded. “General Bledsoe must know that he is facing a force large enough not to be ignored. With the loss of his mages, he will hold up in camp today and send out spies to see what his opposition looks like.”
“And disregard his schedule?” asked the king.
“To a degree,” Alex nodded. “It is possible for him to cover three-days of his schedule in two days. His men will be fed and rested should he need to force march them. In the meantime, he forces us to make a decision. General Fortella and Team Mya are also three days away from Tagaret. If we spend the day here waiting to see what General Bledsoe does, Team Mya will be only two days from Tagaret. It is a clever move.”
“Dastardly clever,” scowled King Arik. “If we leave here to intercept General Fortella, team Miram is free to break camp and continue their march down the Coastal Highway.”
Alex nodded. “General Bledsoe’s problem though is that he still doesn’t know what he is facing outside his camp. How will he know if we have left to confront Team Mya?”
“By sending out scouts,” answered David Jaynes. “It is the only way he will know.”
Prince Midge glided down out of the sky and landed on King Arik’s shoulder.
“The spying mission has been successful,” boasted the fairy prince. “The enemy is building a fort.”
“A fort?” echoed the king.
“A fort,” confirmed Prince Midge. “They are digging trenches and organizing lumbermen to fell trees. You will probably hear the sounds of the axes soon.”