“These people have true honor, Kolling,” scowled General Somma. “They do not use the word as a ploy to get something they want. You would be wise to deal with them honorably, no matter what you eventually decide is the correct path for the 9th Corps.”
“Where is General Franz?” asked General Gertz. “What happened to your teams?”
“Franz is dead,” answered General Somma. “The Alceans built a dam since our scouts were here last fall. They destroyed it when the 4th Corps and 18th Corps were most vulnerable. The flood ruined our armies in an instant. We lost five-thousand men before it was over, but we would have lost three times that if the Alceans had not rescued the survivors.”
“Even if you only had a quarter of your men left,” retorted General Kolling, “you could have fought on.”
“We could have,” replied General Somma, “for maybe a few minutes at most. The Alceans had the river lined with archers. Our men had to toss their swords and shields just to stay afloat. There was no possible contest, Gertz. They had us, and they had us good. I am grateful that the Alceans saved as many of our men as they did. If that means that I remain their prisoner, so be it. I will not dishonor my surrender.”
“Then you will hang as a traitor when I take Ongchi,” warned General Kolling.
“Then I will hang,” shrugged General Somma. “I am not fearful of you, Kolling. One side or the other will wish me dead for the choices I have made, but I am at peace with my decisions. Fifteen-thousand young Zarans are alive today because I surrendered. The Alceans have promised to repatriate them, and I believe them. Besides, you will never take Ongchi, Kolling. I have seen what these Alceans are made of, and you will never survive long enough to march your army to Ongchi.”
“Ruppert?” General Gertz asked before General Kolling could respond to Somma’s statements. “What happened to Team Elmor?”
“The Alceans laid a trap for us,” answered the Ertakan general. “There is a section of the road between Elmor and Ongchi that runs along the base of a high cliff. The Alceans call it Hun-lo Heights. The Lanoirians ran a pipeline along that strip of road and sent oil down to cover several leagues of the road. They ignited it while our armies were on it. We had no choice but to leap into the sea. Even then we were not safe. They had enough oil to keep the road burning for days, and they had a huge navy bearing down on us with catapults. We had the choice of surrendering or dying.”
“Couldn’t you have fought your way out?” growled General Kolling. “Fighting is what armies do these days.”
“They had archers on the cliffs and on both ends of the trap,” replied General Ruppert. “They had almost as many men as we did, and they had every field advantage one could imagine. Fighting was not an option, Kolling, and don’t even try to call me a coward or a traitor. Had there been even a small sliver of hope, we would have fought, but we were not about to just throw away the lives of our men. There was no point to it.”
General Kolling frowned, not at Ruppert’s justification, but rather at his description of the forces arrayed against them.
“How many men were against you, Somma?” he asked.
“Around five-thousand,” the Spinoan general answered.
“And you, Ruppert?” asked General Kolling.
“Perhaps fifteen-thousand, but that is a rough estimate.”
“That leaves nothing against us,” General Kolling said quietly to General Gertz. “We are being harassed by a small insignificant group. I think it is time to finish them off. Let’s get back to the column.”
Without so much as a farewell, the two generals of Team Barouk turned and walked away. General Kolling untied the reins of the horse he had ridden to the parley and swung up onto the saddle, but the horse refused to turn at his command. The general growled under his breath and dug his spurs into the horse, but the result was far different than he had expected. The creature reared up in an attempt to dislodge its rider, but General Kolling hung on tightly. The beast brought its forelegs back to the ground and bucked severely. General Kolling was tossed to the ground, and the unicorn’s horn suddenly appeared. The unicorn turned quickly and lowered its head, its sharp, spiraled horn pointing directly at the general’s chest. General Kolling’s eyes widened in disbelief as a voice sounded in his mind.
You ride by invitation only, Zaran, and no invitation has been offered. Should you ever repeat your vicious behavior, I will drag your body along the road until there is nothing left of it.
The Baroukan general stared up at the unicorn, fear and confusion distorting the features of his face.
“Perhaps it is better that you walk back to your column,” Rut-ki said with a slight smile as she approached the group. “It will give you both time to reflect on my offer of food and safety for your men in return for their surrender.”
General Gertz dropped the reins he had been holding as if they had suddenly burned his hand. General Kolling slowly slid backwards until the unicorn’s horn was no longer threatening his chest. He rose and backed away, never taking his eyes off the unicorn. When the two generals had backed up to the protective squad, they turned and walked swiftly towards the column.
* * * *
Three humans and two elves stood in the middle of the Mya-Tagaret Road.
“This is where they will camp tonight,” declared Prince Garong. “They have been setting up the tents in the middle of the road and spreading the camp out around them.”
Alexander Tork turned slowly until he had completed an entire circle. He nodded with satisfaction.
“What is your plan?” asked Princess Rhula. “Maybe we can aid you in some way.”
“I have come to assassinate General Fortella,” answered Alex. “Jenneva and Theos will be magically assisting me. I mean no offense to the Elderal, but I think it might be better if your people were not involved in this. Things are going to be very chaotic tonight, and it is always hard to predict what the enemy will do under such circumstances.”
“We will not interfere,” stated Prince Garong, “but we will not be far away, either. Why only General Fortella? Would it not be better to cut off the heads of both generals?”
“No.” Alex shook his head. “Killing them both would allow a colonel to step up and seize command, and there are too many of them unknown to our people. We cannot risk uncertainty at this point. General Whitman is our preferred leader for Team Mya. He will not be killed.”
“I am not so quick to refuse the help of the elves,” stated Jenneva. “While they may not be able to infiltrate the camp as you can, Theos and I could use their protection. It will be nearly impossible for us to observe all portions of the camp at the same time, and our concentration will be needed to focus on small parts of it.”
“Then protect you we will,” Prince Garong said with a smile. “Where will you be when the chaos starts?”
“We are undecided,” answered Jenneva. “We have looked at the area from the air, but we were unsure of the location of the tents. We will need a place with some elevation that affords us a view of as much of the camp as possible.”
“And not too far away,” interjected Theos as he nodded towards a hill to the north. “That hill is worth investigating.”
“Let us go and investigate it,” suggested Prince Garong. “The advance scouts will be arriving in a couple of hours. We will have to be prepared by then.”
The two human mages and the elven Knight of Alcea mounted their unicorns and flew away, leaving the elven princess and Alex alone on the road.
“How will you enter the camp?” asked Princess Rhula.
“I won’t enter it,” Alex replied with a slight smile as he rummaged in his pack for the Federation uniform that he had used before. “I will already be here. My problem will be getting out. Excuse me while I change clothes.”
Alex walked into the woods and returned wearing the uniform of a Federation colonel.