“It would not gain us new horses,” General Gertz agreed, “but rather than hang them, I would suggest dragging them here for our cavalry to handle as they see fit.”
“It would provide some entertainment for the troops,” chuckled General Kolling, “but I have to keep my mind focused on our objective. I will not waste the energy of our horses by sending anyone back to the farm unless it is necessary. Should I have need to send another report to General Tauman, those treasonous men will pay for their greed.”
* * * *
The unicorns glided through the evening sky and silently set down not far from the farm northwest of Barouk. Bin-lu glanced at Rut-ki and spoke softly.
“Let me do the talking, but have a couple of Lanoirian stars ready to fly.”
“You do not think that they will surrender peacefully?” asked Rut-ki.
“Why should they?” Bin-lu replied. “If they can get rid of us, they can flee to Camp Destiny through the Door, and we certainly cannot allow that. Camp Destiny must not be alerted to our knowledge of the portals. When I halt near the farmhouse, I want you to ride a little further towards the barn. Do not let them reach the portal.”
Rut-ki nodded silently and the two Knights of Alcea rode onward. A few minutes later, they approached the farmhouse. The door immediately opened and a man walked out onto the porch. Bin-lu waited anxiously for the second man to appear, but the door shut, and the lone farmer stood alone on the porch.
“We don’t want any visitors,” scowled the farmer. “We have no rooms to let, nor food to share. Turn around and be on your way.”
Bin-lu halted not far from the porch, but Rut-ki continued towards the barn. The farmer noticed this with great alarm.
“Stop right there!” he shouted angrily. “I said that we don’t want any visitors.”
Bin-lu’s eyes scanned the farmhouse and the grounds around it, seeking the location of the second farmer, but he saw no one other than the farmer on the porch.
“We are not looking for a place to stay,” Bin-lu said calmly as he slid off his horse, “nor are we hungry. In fact, we have come to take a census for the governor. Lanoir will be instituting a tax in the near future, and we need to know the number of people living on this farm.”
“What tax?” scowled the farmer. “I haven’t heard anything about a tax. You two thieves get out of here right now, or we will tax your hearts with the steel of our blades.”
Bin-lu knew at that moment that the other farmer was hidden somewhere, waiting to pounce upon them, but he still had no idea where. His body tensed like a coiled spring before he spoke.
“Actually,” he said with a deceptively calm voice, “it is only a tax on members of the Federation. Where is your partner?”
The sound of a bowstring snapped, but Bin-lu had been half expecting it. He immediately dove to the ground and released one of his stars at the farmer on the porch. The Lanoirian star struck the Zaran in the chest and the farmer fell down the stairs. Even though he had anticipated trouble and reacted quickly, the arrow still managed to slice open the skin of his shoulder.
Rut-ki reacted as soon as she heard the snap. The archer was above her, hiding in the loft of the barn. She was still sitting on her unicorn when the arrow was fired, but she leaped up and stood on the unicorn’s back. The martial arts instructor quickly bent her knees and leaped upward again, hoping the hidden archer was not releasing another arrow at that very moment. As the loft opening came into view, Rut-ki’s arm streaked out, sending a Lanoirian star flying from her hand. She heard a startled scream as her body reached the peak of her jump and began falling back towards the ground. One of her feet hit the back of the unicorn, but the other did not. The Knight of Alcea pushed off the unicorn and dropped the other Lanoirian star as she prepared to cushion her fall. As her body slammed into the ground, she was vaguely aware of Bin-lu running past her. Rut-ki rolled three times before jumping to her feet, just in case the archer was taking aim. She raced into the barn and started to climb a ladder to the loft, but Bin-lu’s shout halted her.
“He’s dead,” called Bin-lu. “Nice throw. You got him in the face.”
Rut-ki sighed with relief and dropped to the floor of the barn. Bin-lu joined her a moment later.
“This was sloppy,” frowned Rut-ki. “We have been neglecting our practice, and it shows.”
“There is little time for practice when every day brings true danger,” retorted Bin-lu. “Let’s get the Door and get out of here. We still have much to accomplish tonight.”
Bin-lu searched for an ax and finally found one. He carried the ax to the magical Door, but he had no intention of destroying it. Using the ax, the Knight of Alcea separated the Door from the surrounding barn wall. He placed the Door face down on the floor in case anyone tried to open it.
“You are hurt,” Rut-ki said as she noticed Bin-lu’s bleeding shoulder.
“As you said,” he smiled, “we haven’t been practicing. I was too slow. In the future, we will not give these Snakes the benefit of the doubt. It is far easier to just kill them. They will never surrender anyway, and there is too much at stake for either of us to suffer a serious injury. Let’s find some rope and then you can help me get this Door onto the unicorn.”
The Knights of Alcea gathered all the rope they could find. They first tied rope around the Door itself and then carried the Door outside. Rut-ki held the Door while Bin-lu mounted the unicorn and then they tied the Door to the unicorn.
“That will do fine,” stated Bin-lu. “Go through their belongings in the house. See if you can find any Federation uniforms and then meet me at the cove we checked out last month. I will wait for you there.”
“Why the uniforms?” asked Rut-ki. “We were supposed to get them off the bodies that the elves kill.”
“I need a way to get into General Kolling’s camp tonight,” answered Bin-lu. “Now that we have seen the layout, I do not think I can sneak into it, and I do not expect them to alter the layout during the coming days. They appear to be very practiced in setting up camp.”
“For the mages?” questioned Rut-ki. “We were not supposed to kill them until tomorrow night.”
Bin-lu sighed. “I know that was our plan, but I think it is a mistake. They are going to realize tomorrow that they have not succeeded in arriving here unnoticed. Once that happens, they will be on high alert. Tonight is the only chance we will have of attacking while they are still somewhat lax.”
“All right.” Rut-ki nodded before turning away and running towards the farmhouse.
Bin-lu immediately mounted his unicorn and instructed him to head for the coast. The unicorn set down in an isolated cove where the beach was strewn with rocks instead of the fine sand typical of much of the area. While he waited for Rut-ki, Bin-lu untied the Door from the unicorn and set it down on the rocks. Using a thin knife he slowly drilled holes in the top and bottom of the Door. Next he created a rope basket and tied it to the bottom of the Door. He then tied a really long rope to the top of the Door and coiled the rest of the rope, securing it to his saddle. He then walked along the cove looking for an appropriate rock. He found one just as Rut-ki and her unicorn were landing.
“There were no uniforms,” she reported. “Are you done?”
“As soon as I place this rock in the basket,” answered Bin-lu. “Will you steady the Door while we take off?”
Rut-ki nodded and dismounted. She took the rock from Bin-lu and nodded towards his unicorn. Bin-lu mounted his unicorn while Rut-ki placed the rock into the rope basket and pulled it tight. She then raised the Door vertically and held it as Bin-lu and his unicorn rose slowly off the ground.
When the rope holding the Door became taut, Bin-lu signaled the unicorn. As they continued to rise, the Door lifted off the ground, followed by the dangling rope basket. The unicorn continued to rise and then banked towards the sea. Although the night was dark, the unicorn had no trouble finding one of the floats they had set in place the previous month. While the unicorn hovered just over the surface, Bin-lu untied the rope from the saddle and lowered the Door into the water. When he came to the end of the rope, he tied it to the float and dropped it into the sea. When Bin-lu returned to the beach, he saw that Rut-ki had stretched all the ropes out on the ground.