Bin-lu had already passed out of sight, and the second soldier did not see him.
“The black-cloak,” answered the first soldier. “They almost never leave their tent. I wonder what he is up to?”
“As long as he isn’t coming this way,” replied the second soldier, “he can go wherever he wants. But warn me if you see one coming this way.”
Bin-lu was too far away to hear the words, but Speck heard them clearly. He memorized the face of the observant soldier and sped onward.
Bin-lu reached the edge of the Barouk-Ongchi Road and his step faltered. Unlike the darkness of the woods, the area of the large tents was dimly lit, torches scattered around the area so that anyone approaching the tents would be easily noticed. Sentries stood outside the two largest tents, but there were none stationed outside the mages’ tent. That bothered Bin-lu. While it made his task somewhat easier, he wondered if the lack of sentries should be a warning to him. What if the tent was magically protected? What if the sentries were really there but hidden by an illusion?
Bin-lu berated himself as he felt doubts taking hold of him. It was too late to abort the mission. The black-cloaks had to die this night. He pushed his fears aside and resumed his slow march towards the mages’ tent, his eyes scanning the dimly-lit area for anything he might have missed. As the Knight of Alcea reached the tent, his right hand extracted a myric quill. With his left hand, Bin-lu reached out to open the flap to the tent. He halted, fear rising within him.
Eight battle mages resided on the other side of the thin material. If the tent was alarmed, Bin-lu would not stand a chance of surviving the encounter. He suddenly wondered if he could escape if only he would turn around right now and flee. The Knight of Alcea twitched with alarm as he felt a touch on his shoulder.
“What are you waiting for?” scowled Shrimp. “You cannot remain undetected while standing here all night. Get it done.”
This was not the first time that Bin-lu and Shrimp had been together inside an enemy camp. Their first mission together had been the penetration of Emperor Hanchi’s massive army in Sordoa. Both of them had nearly died that night, but they had prevailed because they had learned to trust one another. Bin-lu swallowed hard and nodded. Bin-lu tossed the fairy off his shoulder with a quick shrug. He reached out and pulled the flap aside.
Bin-lu walked through the opening and entered the tent. He found a black-cloak standing inside the opening, staring at him with confusion. Bin-lu reached out with his right hand and shoved the myric quill into the mage. The black-cloak crumbled to the ground wordlessly. Instantly, the fear pressing down on Bin-lu vanished, like a torch being lit in the darkest of caverns. Suddenly, the Knight of Alcea understood everything. He reached for a handful of quills and quickly assassinated all of the sleeping black-cloaks. He retrieved the used quills, tied them together with a strip of cloth and shoved them back into his hidden quiver. With a feeling of confidence, the Knight of Alcea stepped out of the tent and made his way back to the rendezvous point.
Chapter 11
Day Two
Pandemonium reigned throughout the campsite of Team Barouk. Word spread quickly about the deaths of the black-cloaks and the deaths of fifty horses. General Kolling had immediately ordered all regiments to form up in formation and a head count was taken of the troops. No one was unaccounted for, but the orders to break camp were still forthcoming. The troops, rather than wait idly for the generals to issue orders, had taken it upon themselves to patrol the perimeter of the camp. While the soldiers all feared the black-cloaks, the deaths of the mages were taken as a bad omen. Inside the large command tent, the generals discussed the situation.
“I know that the horses were poor stock,” scowled General Kolling, “but horses just don’t up and die overnight like that. Our camp was infiltrated last night.”
“Perhaps it is bad water,” suggested General Gertz. “There was no sign of a struggle in the mages’ tent, no sign of forced entry.”
“And only the mages were effected?” balked General Kolling. “That is preposterous.”
“And the fifty horses,” General Gertz offered meekly. “Or maybe some of the horses were diseased, and somehow it spread to the mages. The sentries reported nothing unusual during the night. These Alceans are not ghosts who can come and go as they please.”
“So you say,” snapped General Kolling. “I am not a superstitious man. I do not believe in ghosts, or coincidences, but I recognize an attack when I see one. Someone or something killed those mages last night.”
The tent flap opened and Colonel Ednor stepped into the tent. General Kolling looked up with annoyance.
“What is it, Colonel?”
“The mages were poisoned,” the colonel reported. “So were the horses.”
General Kolling’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Have the remaining horses been checked?”
“I am having that done as we speak. I am not sure of the extent of the poisoning, but more horses will surely die today. Some of the other horses checked are already showing signs of distress.”
“What can be done for them?” asked General Kolling.
“Not much, sir. The best thing we can do is get them some more feed and water. I would not trust what is left here. I suggest we start moving to our next cache immediately.”
General Kolling sighed and nodded. “See to it, Colonel.”
Colonel Ednor saluted and left the tent.
“Poisoned?” frowned General Gertz. “Why sneak into camp and poison just the horses and the mages? Why not poison all of the men, too?”
“Perhaps because the poisoner did not sneak into the camp,” posed General Kolling. “If the scoundrel is one of our own men, he would not want to poison his own food. The mages always ate separately from their own supply, but the rest of the food was distributed as the quartermaster deemed necessary. An individual soldier could never be sure what portion of the cache he might end up with.”
“So you think the poisonings were done by one of our own men?” asked General Gertz.
“I am not sure what to think,” sighed General Kolling. “I know that there is little love for the Federation within any of our armies. Kyrga was always more concerned with the number of troops we had than the quality of troops. As a result, we have ended up with many malcontents among our ranks. Still, I fail to see why any malcontent would choose this particular time to strike. To take away our mages means that our wounded on the battlefield will have no healers.”
“Unless they are hoping to avoid battle entirely,” posed General Gertz. “We should watch for desertions.”
“It would be foolish to desert in a country that you know will be conquered,” replied General Kolling. “Sooner or later the perpetrators would have to come under our control again, and deserters would be handled ruthlessly. None of it makes any sense.”
“Unless it actually was Alceans.”
“I will not speculate,” General Kolling said with an air of finality. “Let’s get these armies on the road. We cannot afford to fall behind schedule.”
* * * *
Bin-lu woke with the sun shining in his face. It was already well into the sky. He sat up and stretched as he looked around. There were very few elves left, but he saw Elandros sitting and talking to Rut-ki. He walked over to them and sat down.
“You let me sleep a long time,” greeted Bin-lu. “Where are the others?”
“You needed the sleep,” smiled Elandros. “The others are keeping watch on the enemy’s progress and the road behind them in case they think of returning to Barouk to get replacement horses.”
“That is not necessary,” said Bin-lu. “I have ordered the Barouk city guard to keep a watch for any returning Federation soldiers. They will be killed before they can report the absence of the Doors.”