“Because it has not been necessary,” offered Jenneva. “Mages do not waste energy. Generally, the opposite is true. They conserve their power until it is needed. They will reside in the very center of the Federation camps and depend upon the soldiers to protect them. If such a defense seems to be failing, the black-cloaks will take measures of their own. That is why they must be the first to die, and that holds true for each of the armies coming from Zara.”
“Not exactly true,” interjected Alex. “The plans call for ignoring the mages in some of the armies until the day of attack. The armies coming into Pontek are an example of that, but such is an exception to the rule.”
“Why is Pontek exempted?” asked Natia.
“The dwarves will take care of those mages in their own way,” smiled Alex, “and it will not involve entering their tent at night. You still need to deal with the black-cloaks coming into Gortha, and that army will be arriving this morning. We need to understand this fear spell much better than we do. I read in the reports last night that the fairy people did not appear to be affected by the spell. At least that seemed to be the case in Lanoir. Do you know why, Jenneva?”
“I know too little of their magic,” Jenneva replied with a shake of her head.
“Because fairies are fearless.” chirped Bitsy.
Alex smiled and turned his head to find Bitsy sitting on a shelf behind him. He picked her up and deposited her on the map.
“It is rude to spy over one’s shoulder, Bitsy,” quipped Alex. “If you wish to join the conversation, stand where we all can see you.”
Bitsy beamed with the attention given to her, but a dark shadow soon loomed over her head. She looked up nervously to see Alex holding a massive book above her.
“What are you doing?” trembled Bitsy as she scooted away. “One slip of that book and you would doom me. I would be like an ant under your boot.”
“So much for your theory on fearless fairies,” chuckled Alex. “Tell me, Bitsy, why would your people not be affected by such a spell?”
“I don’t know,” the tiny woman responded as she watched Alex return the book to the shelf behind him. “Maybe fairies don’t often think of the consequences of their actions. Humans always seem to dwell upon such things.”
“She might have something there,” mused Jenneva. “Bin-lu is certainly no coward. He has undertaken missions that would cause most men to tremble in debilitating fear, but he had the inner courage to see them through to completion, yet according to his report, this spell of fear paralyzed him.”
“I am not following you,” frowned Natia. “What is your point?”
“Bin-lu accepted missions that scared him,” explained Jenneva, “but he conquered his fears before encountering the source of them. In essence, he dwelled upon the upcoming fears and conquered them. In the case of the mage tent, he was not prepared for the fear and it overwhelmed him.”
Alex frowned doubtfully. “I am sure that Bin-lu felt fear going into that tent without the aid of any spell. If he did not, he would be a fool, and Bin-lu is no fool.”
“He had accepted a certain level of fear,” countered Jenneva, “and he was prepared for it, but he was not prepared for the spell.” Jenneva sighed. “I wish his report had detailed his feelings more. I would like to know what thoughts went through his head before Shrimp snapped him out of the spell.”
“You think Shrimp broke the spell?” asked Tedi.
“It sounds like it to me,” answered Jenneva.
“This does not explain why Shrimp was not affected by the spell,” interjected Alex, “but it does cause me to question the effectiveness of the spell if one is prepared for it. Could this same spell account for the Federation soldiers’ avoidance of the black-cloaks?”
Jenneva raised an eyebrow and nodded. “It could. A subtle aura of fear would cause the soldiers to avoid contact with the mages. Is that significant?”
“I think it is,” replied Alex. “It would explain why the black-cloaks were using it when Bin-lu attacked. It was not necessarily that they were expecting an attack, but rather a standard procedure used to keep everyone at bay.”
“That makes sense,” agreed Jenneva. “If each black-cloak kept such an aura around himself, he would not want it to dissipate while he was asleep. To make up for that, they would keep one black-cloak awake at all times, casting a collective aura for himself and all of his sleeping comrades. That might also explain why black-cloaks always seem to travel in pairs. They never want that aura to dissipate.”
“And a collective spell for eight black-cloaks would be considerable,” nodded Tedi. “I think I can begin to understand what Bin-lu must have experienced. I am not sure that I can overcome such a spell.”
“We need to approach this problem carefully,” warned Alex. “King Arik cannot stand the loss of any more Knights of Alcea. He takes these deaths rather hard. We need to understand exactly how this spell works before thinking that we know a way around it.”
“What are you proposing?” asked Jenneva.
“I am not sure,” admitted Alex. “There are three Federation teams arriving today. Of the three, only Team Gortha needs to be attacked right away. Perhaps we should all go to Gortha together.”
“The Federation teams will start arriving in Targa tomorrow,” warned Tedi. “We can’t fly down to Sordoa and be back up here tomorrow. It will take all day just to get down there.”
The door to the library opened and Prince Oscar walked in. He set a pair of boots on one of the tables and approached the Knights of Alcea. He looked at the map and then the Knights.
“You are all up early,” he remarked with a smile. “What are we planning?”
“We are discussing the fear spell,” answered Alex. “What news do you have today?”
“The Federation armies are discovering the loss of their Doors,” answered Prince Oscar. “Kolling, Omirro, and Ross all discovered that their portals are gone. These men are no fools.”
“As Clint has warned,” nodded Alex. “Is that it?”
“There is nothing else of significance out in the field,” the prince replied. “I will have written reports soon if you would like to read them.”
“I would,” answered Alex. “Why did you say out in the field? Are there problems here in Tagaret?”
Prince Oscar frowned deeply and nodded. “Healers all over the city sent messengers to the palace during the night with pleas for assistance. It seems as if some sort of plague has broken out in Tagaret. It couldn’t have come at a worse time, especially with everyone already being rather irritable.”
“Can it be contained?” asked Jenneva.
“I do not know,” answered Prince Oscar. “It appears to have broken out all over the city at the same time. The worst part is that Zalaharic has left the city. Perhaps you could help out, Jenneva?”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Where has Zalaharic gone?”
“He slipped out of the city yesterday,” revealed the prince. “He felt a duty to aid Podil with the wounded unicorns. The king is not aware that he is gone.”
“I will do what I can,” offered Jenneva.
Alex started pacing the floor. He halted near the boots and picked them up to admire the workmanship.
“Get healers from Elderal,” Alex said softly. “I have need of Jenneva for something more important.”
“More important than Tagaret?” challenged Prince Oscar. “Maybe I didn’t explain the severity of the problem. The plague is affecting the whole city. That includes the Targa army. The army is supposed to march out of the city in four days. If the plague is not contained soon, it will not be able to leave the city. That will leave just the Rangers and the Red Swords to go up against Team Miram. They will be outnumbered five-to-one.”
“What do you need me for?” asked Jenneva.
“For Gortha,” answered Alex. “I think we need a mage present when we approach the tent of the black-cloaks. We need someone powerful enough to stand against eight battle mages in case we are trapped by the spell of fear.”
“Let the black-cloaks wait,” decided Jenneva. “Prince Oscar is right. We need to get this plague under control, and we need to do it quickly.”