Alex nodded in defeat. He turned his gaze to Tedi and Natia. “Do not attack the black-cloaks. Remove the Doors from Gortha and Pontek once the armies are out of the area, but do nothing more until you hear from us.”
“No harassing or slowing the armies down?” frowned Tedi.
“No,” Alex replied. “The Federation team out of Pontek will be handled by Prince Darok and his dwarves. There is no need for you to be involved in that. As for Team Gortha, I do not want them harassed until their black-cloaks are dead. What you can do, however, is concentrate on Team Caldar. First, verify if Wylan and Sheri were able to eliminate their black-cloaks before they died. If they were successful, do what you can to slow General Omirro down. We will deal with General Ritka and Team Gortha later. Read whatever Prince Oscar can give you on Force Sordoa before you leave.”
“I understand,” nodded Tedi. “We will get ready to leave and then check with Prince Oscar.”
The gypsies left the library, and Prince Oscar huddled with Jenneva as they laid out a plan for combating the plague. Alex returned to pacing the floor, seemingly unaware that he was still holding the boots that Prince Oscar brought into the room with him. As the Knight of Alcea was deep in thought, Prince Oscar reached out and pulled the boots from Alex’s hands. Alex looked up in a start.
“They were not meant for you,” chuckled the prince. “These are the boots for a king.”
“They are finely crafted,” Alex admitted with admiration for the shoemaker who had created them, “but I can’t picture Arik wearing them. The gold trim alone would put him off. Arik does not care much for the trappings of wealth.”
“I agree,” Prince Oscar responded, “but they were a gift from a citizen, left at the gate this morning. Arik will no doubt wear them at his next public appearance and then store them in a closet somewhere.”
“What citizen would offer such an ostentatious gift?” asked Alex. “Surely, the citizens of Tagaret know that Arik is not the type of king who covers himself in gold.”
“The citizens of Tagaret are well familiar with the king’s taste,” answered Prince Oscar, “but these boots are from a Cordonian who has recently moved here. The man is the finest shoemaker to ever grace this city, and he charges the least for his wares. The king has already fielded complaints from the other shoemakers. They claim that Artimor is selling his footwear for less than they could make it.”
“Is he?” asked Alex.
“I don’t know,” shrugged the prince. “His prices are cheap, but he does a tremendous amount of business. I imagine that he can charge less because of the volume. I bet half the army uses his services, and it only takes so much profit to pay the rent. I suspect the other shoemakers are merely jealous. You should see this Artimor while you are in the city. You look like you could use a new pair of boots.”
“Maybe I will,” sighed Alex. “I will have precious little else to do with my time while Jenneva travels around the city with you.”
“Hopefully we will nip this plague in the bud,” smiled Jenneva. “Busy yourself with Oscar’s reports. I am sure that he won’t mind.”
“Not at all,” smiled Prince Oscar as he held the door open for Jenneva. “I will tell the guard at my office to expect you.”
Alex watched them leave and then returned to pacing the floor. Thinking that he was alone, the tiny voice startled him.
“You want to kill those mages,” declared Bitsy. “I can tell. What is stopping you? You are as fearless as a fairy.”
Alex halted and turned to stare at Bitsy. The tiny, blue woman still stood on the map of Alcea. Alex smiled at her.
“You know me too well, Bitsy, but while your skills are impressive, I do not think that you can handle eight battle mages by yourself.”
“And why would I have to?” asked the fairy. “If there is only one mage awake, and he is the one holding the fear spell over the tent, I could just put him to sleep.”
Alex raised an eyebrow at the fairy. “We are not sure that fairies are immune to the spell. What if Shrimp was some weird exception that the spell did not affect?”
”Then I will become afraid before I enter the tent,” shrugged the blue woman. “If that happens, they will not know that I was ever there. I will flee and we can try something else.”
“Or the black-cloaks will detect you,” frowned Alex. “We still do not understand their capabilities very well.”
“None of my people have been detected yet,” retorted Bitsy. “We have entered temples and even the Black Citadel. The black-cloaks have not discovered us yet. Why not give it a try? There is nothing else to do while we wait for Jenneva.”
Alex grinned and nodded. “Perhaps fairies are fearless after all. Let’s go down to the stables and see if Kaz and Yorra have arrived yet.”
* * * *
The unicorn glided to a stop in the small clearing and Podil dismounted. She nodded to Zalaharic as she let her eyes look over the bodies on the ground.
“I wasn’t aware that you were coming, Zalaharic,” Podil said in greeting. “What is the situation?”
“I am not here officially,” Zalaharic replied, “but I saw that I could get here quicker than you. I could not allow the four of them to lie here untended any longer than necessary.”
“The four of them?” echoed Podil. “I was led to understand that only the unicorns were alive.”
“That is what Twerp believed at the time he sent the message to Tagaret,” stated Zalaharic, “but he was wrong. Technically, at least. Wylan is close to death, and Sheri is not responsive.”
“Not responsive?” questioned Podil as she knelt next to Sheri.
“I have never seen anything quite like it,” commented Zalaharic. “It is as if she is in a frozen state, her life put on hold awaiting some signal to awaken, but I cannot imagine what such a signal would resemble. I have chosen to leave her until last. Her health does not appear to be degrading, and the others need immediate assistance.”
“Tell me how I can help,” Podil said as she rose to her feet and turned away from Sheri.
“Sinora will need further healing,” explained Zalaharic, “but she is stable for the time being. I am most concerned about Wylan and Wesik. Wylan has lost a lot of blood, and the arrows damaged him internally. I am not yet sure of the exact degree of damage, but he could use some more Kioji tea. I did not expect four severely hurt patients, and I have used up my supply. Did you bring some with you?”
“I have some,” nodded Podil. “I will make the tea up immediately. What about Wesik?”
Zalaharic sighed, and Podil sensed the weariness in him. She knew that the flight from Tagaret must have taken the best part of a day. She also knew that Zalaharic would not have given thought to resting while others remained untended.
“Wesik is bad. His flank was hit with a spell of fire, and it has burned through flesh and muscle. It will take a great deal of effort to heal such a wound, and even then, I do not know if he will ever walk again. He is also blind. A spell of brilliance must have struck him squarely in the face.”
You summarize well, elf. Waste not your time on me. A unicorn who can neither see nor run is hardly worth restoring to life. Tend to the others.
“I am the healer here, Wesik,” retorted Zalaharic as he placed his hand on the unicorn’s head and called forth a spell of sleep. “You stick to what you know and let me handle what I was trained for.”
Podil raised an eyebrow and glanced at Zalaharic. “Is he talking to you?”
“He was,” Zalaharic answered sharply. “He was telling me to let him die and concentrate on the others. I put him to sleep. I do not need such a distraction.”
“They are a proud people,” Podil remarked softly as she stared at Wesik. “They are perfect companions for the Knights of Alcea.”
“I prefer patients who are not eager to die,” retorted Zalaharic.
Podil frowned. She had never heard Zalaharic complain before. She knew that the long flight from Tagaret would have taken a toll on the male elf, but she was sure that Zalaharic had spent most of his energy since arriving in the small clearing. Considering the conditions of the wounded, she realized that Zalaharic must have used tremendous amounts of energy on them. “You are tired, my friend. Catch some sleep while I am fresh. I will keep them alive and wake you when I need you.”