“Get ready to ram that chain,” shouted Rotti as he grabbed the nearest root and clung to it. “We are going to stop rather abruptly.”
Both men braced for the collision, but nothing happened. The colonel frowned in confusion and looked forward. His eyes widened as he saw the chain high in the air. Just above it was a tiny green man. He looked up at the creature as the tree sailed under the chain.
“They are using magic,” remarked the general. “That little man is raising the chain without touching it. Unbelievable!”
Rotti agreed, but he was more concerned with getting to land. He shouted up at the little green man. “How are we to get to shore if you raise the chain out of reach?”
“Get off the tree,” replied the tiny creature. “I cannot let the chain be snagged. There is another chain coming up soon.”
“We can’t get off the tree,” Rotti shouted back. “The general cannot swim.”
The chain passed overhead and then it was magically lowered. Rotti shook his head in frustration. The creature had not bothered to answer him. A moment later, the little green man darted down from the sky and hovered before the colonel.
“Did you say general?” asked the green man. “Is he General Franz or General Somma?”
“I am General Somma,” stated the Spinoan general. The disappointment showed on the little creature’s face. “General Franz is dead.”
“He is dead?” brightened the little creature. “Then you are in charge?”
General Somma raised an eyebrow. He had not actually thought about it, but he was indeed in charge now. He nodded.
“If you are willing to surrender,” the little man said excitedly, “I will take you to shore.”
“I am willing to surrender,” replied the general, “but I am not leaving without Colonel Rotti. You will take us both to shore.”
The creature frowned. “I can only do one at a time. I will have to come back for the colonel.”
“I can get off by myself, General,” stated Rotti. “If this creature can get you to shore without drowning you, take him up on his offer.”
“The general will not drown,” promised the little man. “I will levitate him to shore. I will come back for you, but If you wish to meet with him on shore, you must grab the third chain. I am not sure if I can return that quickly.”
Colonel Rotti nodded. “Take the general to shore, and do not mistreat him. I will get the third chain.”
The little man nodded enthusiastically and darted directly over the general. As the colonel watched, General Somma rose off the dead tree and floated towards the left bank. Before he was out of sight, another green man appeared in front of the colonel.
“I was told to bring you to shore,” stated the little man. “Are you surrendering?”
“I am,” answered the colonel. “Please take me to shore.”
Chapter 25
Surrender
Colonel Rotti felt his feet lift off the tree, and he shook his head in wonder.
“What kind of creature are you?” he asked the little green man. “If you cannot talk and carry me at the same time, no answer is required. I have had enough time in the water for one day.”
The little man laughed. “I am a fairy. I am called Drobny and carrying you is no great chore. You weigh nothing compared to the chain.”
“Are there many of your kind in Alcea?” asked the colonel.
Drobny frowned. “You are the enemy. I should not talk of such things. You will have to ask Rut-ki if you have any more questions.”
“Rut-ki?” the colonel asked with a raised eyebrow. “Is that a common name in Lanoir?”
“I do not think so,” answered the fairy. “I only know of one Rut-ki. There she is now.”
Colonel Rotti looked down at the riverbank. There were thousands of Lanoirian soldiers and hundreds of wagons, but he recognized Rut-ki instantly. Drobny set him down next to General Somma who was already talking to Rut-ki.
“The fairies can project an image of you to your soldiers,” Rut-ki said. “The message will be delivered in your own voice, with your exact words. I hope that you agree to send such a message. We do not want to kill any more of your men than we have to.”
“What will become of my men?” asked the general.
“They will be cared for,” answered the Knight of Alcea. “We have camps already set up for your men. I will not tell you the locations of the camps, but they will be fed. We will also heal any life-threatening wounds, but the number of healers is limited. When the war is over, they will be returned to their home countries.”
“That’s it?” asked Colonel Rotti. “There will be no retribution?”
“Those are my orders from King Arik of Alcea,” Rut-ki answered, a smile acknowledging the presence of the colonel. “We plan no retribution, but we will strictly enforce the imprisonment. If your men try to escape, they will be killed.”
“What do you want me to say?” asked the general.
“Tell them that you have surrendered,” answered Rut-ki. “Instruct them to abandon their weapons and use the chains to come to the left bank. If you wish to tell them about their treatment after surrendering, do so.”
“I will send the message,” declared the general.
Rut-ki turned and nodded to Colonel Wu-sang, and the Lanoirian colonel came over to stand next to Rut-ki.
“General Somma has agreed to send a message to his men,” Rut-ki said to the Lanoirian colonel. “I will leave him in your hands.”
The colonel nodded and led General Somma away. Rut-ki turned to Colonel Rotti and smiled.
“We meet again, Rotti,” she said.
“You do not appear to be the blushing bride I remember from my last journey here,” retorted Colonel Rotti. “You certainly fooled me. Now you order around colonels as if you were a general. Who are you actually?”
“I am Rut-ki, and I am a Knight of Alcea. I report directly to King Arik.”
“I am not sure what a Knight of Alcea is, but I can guess that I should be impressed. I certainly am impressed with the reception you prepared for us today. It shows a tremendous amount of planning, and I know that the Federation has spies in this land. The fact that you were able to hide all of this from them is a credit to your country.” The colonel hesitated and his mood became more somber. “What will happen to General Somma?”
“That I cannot answer,” Rut-ki replied. “He is to be kept separate from his men for now, but his ultimate fate rests in the hands of King Arik. I cannot speculate on what that might be, but know this: King Arik is a benevolent king.”
“May I request to stay with him?” asked Colonel Rotti.
Rut-ki gazed questioningly at the colonel. “Are you his son?”
“I am no relation to the general,” answered Colonel Rotti, “but I do care for his well-being. He is a good man who is here on no account of his own.”
“Would not every Federation colonel say the same about his general?” asked Rut-ki.
“No,” answered Rotti. “Most of the Federation generals have been eager for this war to begin. Somma was not one of them. In fact, the man should not be a general at all, and he knows it. Were General Franz still alive, those soldiers in the river would be trying to climb the banks to fight you Lanoirians. Certainly an easy surrender is worth something to Alcea?”
“I think the Federation soldiers should be glad that Franz is dead then,” Rut-ki retorted. “I was truthful when I said that we did not wish to kill your soldiers, but let me be clear here. We would have killed every one of you if that is what was necessary.”
“And you would have been right to react that way,” agreed the colonel, “but I still need to be kept with the general.”
“Why?” Rut-ki asked, the suspicious tone of her voice clearly evident.
“To protect him.”
“I said that we would not harm him,” replied Rut-ki. “Do you not believe me?”
Colonel Rotti fidgeted. It was not that he suspected that the Alceans would go back on their word that bothered the colonel. He was more concerned with what the Federation would do to him for surrendering, or even worse, what they would do if any of the other survivors saw Somma kill Franz, but he dared not speak of the other teams.