“I will lead the battle,” General Mobami replied, “but we serve King Arik now. He is the strategist for this war, and I bow before him. You may think that is foolish, but I consider it a privilege to serve the Warrior King. We will give the enemy every opportunity to surrender. That is our duty. If they continually refuse to surrender, our duty will be to kill them all, and you will find no better leader than me when that time comes. Have patience, my friend. We will prevail.”
“Look!” Sergeant Musaraf pointed towards the opposite hill.
Twenty horsemen crested the distant hill, their red uniforms announcing the arrival of the enemy.
“It is their advance scouts,” stated the general. “The vanguard will not be far behind. Take the banner and go down the slope three-hundred paces. Make sure it is clearly visible.”
Sergeant Musaraf nodded and picked up the standard bearing a flag of truce. He held it high and rode down the slope, planting it into the ground when he had ridden the prescribed distance. The Federation squad halted. Cautiously, two riders separated from the squad and rode forward. They halted before the flag of truce. General Mobami rode down the hillside and stopped alongside Sergeant Musaraf.
“I am General Mobami, Governor of Sordoa. I wish to speak under a flag of truce with General Omirro. Carry my words to him.”
The Federation squad leader looked around warily. He returned his eyes to the governor and said, “Some of my men will escort you to General Omirro. Follow me.”
“I will wait here for him,” General Mobami replied. “I understand he is on his way here anyway.”
The squad leader raised an eyebrow at the general’s words, but he merely nodded in acknowledgement. The two Federation riders turned and headed back towards the rest of the squad.
“You men will stay here,” ordered the squad leader. “Keep a watch on the governor and his comrade, but avoid contact with them.”
The squad leader left his men and galloped back towards the vanguard of Team Caldar. When he did reach the vanguard, he found General Omirro and General Barbone riding side-by-side. The sergeant turned his horse and rode alongside General Omirro.
“We have made contact with the enemy,” the squad leader reported. “Two riders appeared on the road under a flag of truce. One of the men claims to be General Mobami, Governor of Sordoa. He has requested a meeting with you.”
“For what purpose?” asked General Omirro.
“He would not say, General. I offered to convey him to you, but he refused. He said that he understood that you were already heading his way, and that he would just wait for you.”
“So our column has been sighted and reported,” remarked General Barbone. “It was inevitable, but I am surprised it took the Sordoans so long.”
“That may not be the case,” frowned the sergeant. “He asked for a meeting with General Omirro by name.”
“By name?” echoed General Omirro. “Are you sure that you did not slip up and offer to convey him to me by name?”
“I am certain, General. It struck me odd at the time to hear the Sordoan use your name.”
General Omirro frowned and stared blankly ahead, his thoughts pondering the information that the Alceans appeared to have acquired. Already they seemed to have known enough to find the black-cloaks in his camp and eliminate them. Someone had also learned the locations of his caches and seen fit to empty them. They had also discovered the portals and removed them, cutting off any chance of retreat or reinforcements. And now they knew the name of the commanding general. How could they have such information?
The Ertakan general shook his head as if to clear it and addressed the sergeant, “Ready a company of cavalry to accompany me and General Barbone. We are going to meet with the Governor of Sordoa.”
The sergeant saluted and peeled off from the column.
“We are both going?” asked General Barbone. “Is that wise? Shouldn’t one of us remain behind in case it is a trap?”
“A trap?” questioned General Omirro. “The Sordoans have already had a chance to kill both of us when they invaded our encampment. If they wished our armies to be leaderless, they would have chosen our tents to attack instead of the black-cloaks. No, Barbone, they truly do wish to talk. I am curious about what they want to talk about, but I am more interested in discovering how much they know about us. They seem to know far more than they should.”
A captain appeared alongside the generals and announced that his company was ready to escort them to the meeting place. General Omirro signaled his approval and the captain led them forward past the vanguard. Less than an hour later, they crested a hill and halted.
“My squad is at the bottom of the hill,” stated the sergeant. “Do you have orders for them?”
General Omirro gazed across the valley at the two small figures sitting atop their horses. His eyes then scanned the entire valley and the opposing hill before answering the sergeant.
“No, Sergeant. General Barbone and I will proceed to the center of the valley and wait for the Governor to come to us. Your men will wait where they are, but they will remain vigilant. Captain, those orders apply to your company as well. This meeting is to be one of talk. You will respond only if the Sordoans attack.”
Without further words, General Omirro started down the side of the hill. General Barbone hurried to catch up to him, and the two generals rode out into the valley until they had covered half the distance between the two hills. There they halted, well short of where the governor waited for them. For several minutes, nothing happened, but eventually the Sordoans understood that the meeting place had been moved. They rode forward to meet the Federation generals.
“General Omirro,” greeted the tall, bald governor, his large mustache almost appearing as a broad smile. “I see that you decided to bring General Barbone with you. I extend greetings to both of you. I am General Mobami, Governor of Sordoa.”
General Omirro raised an eyebrow at the mention of the Spinoan general’s name. “You seem to know a great deal about us, General Mobami. How is that possible?”
“All things are possible,” grinned the governor. “I know that your rise to leadership began in the cavalry, unlike many of your peers. I suppose that might be why you were assigned to Force Sordoa. We are, after all, known for our horses and our nomadic way of life. You would probably enjoy your retirement here, but it will not happen under the Federation flag. I have come to ask for your surrender.”
General Omirro was shocked, but he did not let it show. The Sordoan’s knowledge of his background surely pointed to a spy in Zara, but it was the governor’s use of the term Force Sordoa that struck General Omirro the hardest. That indicated a knowledge that was strategic in nature. Such knowledge had been confined to only those in the highest levels of the Federation until just recently. He decided to press further.
“You have pluck,” chuckled General Omirro, “and a great spy to be sure, but if your information was as complete as you pretend, you would not be here making such a foolish offer. Let us dispense with the posturing. You know what is coming down that road behind me. The fate of Sordoa has already been decided. Nothing you can do will alter that. The speech that should be coming from your lips is a request for mercy.”
“So, we are talking plainly?” retorted General Mobami. “Fine. I prefer things laid out for all to see. The truth is, General Omirro, you are invading my homeland, and that displeases me greatly. As a Sordoan, I would like nothing better than to destroy you and your entire column, but my allegiance is to King Arik, and he has requested that I try to seek your surrender before committing to battle. That is why I am here today. Still, I cannot beat sense into a stone. If you wish to end up like Gattas and Montero, I will be more than happy to oblige you.”
General Omirro’s eyes narrowed at the mention of Gattas and Montero. The governor’s words showed that the Sordoans knew of at least two of the three prongs sent against them. General Omirro could not believe that the Sordoans had defeated the 6th Corps and the 15th Corps, but if a battle did occur south of Trekum with Sordoan forces large enough to even engage Team Pontek, that meant the governor was traveling with practically no army at all. That thought provoked General Omirro into pressing his advantage.