As the shaman listened to the snoring of the occupants, he moved into the quieter of the two bedrooms. Two men slept in a large bed, and Calitora moved to the headboard. He drew two knives from his belt. He leaned over the bed and drove the knives into the two sleeping men. One of the Motangan soldiers died quietly, while the other kicked out, hitting the wall with his foot before succumbing to a permanent sleep. Calitora withdrew the knives and crouched next to the bed, waiting to see if the disturbance had been enough to awaken the two men in the neighboring room.
After a few moments of continued snoring from the other room, Calitora rose and padded out of the room. He waited a few minutes to be sure that his victims had not awakened. Feeling confident, the shaman stepped into the second bedroom. As he moved to the headboard, one of the Motangan’s eyes popped open. The man frowned as he stared up at the Chula shaman. Calitora did not hesitate. He immediately shoved a knife through the man’s eye. Moving swiftly, the shaman leaned over the bed and cut the second man’s throat.
Wiping the blades of his knives on the bed, Calitora left the room, grabbing a lantern as he went by. He climbed the stairs to the third level and threw open the shutters facing the sea. He lit the lantern and leaned out of the window, swinging the light widely from side to side. He kept up his signaling for several minutes before a soft voice addressed him.
“What is your name?” the unseen voice asked.
“I am called Calitora,” the shaman answered softly.
“And your message for us is?” questioned the voice.
“The coast is clear,” replied Calitora.
“Hang the lantern out the window,” instructed the voice. “You are to stand on the beach beneath it. You must remain visible at all times. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” replied the Chula shaman.
The shaman felt the air tunnel drop. Calitora removed a knife from his belt and leaned out of the window. He drove the knife into the side of the building and hung the lantern on it. When he was satisfied that the lantern would remain, he descended the stairs and exited the building. He stood under the lantern and waited. Within an hour the Chula shaman saw the outline of a sailboat against the star-studded sky. He waited anxiously as he watched the ship come closer and eventually beach itself. Several men immediately leaped out of the ship and raced towards Calitora, their swords drawn.
“Welcome to the Island of Darkness,” the shaman said loudly as he gazed at the men with a discerning eye. “I am Calitora.”
“Tayo, Calitora,” smiled the leader. “I am Tamar. Are there Motangans in the area?”
“Not this area of the coast,” smiled Calitora. “That is why I chose it for your invasion.”
Tamar’s elven face grinned broadly as he turned and signaled the other passengers on the ship. He turned back to the Chula shaman.
“What of the watchers in the house?” he asked.
“All four of them are dead,” assured Calitora as he handed a paper to the elf. “Here. I made a map of the island. I marked in all of the mines and work camps that I could find. I also shaded the areas where the kruls congregate.”
“I see that the mine where I found Eltor is on there,” smiled a young female elf. “You have done well, Calitora.”
“You are the voice from the air tunnel,” smiled the shaman.
“She is Princess Alahara,” introduced Tamar. “She is leading this war party.”
The Chula shaman smiled widely and bowed to the elven princess. “I have heard of you,” he grinned. “You are the one called Mistake?”
“I used to be,” nodded the princess. “Tamar, have the word sent to the other ships. We have much to do before dawn, and remove the lantern from the window. It has served its purpose.”
“I would be pleased to retrieve the lantern for you,” offered Calitora. “You must get your people prepared for war.”
“Tamar can handle that,” replied Princess Alahara. “I want you to explain each of the marks on this map of yours. Let’s go into the kitchen and light a lantern of our own.”
The shaman nodded and followed the princess into the house. He passed her in the dark and moved swiftly into the kitchen and lit a lantern. The princess cleared a spot on the table and placed the map down on it.
“You are very young to have such a grave responsibility,” frowned the shaman. “It is good that you have Tamar with you. Has he been to the Island of Darkness before?”
Princess Alahara understood the subtle question that the Chula was trying to ask. She smiled with understanding. “I am indeed young,” she replied, “but I have been to this island twice already. My sister and I rescued our father from the temple in Vandamar, and we are quite capable of leading the elven armies. There will actually be three prongs of the attack. I will lead one. My sister Alastasia will lead another, and my father Avalar will command the third. Would you care to come with us?”
“I was afraid that you would not offer,” grinned the shaman. “I would like that very much.”
“Then you shall,” declared the princess. “Now, explain your map while we wait for the armies to come ashore.”
The Chula shaman began pointing to each notation on the map and discussed his observations of each place. Calitora proved to be a wealth of information, having spent many days spying on the enemy positions. Half an hour into the discussion, King Avalar, and Princess Alastasia entered. Princess Alahara introduced everyone.
“I sent Tamar on ahead with your army,” the king said to Princess Alahara. “We needed room on the beach to unload the rest of the troops.”
Princess Alahara nodded and urged the shaman to continue. It took another half an hour for the telling of the complete map. When Calitora was done, King Avalar took command of the meeting.
“This sector is yours, Alahara, “ the king said tapping the map. “I will leave the details of how to attack it up to you. Alastasia, this sector is yours. I will take the third. If there are no questions, I suggest we get our armies on their way. There is much to do before the dawn.”
Both princesses silently nodded their approval. The elven king smiled at his daughters and said, “Let no pride interfere with your tasks. If your army gets bogged down, let the rest of us know. Together we shall conquer this evil island.”
“What about noncombatants?” asked Princes Alastasia.
“If they hold no weapons,” instructed King Avalar, “they are to be spared and held captive. We will not slaughter innocent people, but if they choose to take up arms against us, they will have chosen to be our enemy, and the death that comes with such a decision will be their reward.”
“I have only one map,” interjected the shaman. “I did not know that there would be three armies.”
“Bring it with us,” Princess Alahara responded. “As soon as you can make copies, I will have them delivered to the others.”
“Perhaps that is what my task was truly meant to be,” frowned Calitora. “I will stay here and create duplicates for your father and sister. When they are done, I will catch up to you.”
“We will be traveling rather fast,” frowned Princess Alahara. “You will never catch up to us.”
“I will catch up,” grinned Calitora. “I will not even need to know which way you have gone. Your scent will guide me. Advise your troops to save their arrows if a jaguar is seen.”
Princess Alahara grinned broadly and nodded. She embraced her sister and then her father in a farewell and then turned and ran out of the building.
* * *
“They are filing into the canyon,” came the voice through the air tunnel.
“Have the archers take their positions,” StarWind instructed StormSong. “ValleyBreeze, I want your mages up on the ridge, but out of view. Do not let the enemy know that there are mages up there.”
The two Sakovan women ran off to instruct their groups. HawkShadow stared at the mouth of the canyon and frowned.
“What do you have planned?” he asked StarWind.
“The plan that we laid out is what I am following,” replied StarWind, “with one minor exception. I don’t know what the Motangan mages are capable of. If they use their skills to counterattack, we will learn something of their capabilities before we commit our mages. I think it is important.”