Goral held the large maul out with one hand as he approached the first tent. He smashed the supports of the tent as he rode by, his eyes already fixed on a tent deeper in the encampment. He smashed the supports of two more tents while guiding Bertha towards his target, which was at the limit of the depth of the planned incursion. The choka unflinchingly used her sharp claws to tear through the fabric of the chosen tent. Momentarily out of the rain, Goral grinned broadly as he entered the tent occupied by eight Motangan soldiers. Bertha immediately tore into the flesh of a sleeping Motangan, bringing hysterical screams from her victim. The other soldiers awoke and tried to scramble to their feet, but Goral’s maul was already in action.
Goral and Bertha worked as a finely honed team. While she tore into soldiers on one side of the tent, Goral’s maul hammered away at those on the other side. Within seconds the tent was devoid of Motangan life. Goral urged Bertha through the torn fabric and immediately aimed for another tent. After the Sakovan giant and his warbird had destroyed three tents and their inhabitants, he heard an alarm shouted between claps of thunder. It was time to withdraw. He whistled loudly and headed towards the perimeter. Hesitating at the edge of the encampment, Goral counted his fleeing warriors. When the last of his people had passed by, Goral tapped Bertha into a gallop and raced after his warriors. He heard the sounds of bowstrings snapping during the lull between thunderclaps, but nothing came close to him.
Goral passed his men, ordering them to follow him. They rode hard until they reached the area where HawkShadow would find them. Goral ordered his team to dismount and held a quick meeting to assess the damage to the enemy. Over six hundred Motangans had died in the brief fight, and not a single Sakovan had been injured. Goral grinned broadly and congratulated his warriors. He bowed his head in prayer and prayed that StarWind’s team was having equal success on the other side of the Motangan encampment.
* * *
“The elves are attacking Teramar and Eldamar,” Xavo said as he tried to catch his breath from running all the way to the beach from the temple.
“Escapees?” asked Lady Mystic.
“No,” Xavo shook his head. “It is an invasion from Elvangar. “Estimates from both cities put the elves at one thousand for each city.”
“But the garrisons in each of those cities are at least three thousand strong,” frowned Lady Mystic. “The elves will be slaughtered.”
“That is not what is being reported,” Xavo shook his head. “It sounds as if Teramar and Eldamar have already fallen. The attack caught the Motangans sleeping in the barracks. The elves also managed to get into the temple undetected. In each case only the lone surviving mage sent the message.”
“What about Sudamar?” asked Lady Mystic. “Is that also under attack?”
“We don’t know,” replied Xavo. “There was no answer when the mages tried to reach Sudamar. The generals suspect that it might have also fallen. They are in a panic. They expect an attack here in Vandamar at any moment.”
“Bah,” snorted Lady Mystic. “There are thirty thousand troops in this city. Three thousand elves will not attempt such a thing.”
“The generals think a much larger force is heading this way,” replied Xavo. “They have sent out scout ships towards Elvangar with mages aboard.”
“They know where Elvangar is?” frowned Lady Mystic. “Why was I not informed?”
“They don’t actually know where it is,” replied Xavo, “but it is known to be to the east. That is why the southeastern city is named Eldamar. It was the port nearest the elves.”
“What should we do?” worried Lady Mystic. “We shouldn’t let the elves stumble into a trap. They probably have no idea how many soldiers are here in Vandamar.”
“I thought we should tell Emperor Marak what we know,” shrugged Xavo. “I am no battle-hardened general, but I am willing to do whatever I can to help the elves, although I doubt that I can make much of a difference.”
“You underestimate yourself,” grinned Lady Mystic. “As Vand’s disciple, you are the most senior person left in Vandamar. You can override the generals’ plans and cause great havoc.”
“I may technically be the most senior person here,” frowned Xavo, “but that is not what Vand meant to have happen. I was supposed to go with him to Fakara. I doubt that the generals will listen to me. Vand has probably already told them that I am not to be trusted once he realized that I missed the boat.”
“I doubt that Vand even knows that you have missed the boat,” mused Lady Mystic. “He will not be holding court over there like he did here. He is in the land of his enemy. He will keep himself surrounded by only those he trusts dearly. Everyone else will have to go through Premer Tzargo to get a message to Vand.”
“But the mages here would surely keep him informed of what is happening in Vandamar,” countered Xavo. “If he hears my name, he will be incensed.”
“No doubt he would be,” nodded Vand’s daughter. “Well, we must make sure that no word gets to him then.”
“Impossible,” retorted Xavo. “There must be a thousand mages still in Vandamar. Any one of them is capable of sending a message to Vand.”
“Then we must eliminate a thousand mages,” shrugged Lady Mystic, “and we must do it quickly.”
Xavo’s jaw dropped as he stared at Lady Mystic. For several long moments he stared as if he thought his lover had gone insane.
“You can’t be serious,” he finally said. “Such a plan is suicidal, even if it was possible. I am willing to give my life to help my daughter and her people, but I will not give yours.”
“I have no wish to remain behind when you leave this world,” Lady Mystic replied with a smile. “While I have not learned to appreciate your daughter’s people as you have, I know what evil my father is. I will do anything to stop him.”
“But a thousand mages?” balked Xavo. “It is impossible. Even our combined talents will not be enough to overwhelm such a group. There are many talented mages left in the city. Some of them even approach our skills. It is just impossible.”
“So it would seem,” shrugged Lady Mystic, “but it must be done. Not only that, but we must then deal with the generals. If we fail, the elves will surely perish. Are you willing to allow that to happen?”
“No,” Xavo sighed heavily. “This madness must be stopped. I will contact the Torak and see what he can suggest.”
“You trust Marak, don’t you?” asked Lady Mystic.
“Very much so,” nodded Xavo. “He is a clever man, and one can tell that his heart is in the right place. He showed me what a fool I was after my wife died, and he has impressed me ever since.”
“Then contact him immediately,” advised Lady Mystic. “We do not have time to waste.”
Xavo nodded and wove an air tunnel to Khadoratung.
* * *
The large room at the rear of the temple was filled with black cloaks. Some of the Motangan mages looked perplexed; others were merely curious. A few hosted skeptical glares as Xavo entered the large room and called for quiet. Vand’s disciple let his eyes rove over the assembled crowd without a hint of the nervousness that he held inside himself.
“I have had a coded communique from Vandegar,” Xavo announced. “The situation here on Motanga is extremely serious, but there is worse news. The enemy has found a way to intercept our messages when we use air tunnels. Even worse, the enemy has been forging messages and sending them to Vand. The messages appear to originate from here, but they always contain information meant to deceive our people. The Emperor has commanded that we temporarily halt the use of air tunnels to him so that he can discover who is trying to deceive him. He will only accept messages from one of two people, and those messages will be encoded.”
“What two people?” scowled one of the senior mages.
“Myself,” answered Xavo, “and Vand’s daughter, Lady Mystic.”