“Your words are wise as always,” Cardijja said calmly. “Put enough mages onboard the ships to keep a constant stream of communications open. I want to know precisely when the spell fails, if it does fail. Find out if we have any mages present that are capable of contacting Alamar or Raven’s Point. We need to get to the bottom of this problem.”
“I will see to it immediately,” promised the general. “What about the armies? Are we to stay in Meliban or hunt down the Fakarans?”
“We move tomorrow to hunt down the Fakarans,” declared the premer.
“It is my understanding that we were attacked from both the east and the west on the plains,” responded General Luggar. “Which direction are we going to pursue? Or will you divide the army and pursue both camps of Fakarans?”
“We are going to head eastward,” declared the premer. “The tracks leading out of Meliban were much too obvious. They wanted us to pursue them to the west. I will not play their game. In the morning we will march northward along the Meliban River. When we get to the southern fork of the river, I will decide which branch to follow.”
“A wise move,” nodded General Luggar. “Let Shamal’s troops deal with the western hordes after they are done with Khadora.”
“You think Shamal will have an easy time of it in Khadora?” asked Cardijja.
“I would not say an easy time,” Luggar shook his head. “The Khadorans are the most organized lot the enemy have, but the Khadorans will stand and fight. They will not run and hide, as the Fakarans are wont to do. Just finding the Fakarans will take up the bulk of our time.”
“That is a problem,” nodded Cardijja. “We are also tasked with finding Angragar, so the search for Fakarans will not be in vain. Our scouts also report that there are large forests to the east of the Meliban River. Fighting in such an environment will limit the capabilities of these Fakaran horsemen. They may charge swiftly on the plains, but they cannot do so in the woods.”
“I look forward to that,” smiled General Luggar. “What about the port of Meliban and our supply lines?”
“We will leave ten thousand men to secure this city,” answered Premer Cardijja. “They can spend their time fortifying it against the Fakaran hordes. Our supply caravans will be heavily guarded. That will be our weakest point and the most alluring target for the Fakarans. I would like to set up some traps for the enemy along our supply routes. It will be most demoralizing to them that they are not able to disrupt our supplies.”
Chapter 21
Unexpected Arrivals
HawkShadow waved a large white flag in the air and shouted for attention. The flag was crudely made from the white uniform of a deceased Imperial Guard and attached to a long branch. StarWind stood alongside the assassin and held her hands well away from her sword. They were quickly noticed, and nearby Motangan soldiers flowed out of their tents and unsheathed their swords. Ranks of archers soon appeared, but no one came out to meet the Sakovans.
“I didn’t think our flag of truce would be very welcome just yet,” HawkShadow said under his breathe. “They have not been sufficiently terrorized. I have learned to gauge such things rather well.”
“I have no doubt about that,” replied the spymaster, “but we will follow Lyra’s orders. She wants a truce, and we will get one, no matter what it takes.”
“Oh,” grinned HawkShadow, “we will have one before the day is out. Count on it. Look. A black cloak has managed to survive.”
StarWind gazed into the Motangan encampment and saw a mage and a general conversing behind the line of archers. Her lips curled with hatred as she watched the two men.
“His name is Zatho,” spat StarWind. “He is the one who captured me. His heart is dark, and I would love to liberate it from his body.”
“I would assume that is true of all Motangan mages,” shrugged HawkShadow.
“I have no way of knowing that,” replied StarWind, “but Zatho seems to delight in torture. I am sure that he was extremely disappointed to find me missing from the encampment.”
“They are waving us forward,” HawkShadow said. “I am not sure that we can trust them.”
“I will not trust Zatho,” declared StarWind as she raised her hand and waved for the Motangans to come outside the perimeter of the camp. “This meeting will be on neutral ground or not at all.”
The stalemate lasted for over ten minutes, as each side tried to get the other to come forward. Finally, HawkShadow shook his head in frustration.
“I am going forward half the distance to the perimeter,” he said. “You may remain here. If they attack me, flee.”
“I am going with you,” StarWind declared. “I will not show cowardice to the enemy, but we go no further than half way.”
“Agreed,” nodded HawkShadow as they started walking forward.
They quickly covered half the distance to the perimeter and stopped. HawkShadow called loudly for representatives to come and talk. The Motangans continued to wave for the Sakovans to come closer, but HawkShadow shook his head exaggeratedly. Eventually the general and Zatho came forward and stopped a few paces away.
“You are afraid to enter our camp?” Zatho sneered at StarWind. “I thought all Sakovans were brave.”
“It took you long enough to come out and meet us, Zatho,” retorted StarWind. “You should not question the bravery of two Sakovans who have already been inside your encampment.”
“Enough,” scowled the Motangan general. “What is the purpose of this meeting?”
“The Star of Sakova wishes to meet under the flag of truce with Premer Doralin,” stated HawkShadow. “We have been sent to request such a meeting.”
“Is the Star of Sakova intending to surrender?” asked the general.
“Surrender?” laughed HawkShadow. “We are not the ones starving to death.”
“Then you are wasting our time,” spat Zatho. “Crawl back to your camp and prepare to die. There will be no meeting and no truce.”
“We do not know the reason for the meeting,” StarWind interjected quickly. “We have only been sent to request one.”
Zatho grinned victoriously, and StarWind glared at the black cloak.
“I do not know where you get your information,” stated the general, “but we have no problems with our supplies. If you can guarantee that the Star of Sakova wishes to surrender, I will recommend that Premer Doralin appoint someone to discuss terms with her. I can see no other reason for such a meeting.”
HawkShadow opened his mouth to speak, but StarWind cut him off.
“The meeting must be between the Star of Sakova and Premer Doralin,” the spymaster stated. “No other Motangan is acceptable. We will come back tomorrow morning to ask once again for the meeting. In the meantime I suggest that you reevaluate your food stocks.”
HawkShadow and StarWind backed slowly away from the Motangans. Zatho’s hand rose menacingly, but the general reached out and restrained the mage.
“You will never break a truce in such a manner without the premer’s instructions,” berated the general. “Join me in a trip to Doralin’s tent. He will want to hear both of our impressions of this meeting.”
The meeting had been held close enough to the Motangan encampment that some of the soldiers had been able to listen in. Word spread quickly through the encampment, and hopes of a Sakovan surrender raised the spirits of the Motangans. The general and Zatho reported immediately to the premer’s tent. General Valatosa was present when they arrived. The general reported the conversation verbatim, adding in as many of the nonverbal details as he could.
“Why was I not called?” asked Premer Doralin.
“I feared that it might be a trap,” stated the general. “While our archers would have surely avenged our deaths, I would not want the premer to be in such an indefensible position.”
“A fair answer,” Doralin nodded with satisfaction. “What do you make of their request?”
“I am puzzled,” admitted the general. “Their tone was certainly confrontational, but the woman seemed to leave open the possibility of a Sakovan surrender. Frankly, I don’t trust them. The Sakovan tactics have been irregular. If they had met us in the open and fought, they would have been annihilated long ago. I suspect trickery.”