“Then how could you possibly know it was hers?” questioned the mayor.
“I heard her talking to the woman on the ship,” answered Shel. “She was using some kind of magic, but I overheard her plainly enough. She did it from my front door.”
“How could you possibly know if she was talking to someone on the ship?” interrogated the mayor. “She could have been just mumbling to herself. Perhaps she knew that this ship would arrive today and set us up to make a blunder.”
“Like seizing a Khadoran ship?” Shel shot back angrily. “I know she was talking to the ship because I heard the other woman answer her. I also heard the clanging of the rigging in the background and the sound of the sea. I know what I heard.”
The mayor stared hard at Shel for several moments before he lowered his eyes to the table. He closed his eyes as he tried to evaluate the position he was in. Finally, he realized that Gatong was in great trouble. He looked over the crowd and raised his arms high to get everyone’s attention.
“I will discuss this matter with General Papper,” the mayor declared. “When I fully understand what is happening, I will let everyone know. In the meantime, queue up for the food distribution. I expect everyone to be orderly. I will have no riots in Gatong.”
Mayor Robit faced Shel once again and waved a hand dismissively at the Imperial Guards holding her.
“I will not arrest you, Shel,” stated the mayor, “because I think you were only acting for the good of all citizens, but I warn you now. Do not stir this crowd into a frenzy. I will discover exactly how the Star of Sakova and this Khadoran ship are tied together, but I do not need discontent in Gatong while I am doing it. Do you understand?”
“I hear your words,” replied Shel. “I have not tried to incite a riot, but I felt the people need to know about the food. If we do not appease the Star of Sakova, there will be no more ships coming.”
“More ships?” asked the mayor. “Why would more ships be coming?”
“That is what she said,” shrugged Shel. “She said this was only the first ship and that more would come in the future.”
“That is hard to believe,” scowled the mayor. “It makes no sense to feed your enemy.”
“I don’t think she sees us as her enemy,” replied Shel. “I think she wanted to trade peace for food. That is what she wanted to talk to you about. It is why I brought her to your office. Remember those caravans earlier? Those were Sakovan, too. Many of us would have died without those caravans. I wonder why they stopped sending them?”
Mayor Robit gritted his teeth as he turned and jumped off the table. He knew why the caravans no longer arrived, but he dared not to speak of it. They stopped when the Imperial Guards started following them back into the Sakova. The enemy was smart enough to understand the risks of continuing the caravans, so why had the Star of Sakova decided to personally come to Gatong? Mayor Robit decided that he needed to have that question answered. He strode briskly towards the office of General Papper to get his answer.
Mayor Robit paused between the two Imperial Guards stationed outside the door to the office of the general. He did not bother to knock as he opened the door. He found the general sitting at his desk staring at a wall map of Omunga.
“Most people are polite enough to knock before entering,” scowled the general as he looked up at the mayor. “I heard you seized a ship in the harbor. I think you have just given me the perfect avenue to transport the Star of Sakova to Okata. I will have her there before Didyk or anyone else realizes what is happening.”
“You plan to sail to Okata in a Khadoran ship?” questioned the mayor as he sat in a chair before the general’s desk.
“Khadoran?” gasped the general. “Please tell me that you are playing a cruel joke on me.”
“I wish I was,” sighed the mayor. “I did not recognize the banner and neither did any of the Imperial Guards. We have problems, General.”
“We?” balked General Papper. “Do not try to connect me with your mistakes. My career is about to blossom. I will not associate myself with your foolishness.”
“You are involved deeper than you realize,” retorted the mayor. “The Khadoran ship belongs to Emperor Marak. He is the one who declared that no food would be sold to Omungans as long as we were at war with the Sakovans. Now how do you suppose that ship came to our fair city?”
“Perhaps he changed his mind?” shrugged the general. “The ship arriving is not a problem. Seizing it was. Whatever prompted you to do such a thing? We could have easily paid for the cargo.”
“The cargo was not for sale,” replied the mayor. “It was being delivered to an individual. That said individual is the Star of Sakova that you arrested. Are you beginning to see the picture yet?”
“No,” General Papper replied while shaking his head. “You are making no sense at all. Why would the Khadoran emperor send a ship loaded with food to the leader of the Sakovans and have it dock in an Omungan city? It makes no sense at all.”
“It does if you believe what Shel says,” answered the mayor. “She claims that the Star of Sakova came to my office to offer food for peace. She said that this ship was the first of many.”
“She can’t do that,” scowled the general. “Does she think that she can make peace with individual Omungan cities? She must be a fool.”
“Perhaps,” murmured the mayor, “but she claims to have gained the allegiance of three Omungan cities already. According to her, Zaramilden, Duran, and Alamar are now parts of the Sakova.”
“Inconceivable,” retorted the general.
“Is it?” questioned the mayor. “There was almost a riot in the marketplace a few minutes ago. The people found out where the food came from. You should have been there, General. I have no doubt whatsoever that the people of Gatong would gladly exchange their allegiance for food. They are starving. If the Sakovan army showed up here, our citizen would run out of this city to embrace them with open arms. I suspect that they will do the same when the Khadorans invade.”
“That is not going to happen,” vowed the general.
“The captain of the ship stated quite clearly that he considered the seizure to be an act of war,” the mayor pointed out. “We may try to look at it otherwise, but it takes only one side to declare a war.”
“That is not a problem,” the general smiled thinly. “I will arrange for the crew to be executed. When the ship is unloaded, I will have it taken out to sea and sunk. No one in Khadora will be the wiser. It will be as if the ship sunk at sea with all hands aboard. You worry too much.”
“You worry too little,” retorted the mayor. “The Sakovans and the Khadorans have a method of speaking over long distances. There was a mage onboard the ship. Shel overheard the Star of Sakova speaking to the mage before the ship was even in sight. She also heard the mage answer. I fear that Khadora may already know about the incident.”
“Mages?” murmured the general as his eyes lowered and he exhaled deeply. “Why didn’t I think about that? I remembered that she was from the Academy of Magic. I should have realized that she was a mage.”
The general suddenly became very agitated. He pushed his chair away from the desk and leaped to his feet.
“What is the matter?” Mayor Robit asked with concern. “Where are you going?”
“To the cells,” replied the general as he sped towards the door. “We have no mage cells in Gatong. If we have two mages imprisoned there, they will get free. We must not let them escape.”
Chapter 24
Attitude Adjustment
Lyra woke with a throbbing headache. She raised herself up on one elbow and looked around the room. She was in a small dank cell. She could see the flickering of a torch through a small barred window in the door and a slight beam of sunlight through a small window near the ceiling. She got to her feet and walked towards the window, but it was too high for her to see out. All she could glimpse was a cloud-covered sky.