Dwarven Ruby (13 page)

“Very acceptable. There is no way we can rescue anyone from the palace dungeon,” frowned Oscar. “Short of a complete takeover of the palace, that just isn’t going to happen.”

“The rescue of General Gregor and Sergeant Trank earlier has caused them to tighten the security,” nodded Mitar. “I agree with Oscar’s assessment. Only a full attack would get us in there to rescue them.”

Oscar rose without comment and left the room. He returned in a few minutes and sat down.

“I just dispatched some fairies to the farm,” Oscar stated. “They will use their magic to create an illusion surrounding the entrance to the farm. It will be much harder for Salvo’s men to gain access to a farm, which they cannot find the entrance to.”

“What do you think Colonel Salvo’s next move would be if he sees the Grakus Mercenary Company as a tool of the Queen?” asked David.

“He would endeavor to shut it down,” mused Oscar. “He will know that he must be rather careful in doing so. If he is on to what we are doing, I must believe that he will try to estimate our strength before striking.”

“And then he would strike suddenly and unexpectedly,” nodded Mitar. “Blood would flow through Tagaret streets. It is not a vision that I ever hope to see.”

“It would be the civil war that we have been doing everything in our power to avoid,” concluded Oscar.

“What if we assassinated Colonel Salvo?” suggested David. “Is there a chance that he is the only one who knows at this point?”

“I am not sure if I would say the only one,” offered Oscar after a moment of thought, “but I doubt that he would inform Duke Everich until he was sure of his facts. There are many nobles and councilors who depend upon our mercenary companies for protection. There would be some rather high level protests if the mercenaries were suddenly taken away without good cause.”

“Duke Everich could easily find himself with a revolution on his hands,” interjected Mitar. “I agree. Salvo will keep this close to himself until he has everything he needs to present a clear case.”

“That does not mean that we can assassinate him, though,” frowned Oscar. “He lives in the Royal Palace. Killing him would be almost as hard as freeing Sydar.”

“Can we push our plans ahead of schedule and bring Queen Marta in early?” questioned David Jaynes.

“We are close to ready,” Oscar shook his head, “but we are not there yet. It would not help the heir if Queen Marta were to die before he was ready to assume the throne.”

“What did you do with the three men that Salvo sent to you, David?” asked Mitar.

“I have them locked up,” answered David. “I could not afford to let them go until we determine a plan of action.”

“What would you do with Sydar if he was freed from the dungeon?” asked Oscar.

“A good question,” pondered David. “We could not use in him in Tagaret until the city is safely in our hands. Still, I wouldn’t want to lose him.”

“Even though he is giving information to the enemy?” quizzed Oscar.

“Every man has his breaking point, Oscar,” sighed David. “So far we do not have much of an idea of what Sydar has told them. I would like to know that very much.”

“Even if we had some way of getting him released,” Mitar pointed out, “Colonel Salvo would continue to watch him if he could. That means that we dare not send him back to the farm.”

“Where are you heading with this, Oscar?” inquired David Jaynes. “Do you think that you could actually arrange his release?”

“Not I,” smiled Oscar. “You might be able to though. Before I offer my crazy scheme, let’s figure out what we would do with him.”

“I see only two options,” stated David. “We could kick him out of the Red Swords at a time when we need every fighter we can find. Or we can send him someplace unassociated with us until we take control of the city.”

“Like Tice?” suggested Mitar Vidson.

“Tice would work quite well, actually,” nodded David. “They can certainly use his expertise up there. Plus we can sneak him out of the city on a ship while they are watching the gates.”

“And his sister and her family could go with him,” concluded Oscar. “My plan is not necessarily a good one, but I think if we act fast enough, we may be able to limit the amount of information that Colonel Salvo extracts from him. In any event, this plan has no downside to it. If it fails, we still have our original problem to deal with.”

“Any plan that has no downside is a good one,” corrected Mitar. “What is the plan?”

“Listen closely and tell me what you think,” smiled Oscar.

* * *

David Jaynes rode up to the gate of the mansion. “David Jaynes of the Grakus Mercenary Company to see Duke Everich. Please announce me.”

“You come looking for work have you?” snickered one of the soldiers.

“Your lack of professional attitude is one of the reasons that you were not considered for the Red Swords,” David shot back. “Try working on it. You never can tell when you might get another chance. You might find that my word carries a fair amount of weight in this city.”

The soldier gave David a puzzled look, but the rest of the soldiers were laughing heartily. David rode a slight distance away from the gate while one of the soldiers ran towards the mansion. When he saw the soldier returning, he rode up to the gate again.

“Sorry for my lip, Sir,” apologized the offending soldier. “It gets kind of boring standing out here all night.”

“I understand,” offered David. “I found myself in many a boring task at times. The trick is to use those times to honestly analyze yourself. Try to discover your weaknesses and then develop a plan to make them your strengths.”

“Duke Everich will see you, Sir,” announced the runner as he opened the gate.

“Thank you for the advice, Sir,” offered the offending soldier as David rode through the gate.

David heard the other soldiers laughing as he rode towards the mansion. He smiled when he heard the mouthy soldier shouting back at the hecklers. At the steps to the mansion, David dismounted and handed his reins to a waiting soldier. Two other soldiers escorted David into the office of Duke Everich. Duke Jiardin and Duke Everich were already in the room.

“David Jaynes,” greeted Duke Everich. “This is most unusual. I trust this visit in not to try to sell me the services of your mercenaries?”

“Certainly not,” smiled David. “You have the use of the entire Targa army. That makes you a candidate not worth pursuing. Greetings, Duke Jiardin.”

“Is this a private matter?” Duke Everich asked as he stole a glance at Duke Jiardin.

“Not at all,” replied David. “It is either a matter for the Council or a plea for advice from yourself. I truly am not sure which.”

“Well then I will have Duke Jiardin stay,” smiled Duke Everich. “Please have a seat. What is the problem?”

“I am concerned about potential troublemakers in the city,” opened David.

“Of what concern are the protestors to the Grakus Mercenary Company?” asked Duke Everich.

“They are of no concern at all,” responded David. “As long as they don’t attack our clients, I see that as a Council problem. That is not the type of troublemakers that I am talking about though. Let me explain.”

“Please do,” frowned Duke Everich.

“Three men came into my business today looking for work,” David began. “The strange thing is that when they came in they asked for Sydar.”

“Why is that strange?” quizzed Duke Jiardin.

“Sydar does not work for me,” replied David. “In fact, he would never work for me. The man is mentally unstable. He was thrown out of the Red Swords just before they disbanded. He had delusions that everyone was involved in one conspiracy or another. Strangely, this man actually believed them. You can see why he would not be fit to wear a uniform.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, David,” interrupted Duke Everich, “but your hiring problems are not a matter for the Council.”

“I understand that,” retorted David, “but the security of Tagaret is. The three men were also previously Red Swords. They also had been tossed out. I told them that there was no place in Tagaret for them. I suggested that they try Cidal and they left.”

“I had heard that you employ a number of Red Swords and Rangers,” interrupted Duke Everich. “Many in this city are concerned about that.”

“We hire only the best,” smiled David Jaynes. “Of course we would use Rangers and Red Swords, but only those who truly deserved to wear the uniforms. As for people feeling uneasy about it, that is foolish. Right now Tagaret is getting the benefit of the world’s best warriors and it is costing the city nothing. They should recognize a bargain when they see one.”

“If you say so,” sighed Duke Everich. “I still do not see where all of this is leading.”

“If that was the whole of it, I would agree,” frowned David. “The fact is, several minutes later, three more Red Swords arrived asking for Sydar. They also were not of the caliber that we would hire, and I sent them to Cidal as well. This kept on happening all day. By then end of the day, fifteen men had come in and asked for Sydar. Twelve of them I recognized as men who were thrown out of the Red Swords. I sent those twelve to Cidal.”

“What of the other three?” asked Duke Jiardin.

“The last three have never served in the Red Swords,” answered David. “Still they asked for Sydar and I became very concerned.”

“Concerned about what?” asked Duke Everich.

“Concerned that this Sydar might be trying to gather a bunch of crazed lunatics,” replied David. “As I said, the man is unstable and sees conspiracies wherever he looks. If he is dredging the gutters of town to find misfits, then he is a danger to the city. Your people need to be made aware of his activities. You should find this Sydar and kick him out of the city.”

“Why kick him out?” questioned Duke Jiardin. “We could just hang him.”

“You could,” nodded David, “but I wouldn’t handle it that way.”

“Why not?” queried Duke Everich. “How would you handle it?”

“Who knows how many people he has spread his conspiracies to,” declared David. “If you kill him, you might just be proving to the next lunatic that Sydar was right. If you kick him out of town, it is as though you are laughing at him and his conspiracies. Sometimes there can be punishments worse than death.”

“You are a devious man,” snickered Duke Everich. “I thank you for bringing this matter to our attention, but I do not see that the trip was worth your time.”

“Anything that promotes peace and stability in Tagaret makes our job easier,” responded David, “but that is not all of it. I really became concerned about all of this today. I said that I sent twelve of the men to Cidal, but when the last three came in, I knew that I had to do something about it. I figured that your army might want to talk to some of these lunatics and find out what is going on.”

“So what did you do with the last three men?” asked Duke Jiardin.

“I locked them in a cell,” smiled David. “Personally, I think you should kick them out of the city too, but that is your problem, not mine. If your army wishes them, I will hold them until morning. If not, I will just let them go.”

“Interesting,” mused Duke Everich. “Perhaps I should have Colonel Salvo contact you tonight. Will you be available?”

“I will make myself available,” nodded David Jaynes. “You should have Colonel Salvo try to locate this Sydar too and get him out of your city. Even if his only harm is spreading conspiracy theories, he could tie your people up for days as they try to determine fact from fiction. You just don’t need to waste your resources that way.”

“Well, thank you for coming, David,” smiled Duke Everich. “We should meet more frequently. You have a very different way of looking at things.”

“Thank you for seeing me,” nodded David as he turned and left.

* * *

“You took your time getting here,” snarled Duke Everich. “I do not plan to remain awake all night to deal with this problem.”

“My apologies, Duke Everich,” greeted Colonel Salvo. “I was not in my office when your message arrived. I was interrogating a prisoner.”

“I hope this prisoner revealed the information you need to stop the rioters that are disrupting this city,” scowled Duke Everich. “They are becoming much more than an embarrassment.”

“Actually,” replied Colonel Salvo, “I have been working on something far more important. I believe that Tagaret is being infiltrated by Red Swords, and I aim to find out what their plan is.”

“There are Red Swords all over this city,” retorted Duke Everich. “Many of the mercenaries are Red Swords or Rangers.”

“Exactly,” nodded Colonel Salvo. “I think the Grakus Mercenary Company may be in league with Queen Marta. Today I captured a Red Sword who was sending men in small groups to the mercenaries. I was overseeing his interrogation when your message arrived. Within days I will discover their plan.”

Duke Everich’s eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed as he stared at the colonel. “What is the name of this Red Sword?” questioned Duke Everich.

“His name is Sydar,” answered Colonel Salvo. “We witnessed him meeting with and sending twelve men to the Grakus Mercenary Company. He has already admitted that the twelve men were Red Swords. Do you understand what this means? If the Grakus Mercenary Company is working with Queen Marta then all of the estates in Tagaret are harboring the enemy. We must round them all up.”

“Have you verified that Queen Marta still lives?” questioned Duke Everich.

“No,” frowned Colonel Salvo, “but we have no proof that she is dead, either.”

“Let me see if I have your plan correctly,” sneered Duke Everich. “There are hundreds of rioters rampaging through this city. They are stealing food and threatening the population, mostly the councilors and nobles who control the city. Now, on the word of a madman, you want to stir up more trouble for me by going to these very estates and arresting their security forces?  Are you trying to have my rule overthrown?”

“I do not understand,” frowned Colonel Salvo. “We cannot allow forces of the Queen to take up refuge on these estates. Surely that is protecting your rule more than worrying about some children stealing food?”

“It might be, if the man you are interrogating is not crazy,” rebuked Duke Everich. “As for the mercenary companies plotting against me, David Jaynes has already been here and warned me about Sydar. It appears that they keep me better informed than my own people. Did you know that Sydar was kicked out of the Red Swords because he saw conspiracies everywhere?”