Island of Darkness (42 page)

“I suppose that I have,” conceded General Papper. “I just hope that my decision is wise for the citizens of Gatong as well as myself.”

“If you know anyone in Fortung, General Manitow,” Lyra said, “I would request that you start with them. It is my next stop.”

“I know General Smythe,” declared General Manitow, “as does General Papper. He will not be an easy victory for you, but Fortung is so close to Gatong that winning over that city is imperative. If Fortung stands against you, the armies of Okata will have an excellent staging point to attack Gatong.”

“Perhaps we can discuss the strategy for Fortung after the business in Gatong is completed?” suggested General Papper. “While the mayor and I are in agreement of joining the Sakova, we still have the citizens to deal with. They must be informed in a manner that ensures that no rebellion takes root. I will not see this city destroyed from within.”

“An excellent idea,” nodded Lyra as her blue cylinder blinked out. “We will resume this conversation at another time, General Manitow. Thank you for your help and ideas. Please have the mage that is with you report to StarCity of the developments here.”

Lyra broke the air tunnel and the general stared at her.

“You rid yourself of your protection,” noted General Papper. “Are you that sure of yourself?”

“I think you understand the proper course you must take now,” replied Lyra. “How can we work together if we cannot trust one another?”

“I am pleased that you can forgive my arrogance so easily,” smiled General Papper. “Can you send a message to Emperor Marak so his forces will not invade?”

“Emperor Marak will not invade Omunga unless I am dead, or I order it,” declared the Star of Sakova. “I think we Sakovans can achieve victory on our own. If the situation changes, I will ask him for help.”

“Then we can still use the threat of a Khadoran invasion if it will aid our negotiations?” asked Mayor Robit.

“Indeed we can,” nodded Lyra. “Emperor Marak has made the offer several times already. I think it is important for this to be settled without Khadora if possible, though. It is the only way that the old wounds will heal. We must become one people united in defense of our homeland.”

“Remember those words,” interjected General Papper. “We still have the citizens of Gatong to appease. I do not think they will take kindly to abandoning Omunga. Many here have heard the tales of horror about the savages in the Sakova. What do they really look like?”

“They look like you and I do,” chuckled Lyra. “The Sakovans are just people trying to be left alone. The stories that were spread were told precisely to convince Omungans not to venture into the Sakova.”

“You are serious,” remarked the general. “But those tales have been around for generations.”

“Indeed they have,” smiled Lyra. “The people who brought the caravans into Gatong were Sakovans, General. You will find them to be a wonderful people when you get to know them.”

Mayor Robit rose and walked to the door of his office. He gave orders to the Imperial Guards outside the door and returned to face the general and the Star of Sakova.

“I have instructed the soldiers to call for an assembly in the marketplace,” declared the mayor. “I also ordered a strong presence from the Imperial Guards. Would it be possible for you to erect that blue cylinder when we get there? At this point I do not wish you to be harmed. Too much is at stake.”

“I can erect it at will,” frowned Lyra, “but I will not unless I have to. I do not want others to be maimed, as that poor soldier was earlier. Besides, I believe that I have more faith in the people of Gatong than you do, Mayor Robit. I do not see them as an angry mob. They are much like Sakovans in that they only want to be left alone to live their lives.”

“Perhaps,” frowned General Papper, “but I am not willing to take chances with your life now that we are joining the Sakova. I will go on ahead to prepare security measures.”

Lyra watched the general march out of the room and suddenly wondered if he had truly embraced the defection. His offer to suddenly separate himself from Lyra bothered her.

“Shall we go?” asked Mayor Robit.

Lyra chided herself for having such doubts and nodded to the mayor. She prayed to Kaltara as the mayor led her out of the building and towards the marketplace. She prayed in gratitude for the victory at Gatong, and she asked a blessing for the people of Gatong that they might become enthusiastic supporters of the Sakova. She also prayed that Mayor Robit and General Papper had become true converts to the Sakovan cause. Before she knew it, the mayor was helping her onto a table in the center of the marketplace.

The market was already overflowing with people queued up to get their food. Lyra heard runners in every direction announcing that the mayor would speak to the people. People were streaming into the marketplace from every direction, and hundreds of Imperial Guards lined the perimeter.

The citizens nearest the table were jabbering in hushed tones. Lyra tried to listen as a way of taking her mind off of things. She soon discovered that citizens were identifying her as the Star of Sakova, and Lyra realized that Shel must be somewhere in the crowd. No on else would have been able to identify her. She scanned the faces looking for the kind woman who had tried to feed her, but she could not locate her. What she did notice bothered her greatly.

Many of the citizens that were pouring into the marketplace were carrying things. Some were carrying tools, and others pieces of wood or rocks. Nothing was so obvious as to be deemed a weapon, but the coincidence of so many people carrying things that could be used to harm people was disturbing. Lyra contemplated erecting her blue cylinder, but first she decided to weave an air tunnel to see if she could detect a plot to harm her.

The Star of Sakova let the air tunnel meander over the crowd, catching bits and pieces of many conversations. The longer she listened the more she realized that someone had indeed organized the citizens to be ready to attack if they did not like what was going to happen. She felt a cold shiver stretch up her spine. She continued to scan the audience and suddenly heard a voice she recognized. It was the voice of the kind woman, and Lyra suddenly realized who was orchestrating the potential rebellion. She listened to Shel giving instructions for several moments before giving in to the urge to speak. She swiftly stabilized the air pressure in the tunnel so that it would pass speech in both directions.

“There will be no need for that, Shel,” smiled Lyra. “Things have taken an unexpected turn for the good.”

Lyra watched as Shel nearly jumped off the ground. The woman spun to face the center of the marketplace and locked eyes with the Star of Sakova.

“Are you sure, Lyra?” asked Shel. “I am not one to trust authorities. Aren’t they planning to publicly execute you?”

“No,” Lyra replied as the general hopped up on the stage and held up his hands for silence. “Listen.”

Lyra broke the air tunnel as the crowd grew silent. The general dropped his hands and addressed the audience.

“Citizens of Gatong,” shouted the general, “Mayor Robit has some important words to deliver to you today. Before he speaks, I want to impress upon you the large numbers of Imperial Guards around the market. Many of you may not like what is about to be announced, but the mayor and I have agreed that we must make a decision concerning the welfare of the people of Gatong. It is a radical change that will be made, but I assure that it is for the better. I expect you to listen with an open mind. I also expect you to obey the law. I will not have riots in this city.”

Many a glare was directed at the general, but no one spoke. The mayor hesitated before speaking. He inhaled deeply and clenched his fists several times as if that would release some of his nervousness.

“Citizens of Gatong,” the mayor said loudly, “all of you know that Omunga is currently at war with the Sakova. Unlike other attempts at war with the inhabitants of the interior, this war will be fought until one side claims complete victory over the other. The city of Gatong is now embroiled in that war. This woman beside me is Lyra, the Star of Sakova. She is the leader of the Sakovan nation. Some of you may have heard that we arrested her earlier today. Others may have heard that the ship that arrived full of food was directed to come here by her. Both statements are true.”

The mayor hesitated as he tried to gauge the people’s reaction, but the crowd was stone-faced. He swallowed hard and continued.

“General Papper and I have spent some time today discussing the future of Gatong and what course of action is best for the citizens of this fine city,” continued the mayor. “The Star of Sakova has asked that we defect and become Sakovans. She promises to restore our fields and provide free food in the meantime. It is a generous offer, but it entails a degree of risk to Gatong. Were we to defect, the Katana will most assuredly seek to punish us.”

“Let him try,” shouted a citizen.

“Yeah,” shouted another. “He will find an army of citizens in addition to our troops.”

“Let the Katana stay in Okata with his food,” shouted a third citizen. “If he comes here we will dig a hole for his body.”

All of the people started shouting threats to the Katana as Mayor Robit turned and stared at the general with disbelief. General Papper’s eyebrows rose in surprise as he listened to the crowd.

“This is going to be easier than I thought,” the general commented softly. “Hurry up and tell them the news.”

The mayor nodded and raised his hands for silence. It took several minutes before the crowd quieted. Mayor Robit grinned widely as he waited.

“Your voices speak loudly of what you want,” declared the mayor. “Let it be so. From this day forward, Gatong is a city of the Sakova.”

The mayor stepped a pace and bowed low to Lyra. The general followed the mayor’s lead as the crowd cheered wildly. Suddenly, citizens in the marketplace began to bow. It began with those closest to the table that Lyra was standing on and spread out like the ripple from a pebble thrown into a still pond until every citizen and Imperial Guard was bowed before the Star of Sakova.

Mistake crawled into the dark cave and bumped into someone’s leg.

“Sorry,” Mistake said softly. “I really can’t see in here.”

“You didn’t hurt me,” chuckled Eltor. “What did you see out there?”

“Nothing,” answered Mistake. “Absolutely nothing. There are no campfires visible, and I saw no army patrols. Is it possible that they gave up looking for us?”

“I doubt it,” replied Eltor. “I would suspect that the patrols would be fewer at night, but I am willing to wager that there are some out there.”

“Well this is the best report we’ve had in days,” said MistyTrail. “I say we attempt to escape tonight. Our food is running low and won’t last much longer. How do you feel, Caldal?”

“I feel great,” replied Caldal. “Certainly better than I have in a long time. I am with MistyTrail. If we are going to try to escape, tonight sounds like a decent chance.”

“There will still be kruls out,” warned Eltor. “They do not return to the cities at the end of the day.”

“Where do they live?” asked Mistake.

“I am not sure,” answered Eltor. “They do congregate. I supposed there might be krul cities in the forest, but I really don’t know.”

“I would guess that they eat and sleep close to where they are assigned to work,” offered Caldal. “The kruls don’t mix well with people. They would tend to avoid the cities.”

“There might be a group we have to get past then,” frowned Mistake. “Kruls were clearing the forest between the jungle and this mountain when MistyTrail and I arrived.”

“We will have to chance it,” asserted MistyTrail. “We cannot stay here until the whole forest is cleared. I vote we leave now.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the group agreed. The four elves crawled out of the cave and began the descent. The moon was half full as Mistake led the way down the side of the mountain. She handed one of her knives to Eltor. MistyTrail, who was at the rear of the procession, saw the gesture and handed one of hers to Caldal.

“You two are going to be real visible in those red uniforms,” MistyTrail commented softly. “Maybe we should have dyed them.”

“It is too late for that now,” replied Caldal. “We must keep moving.”

As they got further down the mountain, the slope eased somewhat. Mistake saw the section of cleared forest where they had run into the kruls. Her eyes scanned the area looking for signs of an encampment. She saw none.

They continued down the side of the mountain until they reached the forest. The forest was dark, but there was enough moonlight to navigate safely. Mistake picked up the pace, keeping her ears tuned to any noises beyond their footsteps. It was a quiet trek, and in less than an hour they reached the edge of the cleared area. Mistake halted and gazed across the open ground. The stumps that dotted the landscape caused her to check and recheck each area. Eltor silently tapped her shoulder and pointed off towards the right. Mistake nodded as she saw the dark lumps.

“Kruls,” she whispered. “Several dozen of them.”

“They appear to be sleeping,” Eltor said softly. “Should we cross together or singly?”

“In pairs,” offered MistyTrail. “That way the concealed pair can create a distraction, and the exposed pair can split up to confuse them.”

“I do want to learn more about the Sakova,” Mistake responded. “I like the way you have learned to think.”

“You and Eltor go first,” suggested MistyTrail with a grin. “Caldal and I will wait until you are safely across.”

“No,” replied Mistake. “You are the one used to sneaking around in the forest. I want to see how you do it. Eltor and I will go second.”

“Alright,” nodded MistyTrail as she edged past Mistake.

She waited while Caldal moved to the edge of the clearing. She grabbed his hand confidently and squeezed it.

“Just follow me,” she whispered to Caldal.

“I am an elf,” retorted Caldal. “I know how to be quiet.”

MistyTrail smiled and nodded as she stepped into the open. She did not try to race across the open area, but instead moved silently. It was an excruciatingly slow pace for Caldal, but he stayed right behind MistyTrail. They made it across the cleared area and hid behind a tree. MistyTrail wove an air tunnel towards Mistake.