To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) (26 page)

“Accomplished Starkas,” Jennel quickly intervened. “Go ahead and transfer power to the Maestro while he listens to whatever Conductor Cresh has to report.”

The middle-aged Aakacarn, who could pass for a man in his thirties, stepped forward and touched Daniel’s forehead, sending life force energy into his vat.

Samuel’s eyebrows drew closer together, nearly making a straight line. “I was half concerned you would show up on the eastern border before I could tell you the Cenkataarans have not only invaded Ducaun, seven of their ten legions seem to be heading west. Only the Arian Legion remains behind, no doubt to defend their capitol, and I learned that King Gabriel’s goal is to force us to withdraw from Lobenia.”

It was good to know Sam had learned to give timely reports. With two legions in Ducaun and seven more on the way, the Cenkataarans were clearly ready to go to war over the issue.

“I may yet convey to the eastern border,” Daniel replied, knowing the incursion could not be ignored for long, especially with everything else going on. “Reports are coming in that Pentrosa is also preparing to invade us. I need you to get some scouts in the region, locate any Serpents that may be involved, and confirm for us whether or not King Xavier is sending more of his legions south. The Pentrosans have a new weapon. They call it a spheroid; see if you can find out what it does.”

Samuel’s lips formed a half smile. “It looks like I am not the only one doing some direct scouting. I will dispatch agents to Pentrosa,” he replied and then paused before adding, “Your presence may be required at multiple locations before this day ends. I sincerely hope we can take these chores one at a time or things will get difficult.”

“We may experience some difficulty,” Daniel agreed, even though the word barely described how bad the situation could get. “Do you have anything positive to say about Taracopa?”

Samuel glanced at Bernard before answering. “Van Kestral is ignorant of his ally’s ties to the Serpents. Van Joppa is firmly allied with Vance Cummin. I recommend someone from the department of Emissaries be sent to Taracopa for the purpose of enlightening the King and then Van Kestral. If they learn who the real enemy is and who is responsible for the abductions, it might be possible to reconcile the lord with King Van Efery.”

“That would be helpful,” Silvia gave her opinion. “You being involved with the reconciliation might be a step toward earning the trust of the king. He might even allow you to help him repel the Aczencopans.”

In light of recent developments, Daniel’s hands were full without adding the chore of actually fighting anther kingdom’s battles, although gaining the King’s trust was important.

Bernard did not bother with coughing to get attention, he stepped forward boldly. “I will choose an emissary and send the Accomplished on the mission proposed by Conductor Cresh unless, Maestro, you disapprove.”

“I approve,” Daniel was quick to say.

Bernard raised his hand, gesturing in a negative sweep. “Do not think that negotiating a successful reconciliation will earn enough trust to keep Van Efery from being afraid of you. Thanks to Efferin Tames, the king may believe you are giving him a choice between two evils with both being equally bad, fall to the Serpent-backed rebels or the Atlantans. I am sad to report that many of the nobles I have contacted around the world believe you are a greater threat than Tarin Conn, I do not know as of yet whether or not the king is among that group. Be it as it may, many of the nobles believe your spell-casting has upset the delicate balance of power that has kept the peace for centuries. They do not understand how wrong they are, how Balen Tamm would still be alive, Tarin Conn would be free at this moment, and the war between the Serpent Guild and Aakadon will happen even if you had never cast your first spell. In essence, they are afraid, confused, and want someone to blame for all the upheaval in the world.”

“And you are the perfect candidate,” a voice belonging to someone Daniel loved dearly spoke from the doorway.

He turned to see emerald-green eyes staring out of a lovely face, framed by the topaz blue hood of her cloak. “Is that the opinion held by the First Lady of the Atlantan Guild?”

He wanted to spring from his chair, take her in his arms, and kiss her, but there were too many people in the room and Elias was in the middle of donating energy. Daniel had to settle for admiring her from where he sat.

Sherree looked at him askance and even that he found to be adorable. “Your name has become synonymous with violent spell-casting. Tarin Conn is a legend, a being not seen in over a thousand years, and few people have any idea of what he looks like. You, my Maestro, have been seen by tens of thousands of people and your image has been published all over the world. I doubt half the nobles can name one of the seven Maestros of Aakadon, yet all of them and even the commoners have heard of you. Few people would dare to blame Efferin Tames for all the turmoil so that leaves you as the one responsible.”

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. “Well, that simply means you and Conductor Kleopis have a lot of smoothing over to do through your emissaries. Those same folks you spoke of are afraid of me and so I cannot approach them in person.”

Silvia picked that moment to add her opinion. “With regard to the Chosen Vessel their choices are to join his swirl, get out of the way, or be destroyed.”

Samuel glanced at his cousin. “With every Teki in the realm preaching her message, it is not surprising so many people are afraid of Daniel.”

Every Teki in the realm, Sam had said, meaning Ducaun, yet troops of them were all over the world. An idea came to Daniel while Elias moved away and red-haired Rhoda Valeran took his place. “I think you should work on locating every Teki troop you can find and give a few people in each a communication amulet. They can quietly report to you what is happening in whatever kingdom they happen to be in,” Daniel shared his thought.

Samuel’s half smile turned into full on smugness. “Maestro, your idea is so good I have already begun establishing my Eagle Eyes among the tribal troops, some of which are in Cenkataar. They all look at me like a dead man walking, but I serve the Chosen Vessel, and so they cooperate.” An Aakacarn born among the Teki is always declared dead by the troop chief and so their attitude was not surprising.

“Just as I told him they would,” Silvia added a little bit of information Samuel had left out, no doubt because she did not appreciate being blamed for people being afraid. The Conductor of the ISIG had enough dignity not to stick his tongue out at her, although by the look in his eyes he surely wanted to. All smugness was gone.

While they were speaking Daniel overheard Bernard fill Sherree in on the most recent developments. It did not take her long to decide on a course of action. “Leah, Jeremiah, Marcus, and the Benhannon Guardsmen are in position to defend against the flotilla. I can convey with Chas and fifteen hundred Sentinels to the enemy encampment. We will give the Cenkataarans several good reasons to make their political demands from their side of the border,” she stated. Her action would do nothing about the seven legions on the way, but could drive the foreign army out of Ducaun and inject at least some caution against further aggression.

“There are twenty thousand horsemen and ten thousand foot soldiers along with support personnel camping three spans within Ducaun. I doubt they would be intimidated by your show of force since none of them have seen the Chosen’s Sentinels in battle,” Samuel made clear. “I have a rapid response force of twenty-five Accomplisheds who can accompany you. Their team leader, Accomplished Darrel Logan, has an owl in the area and can supply the visuals needed to convey anywhere you wish to arrive. It is my opinion the high command of the Cenkataaran legions will recognize a group of Aakacarns as being a serious threat and that may cause them to be more amendable to your suggestion to leave.”

Daniel had some serious concerns about their plan, they made it sound easier than what was likely to be, and any action taken at this point might lead to violence. He sent a mental message to Tekel and Mene, a pair of hawks, who were on Mount Tannakonna, about seventy spans from the encampment, and encouraged them to fly east. He wanted to see the encounter and agreed with Samuel on sending a team. “The rapid response force is to accompany the First Lady.”

“It will be as you say,” Sherree said with widening eyes. “I admit to being a little surprised you are allowing me to handle the situation rather than go yourself.”

Rhoda finished donating energy and stepped back. Daniel gave her a nod of respect and noted a long line of Aakacarns waiting to increase his potential. “The border violation is serious and needs to be addressed right away. I promised to remain here and have the contents of my vat increased over the course of four marks and have one more to go. The First Accomplished is occupied and so it seems appropriate for the First Lady to handle the crisis.” This of course did not mean he would stay out of the confrontation.

Sherree’s eyes narrowed as if she did not quite buy into his reasoning, which did not stop her from turning to Sam. “Have your team meet me at the Benhannon Northland Holding. Chas will have the Sentinels ready to deploy.”

“It will be as you say, First Lady,” he replied and then vanished in a flash.

Sherree’s eyes studied Daniel a while longer and then she too vanished in a flash.

While Daniel sat receiving potential, time passed and Mene and Tekel reached the encampment. He concentrated on Tekel until her senses became his. From her perch in an oak tree above the command pavilion she provided an excellent view of two camps, each divided into five sections that mirrored each other. A virtual sea of tents occupied the field surrounding the tree to the right and left with pickets at the perimeter. Each legion had command tents at the center, supply wagons, and a huge mess tent. Neat rows of identical gray tents, each able to house ten men, made up the vast majority of space, and both legions appeared to be settling in for the long hall. Even so, Daniel had no doubt they could snap into action if threatened and be on the move in short order.

A blanket of snow on the ground had a brownish color from the many boots and hooves adding dirt into the frosty mix. More horses then Daniel had time to count were being held in rope corrals and each legion had a portable
smithy. He could hear the ring of hammers pounding iron from both camps.
Smoke rose from the cook fires near the mess tents while men in red on black uniforms stood in orderly lines to get a meal. Each soldier had a black lacquered conical helmet with a spike at the top and every man had a sword and dagger at the hips. Black chain mail lay over their fur-lined coats, providing them protection in battle and the winter chill.

Through Tekel’s sharp eye, Daniel saw a patrol entering the perimeter of the camp on the left. Twenty horsemen took their mounts to the rope corral while one of them with a lieutenant’s silver bar on his shoulders walked from there up to the command pavilion. On the ground below were two generals. Daniel recognized the black lacquered helmets, each with a golden eagle with its wings spread wide at the front, and the five smaller eagles on their silver shoulder stripes. The black spikes on their helmets were trimmed with gold. Around the commanders stood a pair of colonels, each with four gold eagles on their shoulders, four majors with three eagles, and fifty guards. Anyone who wanted to attack these men would have to get past two legions to do so. The generals were gray bearded, one had a pug-nose, and the other’s a more prominent. The colonels had some gray in their beards, but most everyone else had silky black hair, and all of them had light brown complexions.

The lieutenant, who had led the patrol, reached the guards. Few Cenkataarans grew above six cubits in height, but the guard who escorted the young officer forward could have passed for an average Ducaunan if his skin had been paler and his oval eyes a bit rounder. “Major Kite, Lieutenant Grimes has returned from the west,” he announced.

The major moved away from his superiors and spoke to the junior officer in a tone too low for even Tekel’s sensitive ears to hear. The lieutenant replied in an equally low voice, the major nodded, and then rejoined the commanders.

“General Colter, General Langley, the Ducaunan muster is slightly larger than the legion commanded by General Tallen,” Kite reported. “Sixteen thousand men are in eight camps about five spans west of our position. The average Ducaun civilian does not carry a sword or shield, but they all have bows and knives.”

“An extra sixteen thousand archers added to ten thousand horsemen and two thousand foot soldiers can be formidable under the command of someone like General Tallen,” the pug-nosed General gave his assessment.

“Kent, those men are hunters and experts at taking their prey from concealment,” Prominent-nose added.

The Colonel on the right gave a slight negative shake of his head. “General Langley,” he said to Prominent-nose, so Pug-nose had to be Colter. “I believe the civilian musters will not be nearly as formidable as our trained soldiers. Major, how many men-at-arms are in the muster?”

“Two Ducaunan Lords of the Land and a Royal Knight of the Realm have brought a combined force of six thousand along with those ten thousand conscripts.” Kite replied.

General Colter huffed and said, “Rupert, the additional force of trained fighters and ten thousand hunters does change the dynamics of what we face going forward, but not our mission. We still have the greater numbers. If the King’s demands are not met within the next ten days, battle will ensue.”