Young Lord of Khadora (31 page)

Fisher nodded and slipped back into the trees. Lord Marak regained the path and hurried back to the mansion. He ordered Lectain Zorkil to inform the Council of Advisors that they would meet in one hour and then headed straight to Marshal Yenga’s suite. Lord Marak told Marshal Yenga of the pending attack and asked his advice on how to prepare.

“Do the Ragatha know that the Litari and Sorgan Clans owe allegiance to you?” the Marshal of Fardale asked.

“I do not see any way that they could know,” commented Lord Marak. “I was planning on using the Litari troops to attack Lord Zawbry from behind.”

“That is sound strategy,” nodded Marshal Yenga. “I think the best use of the Sorgan troops would be to flank Lord Sevrin’s approaching army. What kind of tricks can your Mage Corp provide us?”

Lord Marak’s eyes opened wide and Marshal Yenga laughed. “You may be able to hide their training from everyone in Fardale,” chuckled Marshal Yenga, “but I know how a Marshal thinks and you think like one of the finest Marshals I have ever known. In your position you need to explore every path available, whether it is a dead end or not.”

“Their battle magic is not perfected,” sighed Lord Marak. “They can create fog to confuse the enemy and provide communications to a central point. They can do more, but I do not wish to show my hand if victory can be obtained without letting anyone know we are using mages.”

“That is a sound philosophy,” agreed Marshal Yenga. “Even fog will allow us to even the odds greatly. If we can get the bulk of their army between us and the Sorgan Clan, we will do great damage with arrows before they know what is going on. Do you plan to appeal to Lord Ridak for help?”

“I feel that I must,” frowned Lord Marak. “I doubt they will come to our aid, but not to ask for it would be wrong.”

“I know Lord Marshal Grefon,” remarked Marshal Yenga. “He will not come to help you. He has visited Fardale more often than any other Situ estate. I assume that he wanted it for his own and now you have it. He will attack the Ragatha after they are victorious, but that will not help us.”

“Will he attack if we are victorious?” questioned Lord Marak.

“Not right away,” Marshal Yenga answered as he stared out the window. “He will find it hard to believe that young Marak has defeated the five estates of the Ragatha Clan. No, he will try to get more information about the battle and how it was won before he attacks. He is not a Marshal who throws troops into the unknown easily.”

“I need to choose the man I send wisely,” mused Lord Marak. “It must be somebody who can keep his mouth quiet. Lord Marshal Grefon and Lord Ridak will try to pry information out of him.”

“Send Cortain Rybak,” suggested Marshal Yenga.

“Rybak?” queried Lord Marak. “You do not know what you are saying. Why did you suggest him?”

“I do not know what has passed between you and Rybak,” noted Marshal Yenga, “but I know he is your man. He feels some deep obligation to you and has volunteered for every hazardous task that has come across my desk. I believe that he feels the need to repay you for something.”

“That may be so,” objected Lord Marak, “but he is not the right man for this job. He feels bad because he was Grefon’s stooge when we were sent out here. I know he has changed and I am happy to leave the past forgiven, but not forgotten.”

Marshal Yenga walked to his desk and sat down. After a moment, he looked Lord Marak in the eyes. “Send him,” Marshal Yenga repeated. “That is if he is willing to go. If what you have told me is true, he is the perfect man for the job. He will resent Lord Marshal Grefon enough that he will reveal nothing.”

“I could not send him,” stated Lord Marak. “Even if he did not reveal anything, Lord Marshal Grefon would like to get his hands on him.”

“Who goes to Lituk Valley is not the most pressing problem that we have,” offered Marshal Yenga. “I will leave it up to the Lectains as to who should be sent. What I need to know now is how we can use your Mage Corps to our best advantage.”

“You have a bigger challenge than that,” declared Lord Marak. “I do not want to kill the Ragatha Army. I want to capture them.”

“Capture them?” exclaimed Marshal Yenga. “We will be doing good if we can defeat them. You can’t be serious?”

“Ah, but I am,” smiled Lord Marak. “Lord Sevrin is coming with every soldier he owns. It is much larger than the three Clans I now control. If we destroy his army, we will not have enough troops to safeguard our new Ragatha estates.”

“You plan to take over the Ragatha estates?” echoed Marshal Yenga. “Shouldn’t we plan on surviving, first?”

“If we don’t survive,” remarked Lord Marak, “we won’t have to worry about the validity of our other plans. If we kill the Ragatha Clan and lose many of our men doing it, Lord Marshal Grefon will march right out here and claim his prize. I will not allow for that in my planning. We have almost a week to work on this. Let’s plan to achieve my objectives and see how it goes.”

“We have much less than a week if we are to achieve your goals,” remarked Marshal Yenga. “We will have to do something to even the odds if we are to capture the Ragatha Clan. If I know Lord Zawbry, he will attack first to draw your attention so your men have their backs to Lord Sevrin. He will attack late in the afternoon so the battle does not get too fierce. Lord Sevrin’s men will attack at dawn and you will be stuck in between.”

“But I have trained my men to fight at night,” Lord Marak pronounced excitedly.

“Exactly,” nodded Marshal Yenga. “Let Lord Zawbry start the conflict and bed down for the night. During the night we will encircle his camp and demand his surrender. It would help if one of your men could actually get to Lord Zawbry’s tent unnoticed to demand the surrender.”

“With Lord Zawbry’s men out of the way,” continued Lord Marak, “we will be facing only one front and they will expect only a third of us.”

“Precisely,” agreed Marshal Yenga. “That will be the hard part. We are going to need something very complicated to capture the armies from the other four estates.”

“We will have to discuss this later,” sighed Lord Marak. “We have a Council meeting to inform the rest of Fardale about the threat. Perhaps they will have some valuable insight.”

* * *

“You have been gone a long time,” greeted Lord Ridak. “I trust everything went well with the emissary?”

“Hardly,” frowned Lord Marshal Grefon. “The mediator did not even get to hear the grievance. Marak had already managed to quiet the Sorgan and Litari Clans before the emissary arrived. He must have given them something, but I can not figure out what is was. Marak has proven to be a poor choice for Fardale and he must be removed.”

“He was your choice,” Lord Ridak reminded the Lord Marshal. “Why didn’t you just remove him?”

“I tried,” scowled Lord Marshal Grefon. “The emissary claims the pronouncement does not allow for you to replace Marak.”

“The emissary claims!” exclaimed Lord Ridak. “Who is he to determine internal Situ affairs?”

“He is the representative of the Lords Council,” corrected Lord Marshal Grefon. “If you try to remove Marak and are unsuccessful, the Lords Council may side with him in any disputes. I know of no precedent for the Lords Council to take up with a sworn clansman, but I do not think it would be wise to test their power.”

“What condition is Fardale in?” quizzed Lord Ridak.

“They are actually going to be able to fulfill their contracts,” surmised Lord Marshal Grefon. “I do not understand how Marak managed it, but Fardale’s watula is as healthy and bountiful as the Sorgan crop.”

“Then Marak has served his purpose,” concluded Lord Ridak. “Recall him at once and I will deal with him.”

“You haven’t been listening,” sighed Lord Marshal Grefon. “You have no control over Fardale. The only person out there that you have any control over is Marak and he will not cooperate with you.”

“What are you talking about?” stormed Lord Ridak. “I made Marak Lord of Fardale and I can remove him. If the document I gave to you is not sufficient, I will have another drafted with greater powers.”

“There is no such document that you could draft,” admitted Lord Marshal Grefon. “The pronouncement you signed to put Marak in power gives him absolute control over Fardale. You have only one sworn clansman in Fardale and that is Lord Marak.”

“But you drafted that pronouncement,” protested Lord Ridak. “What was going through your head when you specified that clause?”

“Marak pressed for it based upon your words in the meeting before its drafting,” explained Lord Marshal Grefon. “I could not put you in the position of going back on your word.”

Lord Ridak clenched his fist and slammed it down on the table, making the Lord Marshal blink at the seldom displayed fury which had vaulted Lord Ridak into his leadership position in the Situ Clan. “I want Marak’s body delivered to me now,” ordered Lord Ridak. “You suggested him for the position. You deliver his body.”

“We can hardly attack our own estate,” reminded Lord Marshal Grefon, “especially after the emissary from the Lords Council has seen the pronouncement. There is a way that we can profit greatly from Marak’s position, though.”

“Another of your schemes?” snipped Lord Ridak. “I truly hope for your sake that this one is better than your last. What is it?”

“We can allow others to do our work for us,” smiled Lord Marshal Grefon. “Marshal Tingo of Woodville was in Fardale when I showed up. The Ragatha Clan is nervous about Marak’s potential for cutting them off from the outside. I think that the Ragatha Clan could eliminate our problem for us.”

“Woodville’s Army is not much larger than Fardale’s,” stated Lord Ridak. “Even if we could get them to attack, it would be an even match and you have told me that Marak is an able strategist.”

“If Marak was facing only Woodville that might be true,” chuckled Lord Marshal Grefon, “but what if he was facing the entire Ragatha Clan?”

“Lord Sevrin would not dare to bring his forces against Fardale,” protested Lord Ridak. “He knows that he would be faced by the entire Situ Clan.”

“Ah, but would he?” posed Lord Marshal Grefon. “I indicated to Marshal Tingo that Lituk Valley would not raise a hand to protect Lord Marak.”

“I fail to share your jubilant mood regarding our giving Fardale to the Ragatha Clan,” scolded Lord Ridak. “At least, with Marak in control we will get Fardale back when he dies, an event which you will precipitate immediately.”

“You miss the obvious,” smiled Lord Marshal Grefon. “I never promised that we would let the Ragatha Clan keep Fardale. I merely indicated that we would not support Lord Marak. Let Lord Sevrin bring his Army to Fardale and remove Lord Marak from power. We would then be entirely justified in attacking the Ragatha Clan with our full fury. With Lord Sevrin’s Army all in one place, his defeat would double the size of your Situ holdings. We would not have to push out our borders at Raven’s Point to expand.”

The first hint of a smile on Lord Ridak’s lips appeared. “My holdings would be impressive,” Lord Ridak agreed. “Lord Sevrin has never been an ally of mine in the Assembly of Lords and I certainly would not miss him. Do you think you can get him to take the bait?”

“I think that is a distinct possibility,” chuckled Lord Marshal Grefon. “His Army is fast approaching Fardale as we speak. His entire Army is only days away from attacking Fardale and ridding us of Lord Marak.”

“Only days away?” exclaimed Lord Ridak. “We will never get our forces together in time. How long have you known about this?”

“Do not worry,” smiled Lord Marshal Grefon. “We do not need to have our Army ready to help Lord Marak. We will crush the Ragatha Clan as they leave Fardale to go back home. That is why I took so long getting back from Fardale. I have already visited our other estates and informed them to be ready to join with us for the attack. Lord Sevrin will spend at least a week in Fardale before he returns to his own estates. As soon as the battle is over, I will send word to our other Marshals and we will position ourselves to finish off the Ragatha Clan.”

“And if Fardale’s crops are destroyed in the battle,” nodded Lord Ridak, “we can blame the Ragatha Clan. Yes, our Lord Marak is finally going to do something good for the Situ Clan. He is going to die in order to double my holdings. An excellent plan, Lord Marshal. Make sure nothing goes wrong with it.”

“What could possibly go wrong?” smiled Lord Marshal Grefon. “I will even take over the Fardale estate and restore it to prosperity when all of this is over. Then you will have a faithful Lord governing it and not have to spend any more time worrying about it.”

Lord Ridak fixed his wry gaze on Lord Marshal Grefon and eventually nodded. “I think that will be acceptable, Lord Marshal,” admitted Lord Ridak. “First, you will make sure that we are victorious. Afterwards, we will discuss your retirement as Lord Marshal of the Situ Clan.”

Lord Marak looked up and smiled as the Sunnu Priest was shown into his study. Lord Marak nodded to the guard indicating that he should close the door as he left.

“You look tired, my son,” smiled Fisher.

“It has been a long week,” replied Lord Marak. “You don’t look like you’ve had much rest, either, Fisher. What is happening out there?”

“Lord Sevrin and his Ragatha Clan Army are within a day's march of Fardale. I would expect the fun to begin soon. I couldn’t help noticing that your crops have not been harvested. Didn’t I give you enough notice?”

“Your notice was sufficient for me to accomplish the tasks which are necessary to welcome our Ragatha visitors,” answered Lord Marak. “All of my laborers and craftsmen have been busy with other endeavors. I felt it necessary to change some of Fardale’s landscape. Lord Sevrin will not be amused. If everything goes well, the crops will not be harmed.”

“I hope you are not planning on help from Lord Ridak,” mentioned Fisher while adjusting his priestly robe. “His Army is not mobilizing to aid you.”

“I sent a runner last week,” mused Lord Marak. “He has not returned and that troubles me more than the lack of help from Lord Ridak.”

“If your runner was Cortain Rybak,” Fisher sighed, “don’t expect him back . . . ever. I saw him arrive at Lituk Valley. He was seized on the mansion steps by Lord Marshal Grefon. He was not treated well and I would not hold out hope of seeing him alive.”