Young Lord of Khadora (41 page)

“That is not true,” interrupted Lord Ridak. “I never told him the position was permanent.”

“Lord Ridak,” scolded the emissary, “please hold your tongue. Lord Marak will refute your charges. You will get a chance to argue about his statements later. Continue, Lord Marak.”

“Thank you,” nodded Lord Marak to the emissary. “As for failing to make payments to the Situ Clan, none have yet become due. We are still harvesting and the crop has not been sold. I was given control over Fardale because Lord Lashendo had gotten himself into a position where he could not fulfill his contracts. I assume Lord Ridak expected me to fail and blame me for the embarrassment. I did not fail, however. Fardale is no longer unable to fulfill its contracts. In fact, we have a surplus of grain which has not yet been contracted for.”

Lord Marak paused to study the fury on Lord Ridak’s face as he sipped a glass of water. “As for communications,” continued Lord Marak, “there have been bandits in the hills between our two estates. We were not able to communicate with Lituk Valley and, I might add, Lituk Valley was unable to communicate with Fardale. We have not received one messenger from Lituk Valley since the day I assumed command of Fardale. In contrast, the one messenger we did manage to get to Lituk Valley was taken prisoner and tortured. I admit to breaking into Lord Ridak’s mansion and rescuing my Cortain from his dungeon. It was unfortunate that his jailer and torturer refused to yield peacefully and had to be killed. If I was intent on killing Situ Clansmen, I would have killed Lord Marshal Grefon. I spoke with him in his study during the rescue. I left him with no more than a bruise upon his head.”

Lord Marshal Grefon's face was a mask of rage and the Situ Lord Marshal’s fingers were white as he clenched the edge of the table. Lord Marak smiled at him and continued. “I did have some border disputes with my neighbors in Fardale. A Lords Council emissary was called in but we negotiated a settlement before his arrival. We had agreed to keep the settlement private and it did not involve a lessening of Fardale’s worth or value in any way. Lord Marshal Grefon attended the meeting with the emissary and tried to replace me as Lord of Fardale. I was polite to him, but firm in my resolve to maintain the confidentiality of the agreement with my neighbors. I ignored his attempt to replace me after the emissary from the Lords Council clarified that my pronouncement from Lord Ridak did not allow for me to be replaced as Lord of Fardale. He returned with me to Fardale and proceeded to make threats to me. When he threatened the life of my mother, whom I believed to be still in Lord Ridak’s possession, I ordered him to get off the Fardale estate immediately.”

“Wait a minute,” interrupted the emissary. “You stated that an emissary from the Lords Council proclaimed your pronouncement as irrevocable?”

Lord Marak withdrew the pronouncement and handed it to the emissary. “He did,” affirmed Lord Marak. “You will note that the pronouncement gives me absolute control over Fardale. As such, I have demanded that each of my subjects swear a Vow of Service directly to me. Not one of them owes any allegiance to Lord Ridak, and certainly not to Lord Marshal Grefon.”

The emissary held up his hand for silence as he read the pronouncement. He scribbled notes furiously while nodding occasionally. Finally, he frowned and looked up. “Lord Ridak,” he began, “this pronouncement gives Lord Marak absolute control. You have no authority over his dealings in Fardale and you can not replace him as Lord. Certainly, Lord Marshal Grefon has no right to be on the estate without the blessing and welcome of Lord Marak. The only control you have over Lord Marak is his Vows of Service and you will have to show that he has broken them to remove him as Lord of Fardale.”

“What are you talking about?” stormed Lord Ridak. “I do not give absolute control to anyone. I certainly would never give it to the son of a slave.”

The emissary showed Lord Ridak the clause and his signature. “It appears that you have done just that,” decreed the emissary.

Lord Ridak shot a killing glare at Lord Marshal Grefon and then returned his gaze to the emissary. “Even still,” he scowled, “this does not give him the right to seize my estate. If entering my home and killing my men does not constitute a violation of his Vows of Service, I can not imagine what does.”

“Two valid points,” agreed the emissary. “Lord Marak can you explain your reason for seizing Fardale and raising your own banner over it?”

“Certainly,” Lord Marak nodded. “The Cortain whom I was forced to rescue from Lord Ridak’s dungeon was sent here to ask for military help to ward off an attack on Fardale. Instead of supplying the military help which would keep Fardale safe from invasion, the messenger was jailed and tortured. Fardale was left to fend for itself like an abandoned estate.”

“Are you certain that Lord Ridak or Lord Marshal Grefon were aware of the attack?” questioned the emissary. “Perhaps the messenger never delivered his message.”

“I have since talked to my Cortain and he informed me that he did relay the message before he was tortured,” affirmed Lord Marak.

“But you did not possess that information when you seized the estate,” the emissary pointed out.

“That is true,” conceded Lord Marak, “but I did possess other information. Marshal Tingo of the Ragatha Clan informed me that Lord Marshal Grefon invited the Ragatha to attack Fardale in hopes of removing me from power. Lord Marshal Grefon assured Marshal Tingo that Lituk Valley would not raise a finger to defend me. As far as I am concerned, it was at that moment that the Situ Clan forfeited all rights and claims to the Fardale estate. If the Lord Marshal wishes to contradict my statement, I can produce Marshal Tingo for his testimony.”

“You can produce the Ragatha Marshal for testimony?” quizzed the emissary.

“Yes,” declared Lord Marak. “He is still the Marshal of Woodville, but he works for me now. The Ragatha Clan forfeited Woodville to me following their defeat.”

“What?” shouted Lord Ridak. “Are you trying to get us to believe that you defeated the entire Ragatha Clan Army? This is preposterous. I can not listen to any more of these lies.”

The emissary rose and signaled for the Squad Leader of the Imperial troops. “Squad Leader, we need to speak with Marshal Tingo of Woodville, unless you have gathered information on this subject.”

Lord Marak picked up on the meaning of the emissary’s words and realized that the Imperial troops performed more than one task. They were used to gather information for the mediators. This explained their overt friendliness and was a fact which Lord Marak would never forget.

“Lord Marak speaks the truth according to what Marshal Tingo revealed to me,” the Squad Leader reported. “Woodville is now a Torak estate and Marshal Tingo is the Marshal.”

The emissary nodded and the Squad Leader returned to his post. “That certainly is justification of abandonment,” observed the emissary, “but you are still a subject of Lord Ridak’s and, as such, you are subject to the Vows of Service you have sworn. I am afraid that you have merely enlarged the Situ holdings to include Woodville.”

“Not exactly,” warned Lord Marak as he looked into Lord Ridak’s eyes. “I have never sworn Vows of Service to Lord Ridak or anyone else.”

Lord Ridak launched himself to his feet and the Imperial guards stiffened and prepared to intercede. “I will not listen to any more lies,” screamed Lord Ridak. “A man who disavows his own word and steals my lands does not belong in the same room with me.”

The Imperial Squad Leader moved and stood behind Lord Ridak and the emissary stood and indicated that Lord Ridak should sit back down. After Lord Ridak was seated and calm restored, the emissary turned to Lord Marak. “Can you prove your statement?” he asked.

“The important question is whether Lord Ridak can prove that I did,” declared Lord Marak. “As Lord of Fardale, I keep written records of every Vow given. Does Lord Ridak have the same? I arrived in Lituk Valley with my mother when I was six years old, the normal time for swearing. My mother was forced into slavery by Lord Ridak and I was hysterical for days. I was put in the care of Flora, the minder for the household, and she took care of me and comforted me. When I recovered, no one thought about my swearing. It was taken for granted that I had already sworn. Flora was the only person who knew, but she was afraid of Lord Ridak’s wrath if she mentioned it, so she did not. I beg the emissary from the Lords Council to remove this woman from the premises when he leaves. Now that I have disclosed her secret, her life will be forfeit if she is left here.”

The emissary nodded to the Squad Leader and he left the room and returned with Flora. Flora cringed when asked about Lord Marak’s swearing and she pointedly avoided looking at Lord Ridak, but she confirmed Lord Marak’s story in a sobbing voice. The emissary ordered the Squad Leader to remove the woman and pack her belongings.

“This has been a most unusual case,” summarized the emissary. “Without Vows of Service to Lord Ridak, Lord Marak has done nothing wrong. He is legally entitled to the Fardale estate without compensation to Lord Ridak in any manner. He will need to compensate Lord Ridak for the removal of his minder, but I feel his voluntary service in the Situ Army should be sufficient for that compensation. As I have promised, the Lords Council recognizes the Torak Clan and it will be so recorded in the records of the Lords Council. This is my ruling on this matter. As I have said, so shall it be recorded before the Lords Council. This case is closed.”

Lord Ridak rose and watched Lord Marak leave with the emissary. As soon as the door the Meeting Chamber closed he turned his wrath on Lord Marshal Grefon. “I want him dead,” ordered Lord Ridak. “You will make sure that he never returns to Fardale alive.”

“We dare not attack him while he is with the Imperial troops,” cautioned Lord Marshal Grefon. “The Lords Council would declare all of the Situ holdings forfeit if we did.”

“The Imperial troops will not escort him home,” shouted Lord Ridak. “You told me he brought an entire Corte of his own men with him. Do you think the Imperial troops will bother escorting him when he has such a large bodyguard?”

“I will see to it,” accepted Lord Marshal Grefon. “What about Fardale?”

“We attack it and take it back,” sneered Lord Ridak. “What do you think we are going to do? You expect me to just let it go? Send the runners immediately. I want every soldier we own amassed to attack Fardale. I not only want Lord Marak dead, but we shall kill every man, woman and child that has sworn to him. No Situ will ever be allowed to swear to another Lord. I don’t want to stop at Fardale, either. We shall continue into Woodville and claim it for the Situ Clan.”

“I am not sure that it is wise to attack him on his home ground,” advised Lord Marshal Grefon. “If he did defeat the Ragatha Clan, he might be able to cause us more casualties than you will find acceptable.”

“I don’t believe for a minute that he defeated the Ragatha Clan,” snorted Lord Ridak. “He may have talked his way into getting his hands on Woodville, but I am sure that he gave up more than he got. His Torak Clan probably owes allegiance to the Ragatha scum.”

“Your plan risks everything to conquer one small estate,” cautioned Lord Marshal Grefon. “We will lose the initiative at Raven’s Point by pursuing Marak.”

“And we will be the laughing stock of the entire country if he is allowed to live,” shouted Lord Ridak. “Follow my orders, Lord Marshal, or you will end up in the slave compound. I can think of a few soldiers who would love to watch you work the fields.”

* * *

“How did it go?” asked Cortain Tagoro.

“We have been recognized as the Torak Clan and the owners of Fardale,” smiled Lord Marak. “We need to move quickly and not directly towards Fardale. I do not think Lord Ridak will wait long before pursuing us.”

“Do you think they will attack Fardale or just come after us?” quizzed the Cortain.

“Both,” answered Lord Marak. “If the Imperial Guards weren’t there, I would be dead already. I hope Lord Marshal Yenga has a reception planned for our visitors. There will not be enough time for trenches in this battle.”

“So, there will be no bloodless victory this time,” sighed Cortain Tagoro.

“No,” affirmed Lord Marak. “A lot of good men are going to die this time. Let us hope that more of them are Situs than Toraks.”

Cortain Tagoro ordered his men to mount up and led the group into the forest away from Lituk Valley. He sent scouts out in each direction to alert him if the enemy drew near. After several hours of riding they stopped to rest and the scouts reported in. Cortain Tagoro received their reports and sent new scouts out before going to Lord Marak.

“They have three Cortes on our tail,” informed Cortain Tagoro. “They have located our campsite from last night and the track we used to leave it. We can not be sure that there are not other Cortes heading directly towards Fardale on the road to get in front of us.”

“I knew Lord Ridak would like to kill me,” sighed Lord Marak, “but his swiftness is surprising. His troops must have left Lituk Valley right after the Imperial troops. I would have suspected Lord Marshal Grefon to proceed more cautiously after losing the last Corte sent towards Fardale, but I saw a lot of new faces in his army. I imagine he has recruited in all of his estates for the planned offensive at Raven’s Point. Now he will use them against us.”

“Should we make for the road and a speedy trip home?” queried Cortain Tagoro.

“No,” answered Lord Marak. “Let’s lead these Cortes around the woods for a while. If we can get the three Cortes to separate, we will attack them individually. If not, we will just be taking the long way home. I am sure that the road will have additional Cortes already on it.”

The Torak Corte ended their rest period and continued their trek through the woods. Periodically, one of the scouts would come in and report to Cortain Tagoro, but contact with the enemy was avoided. Towards nightfall, Tagoro replaced the scouts again and asked to be notified the moment the Situ made camp for the night. Lord Marak suggested a few raids on the Situ camps during the night to make them more cautious the next day. The sun set and darkness came without word of the Situ making camp. Cortain Tagoro sent another scout out to make sure his men were still alive and he returned with the news that the Situ did not appear to even be looking for a campsite.