Demonkin (17 page)

“I wonder if they have discovered that we are using their ships to speak with our people back home?” Clint mused out loud.

“We would have known about being discovered,” stated the fairy. “The Federation surely would have used mages to try to capture one of us. I think there must be another reason.”

“Still,” sighed Clint, “that means my information about the Doors will not get to Tagaret. King Arik needs to know that thirty pairs of Doors were ordered and not just twenty-four.”

“At least the rest of our people here in Zara will get the information,” Peanut said to brighten up Clint’s mood. “There is other information as well. Fakir Aziz met with Max in Karamin. Max said the old man was very helpful. Fakir also showed up in Elfwoods recently. And that is not all of the Elfwoods news. K’san, two black-cloaks, and a hundred soldiers went to the Heart and invaded the archives. They took four elven women of royal blood with them when they left. They also attacked King Elengal and Legaulle, the historian. Both men survived the attack, but barely. The elves are very upset about this.”

“I can imagine they would be,” replied Clint. “I have another task for you if you are not tired.”

“Tired?” laughed the fairy. “I can fly all day and all night, too. Besides, the Isle of Despair is hardly a trip from here.”

Clint smiled at the little man. “This mission will be quite a trip for you. Do you remember the tunnel in the Dark Forest?”

“Of course,” replied Peanut. “Do you want me to explore the tunnel?”

“That is too dangerous.” Clint shook his head. “It is probably guarded by mages on both ends.”

“Both ends?” questioned the little man.

“Yes.” Clint nodded. “I have been thinking about that tunnel quite a bit lately. I am sure that is where the Doors are located, but I do not think it is a mine. If we figure that they would want to align ten thousand men for each door, the amount of space needed would be immense. I do not think it is an underground facility. That means the tunnel must go through the mountain to somewhere, and I am guessing that there is a mountain valley at the other end of it.”

“I can fly over the mountains and see if that is true,” boasted the fairy.

“That is exactly what I want you to do,” smiled Clint. “But I do not want you getting caught, and this is very important. The Federation must have no suspicion that we are curious about Camp Destiny. Just see if there is a valley back there and nothing more. If there is, we will discuss another trip up there to map it.”

“It shall be as you wish,” saluted the fairy. “I will report back quicker than an elven arrow.”

Peanut shot out of Clint’s pocket and disappeared into the trees. Climbing to a great height, the fairy followed the road to Valdo and then angled off to fly above the Blood Highway. By the time he reached the Barrier, the sun was already beginning to set. Looking down on the peaks of the mountains, there was no obvious large valley, but Peanut prided himself on his thoroughness, so he soared down to the summit of one of the mountains and settled in for the night.

When the sun rose in the east, Peanut was already awake. He stretched his tiny arms and took to the air. He soared over the peaks of the mountains and could find no valley of any size, and certainly not one with a human army in it. Having reached the western edge of the Barrier, Peanut banked sharply and turned towards the east to go back to Despair. As he flew back over the peaks, something struck him as being wrong, but he could not immediately figure out what it was. He shot upward to halt his soar and hovered over the mountains. As he gazed down on the peaks, he shook his little head, wondering what had caused him concern. Suddenly, it dawned on the little man.

The sunrise was casting long shadows across the mountain peaks, but the shadows weren’t quite right. While the sides of the peaks towards the sun were brilliantly illuminated, and the sides away from the sun were black as night, there were no shadows cast by neighboring peaks. Peanut shot downward towards one of the peaks. He flared his wings within a pace from the lit side of one of the peaks and stared at the rocky outcrop. Although he could feel the sun warming his back, he could not see his shadow on the face of the mountain.

“It’s an illusion!” chirped the fairy.

Peanut moved to the side of the mountain. He carefully extended his arm and was not surprised when it passed through the rock. Mustering up his courage, Peanut probed further into the side of the mountain until he was totally encased in solid rock, or at least that is what his eyes reported. The fairy could still feel the air currents around him, and he knew that he was still hovering. He stopped flapping his wings for a moment and he felt his body falling towards the ground. With nothing visible except rock, Peanut got a sick feeling in his stomach. He flapped his wings furiously to halt his descent. By the time he slowed his fall, the illusion of rock was gone. Below him spread a vast green valley with thousands of men running around.

Shouts of alarm filled the air, and Peanut saw some black-cloaks pointing upward. The fairy understood that he had set off some kind of alarm, and the mages were trying to pinpoint the intrusion. Without a second thought, the fairy darted upward. Once again the imagery of solid rock formed around the fairy, but Peanut was no longer fooled by it. He shot upward until he was high above the fake mountain peaks. Without waiting to see what the black-cloaks might do, Peanut banked sharply and soared southward where he could lose any pursuers among the peaks of the real mountains.

Far below the illusion, the black-cloaks were shouting with alarm. General Tauman dismounted his horse before the creature had come to a stop. He raced into the group of mages.

“What is going on?” he demanded.

“Something has penetrated our illusion,” declared one of the black-cloaks.

“It was probably just a bird,” scowled another mage. “It barely had any size at all.”

“We have been through this before,” argued another mage. “Birds just will not fly through the imagery of rocks. They just won’t do it. When was the last time we had a false alarm? I’ll tell you. Never is when.”

“Then where is your invader?” scoffed the first mage. “If something flew through the illusion, where is it?”

“We should be looking for it instead of arguing,” snapped a black-cloak.

“Perhaps it was just wind-blown debris,” suggested one of the mages. “The winds do pick up at dawn. It could have been a leaf that got caught in an updraft.”

“And your mother could have been an ogre,” railed a black-cloak. “The alarm has gone off. We must investigate it.”

General Tauman listened with contempt. He thought the mages acted like undisciplined children, and the lack of discipline disgusted him.

“The alarm has been sounded,” the general said forcefully. “It will be investigated immediately. The time for discussion is after the investigation has been completed. Go and do what you must do.”

His short speech had the desired effect. The mages immediately stopped bickering among themselves and set out to investigate the cause of the alarm. General Tauman mounted his horse and rode back to his headquarters. He dismounted and marched to his office, calling for Colonel Dorfan to join him. The young colonel promptly entered the general’s office and closed the door.

“Those mages are fools,” scowled the general.

Dorfan had not risen so quickly in rank by speaking out of turn. He said nothing as he waited for the general to get to the reason for the meeting.

“They cannot determine whether or not the illusion was penetrated,” explained the general. “While their illusion has kept away prying eyes, I do not want to depend solely upon it. I want you to assign men in rotation to keep watch from the surrounding peaks. I want those peaks manned all day and all night until further notice. If anything flies, walks, or crawls among the peaks, I want to know about it promptly.”

“I will see to it immediately,” declared the colonel.

“Not immediately.” The general shook his head. “Let the black-cloaks finish their investigation first. Your men will have to set off the alarm to gain the peaks, and I do not want that done until the mages are done running around like crazed lunatics. Just set up the schedule for now. When the investigation is complete, explain to the mages what you will be doing and when the shift changes are.”

“They will not take kindly to this,” stated the colonel. “It will be showing a certain amount of disrespect for their illusion.”

“Of course, it will,” chuckled the general. “Why do you think I assigned this task to you, Dorfan? Let them think that you do not trust their alarm. Meanwhile, I will continue to maintain strong support for their efforts and praise them for it.”

“I understand,” the colonel smiled thinly.

King Elengal rode the unicorn while Morro ran alongside. When they neared the Despair River, Morro called for a halt. The Dielderal king dismounted.

“There will be guards not far ahead,” stated the king. “If you are not planning on returning to Elfwoods, you must not be seen crossing the river with me.”

“That is why I called for a halt.” Morro nodded. “You must go on alone by foot from here, but I will be keeping watch over you.”

“And just how will you do that?” inquired the king.

“You must have faith in me,” the thief replied evasively, as he reached into his pouch and grabbed the hourglass.

Morro triggered the magical artifact before the king could ask any more questions. He smiled at the frozen king and bowed dramatically, although the king would never remember seeing it. Morro leaped onto the unicorn and told it to gallop northward. The creature merely stood silently. That was when Morro realized the flaw in his plan. Time only stopped for him, not those with him. The unicorn would have to be left behind. Morro quickly scribbled a note and placed it in the king’s hand. With the sands already running low, the thief raced along the trail to the river.

The bridge over the Despair River was well guarded. A hut stood on the northern side of the bridge, and two squads were permanently assigned to it. The elven thief ran across the bridge and past the guards. He slid into the bushes a score of paces beyond the riverbank and waited. A few minutes, later the guards jerked to life again. Morro smiled broadly.

Across the river and around a bend in the trail, King Elengal blinked as Morro suddenly disappeared. The king frowned as he rotated in search of the thief. Only when he went to scratch his head did he realize that there was something in his hand. He looked at the note and frowned even deeper. He shook his head in wonder as he looked at the unicorn.

“This note says that I am to tell you to meet Morro on the other side of the river,” the king said to the unicorn. “You are not to be seen by the guards. Do you understand me?”

Perfectly.

The king gasped and dropped the note. “You really can talk?”

The reply came in a humorous tone.

Apparently so. I wish you well, King Elengal.

The unicorn turned and headed into the forest. The elven king watched the unicorn until he could no longer see it. He shook his head once again and then bent down and picked up the note. He stared at it for a moment and then decided to burn it and scatter the ashes. When the task was complete, the king walked along the trail and across the bridge. An officer stood blocking his path when he reached the far side.

“I am King Elengal,” declared the elf. “I am heading to Despair to speak with Emperor Jaar.”

“I recognize you,” stated the officer as he waved for one of the soldiers to join him. “I will provide you with an escort.”

“That is most kind of you,” smiled the king, “but I have little fear of being attacked by the citizens of Despair. I would appreciate it if you could send a runner to the emperor to advise him that I am on the way. I do not wish to spend any more time out of Elfwoods than is absolutely necessary.”

The request was unusual, but not extraordinary. The officer narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the elf.

“I would also like the runner to deliver the message personally to the emperor,” the king continued. “Can that be done?”

The officer was curious now. “Is there someone in particular that you are afraid of intercepting the message?”

“There is,” stated the king. “What I have to discuss with Emperor Jaar is extremely sensitive. That is why I am willing to forego the normal escort that you provide. Such an escort is always noticed. It would be best if I could quickly speak to the emperor and return to the Heart. If necessary, I will wait here until your messenger returns with the emperor’s permission for me to proceed alone.”

An escort was usually given to the elven king when he visited Despair, but there were no rules requiring one. The elven king was the only Elfwoods elf who had unrestricted access to Despair. The officer could not forbid the king to proceed to Despair, but he could demand that the king accept an escort. The officer stood staring at the king for a few moments and then eventually nodded. He instructed the soldier beside him to deliver the message directly to the emperor and then waved the elven king by.

King Elengal walked away from the bridge. The road to Despair turned a short ways from the bridge and then paralleled the river to the city wall. The king passed through the city gates before Morro reappeared, and reappear is exactly what he did. One moment the king was walking along the pathway staring at the shops along the street and the next moment Morro was standing at the mouth of an alley. The king was sure that he just magically appeared.

“How do you do that?” the king asked softly as Morro moved out of the alley and walked alongside him.

“I have a gift of speed,” smiled the thief.

“So I have heard,” frowned the king, “but you seem to be moving faster than the eye can follow. How is that possible?”

Morro ignored the question. “Did you give the message to the unicorn?”

“I did,” the king replied with wonder. “What incredible creatures they are. Have you not met up with him yet?”

“No,” answered the thief. “I needed to make sure that you arrived unmolested, and the unicorn cannot enter the city alone. I will go back and search for him once you are safely in the palace.”