Alutar: The Great Demon (37 page)

“No one is asking you to help,” the sergeant replied gruffly, “but our lives are at stake. We have no faith in Colonel Rhio, and we have no desire to face those ghosts killing us. Which officers need to die?”

Captain Hahn shook his head. Sadly, he turned from his men and walked away.

“Die with honor?” one of the soldiers echoed softly. “It is no honor to die while marching along a road. If we were fighting a battle, I would not hesitate to risk my life, but this is foolish. We can do nothing to stop the Rangers. Our officers are willing to let us all die because they are too proud to surrender. Well, I am not that proud. I want to live.”

“Hahn is not a proud man,” the sergeant said in defense of his superior officer. “I think he would surrender if it was up to him, but it is not. He will not approve of any murders, but he will lead us to a surrender if we manage to get rid of the others.”

“Are you serious?” asked a corporal. “Are you really going to kill the officers?”

“Not me alone,” answered the sergeant, “but yes, I am serious. We need to talk with the rest of the column and find out who is against a surrender. There are thousands of us and only a few officers. They can’t stop us.”

A while later, the column started moving again. Every so often, a soldier would step out of the column to adjust his pack or scrape his boots. Rather than run to catch up to his unit, the soldier merely stepped into the closest unit and began marching. Most of the officers did not notice the antics as they were carefully watching the forest alongside the road, searching for any sign of the Rangers. One officer who did notice was Captain Hahn, and he shuddered as he realized what was going on. He thought about putting a stop to it, but doing so would reveal the plot, and many of the soldiers would die because he spoke up. Captain Hahn prided himself on always doing the right thing, but there was no right thing to do this day. What the soldiers were planning to do was clearly wrong, but so was the decision made by Colonel Rhio. The officers were content to sacrifice their men for their own pride, and the soldiers were willing to sacrifice their officers for their lives. Captain Hahn shook his head in confusion and tried not to dwell on the problem. At the end of the day, it would hardly matter which side was right. They would all be dead.

An hour later, the Rangers attacked. It was the shortest attack ever from the Alceans. Only one arrow was fired, and it killed Colonel Rhio. As the officers shouted orders to repel the attack, the men grabbed their bows and nocked arrows. Before the shouting was over, four more colonels were dead, but they did not die from arrows fired by the Rangers. They died at the hands of their own men. There were several dozen captains in the column, and each of them looked around nervously, wondering if the next arrow would be aimed at him. For several tense minutes, no one moved. The rebelling soldiers glared at the remaining officers, wondering which of them would order an attack on those who wanted to surrender. The officers in turn stared at the soldiers and started moving away from them. Captain Hahn could just feel the coming battle, and he knew that he had to stop it. He walked into the center of the column and spoke loudly.

“We will not be killing each other,” he shouted. “For days we have lived in fear of the Alceans, we will not now start living in fear of each other. There are many among you who wish to surrender. There might also be some who refuse to surrender. So be it,” he said as he drew his sword and shoved it into the dirt. “I will lead those who wish to surrender. If there is a captain who wishes to lead the others, let him step forward now and be recognized.”

None of the other captains moved, and Hahn saw the fear on their faces.

“There will be no more killing,” he continued. “Please, one of you captains come forward to stand for the men who wish to battle the Alceans. I will not let you be harmed.”

For a long time, no one moved. Finally, a captain did stride forward to stand next to Captain Hahn. He drew his sword and shoved it into the dirt, signifying that he was willing to surrender. That simple act broke the tenseness. Every other captain came forward and mimicked the act, shoving their swords into the dirt. The soldiers cheered loudly, not out of joy, but rather out of relief. Once the captains were done, the soldiers followed. They dropped their bows and quivers on the road and shoved their swords into the dirt. Shields and helmets were tossed by the wayside. When they were done, not a single man remained armed. Captain Hahn assumed leadership of the column. No one complained or challenged him. When the men were disarmed, he ordered the column into formation and began leading the column northward along the road. Less than an hour later, they came to a campsite set up by the Alcean Rangers. Mitar Vidson met the column in the middle of the road, and the captain marched the column right up to the Ranger before calling a halt.

“We wish to surrender,” Captain Hahn said loudly enough for most of his men to hear.

“Your surrender is welcomed,” smiled Mitar. “If you will have your men gather around, I will explain the terms of surrender to them.”

Captain Hahn nodded and shouted for the captains to gather their units around the Ranger. For a moment, Captain Hahn felt fearful for the Ranger’s safety as thousands of men encircled him, but Mitar did not appear to be concerned. When Captain Hahn peered beyond the circle of his men, he understood why. One thousand Rangers encircled the column, their bows ready to use. The captain also noted that the men of the 31
^st
Corps had seen them, too. He sighed with relief.

“Men of the 31
^st
Corps,” Mitar Vidson said loudly, “we accept your surrender. I will take a few minutes of your time to explain the terms of your surrender and then you are free to go.”

“Free to go?” shouted one of the soldiers. “Are you joking?”

“I am not joking,” replied Mitar. “We have set up a campsite for you to rest this night, or as long as you wish to, but none of you are required to use it. These are the terms of your surrender. You will never again serve in the Federation army. To do so is to violate the terms of this surrender, and such a violation is punishable by death. Those are the total terms of your surrender, but I have a few more things to say. King Boric of Karamin has extended a welcome to you men. He is amenable to having you settle in Karamin if that is your desire. You will not be ostracized for having served the Federation, but you will be expected to become a loyal Karaminian. In short, you can make Karamin your home, but only if you truly wish to be a Karaminian.”

The soldiers began whispering among themselves, and Mitar paused for a moment until their attention was returned to him. “Queen Romani has also extended the same offer for Vinafor. So you have two countries that will allow you to start your lives over, but that may not be to everyone’s liking. If you have families in another country and are desirous of returning to them, you will be allowed to do so, providing you remove and destroy your uniform and do not carry weapons. I would also suggest that if you plan to return east of the Barrier that you do not travel in large groups. To do so would invite confrontations with both sides in this war. That is all I have for you. If you have any questions, ask them after you get into the camp. I see no reason for all of you stand out here on the road when there is hot food waiting for you in the camp.”

Mitar turned and headed for the camp. The ring of Federation soldiers parted to let the Ranger through and then the soldiers followed, their faces showing total disbelief that they were free to leave.

“That’s it?” the sergeant said to Captain Hahn. “We were going to die to avoid this surrender? There must be a trick to it.”

“I don’t think so,” replied Captain Hahn. “Under one of the flags of truce, the Ranger told me that an evil demonic force was manipulating the Federation into war. If his words were true, the terms of surrender make sense. They seek to crush the Federation but not the people living under its rule. I found his story hard to believe at the time, but now I am willing to believe his words. Nothing else makes sense.”

* * * *

Although it was barely dawn, runners ran through the halls of the Royal Palace in Waxhaw. Runners also ran out to the barracks of the 31
^st
Corps and announced that King Daramoor would be making an important announcement at sunrise. The soldiers hurriedly dressed and left the barracks, congregating on the lawn of the palace beneath the balcony that the king usually used for announcements. Just as the sun broke the horizon, King Daramoor stepped out onto the balcony. He gazed down at the assembled soldiers without emotion.

“I will make this brief,” King Daramoor said loudly. “General Nazzaro died in his sleep last night. While he will be afforded a grand funeral, the affairs of the 31
^st
Corps are too urgent to put off naming a successor. I have chosen Colonel Pfaff to replace General Nazzaro. Colonel Pfaff will, of course, be given a promotion to match his new status as Commanding General of Vinafor. Notices will be posted regarding the time of the funeral.”

The king turned and left the balcony.

“That’s it?” complained one of the soldiers. “Our general dies and the king just gives us a sentence from the balcony?”

“Yeah,” quipped another soldier. “You could almost feel the tears running down the king’s face. He probably would show just as much emotion announcing today’s menu in the officers’ dining room.”

“Keep it down, you two,” warned another soldier. “Pfaff is only a few feet away.”

The soldiers turned to see Colonel Pfaff talking softly with some of the soldiers near him.

“What is he doing out here?” asked one of the complaining soldiers. “Shouldn’t he be inside getting his promotion?”

“Pfaff sleeps in the barracks with his men,” answered another soldier. “I must say that I didn’t expect him to be chosen to replace Nazzaro, but we could do much worse. Pfaff is an alright guy.”

“He was probably chosen because most of the other colonels are in Karamin,” stated a corporal. “I thought for sure that Rhio would replace Nazzaro.”

“I don’t know about that,” mused another soldier. “Colonel Pfaff rode into town yesterday with General Forshire of A Corps. I heard that Pfaff’s column destroyed over three thousand rebels yesterday. If that is true, he probably deserves the promotion.”

“It’s true,” offered another soldier. “Some of Pfaff’s column returned last night. They said the battle was fierce, but they defeated a significantly superior force. I’m pretty sure that such a victory was taken into consideration by the king.”

“The A Corps?” questioned another soldier. “Those are the misfits aren’t they?”

“Not according to Pfaff’s men,” the other solder responded. “They said that the A Corps was some elite army, and that General Forshire is the first Imperial General of the Federation. Supposedly, he reports directly to Emperor Jaar.”

One of the soldiers whistled appreciatively. “He sounds like a good man to get on the good side of. You do know that he is here in Waxhaw, don’t you?”

A corporal laughed. “Like any of us would ever get near the Imperial General to get noticed. Fat chance of that happening.”

Colonel Pfaff passed by the group of soldiers and entered the palace. The men on the lawn slowly dispersed, either returning to the barracks or getting an early start on their daily activities. Around midmorning, runners began to circulate through the army telling everyone that a meeting of the 31
^st
Corps would take place at high sun in the warehouse of Sidney Mercado. While the warehouse was a strange place for an army meeting, there were few places besides the palace that could accommodate thousands of men. As high sun approached, the soldiers of the 31
^st
Corps began migrating to the warehouse.

When he entered the building, Pfaff wore the uniform of a Federation general. Two soldiers escorted the new general, and most of the soldiers recognized the men as General Nazzaro’s personal aides. More than a few raised eyebrows watched the aides accompany General Pfaff to a landing on the staircase in the cavernous building, but no one spoke about it.

“Men of the 31
^st
Corps,” General Pfaff began the meeting in a loud voice, “we have some important things to discuss this day. I have asked you to assemble in this warehouse because what we discuss should remain among us men of the 31
^st
Corps. None of you will speak of this meeting once it is over. As King Daramoor said this morning, General Nazzaro died in his sleep last night. What the king did not say is that General Nazzaro’s death was not natural. He was murdered in his sleep.”

Howls of outrage shot through the room, and the new general waited patiently for them to subside.

“The men called to take care of the body described a large wound in the general’s chest,” Pfaff continued. “The bed sheets were also stained with blood. Men, the murder of our general will not go unpunished. I promise you that. Whoever is responsible will pay with his life. The hard part is going to be learning who the culprit is, and that is why this meeting will be kept secret. We are only thirty-five-hundred strong at the moment. That is not much of an army, but it is a whole lot of investigators. I doubt that anything can happen in this city without one of us taking notice of it. That is why I have gathered you all together here.”

“It had to be someone in the palace,” shouted one of the soldiers.

“I agree,” replied General Pfaff, “but who would want Nazzaro dead? Some of you might point out that I have benefited from Nazzaro’s death by being appointed to take his place, but I assure you that this vile deed is not by my hand. If it were, I would not be standing here informing all of you what truly happened last night. On the way to this meeting, I happened to join up with General Nazzaro’s personal aides. What they told me on the way to the meeting is very disturbing. Rather than repeat what they have said, I have asked them to tell you themselves.”

General Pfaff stepped aside and signaled for the two soldiers to step forward and address the men. One of the aides was eager to speak, and he held nothing back.