Dark Quest (6 page)

The priest and acolytes gathered in one of the large workrooms and Brother Wiltis addressed them. “Today we are blessed to hear from Brother Timothy of Kantor. He has important information regarding temple attacks. Please give him your undivided attention.”

Brother Timothy rose and faced the audience. He paused for a long time to make sure everyone was focused on him and proceeded to invoke a variant of Thy Master’s Hand. The spell would bind the members of the order to Mordac’s will as long as he could hold it. Sensing no wayward minds, he directed the Order to begin bringing the library books to the rear courtyard. Brother Timothy opened the rear door of the temple and signaled for his men to bring the wagons.

The temple’s library in Klandon was very large and it took the entire Order two hours just to fill the wagons. Brother Timothy was beginning to feel the strain of maintaining the spell and ordered the Black Devils to help with the loading. As soon as the loading was complete, he ordered the priests and acolytes back into the workroom and ordered the Black Devils to kill them all.

Mordac smirked as he transformed out of his Brother Timothy facade. The slaughter was easier than stepping on ants, at least the ants would run. When the carnage was complete, Mordac ordered his Black Devils to get the wagons moving. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a torn piece of a red Cordonian military uniform with the distinctive brass button still attached. He tossed the evidence into the quickly spreading flow of blood and left. The Targans would express outrage when the scrap was found and war with Cordonia would follow.

Captain Hill ordered the anchor dropped as the
Pegasus
slowly entered Atar’s Cove. Jenneva and Egam decided to involve Oscar in their secret of the Doors. Oscar agreed to place Doors in his office in Kantor and Duke Whitley’s castle. The door in Kantor would be moved to Oscar’s home in Cordonia as soon as it was built. Jenneva also offered the use of her tropical island for a week so that Oscar and Callie could begin their honeymoon in solitude. Jenneva and Shanor would spend the week with Egam. Captain Hill would take the
Pegasus
to Dalek and unload his passengers and cargo and return for Oscar and Callie. They would then continue their honeymoon voyage to Lanoir.

Alex and Oscar went through to Egam’s cave and retrieved the doors that would be loaded onto the Pegasus. Shanor packed a bag and was excited about spending a week with Master Egam. Farewells were given to those still shipboard and the
Pegasus
set sail. Jenneva returned the rocks illusion to the lagoon and joined the party leaving for Egam’s cave. Lord Habas and Alex continued through to the Royal Palace.

Alex went to Colonel Gregor’s office to report in. Colonel Gregor was meeting with General Clark and indicated that Alex should join them.

“Alex, come in,” Colonel Gregor commanded. “General Clark and I are discussing areas that may concern you.” The Colonel looked at General Clark and the General nodded his agreement.

The Colonel continued. “We’ve been having a rash of military type strikes throughout the kingdom and have come to realize that our current makeup of forces is inadequate to handle these attacks. These attacks are occurring mostly at night and seem to be aimed at religious Orders.”

Alex interrupted. “Colonel, are these attacks aimed at the libraries of the temples?”

“Yes, they are.” The Colonel and General Clark looked quizzically at the Lieutenant. “Do you possess knowledge of these attacks that we are not aware of?”

“Not information on attacks in Targa, Sir, but General Fernandez informed me of similar attacks in Cordonia.”

General Clark’s eyes opened wide. “You’ve spoken with General Fernandez of the Cordonian Military Intelligence? When?”

Alex hesitated and finally replied, “Just this last week, General. I attended Duke Dalek’s wedding in Kantor and he purposely took me aside to find out if I had information of any such attacks in Targa. He did identify himself properly and told me of the attacks they have been having in Cordonia. He also indicated that he had scouts observing our border forces to assure that they were not involved.”

Confused, the General asked, “How could you have possibly been in Kantor when you only had a week’s leave?”

The Colonel saw the concern etched in Alex’s face and quickly jumped in. “Alex, did you get any impression that the General might have been insincere or testing you?

“No, Sir. He was amiable and open with me. I spoke with him for half an hour. He started the conversation by letting me know that he was in the Intelligence Branch. He did not attempt to get any information from me regarding troop strength or disposition. He did inadvertently let me know that his spy network in Targa is well stationed. He was well informed of the creation of the Frontier Division from the start. He indicated that Cordonian forces might have intervened had they determined that the buildup was to secure the Disputed Area.”

The General was still concerned about the time factor of Alex’s trip, but this new information overshadowed it. “It would appear, Colonel, that we have a security leak somewhere highly placed in the Palace.”

“Yes, General. May I suggest that I inform Lieutenant Tork of the changes in leadership of the Frontier Division while you alert the Intelligence Task Force of this problem? I will meet you in fifteen minutes in your office.”

“An excellent idea, Colonel, bring Tork with you. I want to hear more of his trip to Kantor.”

After the General left the room, Colonel Gregor turned to Alex and said, “Alex, you have some explaining to do. I could be brought up on charges for diverting the conversation from the General’s question.”

“I’m sorry, Colonel Gregor, but I cannot explain what I don’t fully understand. By some force of magic I was transported to the Targa Sea and then proceeded normally by ship. I would prefer to keep that information within this room, if possible.”

“I understand, Alex. My faith in you is complete and I can accept your story. General Clark, however, will not. Is Lord Habas aware of your transportation?”

“Yes, Colonel. He accompanied me on the trip.”

“Good. I am going to do something that I have never done in my entire career, Alex, and you had better back me up on this. If General Clark asks again, tell him that you actually had a month of leave and that I covered for you. The General spends so little time with his men that I doubt he could have seen you in the yard anytime in the last month.”

“Thank you, Colonel. I am indebted to you.”

“That you are, Lieutenant. Now, the Frontier Division has become too large to be commanded by a Lieutenant, so I am relieving you of that duty. Captain Jay Oren will assume command of the Frontier Division immediately.”

Alex was disappointed. The Frontier Division had been his idea and he had created it by himself. The Division had grown to over a thousand men so Alex knew that the Colonel was correct, but that didn’t ease the sting.

“Getting back to the matter at hand, there have been a string of attacks culminating yesterday in an attack in Klandon. Forty priests and acolytes were brutally killed in an attack and the entire library was missing. The unique thing about this attack, other than the massive number of casualties, is the portion of a Cordonian uniform found in the slaughter.”

“Cordonian uniform?” Alex sputtered.

“Yes. General Clark is convinced the Cordonians are behind these raids. That is why I feel that your trip to Cordonia will surface again.”

“Excuse me, Colonel, but you don’t appear to share the General’s concern.”

“You are observant, Alex. The people in Klandon were all slaughtered in one room with no signs of struggle. Without a struggle it is incredible that a well-trained Cordonian soldier would conveniently tear his jacket and leave us such a fortunate clue. I think whoever is behind these attacks wants us to focus our efforts on Cordonia.”

“That makes sense, Colonel. Does Targa have a military Intelligence Branch like Cordonia?”

“Not really, Alex. We have a group called the Intelligence Task Force, but it is little more than some officers on General Clark’s staff who correlate information that we receive from various sources.”

“Seems to me, Colonel, that intelligence like the Cordonians are getting would have great value to Targa.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Alex. There are several special groups that Targa needs to create in order to keep pace with her enemies and deal with them properly. General Clark and I were discussing the need for a small force designed to react quickly to attacks similar to what we are facing. This is where you come into the picture. The General has agreed to promote you to Captain and have you create this small, highly trained force.”

“I am honored, Colonel. How small a force are we talking about?”

“You will be allowed to choose three hundred men from the ranks of the Red Swords, Frontier Division, or the Regular Army. Choose two men to be promoted to Lieutenant. Your rank of Captain is necessary for practical reasons, Alex. Your troops are not to be usurped by other officers. Your Lieutenants should be capable of leading the force in your absence. I suspect that, at times, your group will be split into three groups for logistical reasons. Choose one of your Lieutenants to be familiar with Sordoan customs and the other to be familiar with Cordonian customs.”

“I have just the men in mind, Sir. May I choose the name for the group?”

“Do you have a suggestion, Captain?”

“Yes, Sir. I would like to call them Rangers,” Alex proclaimed.

“Done,” accepted Colonel Gregor. “There is another group that I wanted your input on. I want to create a group of spies who work outside the military. I have not shared this vision with the General or anyone else and prefer not to. I am asking you because I believe the person most able to provide this would be your friend, Oscar Dalek. I understand that he has his own private army recruited from the less desirable ranks of society. Do you think he would help us and would his people be dependable?”

Alex thought of Larc and his band of cutthroats. Their loyalty to Oscar and Larc was unquestionable, most having been saved from death by Larc. Oscar would gladly fund the operation and Larc was as loyal to Targa as Alex himself. “Colonel, I believe that I could set up such an operation and their loyalty would be assured. I think the funding would also be covered so that no one could trace royal funds to the operation.”

“Excellent! Set it up. They will report only to you and myself, no other Targan officer. I need to know who the leader will be. I suppose you probably have a name for them, as well?”

“If it is acceptable, a man from my original village named Larc will be the head of the organization. He is the man responsible for building Dalek’s guards. As for a name, I don’t know. Perhaps Spiders would be appropriate.”

“Good. Set it up as soon as you can. We need to get to General Clark’s office.”

Alex had selected his Rangers carefully. David Jaynes and Mitar Vidson, two of the soldiers who had been with Alex and Fergy during the penetration of the goblin Northlands, had been promoted to Lieutenant. Each soldier had been issued two uniforms, one camouflage and the other black. Black was the official color of the Rangers and Alex now had black bars accompanying the red and green bars on his shoulders. Rumors were rampant in the Army on the purpose of the Rangers and Alex decided to remove the group from the prying eyes of Tagaret.

The men who had been selected for the Rangers were already well trained. They were the best of the Army before being chosen to join the Rangers. Alex, however, was not satisfied. Alex set up teams that had unusual skills to train those who did not possess the skills. The teams were designed to teach unconventional methods of warfare. There was wide variety in the backgrounds and skills of his men and Alex tapped that knowledge.

Classes were taught in the use of myric quills, forest and desert survival, use of the garrote, knife throwing, and the throwing of the Lanoirian Star. Alex was amazed at the accuracy that could be accomplished with the Star. It was an eight-pointed metal disk with the points finely sharpened. The Star could be thrown farther and more accurately than a knife because of its fine balance.

Alex was still not satisfied. He wanted his men to be capable of any task put to them. Before heading to the Boulders for an intense month of mountain climbing, he wanted to cover role camouflage and stealth techniques.

Oscar and Larc had agreed to the Spiders idea and many of the original Spiders came from the ranks of Oscar’s guards. Larc opened a business in Tagaret called the Pawn Shop and a shipping company called Continental Shipping. Oscar fronted Larc the funds to get the business operations started with the understanding that half of all profits would be his. Larc would run the business operations separate from the government or Oscar.

Larc set up Will Staton as the owner of the Pawn Shop. Will was a scrawny black man whom Larc had bested in Oscar’s first year of operation. Larc and Will had become good friends over the years and the other Spiders respected Will.

Terris Orba was Larc’s choice as the front man for the shipping company. Terris was a tall redhead who had been part of the bandit gang with Will. He was garrulous and a personable fellow. People would probably give him shipping contracts just to shut him up. His eyes missed nothing, though. All the time he was talking, his eyes were roving over everything in sight. Terris had provided valuable information on bandit gangs for Larc over the years. People had a tendency to ignore Terris because his mouth was always going.

Colonel Gregor was at his desk when a Private came in with a message. He took the message and dismissed the soldier. The note was from Oscar Dalek requesting the Colonel’s presence at his room in the Palace Shadow, an upscale inn not far from the Palace. He requested the meeting to discuss the shipping needs of the Red Swords. The Colonel told his Sergeant that he would be out for a while and left the Royal Palace. The note seemed innocuous enough, but the Colonel did not want to advertise the meeting. Colonel Gregor took the long route and entered the inn from the rear. He would have access to the stairs without passing through the inn’s main salon. Oscar’s note indicated a room on the third floor and he started up the steps. Before he reached the second floor, the Colonel heard a laugh that he recognized, Duke Nelson, the King’s Advisor, was coming down the stairs. The Colonel quickly backtracked and slid into the hallway that led to the kitchen. Duke Nelson came down the stairs escorting a young girl with auburn hair and left by the rear door. The Colonel regained the stairs and hurried to Oscar’s room.