James Lowder - Crusade

"He'll be all right," a cleric murmured soothingly. Alusair saw the man's deep blue eyes and noticed the shining silver disk-the symbol of Tymora, Goddess of Luck and Patron of Adventurers-hanging around his neck. "But we should move His Majesty from here to a place where we can work our healing."

The princess started. It was clear from the cleric's tone that he was actually asking her for permission to move the king. Alusair hadn't expected to fall into a leadership role with the Army of the Alliance, and she was certain that she didn't want the responsibility.

"Perhaps Vangerdahast or General Bloodaxe should give you your orders," Alusair began. "I don't-"

The infantry commander's deep voice whispered in the princess's ear. "With all respect, Your Highness, you'd best show the troops that someone they respect is in command here. Vangerdahast is quite ill and confined to his tent."

Farl's sudden comment startled Alusair, who was already on edge. She glanced at the crowd, grown larger now because of her presence. Even the general's orders could not disperse the Cormyrians who'd come to see the elusive princess, the daughter of Azoun who had helped to save them from the Tuigan. Memories of regal processions through the streets of Suzail flooded Alusair's mind. She could not help but notice that the hope and awe on the soldiers' faces was very similar to the emotions shown by the poor who had once watched her in Cormyr. Their need was obvious and overwhelming.

"Your orders, Your Highness?" Farl asked, loudly enough for the crowd to hear.

Alusair winced. She had already decided that she would have to put on a show of authority for the Alliance, but she hated being forced into anything. And it was clear Farl was doing just that. With a flash of anger in her eyes, the princess stood and glanced at the infantry commander.

"Regroup the soldiers into companies, General," she replied. She looked to the crowd and added, "The Tuigan could very well come back tonight. My father will expect us to be prepared when the healers are done with him."

"Will the king live?" someone called from the crowd. The anxiety in the hidden soldier's voice was clear.

Forcing a smile onto her dirty face, Alusair paused. After waiting a moment for effect, she put her hands to her mouth and shouted, "King Azoun lives, and he will be at the head of this army by sunrise. Until then, my words are his." She faced Farl again. "Break up this crowd, General," she said softly. "I'll meet with you and the other commanders as soon as my father has been moved."

After bowing deeply, Farl Bloodaxe went to work on the milling throng. Alusair helped the clerics lift her father onto a litter, then refocused her attention on reorganizing the Army of the Alliance. Her first task, she decided as she made her way through camp, would be to talk with the Tuigan general the dwarves had captured in the battle. How the remaining troops should be arrayed depended largely on what they could expect from the khahan, and the general might give her some indication of the barbarians' disposition to night fighting.

The princess found the commander of the Tuigan right flank sitting sullenly amidst a mass of silent dwarves. The khan's standard lay shredded on the ground at his feet, and four armed guards stood watch over him. No one had dressed the bloody head wound the general had sustained in the fighting, so Alusair ordered a dwarven healer to bind the man's cuts while she waited for a translator to arrive from the War Wizards.

The sun had almost set completely when the wizard finally arrived. His long gray robe was tattered and greasy; multicolored smudges from spell components clung to his fingers. Despite his obvious exhaustion, the mage efficiently translated Alusair's opening flurry of questions. The answers the Tuigan commander gave were brief and not very informative.

The princess sighed and studied the khan for a moment. Batu Min Ho, for that was the name he had given the translator, looked to be of Shou descent. His broad features were tempered slightly; his nose was not as flat nor his cheekbones as pronounced as other Tuigan's. Still, he was dressed in the armor favored by some of the barbarian elite: a heavy breastplate over a chain mail hauberk, rough boots, partial cuisses of studded leather on his legs, and thick leather gauntlets dotted with steel on his hands. The disturbing thing about the general was his calm, even though he surely must have known his life was in grave danger.

"Will the khahan offer ransom for you, General?" Alusair asked at last. After hearing the question translated, Batu merely shook his head.

Frowning, the princess leaned forward and looked into Batu's eyes. "Will the khahan attack tonight?"

At first there came no reply. Batu stared at his interrogator for a moment, then at the translator.

"He wants to know if you are the daughter of King Azoun, the man he met in the Tuigan camp," the wizard reported. "He assumes your position in the army indicates a relation to the king, but also notes that you resemble Azoun in many ways."

The princess was surprised to learn that her father had visited the enemy camp, but she let that shock pass and concentrated on questioning the general. "I am Princess Alusair of Cormyr, daughter of King Azoun," she replied. After a pause, she added, "My father sends his regards."

After bowing to Alusair from his seat, Batu met her gaze again. "Then the king has survived the battle?" he asked through the translator. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, an act that shifted the bandage wrapped around his head. "Yamun Khahan offered a great reward for your father's head. I was certain someone would collect that reward."

A shudder wracked Alusair, but she tried not to show it. She took a sip from a waterskin that lay at her feet and offered it to the general, who stoically refused. "Will the khahan come tonight?" she asked again.

The wizard translated the question, and Batu paused for quite a while before answering. From the expression on his blood-smeared face, Alusair guessed that the general was formulating a safe answer. Finally Batu said, "I cannot guess the thoughts of the khahan, Princess, nor would I reveal them to you if I could. I will tell you this much, however. Your armies have presented the greatest challenge the Tuigan have faced in many months. Your troops fight most valiantly."

It was Alusair's turn to pause, for she wondered where she should lead the questioning. Two of the dwarven guards started to build a fire to chase off the growing twilight, distracting the princess for a moment. When she turned back to Batu, she found him studying her.

"Would the honorable princess be so kind as to answer one question for me?" he asked through the mage. The princess nodded, and the general bowed slightly. When he looked up at Alusair, his eyes were dark and his expression grim. "What do you plan to do with me?"

"We are civilized, Batu Khan," Alusair replied without pause. "You will be our prisoner until the end of the war. You will be taken from the fighting and kept from harm."

That answer seemed to displease Batu Min Ho. The general sank into contemplation for a moment, then said something so softly that the wizard wasn't sure he heard it correctly. The comment wasn't meant for anyone else, but the general had noted, "Then there will be no more illustrious battles for me." He bowed stiffly to the princess and asked to be allowed to rest.

The discussion obviously over, Alusair ordered the four dwarven guards to escort Batu to the Alliance's camp at the rear of the battle lines. The khan and the dwarves had not gone more than a dozen steps from the princess when a scuffle broke out.

"Look out, Lugh!" a guard shouted in Dwarvish.

The clash of steel on steel rang out as Alusair rushed toward the fight. Batu Min Ho, a short dwarven blade in his hand, stood over a fallen guard. The three other dwarves circled him warily, their swords held out in front of them. Drawing her own blade, the princess stepped toward the Tuigan commander.