Richard Tuttle - Island of Darkness

“Very well,” agreed the Emperor, “but I can still be of help. Travel to Duran and promise them food if they will switch sides.”

“Duran is only open to the sea,” retorted Lyra. “They are not in a position to attack Sakovans. That makes no sense. They are no threat to us.”

“It does to me,” smiled Marak. “Being part of Omunga probably means very little to the people of Duran since they are so isolated. I think they would switch sides faster than any other Omungan city. When they do, it will be an historic moment. It will be the first city of Omunga to become Sakovan. You can point to it when you try to convince other cities to defect.”

“Ah, I see,” replied the Star of Sakova. “You do look at things differently. Zaramilden is isolated as well. You said that there was an emissary from them in Khadora?”

“There is,” replied the Emperor. “What do you want me to do with him?”

“Send him home,” smiled Lyra as her plan began to form in her head. “Tell him that Khadora will not trade with Omungan cities because their Katana wages war on the Sakovans.”

“Then you will go there and tell them that food will flow into the city if they become Sakovan?” questioned Marak.

“Exactly,” smiled Lyra. “I will take a ship out of Alamar today and head for Duran and then onto Zaramilden. Can you have ships offshore and ready to make deliveries to both cities?”

“I will order it as soon as we are done speaking,” promised Emperor Marak. “What about Gatong?”

“The west coast cities will be harder to deal with,” replied Lyra. “They are not isolated at all. They will fear Omungan attacks if they defect.”

“I hate to say this,” frowned Marak, “but food is your most potent weapon right now. If we agree to sell food to Gatong, it will flow down the coast to Okata. That will only hamper your efforts.”

“I agree,” Lyra said sadly. “I will send my caravans to Fortaka and Gatong to stop them from starving. Hopefully, I will be able to sway those cities as I have done here in Alamar.”

“If it helps,” added Emperor Marak, “I now have the ability to send ships down the western coast of Omunga. I have purchased three ships in Khadoratung. Keep that in mind.”

“I will,” promised Lyra. “I am going to be leaving LifeTender here in Alamar. I will have her contact you periodically with an update of the situation here.”

“I appreciate that,” replied Marak. “I will place mages on the ships stationed off of Duran and Zaramilden. I am sure that you will be able to contact them to start the deliveries. What are you going to do with Larst?”

“I do not know,” admitted the Star of Sakova. “I do not look forward to assassinating yet another Katana.”

“Do what you must,” advised Marak. “There is much riding on your success down there. We must prepare for Vand’s invasion.”

* * *

SunChaser stood before the full-length mirror admiring her reflection. She adjusted her yellow gown slightly as she heard the knocking on the door downstairs. She turned slightly to gaze at her profile and smiled broadly at how the yellow gown highlighted her tan skin.

She made a finally adjustment and muttered under her breath, “Perfect.”

The Sakovan spy heard her servant open the door to admit her guest. SunChaser stepped out of the bedroom and eased the door shut. She listened intently to the sounds coming from the lower level of her mansion in Okata.

“Is Cherri in?” asked the guest.

“Yes, General,” answered the servant. “She is expecting you. Right this way please.”

SunChaser nodded to herself and moved to the top of the stairs. She cleared her throat loudly as she began to descend the stairs to the main floor. As she had planned, the general stopped and turned towards the staircase. He watched intently as the wealthy, young widow in the yellow gown slowly descended.

“General Kapla,” the spy smiled broadly, “you are early.”

“Punctual,” corrected the general with a grin. “You know that I would never be late for a dinner with you, Cherri. My, you look absolutely lovely this evening. I swear that you get more beautiful every time I see you.”

“I imagine that you say that to all of the rich widows in Okata,” smiled Cherri as she reached the bottom step of the stairs.

“There is not another woman in Okata that I would even speak to,” swore General Kapla. “Surely you know that you have captured my heart?”

“You have such a way with words,” Cherri replied with a warm smile as she walked up to the general. “I am so glad that you had time to come tonight. I was afraid that this silly war would take up too much of your time.”

“My troops have not been given orders yet,” answered the general. “I doubt that I would be leaving with them in any event. A Minister of Defense does not lead his men onto the field of battle. I have promoted Addley to the rank general. He will be leading my army when it engages the enemy”

Cherri wrapped her arm around the general’s arm and led him into the dining room. General Kapla pulled a chair out for Cherri, and she sat down. He walked around the table and sat opposite her. The servants brought out large trays of fresh fruits and baked breads. The general’s eyes widened in appreciation. The aroma of spicy clova drifted in from the kitchen, and the general subconsciously licked his lips.

“You always have the finest foods available,” he commented. “How do you do it?”

“The rich are not affected by the crop failures,” shrugged Cherri. “In fact, the wealthy are never affected by anything. You should know that.”

“I have never considered myself wealthy,” frowned the general. “Being Minister of Defense does pay well, but certainly not enough to become rich.”

A puzzled look fell over Cherri’s face as she digested the general’s words. While the salary of a minister would not make anyone wealthy, the inside information gleaned from the meetings of the Katana’s Council certainly should. Obviously the general did not act on the information he received from the meetings.

“All of the other ministers are rich,” noted Cherri. “How do they do it?”

“I have never thought much about it,” confessed the general. “How did you previous husband become wealthy?”

“I made him wealthy,” grinned Cherri.

“How did you do it?” inquired General Kapla.

“I made him tell me everything that went on in the Katana’s Council,” explained Cherri. “I used that information to make shrewd investments.”

“But that is treasonous,” retorted the general. “What goes on in a meeting of the Katana’s Council is supposed to be kept a secret.”

“It was not treasonous,” balked Cherri. “How do you think the other ministers became wealthy? They have people make investments for them based on their inside knowledge. It is one of the benefits for them sacrificing their time to rule the country. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It is not like they were telling the enemy what went on in the meetings.”

“I guess not,” shrugged the general after a moment’s pause. “I just never looked at it that way before. You are very intelligent to have picked up on that.”

“Calix thought so, too,” grinned Cherri as the servants brought in bowls of wasooki soup. “I made him a very wealthy man. I could make you a wealthy man, too.”

“You could?” the general asked with renewed interest. “I will admit that I have never spent much time thinking about money, but your ability to have fine foods during this crisis is very tempting.”

“And you are doing your best to serve our country,” nodded Cherri. “Why shouldn’t you benefit from the fruits of your labor?”