Richard Tuttle - 13 Day War

“We are surrendering honorably,” he said to Alex. “I demand just treatment for my men as prisoners.”

“And you shall have it,” promised Alex. “As was said before, your men will be fed and cared for until their eventual return to Spino.”

* * * *

Colonel Shellard slid off his horse and stood next to the fire. He was not sure how the horse had managed to move closer to the burning barricade, but he was thankful that it had. The ice had taken a long time to melt, and he was now drenched with wet clothes, but the warmth of the flames felt wonderful. He watched as steam rose off his clothes and wondered about drying the horse. He looked at it and shook his head, fearful that the exposure to ice might have harmed it. Beyond his horse were several others belonging to men of his regiment who no longer needed them. He tore himself away from the warmth of the fire and snagged one of the other horses. He pulled himself up and kicked the horse to life. Galloping southward along the Coastal Highway, the night breeze chilled him like it never had before. He pushed the discomfort from his mind and concentrated on reaching General Bledsoe. When he finally saw the Baroukan general, he sighed with relief.

“What happened to you?” called out Colonel Sawar. “Fall in a river?”

Colonel Shellard ignored the questions. He halted his horse and dismounted, issuing a sharp salute to the general.

“The 17 thCorps is in danger, General,” Colonel Shellard said with a sense of urgency. “I need your reserves to save them.”

“General Kozinski can take care of himself,” scoffed General Bledsoe. “He is a fine general. Did he send you here?”

“No,” Colonel Shellard replied.

“I thought not,” stated General Bledsoe. “Explain yourself.”

“My regiment was destroyed earlier,” reported Colonel Shellard. “I alone survived, and that was only because of a freak occurrence. General Kozinski has the remains of the 17 thCorps in a circular shield wall, waiting for the Alceans to attack, but has no idea what is heading towards him. I overheard them talking. They plan to use their mages to eliminate the entire 17 thCorps.”

“Preposterous,” ridiculed General Bledsoe. “General Kozinski knows how to fight against mages. They die just like any other man.”

“Or woman?” retorted Colonel Shellard. “The people I heard talking were Alex and Jenneva.”

“Are you serious?” gasped Colonel Sawar. “I thought they were mythical?”

“They are real,” replied Colonel Shellard.

“Who are these people?” demanded General Bledsoe.

“They are Knights of Alcea,” answered Colonel Sawar. “The stories told about them in Tagaret appeared farfetched and exaggerated. That is why I thought they were mythical. According to one story, Jenneva used her magic to split a mountain in half, forcing half of it to fall on a goblin army.”

“And she is not the only mage they have,” interjected Colonel Shellard. “There is red-headed man who was with the Alceans opposite the northern perimeter. When I arrived there, he was using magic to burn the barricades. Our people could do nothing to stop him. Their arrows were blocked from reaching him somehow.”

“I don’t care how powerful she is,” scowled General Bledsoe. “Two mages are not going to destroy ten-thousand men.”

“The 17 thCorps is no longer ten-thousand men,” frowned Colonel Shellard. “We have already lost several thousand to the Alceans Rangers, including my entire regiment.” The colonel sighed anxiously as he gazed into the unyielding face of General Bledsoe. “General, I was frozen by a magical spell cast at me when I tried to attack Alexander Tork. My horse was frozen, too. That is the only reason I survived the carnage at the northern perimeter. Every other man died to the Rangers. These are warriors unlike any other we have ever seen. To talk of their deeds might sound exaggerating, but if you tour the battlefield, you will not find many of their black-clad bodies on it. These men and their mages are not something to be ignored. I plead with you to send the reserves to General Kozinski’s aid. I came straight here to request them because I truly believe that they are the only hope for the 17 thCorps.”

The general frowned. “You came here explicitly to request my reserves?”

“Yes.” The Spinoan colonel nodded. “Those three regiments will make all the difference in the world.”

“And how did you know that I had held back three regiments?” asked the general. “I never notified General Kozinski about them.”

It was the Spinoan’s turn to frown. “Alex and Jenneva knew about them,” he gasped. “I remember her saying that only those three regiments could foil their plan. She specifically called them reserves, and Alex said not to worry about them. He said that a Baroukan general would never send them to the aid of a Spinoan. How could she have known?”

“That is nonsense,” scoffed Colonel Sawar. “Baroukans and Spinoans stand together in this team. Alex and Jenneva might be great heroes to Alcea, but they have made a fatal mistake with such foolish thoughts. Our reserves will crush them.”

“You need to get some dry clothes on, Colonel,” General Bledsoe said casually to the Spinoan colonel. “You may be called upon yet again this night. Best you be prepared.”

“I will get him some clothes,” offered Colonel Sawar.

“No,” the general said quickly as he waved for a sergeant to join the group. “A lesser officer can handle such a duty. Go with the sergeant, Colonel Shellard. He will see that you get what you need.”

The Spinoan colonel nodded, and the general instructed the sergeant. As soon as the two men were gone, Colonel Sawar frowned deeply and spoke softly to the general.

“You aren’t thinking of holding up the reserves, are you?”

“Something stinks about this whole battle,” stated the Baroukan general. “How many men were attacking from the south before they retreated?”

“Two or three thousand,” answered the colonel. “The shield wall should easily hold them now that we have it properly assembled. We really can afford to send the reserves to help the Spinoans.”

“Right.” General Bledsoe nodded. “That much is obvious, so what are we missing?”

“Missing?” echoed the colonel. “I don’t understand.”

“The Alceans are toying with us, Colonel,” explained the general. “They actually want us to send the reserves northward. That is why they allowed Colonel Shellard to hear them talking, and that is why they added the part about Baroukans not wanting to help Spinoans. That comment was made specifically to make it harder to refuse the request.”

“You think Alex and Jenneva intentionally let Shellard live?”

“Absolutely. If we are to believe that the Alcean Rangers and their mages are truly capable of annihilating the entire 17 thCorps, why would they be so foolish as to leave an officer alive who could conveniently carry their words to me? It makes no sense. They want my reserves removed from here, but they don’t have the numbers necessary to breech our shield wall, so they should never even make it this far. What is their real plan? How are they getting through the shield wall?”

“Do you think they mean to outflank the shield wall?” asked the colonel.

“No,” answered the general. “To do so would put them between Kozinski and us. Besides, drawing the reserves north would hamper their own efforts if they meant to outflank us. Unlike the shield wall, the reserves are mounted. They can react with great speed.”

“Unless they are eliminated,” gasped the colonel. “The attack on the 17 thCorps is probably a ruse. The Rangers seek to take on our reserves and eliminate them. That is the real plan.”