Mickey Reichert - Flight of the Renshai

Ra-khir tipped his head to his father. "Again, I beg the pardon of every great man in this room, but I am in command of an army. Though not among the largest, it is not the smallest either." The look he gave his captain seemed just a bit pointed to Darris. The Knights of Erythane currently consisted of only twenty-four men. One less with Ra-khir not among them.

Knight-Captain Kedrin made a brisk and full gesture of apology. "My pardon, Sir Ra-khir. Who is at your command?"

Ra-khir turned stiffly toward King Griff. "Sire, they're outcasts; but finer warriors more dedicated to Bearn you could not find anywhere. In a crisis such as this, it seems prudent to accept every sword arm in our defense. What say you, Your Majesty? May we join the allies of the continent?"

Renshai. Darris got it in an instant, and he believed Kedrin did, too. He was less certain about Griff. Markanyin held a thoughtful expression, as did General Sutton and Valr Magnus, but the remainder of the Western and Northern leaders showed no obvious sign of recognition.

King Griff spoke carefully. "Does anyone have a problem with allowing these outcasts full status among us? If so, speak now."

Murmurs passed around the table. Only General Sutton spoke aloud, "So long as we're sure they'll fight for us and against the pirates, I see no reason to exclude anyone."

King Griff gave a heavy nod.

"Let's take a formal vote," Kedrin suggested. "Everyone for including the outcast unit signify by saying, 'Aye'. 'Nay,' if opposed."

Around the table, a chorus of "aye" sounded, without a single voice in opposition.

"It carries, then," Kedrin said. "Sir Ra-khir, do you have consent to represent these outcasts?"

"Fully."

Knight-Captain Kedrin indicated that King Griff should take the floor for a decree that must seem standard and obvious to the overly formal Kedrin.

Clearly flummoxed, King Griff covered smoothly. "You announce it, please, Knight-Captain."

Kedrin suppressed a grin and dutifully proclaimed, "Then, Sir Ra-khir, you are granted the equal status of general. And your followers are forgiven any crimes, including trespass, for the duration of this war." He turned to Griff and bowed nearly to the ground. "Is that correct,Your Majesty?"

King Griff nodded broadly. "Utterly. Thank you."

"And," Kedrin added in clear warning, "since you also represent the Knights of Erythane, and our Majesties King Griff and King Humfreet…" He bowed humbly to each in turn. "… I expect you to keep your wayward followers completely in line."

Ra-khir looked momentarily stricken, but swiftly regained face. "I'll do my best, Knight-Captain." He had about as much chance of keeping Renshai corralled as he did the myriad of palace cats.

With every chair at the table full, Darris rose and offered his own to Ra-khir. The knight graciously accepted his offer, and Darris took a position behind and beside Griff, where he could observe most of the leaders' expressions.

The tribal leader of Gelshnir spoke in his musical Northern accent. "What are the pirates doing now?"

"Massing their ships offshore," the high king explained. "We estimate three hundred, but it's only a guess. They've destroyed every vessel that's drawn near enough to count."

The Gelshni general continued, "What about scouts? What do they know?"

King Humfreet of Erythane finally spoke. "They're less than worthless. Even those who can sneak near without getting butchered don't understand a word of the pirates' gabble."

Darris saw a spark flash through several eyes, but General Markanyin got the question out first. "What about the 'one man' who spoke with our prisoners?"

King Griff 's gaze went directly to Tae, and he paused a moment before answering, perhaps expecting the king of the Eastlands to save him the trouble. When Tae did not oblige, Griff accepted his burden. "He has an uncanny gift for languages and had the chance, because of the two prisoners, to immerse himself."

"Can he spy?" Markanyin asked hopefully.

Darris looked at Ra-khir and found him smiling. He had easily figured out the identity of their mystery language speaker.

"No," Griff said, more as a command than an answer. "We can't risk him. Not only do we need him for his talent, but he's too important to lose."

Finally, Tae spoke. What he lacked in volume, he made up for in intensity. "I'll do it."

Every eye jerked to the Eastern king.

Tae continued, "If we don't win this war, we all die. Women, children, no one will be spared. What's one life, any life, compared with that?"

Silence followed. Strategists and warriors filled the room, yet none had ever fought a war as significant and potentially deadly as this one.

General Sutton cleared his throat. "I'm certain His Highest Western Majesty meant no slight upon your courage, Your Eastern Majesty." Obviously unaccustomed to royal titles, the leader of Santagithi, and her closest allies, attempted to mimic proper formality as well as to smooth ruffled feathers. "He merely made the point that your precious skill might serve us better than on a simple scouting mission."

Tae smiled. No king despised formality more than he did. "No offense was taken."

Darris knew innocent Griff could kick and spit on Tae, and the scrappy little Easterner would give him all the time he needed to explain.

Valr Magnus ignored the verbal exchanges, studying the massive map that covered most of the tabletop. "Do we even know where these pirates come from?"

"Here." Leaning forward, Tae jabbed a finger that thumped against the wooden table well off the southern edge of the map and directly across from Bearn.

Exclamations and discussions began immediately. Though he had initiated it, Tae did not join any of the conversations. He sat back, clearly relieved to allow others to take the floor from him.

Unlike most of the others, Valr Magnus did not allow the shock of an army from beyond the known world to derail him. "We need to concern ourselves with more than just the army massed in the Southern Sea."The Northman stood to reach the exact spot off the map that Tae had indicated. "What we need to worry about are ships breaking off to go here…" He made a gliding motion around the isthmus of islands south and west of Bearn to indicate a shore fall near the twin Western cities of Corpa Schaull and Frist. "… and here." He indicated another sea path eastward to land on the barren stretch of land known as the Western Plains and beyond to the Eastlands.

"If we have all our armies massed here…" Magnus circled Bearn and Erythane with his finger. "… we leave our civilians wide open for attack." He scratched his honey-colored beard. "Then the enemy could circle around here…" He cut through the westernmost Westlands to Erythane and from the Western Plains through the Southern Weathered Mountains to Bearn. Magnus looked up to find all of his colleagues peering over the map. "At least, that's what I'd do if I were the pirates."

"Which is why," the general from Gelshnir said, "our armies are stretched along the western coast." He indicated the Erdai general and one of the Westerners, the one representing the twin cities of Corpa Bikat and Oshtan.

Tae added his piece again, which surprised Darris. When they had traveled together as friends, Tae had spent most of his time in silent hiding. He still seemed uncomfortable when attention turned to him, but his nearly two decades as king had, apparently, boosted his confidence. "The Eastern armies, right now, are massed along the shores of the Western Plains. My father reports having found some expert mystery general to lead them." Tae rolled his eyes.Weile Kahn had a habit of hitting his son with unwelcome surprises. "My father is on his way with a team of scouts. They're competent, but they're limited by not knowing the language."