James Galloway - The Tower of Sorcery

"Not now!" she said in a strangled tone. "Faalken, go to Dolanna, right now!" she barked in a hysterical tone. "She needs you!"

"Allia, what-"

" Right now !" she screamed. "Ulger, I must see Darvon! Tarrin's life depends on it!"

"Tarrin? Allia, slow down," he said in a reasonable tone. "What's going on?"

"Tarrin has been kidnapped!" she said in a strangled tone. "Keritanima is out trying to find him now, and she wants us to be ready in force in case we have to fight to reclaim him!" She motioned at the Wikuni quickly assembling at the edges of the field. "She's called out her Marines, and she wants the Knights to stand ready as well!"

"So that's why they're here," he said. "Runner, summon Darvon!" Ulger barked harshly to a cadet standing at the edge of the field. "I don't care if you have to drag him out of the privy, but get him here now !"

"Yes, sir!" the cadet said with a salute, then turned and ran back towards the barracks.

"Could the commander of the Royal Marines come forward?" Ulger called to the assembling Marines, as Faalken rushed off towards the main Tower.

The Wikuni that approached was an eight span tall monster of a leopard Wikuni wearing a gold braided rope that attached to the epaulet of his right shoulder and looped under his arm. He was huge, with a large chunk of his right ear missing and a wicked scar puckering the right side of his muzzle. Large amber eyes blazed down at Ulger as he approached, but the man's high discipline caused him to salute Ulger sharply. "Colonel Manx, commander of the third Special Division of the Royal Marines," he greeted.

Ulger saluted as well. "I'm Ulger," he said. "Your Princess ordered you out here?"

He nodded. "The command was conveyed by her maid, but we know it to be a lawful command. She gave us the password."

"Where is she now, Allia?"

"She's in the city, tracking Tarrin with her magic," she replied. "She said she would come back here when she found him."

"Hmm," he said. "You're sure that Tarrin was kidnapped?"

"I cannot guarantee it, but from what I have learned so far, it is a very good bet," she replied. "A magical device that can control Were-kin was stolen from the Tower vaults two days ago, and Dolanna suspects that it was used to spirit Tarrin off the grounds. You know as well as I that there is no way anyone could physically force him to leave."

Darvon approached, and he was plainly not happy. His armor looked a bit dishevelled, and his hair was still damp. "Could this have waited for me to finish dressing, Ulger?" he snapped.

"Lord General, we have a problem," Ulger said. "Tarrin is missing, and Allia thinks that he was taken against his will."

"Oh my," Darvon grunted. "You have proof?"

"Not solid, but I give you my word as a Selani and as a Knight that I am not willingly lying to you, Darvon," she said pleadingly. "Tarrin would never just leave without telling me. He is my brother!"

"You do have a point," he agreed. "You two seem to share the same brain. He wouldn't leave without telling you."

"Keritanima is looking for him now, using magic," she continued. "She had her Marines mobilize in case we must use force to recover him. She hoped that the Knights would assist."

"Assist? Your Marines had best save us some room, Wikuni," Darvon growled. "Tarrin is one of us, and we are all One Under Karas. Ulger!"

"Yes, Lord General?"

"I want every Knight and cadet who can walk assembled on the field in full battle dress in ten minutes!"

"Yes, Lord General!" Ulger said with a grin and a salute. "Sound the alert!" he shouted, rushing away from the Lord General and waving his arms. "We are on alert!"

"If he was taken, then we'll be ready to go get him," Darvon said in a growl. "No doubt the fighting last night in the Tower has something to do with all this," he added. "I knew I should have sent my Knights in there to stop it."

"I had the same feeling, Lord General," the Wikuni Colonel agreed. "But my orders were to remain in the barracks."

"Hindsight is always perfect," he grunted. "Since we may be working together, we'd best get to know each other. I'm Darvon."

"I am Cololnel Manx," he replied. "You obviously hold rank over me, my Lord General. I accede to your flag, so long as your orders don't counter our existing orders."

"I appreciate that, Colonel," Darvon said gracefully. "We don't need any confusion on a battlefield. Let's hope that it doesn't come to that."

"The best fight is the one avoided," Manx agreed. "But if we do fight, it will be a good chance to measure ourselves against your reputation."

"Don't sell yourselves short," Darvon told him. "The reputation of the Royal Marines is towering, and no doubt well deserved."

"You are most kind, my Lord General," Manx said with a slight smile.

"Allia, go find yourself some good swords in the armory," Darvon told her. "I know you won't stand aside and watch."

"No," she said bluntly.

It was chaos in the compound of the Knights, and by the time Allia had a good pair of swords and a belt for them, most of the Knights had organized into sharp lines, and warhorses were hurriedly being lined up near the stables, in full harness. Miranda and Sisska were on the field as Allia returned to Darvon's side, and the maid was already starting to answer questions of the Colonel. "I can only tell you what I was told, Colonel," she told him calmly. "That we were to wait here for her Highness to return with news."

"She should not be out there alone," Manx said hotly.

"She has Binter with her, Colonel," Miranda said with a steady expression. It wasn't easy to ruffle Miranda. "If Binter can't protect her, then she doesn't have much need for the rest of you."

Manx glanced at the massive Sisska, standing near to Miranda and ready to attack if she was threatened, and he nodded slowly. "We need to organize," he said. "The Marines use tactics that the Knights probably do not. Let's iron out our arrangements now, before we have to do this in a combat situation."

"I agree," Darvon said emphatically. "Knights rely on their armor," he said. "We prefer to smash through the center of an enemy line, then break up the opposition and mop them up."

"We also prefer a direct assault, but across the entire line," Manx said. "We push them back in one push, driving them into their reserves, and we move quickly to keep them off guard. In this case, the Marines can flank the Knights at the tail end of a wedge, and when the line buckles around the Knights, the Marines can prevent them from enveloping your rear, and we can drive in and hold them in a state of disorganization while the Knights continue around and split up, and attack from the rear."

"This only works if you're fighting on a battlefield, gentleman," Miranda told him. "You happen to be in the middle of a large city. You won't have that kind of room."

"True, but it's our elemental style," Darvon said. "Even if we attack only ten Knights to ten opponents, we use the same basic tactics."

"Are your men trained for close quarters combat?" Manx asked.

Darvon nodded. "Allia's really brought us up to speed on close fighting. We can handle ourselves."

"The Marines train specifically for house to house combat and close quarters," he said. "It may be best if we have to attack a building if you let us take the lead."

"I won't argue about that, but having a squad of Knights there to smash through doors and use their armor to shield your less armored men may be useful."

"Yes, no doubt," he agreed.

They continued to debate the exact actions of their units for a quite a while, covering several different scenarios, from building combat to chasing down an armed column trying to spirit Tarrin out of Suld. But Miranda cut them short and pointed, saying "now we'll know exactly how to set up." Keritanima was running towards them with Binter just behind, and she was out of breath by the time she arrived. The Wikuni bowed respectfully, and the Knights did the same when the realized who it was.