He was as complete as he could remember, he hoped he didn’t get hit again.
Demetrius nodded to his Sergeant and again the soldier received a blow to the stomach and again he was pulled back up. Demetrius leaned forward in his saddle,
“
I know you are trying but you aren’t trying hard enough are you? Where did this information come from?”
The soldier was panting now,
“
An informant from a tavern in the slum district had come and sold the information to us. The sorceress told us that insurgents were operating out of a boat being used for sleeping quarters on the harbor, wait, wait! There is more, the informant was a boy whose father knew the owner of the boat.”
Demetrius nodded and once more the soldier was delivered a body blow.
“
And which tavern pray tell is it?”
The man was almost crying now,
“
Please, please, I can’t think of a single thing more, that is everything, please.” He sobbed.
Demetrius looked almost disappointed,
“
I believe you, you have served your country well.”
Demetrius signaled and started moving off, the small column of men leaving the soldier lying in the street.
As they entered the slum area to search the taverns, Demetrius ordered they split up into three groups and fan out into two parallel streets to his own to cover more ground, whenever a squad of men had finished looking they would be able to signal each other at the end of each block, it was slow going but effective. They only had to do three blocks to find the right tavern and they all converged and entered the place.
Demetrius looked at the man seated in the chair in the middle of the room with two soldiers flanking him.
“
What is your name?”
The barkeep looked about at them, all standing and watching, all eyes focused on him. He was intimidated but not afraid.
“
It is Dreise.”
Demetrius grabbed a chair and turned its back to the barman and sat on it facing him,
“
Dreise, I need some information. You sold it to some compatriots of mine and I need to know it too.”
Dreise looked at this man sitting before him, he didn’t seem so unreasonable.
“
It will cost you the same as it cost them, five gold pieces.”
Demetrius looked up and away and as he did, a fist crashed into Dreise's face spinning his head sideways and cutting his cheek.
“
I hope you understand. I have no qualms about getting this information any which way I can. Please cooperate and you can go back to being an exemplary citizen of this city.”
Dreise glowered at him.
“
Go spit.”
The fist crashed into his mouth this time, his head driven back. Dreise could taste blood pooling in his mouth. There was no feeling at first, but a numbness. Oh yes here it comes, his mouth came awash with waves of pain and throbbing. Dreise looked up at his ‘host’,
“
Nope, sorry still five coins,” he quipped. Again the soldier hit him and again Dreise's head lolled to one side. “Okay, okay, stop,” Dreise looked around, “Lets make it only three gold coins.”
This time he copped a blow right on his nose and he felt it crush. Blood flowed from it, dripping down onto his shirt where it soaked and spread. Dreise looked Demetrius square in the eye and almost imperceptibly shook his head.
Demetrius sat up, let out a sigh, looked at one of the men and signaled toward the fireplace where a pot of broth was simmering, the soldier walked over and removed a poker from the fire and walked back, holding it in front of Dreise's face. Were these guys serious?
“
We will start by holding your head and poking each eye out slowly, as the poker touches your eye it will boil the fluid in it until it pops like an egg does when it’s overdone. Then the poker will go in and cook what’s left.”
Dreise had a quick change of heart, this wasn’t worth three gold coins,
“
There were four of them, two women and one man, one of the women was in charge, the fourth was Cadomedd, a local snitch. You can find him in the slum area one block across and one block up. He will be with his woman this time of day. Go to the third building along, he is on the second level. I don’t know any specifics as I left them to their devices when they arrived. It’s all I know, I swear.”
Demetrius was pleased, this sort of thing was getting easier. They walked out, mounted their horses and rode over to the next area.
They quickly found their destination, barged into the building and entered the second level. Upon crashing through a bedroom door they found Cadomedd clambering out a back window trying to pull clothes on. A soldier grabbed his foot and pulled him back in, dumping him unceremoniously on the floor. The girl in bed, shrieking her lungs out and naked, threw a candle holder at one of the soldiers who ducked then stepped forward onto the bed. He raised his sword and drove it down through her chest, pinning her through the mattress. Her eyes quickly glazed over staring back in shock, the room went deathly silent. Cadomedd looked on, frozen sitting up looking at her limp form not believing his eyes, his beautiful Maarika was dead. He tried to speak but nothing came out, mouth opening and shutting in silence.
Demetrius entered the room and gave it a quick once over with his eyes, looking down at Cadomedd, he smiled. It wasn’t long before they left the building. Two corpses marked their passing. Demetrius was deep in thought. They had gotten all the information they needed now and some of it proved disturbing indeed. It was serious news and he would have to report back to Aristeides immediately; this was something that would not wait. They mounted once more and moved off in the direction of the high tower which was central headquarters of the city. They would be there in 10 minutes and it was still only just after midnight.
Warlord Aristeides was in conference with his generals. The fire at the wharves was still burning but coming under control. He was already considering his options knowing what had been lost now that reports had started arriving. Their plans for the big offensive were in disarray and while he would only need time to replace what was lost, that was one thing that they did not have. If they were to overthrow the Kingdom this year and before the winter set in they needed to be in place within the next four weeks. That timetable was blown out of the water. He had to make alternate plans fast.
“
General Koldo, I will need you to move your men out into the eastern provinces and build an encampment there, I cannot afford to feed and deal with your men using our supplies here in the city anymore. Do as we did here in the cleared lands, take what you need from the locals and kill those that are not needed.”
Aristeides was pointing to a part of the map just east of their previous conquests. Unbeknownst to him it was the area that Kane and Solynne had escaped to.
“
With this decision to move now, that will take care of ten thousand men, and will relieve the pressure on the remaining stores. As for you General Marcellus, I will need you to step up your preparations at the base. Although the embattlements are not ready, you are to start sending troops in a few thousand at a time starting now and have them all in place by three weeks time. As for the other five thousand men in reserve to supplement the base, they will stay here under your command General Pallas. Until the second wave arrives from Isogorr and relieves them I cannot allow the mobilization of the third battle group. Now are there any questions before you act on my orders?”
The generals contemplated Aristeides words and all fully understood what was being asked of them.
“
We are ready to act my lord.” They all nodded in agreement.
“
Then go, begin preparations this instant.”
They bowed and left as ordered, an adjutant stood at the door.
“
What is it?”
“
Demetrius has returned sir.”
“
Already?” This man was quick. “Send him in immediately.” Demetrius walked in and bowed his head. “Speak, what news?”
Demetrius began explaining what he had done. Talking Aristeides through it all, he understood that his Warlord would not only want to hear the information gleaned but also how he came about it. For a full five minutes he spoke, concisely without leaving anything of even marginal importance out. When he was done, Aristeides sat there troubled by what he had heard.
There had been an incursion by a very small group of four who had managed to hit a big blow in spite of them losing their leader, this Wollfen. That was not a name to forget. If the group could continue on without any setback even when their leader fell, then they were a formidable foe indeed and they also seemed to know where to strike with little force for greatest effect. He didn’t believe they were all there by chance. And what of this Wollfen? Where was he now?
“
Cresus!” The adjutant approached. “I want a full list of all prisoners captured in the last two days and I want it within the hour.”
Nodding the adjutant moved off. The other more disturbing news was the fact that the Clique of Sorcs had kept all of this to themselves. They were supposed to be cooperating on this campaign but more and more it was becoming evident that they were operating on their own agenda, but what to do?
“
Demetrius, I am going to set you up as a special force dealing with insurgents within the city. It will be up to you to weed out any possible resistance fighters and to find the three insurgents that we have identified already. I want them found and captured but not killed. Also when we find this Wollfen, I want him interrogated by whatever means possible to find out what position he holds within the government of the Kingdom. This man is well trained and skilled. He came here with purpose and his team has proved very capable. We need to know if there are any more of them out there.”
Demetrius considered his words and spoke carefully,
“
I will need to put together a larger team than what I have now. I will need to hand pick three captains that I have in mind and also will need some support from the Clique of Sorcs.”
“
The men you can have, talk to my Adjutant Cresus and tell him the names of the Captains. They are yours. As for sorc help, that is something we cannot do. Listen carefully Demetrius, I take you into my confidence in telling you this. You are not to tell or speak of this to anyone other than myself. Do you agree to these terms and are you with me?”
Demetrius nodded,
“
But of course my Lord, my sword is your sword and it serves you faithfully.”
Aristeides knew he would say yes, Demetrius had proven himself time and again in service to him.
“
That is good.” Aristeides went on, “I do not believe we are here for riches and I do not believe the sorcs are here in service of the King. What they are up to at present I do not know, but their interest in this Wollfen goes beyond normal expectations. This is also something you can investigate quietly too. At present we will only feed them the information that they need to know and no more. We will also not tell them about the fact that we know of this Wollfen. Do you understand?”
Demetrius nodded again. What they were doing would be seen as treasonous, but he had no love for the sorcs at all and if it came to pass that they could be taken down through this investigation of their other activities then he was all for it.
“
Very well then, go now and get some sleep. With the dawn you may set your new orders into action.” Demetrius excused himself and left for his quarters.
Aristeides considered the path they were taking. It was dangerous and contained many pitfalls. If the High Priestess got wind of what he was initiating then Warlord Aristeides would not be warlord for very long at all. That too would produce ramifications which would flow right back to Isogorr. The King had hand picked him out of numerous Warlords. The sorcs were the power behind the throne and Aristeides had been selected in spite of his lack of love for the sorcs. But the King had understood that Aristeides would be unwavering in his loyalty to him. Even though he would be operating away from the Homeland in almost total autonomy, it would always be in service to his King. Had the King picked him because Aristeides wouldn't trust the sorcs? The King always played his cards very close to his chest; there was no point in trying to second-guess his wishes.
South of Port Cholandra Dark lay on her blanket. She had found it tied behind the saddle when they took the horse. It smelt bad. The horses they took had obviously been part of a patrol and had not yet been stripped and cleaned down. It made it hard to sleep when the thing stank of stale sweat.
She looked up at the night sky, wondering how Wollfen was. Was he seeing the sky right now too? Or was he being questioned or even worse? It didn’t bear thinking about. She really must focus on the job at hand, get to Port Valderus and seek a fast boat. But what could they ply to gain use of it? That was one question that still troubled her.
They had no money and no contacts there. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if they were still unconquered. What if that port was taken too? These southern cities were an insular lot. While they paid lip service to the notion of King and Country, the people down here really had no concept of a King being there for them and having dominion over them. The northern states pretty much kept to themselves just as much as these people did too. As long as the king was getting his taxes, what did it matter?