The King liked that. In fact it was preferable to having him sit in jail, everyone knew how harsh such a posting was.
“
Yes I concur I do like that proposal and it will make me look even tougher than I do now. Granted, it shall be done.”
The Prince relaxed and was relieved. Lord Cathan had put his faith in him and it made him feel good to deliver on his promise.
“
Thank you father your wisdom has served you well, which of course begs the question, what of the Isogorrean army?”
The King gave him a wink.
“
I will have you know I have ordered Lord Ercanbold to mobilize a force of 5,000 regular troops to ride south along the coast road and hit any advancing forces in the flank, give them a little stick back for what they did to Lord Urroz. I expect they will depart during the night.”
“
Who is to lead them father?”
The prince was looking worried again.
“
Oh I have no idea, I have left that in the capable hands of Lord Ercanbold. Be rest assured, whoever gets picked won’t make the mistake of trying to take any fort.”
Alard was not convinced.
“
I can only hope he is three times as competent as Lord Urroz. Remember father, Urroz lost the battle and all the men and his own life, it was not Cathan’s doing. Also remember that it was Lord Ercanbold who hand picked all the officers of that campaign. I hope you take heed of what I am saying if we take another setback.”
The King nodded but he sensed that the conversation was coming to a close and was thinking of what lay behind his bedroom doors.
“
Yes, yes of course, now I will not hold you up any longer. You must deal with Lord Cathan immediately. We shall talk again soon?”
Prince Alard stood up and bowed his head.
“
Yes father, may the gods be with you.”
“
May the gods be with you too my son.”
The Prince turned and left the chambers moving off down the hall deep in thought. The Queen approached from the other direction.
“
What troubles you so my son?”
The Prince looked up in surprise and smiled.
“
Hello mother, it is good to see you tonight, I hope all is well.”
The queen nodded.
“
Yes I am well thank you, now tell me what is bothering you.”
The Prince looked at his mother.
“
It’s father, we are in a serious situation with the invading forces and he has yet to make any real decisions in dealing with them.”
The Queen responded quickly.
“
Do not fear my son, he may lack the hard edge that his father had but when it gets more immediate he will act accordingly.”
The Prince wasn’t so sure.
“
By then it may be too late.”
“
We must all work with the cards we are dealt in life my son, we cannot control everything.”
They both stood there and heard the giggles from inside the chamber.
“
You are right mother, what happens is as the gods choose. I thank you and hope you have a good evening. I must be off.”
“
Good evening Alard take care.”
As Prince Alard approached his office a messenger was waiting outside. Turning and bowing the man addressed him.
“
Good evening your highness. I have urgent news.”
The Prince nodded and went into his office.
“
Follow me,” Once inside Prince Alard turned at his desk and stood before the messenger, “Please speak.”
“
I have a Captain inside the western gates who refuses to travel here and would not hand over a box that he says is for you and you only. It contains a message from Lord Raz commander in the south.”
Alard was curious.
“
You say he refuses to come here?”
The messenger nodded.
“
Yes that is correct your highness.”
The Prince considered this for a moment. It must be very important indeed that he would not trust to come to the castle proper.
“
Very well, have my personal guard ready at the gate to move out in ten minutes.”
“
Very good your highness.”
The man bowed his head and retreated out the door. The Prince couldn’t say what might be up but he decided to strap on his sword. It didn’t hurt to be prudent, this Captain hadn’t even identified himself and that was very unusual. Indeed something was afoot and the more he thought about it the more curious he got.
The Prince made his way downstairs to the courtyard of the castle where his six men were waiting. They were early which wasn’t surprising, they were dedicated men who served Prince Alard and held him in the highest regard. They all mounted their horses and the Prince gave them their destination. Two men fell in at the front and the main gate opened as they moved off, it was a pleasant thirty minute ride down to the west gate and the Prince enjoyed getting out of the castle. It was so easy to forget how closed in you could feel in that cold imposing place.
The Prince and his men dismounted. With the messenger in the lead they walked to a number of wagons with sailors standing guard. The Prince could see the Captain standing patiently waiting. The Captain moved forward and bowed.
“
Good evening my Prince. I am sorry for the intrigue but this is of the utmost importance.”
“
I must admit Captain I am very curious. Tell me why all this?”
The Captain held out a box for Prince Alard to accept.
“
This was given to me with strict instructions that I was to hand this over to no one else other than you. I was also instructed that if I was ever in danger of being captured or attacked during the journey I was to sink my boat with all hands. In view of that I decided it would be best to ask for you to come here rather than risk the journey to the Castle. I do hope that I have acted properly my highness.”
The Prince nodded.
“
You have done well Captain, it is always best to be cautious in such situations, you have acted properly.” The man was visibly relieved.
Alard stood there and unlocked the box. Inside were two scrolls. One tied up, the other with Raz’s wax seal on it. This he removed from the box and breaking the seal, unrolled it and began reading.
‘
My Lord Prince Alard,
I do apologize for the manner in which this message has come to your attention but once you read what I have to say you will understand the need for total secrecy. With this scroll you will find another that was captured from a ship here on route to Port Cholandra, it addresses King Olav of Svalbard and unfortunately I have not enough knowledge of Svalbardian language to decipher it. I would have sent this scroll to you under more normal circumstances but for that fact that four very large chests were discovered on board the same vessel, I will not describe what is in them in this scroll should this message become separated from the cargo. I leave it to you to open one at your discretion in whatever manner you deem fit, though I do recommend that you do it in total privacy. I have kept one of the chests here in Port Cholandra with the three remaining sent directly to you.’
The Prince stopped a moment.
“
Tell me Captain how many chests do you have here?”
“
I have three my Prince and no one has been allowed near them.”
The Prince nodded and returned to his reading.
‘
Let me assure you I shall put the contents of this chest to good use in the southern districts here in service of the Kingdom. Let it also be known that your flotilla under the command of Admiral Marcos has arrived safely and is now stationed in defense of the Port with supplies and materials focused towards building the defenses of this Port, I once again extend my best wishes to you and the Kingdom.
Your humble servant,
Lord Raz
Supreme Commander Southern Districts.’
The Prince looked up, what could be in the chests?
“
Captain, have one of the chests taken into that building there.”
The Prince looked around and addressed the officer of the guard in charge of the gates,
“
Help him out with some men to get the chest in there and then I want you to stand guard outside.”
The guard barked some orders and carried out his duties, Prince Alard and the Captain followed the chest into the room. They waited until they were left alone.
“
Hand me that steel bar Captain,”
Alard slid the bar into the lock and twisted hard, the clang of it breaking sounding eerily loud in those confines. He lifted the lid slowly and exposed what was within. The Prince gasped a little. Even if he knew what was going to be in there, he was totally taken aback by the sight of a chest filled to the brim with gold pieces. He leaned down and took a handful, feeling it, letting it slide from his fingers. He could tell they were solid gold coins by their weight. The prince stood back and looked at the size of the chest. It was huge, that amount of gold was more than a King’s ransom by far.
He shut the lid and looked about. Turning, he addressed the Captain.
“
You are in potential danger for as long as those chests remain here. I expect you to carry a sword at all times and your crew to be vigilant until I can get them removed, do you understand?”
The Captain nodded.
“
Aye my Prince.”
Alard slapped his shoulder.
“
Good man, I shall return personally forthwith.”
He turned and left the gate with his men, mounting their horses and riding off at a gallop.
A couple of minutes later they came up to a soldier’s barracks and the officer of the watch called out.
“
Admiral Alard approaches!”
A man dashed into the Captains quarters. Prince Alard stepped down from his horse and walked towards the building. As the officer came out to meet him, the Prince didn’t waste any time in addressing him.
“
I want thirty of our best men assembled on horses within five minutes and three heavy wagons at the ready too. I also want you to send a messenger directly and discreetly to the officer of the watch at the Castle gates to expect a contingent of these men and wagons to enter without stopping when they see me at the front of the column.” The man saluted and began to speak, “Off you go there is no time to waste.”
Alard entered the officer’s quarters, he moved to the wall and took a bottle of rum then poured himself a stiff one. Afterward he returned to outside and watched over everyone organizing, it didn’t take long as his men were very well trained and very disciplined. You would expect nothing less from the personal soldiers of Prince Alard.
Alard mounted his horse once again and returned to where the Captain was waiting with his own wagons. He ordered a dozen able bodied men to start removing the chests and transfer them to the waiting new wagons. Once all the chests were secured he motioned for the column to move off towards the castle. Prince Alard turned towards the Captain.
“
I thank you for your due diligence and service, I will have you stay here in the city as I will have further orders for you soon, in fact I will allow you three days R&R at which time I will be able to give you your next assignment. These wagons of yours are to return to Oceania to keep up appearances.”
The Captain saluted.
“
Thank you your highness, it is more than I could hope for.”
The Prince rode off to join his column as it made its way back to the castle. The journey was uneventful and they entered the castle walls unimpeded. On arrival the Prince ordered the chests removed and taken directly to the Castle Treasury under full guard.
Alard dismounted and immediately went to his office where he ordered that an interpreter make himself available to the Prince without delay. There the prince opened the scroll originally intended for King Olav and studied it himself but could not make out anything at all. The interpreter entered the room and bowed, Alard motioned him over,
“
Come sit at this desk and write out in our own language all that you read here please.”
The interpreter came over and immediately went to task, reading and then writing as he went. It only took a few minutes to write out the translation.
“
Thank you, you may leave.”
Prince Alard didn’t have to say anymore to the man as all interpreters were sworn to secrecy as a part of their job. Alard sat down and began reading the content of the letter:
To the great King Olav,
May this letter find you in good health and wealth. I salute you and welcome your great offer of assistance in our campaign with the Kingdom. It shall be of great importance in defeating a common enemy to our great nations. I, King Eunadees, offer this token of our appreciation to you in your endeavors with launching your attacks directly on Oceania. I do hope you can inflict great damage on their fleet and keep them occupied in the north as well with your troops. This will enable us to prosecute the war in the south and on the capitol of Kassandrea to our full capabilities. Once again I cannot impress upon you our greatest appreciation in your decision to ally with us in these great times.