Shadow Cursed Page 7

  Sceleo rudely coughed next to him to indicate that he was taking too long to address them. The Emperor scowled inside but hid it from his face.

  The Emperor’s voice rose immediately to the right pitch from years of addressing crowds. “I have summoned you here to undertake a great mission for the empire. You have all heard about the power surges to the north by now and you may even have felt them. Gaia has spoken and urges us to send you to the source of the disturbances. It is believed that the power surges are the work of humans exiting gateways. It goes without saying that goblins will attack them and destroy them if we do not send aid. You are to search for the humans and if you can reach them tell them empire is willing to send aid in the form of artisans and bowmen. We must secure an alliance with them. It is believed that they have little or no knowledge of magic. Carthus you will help to establish a mage guild and help them in any way you can.”

  The mage nodded and the Emperor continued, “They will probably have some military strength but may not know how to effectively fight the goblins, Tagier you will help them in this area and any others you deem fit.”

  Tagier frowned but answered immediately, “Yes Emperor!”

  “Amelia, you are young but to you falls the greatest task. You will be my voice and the voice of Gaia. You will also share your knowledge of healing and herbs with their healers.”

  She lowered her eyes in terror, the thought of Gaia communicating directly with her was terrifying. She looked up when the Emperor did not continue and nodded.

  The Emperor held her eyes for a moment then looked at Laisarus and hesitated before saying, “The High Priestess has told me that you are the only one that can lead the expedition with speed and secrecy through goblin territory. I find it hard to believe.”

  Laisarus bowed his head. “She is correct Emperor.”

  “How do you intend to pass through goblin territory without being seen?”

  “I’ve studied goblins my whole life and I understand them more than most.” Laisarus raised his head. “They are governed by the sun. Sunlight will burn them and even kill them if they are careless. They have a healthy fear of sunlight and stay clear of open areas during daylight. The coastline would seem the obvious way to avoid them as most of the forest never reaches the cliffs or beaches. But that is why the patrols are always heavy along the shore at night. We will have to follow the mountains where caves are found by the hundreds and food would be too scarce for large clans to live. The rocky ground will cover most of our tracks and will give me time to train the others in stealth for when we have to move through the forest. We will travel in daylight leaving no tracks through areas where hardly any goblins live. With luck we may even gain the aid of the dwarves.”

  “But crossing the forest will still be dangerous,” prompted the Emperor.

  “Maps show a dwarven city called Broken Pass Keep where a river plunges to the forest floor. The river empties into the ocean just north of where the humans may have appeared. We will borrow or construct a raft if none are available and use the river to travel east to the humans on the coast. There is no reason to believe that goblins that far north would have need for the crude boats they use to try to cross the Crimson River so they should not be able to pursue us. Their spears have never been very accurate when thrown and I believe the mage can counter any threat shamans might pose on the trip downriver. When we near the sea we will break north or south depending on which direction seems best. That will be the most dangerous part - with goblins attacking the humans in the area it will be hard to breach their lines and not get killed by either side.”

  “Yes, but I trust all your skills will succeed in that last obstacle.” The Emperor paused for one more look at the expedition members.

  “You will leave tomorrow morning,” proclaimed the Emperor ending the audience.

  The High Priestess stepped forward and gave Gaia’s blessing on each member of the party. The Emperor felt the power radiate from her, calming his own fears. The Emperor noticed that she took longer with the novice Amelia whom she had personally trained. He caught a hesitation when her gaze turned to Laisarus but she continued a moment later as if nothing had happened.

  The group broke up to leave, wrapped up in their own thoughts. Only Laisarus cast one last look back at the Emperor before he left.

  The Supreme Magi made his slow way out of the hall after saying goodbye to the Emperor.

  Elyise stayed behind until only the guards remained. She held his shoulder for a moment then whispered her own goodbye into his ear.

  The Emperor felt the warmth of her hand on his shoulder even after she had disappeared from his sight.

  CHAPTER 16

  Gabriel

  When Gabriel awoke it was to the shouts of General Allister ordering the circle of soldiers away from him. He was amused to see them ignoring the General but realized that they would be in serious trouble if he didn’t intervene.

  Pulling himself up he was surprised that he didn’t fall over from his exertion the previous night. He called out to the General, “Sir, can I help you?”

  “Call your men off or I’ll have them executed!” shouted the General.

  “They aren’t my men sir. Mine are defending turret two. Ah, they were defending turret two when I left them. Back down men,” he added as an afterthought.

  “I came to check the lines and I find you sleeping again,” said the General angrily as the soldiers moved aside.

  “Yes, I do seem to be making a habit of it but it was a long night. Where were you during the fighting?” asked Gabriel irritated.

  The commander moved from beside the General and noticing him for the first time the soldiers backed uneasily away. “The General Allister was seeing to the disposition of munitions to the other turrets that managed to survive the attacks so that the enemy could not breach there as well.”

  “I see you haven’t replaced your name tag yet, commander,” said Gabriel noticing the burn marks and blood stains on his uniform.

  “Yes, I think it’s gone for good and the situation being what it is I don’t think I’ll be getting a replacement any time soon,” said the commander sarcastically.

  “Name tags, forget about name tags!” shouted the General, his face turning red. “You destroyed one truck and burnt a tanker full of fuel. I should court-martial you.”

  The men edged closer to the General and he glanced at them narrowing his eyes.

  “I used the truck to seal the breach at turret two and the only way to seal the breach at turret one was to create a barrier of fire. Sir,” explained Gabriel.

  The commander whispered in the General’s ear. For a moment the General looked even angrier but then he calmed down and said, “Good work then, I think a promotion is in order. Commander, see to it.” General Allister turned and stormed off.

  When Gabriel returned to his barracks to begin his mess hall duty he found a new rank insignia left on his bunk with a letter detailing his promotion to scouting leader. The letter also contained the names of the men under his command which included those who had fought with him at turret twelve.

  CHAPTER 17

  Commander

  At nine in the morning as the last of the human casualties were being buried and the pits for the goblin bodies were being dug, a formation of trucks was sighted to the north.

  The commander watched as General Allister walked to the base entrance to intercept them as they arrived. The General stood in the middle of the road blocking the first truck to arrive. The driver was forced to climb out and hand over his orders from General Esperanza. General Allister read through the letter before scrunching the paper up and tossing it aside. The driver went running after the paper as the wind picked it up and the General stalked off to his tent.

  The commander seeing the celebrations at the gate realized that his time was running out. He returned to the shaman chained to the table and intensified his interrogation.

  The guards at the tent door heard the screams start aga
in and glanced at each other. The dark patches under their eyes and dishevelled appearance were mirrors they couldn’t face for long and they turned their gazes away. Behind them the tent glowed blue with every scream.

  CHAPTER 18

  Tagier

  Tagier paced back and forth gripping the hilts of his swords until his hands hurt. The guards outside the Emperor’s private audience room watched him uneasily.

  The doors finally swung inwards and the guards moved out of the way as the Emperor’s second wife ushered Tagier inside and closed the door behind him. Diana led him forward, her silken dress blowing lightly behind her as she moved leaving a cloying scent that made his nose itch.

  Tagier ignored her swaying hips as she led him along a short passage to another set of doors.

  When he saw the Emperor he bent on one knee, lowering his head as was the custom for a soldier in amour when meeting a superior.

  The Emperor gestured to a seat. “Take a seat Tagier.”

  Tagier unbuckled his sword belt and hung it on the back of the chair before sitting down. The comfortable visitors’ chair forced him to angle his gaze up to meet the Emperor’s eyes. Tagier noticed that this replica throne was disproportionate to the real one making him seem larger in person.

  The Emperor studied Tagier as he offered him the customary food and drink for an informal meeting. The drink if accepted would establish that no blood would be spilled between them, the food that any help that could be provided, would be.

  When the courtesies were complete, Diana left with the empty trays and the Emperor asked, “You have questions about the expedition Tagier?”

  “Yes Emperor. That is, I humbly ask that you find another more fitting to take my place.” He bowed his head, expecting a rebuke.

  “What troubles you about the mission?” asked the Emperor trying to discover the root of Tagier’s problem.

  “Laisarus for a start. Why is he in charge of the expedition? He has no real rank or experience in leadership.”

  “The expedition needs someone who has a proven record of moving safely through goblin territory. As far as I know most of the scouts we’ve sent across the river have never returned and those that do refuse to do it again. I chose you to protect the others should it come down to fighting and Carthus should the danger become too much for you to handle. Laisarus has fought several times along the Barrier, he is apparently quite a marksman with his bow. He will only lead the expedition, his power ends when you reach the human’s settlement. After that the mission becomes a diplomatic one and you are in charge.”

  Tagier nodded acceptance and changed the subject not daring to look the Emperor in the eye, “Why would you ask me to teach the humans to fight after what happened with the tainted.”

  “This is not a matter between elves and humans, Tagier, but between us and the goblins. So long as the goblins exist north of the Crimson River they will continue to wear away at the Barrier until they breach it.”

  Tagier’s head snapped up and he barely managed not to leap out of his chair. “That’s not possible your highness, the Barrier will never fall.”

  The Emperor pretended not to notice Tagier’s outburst or the shields forming around him from the hidden guardians in the room. “The Barrier will fall within my lifetime Tagier, I have studied the attacks in detail and extrapolated the rise in forces attacking the Barrier and the damage each attack has done. Last year the goblins managed to move miles into the Riverlands through a breach in the Barrier.” Tagier’s jaw dropped at the news. “The casualties from that confrontation have made me realize that things have to change in the empire if we are to survive.”

  “The rumours are true?” asked Tagier.

  “Yes, twenty goblins managed to enter the Riverlands by starting fires along the Barrier’s length and using the cover of the smoke. They sacked a town with no casualties to their own force but dozens of civilians were slaughtered. Soldiers armed with bows pursued the goblins and caught up with them at the village with three to one odds in their favour. The goblins used elven bodies as shields, charged a section of archers and broke through the lines. Barely five made it through but they began to cut through the archers like butchers. When they were finally killed only six archers remained alive.

  “Fifty four soldiers dead for twenty goblins,” said Tagier after a quick calculation.

  “Excluding the civilians. Our soldiers are almost useless at fighting face to face with the enemy, you are the only elven soldier with enough skill to fight them on the other side of the river. May Gaia have mercy if they ever begin to use shields.”

  “We have to begin sword training immediately,” said Tagier.

  “Yes. I have already given the order but we need time to do the training. If you can train the humans to be effective at fighting the goblins from the east it will relieve the pressure on the barrier long enough to train the next generation of recruits,” explained the Emperor.

  “I see sir but what happens if the humans become too powerful?” asked Tagier.

  “Firstly the humans are hundreds of miles away surrounded by goblin clans, they will be under constant attack and have very little time to build their own defences. If past experience is true they will have about five thousand people at each of the three gates spread who knows how far apart. They will be discovering that their technology is being destroyed by magic and they will have to adapt to our kind of warfare quickly if they are to survive. While I believe this mission will strengthen them for a while I don’t believe that they will survive for more than ten years without a defence like the Barrier.”

  “They will want to know what they can do to aid us in return.”

  “Tell them everything I have told you except our weaknesses. Tell them we need an ally to stem the tides of goblin attacks while we strengthen our forces for an assault north.”

  “Do you intend to move our troops north?” asked Tagier bluntly.

  “No, we don’t have the population growth to support a military campaign beyond the Barrier,” replied the Emperor candidly.

  “Population growth?” asked Tagier.

  “Each year the population grows by a certain amount as children are born. In order to sustain our current population level each couple must have two children. In order to conquer more land we need more soldiers, which means that each couple must have more than two children, say four. Our population growth has been declining for years, currently each couple has an average of less than two children each.”

  “But that means the population is dropping, we won’t be able to hold what we have,” said Tagier horrified.

  “Correct,” said the Emperor staring straight into Tagier’s eyes.

  “Why are you telling me this?” he asked.

  “I need this mission to succeed Tagier. The survival of the Elven race depends on it. If you do not go I will have to send someone else with less chance of succeeding and the mission will likely fail. Now knowing the cold hard facts, will you take your place in the expedition and make sure that it succeeds.”

  “I will. Forgive me for doubting your wisdom,” said Tagier, his thoughts in turmoil.

  When Tagier had left the Emperor relaxed on the throne believing he had won an important battle.

  A voice spoke from the next room, “You were cruel Emperor.”

  “I only told him the truth,” replied the Emperor.

  “Yes. But you gave him a burden that was not his to bear.” Her tone though harsh made him smile.

  “Yes, it is our burden Elyise, but we need Tagier for the expedition to succeed and more importantly he will not question my motives as closely in the future for fear of learning more.”

  “Yes, the problem with truth is that there is so much of it that very few can bear the weight of it all,” said the High Priestess moving into the room.

  “Do you mock me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “All men must be humbled occasionally in order to see their own faults.” She moved towards him and pl
aced her hand on his cheek. She felt two disturbances as the guardians teleported from the room.

  “What faults? I have none,” he said as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto his lap.