‘We have one place, prepared against this day, that has never been used before. It is very close to an ancient entrance into the palace that will lead us to the heart of the TeKarana’s private apartments. It is our plan to burst into those apartments from below, to kill the TeKarana before his Talnoy guards overwhelm us and claim the throne.’
‘Claim the throne?’ asked Pug. ‘How is that possible?’
Martuch and Hirea exchanged glances, then Martuch said, ‘It is easy to forget that despite your appearance and your ease with our language, you lack fundamental knowledge of our culture, human.’ He pointed to his friend. ‘Should I kill my friend in battle, that is one thing. I gain honour for my house and society, and can take what I will from his body as the spoils of battle, on the field. But should I kill my father, I become ruling lord of my house, as Valko did when he killed Aruke. And if I kill my liege lord, overpower him and take his head, then I am entitled to keep all that which was his.’
Hirea finished: ‘If Valko kills the TeKarana, he becomes the TeKarana. Why do you think the TeKarana keeps an army of fanatically loyal Talnoy with him at all times?’
Magnus said, ‘But that means…’
‘Someone must kill the Dark God,’ finished Pug. ‘Or Valko’s reign as the TeKarana will be a very short one.’
‘What do you propose?’ asked Alenburga.
Kaspar said, ‘The Tsurani are as brave as any soldiers I’ve ever seen, but they lack a sense of organization above the company level. Coordinating this could prove difficult.’ He looked towards young Jeurin of the Anasati. ‘My friend, I have a very difficult task for you.’
‘Whatever I must do, Lord.’
The entire Tsurani command structure was now located in a makeshift pavilion erected on a hillock near the river, less than half a mile from where the river emptied into the plains. They could easily see the dust raised from the fighting a short distance upriver and soon they’d be able to hear the sounds of battle. The Tsurani were being slowly rolled back, and Kaspar was seeking a plan to thwart the Dasati advance as Alenburga had requested. Miranda and a half-dozen magicians had just arrived after beginning the evacuation and were standing off to the side, ready to do whatever the General bid them.
The General looked at Kaspar who spoke to the young Tsurani lord. ‘I need you to take the vanguard, there’—Kaspar pointed to a position half-way between their current location and the first rolling hills on either side of the river— ‘and I want two detachments of as many soldiers as we can muster on either side. Lord Jeurin, you must retreat, very slowly, drawing in the Dasati. We will surround them and press in.’
The young noble saluted and hurried out of the tent, shouting orders to his retainers.
Kaspar said, ‘What of those behind the vanguard?’
Alenburga turned to Miranda. ‘Can you keep them busy for as long as an hour?’
She sighed, ‘We can try.’
‘How goes the evacuation?’ Alenburga asked.
‘Badly,’ she answered. ‘A second rift is being fashioned as we speak, one that will empty into Novindus, but it will take some time, perhaps another day. The one that stands open now is in a small chamber in the Assembly, and we can only send through dozens of refugees at a time. And even then they’re going to be on an island in the Sea of Dreams in disputed lands between Kesh and the Kingdom. The only good news is that thousands of Tsurani are on their way to the rift-sites, so when they are ready to open, they will be able to travel through at once.’
‘Thousands,’ said Erik von Darkmoor quietly, leaving unsaid what everyone knew: millions of Tsurani would be left to die if something miraculous didn’t occur.
At three hours after noon, the order was given to retreat and what was left of the Tsurani forces fighting in the gaps of the river canyon fell back. The Dasati pushed forward, but halted when they saw the army arrayed on the plains less than half a mile away.
Thirty thousand Tsurani soldiers stood in fixed ranks, in three squads often thousand each. Clouds of dust from the rear spoke of thousands more soldiers on the march, and the commander of the TeKarana’s Deathknights realized that at last they faced a formidable foe. Until now, the slaughter had been immense, the Deathknights killing Tsurani soldiers at a whim, but adjusting to the Kelewan climate and the energies of this level of existence was starting to take its toll. For every Deathknight killed by Tsurani weapons, two were falling ill and having to return to the Black Mount, where Deathpriests would see to them, or kill those too weak to recover.
However, more Deathknights were coming through the portals every hour, and the Mount was expanding. Kaspar reckoned that a full headquarters was now probably housed inside it, and his opinion was shared by the rest of the staff.