Sword of Kings
Chapter 15 – The Second Council of War

by Bill W

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Legal Notice:
The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts. 
The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality.
Don’t read this story if:
**You’re not 18 or over,    
**If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live,
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I wish to extend my thank you to Emoe57 for his editorial assistance with this chapter.

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The wizard was nearly exhausted from his last effort, but he realized there was only a couple of hours left to ready himself for his next gathering. Quickly, he began to work on his summaries and organizing his thoughts for this all-important presentation. When he was satisfied with his mental preparation, he bathed and changed for the evening’s activities. If he hurried, he would still have time to arrange the hall and greet his guests as they arrived. He completed all of his preparations at a speed belying his age and then moved to the bed, to don his attire. For this night, he had selected a flowing midnight blue robe trimmed with snow-white rabbit’s fur. In this outfit, he radiated an aura of immense power and authority and he had chosen it carefully to help set the mood. With his personal grooming completed, he dashed down the corridors to the Great Hall; secretly hoping his diligence would prove sufficient.

As he entered the room, he was pleased to note it had been prepared as he requested. The tables were arranged in a square, the only gap being a narrow aisle between the head table and the one to its right. In the center, surrounded by the various tables at which would be seated the civil and military leaders of the land, was a large relief map, which was a model of Tarolia. This cartographic presentation showed, in precise detail, all of the geographic diversities of this wonderful kingdom. As Beraut continued his cursory examination of the contents of the chamber, the great room began to fill. One by one, the representatives of the divergent cities and races entered the hall and were led to their seats. They were filled with anticipation about what would transpire this evening, yet they were ready to enjoy the meal that would precede the meeting itself.

Beraut seated himself at the center of the head table. To his right sat the dwarf delegates and on his left were seated the elfin emissaries. The wizard had decided to place these two races at the head table with him for two reasons. The first was because these two groups were supplying slightly more than half of the total number of troops comprising the allied forces. The other reason was to allow him to separate the delegates of men between the remaining three tables, according to the geographic location and importance of those groups.

At the table to the right of the head table sat the representatives of the two major cities, Leander and Cassander, as well as the envoy from Tunstan. The table directly opposite the head table was reserved for the emissaries of the coastal cities of Reza and Tiago, and the delegates from the river cities of Udele and Veleda. At the final table, which was located to the left of the head table, sat the leaders of the independent northern city-states.

All of the various groups were talking quietly amongst themselves, suspiciously eyeing the other delegations and trading comments about the various representatives gathered for this monumental meeting. Beraut was well aware that many of the delegates were leery of some of the other ambassadors, with whom they’d had previous dealings, and those emissaries seemed to be mentally rehashing those previous encounters. Even though these representatives realized negotiations rarely resulted in terms that are seen as equally favorable to both sides, they still felt they had suffered or been misused and abused as the result of these prior transactions. Therefore, they wished not to repeat those errors. Beraut finally conceded that only a matter of such magnitude could draw some of these different factions together this way and he prayed they would be able to lay aside their petty jealousies and resentments for the good of the cause. It was imperative that all of these individual groups unite against an even more sinister adversary.

Slowly, the hall began to hush and the meal was served. This process was very similar to the meal at the First Council of War, although the items offered varied slightly. Once the meal was completed, Daimon, the minstrel the elves had met during the tour of the castle, entered the room carrying his lute. Recognizing some of the guests, he looked around quickly for the boys and was greatly disappointed when he didn’t find them. He knew he would miss their warm, friendly smiles and their boundless enthusiasm for his music, but he acknowledged that whatever role they had played earlier had ended and now their presence was no longer required. Daimon quickly tuned his instrument, while the last of the dishes were removed and a group of serving women circulated around the room, enthusiastically filling goblets with wine. When it appeared that he was ready to begin, those in attendance pushed their benches back and settled in, so they could enjoy the entertainment.

Beraut adjusted his position in the well-cushioned chair he was sitting in and lit the long stemmed pipe he had kept hidden under his cloak. He puffed lazily on the pipe and blew the smoke carelessly into the air. As he did this, he eyed the young man whom the young elves had claimed they had met on their travels around the castle. He studied Daimon intently, wondering if this young man could possibly be one of the Dark Lord’s spies, and concluded the likelihood of this being so was extremely remote. For one thing, the musician was too consumed with his performance to be a spy, as he carefully plucked every note on his lute and delicately rendered every note of his vocalization. A spy would be playing very softly, probably without singing, and he would possibly let his fingers occasionally hit a wrong note as he strained to listen to the various conversations going on in the room. Beraut eyed him carefully, using his ‘wizard sight’ to see if he could detect any evil, but their was no indication this young man was anything other than what he appeared to be, a fine, maturing virtuoso.

When Daimon finished his scheduled selections, he received a well-earned ovation from the crowd and an ample supply of coins was flung in his direction. The musician scooped up his tips, placed them in a little pouch he had tied to his waistcoat, packed up his lute and exited the Great Hall. Beraut, having waited until the entertainer had left the room, rose from his seat and paused for the throng to get comfortable and become ready for the meeting to begin. After a moment, Beraut sensed everyone was attentive and began his address.

“My fellow Tarolians, we are met here this evening to plan for the battle that has been anticipated since the reign of the mighty King Ethelbert. During the interim, Madumda has bided his years seeking out and destroying all known heirs of Ethelbert. He hoped this butchery would put an end to the prophecy of old and secure his future as ruler of the kingdom. With this bloody task accomplished, he is now gathering an army within the folds of the Devil’s Horseshoe and is making plans to extend his power throughout the entire kingdom. We must now make our own plans, to finally rid the kingdom of this threat.

Beraut stopped and retrieved his goblet from the table. He took a few swallows of his wine, wetting his throat and relieving the parched sensation that was beginning to make speaking difficult. Once he felt he had adequately taken care of the problem, he placed his cup back on the table and turned back toward the map, to continue his address.

“As you are probably already aware, I have held numerous meetings with various combinations of representatives over the past few days. During these meetings I have secured commitments from the assorted delegations and we’ve formulated strategies for this battle. The plan of attack we will use will be an eclectic tactic, into which I have tried to blend the strengths of all the various groups. I have listened intently to the comments of the various military leaders, gleaned the best ideas from their suggestions and have incorporated these tactics into a single strategic plan. I will now attempt to demonstrate the logistics of the various forces and give you a brief description of the battle plan that will be employed.”

The wizard now glided gracefully from the head table, going past the dwarf congregation and through the aisle between the head table and the table to its right. Having moved through this opening, the wizard strode over to the large relief map of the kingdom and he stood with his back to the chair in which he had been seated only moments before. He bent down and withdrew an oaken box, about half the size of a small treasure chest, from below the table that supported the map. Holding the box in his hands, he reached in and extracted something that he managed to keep out of the view of those around him.

“I will now attempt to depict this plan for you by using a series of models that have been specifically made for this presentation. Each figure will represent the different tactical components that will participate in the battle. These deployments will begin with the organization of each unit after this meeting and I will continue to show their movements up to the time we do battle with the enemy forces. We will start here, with the forces of Leander.” At this pronouncement, Beraut held up a pair of golden figures he had kept hidden in his palm. They were shaped like human infantrymen and were meant to signify the Royal Guard of Leander. Delicately, he placed the figures on the map, at the spot where Leander stood.

“The size of these figures indicates each one represents one regiment. This group will be joined by a one legion of River Elves, lead by Balaster Rombaire.” Again he reached into his box, this time withdrawing a statue shaped like an elfin archer, pale blue in color. This one was three times larger than the figurines placed on the map for Leander. After showing this statuette to those present, he placed it beside the other figures at Leander.

“This larger statue indicates and entire legion,” Beraut explained, briefly. “While these troops are forming at Leander, the forces from Tiago and Reza will sail their troops over the Great Western Sea and up the Silver River, to join with the group from Udele.” The wizard now removed a small red soldier to represent Tiago, a small royal blue warrior for Reza, and a small dark brown figure for Udele. He placed these three statuettes on the map at the point where the River Sterling and the Silver River merged and where Udele stood.

“As these troops are moving into position, the Wood Elves will march north, from Aurelia to Cassander, there to ferry across the Shadow River and organize with the forces from Cassander.” While he had been talking, the conjurer had removed one large and two small green elfin warrior statues and placed them with two smaller silver human warrior figures, across the Shadow River from Cassander.

“The green statuettes signify one legion and two regiments of Wood Elves, while Cassander’s models indicates two regiments of their warriors.” The magician now took all of the figures he had already placed on the map and moved them to an area on the lower Plains of Asimae, about halfway between Udele and Cassander.

“All of the forces that I have just assembled here will comprise the Central Army and will be under my command. From there, we will march north to do battle with the enemy.” He paused briefly to let everyone absorb the information up to this point. “While the Central Army is forming, Captain Baith will lead one legion and one regiment of dwarf warriors to Veleda, there to join up with the Veledan soldiers.” Beraut now removed one large and one small purple dwarf sculpture and placed it with a small green human figurine at a point across the River Sterling from Veleda.

“That group will make up the Western Army, which will be under the Veledan commander’s control. Commander Elgin will guide the remainder of the dwarf fighting-men along the Citadel Mountain range. This group will meet up with the soldiers from Tunstan, under their commander, and will form the Northern Army.” Reaching into his box, the enchanter pulled out one large and two small red dwarf figures and a small orange human sculpture. He placed them at Tunstan, slightly south of the western edge of the Devil’s Horseshoe.

“The Eastern Army will be formed by the collective forces of the northern city-states under the leadership of their Supreme Commander. They will form on the northwestern edge of the Faerie forest, skirting eastward and then southward around it. They will travel through Hell’s Gate to form at the southern tip of Shadow Lake, the source of the Shadow River.” From his chest the enchanter now withdrew six small statuettes, two crimson human figures for Mitiku, two turquoise human models for Akikta, and two beige human figurines for Nardin. He placed them all at the southern edge of Shadow Lake and then he looked the map over. The mage paused, stroked his silvery beard, and he contemplated on where he had left off during his briefing, while his eyes searched the interior of the chest. Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he began his briefing anew.

Finally, the remaining regiment of River Elves will be loaded aboard several elfin merchant ships and hidden below decks. These ships will set sail for Leander and then continue up the Shadow River to Cassander. Here the ships will unload supplies, as they regularly do, but the journey will not be over. They will remain in dock until the evening darkness conceals them, and then they will slip away, hopefully unnoticed, to resume their travels. They will sail north, up the Shadow River to where it joins with the Shady River. There they will lie hidden where the river bends into the Mystic Forest. They will remain sheltered there, awaiting the arrival of the Eastern Army. When this group is sighted, the ships will move northward to transport everyone across the ample headwaters of the Shadow River. At this point, the elfin warriors, who were sent to help guard the vessels, will become attached to the Eastern Army and serve with them until all the forces join together later.” The spell-caster now placed the final figurine on the map, a royal blue elfin archer, with the figures of the Eastern Army. He took a deep breath and looked around the room, wondering if the leaders were already figuring out his battle plan. He took another deep breath and continued his narration.

“Now that we have all the troops properly placed, I will try to explain, step by step, how the attack will proceed. The first move will be for the Central Army to march north and join the Western Army on the central Plains of Asimae. From here, they will assemble with the infantry in front, archers in the center, and the cavalry at the rear. Being so arranged, they will march to engage the enemy troops somewhere on the upper plains. This would mean we should have seven legions to stand against our foes, whose strength is estimated to be ten legions.

“At this point we will be praying for some divine providence. We hope that the supreme beings will be looking with favor upon our cause and allow Madumda and his war leaders to conclude they have the advantage in numbers. If they accept that as fact, this might cause them to make some tactical errors of over-confidence, which would allow us to set them up for a few surprises.”

During the time he had been giving this explanation, the wizard had moved all of the figures representing the Central and Western armies and placed them on the upper Plains of Asimae, just west of the Mystic Forest. At the same time, he also took ten large black figurines from his box to signify the Merropite, gnome and mercenary forces under Madumda’s control and placed them just south of the Devil’s Horseshoe.

“When we are just outside the archers’ range of the enemy, the infantry will form the front battle line. They will stand shield to shield, moving slowly forward until the next phase can be put into action. From behind the foot soldiers’ barrier, the archers will launch their projectiles into the enemy’s ranks. This barrage will continue until each archer has spent twenty arrows into the opposition. At this point, the infantry and archers shall stand aside and allow the mounted troops to make their first forceful assault. After the cavalry has softened up our foes further, the horse-soldiers will make a quick retreat and reform behind the ground troops again. The archers will continue to fill the air with arrows, shooting well in front of the advancing foot troops. The infantry will march forward, their pikes and lances thrust before them to dispense with the enemy wounded left from the cavalry assault, before engaging the remaining foes.

“When the ground troops are fully deployed, the mounted troops shall split into two groups and attack the enemy’s flanks. By this time we shall have the Dark Lord totally preoccupied with the battle and we shall spring our first surprise. At this moment, the Northern Army, which has remained hidden near Tunstan, shall move up and make a charge at the enemy’s rear and western flanks. This should cause the Dark Lord’s generals to split their attention between several fronts and should bring our troop strength to nine legions, which will be closer to their numbers.

“By this time, Madumda’s military leaders should have made their adjustments and then we shall unleash our next unexpected assault. At this instance, the Eastern Army will move from the cover of its hiding place in the Mystic Forest and shall attack the eastern flank of our adversaries. This will give us a distinct advantage in numbers, as we shall come to full strength at eleven legions. If the gods are willing, this should swing the tide of battle in our favor. If everything goes as planned, we hope to be able to totally crush the threat at this time.”

Beraut glanced around the room to catch the expressions on the faces of those assembled, trying to determine their feelings about the battle plan. From what he could tell, everyone in attendance seemed satisfied with this strategy and they were now waiting to be told when the troop movements and fighting would actually begin. The magician decided to give them a few minutes more to discuss things further, before he continued with his report. After several minutes had elapsed and the murmuring began to subside, the wizard began to speak again.

“We have, of course, a couple of backup plans prepared in case we should need them. We have a defensive plan, where we would dig in and barricade ourselves against assault if Madumda’s army should prove overpowering. We also have a siege plan in place, just in case the Dark Lord’s forces fall back and try to hole up at Treblanc. The last scenario is highly unlikely, but it is best to have this option, nonetheless.

“I would like each of you to leave here tomorrow and begin the appropriate preparations. Those living the farthest from Leander will leave first, before each succeeding group, according to location, until everyone has departed. Each of you must be in place and ready to begin the attack in ten days. If we wait any longer than this, we may lose the advantage, no matter how small that advantage may be.” The wizard now paused and took a swig of his wine, while the delegates slowly digested the meaning of his words, and then he made his final comments.

“This meeting is now concluded, so you may return to your rooms, pack your belongings and get some rest, before you begin your journeys. God speed and good fortune to you all.”

Those in the room began to rise and make their way toward the exits. Some of the representatives stopped to speak with the delegates representing the forces with whom their troops were about to merge. Other delegates left without uttering a word and headed straight to their quarters. Before he departed, the Dwarf King turned toward the wizard, wishing to finalize his arrangements.

“My dear Beraut, I will prepare my companions to leave by late-morning. After we finish breaking our fast, we shall take our time getting our things together and then wait for you in front of the Great Hall. I am truly looking forward to you joining us on this excursion.”

“Your Majesty, I sincerely appreciate your including me in your traveling group. I shall be there on time and prepared to travel. I am looking forward to reaching your homeland and being able to learn how Kieren and the others have fared during the first stage of their journey.”

King Brolin nodded in agreement and then turned from Beraut, before making his way out of the hall. As the dwarf leader departed, King Dylan made his way over to talk to his old friend. “Have you learned anything about Kieren or the others?” he asked.

“No, Your Highness. I have not had any direct contact with them since they left. As you know, I watched them for as long as I could on the day of their departure and saw nothing to indicate any problems with our plan. Since that time, however, I have had some trepidation concerning their safety. There is nothing I can put my finger on or put into words, but I do worry all the same.”

“Do you think Madumda knows of Kieren’s existence?” Dylan asked.

“Of that I cannot be certain,” the wizard replied. “The boy and the others are still alive, if that is what you are asking, for I have not felt his loss. However, I did sense the use of magic early this morning, but I could not discern why Kieren had summoned it. I hope I may discover something more once I get back to my quarters, even if I have to try to initiate contact with him.”

“Do you think that wise?” the elf wondered. “I mean, aren’t you afraid of Madumda sensing the magic and eavesdropping on your communication?”

“I may have to take that risk,” the mage admitted, “just to make sure the lad is unharmed and the mission is not in jeopardy. I will only use that as a last resort and I shall try to merely look in on him first.”

“You will keep me advised of any developments, won’t you?” King Dylan asked. “I hope you realize I feel personally responsible for those three young men and am as concerned about their safety as you are.”

“Yes, I do understand how you feel and I will keep you up-to-date on everything I learn,” Beraut informed his old friend, while the elf studied him carefully. Something was still bothering the wizard and that fact was very evident to his royal companion. Dylan decided not to press the issue and waited patiently for the enchanter’s next move. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Your majesty,” Beraut finally began, “there is something troubling me. I have not mentioned this to anyone else, but I hope you won’t mind if I share it with you.”

The elf king stared at the enchanter, taking note of his troubled expression. “What is it that concerns you, my old friend?” Beraut hesitated before responding, using the time to study his confidante’s unspoken signals. Eventually, the mage found his tongue again.

“Try as I might, I still have not worked out an important part of our plan.” Beraut paused for a long while and a dull and disquieting silence seemed to overtake the great hall. The wizard was unsure about how to continue and he struggled to form his comments in his mind, so they would adequately express everything he wished to convey. Finally, he continued.

“I don’t know how I am going to be able to get Kieren into Treblanc,” he informed the elf, while looking ashamed that he had to admit to such an obvious flaw. King Dylan simply eyed the wizard, giving him neither any verbal nor physical indication as to what he was thinking. Beraut immediately grew uneasy, convinced he was being judged for his ineptitude, so he felt he needed to explain further.

“Due to the timing of the various stages of this confrontation, it now seems I will be needed in two places at the same time,” the mage admitted, trying to let the king know how conflicted as was. “Try as I might, I cannot think of a way to get around this problem and I have grave trepidations that if I am missing at either location something will go terribly wrong.” The elf king merely continued to gaze at his friend, searching to come up with the right words to ease the wizard’s concerns.

“You are a very wise man, Beraut,” Dylan eventually countered, in an attempt to ease his friend’s doubts, “and I’m sure it will work out. I am confident you will eventually find a solution that will not endanger the successful completion of either effort.” Having said that, the king simply smiled at the wizard and waited to see if his words had any effect. Although Beraut had not yet solved his quandary, he did somehow feel better about his prospects of finding a suitable resolution to this dilemma. He was glad he had taken the chance and confided in someone he both trusted and admired.

“Now, it is time we should also go to our beds,” the elf advised the haggard looking mage. “Possibly the answer will come to you in your dreams. Come on, my old friend, and I will walk with you to your quarters.”

Gratefully, the magician accepted his friend’s offer and the two of them walked side by side out of the hall, down the corridors and up the stairs that led to their rooms. They quickly bid each other good night before they retired for the evening, but Beraut had no intentions of sleeping. Secretly, he hoped Kieren might try to make contact with him, using the Golden Medallion, and explain what had happened earlier. Even if that didn’t happen, the mage was determined to try to learn as much as he could about Kieren’s situation, even if that meant he had to use stronger magic to accomplish it. The wizard had been having some uneasy feelings about the safety of Kieren’s small party, even though he tried to minimize this point when discussing the situation with others. Some of the visions he had seen, although not crystal clear, were enough to make his skin crawl and his hair stand on end. The mage would give his young ward another hour to contact him, before he tried to initiate another scan of the area where he calculated the party should be by this time.