Dishon Chapter 8

IN THE TENTH YEAR OF RECAB, KING OF DISHON
"You were right," said Tomaz. "Marram isn't sending all her forces."
"Excellent. How many men is Azom sending?" asked Perez.
"My scouts would estimate there forces to be at about five hundred sixty thousand soldiers all together. That's roughly one hundred thousand calvary, and the rest some sort of infantry. My scouts weren't able to get close enough to tell."
"Could you give me any idea of the species of the men?" Perez asked.
"No birds of any kind were seen, but it's likely they have some for scouting purposes." Perez nodded in agreement. "The calvary consists of about half Humans and horses, half Centaurs. As for the army, they're mainly human, about a quarter is made up by various other species, mostly large cats of some sort."
"Any crocodiles?"
Tomaz was a little taken back by this unusually question. "None were seen. It's unlikely that they would be present, since they are rather useless in battle unless they're in water."
"Your positive about the loyalty of your scouts?"
"Sure I am, why do you ask?"
"Just keep on eye on that, I've had negative experiences when the opposite was true."
Dosut stepped forward. "Marram may not have sent all her troops, but that doesn't mean we're safe by any means."
"How many men do we have?" asked Perez.
"Well, we made a rather ruthless draft, and we ended up with about four hundred thousand men. About two hundred thousand of these men have only been in training for three months."
"And what species is your army composed of?"
"It's all over the board. There's no one species that is the majority."
"I see, but it still helps me in planning my strategy if I know the number of each species as close as possible."
Dosut nodded. "I'll have a complete list for you by tomorrow."
"Thank you, that will help me greatly. How long before Marram's forces reach Dishon's border?"
"Not long at all," Tomaz replied as he flew onto the table. "They've had their troops in position for quiet some time now, so they should reach our border in a week, probably less."
Perez rubbed his chin thoughtfully, contemplating this new knowledge. After a moment, he spoke, "Then we need to act quickly. I think it would be best if we fought the first few battles on Marramian soil. It will give them the advantage of knowing the terrain, but save our land from much of the horrors of war, if for only a little while."
"The army can be ready to move tomorrow, if you want," Dosut said.
"Not tomorrow, tonight, and I'll need that list of species by this afternoon."
"In that case, I'll have to get started now."
Recab, who had been only spectating the conversation up to this point, was feeling no need to use unnecessary words. With a wave of his hand he dismissed Dosut. Dosut walked to the door, opened it, and was about to leave when he suddenly turned around. "Oh yes, there's one item I need to discuss with you before I leave."
Recab turned to face Dosut. "We're listening."
"Ishod confessed to me this morning that, in a moment of weakness, he allowed Tomaz to tell him about Perez."
Tomaz looked sheepishly at the glaring Recab. "I couldn't help it. He forced it out of me."
Recab rose from his chair. "That's no excuse. Tomaz, which part of the words 'government secret' don't you understand?" Tomaz remained silent, looking at the ground and pretending to be ashamed. Recab sighed. "How many other people did you tell?"
"None."
Recab looked at Dosut, who answered, "Nolli, Gotaz, and Mazus."
"I might have known. Tomaz, for the rest of your life, you are to pay one hundred valorts a month to Dishon's treasury in addition to your regular taxes."
Tomaz' lower beak dropped wide open. "One hundred valorts?!"
"You think the punishment is unfair?"
Tomaz could tell from the tone of Recab's voice it would be best not to argue this one. "No," he said dejectedly.
"Good." Recab opened the door of the room. "Tish" he called out. Tish came running from down the hallway, and arrived out of breath.
"Yes sir?"
"Have Ishod, Gotaz, Mazus, and Nolli brought here at once." Tish bowed and left. Recab turned to face Dosut. "As long as they already know, they can assist us in watching Perez. Make sure no one see's him who would recognize him, and make sure no harm comes to him."
"You mean be his bodyguards?"
"Yeah, something like that. What do you think?"
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Dosut agreed. "Of course we'll have to take certain precautions. Nolli has a reputation for becoming drunk. We can't let him do that with such an important secret on his tongue."
"Yes, yes, not a drop of alcohol for any of the four until this whole thing is over."
"Nolli isn't going to like that," peeped Tomaz cautiously, hopping the anger against him had subsided. "It may be a long time before all of this is over."
"No, it won't, and that's what I'm afraid of. Marram will conquer us in a month."
"Dosut lets not be pessimistic. As my second in command, you should be stirring up enthusiasm for the upcoming conflict."
Dosut shook his head. "Who are we kidding? We may be able to hold out against Marram a little bit longer with Perez' help, but they'll get us in the end."
Recab opened his mouth to reply, but could think of nothing. "There's always hope," he said weakly.
Dosut could see that his point had been made, and felt no need to drive it further. It was Perez who responded. "Let us not forget, gentlemen, that a war fought for the side of justice and goodness is won before it even begins."
"You can win your little war on any level you want, but the only level that's going to matter is the physical," Dosut retorted almost mockingly.
"Don't be to sure, Dosut. Winning a moral battle is more important then winning a physical one."
"Will see if you still feel that way when Marramian steel is in your chest."
"I've faced physical injury before." Perez gestured towards his wounds. "They have set me back, but a moral injury can destroy me."
"So can a physical one if it's strong enough."
Perez shook his head. "My body is disposable. Whatever happens to it does not affect the real me."
As Dosut voiced his response, Recab looked down the hallway, and wondered how much longer he would have to wait for the men.


Ishod, Nolli, Gotaz, and Mazus all filed solemnly into the room. Tish closed the door behind them and left. Dosut, having left to prepare his men, was absent, but Recab, Tomaz, and Perez were still in the room. Recab looked sternly at the men, while Tomaz tried to avoid eye contact.
"I understand you men have willfully betrayed your country and your king by listening top secret information." Ishod looked down at the floor in shame, as did Nolli. Gotaz stared straight ahead, looking very unconcerned about what was happening. Mazus looked terrified, and kept his eyes on the door. Recab continued, "your punishment is to be the personal aids and protectors of Perez. You are not to mention anything about this to anyone else, or your punishment shall be severely harshened. Furthermore, it will be necessary for you to spend much of the coming months, possibly longer, in isolation. Also, from now until you are told otherwise, no alcohol in any form is to touch your lips." Recab resisted the urge to laugh when he saw Nolli's expression drop. "Do I make myself clear?" The four nodded in agreement. "Good, then start right now. Perez, instruct them."
Perez lead the three away saying, "the first thing you need to know about-." His voice was cut off by the shutting of the door.


The cold rain came down in torrents. The wind blew it against the tents, whose insulation proved to be insufficient. Men tried to sleep in them, grumbling about how they would be just as dry outside. Miniature lakes where formed on the ground, that were often over knee deep.
A man stood against the rain by the outskirts of the camp. His clothes were soaked, and the cloak he had taken with him was discarded on the ground, having failed to provide enough warmth. He cursed the precipitation loudly, but the wind carried his words away. Off in the distance, he saw something moving, and wondered if it was his contact. As the figure grew closer, he saw it was a human mounted on a horse. Soon, the figure was but a few meters away. He dismounted his horse, who stood obediently where it was left. Then, the figure slowly and deliberately walked towards the man.
"Are you my barber?"
"I am he. Are you the farmer?"
"I am." The passwords having been successfully uttered by both men, they approached each other.
"If this is a trick-"
"Its no trick friend, I can assure you of that. I hold victory in my hands."
"The mighty Polad does not need your help. Victory is already in his hands."
"If he doesn't want my help, he doesn't have to take it."
The other drew his sword and held it menacingly. "Do not play games with me. If you give me your assistance, I can promise you a reward. If not, you will die like the rest of your swine."
A package was exchanged between the two. "You have my help. In that package, you will find all of Miktesh' plans. I'll update you frequently."
"If this package is wrong, you can be assured of special treatment once Miktesh is conquered."
"I believe you will find those plans more then satisfactory."
"I hope so, for your sake." The man walked off with the package, and mounted his horse. "I'll be in touch!" he shouted out loudly, but his words were barely audible to the other.
As he rode away, his informant trudged back to camp. His authority allowed him the privilege of leaving camp, and he would have no trouble getting past the guards.
He approached a guard. "It's me," he said, coming close so the guard could see him since his torch was long ago extinguished. "I've come-"
His words were suddenly and abruptly cut off, as his face was transformed into a mixture of pain and horror. He looked down to see the handle of a sword sticking out of his stomach, and tried to scream, but could not muster the strength. The sword was withdrawn by the guard, and came down again on his neck. He fell to the ground, and did not move. The guard discarded his fake uniform, and walked away from the camp.