"Didn't you explain the danger to him?"
"Most explicitly," nodded Prince Zinan. "He would not hear of it, nor would his personal detail listen to reason."
"I will send men after him immediately," as the general moved towards the tent flap.
"No," Prince Zinan commanded. "You will not send anyone. King Garrick was quite incensed that I was interfering in his diplomatic mission. If you sent men to remind him of the threat that I have already warned him about, you would undoubtedly be dismissed from your position, and I cannot allow that to happen."
"I cannot stand by and do nothing," argued the general. "If I must lose my position to save the king, then so be it."
"Borunda values your service greatly," declared the prince, "and we are going to need your skill in the coming days. I am not expecting you to do nothing about such a serious threat to the king, but I will not let you send riders after King Garrick in a futile bid to advise him of the threat. I have already covered that quite fully."
"Then what can we do?" asked the general.
"Mobilize your armies, general," ordered the prince. "Get them moving on the road to Laborg with great haste."
"You want me to take my armies into Odessian territory and threaten Vineland?" frowned the general. "You can't be serious?"
"I am quite serious," affirmed the dark prince, "and I will take full responsibility for this action. The Odessians will protest our actions, but their protest means little to me where the life of my cousin and king are concerned."
"Agreed," the general sighed nervously. "We can deal with their hurt feelings afterwards. What about Vineland's reaction?"
"That is the key to everything," stated the prince. "My hope is that they will feel threatened enough to abort the assassination."
"Abort the assassination?" echoed the general. "Are you telling me that King Gregory is the one authorizing the assassination of King Garrick?"
"Of course," responded the prince. "Did I not make that clear earlier? If it were not the government of Vineland threatening King Garrick, I would not be so concerned. Hopefully when they get reports of your armies on the move, they will think better of their vile plans."
"They certainly had better," scowled the general, "because if the sight of my armies does not stop the assassination, the might of them will extract revenge from their hides."
"Precisely why you need to get your men moving right away," nodded Prince Zinan. "I do not want them far behind the king, but not close enough so that my cousin gets wind of it. He is stubborn and would order you to retreat and then we would not be a deterrent to King Gregory."
"You can leave it to me," promised the general. "My men will advance with all due speed and still never be seen by the king's party. Will you be riding with us, or are you going to return to Tarent?"
"Return to Tarent?" questioned the dark prince. "Certainly not. I will be riding at your side, general. Whatever happens in the next few days, we will bear it together."
* * *
Just below the crest of a large sand dune three Odessian scouts watched the Borundan army march over the border and proceed north on the Dulga-Laborg Road.
"They are making no secret of their incursion," commented one of the Odessians. "What do you make of it?"
"The army is larger than any that I have ever seen," frowned another Odessian. "Wherever they are going, they mean to crush their opponent decisively."
"We cannot take for granted that Odessia is not their target," remarked the leader. "One of you must ride to Natura immediately. Stop for nothing but to change mounts. Alert everyone between here and Natura, but do it without stopping. If the people cannot hear your shouts, let them learn of the danger another way. It is more important that King Rihad learn of this as soon as possible."
One of the scouts rose and ran down the back of the sand dune. He leaped onto his Odessian beauty and galloped westward.
"Where do you think they are
"Most explicitly," nodded Prince Zinan. "He would not hear of it, nor would his personal detail listen to reason."
"I will send men after him immediately," as the general moved towards the tent flap.
"No," Prince Zinan commanded. "You will not send anyone. King Garrick was quite incensed that I was interfering in his diplomatic mission. If you sent men to remind him of the threat that I have already warned him about, you would undoubtedly be dismissed from your position, and I cannot allow that to happen."
"I cannot stand by and do nothing," argued the general. "If I must lose my position to save the king, then so be it."
"Borunda values your service greatly," declared the prince, "and we are going to need your skill in the coming days. I am not expecting you to do nothing about such a serious threat to the king, but I will not let you send riders after King Garrick in a futile bid to advise him of the threat. I have already covered that quite fully."
"Then what can we do?" asked the general.
"Mobilize your armies, general," ordered the prince. "Get them moving on the road to Laborg with great haste."
"You want me to take my armies into Odessian territory and threaten Vineland?" frowned the general. "You can't be serious?"
"I am quite serious," affirmed the dark prince, "and I will take full responsibility for this action. The Odessians will protest our actions, but their protest means little to me where the life of my cousin and king are concerned."
"Agreed," the general sighed nervously. "We can deal with their hurt feelings afterwards. What about Vineland's reaction?"
"That is the key to everything," stated the prince. "My hope is that they will feel threatened enough to abort the assassination."
"Abort the assassination?" echoed the general. "Are you telling me that King Gregory is the one authorizing the assassination of King Garrick?"
"Of course," responded the prince. "Did I not make that clear earlier? If it were not the government of Vineland threatening King Garrick, I would not be so concerned. Hopefully when they get reports of your armies on the move, they will think better of their vile plans."
"They certainly had better," scowled the general, "because if the sight of my armies does not stop the assassination, the might of them will extract revenge from their hides."
"Precisely why you need to get your men moving right away," nodded Prince Zinan. "I do not want them far behind the king, but not close enough so that my cousin gets wind of it. He is stubborn and would order you to retreat and then we would not be a deterrent to King Gregory."
"You can leave it to me," promised the general. "My men will advance with all due speed and still never be seen by the king's party. Will you be riding with us, or are you going to return to Tarent?"
"Return to Tarent?" questioned the dark prince. "Certainly not. I will be riding at your side, general. Whatever happens in the next few days, we will bear it together."
* * *
Just below the crest of a large sand dune three Odessian scouts watched the Borundan army march over the border and proceed north on the Dulga-Laborg Road.
"They are making no secret of their incursion," commented one of the Odessians. "What do you make of it?"
"The army is larger than any that I have ever seen," frowned another Odessian. "Wherever they are going, they mean to crush their opponent decisively."
"We cannot take for granted that Odessia is not their target," remarked the leader. "One of you must ride to Natura immediately. Stop for nothing but to change mounts. Alert everyone between here and Natura, but do it without stopping. If the people cannot hear your shouts, let them learn of the danger another way. It is more important that King Rihad learn of this as soon as possible."
One of the scouts rose and ran down the back of the sand dune. He leaped onto his Odessian beauty and galloped westward.
"Where do you think they are
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