Four soldiers from Helsop's militia surrounded the man with their swords drawn.
"I am a messenger from King Geoffrey. I was allowed through by guards on the road. My message is urgent." the surprised royal guardsman shouted.
"We have had some trouble here tonight," Dagon said. "Remove your message carefully and hand it to me."
The guardsman did as he was told, keeping one hand in the air as he removed the message from his tunic with the other hand.
Dagon broke the wax seal and opened the letter. He moved under the lantern on the porch and lit it to provide enough light to read.
Dagon of Helsop,
Your life may be in danger. The situation here is complicated. We are trying to prevent Barburee's army from camping on our doorstep. Stay hidden until the situation becomes clear. We will tell you more when we know if our efforts bear fruit.
King Geoffrey
"A little late with your warning," Dagon muttered to himself. He spoke to his militia men. "Thank you for your quick response here. It pays to be careful. You may take this messenger to the post and give him food and blankets. Find Deimos and ask him to come here." To the guardsman he said, "Get some rest. I will decide on the morrow if a reply to King Geoffrey will be necessary."
Dagon sat down on his porch and looked at the bright stars overhead. Picking out the constellation of Orion, he murmured, "If the answers to my questions lie in Fernland, I'd best hie myself there."
Chapter 21
Village of Helsop
Dagon was packing his saddlebag when Deimos arrived. He tossed King Geoffrey's message to his old friend who snagged it from the air with one hand. Deimos read the message and looked up.
"Are you packing to go into hiding?"
"I thought I might hide out at Geoffrey's castle," Dagon said.
Deimos smiled. "I will go with you."
"I had hoped to leave you in charge here," Dagon said. "I don't know what I'll find when I get there or how long I'll be gone. One thing we now know for certain—our two housebreakers are assassins. Just who sent them, and why, is still not clear. Did you find anyone who speaks Barburee?"
"One of the traders knows a few words, just enough to barter with them. He spoke to our two prisoners but they didn't really seem to understand him. They said something that sounded to him like a proverb. A dead man needs neither horse nor wife."
"A dead man needs neither horse nor wife," Dagon repeated. He thought about this for a second and shook his head. "A dead man doesn't need anything. Sounds like assassin humor. I need to get to Fernland and find out what Geoffrey has got up to this time. And when I return, I plan to bring Electra with me."
"I will go with you. Leave someone else in charge."
"All right, Deimos. You choose someone to be in charge and pack what you will need. Tell Geoffrey's messenger there will be no reply. We'll leave as soon as you are ready." He clapped Deimos on the shoulder. "I will be glad for your company."
As Dagon and Deimos reached the high point that marked the edge of Helsop's plateau, a new day dawned, lighting up the road that curved down through the dense forests of Fernland below. Far off they could see a tiny carriage sitting in the road next to a grassy creek side. Several figures moved about, breaking camp.
"Isn't that King Geoffrey's carriage?" Deimos asked.
"It is. Perhaps Electra has saved us a long journey."
"Can you make out any of the riders?"
"They're too far away. But...something is odd about those horses."
"Short legs, tall manes," Deimos said. "Tandor found two similar horses upstream from the village. I suspect they belong to the Barburee assassins."
"What would Barburee horses be doing alongside the King's carriage?" Dagon asked.
"Mayhap they've come to finish the job," Deimos said.
"With the carriage? Could the King be coming with them? Maybe he thinks I am dead," Dagon said.
"There aren't many of them. One is a woman." Deimos shielded his eyes from the rising sun.
"That must be Electra. Who else would the King Geoffrey send off in his carriage?"
"I think the driver is wearing a red and gold uniform," Deimos said, leaning forward in his saddle.
"That makes sense. I doubt King Geoffrey would allow any one other than a royal guardsman to drive the royal carriage."
"What do you suppose it all means?"
Dagon thought about this question for a few seconds before answering.
"It either means King Geoffrey is no longer in charge of Fernland, or he is still in charge and he has sanctioned this visit."
"Then they could be Barburee ambassadors come to extend their alliance to Helsop?" Deimos asked.
"I would have assumed that, had their assassins not preceded them. Under the circumstances, I believe we will err on the side of caution and take the whole lot prisoner."
Deimos smiled. "That would be my choice as well. I'll call up the militia. Where shall we set up our ambush?"
"I think a quarter mile into the forest. We'll have enough cover there to take them by surprise. I don't want to risk Electra getting killed in a crossfire of arrows."
"Good. We probably have less than an hour before they reach the edge of the forest."
"You ride for Helsop," Dagon said. "I'll go down to begin setting the trap. And bring our two prisoners along as well. The ambassadors' reaction to seeing their assassins bound and gagged may tell us something."
Dagon and Deimos rode in opposite directions at full speed.
Chapter 22
In the Forest of Fernland
Dagon slowed his horse as he entered the forest, checking both sides of the road for a young tree with thick branches. He found a few that could be cut down easily with his sword but kept riding until he reached a densely treed area. This would give his men the coverage they needed to take the group by surprise. He dismounted and got to work at once.
As he hacked at a young pine tree with his sword, Dagon was glad Dorian the sword maker was not here to scold him. Dorian would never approve of Dagon using his sword to cut down a tree but there was no time to ride back to Helsop for an axe.
The tree fell across the narrow road and Dagon cut more pine branches to cover the cut. A cut tree would put the Barburee men on guard. As he finished his camouflage, he could hear horses coming from the north.
Deimos, followed by ten militia members and the two Barburee prisoners, reined in at the fallen tree. Dagon called to them from the forest.
"What do you think?"
"This should work," Deimos said, looking at the carefully camouflaged tree.
The twelve men led their horses and the two prisoners off the road and into the bushes where they were completely hidden.
"I believe two at least will dismount to move the tree," Dagon said. "That should leave only three who might try to run. If they do run, they'll run for Fernland. So we'll put six men behind on horseback and five in front of foot. I will run for the carriage and either pull Electra out or down to the carriage floor if arrows begin to fly. I don't think we need to worry about the driver. He is a royal guardsman and he will stay with the carriage and Electra. We'll tie and gag the prisoners until we see just what we're dealing with."
The men took their places and saw a cloud of dust rising above the trees about fifteen minutes later. The little caravan was moving at a leisurely pace. It was several more minutes before they arrived at the fallen tree. As Dagon had predicted, the two horsemen in front of the carriage both dismounted with shouts to their companions. As they began to pull the tree to the side of the road, Deimos and four other soldiers stepped out from the forest, swords drawn, and surrounded the men.
The three men behind the carriage immediately grabbed for their bows, but before they could fit arrows into the bows, the Helsop militia surrounded them with their swords pointing at their chests.
The royal guard driver stood up
and shouted.
"What do you think you are doing ? We're here on the King's business. We're on our way to Henge."
Electra opened the door to her carriage and Dagon promptly slammed it shut.
"Will you not be stopping in Helsop to return the Princess Electra?" Dagon asked.
The driver recognized Dagon and seemed a little unsure of what to say.
"I'm sure the Princess can answer for herself," the driver said.
"Is that true?" Dagon asked, looking into the carriage at Electra. "Are you with these Barburee men of your own free will?"
"Yes, of course," Electra said.
She put her finger to her lips so only Dagon could see and continued in a loud voice.
"We are on our way to Henge. We will not be stopping in Helsop."
Dagon lifted his head in a signal to Deimos. Deimos walked behind a thicket and pulled the two prisoners out to the road.
The Barburee men stiffened at the sight of the two assassins, but said nothing. One of the Barburee men shot a glance full of hate at Dagon.
"I'm afraid you will be stopping at Helsop after all," Dagon said. "Tie their hands and tie one horse to another in a line. We will give our guests a chance to explain the meaning of these two housebreakers at the command center."
Electra put her hand to her forehead and grimaced but she knew it would be useless to try to persuade Dagon to allow them through until all his questions had been answered. The sight of the two Barburee men in chains sent a chill down her spine. Had Bataar actually tried to have Dagon killed? She would know soon enough, but already she saw her plan to save Fernland beginning to crumble.
Chapter 23
Village of Helsop
The Helsop militia along with its seven prisoners reached Helsop at midday. It had been an eventful morning. Curious villagers lined the path to the command center, talking with excited faces among themselves. Some of the bolder villagers shouted out questions as the militia passed by. But their questions went unanswered.
Dagon slowed his horse at the command center and waited for Deimos, who was bringing up the rear. "Put the five ambassadors in my house," Dagon said. "Take their weapons and tell them they will not be allowed to leave. Give them food, water and anything else they need and place guards around the house. Tell them I will speak with them later. Keep the two assassins in the stockade and make sure they are not allowed to speak to their Barburee countrymen."
Deimos saluted and rode forward to begin issuing commands.
Dagon rode back to the carriage, dismounted and opened the door for Electra to step out.
"Where would you like to talk?" he asked.
Electra felt weary, but still hoped some part of her plan could be salvaged. "At the clinic?" She hoped going to the place where they had come to exchange news on a daily basis would help to dispel some of Dagon's anger. Also, she wanted to check on any patients that might have come there in her absence.
"Shall I bring lunch?" Dagon asked.
"That would be lovely," Electra said, with what she hoped was a gracious smile.
When they had both settled down over a plate of food from the soldiers' mess tent, Electra took a deep breath. Dagon seemed willing to wait until she was ready to speak. She admired his patience since she knew he had a wealth of questions.
"Did you receive my message?" she began.
"No," Dagon said.
"What?" Electra seemed genuinely surprised.
"I received a warning from King Geoffrey. One that came too late."
"But...he must have substituted my message for one of his own. What did he say in his message?"
Dagon removed Geoffrey's message from the pocket of his tunic and handed it to Electra. She read it quickly.
Dagon of Helsop,
Your life may be in danger. The situation here is complicated. We are trying to prevent Barburee's army from camping on our doorstep. Stay hidden until the situation becomes clear. We will tell you more when we know if our efforts bear fruit.
King Geoffrey
"This is all true, but my message was longer. It explained everything that I was trying to accomplish. I don't know why he would have substituted his own."
"Perhaps he did not wish to give too much away in case the messenger was captured," Dagon said graciously.
"Perhaps. You say the message arrived too late?" Electra held her breath, afraid to hear someone had been killed.
"The message arrived just after Deimos and his men apprehended our two prisoners attempting to break into my living quarters at dusk yesterday. They both carried knives concealed in their robes."
Electra turned quite pale. "And you were there? Inside?"
"No, I had stopped to visit Dorian the sword maker."
Electra put her hand to her throat. "I am so sorry. I did not really think he would try such a thing."
Dagon leaned closer but his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Who?"
"Bataar. He is son of the Great Khan of Barburee. He offered to marry me to seal an alliance between Barburee and Fernland. I told him I was betrothed to another and thought that would be the end of it. But he said something about getting rid of you—his command of the language is poor—it was enough to worry me."
Dagon sat back, unclenching his hands and laying them flat on the table between them. "And King Geoffrey was not involved?"
Electra looked at him, surprised. "No, of course not. He is beside himself for want of a strategy to stay clear of any alliance with Barburee. He says he would only become the Great Khan's puppet were such an alliance to come to fruition. He is walking a tightrope, trying to appease Bataar so that Fernland will not be attacked and trying to find a way out of any alliance."
"Why would Bataar seek an alliance with Fernland?"
"He says he will help Fernland take Henge because he is Fernland's friend and Fernland's enemies are now his enemies. Why he really wants to take Henge, we don't know. My father believes they may want to add a port city to their list of conquests."
"I see. Did you agree to marry him?"
Electra hesitated and knew at once that Dagon guessed the reason for her hesitation. "I pretended to be flattered by his proposal for Father's sake. It was part of a larger plan." She blushed and looked at Dagon. "I am to have the honor of being his second wife."
Dagon managed a small upturn of his mouth. "I can see how flattered you must have been. So this feigned flattery was part of a larger plan?"
Electra's face brightened. She was eager to tell him of her plan. Perhaps all was not lost. She placed her elbows on the table and moved closer. "Take the Thief and his acting troupe put on a magic show to entertain the visitors. The Barburee men were very impressed. They had never seen anything like it. They insisted on visiting Take and learning his secrets. They even talked King Geoffrey into allowing the magicians to return to Barburee with half the ambassadors."
Dagon looked thoroughly confused. "King Geoffrey sent Take to Barburee?"
"Yes, poor Take and his two new assistants. They tried to find excuses not to go, but Bataar was most insistent."
"This is all very interesting but are you saying this was part of your plan?"
"No, of course not. I was sorry for involving Take. I tried to talk Father out of it, but he wouldn't listen. I believe he still holds Take responsible for my kidnapping."
Dagon looked even more confused. He tilted his head to one side as he looked into Electra's face and waited.
"So then I knew where his weakness lay," Electra said with satisfaction.
"Whose weakness?" Dagon asked.
"Bataar's, of course." She looked at Dagon with bewildered eyes, wondering why he was not following her train of thought.
"Of course," Dagon said, throwing his hands in the air. "But just to be sure we are both thinking along the same lines, why don't you tell me more about Bataar's weakness."
Electra pursed her lips, realizing Dagon was makin
g fun of her. "He is afraid of magic—sorcery—all manner of witchcraft. He paid Take in gold to learn his secrets."
"Yes...all right...I can see that," Dagon said as he pondered her words. "So based on this fear, you devised your plan."
"Exactly. I told him that since we were to be married I thought I should tell him a secret that was seldom spoken of." Her face lit up in anticipation of Dagon's guessing what this secret might be.
"I give up," he said too quickly.
Electra was disappointed that Dagon refused to play along, but continued nonetheless. "That a powerful sorceress rules Henge and its army. That before he advised his father to bring Barburee's army to Fernland to ready for an attack on Henge, he should go with me to Henge, see the sorceress for himself, and then decide whether or not to attack them." Electra ended her speech with anticipation, searching Dagon's face for some sign of agreement. Instead she saw an angry flush creeping up his cheeks.
"And King Geoffrey agreed to this?" he said too loudly.
"What choice did he have?" Electra shouted in her own defense. "And it worked! As I watched, Bataar's messenger tore up the note calling for the army to come. Bataar dictated a new note. I believe it called for a delay based on what I had told him."
Dagon put his hands on his head and leaned back.
"A dead man needs neither horse nor wife," he muttered.
"What?" Electra asked.
"It is evidently a proverb out of Barburee," Dagon said, "and sometimes a prophecy as well." He stood up. "Let me think on all this. I will go hear what our guests have to say and then we will speak more of your plan."
He managed a smile and caressed the side of Electra's cheek with his hand. "It is so good to have you safely home in Helsop."
Chapter 24
Village of Helsop
Dagon sat at the militia's command center waiting for his guards to bring Bataar in for questioning. He considered what he might ask the son of the Great Khan that would not end in raining havoc down on Helsop. He had already dismissed Electra's plan as too dangerous, but realized his own words could be equally as dangerous. Helsop was too small to even consider standing up to the Great Khan's army.