“Another Torak?” questioned the guard. “Don’t you fellows get any sleep? I saw two of you leave the palace not an hour ago.”
“That is why I am leaving,” frowned Squad Leader Botal. “I need to catch up to them. They are on an errand for Lord Marak.”
“You will have to hurry then,” smiled the guard as he opened the door. “They headed towards the stables quite some time ago.”
Botal nodded and ran towards the stables. He mounted his horse and rode out of the city to the meeting spot they had previously selected.
“Any problems, Botal?” inquired Lord Marak.
“A mention of two other Torak soldiers leaving, but it was just friendly banter,” reported Botal. “We will be long gone before anyone notices that the Torak quarters are empty.”
“Excellent,” Lord Marak said. “StarWind? HawkShadow? Are both of you comfortable with this plan? You do not have to take part in this if you do not want to.”
“We are comfortable with it,” volunteered StarWind. “Since General Didyk has already left Khadoratung, there is nothing left here for us to do. We might as well aid in your troubles.”
“I would prefer to be by your side in this Lord Marak,” interjected HawkShadow, “but I understand the need for what StarWind and I are doing. We have the skills necessary. You can count on us.”
“I am not very comfortable with this,” sighed Katzu. “As a Lords’ Council mediator, I have no business being involved in whatever it is that you are about to do. I cannot favor one clan over another. It goes against the very nature of the Lords’ Council.”
“Which is why I have not told you what we intend to do,” smiled Lord Marak. “Katzu, you are only traveling with us because you will have to mediate a dispute. If I told you ahead of time where you were needed, wouldn’t that then give you advance notice of what I intend to do?”
“It probably would,” nodded the mediator.
“And if your prompt mediation of a dispute could save lives,” Lord Marak continued, “wouldn’t you want to be close by to do your duty?”
“Certainly,” Katzu replied as he felt the logical net closing around him.
“And above all,” grinned Lord Marak, “is it not your desire to see justice done in Khadora and honesty upheld at the highest levels?”
“That is my desire, Lord Marak,” Katzu replied testily, “but why do I feel as if I am being used by one clan against another?”
“Katzu,” soothed Lord Marak, “every dispute that you mediate is the result of someone trying to use your judgment against someone else. That is why you are called upon to mediate. If no one thought your words could be used to gain advantage over another lord, your services would never be called for.”
“I will grant you that, although it is a strange way of looking at mediation,” Katzu shook his head. “Lords do not normally drag me off to battle.”
“I have no intention of dragging you off to battle,” promised Lord Marak. “I am merely inviting you to end a dispute. If I sent a messenger to Khadoratung, you would hurry to where we are going and perform the mediation gladly. I am just trying to save time and lives by making sure that you are close by.”
“If my coming with you will truly save lives,” sighed Katzu, “then I cannot argue with your methods. I will forewarn you, however, that my going with you will in no way affect my mediation. I will not compromise myself for anyone, not even the Emperor.”
“I would never ask you to do so,” Lord Marak said seriously. “The mediators of the Lords’ Council are the strength of Khadora. If you and your kind start to waver, then we are a nation without hope.”
“I am glad that you understand that,” nodded Katzu. “Lead me to this mediation, but do not tell me anything of what is to come. I do not wish to know the details until the mediation begins.”
“Fair enough,” agreed Lord Marak as he signaled for Botal to lead the group forward.
* * *
The night air was cool as the column of Nordon soldiers rode down out of the Bear Mountains near Deep Bend. The stars were bright, and the moon was nearly full. The cortain led his column in silence as he rode off the mountain trail and onto the main road. Although the sun would not rise for a few hours yet, the men were alert and ready for battle.
As the column of green and white soldiers neared the Nordon estate, the cortain’s fingers moved rapidly over his head. The unspoken command was superfluous. Each member of the Nordon corte knew his task by heart, and the signal to be alert was merely a force of habit.
The Nordon corte turned onto the estate road leading to the mansion. The guards at the gate waved uncaringly as the soldiers rode by. As the corte approached the mansion, the cortain turned towards the guest barracks. The two sentries outside the mansion watched the procession with halfhearted interest. They had seen this particular corte leave and return at strange hours of the day and night. They were guests from the main estate in the Imperial Valley and nobody paid any attention to their comings and goings.
Cortain Talli dismounted around the corner of the mansion. His troops immediately followed his lead. Two men gathered around the cortain as the others tethered their horses and waited silently. Everyone remained poised, their attention glued to the cortain.
Cortain Talli nodded with exaggeration and started walking towards the front of the mansion. The two escorting soldiers immediately followed him. The rest of the corte turned and began executing their assigned tasks. The three men rounded the corner of the mansion and strode purposely towards the door of the mansion. They were halfway to the door before the two guards even noticed them. One of the guards nudged the other causing him to look towards the approaching soldiers. As the three men got closer, it became obvious that they were heading into the mansion. The two guards stiffened.
“I hope you aren’t planning on waking anyone,” one of the guards said softly to the approaching men.
“I must,” Cortain Talli said with feigned exasperation. “I need to speak with Marshal GeHert right away.”
“Can’t it wait until morning?” objected the guard. “He has a nasty temper when he is awakened without reason.”
“It is not without reason,” responded Cortain Talli as he mounted the steps and approached the door.
“Hey,” said the other guard as he turned to follow the cortain. “You aren’t the same cortain that led the men out. What happened to the other one?”
The first guard also turned to look at the cortain. Neither of the guards realized their mistake until the two men escorting the cortain had attacked them from behind. The attack was not brutal. The fake Nordon soldiers looped wires over the men’s heads and tightened them. The cortain turned around and held his finger to his lips.
“Not a sound and you will both live,” smiled the cortain. “I am going to gag you and then you will be bound. If you make no noise, you will be freed in an hour or two. Do you understand?”
Both men tried to nod, but the wire nooses restricted their movement. They held their hands up in a show of submission.
“Good,” smiled the cortain as he watched several of his men running silently across the lawn in front of the mansion.
Talli stuffed clean rags in the men’s mouths while the soldiers holding them bound their arms behind them.
“Take them around to the side of the mansion,” instructed Cortain Talli. “Make them comfortable and then return here to rejoin me. I am going to speak to Lord Grentle.”
Cortain Talli stripped off his Nordon uniform and dropped it on the porch. He straightened his Torak uniform and observed his men as they secured the barracks by barricading the doors. Two men quietly raced up the road to the gate and subdued the gate guards. Cortain Talli could see another corte of Torak troops riding onto the estate. The two men who had tied up the guards returned wearing Torak black and silver. Talli turned and opened the door to the mansion.