“I will be here,” promised Goral as he sighed with defeat. “May Kaltara watch over you.”
StarWind smiled at Goral and left her position of concealment as she pulled the black hood over her head. She walked towards the huge encampment and saw the sentries look questioningly towards her as she approached. She felt her teeth grating and willed her body to relax. When she got close to the guards, she saw them stiffen and move to intercept her. She had anticipated the move.
“What are you doing outside the encampment?” asked one of the sentries.
“What are you doing questioning one of Vand’s chosen?” StarWind shot back. “I follow my orders just as you do. My orders required a journey outside the perimeter. Do you wish to make an issue of it?”
“We were not informed of anyone outside the perimeter,” retorted the guard.
“As if you have a need to know,” spat StarWind. “Stand aside, or I shall inform Premer Doralin of the reason for my delay.”
The sentries exchanged anxious glances at the implied threat. One of the sentries shrugged and returned to his post, but the other stood defiantly for several long moments. StarWind was about to speak again when the remaining sentry finally shook his head and walked away. The Sakovan spymaster smiled inwardly as she walked past the sentries and entered the encampment.
StarWind gazed about at the thousands of tents and campfires. She chose a wide path through the encampment that looked like it headed towards the center where she expected to find the premer’s tent. So many people were moving around the camp that she was unaware of the black-cloaked person following her. She hadn’t walked more than a hundred paces before she felt her body freeze. She tried to turn around to view her attacker, but her body would not respond. While her head was the only part of her body that had movement, she could not turn it enough to see behind her. It mattered little. Within seconds, a black-cloaked man walked around her and flipped the hood off of her face.
“What have we here?” the mage smiled cruelly. “Do you think a black cloak makes you invisible in Vand’s encampment? Who are you, and what is your mission?”
“Release me this instant,” snarled StarWind. “How dare you attack me in this manner? Premer Doralin will learn of this outrageous behavior.”
“How dare I?” smirked the mage. “My, my, how original. You may think we Motangans are stupid, but you will soon learn differently. No Motangan mage is allowed to enter or leave the encampment except through the mage entrance. Everyone knows that, except Sakovans.”
The mage walked completely around StarWind in a leisurely manner, feeling completely in control of the situation. He stopped in front of her and lifted up her cloak to view what the Sakovan was wearing underneath.
“At least you were not foolish enough to smuggle a sword into the camp,” smiled the mage. “Seeing as you claim to be so close to Premer Doralin, I suspect that is where I shall take you. Besides, only he can authorize me to do what I want to do to you. Before I am done with you, you will provide every secret the Sakovans hold dear to their hearts, and if you think you can escape the torture by killing yourself, think again. You will never be allowed to harm yourself or anyone else. You will answer every question without fail. That is Zatho’s promise to you.”
The mage summoned some soldiers nearby who had stopped their activities to witness the incident. Zatho instructed them to fetch a cart for the prisoner, and several soldiers dashed away to comply. The mage stood in front of StarWind and smiled as he stared into her eyes, as if they would reveal something to him. The minutes dragged on for StarWind as she wondered if she would get a chance to kill herself before she revealed too much.
“You won’t die anytime soon,” Zatho promised with a chuckle as if he had read her mind. “I am supposed to advise you to cooperate fully so things will go easier for you, but I actually prefer to find you stubborn and obstinate. There is nothing quite so satisfying as a reluctant talker.”
StarWind remained silent and eventually two soldiers arrived with a caged cart. Zatho instructed the soldiers to grasp StarWind as he removed the freeze spell. StarWind’s hands were immediately bound behind her back with rope, and she was lifted onto the cart. The cage door swung shut and was barred from the outside. Zatho paused to gaze once more at the Sakovan spymaster before he climbed onto the seat of the cart and instructed the soldiers to take him to Premer Doralin.
StarWind instinctively gazed at her surroundings as she was carted deeper into the encampment. She took small comfort in the fact that her body had not been searched. Although she had left her sword with Goral, she still possessed numerous stars and knives secreted in various places. All she needed was a chance to get her hands on one of them, and she would deprive Zatho of his intended pleasure.
Eventually, a large tent came into view, and StarWind knew that they had reached their destination. The cart halted in front of the large tent, and Zatho climbed off the seat and marched to the rear of the cart. Several soldiers immediately converged at the rear of the cart and opened the door to the cage. They hauled StarWind out of the cage.
“I wish to present her to Premer Doralin,” declared Zatho. “She is a Sakovan spy.”
The soldiers ignored the mage as half a dozen hands began roving over StarWind’s body. The Sakovan spymaster cringed as each knife and star was discovered and tossed to the ground.
“Does she know magic?” asked one of the soldiers.
“I do not know for sure,” admitted Zatho, “but I highly doubt it.”
“We take no chances with the premer,” retorted the soldier as he placed a heavy black sack over StarWind’s head. “You may enter the tent, Zatho. We will bring the prisoner in as soon as Premer Doralin requests her.”
The mage nodded and marched into the premer’s tent. Doralin was in a meeting with a large group of generals. He looked up with annoyance at the intrusion.
“Pardon the interruption, Premer,” smiled Zatho, “but I thought you should be made aware immediately. I have captured a Sakovan spy.”
The premer’s annoyance instantly gave way to curiosity. “Bring him in immediately,” ordered the premer.
“It is a she,” corrected the mage as he signaled to the soldiers outside the flap.
Doralin nodded as he turned his attention back to the generals. “I think this meeting can be concluded now,” he said with finality. “Think about what I have said and bring me your recommendations as soon as possible.”
Most of the generals nodded and turned to leave the tent as StarWind was dragged in.
“What about our supplies?” asked one of the generals before leaving. “Food is starting to run out. When will our next shipment be?”
“Soon,” Premer Doralin replied distractedly as he watched the Sakovan being brought in. “We have had to take extra precautions to eliminate the chance of any more poisonings. Duran is now staffed by over a thousand men to protect the food. Our first shipment should be arriving in just a few days.”
The general nodded and joined the others leaving the tent. StarWind was led to a chair and forced to sit down. She was swiftly tied to the chair to prevent her escape.
“Is she magical?” asked Premer Doralin as he walked away from the table and stood in front of the captive.
“We don’t know,” shrugged Zatho. “Your men put the sack on her head just in case.”
“She had quite an assortment of weapons on her body,” offered one of the soldiers. “Still, we do not like taking chances with your life.”
“Understandable,” nodded the premer, “but I want to gaze upon her. Remove the sack.”
The soldier moved hesitantly, but he obeyed the order. He removed the special sack from StarWind’s head, but he remained poised to immediately replace it. The premer stared at StarWind for several moments before speaking.