He turned to face Commander Harley and saw the look of utter amazement on his face. It was clear that he had no idea that Kishi was so powerful. Even though he had an astonished look on his face, Diikker could tell that he was feeling even more confident about his task ahead of him. It was unsettling to be standing under the hot sun looking at Mount Quang engulfed in black rain clouds. Loud echoing booms continued to rock the neighboring mountain while flashes of lightning lit up the blackened sky. Noises that accompany utter chaos were carried on the wind from Alanderas to Mount Konane. The residents of Tiranidrol cheered at the apparent misery of General Yukio's army.
"Commander Harley, do you have your team selected for the retaking of Alanderas?" Dukker asked. He smiled at the look that the commander gave him. Apparently he had not noticed Lord Aellenas standing there.
"My lord," Harley said with a bow. "I did not see you there. I … I do have a group selected to go with me. When shall we attack?" It is unnerving how Dukker can appear out of nowhere.
"That will not be for three more days. In the meantime, I want you to call another meeting of the captains. We need to select someone who will lead the home guard of Tiranidrol. You will be in charge of the guard at Alanderas, so we will need someone to take over in your absence," explained Aellenas.
"I thought that you were in charge here; has that changed?" queried the commander. He was puzzled by what the warlock was saying. Is he leaving us?
"No, I am not leaving you, Commander-not for good, that is. I do have a couple of special missions of my own to carry out. I will explain what I will be doing in our meeting. Now, will you go and call the captains together? We need to get our plans firmed up so that we are all on the same page. Gather the captains and meet me in the council chambers within the hour," Dukker said sternly. He had a dark, determined look on his face as he finished speaking. It was clear to the commander that Lord Dukker meant business and that it was time to get on with things. Harley bowed quickly and departed. Lord Dukker smiled darkly as he watched the good commander running as he did the warlock's bidding.
He turned around to watch the atmospheric assault on Alanderas and laughed softly. You may escape the mountain, dear Yukio, but you will not survive what Kishi has in store for you and your army! He continued to laugh louder as he thought of the destruction awaiting their canyon neighbors. His revelry was cut short by the appearance of a mysterious creature that was walking resolutely toward him. Lord Dukker knew at once that Kana had arrived to give him some further instructions before his meeting.
"Mistress Kana… " Diikker said with only a slight bow. "To what do I owe this distinct pleasure?" He respected the powerful guardian, but he was not afraid of her. He knew that he could hold his own against her in combat and that he could block her mental intrusions. This gave him equal footing when dealing with the temperamental guardian.
"What? You cannot read my thoughts, Dukker?" she said with great sarcasm.
"Let us not play games, Kana; time is against us," said Aellenas sharply.
"You are right. Time is something we are both running out of. That is precisely why I am here," she replied pointedly. "You do not have time to garner support from the other races, so I will do that for you."
"So, who will you recruit to our noble cause?"
"I will get the ores and goblins to help us. I will also obtain the support of the most deadly creatures in all of Tuwa. I will send a certain number of ores to assist Kishi in her assault on Nairi while the rest focus on the dwarves and, more importantly, the elves."
"What of the giants? What shall we do about them? Do you want me to track them all down, or just the curious bunch near Mount Quang?" I am not at all surprised by her choice of allies. Hopefully this decision does not come back to haunt us.
"Kill the oafs nearest Alanderas after you extract any relevant information from them. The giants are so divided that they will never unite let alone ally with any other race that might oppose us. Our concern will be the kingdoms of men and dwarves. I believe that the latter will prove more difficult to deal with than the former."
"After I take care of the curious giants, what then?"
"After you have dealt with the brutes, your good Commander Tenanden will have already taken Alanderas back from Yukio without a single casualty. At that point, I want you to build up a small army from the home guards of Alanderas and Tiranidrol. Supple ment the ranks with the seed of your spider, Razi. Prepare for an attack on the elves; as you move in from the north, the ores will be attacking from the south." She had a wicked look on her face as she outlined her plans. She had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.
"Will you send any of the beasts to help Queen Kishi?"
"I have already sent her Rolon to be her steed. He will aid her plenty in their battle with the armies of Nairi."
"So, the wolves will be one of our allies; that is excellent. How will we communicate between the different armies?" He knew that having the most infamous wolf aiding Kishi was more than he could possibly ask for, but if they could not effectively relay messages to one another, they would be finished.
"The ravens will carry the messages between the armies. The bats will relay messages to me, and I will use them to carry instructions to you. They will also act as nighttime spies and saboteurs. I will alter the bats to have poison so potent that even the druids will not be able to heal an infected person."
"I have only one concern about the plan so far, and it has to do with our non-bestial allies. I do not believe that ores and goblins will be able to uproot the stubborn dwarves. What do we do when that happens?"
"Do not worry about that. I have already garnered the support of the powerful rock trolls. They will supplement the armies of goblins. The ores have grown powerful over the years and are a much greater threat than anyone realizes. I will be able to properly motivate them so that they will be equal to the tasks ahead of them. Their siege weapons and tactics are far superior to anything that the elves, men, or dwarves have. Even the dwarven strongholds will not be able to stand against the might of the ores."
"Will you fight alongside us? I believe that your presence periodically would bolster our armies' courage and strengthen their resolve." He wanted to find out exactly how involved Kana was going to be. He felt that if she did not openly participate in their cause that it would be lost. She could not keep her intentions secret forever, and sharing them with those fighting for her would inspire them to greater heights.
"Look to the skies when you begin your siege of the Black Forest. I will be there. I will bring justice down upon the elves for their prolonged piety and shortsighted ways." She smiled with great satisfaction as she said this. She did not care one bit for the elves, and she would make that clear in a major way when the time was right.
"Then it is settled. I will go and deal with our dim-witted friends while you create an axis of allies for us. Once everything is in place on our end, we will prepare for our attack on the elves. Send us a message when the ores are ready. We will attack simultaneously to catch them off guard." Aellenas was looking forward to using his powers openly for a change. He would show the elves what using magic was all about.