“Your men,” reminded Grulak, “are merely servants of an advisor. The patrol leaders are in charge of the raids. What part of that do your men not understand? You are the only advisor who has men going out on the raids. You should be satisfied with that.”
“I should be,” frowned Veltar, “but I am not. I want my men to be of a position over the patrol leaders.”
“Preposterous!” exclaimed Grulak. “You overstep your bounds. You cause me to suspect your desires for power, Veltar. You are but an advisor and one I can dispense with. Mark your territory wisely.”
“Of course, Master,” bowed Veltar. “Forgive my suggestions, but I am only trying to serve you to the best of my ability.”
“Well,” lectured Grulak, “just remember your place in things. My patrol leaders are well trained and suited for the positions I have given them.”
“I would not have even brought up the subject except for the welfare of Diakles,” smiled Veltar.
“Diakles?” queried Grulak. “What does my son have to do with the patrols?”
“I have had another vision,” Veltar reported. “I did not want to disturb you with it, but the problems with the patrols makes it necessary.”
“What was in the vision?” trembled Grulak. “Is there danger for Diakles? What kind of danger?”
“I saw a battle and Diakles was in the vanguard,” stated Veltar as he assumed a trance-like pose. “He was magnificent in his splendor and his men followed him with pride. They loved him almost as much as they love you. The battle was fierce, but Diakles easily trounced the enemy and declared victory. There was, however, one lone survivor amongst the enemy ranks. It was a young man around the same age as Diakles and this man looked not like a warrior.”
Veltar closed his eyes and stretched his hand to Grulak’s shoulder as if for support. “This man had a crescent mark in the palm of his hand and he held that hand up and demanded that Diakles put away his weapons or he would die. Diakles laughed and charged the man, but his weapons appeared to do no harm to the stranger. The vision grew dark at this point, but I heard the scream of death before it ended.”
“Whose death?” demanded Grulak. “Who died? Surely it was the stranger?
“I do not know,” Veltar said opening his eyes and removing his hand from Grulak’s shoulder. “This is strange in itself as my visions have always been clear when you were the victor. It has caused me great concern for Diakles’s well being.”
Grulak felt a tremor of terror race down his spine as he envisioned his son’s death. “I will keep him with me at all times,” declared the Jiadin leader.
“The vision clearly showed him leading the army,” Veltar pointed out. “You may try to alter the outcome of my vision, but things that are seen, will happen. Diakles will lead that army and he will fight that stranger, if that stranger still exists that is.”
“Yes,” nodded Grulak, “that is the answer. Find this boy with the mark on his palm and kill him now, before Diakles must meet him. That way we do not have to worry about the outcome that your vision did not show.”
“That is exactly what I have been trying to accomplish, My Lord,” smiled Veltar. “Yet you have just rejected my plans to do this.”
“Rejected?” questioned Grulak. “What are you talking about? You are to do everything in your power to find and kill this boy. How have I rejected your help?”
“The patrols, My Lord,” explained Veltar. “My men had located the boy and planned to destroy the entire village. The patrol leader, however, refused to wait until my men could verify that the boy was there before they attacked. The village was destroyed, but not the boy. He was elsewhere at the time.”
“Who is this patrol leader,“ fumed Grulak. “I will have him hung from this platform for all to see.”
“It was not the fault of the patrol leader.” Veltar pointed out. “As you have commanded, he took his orders from you, not my men. How can you fault a man for following your orders strictly? Had the patrol leader been told to listen to my men, the outcome would have been much different.”
“Or if the patrol leader had been aware of your vision,” suggested Grulak. “I should make sure that everyone knows of this boy.”
“Making them aware of the need to find this boy may be fine,” agreed Veltar, “but do not cause your men to think Diakles is weak and must be protected. He will follow one day in your footsteps and he must be loved and seen as strong. My men, on the other hand, know how to be discreet. I can explain the vision to them and they will never repeat it. So you see why I have suggested the arrangement I have. It is not for my own needs I have asked for this, but only to better serve you, My Lord.”
“Yes, I see that now,” nodded Grulak as he placed his hand on Veltar’s shoulder. “I should have known better than to suspect your motives. You have had only my success as your goal. I will issue the orders today making your men advisors to me. The patrol leaders will defer to them in the future.”
“Excellent, My Lord,” smiled Veltar as he changed the subject swiftly. “I think it is time to send out the couriers to the other tribes. They have had enough time to feel your reach, and yet, not so much time as to formulate any plans of joining against you.”
“You mean to call the meeting of the tribes so soon?” queried Grulak. “I thought we were going to continue putting pressure on them for a while yet?”
“That was the plan,” conceded the advisor, “but I have developed a better one. I think we can intimidate them into joining you now.”
“How?” questioned the Jiadin leader.
“We will move the bulk of your army into the pyramid,” detailed Veltar. “They will be out of sight there and yet ready to engage the tribes should trouble arise. Another large portion of troops will be on that peninsula,” pointed Veltar. “They will not be seen at ground level, but they will be able to see a flagman situated up here. If we need them, we will have only to signal.”
“Do you think the tribes will arrive with their armies?” asked Grulak.
“What would you do in their position?” Veltar asked.
“I would be cautious,” admitted Grulak. “I would bring my whole army but not display it. Perhaps I would station them along the lake and then proceed here with a smaller guard.”
“Precisely,” grinned Veltar, “except we will be able to detect their troops from up here. If it comes to a battle, we shall have a great advantage with the visibility this temple affords us. Plus, I will arrange for those tribes that are mostly likely to join us to be exactly where we need them.”
“You seem to have thought of everything,” complimented Grulak. “Let it be so then. The couriers shall be sent and the nation of Jiadin shall be formed.”
***
Rejji flew into Wyant and they both tumbled to the floor. Wyant was swift and rolled out from under Rejji and wrapped his arms around the boy’s neck. Rejji was relieved to see no sign of Mistake or the rope as Wyant twisted his head in that direction.
“Are you crazy, lad?” Wyant growled. “What was all that about? I don’t mean you any harm. I thought I heard voices in here and came to check.”
“No harm?” Rejji croaked. “You are breaking my neck.”
Wyant laughed and released Rejji. “Sorry, lad,” he chuckled. “I forgot the last time we met you thought we were trying to kill you. That was just a test to see what you would do. You did well for a lad with no training. Quick thinker you are.”
“A test?” Rejji asked. “Is Brakas dead?”
“No, lad,” Wyant stated. “He will remember the thrashing you gave him though so I would be especially nice to him. I’ve decided to accept you into the Zaldoni on a probationary basis. You have smarts and originality, but you have no skills that I can see. By day you will train with Klavin and by night you will be locked in this room. After a period of time, you will be given a hut to share with somebody, but until we are satisfied that you are what you say you are, that is how it will be. Now come along and I will get you something to eat.”