The Captain and the Spy

Prologue

Rain poured from the sky and thunder boomed in the dark. The shadows of towering trees were barely visible until a streak of lightening flashed behind them, giving the forest an eerie glow for a split second. A horse reared in fright and screamed into the darkness. As its hooves came down with a clap, the rider's voice boomed at it, as he brought down a whip on the horse's flanks, causing it to scream again. The man swung off his mount and handed the reins to another man, who seemed to be his servant. He was shaking in his boots, terrified of the storm and his master.

"Hold him till I return, Palti," growled the man. Clutching his cloak tighter around himself, the man hunched his shoulders forward and plunged into the sheets of rain. It wasn't a minute before he came to an entrance of a cave. He dunked inside and continued down a dark corridor. Several times he had to side step a stalactite or a stalagmite jutting out before him. He growled and swore each time, wishing the occupants of this dismal place would keep a light somewhere to show travelers the way.

He came upon a fire, glowing in the center of a cavern's room. A large kettle hung over the fire something red and boiling was in the pot. An old woman was sitting cross-legged in front of it, her eyes closed. Grey, stringy hair fell around her wrinkled face, and a ragged tunic was the only thing she wore.

"I was expecting you, King Felipe," said the old woman not even opening her eyes to look at her visitor.

"Then you know that I have come to rightfully earn that title," murmured the man, his eyes thin.

"Yes. You want to be king," she sighed drearily as if she had gone through this sort of conversation a thousand times. "'Tis an old wish, I've had many men come to me with that wish. The simple answer is always the same." She opened her eyes and gazed at the man. Her gaze was dark and evil. When he raised an eyebrow in questioning she said, "You must kill your brothers immediately."

Felipe snorted. "That is easy enough. I am the strongest of the three, and they won't dare resist."

"You must also kill their wives, and Gespian, son of your older brother."

Felipe started visibly, then instantly nodded. All the royal family who was loyal to the current king had to die, down the last child.

"There will be two people who will be great threats to you. They will help Gespian tremendously if he lives. One is a fairy. A fairy who can not cry."

Felipe's eyes widened and he took a step back. "A fairy! Where does he live?"

"The fairy was born two days ago near the fairies' realm. I can easily send one of our dragons and dispose of the creature."

"Fine," said Felipe curtly.

"Dasian (day-sion), son of Riley, must also be killed."

Now Felipe was really surprised. "Dasian, son of Riley! Why him?" The image of the young eight-year-old boy flashed in his mind. He was Gespian's playmate and the son of a deceased noble man. He was not high in rank, and did not seem like a threat to Felipe's pathway to the throne.

"Because he is loyal to Gespian, he will become the greatest threat to you in the future. Even if all of the royal family is killed, he will still harass you, for he hates you and your son, Jengo." The old witch narrowed her eyes. "If by any chance the fairy and Dasian live, you can be sure they will meet, and it will only mean death to you. The solution is to kill the two now, or in the future, kill one and the other will fail to do you any more harm."

"Do you think they will live?" asked Felipe. He wanted to make sure no one stood in his way to kingship.

The witch ignored this question, took a ladle and dipped it into the red liquid, which was boiling in the caldron. She held it up to Felipe and it cooled considerably.

"Drink this, and no man will be able to kill you. Not man, not fairy, not dwarf, not witch, and not wizard."

Felipe looked at the blood, like liquid then at the witch's gnarled face. Finally he leaned over and took the tiniest of sips.

Eighteen years later.

Chapter 1

Dasian slammed his fist down on the wooden table centered in the middle of the large tent and shouted, "This is outrageous! We can't trust any more of our spies!"

The men sitting in the tent all knew this statement was true, but none of them could do anything about it. They stroked their beards and glanced expectantly at each other waiting for someone to speak. The young twenty-six-year old Captain pointed a finger at two bound men standing before him, who winced at his piercing gaze and accusing gesture.

"These are the 12th and 13th spies we've had that have gone over to Felipe," he said in disgust. He turned to a young man sitting on top of a fur-lined chair. His clothes were rich, and golden crown sat on his head. Dasian addressed him in a calmer voice, "Your Majesty, how will we dispose of these... traitors?"

Prince Gespian paused thoughtfully, then raised his troubled green eyes to Dasian's flashing dark brown ones. He sighed and let his hand drop to his side. He motioned to one of his men and murmured, "Hang the spies."

The men were cringing, but not because of their shameful sentence, but because of Dasian's hurt and angry stares and his accusing words had slashed their hearts. They had once been friends of this tall, imposing young man. He had trusted them, and now they had let him down in a most dishonorable way, and that was what punished them the most.

They were lead away, and a scrawny man with a black pointy beard and comical face stood up. He only came to Dasian's waist and looked like he was in his mid-thirties. He placed his hands on his hips and said in a mocking voice, "Now all we need to do is get spies that don't betray us. Who would do that? Dasian and I can't spy on all the camps Felipe's got!"

An old man with a snowy white beard raised his feeble hand and said, "May I make a suggestion, Captain Dasian and Prince?"

"Continue, Sir Loban," said Dasian in his authoritative voice. Although the Prince was present, it was obvious Dasian was in charge. He settled down in one of the chairs beside the Prince and set his chin in his hand.

"In the great forest of Ardunt lives a valiant, large group of magical people."

"But Captain!" squawked the dwarf, interrupting Sir Loban.

Dasian's eyes again flashed at this rudeness and he retorted, "Hold your tongue, Willy."

"Thank-you, Captain." Sir Loban bowed gratefully to him, and then he continued, "Often have these beings helped the human race in their fights for liberty. But only for freedom do they take sides. If convinced our cause is just, they will gladly send you excellent spies. When the Tseians were at war against the Lartnecians the wizards gave them spies and leaders. You remember that the Tseians won that war. The powerful Lartnecians, who hadn't lost a war before, were beaten by the Tseians."

"This all sounds very good," chuckled Willy. "But who will dare go into the forest of Ardunt? Everyone knows whoever enters, never returns...or should I say never returns a human. There are witches, horrible creatures, ghosts, spirits, dragons, and a spell in every corner."

The room was silent. No man dared raise his hand, no one volunteered, for fear of the forest. The creatures, or wizards, spoken of by Sir Loban were known to all the men. They were the secret Masters of the known world. They were rarely seen and even kings trembled within at their presence.

"This is disgraceful," declared Dasian after a few uncomfortable minutes. He let his hand drop to his side, as he stood. "I will go to the forest of Ardunt, and find these wise masters. Willy will accompany me. We will return with help."

"What!" shrieked the little man in a high voice.

But he was ignored as the Prince said, "But Dasian, you are The Captain of the whole army, I can't lose you. If we lose..."

"You won't."

"But Captain..." began another.

"None of your words will stop me," he said firmly giving them all a warning glare. "I'm going to seek the wizards help in the forest of Ardunt. Willy and I will leave at first light."

When Dasian was determined to do something, there was no way of stopping him.

Dasian tightened the cinch on his horse's saddle, then briefly stroked the horse's grey-colored coat before securing his sword to his leather belt. He threw a dark green cloak over his shoulders and turned as the short figure of Willy entered the stable. He was leading a shaggy, little, brown pony with a pack on her back. There was frown on his face but a twinkle in his eye as he said, "Why did you have to choose me to commit suicide with you?"

"I'm not committing suicide, just you."

Willy shook his head fiercely and placed another pack on the pony. "Tell me how that is possible."

"I'll feed you to the dragon first," explained Dasian sardonically. "Then he'll choke on your bones and die, leaving me with a safe passage through the forest."

"There isn't just the dragon," huffed Willy.

"Those can be handled easily with my sword," replied Dasian calmly. He swung up onto his horse and turned him towards the stable's door. Willy scrambled onto his own mount, and the pony instantly went bucking out of the stable.

"You scoundrel!" cried Willy, "Halt! Stop! Sit still! Halt I say!" The pony didn't listen to him but continued to run and prance around, a habit she learned as a colt.

Dasian stood and waited as Prince Gespian approached him riding a light brown horse. He stopped in front of him and gazed at his best friend for a while. Finally he sighed and said sternly, "You be careful, Dasian son of Riley."

A faint smile climbed his face, "Haven't I always been careful?"

"Not always, young friend," declared Sir Loban, who was ambling towards the young men. "Though my mind is old I still remember the time you fell from the tower and broke your legs and arm, plus your mother's heart."

"I...was younger then," said Dasian awkwardly. He sat straighter and said in a confident voice, "But I am a man now and will do nothing of the sort. The sun is getting higher as we speak. So I say, farewell." He turned his horse and began to trot out of camp when the old man called again, "Not so speedy, young sir. Listen to the advice of an old one once more."

Dasian turned back and waited as the feeble man hurried to him. "Choosing spies is a tricky..."

"Yes, yes, Sir Loban, I am sure the men are true and faithful, like you said," said Dasian impatiently. His expressionless firm face was hiding the excitement within. He was a young man, and the want for adventure burned within him.

"Nay...I mean yes, they are, but do not bring back a score of young daring men like yourself, but bring a few women as well."

"Women!" Dasian looked up at Gespian questioningly. But the Prince looked just as baffled and disgusted as he. He glanced back at the old man skeptically. "Women are not spies."

"Oh, but some are," he insisted, "You see, Felipe's men will be more willing to let a pretty innocent girl pass through rather than a burly man who looks like a spy or soldier. I have known many women who became outstanding spies for their country. You know Rowena, daughter of the baker. Hasn't she brought you helpful information, as well as poisoning Felipe's men?"

Dasian hesitated then reluctantly nodded, "I'll bring back some women." He then pushed into his horse's flanks and trotted out of camp. Willy, who had finally maintained his mount, hurried after him, declaring curses and oaths on his horse and Dasian.

With hard riding and little rest, Dasian and Willy reached the forest in two days. When they crossed the hill overlooking the forest and first caught sight of the forest stretched out before them, Willy gave a low whistle, "Jee, Captain, how far do you think we'll get? Two feet?"

Dasian didn't answer as they slowly started down the hill, his eyes fixed on the great mass of green before him. A small opening in the trees showed the travelers a road winding into the forest. They looked at each other in surprise. Willy exclaimed, "I didn't know there was a road in this thing."

"Neither did I," confessed the young Captain. He went in first and almost immediately the sun left his view. A few shafts of light penetrated the foliage, but other than that, their surroundings were dark. The dwarf followed, glancing around nervously, and listening to the whispering voices and sounds all around him. The ground was covered in soft moss, and the ancient trees towered over them. The horses did not seem too perturbed about the change of scene and walked steadily on.

They rode for quite some time not saying anything until all of a sudden, Willy shrieked in horror. Dasian swung around to see him franticly brushing something off his shoulder. He got down from his horse and went over to where Willy had dropped the thing. He picked it up and showed Willy what had been on his shoulder only moments ago. In between his thumb and forefinger was a tiny person, with sharp ears and no clothes.

"Here is your monster, Willy, an imp."

"Let me go!" squealed the little elf, "You're the monster!"

Dasian let him go, and the tiny creature scampered off in fright. Willy huffed and scowled as Dasian returned to his horse. But just then a huge hairy animal raced across the road. Its eyes were orange and its sloppy tongue hung from its teeth-filled mouth. It certainly looked ferocious but at the time it looked scared and frightened.

"Now that was a monster!" cried Willy as the creature disappeared on the other side of the path, grunting unpleasantly.

Another little imp ran through the grass and Dasian caught her up in a fist. "Where are you going?" he demanded.

"Away to my home!" she squeaked, "The dragon is awake!"

Dasian dropped her and turned to Willy, "You can finally do something useful."

Willy began to quake like an autumn leaf and whimpered, "You can't be serious!" He had thought the threat of his Captain had been a joke, but his old fear was returning to him as he thought about facing a real dragon.

The Captain mounted his horse and pushed him to a trot. "Come on," he said to Willy, "Let's go pay the dragon a visit."