A Clash of Magics by Guy Antibes (read this if txt) 📕

walls, even though there are still General Erdu’s loyalists out among the rest of the population. Life is a little more exciting with the remnants of the insurrection added to the unrest to the south of us.”

The general took them to a fancy inn with fresh paint.

“I wish I could say it has been newly renovated for you, but as you can see, that is not the case,” Henkari said. “We will plan your tour tomorrow morning. For the rest of this afternoon and tonight, you can rest up in the inn.”

Trevor helped Lissa with her horse while everyone said goodbye to the general who would be getting reports from his people at the garrison. The rooms were all newly renovated. Trevor guessed the fighting had reached inside the inn, and when he entered his room, he could almost smell the paint drying.

After putting his bags in order from the long ride, Trevor stepped out into the corridor to get his bearings and descended two stories to ground level, where Akku had started on a large mug of something in the common room. Some chairs had been repaired, and others were too new to have attracted any grime from use.

“This inn wasn’t quite destroyed, was it?” Trevor asked.

“No,” Akku said, blushing a little. “There was a running battle in the town from one end to the other. Henkari’s replacement fought here since the inn was the headquarters of Erdu’s rebels.” Akku smiled. “Cooler heads prevailed, so the magicians in the group didn’t burn the building down. There are a few brand-new structures in Pokencil, I understand. The fight against my father didn’t instantly stop when you left.”

“I’m surprised the Maskumites didn’t take advantage of the situation,” Trevor said.

“Who said they didn’t? There were six battles of consequence fought along the border. Father sent the plainsmen army south to bolster the loyalist troops, mostly Henkari’s veteran soldiers, which made the difference. Other than a few unfortunate farms, property damage was kept to a minimum,” Akku said.

“There is a ceasefire with the Maskumites?”

Akku nodded. “Supposedly. General Henkari was going to head south, anyway, but you gave him an excuse to tour the border a few weeks earlier than planned.”

Volst showed up. “Lissa told me that she was going to take a bath before coming down.” Trevor gave him a quick recap of the situation that Akku described. “So, what are we going to do?” Volst said.

“I’m not so sure,” Trevor said. “When General Henkari joins us tomorrow, we will see what his plans are before we decide on our own.”

~

Akku yawned, which triggered a yawn from Trevor as they watched Henkari unfurl a map of southern Jarkan.

“Here we are,” Henkari said, pointing to a spot about a quarter of the distance from the western border. Most of that space included the mountains. “The rest of the land is flat until hills pop up toward our border on the east.”

Trevor looked down on the map. While others followed Henkari’s description of troop positioning on the flat lands, Trevor examined the mountains. He followed the mountains down toward the capital of Maskum, the port city of Khartoo. Trevor figured that he could go where a squad couldn’t, but he would have to assume a scout’s role.

“Do we know the disposition of Maskumite troops?” Trevor asked.

Henkari pulled a thin sheet of vellum out of one of the map tubes and laid it over the map. “We are green, and they are orange,” the general said.

Trevor couldn’t fault Henkari’s troop placement if the Maskumite troop placements were accurate, but it was easy to see that the Jarkanese were outnumbered almost two to one.

“What happens if their best magicians join the armies?” Trevor asked.

Henkari pursed his lips. “We’ve beaten the Maskumites with similar odds, but this time with fewer troops at our disposal, I’m not so sure.”

Henkari’s troops had just fought a civil war, and it wasn’t hard to imagine that dissension among the troops still existed.

“I think you need some help,” Trevor said. “Lissa and I will be back in a few hours.”

“Where are we going?” Lissa asked.

“Brachia. Viksar isn’t in any better shape than Jarkan,” Trevor said.

He took Lissa to a hallway. “We are going to Bassington.”

“But I’m not—”

Trevor didn’t wait for the rest of Lissa’s thoughts. They were at the front gate of King Worto’s castle in the Brachian capital.

“Has the king arrived from the east yet?” Trevor asked.

Both guards nodded. “He isn’t accepting petitions for a few days.”

Trevor shook his head slightly. “Tell him that Duke Trevor Arcwin of Listenwell is waiting for him.”

“You are a duke?”

“Give him my name, and he will receive me.”

In a few minutes, Trevor and Lissa walked through the gate with an escort of royal guards. They took Trevor to the same small throne room where he had first met King Worto.

“I thought I was rid of you for a while,” King Worto said, but the comment was more sarcastic than sincere.

“Have you had a chance to try out the charms?”

King Worto’s forehead furrowed. “I have, and we found three more Maskumite magicians hiding in the castle. Gareeze Plissaki has gone.”

“Would you like to give Maskum a lesson?”

King Worto leaned forward on his throne. “What kind of lesson?”

Trevor told the Brachian king about the situation on the Jarkanese border.

“I’ll lead the army myself.”

“Please don’t,” Trevor said, “I think Brachia needs you here, but send a message along with a general to deliver to King Turgul. I’ll write a message as well. Have the general precede the army, and if you can, bypass Argara. They will be anxious enough letting your army through their country, even if you will be going as an ally.”

Worto rubbed his beard and thought for a bit. “You are trying to