His mind quieted somewhat by the time Taréz arrived back at the town where his mount waited. Perhaps he was overstepping his bounds, but he wrote out an Return to Report order to be delivered to Gardric. Normally, it was the King who would do that, but to wait until he got home to give the King his own report would mean that Gardric would be free to use the mages for another sixteen days.
The four days necessary for travel were too much as it was.
He gave the order to the solitary town sentry, with the instruction that Gardric be told it had been issued from the palace, if he asked. Then, Taréz headed north at the horse's best speed.
Without an idea how much longer it would be until Gardric would arrive at the palace, Taréz just jumped off his horse as soon as he arrived three days later. The horsemaster wouldn't appreciate the hard riding the prince had forced the horse to, but the horsemaster had to expect such things in such times.
Taréz found his parents in the royal chambers, as usual. "Father, you won't believe what I discovered."
"What is it?"
"Magic. Gardric is actually employing mages at the battlefield!"
"Against the War Convention of 573? ‘Prohibited: Using magic to create an unfair advantage.' Even I know it, by heart! Has he forgotten?!"
"Father, you know he didn't forget."
"So, it is those mages who somehow make the light Vle forces tired, and ours strong?"
"Apparently so. A good idea, but decidedly unfair if the other side chooses to abide by the Convention. Imagine if they decided to break the Convention in the same way."
"Taréz, this war has to stop, before we lose the Convention altogether."
"Agreed."
"And now we have to deal with a Gardric who has gotten far too big for his britches! I wish I had a mage to send me there right now to give him a piece of my mind..."
"Well, you'll have an opportunity to. I issued a Return to Report order. He should arrive tomorrow, at the earliest."
The King seemed taken aback. "You issued the order? You don't really have that power."
"I know, Father, but I knew you'd want to talk to him as soon as possible."
"Gardric might not recognize it."
"Worth the risk, I think. If he doesn't, we've only lost a day. Better yet, perhaps we can insist he meet us at some point between here and the battle lines."
"Yes, yes. My son, you'll make a fine ruler. Just in case he doesn't show, though, we'd better send a message to meet us halfway. Stecky! Parchment!"
"You also might let the ‘enemy' kings know you intend to end the war."
"I do?"
The queen spoke up. "Dear, don't you think we should? I mentioned that... demonstration, I think they called it.... in Dronac. The people want the light Vle free, too."
"We should ask for a peace council. We won't be able to hold the battle lines after removing the mages, so our best bet would be to make peace where the lines are now. In the meantime, Father, I thought I'd consult with the Librarian, and anyone else who might know about where Gardric found those mages. If there is a secret school somewhere we don't know about, it could bode even worse for us. Especially if the light Vle overrun the country."
"Very well. Go."
In the Library, Furns was at the top of a ladder, busy reshelving some books on the top shelf. Taréz made sure his footfalls were loud enough to not startle the old Vle. "Oh, hello, Your Highness. Is there something I can help you with?"
"I need to track down some mages. Could you tell me what has happened to them since the use of magic went out of style?"
"I assume you mean Powerists, not alchemists or treesingers."
"Yes, exactly."
"Well, let's see..." Furns climbed down from the ladder and moved past Taréz to a shelf at floor level. "Ah, here we go. Now, if I remember right..." He pulled out two books and kept talking as he flipped though one. "...the mages didn't stop practicing, but went into hiding. This book is a secret report about a small society of them that banded together to support each other...." He came to the end of the book. "... but they were forced to disband by the local townspeople. That seems to have been the pattern for the last three hundred fifty years. Why the interest, may I ask?"
Taréz whispered the reason into Furns' ear, hoping the old Vle could hear.
"Ah. That is a concern. Well, maybe Gardric heard about a school somehow, and convinced them to stay on his land holdings."
That must be it! "Thanks, Furns. You may just have saved the kingdom!" Taréz hurried out, back to the stables and headed east across the meadow.
The family Gardric's importance to the kingdom had afforded them their own holdings, a piece that had once been part of the King's Private grounds. On a lower end of the ridge, and still a ‘safe' distance from the forest, sat the cottage-style castle where Gardric lived. It would have seemed quite large to most Vle, but it of course could not rival the royal palace.
It seemed almost ridiculous, but typical of Gardric, that there were guards at the cottage. They saluted as soon they recognized their prince.
"At ease, guards. I came to visit with the servants."
"The servants, Your Highness?"
"Yes. Are you questioning your liege lord?"
"No, Sire."
"I hope not." Taréz resumed his progress toward the door.
But he found his way blocked by two lances. "We are acting on orders to not allow anyone inside."
"Did Gardric specify me or the King in those orders?"
"No, Sire."
"Then I countermand that order. Allow me in."
The guards looked at each other, and Taréz could see the silent discussion. Finally, they shrugged and returned to their at attention position. Taréz noticed a lack of apology, but let it go. More important was what he might find inside. The greeting he just received seemed to confirm Furns' guess so far.
The butler was shocked when he entered. "Your Highness! It is.. such an honor to have you as our guest. However, the master is gone..."
‘Which is a perfect time for me to visit. I intend to look around in every room until I find what I'm looking for. I will not be refused in this. Clear?"
"Uh, yes, Your Majesty." Taréz almost smiled at the butler's obvious confusion, but he held it in. There were quite a few servants, who seemed very surprised at his presence. They were hurrying about, but as Taréz looked around, it appeared that nothing much was actually being done. A guard stood in the main hallways, as if maybe he was Gardric's watcher? A spy to make sure the servants were doing their jobs properly even in the master's absence?
Then he realized that another guard was standing in front of a door. It was the only door, in fact, that no servants used. Taréz strode right up to him, a little bit daunted. He had a trained Vle trapped like a badger with no escape route. If it came to a fight, it wasn't the best situation.
Precisely Gardric's idea, of course.
"Excuse me, I need to use that door."
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, that isn't possible."
"I'm sorry, that's the wrong answer. By the authority of the King, you are to step aside and allow me passage."
"With all due respect, Sire, I cannot violate the oath I took."
"And this oath was...?"
"That I would not let any Vle in or out without express verbal permission of Gardric himself."
"And what did you swear on?"
"I swore my life. Gardric will end my life if I leave this door."
Taréz paused to think. "Then you must never allow yourself to be in his presence. If you do not step aside, I will be forced to injure or kill you. If you do, you will accompany me to the palace, and your life will be protected."
"We are talking about Gardric here."
"Yes, I know. You may have to serve strictly in the kitchen, or on the construction project, but you will not be harmed by Gardric."
"I accept your promise, Your Highness." The guard stepped and turned, his left side to the door. "You may not like what you find down there."
"I already have an idea what that might be." Taréz pressed ahead, through the door into a well-lit spiral staircase going down.
He half-expected to spend a long time on that staircase, but the cellar proved to be just below the cottage. The room he found was just as nicely adorned as the cottage itself, but instead of hurrying servants clad in simple brown and white, the Vle he found were all in brightly colored cloaks. "I thought so," he announced himself.
They all turned to look at him, and Taréz measured them even as they seemed to measure him. Were they going to protect the knowledge of their existence by killing or harming their prince?
"I'm not stupid enough to think that I can place you all under arrest for practicing unlawful magic, but I am going to order you to leave. Gardric's plan has been discovered, and we are going to end the plan. That may mean our enemies may take over the palace. I imagine you will not want to be here when they do. And it will be much worse for the kingdom if they discover you here."
"You're seriously going to jeopardize your own kingdom by ending such a successful plan?" asked one. "That hardly sees wise."
"Perhaps not, but the war has been fought under false pretenses. I can't allow that and still be heir apparent."
"You may lose your life."
"I may. Or may not. Royals always have a way out. And then I can fight to reclaim my throne. But I will not fight an agressive war against the whole world for a false ideal. Now, are we going to stand here discussing personal philosophy, or are we going to obey a direct royal order?"
The room full of powerful Vle obeyed their prince, many of them by simply disappearing. The rest climbed the stairs behind Taréz.
