“She has certain resources I might need later on. If something comes
up, I’ll get word to you.”
He smiled faintly.
“My door’s always open to you, Belgarath.”
Polgara and I went to the Cherek embassy, and I composed a dispatch for
the ambassador’s courier ship to take to Riva. Then I went across town
to the Nyissan embassy.
After I returned, Pol and I had a quiet supper and retired for the
night. I was just getting ready for bed when Beltira’s voice came at
me from out of nowhere.
“Belgarath!” He sounded excited.
“Yes, I’m here. What’s happening?”
“Torak’s made his move! He’s invading Algaria!”
“Has he committed all his forces?”
“Evidently so. There’s a small occupation army holding the ground in
Drasnia–mostly to guard his rear, we think, but the rest of his troops
are marching south.”
I breathed a very large sigh of relief. The possibility of Torak
selecting one of his other options had been worrying me more than a
little.
“How far has he penetrated?”
“As far as Lake Atun. It’s slow going for him. The Algar cavalry’s
been slicing large pieces out of his flanks.”
“Good. Keep an eye on him and let me know if he changes direction. I
don’t want to commit any troops until I’m sure this isn’t a feint.”
“I don’t think so, Belgarath. We’ve heard from Beldin, and he says
that the army that invaded Drasnia’s only about half of Torak’s force.
He’s gathered a huge fleet at Dal Zerba on the west coast of the
Dalasian protectorates.
Urvon’s in charge there, and Beldin’s positive that he’s going to ferry
that army across the Sea of the East to march across Southern Cthol
Murgos to attack us from that direction. We’ve got two armies coming
at us.”
I started to swear. Torak had divided his forces, after all, but he’d
done it before he even left Mallorea.
“I’ll get back to you,” I told Beltira.
“Pol and I’d better go to the palace and let Ran Borune know what’s
afoot.”
I went down the hall to Pol’s room and knocked on her door.
“It’s me, Pol,” I said.
“Let me in.”
“I’m bathing, father. Go away.”
“You can do that later. Torak just invaded Algaria.”
I heard some splashing and, a moment or two later, Pol opened the door.
She’d thrown on a robe, but her hair was still dripping.
“He what?” she demanded.
“I just told you. Torak’s on the move, and he’s coming south.”
“Garel’s at the Stronghold, father. I’d better move him.”
“He’s safe there, Pol. We know that the Stronghold won’t fall, and
Torak can’t stay there forever. He’s got an appointment he has to keep
in Arendia. There’s some other bad news, though. Beldin told the
twins that Urvon’s commanding a second Mallorean army. They’re
crossing the Sea of the East. They’ll be coming at us from southern
Cthol Murgos. Torak’s going to try to put us in a vise. We’d better
go back to the palace and alert Ran Borune.”
“I’ll get dressed.”
It was almost midnight when we reached the palace, and it took us a
while to persuade the servants to wake the emperor. He was sleepy-eyed
and tousled when we were finally admitted to his private quarters.
“Don’t you people ever sleep?” he asked in a grouchy tone of voice.
“Only when there’s nothing better to do, your Majesty,” I told him.
“Torak’s invaded Algaria.”
That woke him up.
“I’ll start the legions north immediately,” he said.
“I’d hold off on that, Ran Borune,” Pol suggested.
“I think you’re going to need them someplace else.”
I told him about the second army gathering at Dal Zerba, and it was one
of the few times I’ve ever heard a Borune swear.
“How many people does that madman have?” he demanded.
“They don’t call it
“Boundless Mallorea” for nothing,” I replied.
“What are we going to do?”
“We still have some time, I think,” I said.
“Urvon’s not going to be able to ferry his army across the Sea of the
East in a single day, and it’s a long way across southern Cthol
Murgos.”
“What about Kal Torak? He could be on my eastern frontier in a
week.”
“Not very likely, Ran Borune. He has to get past the Algars first.”
“Drasnia didn’t slow him down very much.”
“There’s a world of difference between Drasnia and Algaria,” Pol told
him.
“The Algars don’t have towns to defend, for one thing, and they’ve got
the finest horses in the world, for another. Kal Torak’s going to find
a trip into Algaria very expensive.”
“You do realize that the second Mallorean army means that I won’t be
able to lend you a hand in Arendia, don’t you?” he said.
“I’m going to have to put my legions on my southern border.”
“We were fairly certain you’d feel that way about it,” Pol murmured.
I scratched at my beard.
“It’s still not a disaster,” I told them.
“We probably could use the help of the legions in Arendia, but I’d much
rather they concentrated on keeping that second Mallorean column away
from the battlefield. As I said before, we’ve still got time. Urvon
won’t get here overnight, and Kal Torak’s going to have his own
problems in Algaria. I think Pol and I’d better go to Sthiss Tor and
have a talk with the Snake Woman. We don’t want her to just open her
borders to Urvon and stand aside while he marches through. I want to
do everything I possibly can to upset Kal Torak’s timetable.”
“Good luck,” the emperor said.
“I’d better summon my generals.
We’ve got a lot of planning to do.”
“And Pol and I’d better leave for Nyissa. We’ll see how things stand
when we get back.”
My daughter and I reached Sthiss Tor two days later, long before the
Nyissan Ambassador’s message did, so there was a bit of delay before we
were escorted into Salmissra’s throne room. The Serpent Woman’s
response to our information was profoundly unenthusiastic.
“Why should I involve myself in your war with the Angaraks?” she said,
hardly bothering to take her eyes off her mirror.
“It’s not just our war, Salmissra,” Pol told her.
“It concerns all of us.”
“Not me, it doesn’t. One of my predecessors discovered the folly of
becoming involved in this private feud between the Alorns and the
Angaraks. I’m not going to make that same mistake. Nyissa will remain
neutral.”
“That option isn’t open to you, Salmissra,” I told her.
“Urvon’s army’s going to show up on your southern border before very
long, and Nyissa stands between him and Tolnedra.”
“So?”
“He’ll march right straight through your country.”
She shrugged.
“Let him. I won’t do anything to hinder him, so he won’t have any
reason to do to Nyissa what Kal Torak did to Drasnia.”
“Oh, yes he will,” Pol disagreed.
“Issa participated in the War of the Gods, remember? Torak has a very
long memory, and he holds grudges.
Urvon’s army won’t just march through. They’ll destroy Nyissa as they
go along. You’re Issa’s handmaiden, so I’d imagine Urvon’s going to
take special pains to find you so that the Grolims can cut out your
heart.”
Salmissra’s colorless eyes grew worried.
“He wouldn’t do that–not if I don’t offer any resistance.”
“It’s your heart, Snake Woman,” Pol replied with a chilling kind of
indifference.
“What you do is your affair, Salmissra,” I told her then.
“We’ve told you what’s coming. Deal with it in any way you see fit. If
you do decide to fight, you might get in touch with Ran Borune. It’s to
his advantage to keep Urvon away from his southern border, so he might
just lend you a few legions.”
“Would he do that?”
“It wouldn’t hurt to ask. Now, if you’ll excuse us, my daughter and I
have some business in Maragor.”
That turned out to be a complete waste of time. Pol and I flew to Mar
Amon, hoping that the news of Torak’s invasion would shake Mara out of
his grief to some small degree, but I don’t think the weeping God even
heard us. He refused to listen, and his wails continued to echo from
the mountains surrounding haunted Maragor.
Finally we gave up and went on to Prolgu to talk with the Gorim.
“He’ll almost have to cross Ulgoland to reach Arendia, Holy One,” I
told the ancient man after Pol and I had explained the situation.
“I know that your people are very religious, and they might be opposed
to shedding blood, but this is an unusual situation.”
“I shall consult with Holy UL,” he promised.
“The circumstances might prompt him to set aside his distaste for
violence.”
“That’s entirely up to him, Gorim,” I said with a faint smile.
“I’m definitely not going to try to tell UL what to do. We’ll keep you
advised of what’s happening. If you do decide to stay out of it, we’ll