Empress," hissed Pothax from beneath his hood.

"Enter," said a female voice.

"I'm one of your subjects, Empress," lied Pothax, entering, and looking around. "But, I'm not a minotaur."

The Empress sat on a thick fur rug, and was shrouded in shadows so much that the only things Pothax could tell was that she was amazingly tall, and muscular. She was preparing a speech by candlelight. "Get to the point," she snarled.

"Don't go up on the rostrum tomorrow to make your speech. Several of your officers are traitors and are plotting against you," Pothax half-lied.

"Who?" she said, standing up suddenly.

"You wouldn't believe me," he replied.

"That was an order man," she roared, drawing a huge scimitar from the harness on her back.

Pothax bowed his head in what he hoped looked like shame. "Archduke Kobalix. I fear he has been led astray," he replied in a sulky voice.

"What?"

"Believe me, Empress. I'm an assassin myself. I overheard Kobalix talking with another assassin. He hired him to kill you, so I decided to warn you."

"How, and where did you overhear this?" Gwen ordered.

"I was in a tavern, in Athex, where I'm staying currently. There are many job opportunities during a war. I overheard them talking in one of the backrooms," lied Pothax, bowing his head again.

"I don't believe that part about Kobalix being a traitor, but I'll stay off the rostrum for the rest of the week," said Gwen, looking down thoughtfully. When she looked back up, he was gone.

Rades awoke to find that his prisoners were dead. Cyanide pills from what little he knew of spies judging from the foam in several of their mouths. He sat in the room for a long time thinking. Why? He didn't know if he even wanted an answer.

"Your ingenuity is a credit to your kind. In a way, I'm proud," said Nebonex. "Thank you Pothax. You most likely saved my mother's life."

"Thank you," replied Pothax with a crude bow.

"Try relaxing when you bow," suggested Jacog. "You're too stiff. You have to be more graceful."

"I'm an assassin. After years of danger it's impossible to relax, otherwise you end up dead."

"Sire?" inquired Gith, opening the door to the dining hall, and peering in.

"Yes, Gith," replied Willium.

"There's a messenger for you from Lord Blackaxe, he barely made it through alive. So if you'll excuse me, I'll go fetch him something to eat," the retainer said and left for the kitchen.

Victoria leaned back in her chair so she could see out into the hall. The messenger was almost as tall as Nebonex with broad shoulders. He was wearing a bloodstained yellow tunic and baggy black pants. He was literally covered in bruises and small cuts. Getting past the minotaurs camped around Athex had been harder than it looked.

"Come in lieutenant," ordered General Chek.

"The messenger walked in, bowed respectfully to King Sear, King Willium, Nebonex and Queen Elexenia, who sat with princess Darylinn on her lap.

"That's how you bow," whispered Jacog to Pothax.

"I have several message for you. Lord Redhawk wishes to announce his betrothal to Queen Helen," the lieutenant paused as everyone gasped and continued. "Lord Blackaxe says they'll be here in less than a day, and that Wynic found the Swathick Axe," he paused again for more gasps. "And this is for Lady Victoria from General Wynic," he said, taking a folded and sealed piece of parchment from his tunic.

"I'm Victoria," said Victoria, standing up and taking the letter eagerly.

"How'd Wynic find the Swathick Axe?" demanded King Sear.

"There are many rumours, though the most common is he retrieved it with the help of a pirate. However, there's a more popular story that he assassinated a sea demon and stole the axe."

"Why'd he need the axe in the first place?" asked Dillard. "Wynic doesn't even know how to use a war axe properly."

"That's something I can't even guess at, since he gave the axe to Lord Blackaxe," answered the lieutenant.

"Here, lieutenant," said Gith, returning with a tray of fresh bread, fried potatoes and eggs. Gith glanced at Nebonex, and left.

The lieutenant sat down at one of the curved tables, and began stuffing food into his mouth. King Willium grimaced when the lieutenant began stuffing the bread with egg and potatoes like a person stuffing a turkey. However his mouth started to water when the soldier lifted the stuffed loaf of bread, and eating it with his bare hands.

"Skip it, Willium. The courtiers would refuse to eat with their hands, and if you did it, some of the older, more conservative ones would have a heart attack," laughed Rades.

"That's not funny," said Derick.

"Maybe for you!" laughed Gisoni.

Derick pouted.

"How'd Redhawk get hitched?" asked Elexenia abruptly.

"I don't know-I've never even-seen Queen Helen," the lieutenant said between mouthfuls. "I imagine he was struck down by her beauty, or something like that. I'm not a poet!"

"I never even thought of Redhawk being the marrying type," admitted Dillard. "He's always been the bachelor type."

	Dear Victoria:
		I suppose the messenger didn't explain, in detail, what's happened since last we touched, so I will.  The four of us were ambushed in a forest north of the Stornium border.  Did General Chek tell you already?  Oh well!  He and his army arrived at the last minute and scared off the minotaurs.
	We arrived in Glist, and Redhawk was struck dumb by Queen Helen's extraordinary beauty, which is pale compared to you of course.  Redhawk stayed with Helen and she agreed to send her army and knights.
	I continued on to Castle Blackaxe, where Blaxkaxe told me that he couldn't go until he found the Swathick Axe.  He's been obsessed with the weapon for years!  So I recruited a friend of mine and set off to a point in Bone Sea following an obscure map of Blackaxe's.  With much luck, we retrieved the axe from Bone Sea.
	When returning to Castle Blackaxe with the axe, we went by a waterspout, sort of like a watery tornado.  We barely arrived at Castle Blackaxe, and myself and a very happy Lord Blackaxe rode from there to Glist.
	Redhawk told us of his betrothal to Queen Helen and I lost my bet with Lord Blackaxe.  I was as surprised as I imagine you are!
	Upon returning to Arthian however, I was greeted by something different.  Every castle, village, and town had been ravaged by minotaurs.  They had been very thorough, leaving only the peasant houses and carnage behind.  Blackaxe estimated thirty thousand dead, but I think it's at least twice that.  
	Kobalix is definitely not getting reincarnated, because he's not even going to have a soul left when all of Arthian's through with him, not to mention what Nebonex and the Empress will do to him.  And for some chance they don't get him, I will.
	Too bad you can't tell me all that's happened in Athex since I left, but oh well, I'll be there in a day or so.
							All my love,
							Wynic Doxon

Setting the letter down, Victoria looked around her empty room. She didn't know what to think or do.

The walls of the city were strangely quiet that day. The minotaur army was just beyond the hills; it was also strangely quiet. The soldier on the walls thought this was a good thing, but anyone who understood sieges, would know that it was bad, because very soon, and probably very suddenly, the true fighting would start. Dillard knew, and understood all this, but he knew it was too, too quiet also. After staring south for about two hours, he finally went to talk to Gisoni, hoping he'd know what the minotaurs were planning.

"Pollex noticed it too and mentioned it to me. There's no smoke coming from their camp, and if I didn't know better I'd say they'd packed up and left," said Gisoni.

Dillard looked up at the huge minotaur. "We could send Pothax or one of Waytorn's men out there to check it out," he suggested.

"What's this about me?"

Dillard and Gisoni whirled about in unison to stare at the silent Pothax. "It's usually quiet before a major battle, but this is too quiet," explained an unnerved Gisoni. "We want to send you or one of Waytorn's men out there to investigate."

"Do you have a long rope? I could go right now."

"Gisoni, go find a rope, I'll go find Rades, he can go too. He's a fair fighter," said Sir Dillard.

"He's over there, talking to Victoria and Pegs," Pothax said, pointing to the west, where the Stornium Army and the Arthian Army met.

"Stay here," ordered Pothax. "You'll stick out like a sore thumb in your uniform," he said, getting down on his belly and crawling forward. Reaching the top of the hill, Pothax stood up, and started swearing.

"What is it?" cried Rades, disobeying orders and sprinting forward to join him.

"They're gone!"

"They've fortified the ridge to the south-west, and Waytorn says he saw an explosion south of here," Gisoni explained. "They're planning on attacking the Stornium forces obviously."

"We desperately need those men," said Victoria. "If we lose them, we're doomed."

"Victoria's right, we'll have to abandon the city walls and take to the field."

King Sear, King Willium, Nebonex, Jacog, Gisoni, Pollex, sub-lieutenant General of the Minotaur Army Bates, Pegs, sub-Marshall of the Arthian Army Finesia, Victoria, Sahos, Colonel Udan from the Colnic Army, general Chek, lieutenant-general Marian of the Stornium Army, Rades, Waytorn, Pothax, Derick, Devid and Gith were all present in the dining hall. Victoria had asked Devid to come and help Gith at the place, since she and Pothax had been spending so much time there.

"Desert Athex?" protested Finesia. She was a tall muscular woman, so tall that she could look Gisoni straight in the eye. She always spoke her opinion openly and bluntly.

"We're not deserting it, but we are taking some men off the walls. There was an explosion that was probably a signal to Kobalix's fleet," explained Pegs in his gruff voice.

"Devid, bring me the map of Athex I gave you," said Victoria, standing up. The retainer returned a moment later and handed her the rolled up map to her. "Okay," she said, unrolling the map on the table and pinning the corners down with a few of Pothax's daggers. "Who agrees with me that the knights are best fighting out in the open?"

"Everyone should know nobody can beat a knight on open ground, Victoria!" protested Willium. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, then, all the knights are going to be on the assault force going to attack the ridge. Now who else do we take to guard their flanks?" she asked.

"Add the Storniums to your list," said general Chek.

"That gives us a total of 135 thousand soldiers," said Nebonex, standing up beside Victoria.

"Add the Kinian Army to it," said King Sear. "If we have 265 thousand and the Stornium's have 285, and with the Colnics, we'll have just enough men to force a retreat."

"It's perfect," said Gisoni.

"It leaves us with just enough to defend Athex properly against Kobalix's men," said Waytorn, his face shining from what Willium thought was bloodlust.

"I want everyone who's going waiting at Southgate in one hour. If you're not there, we leave without you," ordered Nebonex.

"What are you doing Willium? You can't go!" protested Victoria, riding up beside Sir Dillard. "You talk to him, Dillard. He won't listen to me!" she snorted.

"If King Sear can go, I can go," said the King stubbornly.

"See!" the archeress snorted.

"Skip it Victoria. You can't change a mule!" laughed Dillard. Willium raised an eyebrow, but still stubbornly wouldn't leave.

"Hey! How'd Nebonex learn to ride?" asked Willium, pointing at the Prince astride a huge warhorse.

"Elexenia and I taught him while we were teaching Darylinn. He's a quick learner and really quite skilled at it," Victoria explained.

The ten foot thick granite gates started to screech slowly open, allowing knights to pour through the gap. Slowly, more and more knights began to pour out onto the Arthian plain, until the combined army started to make their way to the south west.

"They appear to be blocking us Lord Blackaxe, General Sardias," reported the scout.

"How?" asked Sardias, flexing her sword arm.

"They've fortified a small ridge, however the ridge runs for quite a distance north and south," explained the scout.

"Sir Glac," she ordered. "Form up your knights, we'll charge through that low spot there," she pointed to a dip in the ridge. Blackaxe will guard your flanks and my army will follow and clean up any survivors and guard your backs," she ordered.

Blackaxe saluted and rode forward to find Redhawk and Wynic.