Dark Quest by Richard S. Tuttle

Author:Richard S. Tuttle
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction And Fantasy
Publisher: KBS
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Discovery

Alex and his ten Rangers were camped out in a small clearing in the dense forest not far from Tagaret. He had used these woods for training exercises in the early days of the Rangers and it was the agreed upon meeting place for the Ranger teams he had spread across the country. All week, teams of the elite force had been checking in with their cargoes of Black Devils. There were not many live murderers among the wagons. His Rangers suffered very few casualties because their attacks on the bandits were sudden and surprising. Many of the bodies bore the same black skull seared into their flesh. Each of the Ranger teams was informed of developments and given new instructions. They were then dismissed and sent to Tagaret to unload their cargoes. Alex and his small band of men were waiting for only a few more teams to arrive before leaving for the city.

Colonel Gregor stood watching six more wagons enter the Palace. They had been arriving all week and a problem was developing over the disposal of the bodies. Identities were no longer being checked because there were so many of them and not enough people to commit to the task. The Palace cells were also getting loaded with the few survivors who were brought in.

General Clark strode along side the Colonel. “More wagons? What are we supposed to do with the bodies? Isn’t there any way to stop this, Colonel?”

“Well, General, there won’t be many more. I’ve been keeping track of the returning Rangers and there are only a couple of groups unaccounted for. You must say this for Tork, General, he trained these lads well. For months these murderers have been harassing the Kingdom, now our major problem is what to do with the bodies.”

“Have you gotten anything from examining the bodies?”

“Not much. Many of them sport the black skull insignia, but that is where the commonality ends. We have bodies from every nation on the continent here. Sex and age are varied, but most of them are young males. We have uncovered torn pieces of uniforms from every nation on the bodies, supposedly to plant at the temples after the attacks. Have you had any success with the interrogations of the prisoners?”

The General led the Colonel farther away from the reek of decomposing bodies. “No, they’re a tight-lipped bunch. Their potential for magic has also made things difficult for us. I wish Lord Habas was available. And don’t start on me about his arrest. I follow orders just as you do. The King has ordered my men away from the prisoners for now. I think he fears our men might get hurt or be tricked into opening the cell doors. Now they sit in the dungeon wasting time.”

The Colonel frowned as he thought about the real reason for keeping the interrogators away from the prisoners. “I don’t think your men will get much from them, anyway. I’ll arrange to get the rest of these bodies out of here without the identification exercise.

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