Those who joined the Keeper were drawn by the mysticism of the man. Here was a man who had come from them but had risen above the harsh life of the Outerlands and promised them wealth and power. Because the cave was located in the Barren Lands, they went largely unnoticed by the rest of the world. The government was aware of them but no one realized the sheer numbers the army had amassed. It was not until a surprise visit by the Minister of Security that their actual makeup was discovered.
The Minister had come to the area on reports that people were gathering with ideas of rebellion. He traveled to the area in an airborne craft and was shocked when he came upon the training grounds of the Klopph. He was lucky to escape as his partner craft was shot out of the sky.
The Keeper named his longtime friend the leader of the army and gave him the honored title of Cancellarrii. “We are discovered.” the Keeper said of the Minister. “Are the Klopph ready?”
“They are ready.”
“Then prepare them. We leave for Orleans in the morning.”
A few months later, the Keeper was the new ruler of the world and the Cancellarrii the lead the world’s army.
“Cancellarrii.”
The Cancellarrii looked around and saw the Kaptajn. He snapped back to the present. “Yes, Kaptajn, what is it?”
“We have determined the correct trail.”
“Very good. Are the men ready to leave?”
“They await your order.”
“You have my order. We follow the Chokka.”
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
They moved hastily westward. The first day in, adrenaline was on Babel’s side and he trudged along. The second day, however, reality deflated his resolve and he had issues keeping up.
The people in the Outerlands relied on instincts and adroit physical abilities to guide them through life. Multiple mile journeys in short periods of time were nothing new to them. Babel on the other hand was not used to that type of living. Most of his days had been spent behind a desk or sitting in someone’s office. He realized he would need to harden his doggedness if he was going to make it in the Outerlands.
Babel sped up until he reached Quentin and he could hear his ragged breathing. It seemed that Babel was not the only one used to a less physical lifestyle. “How are you holding up?” Quentin asked.
“About the same as you.” Babel admitted.
“That bad, huh?”
“Maybe worse. I can’t say I get enough exercise.”
“That makes two of us. Well, at least you have age on your side.”
“Is that supposed to make this easier?”
Quentin smiled and shrugged. “In any case, try to keep up. At least with me. We can’t have the leader of the world taking up the rear. You’re supposed to be out front leading the people.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Do you think they have discovered our trail?”
Quentin nodded. “They are disciplined and physically fit. They will have the advantage. We had about a half-day lead on them but I would imagine that has been reduced at this point.”
“So what do we do? Do we continue as we are, waiting for them to catch up with us?”
“That’s one thing about Jims; you never have to worry about having a plan. We’ll continue on for about another hour. During that time, you should notice the ground becoming rockier. That is a good thing. The rocks will hide our tracks. We will enter the Valley of Stones and it is there that we will turn and head north for a short period before returning east.”
“East? Back to the city?”
“No, not to city but just north of it. There lies the last fortress of the Chokka.”
“A fortress? Won’t the Klopph know of this place?”
“No one knows of this place. This is an underground fortress, built for the Császár. It was a place where the Császár could go and continue to run the government in the event that there was a major disaster.”
“Such as a coup? How do you know of this place?”
“It was written in your grandfather’s book.”
“I didn’t see that in the book.”
“That’s because you were not looking in the right place. The Chokka had a certain code that they used. The book is full of codes. Unless you know where to look, you will never discover them. That is the purpose, of course. I will show you later.”
“Have you ever been to this fortress?”
“I have not. In fact, I don’t even know of the name of the fortress. I do know that the Klopph have not learned of this fortress.”
“How can you be sure?”
“The fortress contains many of the secrets of the Chokka as well as many of the technological advances of my father. If the fortress had been discovered, so would these secrets. They have not been used by the Keeper, so they have not been discovered.”
Babel left the discussion at that. He had many questions but let them lie.
Within the hour, they reached the Valley of Stones, just as Quentin had said. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky and they knew they needed to stop for the evening. Jims called them to a halt and ordered the area inspected. The Valley of Stones was a perfect place to hide.
One of the men found a small cave inside of a nearby gulley. It would be risky if it rained but the sky showed signs that it
