Richard Tuttle - Web of Deceit

“Well the wall is almost complete,” interjected Blaka. “That will certainly slow them down a bit. We should make some plans for traps throughout the city and some organization of which tribes will defend which section of the city.”

“Lord Marak indicated that it might be better to take the fight to Grulak,” mentioned Rejji, “instead of waiting for him to arrive here.”

“That would be suicide, lad,” frowned Blaka. “We have a decent defensive position here with the wall and the forest limiting the approach. Out in the open, his superior numbers will destroy us.”

“Not necessarily,” argued Rejji. “I am not talking about abandoning our defenses. Ghala is our last stand and that is why we are building the wall and other things, but Grulak has long march to get to us. Does anyone know how he will approach Ghala?”

“Through the Valley of Bones,” answered Yojji. “It is the direct path from the North Fork to the Ghala River. Any other pass would take him too far out of the way and I gather that, if his army is starving, he will be in a hurry.”

“Once he knows we are all here,” interjected Wyant. “That I think is the key. I believe we can control when he finds out that Ghala is his target.”

“That is what we are holding Brakas for?” questioned Adger.

“Exactly,” smiled Wyant. “We can use Brakas to time the release of the information. We cannot, however, delay forever. It is only a matter of time before another of Grulak’s minions discover us, or one of Winus’s men accidentally slips in front of the magician.”

“So we need a plan and we need it fast,” observed Mistake.

“And we have to deceive Brakas into delivering the information we want Grulak to have,” added Wyant.

“And if we get any of it wrong,” frowned Blaka, “we all die.”

“What do we know about how Grulak will attack?” asked Rejji.

“I asked Winus that very question,” stated Wyant. “Because of the food, Grulak will come with every man he has. He will also want them all here to have clear superiority over the free tribes.”

“That is a massive army,” frowned Blaka. “How can we possibly hope to last against that?”

“By splitting it up,” murmured Rejji.

“Precisely,” smiled Wyant. “There are basically three factions to Grulak’s army. There are the original Jiadin who will remain loyal to him no matter what. They number around five thousand. Of those, one thousand are considered to be his elite troops. Both of these groups must be destroyed to end the Jiadin threat to Fakara. The third group is the converts. They are the largest segment of his army and also the least loyal. If we can get that group not to fight, we will have victory.”

“Most of them are followers and will do what they are told,” stated Adger. “Asking them not to fight is not going to work. It would be easier to kill them, and I doubt we have the men to do it.”

“I was not suggesting that we ask them,” continued Wyant. “There are other ways to help them make up their minds. I think this is a crucial area where we should spend some time discussing ways to whittle down that large force.”

“That is if we can even get them separated,” posed Yojji. “How do you plan to accomplish that?”

“What Winus said,” continued Wyant, “was if there was some urgency relating to his discovery of Ghala, that Grulak would depart with his original Jiadin immediately and order the rest to follow.”

“That would separate the original Jiadin from the rest somewhat,” agreed Blaka, “but the Jiadin are excellent warriors and five thousand of them is a serious threat even to a much larger force. His elite are among the finest fighting men I have ever seen. A lot of our lads will fight to the death, but their skills are not up to the Jiadin elite.”

“I agree,” frowned Adger. “Our men have had many years without any serious battles. The villagers in our area have actually become friendly and offer their tribute without argument.”

“Your men still train don’t they?” asked Rejji as he remembered his time with the Zaldoni.

“Of course they do,” answered Adger, “and there is many a decent fighter among them, but in a one-on-one clash with the elite, we would be outclassed. My twenty-five hundred men would lose the battle against a thousand elite.”

“But we have more than just your twenty-five hundred men, Adger,” interjected Yojji. “What is the key to getting Grulak to come with his five thousand Jiadin earlier than the rest? You said some urgency, but what do you mean?”

“I am not sure,” frowned Wyant. “It has to be something other than us defending Ghala, because if that is the situation, he can travel with his whole army.”

“What if Winus was under attack by us?” queried Blaka. “Would Grulak rush to save Winus?”

“Not a chance,” Wyant shook his head. “Winus has only five hundred men and we would defeat him before Grulak left Vandegar, besides it is Winus who will be sending the message via his magician. That is along the line I was thinking earlier though. If we were seen to be using Ghala as base to strike out from, that would cause Grulak to act sooner, but other than Winus, what is there for us to attack?”

“The only thing we want to attack is Grulak,” sighed Adger. “Let us leave this question for later and concentrate on a plan for when we do manage to separate the two forces.”

“If Grulak possessed something that would allow his men to proceed here by traveling day and night without tiring, would he use it?” asked Rejji.

“If there were no downsides to it, he would be a fool not to,” replied Blaka. “Is this just a youthful question or do you have access to magic as well?”

“Not magic,” responded Rejji, “but I do know of such a fruit. It fills your body with tremendous energy and you feel as if you can continue forever. I know because I have eaten some.”

“Then perhaps it is something you should save for our armies,” chuckled Blaka. “We are likely to be the ones needing energy.”

“What I was thinking was a little different,” declared Rejji. “If Grulak had a limited amount of this fruit, say enough for only a thousand men, would he further split his forces?”

“Enough for his elite forces you mean?” replied Wyant. “I think he would. If we can create the urgency, Grulak will want to get here as quick as possible. He would feel quite comfortable with only his elite if he knew the rest of his army was coming behind him. I seriously question the wisdom of providing anything that will improve their fighting energy though. The elite will be tough enough to kill as it is.”

“Actually this fruit will make them easier to kill,” smiled Rejji. “There is a penalty for the extra energy. The extra energy will sustain you as long as you keep moving, but once you stop, you will sleep soundly for days. I used it to march through the night and slept for two days afterwards.”

“That means the elite will be as good as dead,” cheered Blaka. “Why not give it to all of them?”

“I could never get that much fruit,” sighed Rejji. “It only grows in one place. As it is, we need enough for the men and the horses. That is two thousand fruit just for the elite.”

“And we have to convince Grulak to use it,” added Yojji. “We also need a way to transport it to him without raising his suspicions.”

“I have already checked, and it will fit in the two wagons we seized from the slavers,” stated Rejji. “Bakhai has joined the two wagons together and lined the bars with wooden boards so the fruit does not fall out. Four horses will be needed to haul it.”

“This is sounding better already,” nodded Adger. “Assuming that the elite don’t rest until they reach here, we can have Winus’s men dispose of them.”