Richard Tuttle - 13 Day War

“The numbers are not on our side this time,” countered Rut-ki. “We must learn to be more clever than our opponents if we hope to survive.”

Alex turned and glanced at the Tyronian mage. Theos stood quietly behind the king, watching everyone, but remaining silent. He turned back to the three Lanoirians.

“I cannot speak for King Arik on this matter,” Alex said softly, “but perhaps you could borrow Theos, the new mage. I understand that his offensive magic is quite impressive.”

“I will discuss that with King Arik,” replied Bin-lu, “but I suspect that Theos is a replacement for Fredrik. There was much talk at the previous meeting about the last remaining Claw of Alutar. Prince Oscar wants a mage to constantly shield the king. I would be surprised if Theos was not holding a shield over the king right now.”

“Does King Arik expect an assassin among his advisors?” asked General Za-hong.

“That is not the right question,” retorted Rut-ki. “I am sure that King Arik trusts everyone in this room. It is Theos holding the shields and his decision to do so. He does not know any of us, and I think that is an advantage. He will not let his guard down because the threat seems familiar. I know that feeling. When I was accepted into the Knights of Alcea, I did not know the rest of you, so I could not be lulled into complacency.”

Alex nodded with understanding. “I do think you need a battle mage in Lanoir. If Theos is not available, speak to Jenneva. She might know someone you can use. Remember that each Federation army has four black-cloaks assigned to it. That is twenty-four battle mages you will have to deal with.”

Alex turned and walked away. When he reached the corner of the room where the Sordoan contingent was meeting, he saw a map spread out over the table. He stopped near the table and studied the map while the others seemed engrossed in their discussion.

“We will only have at best two-thousand mercenaries,” complained Captain Azule of the Sarga Mercenaries. “You can’t possibly expect us to survive for even a day against twenty-thousand men.”

“We will have the dwarves and elves, too,” countered Captain Orteka of the Kadin Claws. “And the valley is quite enclosed. I think we can hold them there for several days.”

“The dwarves will be exhausted,” Captain Grecho of the Cidal Mercenaries interjected. “They do not ride as we do. They will have to run all the way from the coast just to get into position. No one should expect them to immediately dive into battle.”

“My people will fight,” proclaimed Prince Darok, a dwarven prince and Knight of Alcea.

“Providing everything goes well at Pontek,” frowned Governor Mobami. “I will not lie to you, men. I am not happy with the assignment given to you, but there is no better strategy for defeating the Federation. General Omirro’s Federation troops out of Caldar are the biggest threat against Sordoa. The terrain between Caldar and the capital is fairly open, and it will be almost impossible to stop his drive to Trekum. We must put the majority of our forces against him. You will just have to do the best you can against the forces coming from Gortha. Find a way to slow them down until we have eliminated Omirro’s army and then we will come to your aid.”

“If I might make a suggestion,” Alex said softly as he moved from the map to join the group. “Zack has been spreading ghastly tales about the dwarves in Zara, particularly to the armies that will be coming from Gortha.”

“Why?” asked Prince Darok.

“Zack and I have discussed the problem you will be facing in Sordoa,” explained Alex. “You will be badly outnumbered, and Captain Grecho is correct. Your people will be exhausted, Prince Darok. That is, they will be exhausted if they have to immediately jump into battle, but there is another way. If Zack can create enough fear in the hearts of the Federation soldiers, the mere sight of dwarves might buy you some time. If a representative group were to meet the enemy under a flag of truce, you just might gain a day’s delay, and that day will give the dwarves a chance to refresh their strength.”

“What kind of stories has Zack been spreading?” asked the dwarven prince.

Alex grinned mischievously. “Only that the dwarves wear invincible armor, and that King Arik considers a dwarf warrior worth one-hundred humans. It has been said that you dwarves can stride into the enemy army with your huge battleaxes and slay a legion without getting a scratch in return.”

Prince Darok’s loud laugh caught the attention of the entire room, and conversation halted for a moment. “Well then,” guffawed the dwarven prince, “we will have to dress accordingly for the part. I will have our smiths work up something very impressive for the Federation lads.”

The mercenary captains felt their spirits lift as their chances of survival rose just a bit. Alex turned and headed for the Targa delegation, which was actually a combination of the Cordonia and Targa teams as the Cordonian army would be joining the fighting to save Tagaret. Baron Timor of Southland was speaking.

“The timing is the critical part of this. General Fortella’s Federation armies only have an eight-day march to Tagaret from Mya. If the Cordonian army and the Army of the West are to come up behind him in time to be of any use, we cannot assemble in Southland. It is too far away. We need to be much closer, and if we are closer, we risk alerting the enemy that we are onto their plan. I do not see an easy solution to this problem.”

“Fortella’s army just has to be slowed down,” offered Lieutenant Montbalm from Tor. “Fell trees across the path of his army.”

“Merely felling trees across his path will not be sufficient,” interjected Clint who was mingling with the group. “Fortella is a respectable opponent. In fact, the Federation has put some of their best generals in Force Targa. Capturing Tagaret is a high priority for them. Both Fortella and Bledsoe are known for driving their men beyond reason. General Pryblick is not so highly regarded, but his force is merely for support. It will take cleverness to slow down either Fortella or Bledsoe.”

“Abatis,” commented Alex. “Do not merely fell trees for the enemy, but fell them properly.”

Lieutenant Montbalm stared at Alex in confusion. “Explain.”

“If you can find appropriate spots along Fortella’s path,” explained Alex, “fell giant trees, not across his path, but rather with the tops facing the enemy. The maze of branches will act as further impediments to clearing the road. It will also give your archers an excellent chance to pick off those men sent ahead to clear the road. If properly done, it can waste a tremendous amount of the enemy’s time.”

“And what is a proper place?” asked Baron Timor.

“You must not block just the road,” answered Alex, “but the forest as well. You must choose a spot where a river or cliff limits the enemy’s options. In that narrowed area, create a wall of abatis and hide your archers behind it.”

“Harassing General Fortella’s men will fall to my people,” frowned Prince Garong, a prince of the elves and a Knight of Alcea. “The elves will be hesitant to cause such a massive destruction of trees.”

“I understand.” Alex nodded sympathetically. “King Arik will supply lumbermen who are skilled in that area, but you will need to protect those men, and do not let your people’s objections halt the lumbermen from their duties. If Tagaret falls, all of Alcea falls with it.“

“There is truth in Alex’s words,” added Clint. “These thirteen days will be the most trying in all our lives. If the Federation loses all of the other battles, they will still win the war by capturing Tagaret and King Arik. We must not let that happen.”