“Yeah, that wasn’t my idea. Once the squirrels learned about Excalibur, though, I couldn’t stop it. Ethel and Jen were no help here either.” He started to explain his new-found royalty.
“I stand by what I said; it’s a good idea to give the squirrels something to unify around. They were a people without a cause, and now they have a righteous king. I don’t know why you are still whining about this anyway. I’m the one that has to do the real work. You have squirrels waiting on you hand and foot,” Ethel countered Stan’s statement, glaring at him as she did so.
“And I really appreciate all you’ve been doing; god knows I apparently had no idea how to run a kingdom. So, while I was organizing the war effort alongside Second Smasher, Ethel, Albert, and Onelder were preparing for the oncoming siege. Ethel has radically increased the yields of the local fruit trees. She has also sculpted a few plant golems, most of the strength of Frank, but not really alive in the same fashion. They have been very useful in breaking up charges.” Stan explained further.
“I’m still surprised you’ve managed to hold against their forces. I ran into some of their battle mages, and they almost took me out. They would have if I hadn’t had Third Smasher with me,” Cal said with a half-hearted smile as he remembered that moment.
“And what stupid thing did you do to end up in that situation? Charge in alone?” Ethel turned her glare on Cal from Stan.
“Believe it or not, I have a new appreciation for yelling at the idiot who listens and runs ahead,” Cal stuttered slightly under her glare. He wondered how, after all these years, she still managed to do that.
Stan coughed loudly, silencing any further bickering, and resumed his explanation of events. “Back to the main point, we’ve collected as many of the groves as we can into one area and have begun rapidly expanding this cavern into a mega city. Up until last week we were still getting a relatively steady influx of squirrels, but that changed after the Gryalth started to really converge on this grove. I don’t know if they just now became aware of us as the main force against them or if they have already wiped out everyone else. Either way, we need to break the siege and fight back. That’s why I’m so glad you’re back Cal. I really need your help here.”
“So what’s the plan then? Overwhelming force?” Cal asked he wasn’t sure they had the numbers or abilities for that, but he was willing to try. They still needed to find a way off Pluto and back home, and he was reasonably sure that way was through the Gryalth base.
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“Yes and no. What I’m thinking is Second and Third Smasher, along with a strong strike force push out hard at one of the siege points. Try to get them to put as much of their forces as they can to block that break-out attempt while a smaller force of you, myself, Ethel, Frank, and Jen sneaks out another passage. I want to take the fight to their pools and continue powering up Excalibur. Eventually, this loop is going to come to an end, and I think it’s important to get the sword loop-aware before it does,” Stan outlined his plan.
“We need to let some survive the first pool assault. That should draw off some of the pressure here. If we are only leaving Albert, Onelder, and Second Smasher as magic wielders, we can’t expect them to hold long against a sustained attack of battle mages, so relieving the pressure is a must,” Jen added. She had been taking notes since Stan started explaining his future plans.
“Good point,” Stan said, nodding at her. “Once we have enough energy for Excalibur, we can make our way back here. That way, he and I can do whatever needs to be done while you all assess any damage that may occur in our absences. Any thoughts or comments?” Stan looked around the room, stopping briefly at each person.
“I mean, I like it. It has all my favorite parts of a plan: rushing in blindly and smashing everything in our way, killing Gryalth, listening to Frank’s banter. What’s not to like?” Cal was reasonably sure these weren’t the thoughts his dad was looking for but felt the need to voice them nonetheless.
“Frank agrees. It is time to bring the pain.” Frank’s tone was surprisingly calm despite his words. Cal guessed he had learned to control the yelling during the siege. Ethel likely wouldn’t have been happy with him constantly giving away their position.
“It’s as good as any plan with what we have available, I suppose. Actually, no, now that I think more about it, I’m not sure I like the idea of leaving the Grove myself. I think you should consider swapping me with Albert. I need to be here to whip up more golems and keep the food supplies going,” Ethel looked over to Frank. “Think you can handle this without me?” Frank only nodded in response.
“She’s right, Stan. As things stand, Ethel can’t really come with us. She’s far too valuable here. It’s going to be hard enough to sell you leaving without bodyguards, but both of you? Impossible. Besides, Albert needs to learn to use his powers more. Hell, so do I,” Jen’s voice had taken a stern quality as she defended Ethel’s choice.
“Okay, I’m not arguing. I think you’re both right. The big question I suppose, is what comes after we return. What’s the next best move?” Stan looked to Cal expectantly.
“Well, we’re going to have to finish pushing them out of the caves enough to get some real breathing room. From there assess the damage to all the groves, search for survivors, the usual. But that can mostly be handled by the squirrels. What we need to do is assault their actual base and find a way home. I don’t want to wait out the rest of the loop here on Pluto, and based on the looks on your faces, I assume none of you do either,” That was all Cal had as far as a post-pool assault plan went, but based on the nodding of heads in the room it was enough, at least for the moment.