B'arthon climbed to the top of a small hill to address the gathered warriors. Usually, it would have been his father's job to speak before a battle such as this, but given the sheer volume of argu'n present, the elder noble had decided someone younger and more energetic would be more inspiring than having everyone struggle to hear his voice. At least, that was the excuse he gave. Of course, in reality, B'arthon suspected his father had ulterior motives, but that was alright since this turn of events suited the younger noble just fine.

Looking out over the sheer field of warriors, B'arthon had to fight down the feeling of invincibility the sight inspired. He wouldn't underestimate his foe here at the end. Still, making the warriors feel a little invincible might not be a bad idea. He took a deep breath before loudly beginning the speech he'd thought up for this occasion. "Warriors of the A'ngles Empire, today our long hunt ends, and our real fight can begin!"

He allowed the gathered crowd to cheer loudly. Only about an hour's march away their enemies waited, and there was a reasonable chance they could hear the shout from here. Maybe it would scare a few of the weaker-willed and give them a bit of an edge. Eventually, he motioned for silence and continued. "I know not all of you joined our empire willingly at first, but look around, look at what we've accomplished; together, we are unstoppable!" There was a murmur from the crowd as the warriors obeyed and looked. It was an impressive sight. "Before now, fielding an army of over a hundred argu'n was something only the greatest of villages could achieve, but now we stand united in the thousands! In the face of our united strength as a people, the wilderness holds little power! The days of villages fading and dying in the face of threats like winter, wolgen, or raiders are over! The days of losing family to the cold dark forest have passed! Together we stand, together we fight, and nothing, not animal, not nature, and not even the gods can resist the power of our people untied!"

This time the cheer was deafening. The noble was certain they'd hear this in the clearing of theirs. A small part of his mind hoped this would end the fight before it even began, that Jack and S'haar would realize the futility of their fight. But he knew that would never happen. This day was far from over, and every hunter knew cornered prey was the most dangerous prey.

Stepping down from his hill, A'ngles awaited the younger noble with words of praise. "Well spoken, my son. This will be a day long remembered!"

-

S'haar had heard the cheer from their opponent not long ago. According to their scout's estimates, they were outnumbered more than two to one, and their enemy were all warriors, whereas a good number of their army were workers, warriors far past their prime, or youths nearly too young to fight. But, of course, they were not without their own claws, and the care A'ngles showed in his approach made it evident he was aware of that. It was time to remind these people of this fact.

For all their flaws, the force that stood before her was more than a little impressive. A sight like this was probably only witnessed by one other in this world. She grinned, then raised her voice and spoke to the crowd. "You all know me. You've heard the tales of the time I defeated the monster De'haar in one-on-one combat or the times I've stood toe to toe with wolgen and walked away!" There was some nodding in the group. A strong leader was a good start, but they needed more. "You know the people at my side! The metallic goddess Angela, able to shrug off blade and spear and cure even the most gruesome of wounds. You know of my partner, the human wizard Jack, and his powerful magics bringing life and death to the battlefield in equal measure!" She knew Jack would be gritting his teeth at having his science called magic again, but he'd placed her in charge for a reason. Now he'd just have to deal with it. "You know of our brave Em'brel, almost as wise and kind as she is fierce when cornered." Those who knew the tales of her short time with S'haar knew the young female had more fight than most warriors, and only a fool would ever underestimate her. "You know of gentle Sare'en and her wolgen pack!" Grim was seated with his two sisters. A small gathering of the hill people's children played around the feet and shaggy mane of the great beast, who was gentle as an arlack with them while Sare'en double and triple-checked his riding harness. "You know of all the times we've stood before the might of A'ngles and how we outthought, outmaneuvered, or outfought his armies every time!"

The crowd was cheering now, and S'haar gave them a moment before speaking again, this time a little quieter but still loud enough for her voice to carry. "But most importantly, and most impressively of all, you know those who stand with you! You know you fight beside your fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and friends! You've seen them fight year after year, against the cold of deep freezes, against the threats of wolgen, against the warriors that threatened your homes and family! You've seen them struggle with hunger, pain, sickness, and loss, yet still, they stand tall! These are the ones who fight for you, and these are the ones you now fight for!" S'haar took a deep breath to drive home her final thought. "Let us show those who would subjugate you and your family to their will that you are not some panicked prey backed into a corner. You are strong and have withstood everything life can throw at you, and you stand ready with claw and fang to persevere once more!"

This time the cheer was fierce enough to rival the one they'd heard not long ago. S'haar hoped that would make some of the warriors headed their way think twice about the upcoming battle...

-

Overall, Jack thought S'haar's speech was pretty good. It certainly had the desired effect. The only part he wanted to gripe about was her mention of his "magics," but he suspected bringing that up would only amuse S'haar, so he decided to keep it to himself this time.

He was checking out Sare'en's job of preparing Grim when S'haar walked up with a smile that did nothing to dispel the concern apparent on her face as she spoke. "I can't be a very good bodyguard in the coming battle if I can't keep an eye on you out there..."

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Jack tried to make his smile comforting but feared he had about the same success as S'haar at hiding his anxiety at what was coming. "I know, but you're absolutely essential for what you'll be doing. Our entire plan relies on you acting as the cornerstone. And for obvious reasons," He indicated Grim. "I'm the best option for my part in the plan. You'll just have to trust Lon'thul and Angela to keep Em'brel and me alive."

His partner's smile took more of a downward turn at the mention of Em'brel. "I'm also not a fan of Em'brel being out there either. I understand you two need to fight as well, but I wish you could do it where I could at least keep an eye on you. If something happens, I might never know..."

Stepping away from Grim's harness, Jack smiled for real as he hugged the woman who meant so much to him while answering. "I know, I know, but in all fairness, your role is far riskier than anything I'll be doing. If anything, I'll likely have one of the safest jobs out there!"

She didn't seem convinced. "Unless B'arthon sees through your plan too quickly, then you might have the riskiest job out there!"

Jack's smile shrunk slightly as he contemplated what she was saying before shaking his head to dispel the images. "If he sees through my plan too early, we're all in trouble, and there won't be a safe spot on the battlefield. But it's too late to revise the plan. He'll be here soon, and we all need to be in position when he arrives."

S'haar looked like she would argue, but she grabbed Jack and kissed him deeply instead. It caught the human off guard at first, but eventually, he returned her affection before finally pulling away, during which S'haar gave him one more once over as she spoke again. "Just...be careful out there, okay? You don't always have to be the hero."

Jack laughed and smiled again. "I thought I already told you, my days of being a hero are behind me! I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing retirement after this!"

The warrior woman's skepticism was plain to see on her deadpan face as she simply answered with a dubious "Uh-huh..."

That was when Lon'thul came walking up with his characteristic goofy grin. "Hey now, no stealing my spotlight! If anyone gets to be a hero out there, it's me! I need another good story to tempt the females into my bed!"

Em'brel's weary-sounding voice announced her presence as she walked up behind the exuberant hunter. "And just which female were you going to 'temp into your bed?'"

Lon'thul looked up into the sky. "Would you look at that? It's about time for the enemy to be arriving! We should stop talking and get going already!"

As Em'brel lightly swatted the back of Lon'thul's head while he grinned in a manner that clearly expressed no regrets, Jack sighed and turned back to S'haar. "As much as I hate to say it, the witless wonder is right. We do have to get going..."

S'haar kissed him again more quickly this time, then gave Jack a stern glare. "Fight well out there, and come back to me. Your goddess can't have you yet!"

Jack grinned back in return. "You too. I plan to bore you to death with years of lessons and innovations!"

This time S'haar's smile was genuine as she turned to walk away to make sure everyone else was in place. Then, looking back to Lon'thul and Em'brel, who was giving Kunes and Kunshee neck scritches, Jack spoke up again. "Alright, time to get moving. Lon'thul, where are the other hunters?"

The hunt master grinned. "They're already in position. We're the only ones missing!"

Jack nodded and mounted up on Grim. "Alright. Let's head out!"

As Grim got excitedly to his feet, Kunes and Kunshee also hopped up, and the small group of argu'n, wolgen, and a lone human walked off into the forest.

-

Lack'nul had no idea how he'd ended up in such a mess. On either side of the guard captain were all the workers from the outpost. They were clad in the gambeson armor brought by Lady Ta'miel and wielding the belly bows of Jack's design. They only had enough metal bolts for two shots each, but to be fair, they probably wouldn't get off more than two shots before the enemy reached their position. At least they had good-quality steel-headed spears and all the training Ger'ron and later himself could drill into them, but still, these were workers, not guards, warriors, or even hunters. When the battle was joined for real, would they be able to do their job, or would they just cut and run? Could anyone even blame them if they did?

Behind his line of workers were the youngest and oldest of the hill people, also wearing the armor provided. They had long spears that could stab past the workers but wouldn't be much help up front, meaning the workers and Lack'nul had to hold the line. They'd practiced many drills using the spears from behind the workers in the days leading up to this, but the armor was a new complication. Still, if it meant fewer workers and tribesmen dying, it was a price worth paying.

To top everything off, they were in a critical location, positioned at the front and center of the entire battle line. If they broke and ran, the whole army would be cut in two, and A'ngles' warriors could devour them one piece at a time. While there was no precedent for a battle of this magnitude, all conventional strategies made this plan seem like suicide. Still, there was more to it than just this. He just had to hope the rest of the strategy would come together before these workers, his workers, broke.

His job was to hold them together and get them to move as a unit. He'd trained beside each of these argu'n for over a year. That they'd made it this far proved they had more skill, courage, and strength than your average village worker. He'd just have to trust them as much as they trusted him. He just wished it was Ger'ron leading these argu'n and not himself.

His musings were interrupted when the first warriors cleared the treeline opposite them. First, it was about a dozen, then a dozen more, and pretty soon they were coming through in the hundreds. The warriors split up, forming ranks as neat as the ones beside and behind Lack'nul, but the newcomers did it in a fraction of the time it'd taken them. The training and discipline of these warriors were apparent to even an untrained eye.

There was some mumbling from the hill people behind Lack'nul, though he was pleased to see none of the workers at his side wavered. Still, it was his job to bolster their nerve. So, looking back, he gave in his best imitation of Ger'ron's expressions when he acted like he knew more than anyone else present. "Steady on the hunt, lads! They look fierce now, but it's hard to look so tough when you've got forty-five inches of steel sticking out of your stomach!"

The older argu'n seemed to realize he was just propping up their confidence, by the younger ones stood a little taller and gripped their spears a little more firmly.

Turning back to the army walking out into the clearing, Lack'nul could understand his workers' trepidation. They just kept coming. He logically knew they were outnumbered two to one, but to see them pouring out and into formation was something else entirely. It was hard to imagine their side having even a remote chance of surviving the upcoming battle...