Watching the Green Mamba base, Alexander was disappointed. The lair was the spitting image of the depictions Luca had provided them. A sprawling villa which seemed more like a vacation home than an enemy base stood at the edge of the peak, neighbored on one side by the steep descent of the mountain. Certain death was expected if anyone fell. To the other side of the villa, there was what Alexander considered a more traditional pirate’s habitat: wooden cabins, tents, and saloons dotted the face of the pirate’s mountain village with rope bridges connecting between a couple different plateaus. Several watchtowers rose from among the tents, forming the only sign of military presence detectable in the mountain village. The architecture was archaic, preferring cheaper, temporary materials than the more lasting stone and wood used in both the watchtowers and the villa.
“They’re partying up there. Ridiculous. Do they not wonder what happened to the pirates that were sent up North to reinforce the conflict? How can they be so oblivious to our attack?” Alexander complained as he continued observing the base through a pair of binoculars.
“Facades, Alexander. Try looking more closely. The pirates may appear to be drinking away at their time, but with a keen eye, you can see their movements aren’t without purpose.” Beside him, Maia also observed the mountain village, but her use of the binoculars was much more methodical. Her expertise at reconnaissance was readily apparent beside Alexander.
Watching quietly for a few more minutes, Alexander let out a soft gasp. “They’re all moving in a pattern. It’s slow, takes a while for it to be noticeable, but there’s definitely a sequence here.”
Putting down her binoculars, Maia nodded. “Yes, there is.” Whistling a few short notes towards the nearby Emerald warriors, Maia took Alexander’s own pair and motioned for him to follow her. “We must approach with even more caution. An oblivious enemy would not prepare such extensive defenses within their own base. The Green Mamba is aware, and they are ready for us. It appears reaching them will not be our only plight.”
In the days spent planning the raid, many had recognized the first obstacle to their mission, but none had been able to come up with an effective solution to climb the mountain discreetly.
There was a pathway leading into the base, the same one Venus and the Emerald Warriors had used to escape Celia’s clutches. However, utilizing it would be the same as announcing their arrival. No, the group was looking for a less showy entrance, and, eventually, an idea for an alternative way to reach the base was birthed. Unfortunately, it was dependent on outside help.
Catching up to Maia, Alexander remarked. “But our plan doesn’t have to change, right? Their base is guarded, and they’re ready for something. They don’t know what that something is, though.”
“Our plan relies on an element of surprise. No matter how we reach their base, their wariness will prompt a swift response. Changes must be made for our plan to adapt.” Maia gave a side-glance to Alexander as she heard his sigh. “Think about your previous battle against the Green Mamba. That fight was a mess, and why? Because the leadership failed to adequately prepare for the pirate’s response. This may be tedious, but preparation can eliminate unnecessary sacrifices.”
Alexander nodded as he followed behind Maia. He understood the value of what they were doing, but it had been so long. Once he woke up back in the Puma and Eagle campsite, he had allowed himself one day of relaxation, after which he expected to migrate South near the Green Mamba base to immediately the pirates. Instead, long hours stretching into days of planning had ensued- what’s worse was Lady Venus had ordered for his presence in every meeting.
He had dredged through the countless meetings, enduring argument after argument as their different allies proposed – mostly contradicting- strategies. There were plenty of long and convoluted speeches, and after a few days, Alexander felt like his biggest takeaway came by way of his own friends.
Kai, Thomas, and Maia were far and away the strongest individuals when it came to combat, perhaps matched only by the Jai and Joaquin, the tribe leaders - although Alexander doubted this was the case based on the reverence the leaders showed the group. It was why he felt the proceedings would go much faster than the one’s before the rainforest battle.
His group commanded the strongest force, much more so when the rest of the Emerald warriors and Lady Venus were tallied on. Moreover, their reputation had reached a new high following their successful defeat of the Green Mamba in the north. Droves of tribe members still approached Alexander and co to offer thanks to this day. He was pretty sure if they vocalized their intentions, the people of the Puma and Eagle tribes would be supportive, but Maia had repeatedly stressed this should not be done.
“A good general weaves the people’s ideas into his own plans, such that they want to do it. Not because of respect, adherence to orders, or adulation, but because the people’s desires intersect with those of the general.” That’s what Maia would say, and Alexander had witnessed the warrior turn her words into a reality. Subtly, she had injected their groups ideas into the tribe’s generals. She sat through the meetings patiently, steering the subject of each session in the direction of her choosing, and by the end of it, Alexander had been taken aback as the generals clamored for their current strategy. They certainly seemed much more enthusiastic about it since they believed it to be their own plan.
The duo soon reached a large tent with its door flaps held open to reveal three hammocks hanging from the tent’s support beams. On them, Luca, Gertrude, and Susanne were lying comfortably, basking in the cooler temperatures of the mountains.
“Sir Luca, we have discovered signs of preparation on the Green Mamba’s base.” Maia updated the old fisherman as she lowered her head.
“Good. That means this battle won’t be so boring to referee.” Taking sip of a cocktail, Luca smacked his lips and shut his eyes.
“Would it be possible to-”
“No.” The old man kept his eyes shut as he responded to Maia. “I am already doing too much by allowing this,” moving his hand between Susanne and Gertrude, Luca gestured “outside help. Over my dead body will we make this mission even easier.”
“I completely understand. May you continue to enjoy your drink, Sir Luca. Madam Susanne, Madam Gertrude, I will retire now.” Maia politely bade farewell and exited the tent. “I know what you’re going to ask, and to that I say, it’s never a bad idea to ask for help. The worst they can say is no, and had Sir Luca agreed, our problems would be solved entirely.”
“I understand that, but should we not have appealed to Gertrude? She would be much more inclined to help us, not to mention easier to convince.”
Maia shook her head. “No, Alexander. There is no problem with asking for help, but you must do it in a way that does not offend the other party. We can do with a nonchalant Luca who simply doesn’t want to help us, but a disgruntled Luca, one who becomes upset because we went behind his back, that we cannot handle.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Alexander was quiet as he deliberated Maia’s words. Spending time with her was a rich learning experience, but one that forced him to think in a manner much different to how he usually thought about consequences. “That still leaves us with a new problem and no solutions. If they’re ready, the pirates will see us drop out of the sky. Our people will be skewered long before they land.”
“Just because the easy solution didn’t pan out does not mean we have none. It’s just we need to consult with Thomas about the feasibility of my idea.”
The two walked by more tents, passing by groups of the Puma and Eagle hunters along with turtles, polar bears, and reindeers who had joined their cause. Apparently, Lady Venus had separated from Maia in order to visit both Nidra and Luca. Not only that, but the young fate hearer had convinced the dragon to send Alexander some aid and the old fisherman to be present altogether, an astounding achievement in Alexander’s eyes.
Past the beasts, the two found Thomas sitting among a group of polar bears meditating. The bears, clothed in their traditional 3-piece suits, floated a few inches off the ground, chanting a rhythmic Aum, and Thomas, well, Thomas sat in the center of the floating polar bears, hugging the stone Nidra had gifted him.
Alexander would have loved to be surprised by the scene, but Thomas had been doing this for the past several days. Ever since one of the Eagle tribe generals had asked him why he carried an egg with him, Thomas had descended into an obsessive frenzy as he sought to breathe life into what he was convinced was a dragon egg. To Alexander’s annoyance, the stone had greedily absorbed all the mana Thomas had injected it with, no matter the amount, leading to his current setup with several polar bears driving their mana into Thomas who subsequently guided it into the egg.
Opening his eyes as he sensed their approach, Thomas called for the group to pause the session. The polar bears slowly drifted to the ground as they broke away, and Thomas smiled devilishly. “Soon I’ll have a dragon, Alexander. And he’s going to be sooooo much stronger than Pengu. Smarter, too, and cuter.”
Alexander grinded his teeth as he thought about a good comeback. Lately the two had been arguing over Pengu or the future dragon’s superiority. Alexander acted nonchalantly, but everyone could see Thomas’ words got under his skin. Just as he was about to reply with no doubt a nonsensical reply, Maia stepped between the two.
“Okay, you two can fantasize about their growth later. Right now, we need you for something more important, Thomas. What are the chances of fog on the day of the raid?”
Thomas dropped his playful act and put on a more pensive look. “How much fog are we talking about?”
“The idea would be for the fog to cover our descent into the base. Even better if we are surrounded by fog even in the sky.”
“That’s asking for too much. Creating fog that will migrate to the mountaintop and decrease visibility in the Green Mamba base is already difficult, but enough fog to blot out the ground and sky is impossible.” Pacing quietly, Thomas added. “Have we been made?”
“No, but it does seem like they’re expecting an attack.”
“So we need the fog to cover our descent so our army doesn’t get struck by lightning when we are inevitably noticed.”
“Yes.” Maia affirmed.
Thomas continued pacing, muttering to himself as he walked back and forth. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, whirring around with a smile. “Alexander! You mentioned something a few days ago. An Eagle tribe scout had proposed approaching the base by way of a lake or something, right?”
Alexander squinted his eyes as he recalled the information. “Yes, they wanted us to move underwater. After which we would scale the mountain, ferrying up in groups on the reindeer’s backs.”
“And where was this lake?”
“It’s about a dozen miles east and halfway up the mountain, but the problem is how exposed we would be there. The Green Mamba pirates have a direct view of the entire lake. With the level of security they’re currently sporting, anyone near the lake would be spotted in seconds.”
Thomas smiled widely. “Yes, yes, that could really work perfectly. Okay, I’m going to need the reindeers, polar bears, Pengu, and Alexander to come with me, but this can work. I can make the fog with the lake’s help.”
“I just told you we can’t be at the lake!” Alexander protested, but Maia and Thomas both ignored him.
Clasping her hands, Maia also smiled. “That’s wonderful. I’ll leave him here with you and go speak with the respective leaders. I trust you can convince the beasts to help you better than I could.”
Spinning on her heel, Maia walked away, heading further away from the main grouping of tents. Their base of operations had been erected at the foot of a hill to utilize the body of nature as cover, but this alone did not suffice. Sitting at the top of the small hill, Lady Venus had settled her own tent: a small, one-person piece completely out in the open.
From this position, Venus continually emanated her psychic mana, cloaking her own tent along with the rest of the encampment. It was here Maia was currently headed.
The Emerald warrior leader used bursts of wind mana to allow her to scale the hill with ease. As she did, she whistled an array of notes. Despite being so far from the main tents, she knew the wind would carry her messages dutifully. Her warriors were always listening.
Finished with her short burst of messages, Maia cupped her hands over her mouth as she emitted sounds similar to a flute. This was her method of dispersing more complicated information. In this case, she was commanding someone to go update the generals of the Puma and Eagle tribe. Still playing the hand flute, Maia soon reached Lady Venus’ abode and sat on a tree stump.
The fate hearer was quick to exit from her tent as she listened to the beautiful music. Taking a seat on a tree stump beside Maia, Venus awaited the end of the song before speaking. “No matter how many times I listen to it, your music doesn’t get old. Truly, it is one of the most artistic uses of mana in the noble clans.”
“They’re messages, Venus. All we do is emulate a bird’s song.”
“And the song of birds is art - one beautiful to the ears. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Maia grinned as she listened to her friend. “I didn’t come to discuss what does and doesn’t qualify as art. We can do that when there’s peace. What I’m here for is to check if you’d heard any whispers of fate. Anything we should be prepared for?”
Venus’ expression was tinged with concern as she reached over to place her hand on Maia’s shoulder. “I promise you… you would be the first to know if I hear anything.”
Maia exhaled disappointingly, sliding Venus’ hand off her shoulder. “I know. Of course, I know, but I thought perhaps one had come to you just now. It doesn’t matter. I’m glad to see you’re doing well. We had to make some adjustments to the plan, but the general scheme of things remains the same.”
“Ah, yes, I heard extra security and fog.” Venus nodded, concern still apparent in her eyes. “Maia, it’s… what happened to your Emerald warriors was not your fault. Even the most talented generals lose men sometimes. It’s a part of war. A horrible, sickening part of it but one nonetheless.”
Maia’s eyes were fierce as she stared down Venus. “A good general accepts the loss of their men, and prepares themselves, such that those same mistakes are not repeated. Accepting my fault in their deaths is my responsibility.”
“Not- not like this. I know you aren’t sleeping well, and your mind is in disarray. Why must you personally watch the Green Mamba base day and night? Your Emerald warriors are quite capable of doing this themselves, in healthy shifts. You’re punishing yourself, Maia. That’s not acceptance.”
Maia stood, her breath slightly uneven. “If physical exhaustion… insomnia, if that’s all I need to endure to make sure I can save the life of one more of my warriors, I am happy to do that. I appreciate your concern, Venus, but I need to do this. I’ve led too many of my warriors to their deaths. It was my inexperience, my overconfidence, my ego.”
“But you aren’t to blame. You’d have to be borderline prophetic to have prevented the deaths that occurred. Let us mourn them, Maia, and use their sacrifices to drive us forward. You cannot keep carrying this burden on your own. You pretend everything is okay and suffer in silence. It’s not right. Let me help.”
Maia raised her hand to silence Venus. “I will mourn when this is over. When I know, no one else will die due to my ineptitude. But until then, I have to… no, I need to keep active, Venus. Please.”
Watching as her friend descended down the hill, Venus was surprised by how frail Maia appeared. She had always been the toughest, the strongest, born for success as she became the youngest leader of an Emerald warrior squadron, but it appeared the responsibilities were drowning her. Venus sighed. Perhaps she was asking too much of everyone, but it was necessary. The fate they faced required it.