None of the others had been able to easy my worries. The conclusion we had come to was, that the enemy commander had no common sense, at least regarding what one should consider acceptable or unacceptable losses. For better or for worse. I still suspected that there might be a different, more troublesome explanation even if I had no evidence. I just couldn't shake that gut feeling. This uncertain feeling of impeding doom kept me awake for most of the rest of the night as well. Only a few times I managed to drift off into a troubled sleep haunted by nightmares of us fighting these invaders, their superior numbers wearing us down one by one. Even knowing that I would never do something so monumentally stupid like facing an army face on with just a handful of companions the dreams were still troublesome.
Thus I was glad when Khuzan shook my shoulder, not to wake me but to get my attention. It was almost morning and the last watch was mine. I grabbed one of the crossbows and took up my position to keep an eye on the cave entrance. None of us actually expected an attack, but it was better to be safe rather than sorry. I restarted the fire as well, so whoever would set about making our breakfast could get started without delay. It probably would be some kind of porridge again, but I was actually looking forward to it anyway. In the end it was Kaele who shouldered that duty. Of course the kids woke up soon after her but she managed to keep them busy by allowing them to help her with the preparations of the meal.
Once everyone was awake and we had all eaten we set out to prepare for the attack upon the enemy encampment we had planned for tonight. We had no time to waste either. Eld'tide set out to hunt, taking two empty water skins with her. Supposedly to collect at least some of the blood from her kills. It was Kor'za who enlightened me about the reason for that. With the right herbs added to keep the blood from clotting, the contents of these skins could be used to distract any dogs the enemy might set loose upon us. I could only nod in silence, grateful to have their expertise at hand, as the rest of us started sharpening sticks for more spiked pit traps.
We had to expect pursuit after all. In fact we wanted to be pursued. Only that way we would be able to lure them into ambushed in small groups. Additional traps and fake tracks would allow us to slip away again once we had done enough killing. By the time we were done we had quite a few bundles of sharpened sticks. Everyone of us would bring one. At the same time Kivilan carved short makeshift shovels from wood or elk antlers for us. This we we didn't have to dig the pits for the spikes by hand. That would speed the whole endeavor up considerably. In the end we set out shortly after noon, after eating a hearty meal consisting mostly of deer meat and sending the children back into hiding deeper in the cave.
We set out early so we could take our time on the way. The gorgons screened our little group as we trekked through the forest, so we wouldn't run into an ambush ourselves. The slow pace allowed us to familiarize ourselves with the way. We stopped several times to make sure every last one of us would remember and recognize the way marks that would lead us back to our hideout. We would have to find our way back in the dark of night after all. And it would be a very dark night, it being a new moon night and all that. I really hoped that none of us would get lost. The idea alone sent shivers down my spine. No, I really didn't want to entertain that thought any longer than I had to.
Along the way we stopped several times to dig traps in places we would have to pass on our way back, positioning them in such a way that we would be able to move past the the pits with the sharpened spikes even at a full run and in the dead of night. That was a pretty dangerous gamble. We familiarized ourselves with the placements of the traps as well but in the heat of the moment accidents could still happen. It was a necessary measure though to dissuade pursuit long before any potential pursuers came close enough to the cave hideout to spot it. Otherwise the cave could become a deathtrap for us in turn. As it was our only safe hideout at the moment we had to avoid leading the enemy back to it at any cost.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
We slowed down even further as we neared the enemy encampments, always on guard not to run into any patrols. We took great care not to alert any of the war dogs, which they indeed used to secure their perimeter, to our presence. The dogs were chained to trees or sometimes heavy stakes sunk into the ground, but their chains were quite long. The others were preparing the last two lines of spiked pit traps, with Kor'za on watch, as I snuck ahead with Eld'tide once more to get a closer look at the camps and the progress of the siege in general. My gorgon friend pointed to the nearest dogs. “They are spread far enough apart to not go at each others throat. I bet there is even a little extra room in between them.”
She probably was right. I nodded and took a look at the encirclement of the village. Unlike at night it was now densely packed with soldiers, cowering behind large shields and the stakes crowning the earthen ramparts. Only every once in a while they would peek out of cover to fire their crossbows at the wall protecting the village. Quite often they weren't even really aiming at the defenders as those remained in cover best they could as well. In a few places larger groups soldiers with even heavier shields, ladders and melee weapons gathered. They probably would try to take the wall. They didn't look like they were in a hurry though. Those probably were the greatest threat to the village right now but so far they had obviously not been able to breach the wall.
I let my gaze wander across the nearest camp, the one blocking the road to the west. I especially paid attention to the larger tents. The smaller ones were tents for the troops, usually arranged around large fire pits. Some of the larger ones were the tents of knightly commanders as far as I could tell. One with open sides was the tent of the healers taking care of any wounded brought their way. Right now they weren't terribly busy. That might change though if one of the groups with the ladders were to make an attempt to cross the wall though. What really caught my attention though was a large tent that saw a lot of business. My gaze followed a soldier approaching it empty handed and leaving again with a quiver full of crossbow bolts soon after disappearing in it. I pointed at it. “Supply tent?”
Eld'tide nodded and focused on that particular tent as well. I winced as I recognized the look of determination on her face. She pointed backwards and we slowly edged away from our observation post until we were well out of sight and earshot of the enemy. Still my longtime friend spoke in a barely audibly whisper. “I want to take a look at that tent. At what is inside to be more precise. And if they have not only crossbow bolts but arrows as well, I want to try and get us some.” She paused to let that sink in. “You know the crossbows are nice and all, but we are a lot better with our bows. Kor'za, Kivilan and I. Even just a single quiver of arrows would help a lot. You know it. Right?”
Of course she was right. Once again. I couldn't argue with her logic. Still I felt my stomach twist into a knot at the thought alone. “You really want to sneak in and steal some of their ammunition? Past the dogs? Past the patrols they will have at night?” I followed her logic but the prospects didn't thrill me.
She shook her head. “Not at night. During dusk, when they will return to their tents and the camp is busiest and they probably cook their meals. The dogs will be distracted at that time. I will move invisibly in between them and on my way out I will set the rest of their supplies on fire or at least I will try to. And once I'm back here we will start with the initial plan, aiming for the nearest dogs and maybe some of the people busy with the fire before falling back.”