The Broken Council

by Steven R. Burke

  Suddenly the forest gave way to a lush meadow that had an eerie green color to it. There were several small ponds in the clearing. The sky above had become even darker than before, which made the space look stranger than it would in the daylight. General Yuki came to an abrupt halt and turned about to face the leaders of the rock trolls. She stared at them for a few minutes trying to figure out how to best communicate with them. Their verbal skills were not the best, and she did not know how to speak telepathically. Maybe they could read my thoughts like they did before.

  "You speak with mouth; we speak with mind," offered Lord Trahern. He had read her thoughts and offered this solution in answer to her quandary.

  "Very well then, I will begin by saying that we have a great deal to discuss before we even attempt our assault on King Jarvis and his midgets," began the general. The rock trolls nodded in agreement. "First, we need to discuss what your people will do to bolster our ranks."

  Our talents lie in siege tactics and in hand-to-hand combat. Maybe we could be spread out amongst your ranks to strengthen the foot soldiers and to protect your archers, suggested Commander Jabari. His face remained impassive as he spoke to the general through his thoughts.

  "That would work; we could also have your siege warriors be surrounded by our archers so that they too would be protected," offered the general thoughtfully.

  That would work best. So, now we need to discuss actual numbers so that we can have a good idea how to divide up our forces. How many foot soldiers and archers do you have? asked Commander Vahe.

  "Now that the armies of my people are united, we have two hundred and fifty thousand foot soldiers with one hundred thousand archers. There are an additional one hundred and fifty thousand foot soldiers and fifty thousand archers that will remain in place to guard our home," explained General Togok. She had a ponderous look upon her face as she threw out their numbers.

  We have fifteen thousand warriors all together. Ten thousand of those are siege warriors, and the remain ingfive thousand use their brute strength as their weapon of choice. So, the five thousand could be scattered throughout your two hundred and fifty thousand foot soldiers, explained Commander Vahe.

  We will divide up the siege warriors into ten groups of one thousand each. We should surround each group with one thousand archers. That will leave you with ninety thousand archers to divide UP amongst the foot soldiers, continued Commander Jabari. It was as if the rock trolls shared a collective conscience. They appeared to be on the same page at all times.

  "I will divide up my foot soldiers into ten battalions so that there are twenty-five thousand in each. There will be seven thousand five hundred archers per battalion, which will leave us with fifteen thousand back up archers. Agreed?" asked General Yuki.

  We agree. We should make sure that we completely surround King Jarvis before we begin our assault. I would recommend that we send five battalions on the surface and the other five under the mountain. Five siege battalions will accompany the above ground assault while the remaining five siege battalions join the underground attack, Lord Trahern suggested mechanically.

  "Excellent strategy, Lord Trahern," replied General Yuki. "How long will these formations and divisions take to be implemented?"

  She was very pleased with the numbers they were sporting and with the strategy they had came up with thus far.

  Three days; no more, said Commander Jabari in reply.

  "It is settled then; we will begin preparations straight away. We will need to meet with our commanders and captains to make sure they understand the strategy. I do have one final question. How will we communicate between the battalions?" asked the general.

  Each battalion will have a rock troll designated to be the communications specialist. They will communicate with one another through the earth using one of our special abilities. This way there will be no chance for our enemies to intercept our intelligence or orders. The initial attack can be synchronized perfectly using this method, answered Commander Jabari.

  "All that is left now is to put our plans into action. Three days from now we will make our march on Mount Carrick and have it surrounded by dawn both above and below ground. We will attack them from below at that point and then assault them from above at dusk. We take no prisoners and will not stop until they are all dead!" said General Yuki with wicked delight.

  She began to cackle menacingly as she stood in the lush clearing. The rock trolls looked at one another at this unnecessary display of elation. They collectively thought that their little goblin leader was a bit touched in the head but did not say anything out loud or even in their minds about it.

  On the third day after the secret meeting, the combined armies prepared to move out. They had been integrated thoroughly and prepared for a relentless siege of King Jarvis and his people. They had established a series of secure supply routes from each of the five goblin dwellings. The rock trolls did not need any sustenance because they received their nourishment and power from the earth. The runs they established would provide sufficient means if the battle should take months or even years. There was excitement in the air that was tangible as the army waited for things to get started. They had waited centuries for revenge against the dwarves, and they were just days from initiating a war that would secure them pay back and dominion over their stunted foes.

  The army had split in two and gone to their designated gathering places. The goblin's armor was thick in all the right places, which allowed them to still move swiftly. The captains and commanders had much more cumbersome full body armor, but they were definitely better protected. The rock trolls were covered in immensely dense armor that covered nearly every inch of their bodies. The only way a dwarf would be able to take them down was with a lucky shot with a poisoned arrow or dagger. Yuki's troops would be much easier to kill, but their massive numbers would make up for their lack of adequate protection. They would swarm their enemies and overpower them by sheer force.

  As the sun began to set in the west, the goblins became less apprehensive and more excited about the task that lay ahead. They did not venture out into the light unless it was absolutely necessary while they prepared for their assault. They decided to wear special helmets that would shield their eyes from the brilliant glare of the sun for those who traveled topside. They also covered themselves with protective balms and clothing so that they would not be burned alive in the unrelenting radiance of the daylight. As a result of this sensitivity, the army traveling above ground would take twice as long to reach Mount Carrick. The underground troops would arrive first and would begin their campaign immediately. They would do their best to encourage the whole army of the dwarves to defend against the surprise attack underneath the mountain.

  Darkness consumed the mountainside of the southwestern slope of the Sheldon Mountain range. General Yuki had decided to accompany the above ground troops because they would need her support and encouragement the most. Her tactical abilities were far superior to any other commander in the goblin armies and much sounder than the rock trolls tactics of brute force. The night sky began to fill with stars, and the moon shone brightly in the clear sky. The mounting anticipation was so intense that it was palpable in the air. The general smiled at the fierce looks on her troops' faces. As she surveyed the sea of green and gray, her heart leapt for joy at the massive pillars spread evenly throughout the gigantic formation. She found a small boulder and climbed on top of it. As she stood above the crowd, silence fell and every ear was turned toward her to hear what she had to say.

  "Fellow outcasts, we are ready!" she declared boldly. "We will march over the next three days, and then we will surround our unsuspecting neighbors." Cheers and shouts of goblin vulgarity filled the air as she finished her second sentence. The soldiers were ready for payback, and they were eager to move out toward their destiny.

  "Crush dwarves!" bellowed one of the rock trolls. The ground shook slightly as he yelled into the cool night's air.

  "Indeed you will. We will
go by night so that we give our brethren below us ample time to arrive and begin the assault. By the time we reach the towering fortress of King Jarvis, their guard should have been lessened. We will take the topside quickly and kill everyone and anything that breaths on the surface!" she screeched. More shouts of profanity rose from the goblin ranks. The rock trolls merely smiled at the prospect. Anyone who had ever seen a rock troll smile had never been able to tell another soul about how chilling the sight truly was.

  "Crush ... Smash ... Bash... " began the chant of the rock trolls. They began to cadence their chant, and the rest of the army responded by beginning to march in place. They were all waiting for the order to move out.

  General Yuki raised her arms into the air and screamed, "Move out!" With that chilling declaration, the army began to march in beat with the rhythm of the rock trolls' chants. The army below the mountain had instigated their march at the same time, and the effect this had of the areas surrounding the Sheldon Mountains was significant. The ground shook violently like a natural quaking of the earth. The only difference was that this continued for days, not minutes. Kana's war machine rumbled toward the dwarves while she prepared the ores and high elves for their siege of the Black Forest.

  As a messenger hurtled toward his king, he could tell that his majesty already knew what the problem was. The unusually tall dwarf came to a halt right in front of King Jarvis and bowed down to the ground. Jarvis looked at the prostrate soldier and impatiently kicked him to rise and give his report on the prolonged quakes. As the messenger stood erect, sweat and dirt obscured the part of his face not covered by his beard. He had the look of someone who had run all the way from the deepest reaches of the mountain kingdom without stopping. The dwarven leader tried to keep this in mind as he waited for the panting figure to speak.

  "My lord, the quakes ... are ... not ... naturally ... created," stammered the spent dwarf. He was shaking uncontrollably from the effort of running the extreme distance coupled with the fact that his trek had been entirely uphill.

  "Obviously these quakes are not natural; continue," he urged the messenger a little impatiently. He motioned for water to be brought to help calm the overexerted dwarf. The poor soldier took the water gratefully with his shaking hands and downed it instantly.

  "Thank you. My lord, our spies have determined that the noises that started a day ago are being made by an army," he explained. Chills ran down the spine of the stout leader as he stood there silently. "We have been able to catch a glimpse of a massive army of goblins and rock trolls heading directly for us. We estimate that they will arrive in two days' time."

  "What is the reason for the rumblings being less intense during the daylight hours?" asked the king in a forced calm.

  "We have determined that the goblins and rock trolls above the ground are traveling by night only."

  "What do you mean by the goblins and rock trolls above the ground?" The king felt his heart sink down to his nether regions.

  "We sent several spies through the tunnels leading from Mount Carrick into the Sheldon Mountains. They ran into an innumerable army of goblins and rock trolls making their way through the escape tunnels we had created. They appeared to be making no effort to hide their approach. Only one of the spies returned to report their findings. The rest were pulverized by rocks."

  "Summon General Havrak at once. Also, fetch Lord Kromnog to join the general and me in my quarters. After you have completed these tasks, you may rest for a while. I will have further need of you in a few hours. That is all." King Jarvis smiled to show his appreciation for the information and the diligence his soldier had shown.

  "Yes, my king," snapped the dwarf as he came to attention and did an about-face. He bolted as soon as he had turned away. He knew that haste was of the utmost importance in this situation. His body screamed at him to stop, but he would not slow until the tasks were completed.

  As the messenger ran off to find their general and the warrior druid, the king turned to look to the west from his secluded balcony that was on the highest point in the mountain city. He had placed his hands behind his back as he stared out across the green slopes of the Sheldon Mountains. Smoke filled the air where the king knew that this above-ground army was camped. What have we done to provoke this attack? Their banishment came from the gods, not us. We have tried to make peace with them over the years and have had an unspoken agreement not to interfere with one another's affairs. What changed this?

  As the king stood on the balcony, his thoughts continued to whirl with unanswerable questions. He shook his head sternly to stop this barrage; he needed to focus on what his people would need to do to be prepared for the impending assaults from above and below ground. As he cleared his mind of all thoughts, General Gideon hailed him. His general was panting slightly from running from the lower levels to this impromptu meeting. As he stood there attempting to catch his breath, Lord Nariko walked calmly toward Jarvis as if he had been expecting the summons. He did not appear out of breath, but that was not unusual considering his magical abilities. The warrior druid smiled knowingly at the king and gave a slight nod. The druids did not believe that they were subject to any ruler, so he did not prostrate himself before Jarvis. They believed that the guardians were responsible for nature and his kin were the protectors of the peoples of Tuwa.

  "King Jarvis, I see that you have finally figured out what the unnatural rumblings are," Lord Nariko said knowingly. The general laughed heartedly at the coolness the druid displayed as he spoke to the king.

  "You must forgive my druid friend; they have no sense of propriety," said the general ruefully. "He probably could have told you what the sounds were the instant they began." He gave the secretive magician a sideways glance and a quick smile as he said this.

  "So, it was you that spied out the army above ground," replied King Jarvis with a widening smile. He enjoyed the playful banter with his best warrior and the most feared druid in all of Tuwa. They were old friends, which made the circumstances feel less insurmountable. Between the three of them, they would be able to devise a plan that would protect his people against this invasion. They would outlast their enemies and would restore the proper order of things in the end.

  "Of course I did," replied the druid. "There is something you do not know yet, however. The army below the ground is moving day and night. They will be here tomorrow at midday unless we delay them. Their plan is a simple one: attack from below to distract us from the army above. They do not care that we know they are coming; they believe that the assault below would draw the majority of our army's attention and leave our topside defenses weakened."

  "So you believe that they will surround us above the ground while they attack us from below?" queried General Gideon.

  "Yes, that is my contention. I also believe the army above and below the ground are equal in strength. As a result, we will not be able to leave our defensive posture for quite some time. If we hold our defensive positions, we will win this war by attrition," explained Nariko.

  "Your suggestion is to hunker down for the long haul and outlast these vermin? How will that be accomplished?" asked the king. He agreed with the druid's assessment of the situation and thought his ideas were spot on. However, the implementation of such a plan would require extraordinary communication between the ranks.

  "We will have our oldest and most reliable friend, Mason Bardomli, set numerous underground traps for our unwanted guests below. This should slow the approach just enough so that we could set traps above ground as well. By doing this, we should be able to delay the assault for a couple of days, which would allow us to be better prepared. My only concern is with the channels of communication. How will we coordinate our efforts so that we shore up the appropriate weak points?" asked General Gideon. He was a brilliant strategist and knew that if they could not communicate well that a weak spot would be found by their enemies.

  "I share your concern. I believe that we can use sparrow hawks for the most urgent communications, a
nd the rest of the correspondences will have to be run by messengers. We need to organize a team of runners who do not tire easily and can run fast," the king explained. "The hawks can also be used to eliminate enemy spies."

  "So, your sparrow hawk will carry the most vital messages while runners handle the less-urgent reports? I think that is the best we can hope for," replied General Gideon.

  "I will send an envoy to brown bears and their army. They will assist us in defending our home," said Lord Nariko.

  "Hopefully your furry friends arrive in time to help us. How will you relay your request? We will need you here, so you cannot go in person," the king said.

  "You are correct. I have a reliable friend that will convey the message for me. He will be able to deliver the message faster and with greater persuasive powers than I could. He will not fail us," said the warrior druid confidently.

  "A guardian would never fail us," replied the king confidently. His druid friend smiled slyly at his friend's ability to read his mind.

  "I always forget that it does not do any good to try and hide something from you, King Jarvis. You always know," the druid said with sagacious smile. The king was able to break through any mental barrier without much effort. The trick was to simply mirror the mind of the attacker and use the mental chink in the defense to enter their mind.

  "Then it is agreed; we must move quickly now if we are to avoid losing any of our land or people. We must be ready for those foul beasts to crash upon us like a wave against a reef. I will go at once to meet with our friend Mason to begin the laying of traps, and then I will instruct the commanders and captains about what we are planning to do. I will not hold any information back from them so that they are totally prepared," General Gideon said determinedly.