Chapter 36
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"What are you looking all moody for, Dapper?" Commander Vardoom yelled in my ear. "Your unit's about to lose to Thors again!"
I rubbed my ears at the same time as I pulled away from Varda's uncle.
"It's too early in the night for this," I said tiredly.
"What was that?" Vardoom boomed.
"I said it's too early in the night for my unit to lose sir," I answered with gusto.
"Humph," Vardoom exhaled. "We'll see about that... now get your head in the game."
I sighed while knowing deep down that I deserved the reprimand. After all, my head really wasn't in the game. Despite my desire to stay in the moment, my brain went around in circles replaying last night's fight with Arah and Ty.
They wanted to join me in the Fayne but my answer to their offer to help was a resounding no.
Maybe if a hundred thousand enemy soldiers weren't preparing to go to war with us, maybe then. But not now when I knew it wouldn't be safe for Ty and Arah to be with me. I already had a full plate worrying about Luca. I couldn't add my friends to that.
They thought I was being too selfless or maybe even selfish. Honestly, they were kind of right about the latter.
It wasn't just about protecting them. I also didn't want to lose the people who grounded me here on Mudgard. I had no one else. Mom was sick and Aunt Lena gave me way too much space. Ty and Arah were my only real connections there. What would happen to me if I didn't even have them to return to? Would I just stick to the Fayne and never go home? Because, and I will never admit this out loud, I was enjoying my time in the Fayne more than my hours on Mudgard.
In the eight and a half years since we'd been friends, not once did Arah walk out on me. But last night, she turned away in frustration right after she said, "I won't wait here like a good girl and hear about how you died bravely on a battlefield I'll never see..."
Ty followed her after he told me, "We don't need you to protect us, Dean. We need you to trust us..."
And the loud tapping of their footsteps on the linoleum floor as they walked away was still fresh on my mind the next night.
Yup, I was out of focus, and the Foolhardies were paying the price for it on the field.
We were on a wide stretch of grasslands a mile away from Fort Darah. In front of the bench Vardoom and I sat on was a hundred-yard rectangular training field with every ten yards marked by a line of glowing mushroom paste.
Yes, it looked like an American Football field.
On the right side of the field were my Foolhardies separated into their respective teams led by Luca, Edo, Varda, Qwipps, Thom, and Ashley.
On the left side of the field were a hundred knights of Fort Darah who were directly under the leadership of Commander Thors. Many of them were viseres, and they all wore matching midnight blue cloaks. It was probably why they were called the Storm Cloaks.
Behind these knights was a makeshift wooden fort with the fist banner of Fort Darah at its peak.
Opposite my spot on the field was another bench. Sitting on that bench was Five-Thousand Man Commander Roger Thors and his visere strategist, a twenty-something guy with straight shoulder-length black hair and horn-rimmed glasses named Matt Stevenson.
Behind them stood a small army of nine hundred straight-backed men and fairies—and they all wore the same matching blue cloaks.
A fifth of his army watched our battlefield which was most certainly a form of psychological warfare they were using on us. But to me, it was just plain dirty. The big guy ganging up on the little guy.
"Well, you've been repelled twice since this skirmish started... what are you going to do?" Vardoom asked.
In what I assumed was punishment for both of us missing the previous night's training, Great General Darah had assigned Vardoom to act as my mentor in this strategy game. And although he was trying his best to guide me, I just wasn't feeling his teaching style of smacking the back of my head whenever my orders caused us to fall back.
"Should we attempt the blitz again, Commander?" Aura asked.
She was standing behind me and Vardoom and acting as my adjutant.
"No..." I shook my head. "Last time we tried that, we lost a dozen guys... Let's go with... hold on."
I leaned forward and gazed out at the enemy's formation.
About fifty of them had formed three rows of defensive lines facing my unit. Another twenty lined up alongside their fort. Two groups of ten-man archers stood on opposite sides of the fort with the last ten cramped on the small wooden balconies and pathways of the wooden fort itself.
Commander Thors seemed to be playing things by the book.
Smack!
Vardoom had just slapped the back of my head.
"No using your fairy gift, Dapper," he guffawed like he was enjoying hitting me.
"I wasn't..." I complained while I rubbed my head.
"Could have sworn I saw your eyes glitter," he countered.
"My eyes don't glitter... it doesn't work that way," I reasoned.
Vardoom shrugged. "Humph... my mistake. Carry on."
The smirk on his face made me wish I was facing his unit tonight rather than Thors. After all, I'd beaten him a few times on these skirmishes already this past month. We each had five wins apiece.
I sighed and forced my focus back on my team. Then I heard the tapping of feet walking away and sighed again. Clearly, I was still bothered by my friends being mad at me.
Aura's hand clasped my shoulder and squeezed gently. This made me look up at her, and from the sympathetic expression on her face, I could tell that she could feel a bit of what was depressing me.
It wasn't the first time she'd read my mood, and I wondered just how deep this contractor relationship went.
I exhaled a deep breath before I called the play, "Let's go with the Hail Mary... Have Thom ready to catch."
Aura nodded uncertainly. "Alright, Commander..."
Her apprehension was justified. We'd never really tested this particular move before. Ergo, the 'Hail Mary' call sign. And yes, I forced the Foolhardies to learn some football terms.
Aura raised her staff and made the orb on its tip glow five times. She relayed this secret sign to our bookkeeper on the field, Zarz, who then relayed my orders to the six team leaders.
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I couldn't see his face but I could feel Luca rolling his eyes at my plan the moment Zarz explained.
Once he was done with his explanation, Zarz stepped out of the field and resumed his role as a spotter for the unit.
Immediately after my orders were given, the unit's composition changed quickly with Luca's and Edo's units comprising veteran soldiers and hardened newbies moving to the front while Ashley's and Qwipps' teams stood to one side each, ready to charge at a moment's notice.
Thom's twenty-man drow unit moved to the back to stand next to Varda's newly minted magician group which comprised her, Donar Firemonger, our elven healer Berrian Berrygrove, and three new dwarven magicians who joined us alongside the twelve supplementary soldiers Vardoom sent to fill up the roster of my hundred-man unit.
Even after my recruitment, I only filled eighty-eight slots, so I was grateful to Vardoom as well as the dwarves who volunteered to work under me. Even though I knew they were mostly there to watch over Varda.
"Haven't seen this formation before..." Vardoom raised a bushy eyebrow at me. "You going to tell me the plan?"
"Nope," I said. "Get ready to be impressed, Commander Vardoom."
"Humph," he guffawed. "Show me what you got, Dapper."
It was up to Luca to start the game now, and he did not disappoint.
Luca roared in that wild way he did every time he activated his Foolish Strength, and without waiting for anyone, he charged alone. No one followed him.
Everyone on the other team just watched, their mouths gaped open at my younger brother's foolhardiness.
There were four lines of ten yards between our unit and the defensive formation of the Storm Cloaks and Luca had just crossed the first. Then the second. And finally, right before he crossed the third line, Edo charged, and both Luca's and his own unit charged with him.
Qwipps' fifteen-pixie unit took to the sky and flew forward, and I loved this three-dimensional aspect of this life size chess match between me and Commander Thors.
Ashley's unit—all of them carrying large round bronze shields with a diameter of neck to thigh—rushed forward too, but they lagged behind Edo's group and repositioned toward the center.
On the back of the field, Varda and Donar had combined their fire and earth magic to launch burning fists of stone at the enemy fort. Unfortunately, these projectiles would fall short and land close to the center of the field instead.
These failures caused and a billowing cloud of smoke to disrupt the field of view.
Despite that setback, our rush continued with Luca just past the thirty yard line and everyone else following behind him.
When he smashed into the knights at the front and carved a hole into their formation with the flat of his blade, Commander Vardoom yelled in my ear once more.
"This is almost like the same damn thing you tried earlier... it's just a blitz with your brother jumping in head first!" Vardoom complained. Then he coughed. "And now you got my niece doing something stupid and clogging up the field in all this—"
Vardoom glanced back at the field. his eyes widened. Then he turned them toward me.
I had a finger placed over my lips.
"Well, aren't you a sneaky bastard," he guffawed. "I'm beginning to like you more and more, Dapper..." he slapped me on the shoulder. "No wonder Edo hasn't slaughtered you yet for always googly eyeing our princess. You're entertaining."
I blushed furiously at his comment, and I could hear Aura giggle behind me.
Luca's mad dash surprised the knights so much that he was able to create a space between their formations that quickly filled up with Foolhardies led by Edo. The half-ogre was probably the main reason the veteran knights weren't able to reform right away.
In the air above, Qwipps' team engaged the Storm Cloak's own flyers to keep supremacy over the skies. It was an uphill battle for them as there were more enemies than friendlies in the air.
Varda's and Donar's miscalculation had turned into a mighty column of smoke that soared even higher than the pixie air battle.
On the land front, Both Edo's and Luca's units had created a wedge between the three knight formations, but their soldiers were slowly falling prey to the arrows of the enemy archers. Because no killing was allowed, the arrows had blunt tips coated with a heavy dose of paralysis potion.
"Come on, guys... put your backs into it!" Luca yelled.
"One big push!" Edo yelled.
Together their two units widened the gap between the lines and created a big enough opening for another unit who'd been waiting behind for this opportunity to pass through.
Ashley's unit jumped forward, and with raised shields, engaged the second line of defense waiting in front of the makeshift wooden fort.
Their shields collided, but neither unit was pushed back as the enemy veterans were prepared for the attack. Both groups digged in and held their ground.
"Now," Ashley yelled. "Push!"
The frontline soldiers pushed their shields forward together, and in a coordinated move, raised their shields up to slam them forcefully onto the enemy's own shields. Their attack caused the Storm Cloaks to get pushed back momentarily before they regained their footing and pushed Ashley's unit back once more.
"I think you've caused enough of a distraction, Dapper," Vardoom said. "Your Foolhardies did well enough... You can't expect them to outmatch Thors' vets."
"It's a good plan..." Aura agreed. "As long as Commander Thors doesn't notice."
I looked over to the other side.
Thors sat there calmly while idly chatting with his knights standing around him. He was grinning, and I knew instinctively that he'd noticed my feint.
However, the sudden panic in my chest quickly subsided after I realized he wouldn't do anything about it because, technically, I wasn't competing with the commander. I was matching wits with his strategist.
I nodded. "Yeah... everyone's tied up... and no one even noticed that death comes from above..."
And death came from above—far, far above. They hid in a cloud of smoke that was just a cover for them to maneuver into position while they waited for everyone below to get tied up in their own little skirmishes.
When everything was finally in place, they dived into the fort with their black cloaks spread across them like bats gliding down onto the earth.
When Thom and his drow gliders landed lightly on the fort's balconies and pathways, the ten knights guarding it fought valiantly but were overwhelmed by a group twice their numbers.
Thom pulled out the flag and raised it high, then he let it fall to the ground while a mocking grin was plastered on his face.
I couldn't hear him, but I could see his lips the moment he said, "Oops..."
My brow creased at the sight because I would get yelled at again for his attitude. He was my responsibility after all.
Nevertheless, we'd won, and this victory made me feel much better. It even nearly made me forget about the argument with my friends. Then I thought about how they would have both enjoyed this victory with me—and I sighed again.
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"What are you looking all moody for, Dapper?" Commander Vardoom yelled in my ear. "Your unit's about to lose to Thors again!"
I rubbed my ears at the same time as I pulled away from Varda's uncle.
"It's too early in the night for this," I said tiredly.
"What was that?" Vardoom boomed.
"I said it's too early in the night for my unit to lose sir," I answered with gusto.
"Humph," Vardoom exhaled. "We'll see about that... now get your head in the game."
I sighed while knowing deep down that I deserved the reprimand. After all, my head really wasn't in the game. Despite my desire to stay in the moment, my brain went around in circles replaying last night's fight with Arah and Ty.
They wanted to join me in the Fayne but my answer to their offer to help was a resounding no.
Maybe if a hundred thousand enemy soldiers weren't preparing to go to war with us, maybe then. But not now when I knew it wouldn't be safe for Ty and Arah to be with me. I already had a full plate worrying about Luca. I couldn't add my friends to that.
They thought I was being too selfless or maybe even selfish. Honestly, they were kind of right about the latter.
It wasn't just about protecting them. I also didn't want to lose the people who grounded me here on Mudgard. I had no one else. Mom was sick and Aunt Lena gave me way too much space. Ty and Arah were my only real connections there. What would happen to me if I didn't even have them to return to? Would I just stick to the Fayne and never go home? Because, and I will never admit this out loud, I was enjoying my time in the Fayne more than my hours on Mudgard.
In the eight and a half years since we'd been friends, not once did Arah walk out on me. But last night, she turned away in frustration right after she said, "I won't wait here like a good girl and hear about how you died bravely on a battlefield I'll never see..."
Ty followed her after he told me, "We don't need you to protect us, Dean. We need you to trust us..."
And the loud tapping of their footsteps on the linoleum floor as they walked away was still fresh on my mind the next night.
Yup, I was out of focus, and the Foolhardies were paying the price for it on the field.
We were on a wide stretch of grasslands a mile away from Fort Darah. In front of the bench Vardoom and I sat on was a hundred-yard rectangular training field with every ten yards marked by a line of glowing mushroom paste.
Yes, it looked like an American Football field.
On the right side of the field were my Foolhardies separated into their respective teams led by Luca, Edo, Varda, Qwipps, Thom, and Ashley.
On the left side of the field were a hundred knights of Fort Darah who were directly under the leadership of Commander Thors. Many of them were viseres, and they all wore matching midnight blue cloaks. It was probably why they were called the Storm Cloaks.
Behind these knights was a makeshift wooden fort with the fist banner of Fort Darah at its peak.
Opposite my spot on the field was another bench. Sitting on that bench was Five-Thousand Man Commander Roger Thors and his visere strategist, a twenty-something guy with straight shoulder-length black hair and horn-rimmed glasses named Matt Stevenson.
Behind them stood a small army of nine hundred straight-backed men and fairies—and they all wore the same matching blue cloaks.
A fifth of his army watched our battlefield which was most certainly a form of psychological warfare they were using on us. But to me, it was just plain dirty. The big guy ganging up on the little guy.
"Well, you've been repelled twice since this skirmish started... what are you going to do?" Vardoom asked.
In what I assumed was punishment for both of us missing the previous night's training, Great General Darah had assigned Vardoom to act as my mentor in this strategy game. And although he was trying his best to guide me, I just wasn't feeling his teaching style of smacking the back of my head whenever my orders caused us to fall back.
"Should we attempt the blitz again, Commander?" Aura asked.
She was standing behind me and Vardoom and acting as my adjutant.
"No..." I shook my head. "Last time we tried that, we lost a dozen guys... Let's go with... hold on."
I leaned forward and gazed out at the enemy's formation.
About fifty of them had formed three rows of defensive lines facing my unit. Another twenty lined up alongside their fort. Two groups of ten-man archers stood on opposite sides of the fort with the last ten cramped on the small wooden balconies and pathways of the wooden fort itself.
Commander Thors seemed to be playing things by the book.
Smack!
Vardoom had just slapped the back of my head.
"No using your fairy gift, Dapper," he guffawed like he was enjoying hitting me.
"I wasn't..." I complained while I rubbed my head.
"Could have sworn I saw your eyes glitter," he countered.
"My eyes don't glitter... it doesn't work that way," I reasoned.
Vardoom shrugged. "Humph... my mistake. Carry on."
The smirk on his face made me wish I was facing his unit tonight rather than Thors. After all, I'd beaten him a few times on these skirmishes already this past month. We each had five wins apiece.
I sighed and forced my focus back on my team. Then I heard the tapping of feet walking away and sighed again. Clearly, I was still bothered by my friends being mad at me.
Aura's hand clasped my shoulder and squeezed gently. This made me look up at her, and from the sympathetic expression on her face, I could tell that she could feel a bit of what was depressing me.
It wasn't the first time she'd read my mood, and I wondered just how deep this contractor relationship went.
I exhaled a deep breath before I called the play, "Let's go with the Hail Mary... Have Thom ready to catch."
Aura nodded uncertainly. "Alright, Commander..."
Her apprehension was justified. We'd never really tested this particular move before. Ergo, the 'Hail Mary' call sign. And yes, I forced the Foolhardies to learn some football terms.
Aura raised her staff and made the orb on its tip glow five times. She relayed this secret sign to our bookkeeper on the field, Zarz, who then relayed my orders to the six team leaders.
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I couldn't see his face but I could feel Luca rolling his eyes at my plan the moment Zarz explained.
Once he was done with his explanation, Zarz stepped out of the field and resumed his role as a spotter for the unit.
Immediately after my orders were given, the unit's composition changed quickly with Luca's and Edo's units comprising veteran soldiers and hardened newbies moving to the front while Ashley's and Qwipps' teams stood to one side each, ready to charge at a moment's notice.
Thom's twenty-man drow unit moved to the back to stand next to Varda's newly minted magician group which comprised her, Donar Firemonger, our elven healer Berrian Berrygrove, and three new dwarven magicians who joined us alongside the twelve supplementary soldiers Vardoom sent to fill up the roster of my hundred-man unit.
Even after my recruitment, I only filled eighty-eight slots, so I was grateful to Vardoom as well as the dwarves who volunteered to work under me. Even though I knew they were mostly there to watch over Varda.
"Haven't seen this formation before..." Vardoom raised a bushy eyebrow at me. "You going to tell me the plan?"
"Nope," I said. "Get ready to be impressed, Commander Vardoom."
"Humph," he guffawed. "Show me what you got, Dapper."
It was up to Luca to start the game now, and he did not disappoint.
Luca roared in that wild way he did every time he activated his Foolish Strength, and without waiting for anyone, he charged alone. No one followed him.
Everyone on the other team just watched, their mouths gaped open at my younger brother's foolhardiness.
There were four lines of ten yards between our unit and the defensive formation of the Storm Cloaks and Luca had just crossed the first. Then the second. And finally, right before he crossed the third line, Edo charged, and both Luca's and his own unit charged with him.
Qwipps' fifteen-pixie unit took to the sky and flew forward, and I loved this three-dimensional aspect of this life size chess match between me and Commander Thors.
Ashley's unit—all of them carrying large round bronze shields with a diameter of neck to thigh—rushed forward too, but they lagged behind Edo's group and repositioned toward the center.
On the back of the field, Varda and Donar had combined their fire and earth magic to launch burning fists of stone at the enemy fort. Unfortunately, these projectiles would fall short and land close to the center of the field instead.
These failures caused and a billowing cloud of smoke to disrupt the field of view.
Despite that setback, our rush continued with Luca just past the thirty yard line and everyone else following behind him.
When he smashed into the knights at the front and carved a hole into their formation with the flat of his blade, Commander Vardoom yelled in my ear once more.
"This is almost like the same damn thing you tried earlier... it's just a blitz with your brother jumping in head first!" Vardoom complained. Then he coughed. "And now you got my niece doing something stupid and clogging up the field in all this—"
Vardoom glanced back at the field. his eyes widened. Then he turned them toward me.
I had a finger placed over my lips.
"Well, aren't you a sneaky bastard," he guffawed. "I'm beginning to like you more and more, Dapper..." he slapped me on the shoulder. "No wonder Edo hasn't slaughtered you yet for always googly eyeing our princess. You're entertaining."
I blushed furiously at his comment, and I could hear Aura giggle behind me.
Luca's mad dash surprised the knights so much that he was able to create a space between their formations that quickly filled up with Foolhardies led by Edo. The half-ogre was probably the main reason the veteran knights weren't able to reform right away.
In the air above, Qwipps' team engaged the Storm Cloak's own flyers to keep supremacy over the skies. It was an uphill battle for them as there were more enemies than friendlies in the air.
Varda's and Donar's miscalculation had turned into a mighty column of smoke that soared even higher than the pixie air battle.
On the land front, Both Edo's and Luca's units had created a wedge between the three knight formations, but their soldiers were slowly falling prey to the arrows of the enemy archers. Because no killing was allowed, the arrows had blunt tips coated with a heavy dose of paralysis potion.
"Come on, guys... put your backs into it!" Luca yelled.
"One big push!" Edo yelled.
Together their two units widened the gap between the lines and created a big enough opening for another unit who'd been waiting behind for this opportunity to pass through.
Ashley's unit jumped forward, and with raised shields, engaged the second line of defense waiting in front of the makeshift wooden fort.
Their shields collided, but neither unit was pushed back as the enemy veterans were prepared for the attack. Both groups digged in and held their ground.
"Now," Ashley yelled. "Push!"
The frontline soldiers pushed their shields forward together, and in a coordinated move, raised their shields up to slam them forcefully onto the enemy's own shields. Their attack caused the Storm Cloaks to get pushed back momentarily before they regained their footing and pushed Ashley's unit back once more.
"I think you've caused enough of a distraction, Dapper," Vardoom said. "Your Foolhardies did well enough... You can't expect them to outmatch Thors' vets."
"It's a good plan..." Aura agreed. "As long as Commander Thors doesn't notice."
I looked over to the other side.
Thors sat there calmly while idly chatting with his knights standing around him. He was grinning, and I knew instinctively that he'd noticed my feint.
However, the sudden panic in my chest quickly subsided after I realized he wouldn't do anything about it because, technically, I wasn't competing with the commander. I was matching wits with his strategist.
I nodded. "Yeah... everyone's tied up... and no one even noticed that death comes from above..."
And death came from above—far, far above. They hid in a cloud of smoke that was just a cover for them to maneuver into position while they waited for everyone below to get tied up in their own little skirmishes.
When everything was finally in place, they dived into the fort with their black cloaks spread across them like bats gliding down onto the earth.
When Thom and his drow gliders landed lightly on the fort's balconies and pathways, the ten knights guarding it fought valiantly but were overwhelmed by a group twice their numbers.
Thom pulled out the flag and raised it high, then he let it fall to the ground while a mocking grin was plastered on his face.
I couldn't hear him, but I could see his lips the moment he said, "Oops..."
My brow creased at the sight because I would get yelled at again for his attitude. He was my responsibility after all.
Nevertheless, we'd won, and this victory made me feel much better. It even nearly made me forget about the argument with my friends. Then I thought about how they would have both enjoyed this victory with me—and I sighed again.
"What are you looking all moody for, Dapper?" Commander Vardoom yelled in my ear. "Your unit's about to lose to Thors again!"I rubbed my ears at the same time as I pulled away from Varda's uncle."It's too early in the night for this," I said tiredly."What was that?" Vardoom boomed."I said it's too early in the night for my unit to lose sir," I answered with gusto."Humph," Vardoom exhaled. "We'll see about that... now get your head in the game."I sighed while knowing deep down that I deserved the reprimand. After all, my head really wasn't in the game. Despite my desire to stay in the moment, my brain went around in circles replaying last night's fight with Arah and Ty.They wanted to join me in the Fayne but my answer to their offer to help was a resounding no.Maybe if a hundred thousand enemy soldiers weren't preparing to go to war with us, maybe then. But not now when I knew it wouldn't be safe for Ty and Arah to be with me. I already had a full plate worrying about Luca. I couldn't add my friends to that.They thought I was being too selfless or maybe even selfish. Honestly, they were kind of right about the latter.It wasn't just about protecting them. I also didn't want to lose the people who grounded me here on Mudgard. I had no one else. Mom was sick and Aunt Lena gave me way too much space. Ty and Arah were my only real connections there. What would happen to me if I didn't even have them to return to? Would I just stick to the Fayne and never go home? Because, and I will never admit this out loud, I was enjoying my time in the Fayne more than my hours on Mudgard.In the eight and a half years since we'd been friends, not once did Arah walk out on me. But last night, she turned away in frustration right after she said, "I won't wait here like a good girl and hear about how you died bravely on a battlefield I'll never see..."Ty followed her after he told me, "We don't need you to protect us, Dean. We need you to trust us..."And the loud tapping of their footsteps on the linoleum floor as they walked away was still fresh on my mind the next night.Yup, I was out of focus, and the Foolhardies were paying the price for it on the field.We were on a wide stretch of grasslands a mile away from Fort Darah. In front of the bench Vardoom and I sat on was a hundred-yard rectangular training field with every ten yards marked by a line of glowing mushroom paste.Yes, it looked like an American Football field.On the right side of the field were my Foolhardies separated into their respective teams led by Luca, Edo, Varda, Qwipps, Thom, and Ashley.On the left side of the field were a hundred knights of Fort Darah who were directly under the leadership of Commander Thors. Many of them were viseres, and they all wore matching midnight blue cloaks. It was probably why they were called the Storm Cloaks.Behind these knights was a makeshift wooden fort with the fist banner of Fort Darah at its peak.Opposite my spot on the field was another bench. Sitting on that bench was Five-Thousand Man Commander Roger Thors and his visere strategist, a twenty-something guy with straight shoulder-length black hair and horn-rimmed glasses named Matt Stevenson.Behind them stood a small army of nine hundred straight-backed men and fairiesand they all wore the same matching blue cloaks.A fifth of his army watched our battlefield which was most certainly a form of psychological warfare they were using on us. But to me, it was just plain dirty. The big guy ganging up on the little guy."Well, you've been repelled twice since this skirmish started... what are you going to do?" Vardoom asked.In what I assumed was punishment for both of us missing the previous night's training, Great General Darah had assigned Vardoom to act as my mentor in this strategy game. And although he was trying his best to guide me, I just wasn't feeling his teaching style of smacking the back of my head whenever my orders caused us to fall back."Should we attempt the blitz again, Commander?" Aura asked.She was standing behind me and Vardoom and acting as my adjutant."No..." I shook my head. "Last time we tried that, we lost a dozen guys... Let's go with... hold on."I leaned forward and gazed out at the enemy's formation.About fifty of them had formed three rows of defensive lines facing my unit. Another twenty lined up alongside their fort. Two groups of ten-man archers stood on opposite sides of the fort with the last ten cramped on the small wooden balconies and pathways of the wooden fort itself.Commander Thors seemed to be playing things by the book.Smack!Vardoom had just slapped the back of my head."No using your fairy gift, Dapper," he guffawed like he was enjoying hitting me."I wasn't..." I complained while I rubbed my head."Could have sworn I saw your eyes glitter," he countered."My eyes don't glitter... it doesn't work that way," I reasoned.Vardoom shrugged. "Humph... my mistake. Carry on."The smirk on his face made me wish I was facing his unit tonight rather than Thors. After all, I'd beaten him a few times on these skirmishes already this past month. We each had five wins apiece.I sighed and forced my focus back on my team. Then I heard the tapping of feet walking away and sighed again. Clearly, I was still bothered by my friends being mad at me.Aura's hand clasped my shoulder and squeezed gently. This made me look up at her, and from the sympathetic expression on her face, I could tell that she could feel a bit of what was depressing me.It wasn't the first time she'd read my mood, and I wondered just how deep this contractor relationship went.I exhaled a deep breath before I called the play, "Let's go with the Hail Mary... Have Thom ready to catch."Aura nodded uncertainly. "Alright, Commander..."Her apprehension was justified. We'd never really tested this particular move before. Ergo, the 'Hail Mary' call sign. And yes, I forced the Foolhardies to learn some football terms.Aura raised her staff and made the orb on its tip glow five times. She relayed this secret sign to our bookkeeper on the field, Zarz, who then relayed my orders to the six team leaders. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.webnovel.com for visiting.I couldn't see his face but I could feel Luca rolling his eyes at my plan the moment Zarz explained.Once he was done with his explanation, Zarz stepped out of the field and resumed his role as a spotter for the unit.Immediately after my orders were given, the unit's composition changed quickly with Luca's and Edo's units comprising veteran soldiers and hardened newbies moving to the front while Ashley's and Qwipps' teams stood to one side each, ready to charge at a moment's notice.Thom's twenty-man drow unit moved to the back to stand next to Varda's newly minted magician group which comprised her, Donar Firemonger, our elven healer Berrian Berrygrove, and three new dwarven magicians who joined us alongside the twelve supplementary soldiers Vardoom sent to fill up the roster of my hundred-man unit.Even after my recruitment, I only filled eighty-eight slots, so I was grateful to Vardoom as well as the dwarves who volunteered to work under me. Even though I knew they were mostly there to watch over Varda."Haven't seen this formation before..." Vardoom raised a bushy eyebrow at me. "You going to tell me the plan?""Nope," I said. "Get ready to be impressed, Commander Vardoom.""Humph," he guffawed. "Show me what you got, Dapper."It was up to Luca to start the game now, and he did not disappoint.Luca roared in that wild way he did every time he activated his Foolish Strength, and without waiting for anyone, he charged alone. No one followed him.Everyone on the other team just watched, their mouths gaped open at my younger brother's foolhardiness.There were four lines of ten yards between our unit and the defensive formation of the Storm Cloaks and Luca had just crossed the first. Then the second. And finally, right before he crossed the third line, Edo charged, and both Luca's and his own unit charged with him.Qwipps' fifteen-pixie unit took to the sky and flew forward, and I loved this three-dimensional aspect of this life size chess match between me and Commander Thors.Ashley's unitall of them carrying large round bronze shields with a diameter of neck to thighrushed forward too, but they lagged behind Edo's group and repositioned toward the center.On the back of the field, Varda and Donar had combined their fire and earth magic to launch burning fists of stone at the enemy fort. Unfortunately, these projectiles would fall short and land close to the center of the field instead.These failures caused and a billowing cloud of smoke to disrupt the field of view.Despite that setback, our rush continued with Luca just past the thirty yard line and everyone else following behind him.When he smashed into the knights at the front and carved a hole into their formation with the flat of his blade, Commander Vardoom yelled in my ear once more."This is almost like the same damn thing you tried earlier... it's just a blitz with your brother jumping in head first!" Vardoom complained. Then he coughed. "And now you got my niece doing something stupid and clogging up the field in all this"Vardoom glanced back at the field. his eyes widened. Then he turned them toward me.I had a finger placed over my lips."Well, aren't you a sneaky bastard," he guffawed. "I'm beginning to like you more and more, Dapper..." he slapped me on the shoulder. "No wonder Edo hasn't slaughtered you yet for always googly eyeing our princess. You're entertaining."I blushed furiously at his comment, and I could hear Aura giggle behind me.Luca's mad dash surprised the knights so much that he was able to create a space between their formations that quickly filled up with Foolhardies led by Edo. The half-ogre was probably the main reason the veteran knights weren't able to reform right away.In the air above, Qwipps' team engaged the Storm Cloak's own flyers to keep supremacy over the skies. It was an uphill battle for them as there were more enemies than friendlies in the air.Varda's and Donar's miscalculation had turned into a mighty column of smoke that soared even higher than the pixie air battle.On the land front, Both Edo's and Luca's units had created a wedge between the three knight formations, but their soldiers were slowly falling prey to the arrows of the enemy archers. Because no killing was allowed, the arrows had blunt tips coated with a heavy dose of paralysis potion."Come on, guys... put your backs into it!" Luca yelled."One big push!" Edo yelled.Together their two units widened the gap between the lines and created a big enough opening for another unit who'd been waiting behind for this opportunity to pass through.Ashley's unit jumped forward, and with raised shields, engaged the second line of defense waiting in front of the makeshift wooden fort.Their shields collided, but neither unit was pushed back as the enemy veterans were prepared for the attack. Both groups digged in and held their ground."Now," Ashley yelled. "Push!"The frontline soldiers pushed their shields forward together, and in a coordinated move, raised their shields up to slam them forcefully onto the enemy's own shields. Their attack caused the Storm Cloaks to get pushed back momentarily before they regained their footing and pushed Ashley's unit back once more."I think you've caused enough of a distraction, Dapper," Vardoom said. "Your Foolhardies did well enough... You can't expect them to outmatch Thors' vets.""It's a good plan..." Aura agreed. "As long as Commander Thors doesn't notice."I looked over to the other side.Thors sat there calmly while idly chatting with his knights standing around him. He was grinning, and I knew instinctively that he'd noticed my feint.However, the sudden panic in my chest quickly subsided after I realized he wouldn't do anything about it because, technically, I wasn't competing with the commander. I was matching wits with his strategist.I nodded. "Yeah... everyone's tied up... and no one even noticed that death comes from above..."And death came from abovefar, far above. They hid in a cloud of smoke that was just a cover for them to maneuver into position while they waited for everyone below to get tied up in their own little skirmishes.When everything was finally in place, they dived into the fort with their black cloaks spread across them like bats gliding down onto the earth.When Thom and his drow gliders landed lightly on the fort's balconies and pathways, the ten knights guarding it fought valiantly but were overwhelmed by a group twice their numbers.Thom pulled out the flag and raised it high, then he let it fall to the ground while a mocking grin was plastered on his face.I couldn't hear him, but I could see his lips the moment he said, "Oops..."My brow creased at the sight because I would get yelled at again for his attitude. He was my responsibility after all.Nevertheless, we'd won, and this victory made me feel much better. It even nearly made me forget about the argument with my friends. Then I thought about how they would have both enjoyed this victory with meand I sighed again.
