The Foolhardies 199 Exit Strategy

"Are we sure the intel is accurate?" Luca asked. 

"The Lord of Stars is our ally now, Luca, so why would he feed us bad information?" Aura reminded him. 

"Why though?" Ashley asked. "He doesn't strike me as the helpful type…"

"Perhaps he just wants to mess with you, Commander?" Thom offered. 

"Only you would be that unpleasant, Thom," Thor countered. 

"Then let's a.s.sume the intel is good, what should we do, Commander?" Varda asked. 

"Mudd.a.m.nit, I hate those Scarlet Moon b.a.s.t.a.r.ds… why do they always want to complicate things," Qwipps added.

"And the Lord of Stars is sure it was Ardeen Spellweaver's scent?" Edo confirmed. 

"So, my former contractor is back to cause even more chaos," Azuma chuckled. 

I raised a hand to quiet all the voices that, sadly, weren't just in my head. 

"Calm down, people," I ordered. "We always a.s.sumed Garm would try something shady… so let's figure out a strategy before I poof out of the Fayne in…"

I looked down at the timepiece lying on the table we all sat around. 

"…ten minutes," I finished. 

Reminding everyone we were on the clock shut them all up. 

Varda raised a hand, and I nodded to her to let her know she could speak up.

"Shouldn't we verify the intel, Commander?" she considered. 

"Yeah, that's the first thing we're doing, I pointed a finger approvingly at her. "As much as I like and trust Chris Pint, game-breaking intel like this needs to be investigated… Thom and Thor, you're it." 

The two fairies — who I realized only recently really didn't like each other — sent each other a steely-eyed glare. It was fine by me as I could just encourage them by making this a compet.i.tion.

"Your two squads are the best we have at gathering information… so I want you both to gather as much of it by the time I get back tonight," I explained. "To make it fun, the one who provides the best intel gets a bonus of Leprechauns for their squad when we distribute the rewards from last night's battle." 

This lit a fire in their torches, for sure.

"We should contact the McCords too," Aura suggested. 

"Maybe inform our allies in this army as well," Edo suggested. "I'm not sure about Verania Folkor but Albert Sheridan and Dain Hammerhand are in the same boat as us." 

"I can understand Sheridan since he was with Darah's camp too, but why Hammerhand?" Ashley asked. 

"Because Grimthorn's loyalty lies with my brother and his council," Aura explained. 

"They don't call him the Hound of Shärleden for nothing," Edo agreed.

"But I disagree with Edo on Verania," Aura said. "She may not be aligned with us but she's loyal to her aunt who is loyal to my family's house… we should inform her as well." 

I nodded in agreement. "Varda, send Fila out to find the McCord twins asap. Then send Nike and Puma out to Al and Dain first. Afterward, Puma can head to Verania and warn her about a possible third party coming to play in this war…" 

"Roger, Commander… be back in a jiffy," Varda said right before she stood from her chair and hurried out the tent. 

Luca's eyes trailed after her. "Are we sure we want to send them unverified info?" 

"It may be unverified but there is precedence… the Scarlet Moon interfered in our last war as well using a similar tactic," Azuma reminded Luca. "It's not a stretch to consider they might try something similar again if there was someone willing to a.s.sist them in their endeavor…"

"It won't be Lord Rah either," I said. "That dude's got the pride to match his t.i.tle. He won't accept help from a third party… no, if there will be a betrayal, it'll come from our own side." 

"Well, mudd.a.m.n, don't we all know a disgruntled great general who is slowly being ostracized by the ruling council?" Qwipps asked, rolling his eyes as he did. 

None of us bothered to answer him although we all agreed. If anyone would betray anyone, it would certainly be Garm. 

"Declaring himself against the council and Patriarch is a big risk," Aura mused out loud. "He would lose everything in this gamble… his t.i.tle, his lands, the years of trust and honor he's built…"

"None of which will matter if it eventually secures him the Patriarch's seat," I countered. 

We were all silent again, and this awkward silence would last until Azuma broke it with a question.

"So, what are we going to do about it, Commander?" he asked. 

I took a long glance at the map I kept sprawled over the table and took a few moments to consider our options. Eventually, though, the lightbulb inside my head lit up once again and the makings of a plan floated on the surface of my mind. 

"Qwipps, As soon as I'm gone, I want you to order Pike to take half of the Talons and travel to the oasis we'd kept hidden from everyone else," I ordered. 

"The one in the Pilgrimage's map?" Qwipps grinned. "Gotcha."

"Secure the oasis in case we need an escape route," I pointed at the oasis that wasn't on any other map but ours and then dragged my finger south. "This oasis is the entrance to a narrow ravine that leads back south to Lover's Embrace territory and away from Garm's clutches, and it's just the right size to fit a company as big as ours."

"An escape route is good but isn't that a worst-case scenario?" Ashley asked. "Tell me you've got other backup plans in mind."

I picked up the cup in front of me and began to chug down the water inside it before I asked them another question. 

"What do you guys think of Redbull and Llewellyn?" I asked. 

"Only you, Aura, and Edo have actually met Llewellyn," Luca reminded me. "But Redbull seems like a stand-up guy… he seems to like you too."

"He's at least crazy enough to let you go through with your foolhardy plans," Ashley added. "And it only cost him half his army this time."

There were a few nods at this comment. Only Aura seemed to be shaking her head. 

"If you're thinking of flipping either of them to our side, I'm afraid it won't be easy if at all possible," Aura declared. 

"Redbull may appreciate our value and that's why he's a good general, but he's the most stubborn satyr I know and they're all stubborn — he won't betray Garm for no reason and he's probably very loyal to him," Edo expounded on Aura's statement. 

"As for Llewellyn, well, she's a brilliant strategist and Garm's most trusted advisor so it would be very likely that he has already taken her into his confidence regarding any possible betrayals," Aura added. "The same could be true for Redbull…" 

I leaned back on my chair feeling a tiny bit frustrated by what they'd said, and although I knew it was a long shot, I hoped we might have a chance at turning one or both of them to our cause. 

"So… it would be too risky to approach either one of them," Luca pondered. 

"Yes," Aura nodded. "We'd be tipping our hand…"

"We'll need a distraction in case we need to make a getaway," I said. "Azuma, work with Zarz on this and tell him it might be time for Grog soon…" 

Azuma nodded although he didn't know what I meant. He would at least have an inkling of what kind of distraction we'd need. 

"We'll work with the other independent units for now, although I'm pretty sure we're all being watched already,�� I reasoned. 

"Yes, there is most likely already a spy among the soldiers General Redbull lent us," Thom suggested. "I think a restructure is in order."

"Ashley, this will be your task. As a s.h.i.+eldmaiden you can ask questions without anyone suspecting you outright," I explained. "Take a survey of the new guys and find me any irregularities… we need to know who we can take with us if necessary because I doubt everyone's a spy."

"Understood," she said right before her brow furrowed. "And once I identify these irregularities?" 

"Don't do anything to tip our hand but mark them for what they are," I answered. 

It was around this time, a minute or two to dawn, when Varda finally returned with new orders from the Great General himself. 

"We've been ordered to sortie, Commander," Varda offered me the scroll in her hand. "It'll be a surprise against the Dominion while they're recuperating from their losses last night…"

Luca rose from his seat. "Garm's aware that Dean won't be around until twilight, right?" 

"He can't use the anchoring ring consecutively," Aura added as she too rose from her seat.

"I said that to the messenger who'd given me the order but he said the Great General doesn't mind if the Commander is taking a break because he believes the unit can manage without you, Commander," Varda revealed. "And that's not all…" 

I pulled open the scroll and read its contents out loud. One thing really stuck out.

"The Foolhardies will be moved to Garm's central army vanguard," I said, feeling my voice waver with each word. I raised my eyes toward the others who were all standing now and looking back at me. "d.a.m.n, he's got us…"