Chapter 5 Battle for Outcast Island Training Preparations for the attack started the next morning. The other chiefs had left to begin their own forces promising to return within ten days time. Aida and her Shield-maidens began practicing for their part in the attack. They boarded a longboat towing two large skiffs and practiced scaling the cliff at Ravens Point first during daylight, then at night. The cliff at Ravens point was 231 feet up and the cliff at Hogs head was about 159 feet. Aida discovered her maidens could scale the cliff with total silence in about an hour. The method was that the best climber would scale the cliff then secure and drop a rope. Three more maidens ascend using the rope then haul up a scaling rope ladder that allowed two maidens to climb up simultaneously. After two days and nights all the maidens would be up twenty minutes after the first sister scaled the cliff by herself. Two sisters would be left at the boats to secure them and two more would stay at the top guarding the rope ladder. That would leave 36 sisters to attack the Yak / Sheep herds and the fields at Farmers reach. The Shield-maidens also practiced traveling stealthily through the thick forest, past patrols that knew they were there. In two days they discovered they could travel the distance to Farmers Reach in an hour. Bertha was training her Shield Maidens on the same tactics. It was a little harder because there were no cliffs on Bog Island itself so they had to sail offshore to practice on a sea stack instead. Her mood wasn't helped by the fact that she kept getting headaches, she was starting to get nausea and her boobs hurt. When you had breasts the size of Berthas, both of them getting sore was no joking matter. The straw that broke the camels back was that five days into their training Bertha began to throw up at odd times and if she smelled food at the wrong time. She went to the healer Zelda to find out what was wrong with her. "Lie down on the table my Chieftess", said Zelda. Bertha began to tell her,"I have sore boobs and my bloody head is killing me not to mention every time I go to the mead hall and smell chow I want to barf my guts out and..."! Zelda held up her hand to silence the Chieftess. Zelda had Bertha remove her clothing and lay back down. She dabbed some sort of liquid on Bertha's forehead and abdomen. She then felt her neck, her hips and her ankles. She then had the Chieftess open her legs and the Zelda examined her nether region. Finally Zelda licked her forehead and stomach where she had dabbed the strange smelling liquid. At first Zelda simply stood and rubbed her own forehead, deep in thought. When Bertha was done dressing, Zelda gave her a slap on the cheek. Zelda, like Gothi on Berk was ancient, nobody was sure how old she really was. Like all healers she had an expert knowledge of medicinal plants, the human body and mind. Like all really good healers she could predict the future, she could tell if a person was lying by their eyes and some say Zelda could read minds. Legend had it that healers could speak with the unborn and the dead and could cause a persons death with a look. No one messed with a healer or their assistants and Bertha was no exception. "Why didn't you tell me you'd bedded a man, a Chief at that?" the old woman asked. "I didn't think it was important", replied Bertha. The healer huffed and said, "You'll be doing no more training or leading the Bogs in the raid". Bertha stood and incredulously stammered," W-why the hell not?". Because your with child you foolish woman" Zelda said. "And no drinking either wench". Bertha couldn't believe it. Under Bog Burglar law a woman with child was limited to sedentary activities while pregnant. In addition a woman was to keep silent on the fathers identity. Under Bog law, if the baby were born male it was either returned to the fathers clan or adopted out to other tribes. If the baby were born female there was a celebration and a naming day planned. Bertha held a meeting in her great house where she announced her pregnancy and transferred command of Bogs forces deploying for the raid in two days to her sister Leia the Younger. There were cheers and congratulations all around.