Final Preparations

The pavilion was massive, the mightiest tent Gantz had ever been in. It was plain, however, made of only durable canvas, something the thief had not expected from a noble.

Indeed, this Brunhilda Rainhart seemed about as no-frills as it got. The great roundtable that everyone stood about was also plain dark wood, sans gilding and inlay and there were no chairs. Everyone stood, commoner and noble alike.

And everyone was here, that was for damn sure. The pavilion was absolutely filled. It stood outside in the bailey between the Great North Gate of the Citadel and the defensive wall that barricaded the half-mile width of the Painstaking Pass roughly a quarter-mile north of the Citadel. The bailey just south of the wall would be the place that the last line of defense would stand against the goblin horde if they managed to breech the outer gates.

If it ever came to that, however, Gantz knew the town of Truce would be wiped out.

Brunhilda stood at one side of the round table in her black enameled full-plate. It was plain armor without decoration, but well made. She stood leaning slightly over the table, going over maps of the defenses that stood at this point in the pass. Crudely carved chess pieces stood as representations of the various goblin forces that had so far been spotted coming down the pass by human and dwarf scouts.

Regardless, the Lady Commander… or Lord Commander… or whatever – Gantz didn't know what was going on there, his contempt for titles notwithstanding – had a young lieutenant by her side, another black-armored woman with her red hair close-cropped in a martial fashion.

The dwarven delegation stood just to the lieutenant's left. All three looked rather dour, two of them seeming to be miners with their massive pick-axes, which Gantz could only believe doubled as weapons with the amount of reinforcement put into them. Grimnir the Stonewanker – or whatever his name was – still wore his dark silvery armor that looked heavier than anyone should have been able to bear, each of the dwarves as broad as a man-and-a-half, though they stood only about chest-high above the table.

An absolutely furious-looking female dwarf stood between the miners and Cid, the old heavyset engineer wearing what seemed to be his battle attire. It consisted of a pair of leather breeches cinched with a thick leather belt and bandolier worn across a frayed linen shirt with the sleeves torn off to bare the man's muscular arms. With his goggles in place, the old coot gave a wild grin when he spotted Gantz across the table, brandishing a massive wooden two-handed mallet.

Several other defenders in leather cuirasses, greaves and gauntlets stood between Cid and Valor. The Chosen of Earth stood at the table directly across from Brunhilda, wearing his plain steel half-plate as always. He had a shield strapped to his back now, but bore no blade. Gantz was still rather surprised by Valor's acquisition of some kind of weapon summoning power. Though it wouldn't have done Gantz much good, since all his weapons were always on his person every waking second – except that one bloody time in Castle Cornelia – it was still rather impressive.

The white mage, Nadine, that Gantz had met previously in the old church, stood rather stately just to Valor's left, with Sana-Lynn at her side, the Chosen of Water gripping her white staff nervously as she tried to take in what all chess pieces meant. Strange as it was, Robin stood shrouded in her black robes just to Sana's left. She hadn't said much since she'd entered the pavilion, but Gantz felt that her eyes glowed with an almost gleeful light. The black mage was no doubt anticipating this battle, a chance to let loose with her destructive powers against an enemy that would present no shortage of targets.

What had absolutely amazed Gantz far more than Valor's new skill was Robin's odd behavior the past few hours. He still found it impossible to believe, but it seemed the shrouded one had finally put a leash on her unending anger. She still wasn't what the thief would call friendly, but when people asked her questions or gave suggestions, she had responded almost civilly.

A few more defenders with quivers of arrows strapped to their backs stood between Robin and Gantz.

The thief admitted a mixture of both anticipation and anxiety. He anticipated his lone jaunt into the heart of the horde to assassinate some ogres this very night, but was anxious because of the sheer numbers he would have to sneak past. Goblins were laughable little things: cowardly, disorganized, and not particularly smart, though they did possess a sort of low cunning and some could even wield rudimentary magic. Still, their sheer numbers meant any mistake Gantz made could see him overwhelmed in seconds. As well, trolls and ogres were another story. Still not known for their intelligence, both were tough as nails and were strong enough to crush a man in one blow with any of the crude weapons they wielded. Not that they would ever catch Gantz, but still…

The thief would have to keep all his wits about him to stay unnoticed. If he were ever discovered at any point, he would have to retreat immediately.

Finally to Gantz left was the light elf, Selena of the Glade. She stood tall and slender in her strange mix of hide armor, her wicked leather whip wrapped about her torso like a pet serpent, its handle coming to rest just over her left shoulder. She was without her ram-horned headdress, however, her slender elven features exposed, aquiline nose and aquamarine eyes both sharp, her long emerald green hair flowing down over her right shoulder as she pondered the map. Every once in a while, she closed her eyes as if she were doing some kind of meditation.

Gantz could not quash his curiosity any longer. "Hey, elfy, what're ya doing?"

She gave sniff of irritation, but did not open her eyes. "I am communing with my companions. Sky keeps me apprised of the movements of the main horde, while Palom and Porom are tracking the enemy's vanguard that moves through the wooded hills near the bluffs to the west. It consists of worg-riding goblins and they move much more quickly than the main force coming down the pass."

Gantz was impressed. "Wow, so you can 'talk' to your animal pals?"

The elf gave a curt nod. "In a manner of speaking. I can see through their eyes, smell what they smell… I could, of course, do it better if I were not being pestered by you."

Gantz gave a lazy shrug. "Eh, its an honor being pestered by me. I'm a bloody warrior of the bloody light." He playfully nudged Selena, but she didn't respond, seeming to focus harder.

A little disappointed in the elf's sudden despondence, Gantz concentrated on the others instead. Brunhilda with her half-shaved scalp and scarred-over eye looked about as severe as anyone Gantz had ever seen. That she was a veteran warrior as well as commander of Truce was not in question. All the knots of defenders that crowded in behind those at the table were always rapt whenever the commander spoke. "We have spent days preparing traps for the horde when they finally commit to an assault upon the outer gate. The dwarves have been instrumental in these preparations, and have, in fact, several devices prepared to pepper the goblins along with our archers," she paused, looking to Grimnir. "Please explain, Stonewatcher."

Bald but with a bushy black beard that he stroked with one thick armored hand, the dwarf warrior gave a deep grunt. "Aye, we've managed to restore several old relic contraptions built by the ancient dwarven thanes during the Time of Chaos. One can dig through the earth like nothing else while the other three can shoot explosive shells that will detonate within the ranks of the goblins, wreaking bloody havoc. Beyond that, the Digger's Free Company has had their sappers making all kinds of pitfalls and other hazards in the heart of the pass itself. Also, we have Brunwyr, our rune caster. She can manipulate the earth around the fortress to cause rockslides and has even etched many of your archers' arrowheads with runes that can turn one arrow into a volley of dozens in an eye blink."

Brunhilda nodded in appreciation. "Excellent, Master Grim. That will offset our small numbers at least a little. Are their any other concerns?"

Valor raised an armored hand. "What of the bluffs to each side of the pass? Are you certain that there are no paths up through them where they intersect with the walls? If so, then the goblins sending even a small force could get on to the battlements to disrupt our archers."

Selena of the Glade's aquamarine eyes snapped open. "A raiding force of worg riders is trying this very tactic as we speak, and they are only hours from where the hills north of us turn into the bluffs that eventually intersect the western wall."

Gantz immediately smacked the table hard enough to get all eyes on him, before he leapt upon it, scattering the maps with a burst of wind. "Well, this has all been very informative, but its time to stop flapping our gums and get stuck in! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm gonna carve a path through this bloody vanguard! Anyone fast enough to keep up with me?"

Despite all the initial glares from those around the table at his brashness, Selena spoke up immediately. "I will come with you, Chosen of Wind. I already have an angle on these raiders."

Brunhilda quickly focused her gaze up at the thief. "Do not let us down, Warrior of Light."

Gantz gave a wicked grin, twirling each of his long-knives expertly in his hands. "Oh, no one's getting disappointed tonight except for the bloody gobs."

The commander nodded decisively. "Very well, then the battle for Truce begins now!"