The sun was not up yet. They were pretty sure it would not be up for a few hours. Everyone was grumbling; everyone was tired; everyone was sore. But the dragon horde and the foxes with them were waking back up. They were gathering around one of the more extensive roots of the area they had stopped.
On top of that root were the creatures many of the beings there had accepted as the "bosses" or "leaders" of them all. Claw was standing tall to the side, Horhe was half leaning, half laying on a root near the back, Harlid was standing next to the fire dragon, Stecra and Carmeta were leaning on each other near the middle of the group, Luanda was slumped on a root next to the other two females half asleep, Georgia was half under a neighboring root not precisely hiding, Kean was sitting near the front, the Legendary Couple stood not entirely with the group but close enough that they were there, and in the front sitting tall in all his horrible leathery armored goodness was Marshal.
Marshal looked over the crowd. He had to make sure everyone was there before he started. That was the official reason anyway. The unofficial reason was that he was trying not to freak out. For some reason, no one else wanted to do this, and so he had to! He was not usually a public speaker damn it! He could barely do small talk before all of this.
Taking a breath to calm his mind and center himself again. Marshal then looked at the others up there will him. He was glad that they, at the very least, agreed to stand up there. A united front, they had called it. The fact that most of them had snorted, trying to hide their laughter at the "not" joke, was not lost on any of them.
Most of the other leaders looked like they were ready just to get this whole thing over with. Claw actually gave him a "get on with it" motion. He was probably more anxious about trying to outrun the dark army than the rest of them.
Marshal resisted rolling his eyes. He knew they were going to be no help. So as he turned to look back at the crowd. He brought up what they had wanted to say up to his mind, then promptly drop-kicked it into the back of his mind. If he were going to do this, he would do it how he knew best, unplanned and with the facts.
He took another breath, infused his voice with just a bit of magic, and started speaking, "Can everyone hear me?" The grumbling response and the head nods from the back of the large group was his answer.
Knowing his answer, the wind dragon continued, "Good. Now I know most of you would like to go back to sleep. I know I sure as hell do." More grumbling, "As it is, I'm glad you all woke up without too much issue. Soon, we'll be on the move again.
"It's going to be long and hard. According to Claw," motioning to the offending Fox who glared at the wind dragon in return. "If we keep up the pace we did yesterday; we're several days from what should be safety."
There was grumbling. He needed to address it fast, "If everyone could fly, we might have been able to do it in a day, maybe even faster. But we can't all fly…" he motioned to the foxes before continuing, "And I'm pretty sure we can't all fly at the same speed. And I'm not even certain most of you would be able to go all day."
The responding silence was deafening, "So, we have few options. The foxes will set the pace; the rest of us have to keep up." More grumbling, mainly from the dragons. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather not get lost." That shut them up.
Knowing that point was made, Marshal moved on. "Now, as we travel, it will be fast. If anyone starts to falter, someone will have to help. We can't leave anyone behind or anything." There was an aura of minor confusion. "We won't have time to hunt or really gather in large quantities. All of our energy needs to be on moving forward. So we are going to have to mostly rely on what was already grabbed.
"I know that will make things difficult. We'll be pushing hard; we're going to break the wagons. If it can't be fixed quickly, leave it. Some of you all will have to carry things. It's just a fact."
Marshal was quiet for a bit, letting that all sink in, but he could not let it stay like that for long. So with a sigh, he continued, "Sadly, that's not it. Like I said, we're on the run. And the biggest thing about being on the run means we are being chased." Many of those there definitely got nervous as he continued. "We don't know how many, and we don't know how much of a lead we may or may not have on them. Either way, we're pretty certain they are there. And we're pretty sure they'll be moving a lot faster than us."
The rise of fear was noticeable; Marshal had to take a calming breath himself. He was afraid as well. But like many of his other emotions, he used his breath and forced his logical side to the front as he continued. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't exactly feel up to trying to fight an army in the open field." He stopped for a second before motioning to the forest around them, "Proverbially speaking."
That got him a few chuckles. It calmed them down slightly. He needed that. "We, that is to say, those of us up here," motioning to those around him, "Have come up with a few ideas on how to either divert or delay our pursuers.
"I'm not going to lie. As it is, I detest lying, so I won't do it to you. Every single one of our ideas comes with risk. Each and every one of them is dangerous. We got out of the last fight with only injuries. We were lucky, simple fact. Luck will only cover us so far."
Marshal took another breath before he continued, "Of our plans, we have two, maybe three main ones with a few that will happen either way."
A few of the other leaders looked nervous; they had not talked about telling everyone what exactly their plans were. But they stopped their movement thanks to a glare from the corner of Marshal's eyes as well as a raised eyebrow from Kean and Harlid. They had agreed to let Marshal speak; of course, he was going to go off-script. Well, more than he already had anyways.
"No matter what. Some of us are going to have to fly back the way we came and act as a sort of rear-guard scouting group. They'll be watching our pursuers and our backs at the same time.
"Another group of scouts, and I'm using the term very loosely, will be along our sides. Someone has to make sure we aren't flanked. Those two groups of scouts will have to be good fliers and able to be able to carry some weight. Specifically of the Fox and supply varieties."
The chuckles and motions from several looked eager to help warm Marshal's heart and steadied him for the next bit. "Those two jobs will be the easiest. There will, of course, be more to it than just being lookouts. Our other two ideas are going to be a lot harder. I'll summarize both then explain quickly: Ambushes and False Trails."
There was a shock as Marshal quickly continued, "False trails will be probably the hardest in terms of getting right. We plan to try and give false headings and tracks to try and lead the enemy on a wild hunt, hopefully making them zig-zag while we go straight. How we plan on doing this is a bit up in the air right now, but it's an idea nonetheless. But it also ties into our plans for ambushing.
"Like I said, I won't lie. We plan on doing frequent ambushes, keeping a mobile fighting group between them and us, forcing them to stop and take care of their wounded or reassess what they have. The main goal of these attacks is not to kill, but to sow discourse and destroy their supplies. How this will happen will depend on each situation and what we ourselves have."
Marshal took another deep breath. He thought about not saying the next bit, but a split-second decision forced him on, "There is a third idea we had like I said. But that one," he shook his head slightly, "I really don't like that one. It's; basically, we split into two permanent groups; one stays behind and makes a continuous fighting retreat while the other keeps running."
Marshal let out a huff, "I personally think that idea is the worse idea and should be the last idea. It makes too many vulnerable. Divides what little we have too much. And it means if at any point the main group gets too injured to fight, they die. So while it is an option, it shall be a last resort only." His eyes turned cold, and he stared hard into the crowd, "We are all getting out of here. We are all going to live. I promise to do everything I can to make sure of that."
The Wind dragon had to take a breath to bring himself back before continuing. He was almost there, almost done. "Now, Like I said, we got a few plans. And I'm sure most of you have noticed a key thing about these plans. They need creatures to conduct. I'm not ordering; honestly, I don't think I could order any of you. None of you signed up for any of this. I sure as heck didn't! So no, I can't and won't order. Instead, I ask for volunteers. We ask for volunteers. Those who can and are willing.
"We don't and aren't expecting everyone. As it is, the response yesterday was far beyond what I was hoping to ever happen. But that was in the moment. Now, now it's different. Now we aren't thrust into fight or die. Currently, we are seeking the battle out. Now we are declaring, 'Fuck you and those you stand for, we aren't just going to let you roll right over us.' This time, we take the fight to them!
"Some of you are injured; more are going to be. If you feel like you can, help us. If you can't fight but still want to help, let it be known someone will find something for you to do beyond running."
Another breath, "This, this fight won't be for everyone. We, every one of us, is scared. Anyone who isn't, is either crazy or lying. And that's fine. I'm scared; I'm scared of many things. But right now, I can't let that rule me. Right now, someone has to do something. I plan on doing just that. I'll take all the help I can get. At least that way, we'll be scared together.
A light smile crossed his face as he nodded, "So, you all know the score. No promises, all I got is I'll do everything I can. So I'll finish with two things, quotes really, before I'll shut my yap and let you all think for a bit and let you all figure out what you wish to do.
"Quote number one, Bravery isn't the absence of fear; it's the will to carry on despite it. As it stands, each and every one of you is brave. None of you have broken down and turned into a pile of quaking limbs begging for death to come. How you wield that bravery that's what decides a person.
"Quote number two, All it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. I fully intend to do something. Is it a good something? Probably not! But I'll be damned before I let someone say I didn't give my all. I don't plan on one of my dying regrets to be 'I did nothing when I could have done something.' This won't be the same for everyone, and I can't promise that we will succeed. But by all that is holy, no matter what happens, someone will do something, and we'll put as many roadblocks in the path of evil as we can conjure up."
An explosive breath to bring himself back down, "That's it, that's where we're at. I'll let you think now." And he did; he fell silent.
Marshal closed his eyes and took several breaths. He was expediting shouts of fear or murmurs of disquiet to rise. There was no way people were going to be alright with everything.
He could almost taste it in the air. He had been sensing it since the night before. There was fear, that was for sure. He had tried to address what he could. He knew making everyone feel like they were not alone and that there was a way out. That was how one goes through these situations.
However, of all the things he was expecting, the response he got was not one of them.
Thump, Thump, Thump.
Marshal opened his eyes and looked around.
Thump, Thump, Thump.
It had started with the Foxes, specifically their warriors.
THUMP, Thump, Thump.
It had spread from the warriors to the Hunters.
THUMP, THUMP, Thump.
From the Hunters to the battle-ready foxes.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
Now even the dragons were doing it.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
The very earth was shaking; the tree roots were vibrating with force.
THUMPTHUMPTHUMP.
Weapons, feet, tails, striking the ground in agreement. A look of determination in the face of all there.
While it was not entirely unanimous, there would probably need to be many more conversations to be made. They had decided to fight.
Marshal smiled brightly; it was starting to turn predator. "Well, alright then!" His voice boomed over the thundering sound, "Don't expect another speech like that from me. Let's go kick some Ass!"
The returning roaring was deafening for miles. And some would later swear it could be heard days away.
AN: A bit of a shorter chapter, but I struggled with where to go and how to explain what they are doing. I want to say more on the plans ahead, but I feel that would be too much of a spoiler, so I won't.
I've actually held onto this chapter for a few months now, mostly forgetting about, but also not liking it. But hey, when you're stuck, you're stuck.
On a side note, please remind me never to do a chapter like this again. I don't know if it was because most of this was a single guy talking or because of what I was going for, but Grammarly has been freaking out the entire way through, and it's not fun! And that was just as I was typing it, don't even ask about the editing.
Now sadly, I'm back into a similar situation I was when I started this one. Welp, I'll figure it out eventually. So until I can beat my muse into submission again, Happy Reading!