originally posted in:The New Dojo
"Men." [i]Both spoke at the same time, while Xander said it in a nonchalant, almost saddened manner. He understood war's loss, it seemed.[/i]
"Not my proudest achievement," [i]He murmured.[/i]
English
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"I understand where you're coming from, Xander. I earned the name of Bloody Witcher for killing my fellow Witchers..." [i]Alric shook his head sadly, spacing out. [/i]
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[i]Understanding that sort of trouble, Xander would bow his head towards Alric yet, sighing a little.[/i] "No matter. The past is left within the past. Come, we should sit down, so that the Knight-Commander may begin."
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"Oh, he's beginning is he?" [i]Alric chuckled, taking a seat in one of the chairs around the table.[/i] "I meant no offense, of course." [i]Alric nodded his head at the Knight Commander apologetically. [/i]
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"Don't think he heard you still," [i]Xander would then murmur, though he would sit down as the commanding officer at the end of the table would continue to stand, waiting for a few others to sit as well.[/i]
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[i]Alric drummed his fingers against the table, whistling a tune. How often did he do that? It seemed as though when whenever he could, he drummed his fingers against something... [/i]
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[i]Sirius would direct his attention to Alric, then, to start off.[/i] "Sir Alric, before we begin - if you had any operations set, in order to counter the enemy.. please, speak now."
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"Indeed, I did have an idea. It would require the bulk of your forces to draw the Sand Warriors attention. While the Trayvern forces, and my own dojo forces, ride around from their flank and assault from behind." [i]The maneuver was a rather simple one, though it would certainly be a costly one if the Sand Warriors became entrenched in the Tribune lines. [/i]
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"A scissor. Very well." [i]Sirius manually moved the Tribune pieces of the map, representing the host of the Tribune, into a large canyon.[/i] "This is where we believe their forces to be meeting. The Black Valley. Their encampment appears to be underground, but you will have enough time to circle around, once the enemy's scouts are safely eliminated."
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"Are there any side entrances into these caves? Perhaps an area where we could dispatch a small amount of troops to assault through the tunnels?" [i]Alric traced his finger across the map of the Black Valley. [/i]
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"There are, though the tunnels are rather deep. We haven't planned to infiltrate the tunnels for that sole reason: whatever lies underneath, should remain undisturbed." "Whatever lies underneath?" [i]Elina murmured, in a slightly confused manner.[/i]
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"You mean to tell me that there is some kind of beast in those tunnels?" [i]Alric looked to Sirius, clearly stunned by what the man had said. [/i] "Perhaps... Perhaps it would be best if we drew them away from the Black Valley entirely. So as not to rile up whatever this beast is."
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"...There are labyrinths. Dark tunnels that lead into the corrupted past of Rivelria's people. Witchcraft, sacrifices, and worse still. I would not send you to your graves." [i]Sirius stated, in a clearly stern manner. Yet a fearing one, too. Alric could offer to take the chance, still..[/i]
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"No, no. Do not misunderstood me, ser. I realize what you are saying, and what I wish to say is perhaps we should not fight them in the Valley at all. We draw them away from the valley, and those caves entirely. [i]Alric defended himself, closing his hand into a fist and looking at the Knight Commander. [/i] "If we have any reason to be concerned for witchcraft that could tip the battle into their favour, we should not give them that advantage."
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"This witchcraft would create chaos amongst both forces, if anything. We cannot allow our alliance to crumble so easily, though we cannot drive out the enemy so easily either. Unless they thought that we were sieging.. or attacking.." [i]Sirius clenched his fist then, as he moved the fists of the Tribune and the lions of Trayve over to the right of the Valley, to a plain with another fortress.[/i] "A supply train runs from the valley to here. This is where their loot goes, we presume.. slaves, gold, weapons.. we could siege and perform a rescue operation, perhaps? Though we'd end up killing our own troops if it went wrong.. Nonetheless, we would easily draw them out if we cut off supplies."
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"If it went wrong..." [i]Alric thought of the potential losses of a large scale operation such as this going wrong. Sirius was right of course, it would be extremely costly to all parties involved. But it had to be done. [/i] "I doubt it will. We have some of the greatest commanders I know of leading the charge." [i]Alric nodded at Sirius and Elina, clearly referring to the two of them for their respective sides. [/i]
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[i]While Sirius seemed to respect the compliment, Elina would only nod, seeming a little more concerned about her military expertise than usually.[/i] "We should be able to succeed.. should." [i]She muttered, sighing to herself.[/i]
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"We will." [i]Alric looked to Elina, smiling sadly.[/i] "But this is war, and in war you must expect the unexpected. In this battle, we must be prepared for anything that these Sand Warriors might do... WHICH... Include their winning."
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[i]Sirius nodded at that.[/i] "Indeed. We're too imbedded in this desert.. yet stockpiled with black powder. Destroying the whole fortress, endangering the lives that would choose, intentionally or not to stay.. and such usage of a limited resource.. yet better than allowing the warriors of the sand to take the fortress as their own." [i]He sighed, while Elina was studying him silently, alongside Xander. They seemed.. heavily focused, upon the knight.[/i]
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"Do you have any solution?" [i]Alric noticed Elina and Xander's looks, but for the most part ignored them.[/i] "Or do we simply defend so well that they never enter our fortress in the first place?"
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"That would be the initial plan. There are escape tunnels, as well.." [i]Sirius sighed.[/i] "The tunnels would be our best bet, unfortunately. Tragic, to rely on cowardice if we were the losers, yet.."
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"There is no cowardice in living to fight another day." [i]Alric shot a look at the Knight Commander, his fingers coming to a sudden halt from their drumming. [/i] "It may dishonourable, but it is not cowardly. Do not mistake the two. Tactical retreats are sometimes necessary for a battle. Especially in war times such as these."
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"Very well. We escape through the tunnels. Then.. detonation." [i]Sirius's left fist would tighten a little, the gloved fingers digging into his palm. It was more than clear that he was determined to be victorious - that he would die, for this cause. The Tribune were rather passionate.[/i]
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"So, it is settled then?" [i]Alric would ask as he rose to his feet and slowly began pacing around the room. [/i]
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"It's not my fort, so.. I can't judge." [i]Elina nodded, as she pushed herself off of the table and crossed her arms together.[/i] "We need an actual plan of attack. Draw these guys out, and then what? They'll return with reinforcements." "The Tribune host is much larger than the Trayven. We would bait out more of these warriors, and you would come in with a flanking maneuver." [i]The Knight-Commander said, moving the stone pieces around the crack, detailed mapping of Rivelria.[/i]
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"Very well." [i]Alric turned his attention from Sirius to Elina now.[/i] "The Dojo warriors will be the middle of the group. The Trayverns will compromise the flanks, and will assault the Sand Warriors form the sides in an attempt to pinch them together." [i]The plan put Dojo lives in more danger than Trayvern lives. A win to Elina perhaps, but a loss to the troops Alric commanded. [/i]