entrench like that. If, as you suggest, Reigns were to march on us soon, then we would be unprepared.” Balinor raised a problem.
“We could split out men in half. Half would go Keom but the rest would stay here. The land is heavily forested between here and Keom so a couple hundred men could considerably slow a large invading force with minimal casualties. This would at least buy us a few weeks to repair Keom’s walls and entrench ourselves.” Urake outlined how a smaller number of men acting in coordination, but in small units of fast striking men. They could wreak havoc in the face of a larger army forced to inch forward. Neither side would probably suffer more than light casualties, but it would be invaluable in buying time for the fortification of Keom.
“So say we get entrenched at Keom and are able to hold off Reigns. What then? How are we supposed to gain the full support of the houses?” The last silent council member spoke this time.
“You are right. This is a pure defense plan. A good defense should have at least a little offence.” Redzyn offered an opinion.
“We don’t have the numbers to mount much of an offence and even then, it can’t be in the way of a full out offence like marching against them. If we can hold our ground, then we will force Reigns to dig in on the other side. That could last indefinitely, each testing the other forever. What we can do is cause the war to be too costly to entrench. Destroyed or stolen supplies, contaminated food and water, these are tactics that demoralize the men. Instead of seeing who can kill the most men, play mind games. Get them to join us when we flaunt healthy soldiers while their men are puking their guts out. If the houses see that we are able to withstand Reigns’ men, then we can sway them to support us. This could well be a war that will span years, but if we plan well enough now, we will be ready for the long haul.”
“These are all good ideas. I think we should station at least a small garrison in the south to reinforce our back and shorten the time it would take to respond to any incursion along the sea wall. I fear that Urake is right about the houses. They have been unwilling to provide more than a token gesture. For the foreseeable future, we may be forced to forge onward without any external support. The locals in the Outlands might be our only friends.” Balinor remembered his bad humor with glance over at Urake as he summarized the council’s conclusions.
“When do you plan on enacting these plans?” Lortin inquired.
“First thing in the morning. Colonel Redzyn, I want you to take any of our men that have any skills in construction or stone working south with you to Keom. The Princess will be going with you so take twenty soldiers with you. Major Lortin, I'm placing fifty men under your command. Go north to the edge of the forest and stop the road. Do not engage the enemy, but prevent them from advancing. Colonel Lanyl will be taking seventy-five men with him to the south and establishing a garrison. Your task will be to hold the Badlands and the Sand Sea. I will be sending men to man a string of fire towers along the coast. They will also be tasked with patrolling the coast. Major Issam will be in charge of another fifty men supporting Lortin. Break your men up into units no larger than fifteen and have them everywhere. Be a swarm of stinging hornets.” With these last instructions Balinor stood up, signifying that the council was over. It had gotten late so the rest moved out of the room. However, Urake remained seated and waited until the last of the men had left them. He noted that Balinor hadn’t assigned him any task. He had earned a smidgen of respect from the man, but as of yet, no trust.
“Two colonels and two majors. From what I have seen, you have more officers than an army three times as large.”
“They have the rank they did when I recruited them from the army. I promoted Redzyn when I put him in charge of this outpost. It really doesn’t matter though. Like you said, we don’t have the manpower. We can slow the inevitable, but in the end Reigns will crush us.”