the rumblings had stopped. The massive brutes had mimicked their surroundings to hide their presence until after the rumblings. They did not know what made the mountain shake so violently, but they felt it was prudent to wait a few minutes before revealing their proximity to the huddle masses.
Several of the screaming goblins fainted from the surprise appearance of the larger-than-life guests. General Yuki ran quickly to greet the expected visitors and to calm the now-hysterical army. She reached the stoic brutes in no time and bowed before them in greeting. As the general stood up, she could hear a voice in her mind telling her that she did not need to fear them. The voice continued by explaining that Kana had bade them to come and join the army of the goblins. They were also supposed to report to General Yuki and no one else. Then there was silence again in her head, and she looked around as if someone had been whispering to her. The three rock trolls that stood in front of her nodded to indicate that it was they who had been speaking to her. I had no idea that they could communicate with their minds.
'Welcome. We have been expecting you,' Yuki said with another bow. This time the entire army bowed with her. They had stopped screaming and yelling once their general had bowed the first time.
'Me Lord Trahern. Commander Vahe and Commander Jabari,' Lord Trahern said as he gestured to his two commanders.
'We are grateful for your willingness to help us in our fight with the stunted thieves of Mount Carrick,' she said edgily. 'Continue with the preparations while I speak with our guests.' She turned around to face the rock trolls and gestured for them to lead the way out of the cavern. As they departed, the goblins began to speak quickly and quietly to one another about the turn of events. There was a feeling of great anticipation and excitement that was generated by the appearance of their massive friends from the north.
As General Yuki emerged from the underground lair, the night sky clouded over to hide the stars and the moon. The three rock trolls followed her lead without saying another word orally or telepathically. They continued down the grassy slope on the southern side of the central part of the Sheldon Mountains. As they neared the base of the mountain, they came upon a small forest of trees that was thick with vegetation. As they entered the canopy of trees, darkness engulfed them completely. There was no light and no sound as they continued walking toward some secret destination. The four unlikely companions did not have need of light to find their way in their pitch- black surroundings. It was as if the rock trolls instinctively knew where they were heading even though the general had not communicated to them where or when they would be stopping.
Suddenly the forest gave way to a lush meadow that had an eerie green color to it. There were several small ponds in the clearing. The sky above had become even darker than before, which made the space look stranger than it would in the daylight. General Yuki came to an abrupt halt and turned about to face the leaders of the rock trolls. She stared at them for a few minutes trying to figure out how to best communicate with them. Their verbal skills were not the best, and she did not know how to speak telepathically. Maybe they could read my thoughts like they did before.
'You speak with mouth; we speak with mind,' offered Lord Trahern. He had read her thoughts and offered this solution in answer to her quandary.
'Very well then, I will begin by saying that we have a great deal to discuss before we even attempt our assault on King Jarvis and his midgets,' began the general. The rock trolls nodded in agreement. 'First, we need to discuss what your people will do to bolster our ranks.'
Our talents lie in siege tactics and in hand-to-hand combat. Maybe we could be spread out amongst your ranks to strengthen the foot soldiers and to protect your archers, suggested Commander Jabari. His face remained impassive as he spoke to the general through his thoughts.
'That would work; we could also have your siege warriors be surrounded by our archers so that they too would be protected,' offered the general thoughtfully.
That would work best. So, now we need to discuss actual numbers so that we can have a good idea how to divide up our forces. How many foot soldiers and archers do you have? asked Commander Vahe.
'Now that the armies of my people are united, we have two hundred and fifty thousand foot soldiers with one hundred thousand archers. There are an additional one hundred and fifty thousand foot soldiers and fifty thousand archers that will remain in place to guard our home,' explained General Togok. She had a ponderous look upon her face as she threw out their numbers.
We have fifteen thousand warriors all together. Ten thousand of those are siege warriors, and the remain ingfive thousand use their brute strength as their weapon of choice. So, the five thousand could be scattered throughout your two hundred and fifty thousand foot soldiers, explained Commander Vahe.
We will divide up the siege warriors into ten groups of one thousand each. We should surround each group with one thousand archers. That will leave you with ninety thousand archers to divide UP amongst the foot soldiers, continued Commander Jabari. It was as if the rock trolls shared a collective conscience. They appeared to be on the same page at all times.
'I will divide up my foot soldiers into ten battalions so that there are twenty-five thousand in each. There will be seven thousand five hundred archers per battalion, which will leave us with fifteen thousand back up archers. Agreed?' asked General Yuki.
We agree. We should make sure that we completely surround King Jarvis before we begin our assault. I would recommend that we send five battalions on the surface and the other five under the mountain. Five siege battalions will accompany the above ground assault while the remaining five siege battalions join the underground attack, Lord Trahern suggested mechanically.
'Excellent strategy, Lord Trahern,' replied General Yuki. 'How long will these formations and divisions take to be implemented?'
She was very pleased with the numbers they were sporting and with the strategy they had came up with thus far.
Three days; no more, said Commander Jabari in reply.
'It is settled then; we will begin preparations straight away. We will need to meet with our commanders and captains to make sure they understand the strategy. I do have one final question. How will we communicate between the battalions?' asked the general.
Each battalion will have a rock troll designated to be the communications specialist. They will communicate with one another through the earth using one of our special abilities. This way there will be no chance for our enemies to intercept our intelligence or orders. The initial attack can be synchronized perfectly using this method, answered Commander Jabari.
'All that is left now is to put our plans into action. Three days from now we will make our march on Mount Carrick and have it surrounded by dawn both above and below ground. We will attack them from below at that point and then assault them from above at dusk. We take no prisoners and will not stop until they are all dead!' said General Yuki with wicked delight.
She began to cackle menacingly as she stood in the lush clearing. The rock trolls looked at one another at this unnecessary display of elation. They collectively thought that their little goblin leader was a bit touched in the head but did not say anything out loud or even in their minds about it.
On the third day after the secret meeting, the combined armies prepared to move out. They had been integrated thoroughly and prepared for a relentless siege of King Jarvis and his people. They had established a series of secure supply routes from each of the five goblin dwellings. The rock trolls did not need any sustenance because they received their nourishment and power from the earth. The runs they established would provide sufficient means if the battle should take months or even years. There was excitement in the air that was tangible as the army waited for things to get started. They had waited centuries for revenge against the dwarves, and they were just days from initiating a war that would secure them pay back and dominion over their stunted foes.
The army had split in two and gone to their designated gathering places. The goblin's armor was thick in all the right places, which allowed them to still move swiftly. The captains and commanders had much more cumbersome full body armor, but they were definitely better protected. The rock trolls were covered in immensely dense armor that covered nearly every inch of their bodies. The only way a dwarf would be able to take them down was with a lucky shot with a poisoned arrow or dagger. Yuki's troops would be much easier to kill, but their massive numbers would make up for their lack of adequate protection. They would swarm their enemies and overpower them by sheer force.
As the sun began to set in the west, the goblins became less apprehensive and more excited about the task that lay ahead. They did not venture out into the light unless it was absolutely necessary while they prepared for
