their assault. They decided to wear special helmets that would shield their eyes from the brilliant glare of the sun for those who traveled topside. They also covered themselves with protective balms and clothing so that they would not be burned alive in the unrelenting radiance of the daylight. As a result of this sensitivity, the army traveling above ground would take twice as long to reach Mount Carrick. The underground troops would arrive first and would begin their campaign immediately. They would do their best to encourage the whole army of the dwarves to defend against the surprise attack underneath the mountain.
Darkness consumed the mountainside of the southwestern slope of the Sheldon Mountain range. General Yuki had decided to accompany the above ground troops because they would need her support and encouragement the most. Her tactical abilities were far superior to any other commander in the goblin armies and much sounder than the rock trolls tactics of brute force. The night sky began to fill with stars, and the moon shone brightly in the clear sky. The mounting anticipation was so intense that it was palpable in the air. The general smiled at the fierce looks on her troops' faces. As she surveyed the sea of green and gray, her heart leapt for joy at the massive pillars spread evenly throughout the gigantic formation. She found a small boulder and climbed on top of it. As she stood above the crowd, silence fell and every ear was turned toward her to hear what she had to say.
'Fellow outcasts, we are ready!' she declared boldly. 'We will march over the next three days, and then we will surround our unsuspecting neighbors.' Cheers and shouts of goblin vulgarity filled the air as she finished her second sentence. The soldiers were ready for payback, and they were eager to move out toward their destiny.
'Crush dwarves!' bellowed one of the rock trolls. The ground shook slightly as he yelled into the cool night's air.
'Indeed you will. We will go by night so that we give our brethren below us ample time to arrive and begin the assault. By the time we reach the towering fortress of King Jarvis, their guard should have been lessened. We will take the topside quickly and kill everyone and anything that breaths on the surface!' she screeched. More shouts of profanity rose from the goblin ranks. The rock trolls merely smiled at the prospect. Anyone who had ever seen a rock troll smile had never been able to tell another soul about how chilling the sight truly was.
'Crush … Smash … Bash… ' began the chant of the rock trolls. They began to cadence their chant, and the rest of the army responded by beginning to march in place. They were all waiting for the order to move out.
General Yuki raised her arms into the air and screamed, 'Move out!' With that chilling declaration, the army began to march in beat with the rhythm of the rock trolls' chants. The army below the mountain had instigated their march at the same time, and the effect this had of the areas surrounding the Sheldon Mountains was significant. The ground shook violently like a natural quaking of the earth. The only difference was that this continued for days, not minutes. Kana's war machine rumbled toward the dwarves while she prepared the ores and high elves for their siege of the Black Forest.
As a messenger hurtled toward his king, he could tell that his majesty already knew what the problem was. The unusually tall dwarf came to a halt right in front of King Jarvis and bowed down to the ground. Jarvis looked at the prostrate soldier and impatiently kicked him to rise and give his report on the prolonged quakes. As the messenger stood erect, sweat and dirt obscured the part of his face not covered by his beard. He had the look of someone who had run all the way from the deepest reaches of the mountain kingdom without stopping. The dwarven leader tried to keep this in mind as he waited for the panting figure to speak.
'My lord, the quakes … are … not … naturally … created,' stammered the spent dwarf. He was shaking uncontrollably from the effort of running the extreme distance coupled with the fact that his trek had been entirely uphill.
'Obviously these quakes are not natural; continue,' he urged the messenger a little impatiently. He motioned for water to be brought to help calm the overexerted dwarf. The poor soldier took the water gratefully with his shaking hands and downed it instantly.
'Thank you. My lord, our spies have determined that the noises that started a day ago are being made by an army,' he explained. Chills ran down the spine of the stout leader as he stood there silently. 'We have been able to catch a glimpse of a massive army of goblins and rock trolls heading directly for us. We estimate that they will arrive in two days' time.'
'What is the reason for the rumblings being less intense during the daylight hours?' asked the king in a forced calm.
'We have determined that the goblins and rock trolls above the ground are traveling by night only.'
'What do you mean by the goblins and rock trolls above the ground?' The king felt his heart sink down to his nether regions.
'We sent several spies through the tunnels leading from Mount Carrick into the Sheldon Mountains. They ran into an innumerable army of goblins and rock trolls making their way through the escape tunnels we had created. They appeared to be making no effort to hide their approach. Only one of the spies returned to report their findings. The rest were pulverized by rocks.'
'Summon General Havrak at once. Also, fetch Lord Kromnog to join the general and me in my quarters. After you have completed these tasks, you may rest for a while. I will have further need of you in a few hours. That is all.' King Jarvis smiled to show his appreciation for the information and the diligence his soldier had shown.
'Yes, my king,' snapped the dwarf as he came to attention and did an about-face. He bolted as soon as he had turned away. He knew that haste was of the utmost importance in this situation. His body screamed at him to stop, but he would not slow until the tasks were completed.
As the messenger ran off to find their general and the warrior druid, the king turned to look to the west from his secluded balcony that was on the highest point in the mountain city. He had placed his hands behind his back as he stared out across the green slopes of the Sheldon Mountains. Smoke filled the air where the king knew that this above-ground army was camped. What have we done to provoke this attack? Their banishment came from the gods, not us. We have tried to make peace with them over the years and have had an unspoken agreement not to interfere with one another's affairs. What changed this?
As the king stood on the balcony, his thoughts continued to whirl with unanswerable questions. He shook his head sternly to stop this barrage; he needed to focus on what his people would need to do to be prepared for the impending assaults from above and below ground. As he cleared his mind of all thoughts, General Gideon hailed him. His general was panting slightly from running from the lower levels to this impromptu meeting. As he stood there attempting to catch his breath, Lord Nariko walked calmly toward Jarvis as if he had been expecting the summons. He did not appear out of breath, but that was not unusual considering his magical abilities. The warrior druid smiled knowingly at the king and gave a slight nod. The druids did not believe that they were subject to any ruler, so he did not prostrate himself before Jarvis. They believed that the guardians were responsible for nature and his kin were the protectors of the peoples of Tuwa.
'King Jarvis, I see that you have finally figured out what the unnatural rumblings are,' Lord Nariko said knowingly. The general laughed heartedly at the coolness the druid displayed as he spoke to the king.
'You must forgive my druid friend; they have no sense of propriety,' said the general ruefully. 'He probably could have told you what the sounds were the instant they began.' He gave the secretive magician a sideways glance and a quick smile as he said this.
'So, it was you that spied out the army above ground,' replied King Jarvis with a widening smile. He enjoyed the playful banter with his best warrior and the most feared druid in all of Tuwa. They were old friends, which made the circumstances feel less insurmountable. Between the three of them, they would be able to devise a plan that would protect his people against this invasion. They would outlast their enemies and would restore the proper order of things in the end.
'Of course I did,' replied the druid. 'There is something you do not know yet, however. The army below the ground is moving day and night. They will be here tomorrow at midday unless we delay them. Their plan is a simple one: attack from below to distract us from the army above. They do not care that we know they are coming; they believe that the assault below would draw the majority of our army's attention and leave our topside defenses weakened.'
'So you believe that they will surround us above the ground while they attack us from below?' queried General Gideon.
'Yes, that is my contention. I also believe the army above and below the ground are equal in strength. As a result, we will not be able to leave our defensive posture for quite some time. If we hold our defensive positions, we
