“So, tell me, what is the situation? I’ll assume you made camp early for a reason?” I asked, needing to know the tactical situation to make informed decisions.

“The Centaurs made camp, maybe an hour ahead of us. On the face of it, they made a major tactical mistake, moving into a valley, a quite steep one. My scrying revealed a few guards on the ridges but they are few and far between, posted on their own and relatively easily dispatched and silenced, if necessary.” she began creating a simple map in the earth, to illustrate her points.

“One side of the valley is quite steep and very uneven, making it impossible to move up or down quickly, the other is less steep and grassy, making it easier to move on, especially down hill. Without knowing what we know, I would see it as a perfect opportunity to charge down, hitting the centaur-camp with overwhelming momentum and routing them. Even if the charge were to fail, my people would be able to fight them, using the valley they are in to keep them boxed in, negating their advantage when it comes to mobility.” she continued, highlighting the north-western face of the valley, first, the south-eastern side second.

“It’s a trap.” I stated the obvious, hearing Lenore snicker in my mind, replaying the fish-face she had seen in my mind on an earlier day.

“Obviously. It looks like a good tactical situation, as if the enemy made a mistake, that they assumed everyone would find moving down both slopes difficult, giving them a quite secure position to defend. As long as their guards are vigilant, it would be impossible to block the mouth of the valley, boxing them in, especially as it is heavily guarded. Even if it were to be blocked, they could use the length of the valley to gather momentum, breaking through with a massive charge. They might lose people but their losses would be comparatively mild.” she concluded, making me nod in understanding. So far, she had described what the centaurs wanted us to see and think.

“And the real situation?” I prodded, when she didn’t continue after a few seconds.

“I had two of my spirits keep close track of the wolves, as best as they can. Would it surprise you that the wolves are mostly in the south-eastern part of the forest?” she asked, a grim smile on her face.

“That makes sense. They hide there, you charge into the valley, happy that your foe made a mistake, crashing into the centaurs. Just afterwards, the wolves, using the same momentum you used, crash into you, like a hammer onto an anvil, with you being the hammered metal in between. Even running away would be nigh impossible for your people, they would have to climb up the slope and the wolves could quite easily run them down there.” I nodded, before continuing.

“Now that we know our enemy’s plan, how can we use that knowledge to break them? “For now, I’ll assume that we strike as soon as possible, taking advantage of their situation, not trying to attack them tomorrow, when they are on the march and will be able to use the full mobility of the centaurs if you attack in the open or face the wolves in their natural habitat, the forest. Neither appeals to me but your opinion might differ.” I explained before pausing for a moment, remembering an incredibly famous quote and deciding to make myself appear wise.

“It is said that, if you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” I added, looking at Dura. “I know myself and my group, but not you or your troops. What would you plan, and which additional resources you need to make it work?” I asked, not wanting to give too much information on our capabilities, especially as friends could turn to foes quite quickly.

“A good saying, yes. I know myself and I know what I want to accomplish. Driving the centaurs out of their camp, separating them into smaller groups so they can’t make a mass-charge out of the valley, that would be important. I think the best bet for me would be to incinerate the defenses at the mouth of the valley, before using as much of my power to break the upcoming charge. If that were to work, my troops would have to defend against the wolves, likely attacking our flanks and the remains of the centaur-charge. We would win, but the casualties are a lot higher than I would like, especially considering that we would most likely fail part of our objective, retrieving our kidnapped people and the loot taken by the centaurs. My attacks into the valley would necessarily be poorly controlled, focused on power more than anything.” she explained, creating the outline of her plan on her crude map. She was projecting to approach the mouth of the valley from the east, avoiding most of the wolves in the forest, before hitting the guards from above. It seemed like a sound strategy, one that had a good chance of working, unless the unexpected happened

But what would my group be able to do to improve their chances?

“I see two ways to help you, two different approaches, if you will.” I began, quickly making plans with Lenore. One of our ideas was somewhat risky to us but had a much higher chance to yield excellent results, while the other was less risky in some ways but the results would be mediocre.

“My group should be able to stealthily approach from the west, carefully making our way down the slope, and cause a massive disturbance in the centaur-camp. If everything goes as planned, the centaurs will be forced to abandon the camp, running into your position, hopefully without the benefit of a formation and momentum. At the same time, I would be able to prevent some of your attacks from penetrating too deep into the valley, protecting the taken people.” I explained, not going into detail of the plan Lenore and I had cooked up. Not that the plan was finalized yet, with a few burrs to get rid off.

“However, that plan has a high risk for my group, and I would expect an appropriate level of compensation.” I added, looking her straight in the eye.

“Another option would be that we move with your group. Once you incinerate the defenders at the mouth of the valley, I can set up some crude fortifications made from Ice, they won’t be too sturdy or last very long, even with the cooler nights but they should be useful. In addition, I can slow down the centaurs on the last stretch, making the ground slippery, maybe even muddy, causing their footing to worsen.” I said, neither plan made me too happy. They both had risks, the one obvious risks, the other hidden ones.

If we went with the sneak-attack, trying to use the idea Lenore and I had been working on during the afternoon, the obvious risk would be that we were caught and in serious trouble. I felt that it was more a challenge to our abilities, especially with both Rai and me able to use the darkness to shroud the group. In addition, if things went bad we would be able to simply decide to abandon the orcs, the likely very flashy actions of Dura Firebringer taking the centaurs’ attention, allowing us to slip away. But the risk being obvious gave us an advantage when it came to negotiating compensation, by creating two groups working independently, one might be able to argue that both groups were contributing the same, giving the four of us the same worth as the small army of orcs.

The other option, with us in the middle of the orcs was, in a way, just as risky. We would have to rely on the orcs to carry the day, or we would face the full brunt of wolves and centaurs, leaving us in dire straits. There would be no attempt to quietly slip away into the night under the cover of fog and darkness, not in the middle of a pitched battle. In addition, it meant that both Dura Firebringer and Harms would be able to witness more of my magic than I might want to show them.

“What you say makes sense.” Dura Firebringer admitted, looking at the simple map, still in the earth between us.

“What kind of compensation would you ask for, depending on the two plans? I can only promise you so much and deliver beforehand even less, simply due to the fact that I only carry some of my personal funds and items with me. If you want more, you’d have to make your way to the Brighthollow, there you could get the remainder of your rewards.” she asked, her voice still pondering, trying to figure out which plan would be the better one.

I, on the other hand, simply gestured for Adra to step forward, she was, quite frankly, far better when it came to negotiations, I could hold my own in a conversation when I could flesh out my words in advance but the quick, flowing style of haggling was something I greatly struggled with. But, as I was once again reminded, Adra was quite good at it, fighting with Dura Firebringer over potential compensation, monetary or otherwise, tooth and nail, almost as hard as the fighting would be later in the night.

I, on the other hand, simply leaned back into Sigmir, enjoying the show as the two went at it.