We lay there at the cliff for a little while longer, observing the village and the besieging army around it. There was no denying it. This wasn't just a few raiders even if their main objective probably was a quick raid. No, this had to count as a real army as far as I knew. A small army but an army no less. I focused on the encirclement and the camps along it. They hadn't put up a real wall or even a proper palisade. I noticed a ditch and an earthen rampart though. Long wooden spikes adorned this makeshift fortification as well as torches and fire pits to make sure no one could approach it from the inside without being seen. There were wooden observation towers as well, spaced out in regular intervals along the ramparts.

The camps of the invading army themselves were fortified in a similar manner. There were three of them. Two were built to block the roads leading away from the village. The third, the largest one, occupied what had been the best ashroot fields. I winced. No one would be growing anything on that trampled ground for some time. They probably picked that spot as it wasn't too wet and provided a lot of flat ground. A large, elaborate tent at the center of that camp suggested that it was the camp of the army's commander. I took some time to observe the patrols along the ramparts encircling the village as well as those securing the camps. I counted the fires within the camps as well. They would allow me a rough estimate of the enemy's remaining strength.

The sound of barking dogs that carried far through the night worried me a little but then I noticed something else. “They fortified their camps but they were rather sloppy about it.” I looked at my two companions, as they lay next to me at the edge of the cliff. “I'm not sure why, but they don't seem terribly worried about attacks from the outside. Otherwise they would have set up a second circle of fortifications around the village. One facing outside, with their camps protected within. What do you think? How long would it take for the lords of the neighboring domains to notice that something is amiss and send someone to investigate?”

Kor'za just shrugged and let Eld'tide answer. “I'm not sure you should ask me. That sounds more like a question for Khuzan. He and you are the ones getting drilled to be warriors by your mothers after all.” She paused to give it some thought anyway. “Someone in the neighboring villages ought to have noticed something was wrong by now. There is not a lot of traffic in between the villages, but there is some. Even if the head hunters get everyone our neighbors would notice the people going missing. There was that smoke column as well. That had to be visible from miles if not more. The lords and ladies might need a day or two to gather their banners. More if they decide to coordinate their response ahead of time. I wouldn't be too sure about that though. Especially not in regard to the lords. Some of them are rather hot headed.”

Now Kor'za decided to join the conversation as well. “True. It might take them another few days to get here. Moving troops are never as fast as individuals. At least unless they come charging like angry bulls. I doubt any of them would do something so monumentally stupid though. They would just set themselves up for an ambush that way.” She paused before continuing. “I doubt the camps are as undefended as you might think though. You heard the dogs, yes? They probably have them out there in the dark somewhere. The same might be true for any remaining head hunters. We would have to be very careful should we make a night raid.” We fell silent again. Apparently neither of them had anything else to add.

I returned my attention to the distant siege, pondering what they had said as I observed the scene a little while longer. I nodded. Eld'tide was right, I would have to discuss this with Khuzan as well. I was pretty certain though that we had already summed things up well though. I nodded to myself before addressing my gorgon companions again. “Let's head back. I doubt we will learn any more by observing the situation from here. Not during the night anyway. We would have to either get a lot closer or return during day time.” I didn't wait for an answer. Instead I crawled backwards for a few paces before getting back to my feet. Kor'za and Eld'tide mimicked me and once we were safely away from the cliff's edge we made our way back to the cave.

I took the way back as a chance to work on my sneaking skills. Try as I might, I still winced at every sound I made while the two gorgons moved in almost complete silence. Damn. If we were to attempt a night raid I would have to do better. I doubted I could improve all that much anytime soon though. Sometimes my larger stature was not a blessing after all. Kivilan was keeping watch in the same spot I had already seen him and Kor'za use before, as we finally made it back. My sister and the children were still asleep which was good. Khuzan on the other hand was awake. He looked at us expectantly.

I motioned for him to move closer to the glowing remnants of the fire. He did and as the three of us took our seats around the fire pit as well, he put on first some fresh kindling, which caught on fire almost immediately, and then two bigger pieces of wood. I decided to enjoy the warmth of the rekindled fire for a moment. After the cold of the night that was just what I needed. The two gorgons seemed to have similar thoughts. Especially Eld'tide who moved to sit close to the darkelf. Finally I decided to share our findings. “Well, I have good news and bad news.” I paused briefly as the others groaned before continuing anyway. “The bad news is that they are still besieging the village. The good news on the other hand is, that they are still besieging the village.”

That earned me a punch to the shoulder by Kor'za. Eld'tide and Khuzan probably would have hit me as well, if they hadn't been sitting across the fire from me. “What? It is good news. It means the people inside are safe. Mostly at least and for now.” I bit my lip. “The worse news though is, that there a lot more of these raiders than I expected. I can't say for sure but after counting their fires my best guess is that there are at least three hundred and maybe as many as five hundred. Not counting any additional patrols that might still be roaming the countryside and of course any remaining head hunters.” Khuzan nodded. Judging by his expression he didn't like these news.

I took a deep breath before going on. “Their siege work is a little sloppy as far as I could tell. Ditches and earthen ramparts with wooden spikes and some wooden grid frame watchtowers only. They don't have a second ring of proper fortifications shielding them from an attack from the outside either. There are more dogs though. Thus approaching unnoticed will be tricky at best. There aren't any sign of the neighboring domains sending a relief force so far and it migth still be few days before any such force might get here. If they don't decide to sit this out and send one at all.” He soaked up all the information I supplied. What I said didn't lift his spirits though.

Khuzan poked at the fire with a stick for a while, apparently deep in thought. Finally he shook his head again. “I don't like it. Finding and meeting up with a relief force, if there is one would take us days at best. I'm not sure we have that much time. We can't really count on picking up more stragglers to increase our numbers either. Whatever we do, we have to do it with what little we have available here and now.” He paused, frustration clear in his face. “And what we can do essentially amounts to nothing more than pinpricks. We should still go for it though, even if we can't defeat them in one fell swoop. If we can annoy them enough to dedicate more soldiers to the defense against attacks from without their actual siege would suffer from it.”

I nodded. So did the others. “Then we should use the next day to prepare for a night attack. We shouldn't aim on the camps themselves though. Instead we should strike at whatever patrols and guards they have set up. Preferably to draw them out and into an ambush if we can. Then we withdraw before they can pin us down.” That sounded reasonable enough. Still there was something else on my mind. I wasn't sure if I should address it at first but then I decided to speak my mind. “You know, there is something else bothering me. We already killed about fifty of them. And that isn't even counting any other losses they might have already suffered elsewhere or during the siege. Even if there are five hundred of them or a little more, any commander worth the name should already consider that unacceptable losses.” A swallowed hard. “They should have already turned tail and ran for all I know and yet they are still there.”