Another day passed and the fourth day of the week started. Arrdun was busy. He was thinking about the monster. He was planning to create some defense against it. He remembered a few brief moments. He went to see the other two injured members.
"Greetings, servant," Arrdun said while entering the tent. "I hope you are doing well," he said while approaching him.
"Commander," the servant said quietly as he tried to sit.
"Don't," Arrdun interrupted. "Lie down as you were."
"Thank you," the servant said while relaxing on his bed and looking at the ceiling of the tent.
"This time, I came for another reason. I need to ask about the monster," Arrdun said. "Please tell me your perspective. What did you see? Any details? How would you describe it? Anything could be helpful."
"Understood. Sadly, because of blood loss, I forgot many things. It came very fast and broke us. Then it left very fast. It was big, almost as big as our wall. It had a tail and more than four legs," the servant said. "I wouldn't call those legs. They worked like arms too. I saw how they grabbed one of our servants. I would say maybe eight or ten limbs, some thinner, others thicker. Or maybe it was the monster who decided to make them thinner or thicker. I don't know, Commander. As for the size, I would say about half a meter, but," the servant said, taking a deep breath. "Its presence creeped me out, and now I have nightmares. I think I am losing my mind," he added, worried.
"Sounds familiar. Did you notice any armor or protection gear on its body?" Arrdun asked.
"No, I don't remember," the servant answered.
"Understood. If you remember anything, let me know," Arrdun said and left the tent because the other injured servant wasn't able to talk.
Arrdun went to his tent and met with Bardy. As they had high ranks, they didn't share the same tent with regular crew members. He entered the tent. Bardy was sitting on the bed.
"Anything useful?" Bardy asked.
"Yes," Arrdun answered. "Just found out how we will die."
"Seriously Radi?" Bardy asked.
"For armor, no clue. But eight or ten arms, legs, limbs, some thinner, others thicker, about half a meter long. Some could grab, some could harm, so on," Arrdun said. "It is bigger than our wall. If it uses its back limbs, it can easily reach or surpass our wall's height. But" Arrdun continued, "one thing worries the most. When it comes to height or strength, we already lost. I am not surprised."
"What are you talking about?" Bardy asked seriously.
"Spells," Arrdun said quietly.
"It can't be," Bardy said angrily.
"Well, I was wearing the toughest armor, the thin shoulderless breastplate. Then the monster attacked us. It was so fast that I didn't see who or what hit me. But," Arrdun said, "I blinked and something touched my breastplate, I heard it, then my breastplate began to deform, which began to strangle my body. I felt it in my whole chest, breast, and stomach. The power was so much that my waist felt the pressure as well and I was pushed back by some invisible force. I fell to the ground. My head hit the ground and my deformed armor was trying to break my body."
"Bloody Darkness!" Bardy yelled, covering his head with his hands. "And you're telling me this now?"
"Dori, what did you expect?" Arrdun asked. "The dumbhead elders sent you here with this crew, which I can't even call a crew. They are unprepared newbies. I couldn't tell them this story."
"Without doubt those are spells," Bardy said.
"Not only that, Dori. When I was on the ground, for a few seconds, maybe minutes, I couldn't breathe. I was in terrible pain," Arrdun said. "And the worst..."
"No, please... please not the madness," Bardy interrupted.
"Yes Dori, your sister will need a new husband," Arrdun said sadly.
Bardy was shocked and became speechless.
"I already started hallucinating," Arrdun said. "I think the monster's goal was to grab as much as it could and curse others."
"I think I will start digging holes in my free time," Bardy said. "Hold off the hallucinations and resist as much as you can. I promise, I won't let you suffer. The sickness can't be healed. My dagger will."
"With your dagger, Dark Cloak, you killed witches, and now you are talking about killing your best friend," Arrdun said hopelessly.
"I won't kill you now," Bardy said, smiling. "First, I'll deal with the Elders. Otherwise, our clan will be doomed. It's time to change things. Will you stand with me?"
"The Elders, that's another pain in the ass," Arrdun said. "If I survive, I will."
"Bloody Elders. Screw them!" Bardy said. "They send people left and right to die in shitty conditions, while they live a comfortable life."
"Calm down and tell me," Arrdun said. "Do you really think our soaked wooden wall can stand against that monster?"
"Firstly, we are just unlucky. Not all monsters are that strong. We just need to kill them before they grow up," Bardy said.
"Dori, even for the weakest one. Remember we rushed with almost ten people to take it down," Arrdun said. "We surrounded it. We were hitting it constantly for how long, I do not know."
"I remember. I am just trying to be positive," Bardy said.
"Yeh, indeed, hole digger. Somehow your positivity didn't protect me from the monster's hit," Arrdun said.
"Secondly, about the wall, yes, I do believe that it has a chance," Bardy said.
"What? Are you deaf or a fool?" Arrdun asked.
"Lucky I'm not blind, otherwise it would be hard to deal with holes," Bardy answered. "Not only a chance, but," he said, raising his voice slightly, "I know, our wall has a 100% chance to fall."
"Jester!" Arrdun said, smiling. "Tell me, you know more about this than I do, about the hallucinations and fear."
"Well, according to our ancestors, there are two types," Bardy said. "One caused by terrible situations and another by spells. In my experience, not only Dark Divines could do that but simple witches could too. Sadly, neither can be healed."
"Shit!" Arrdun said angrily. "No hope at all."
"The spell type is worse than the first," Bardy said. "Based on what you told me about your armor, I don't need to ask what you saw or felt in your hallucinations. Sadly, my friend, you are done and things will escalate."
"Oh, so I got the worst one. Thank you, Radi, for comforting me," he said.
"You asked. I explained," Bardy said sadly.
Without saying a word, Arrdun left the tent, wanting to distract himself. He went to see the wall and started to think about the defense. While walking, he thought to himself, I will die, and I will take that monster with me.
Some time passed. He was informed that another servant's consciousness came back. He went to see the second injured servant. He entered the tent and approached him.
"Greetings, servant," Arrdun said. "I know you just woke up and can barely think, but I need to ask about the monster." The servant didn't speak but blinked his eyes twice and slowly nodded.
"Good, good. I already talked with the other survivor. We know about speed, size, power, legs, arms or whatever they are. I just want to ask if you saw something which can help us," Arrdun continued. "Did you see any armor? Did you see its head, eyes, skin, shape or whatever? Do you remember anything?"
"Commander," the servant mumbled, smiling. "Underbelly, hardened leather," he said quietly, then closed his eyes.
"What? Underbelly? It had hardened leather armor there? Did I hear correctly?" Arrdun asked.
The servant slowly nodded.
"Understood. Thank you, servant. Take a rest," Arrdun said and left the tent. The servant smiled with closed eyes.
Arrdun went to see the walls again, took some measurements. Some time passed, the day was already ending and night came, but Arrdun gathered all the servants and told them about his new plan for the defense. He drew it with coal on a flat wooden desk.
"Day was hard, we are tired, I know, so I will try to be short," Arrdun said. "Our goal is to trap the monster. It was wearing underbelly armor. If they brought a monster, that means they are not sure about their victory, so they will probably use the monster. If we manage to damage the monster, they will be afraid and probably will retreat."
"Sounds interesting," the crew said.
"When the enemy approaches us, we will retreat. In the process, we must destroy wall B1 and tower B2 in small pieces, which should fall inside the A1 zone or outside," Arrdun said. "If pieces are big, the enemy can use them as a bridge to avoid our trap zone," he said. "When it is done, we will retreat again and stay in the C zone. In the process, we will remove the B3 wooden drawbridge."
"Basically, as the wall and tower have no chance to stand against the monster," Bardy said, "we will use them as a lure to bring the monster closer to the A2 trap zone. Like this, when the monster attacks us, hopefully it will fall inside the A2 trap zone."
"A2 must be covered with mud to make it slippery. We will hide the trap zone with big leaves," Arrdun said. "As we have no food left, we should conserve strength. For this reason, the A2 trap zone will not be very deep. I am thinking about 30 centimeters deep, but" he continued, "I am not sure if this plan is achievable. Some of you are already struggling. I know, I see, it's tough."
"We will try and hopefully it will work," the crew said.
"I want two things," Arrdun said. "Completion of the plan and survival. No need for a completed plan at the cost of your lives. We should try our best and," he said, "last thing to say, I suppose they will send the monster first to break our wall. When the wall falls and if the monster does not approach, we will provoke it. We can scream at it, throw rocks, spears. If the humans walk first on the A2 zone, they will fall, take damage, and the trap will be discovered. After that, they would keep the monster back."
"Question, I'm confused," someone said. "When exactly do we destroy the wall and the tower?"
"Listen, if they attack, we don't need to destroy it. The enemy will destroy it. We can just help a little," Arrdun said. "If they don't attack, then we will need to destroy it from inside."
"Understood, but at the same time, from our side, it looks very suspicious," someone said. "Why would we just give up our positions and conveniently let our defense fall at the same time?"
"He is right, it's too obvious," Bardy said. "The only thing which will be missing will be a big banner where we can write with big letters 'Welcome Home.'"
"Or, we could write," someone said, "'There are no traps, walk with your eyes closed.'"
"True, you are right," Arrdun said. "For that reason, we should act very carefully. We should target the monster. We have to provoke it from the start," he continued. "For the banner, I prefer this one," he said, "'We won't harm you.'"
"What if the monster does not go first?" someone asked.
"Then we are screwed," Arrdun said. "But I made this plan and the monster has a high chance of going first," he continued. "I don't know any human who will try to break the gate or a wall. They have two options: make a battering ram, carry it up to here, or use the monster."
"Your point makes sense," Bardy said. "If you have a strong weapon, why would you use bare hands? Also, carrying a battering ram in this forest. Look at these rainy, slippery conditions. That isn't the best option for them."
"Our camp is built on a small hill," a scout said. "Them going up, climbing will not be easy with that thing."
"Exactly," Arrdun said. "If we manage to trap or weaken the monster, others may run. They feel secure because of the monster."
They started to talk and discuss several things. Some time passed and they agreed with Arrdun's plan.
"All right, before I go," Arrdun said, "from now on you can sleep or rest longer when you feel tired," he said. "Don't exhaust yourselves or overwork. Start slowly. When the enemy reaches us, we must have strength to push them back," he raised his voice and closed his right fist while putting it on his heart. "Don't abuse my kindness. You trust my orders, so I will trust your decisions. Have a nice time."
Some servants left. Some started to work according to the plan. Arrdun left to rest. As he was hungry, he was feeling bad and tired. His wounds were not recovering well. While walking, he started to feel hot but he ignored it. As he wasn't doing scouting, he had no armor or weapons on him. He approached and entered his tent. He changed his clothes that he was wearing. He took off his belt, upper tunic, boots, and other parts of his clothes. With clean, changed clothes, he was ready to sleep, but first he went to the bathroom.
As he was feeling hot and because of the wounds, he didn't take a shower, but with the river's water he washed his body parts like his head, hair, shoulders, armpits, hands, feet, face, teeth, so on. He used wood ash and some mixed plants and herbs. He went back to his tent. He decided to have a good sleep. He bound a special fabric blanket on the tent to indicate the status of the tent. He entered and closed the entrance.
Bardy was outside. Arrdun was so tired that when he saw the bed, the first thing he wanted was to throw himself on the bed, but because of the painful wounds he didn't. He slowly approached his bed and laid down. Will the plan work? Hmm, why didn't I wash my wounds? Maybe tomorrow. Come on, Commander, you can do it. If you fall, your camp will die. What day is this? Hmm, crap, empty stomach hurts. Don't lose your mind, Commander. Focus. I need to survive. I'll kick some ass. Bloody dumb elders, sent beginners this far. For what? With the help of Dori or alone, we will overthrow them. If not, I will leave, will reform my team, and will speak with Dori.
How many dumb decisions should I fulfill? We may not have dreams, but I shall no longer obey elders. They took authority illegally. I can't fight on both sides. Food is a problem, but even with lots of supplies, the monster is still too fast and strong for us. More food would just give us extra time but not solve the monster problem. Relax, but I'm hungry. The trap, the monster, we are making. Yes, we are, we will. Don't forget. When we have materials, we will write it to save and keep the records. But honestly, I am tired. Tired of all this. Screw them all. Madness, come and take me fast. Maybe if I survive, I will choose a quiet life, one that will help me resist the madness. Otherwise, I am like a tree in a burning forest.