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 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.