259 Just Follow Orders (1/2)
The general took out his contact crystal and whispered, ”Trank, make sure your men hold their positions. Don't let this affect the plan unless it's absolutely necessary.”
”Sure thing, Toms.”
Focusing fully on the new challenge before them, Toms continued to speak using the crystal, ”Dirk, what have you learned?”
”General, it's the same flame…” Assistant Dirk was at a loss for words, struggling to say much else.
”Any ideas on how to stop it?”
”I… I've no clue,” replied Dirk. ”Back at camp, none of us were able to stop the flames. The only solution we had was to break down the unaffected tents and keep them away from the flames so it wouldn't spread. After that, the white flame eventually dwindled and died without any more fuel.”
”Great…” General Toms gave a self-mocking chuckle. ”So what do you recommend we do?”
”To stop the flame we'll need to keep it away from anything that can catch fire, and that would mean the immediate destruction of all buildings near the city walls.”
”Impossible… That would take far too long for the guards.”
”Well, General, if our forces joined the effort, then it may be possible to--”
”I said it was impossible. Think of something else,” stated General Toms, unfazed emotionally.
”Yes, of course…” dejected, Assistant Dirk sighed. ”There may be some parts of the city wall that aren't affected so badly. It would be near impossible for something like this to happen so quickly, so I'd imagine that they attacked portions of the wall that would let the flames eventually connect.”
”So we need to look for where the flame is the weakest and breakthrough before we're trapped in a flaming hellhole? Now that's a plan.”
”Also, General, that person who set the camp on fire was a master of illusions. So there might be--”
”You don't think all of this flame is real?” Toms asked. ”Not a bad thought. Then we need to hurry and send the scouts to join you in testing that theory. Once we've found a weak spot in the flame, we'll destroy that portion of the city wall and hurry toward the border.”
”General, don't you think we have enough men to help escort the citizens out of the city? It will go faster than destroying the--”
”Also impossible. It seems that I've underestimated how desperate this band of assassins are to stop us from attacking. That gives us all the more reason to push forward without any delay,” reasoned General Toms.
”But… Can't we at least--”
”Enough, Dirk. You know your position and you know how important our mission is,” stated Toms. ”If you're worried about the morality of the troops, then we'll use this to fuel their anger against Trodar.”
”The fresher the better, all the easier to convince them. Now that's enough!” General Toms clenched the crystal fiercely as he shouted back to the uncharacteristically paranoid Dirk. ”I've already given my orders, so make sure they're followed perfectly like you always do.”
”... Of course, Sir.”
Defeated, Assistant Dirk rushed back while relaying the general's order through contact crystals. Immediately, dozens of scout took to the rooftops and scattered, each heading toward a different portion of the city walls.
However, there was one slight tweak to the general's orders. The scouts all hurried to their assigned areas to inspect the wall, but Assistant Dirk was going elsewhere, the contact crystal still in his hand.
”Where are you? Are you safe?”
Almost immediately, a response filled Dirk's head, ”Yes, we're at home. I hear a lot of shouting outside. Is something wrong?”
Relieved, Dirk sighed, ”Something has come up, but everything should be fine. I'm on my way to pick you up now.”
”What?! You're coming home?”
”No, I'm coming to get you,” replied Dirk. ”Help Stella and Stephan to pack everything as fast as possible. I'll be there in a few minutes.”