Game In Middle Earth - Chapter 41.

On the way back they did not encounter any mishap, so they did not take long to get to the camp.

Once there, Aldarion saw how the dwarf king had listened to him and he had sent troops to defend the stockade. He also observed that the enemy had not initiated any attack, so Aldarion ordered his troops to rest. – ‘Today they will not attack’. – Thought.

The dunedain were elite troops, but after having been fighting for so long, they needed to rest a bit, otherwise they will not be able to keep up the pace for much longer.

On the other hand, Aldarion went to the main camp to meet Azaghl and inform him of what had happened.

“Brat! I hope you explain what happened”. – Arriving in front of the tent of Azaghl, Aldarion was received by the dwarf king.

“You will not believe it, geezer, but I found some very large rats in the forest”. – Aldarion answer him. Since he had grown tired of pretending the polite tone, he had decided not to use it again unless the moment required it.

“So rats… And tell me, how many rats were there?” – Asked Azaghl as he stroked his beard and he had an expectant look.

“About two hundred rats and all of them bigger than you, geezer”. – When he heard, Azaghl completely opened his mouth of surprise. – “But you can be calm, geezer. My men and I, we take care of each and every one of them”.

“A-all?” – Azaghl could no longer suppress his surprise and he yelled at him.

“Yes, everyone. They could be many, but they were just useless”. – Aldarion said with a boastful tone.

“Damn brat, if I did not see it, I would not believe it, but the fact that you’re here is proof enough. Tell me, what happened to my warriors who watched the forest?”

When Aldarion heard his question, he lost all hint of haughtiness and joke that he had been showing so far and his expression became solemn. – “I’m sorry Azaghl. My men and I did not arrive in time to save them, but from what we could see, they fought to the end and they did not give up”.

“Do not worry, brat… it was not your fault. My boys died like true warriors…” – With his words, Azaghl lost a bit of his spirits. It was not pleasant for any self-respecting ruler to see his people die.

“Come brat, let’s go to the tent. Tell me all the details of what happened”. – He said, as he turned around to enter the tent and gestured for him to enter as well.

At the tent, they sat around a table, and Aldarion began to tell him everything that had happened since he entered the forest; as he found the sentinels dead, the fight with the enemy troops and the return to the camp.

Azaghl listened to him almost without batting an eyelid, listening to every word Aldarion said and he only interrupted him when he had a doubt.

“Damn those rats from the north…” – Once Aldarion finished telling him everything, Azaghl could not help but curse out loud.

“At least, your warriors have been avenged, old man. Have that for sure”. – Aldarion told him very seriously, when he heard him curse.

“Yes, you’re right, my warriors have been avenged, but it still bothers me… I hope you understand”. – The dwarf king answered.

“Easy old man, I understand… I do not want my people to die either”.

“If you think like that, I think you’ll be a good leader”. – Azaghl told Aldarion with a smile. – “Changing the snotty subject…”

“Oh! You meet and you do not tell me anything… I’m going to start feeling like you’re leaving me aside”. – Azaghl had not been able to finish speaking, when Feladrias entered the tent, interrupting him.

“Just in time, Feladrias. I was about to talk to the brat about the plans for tomorrow”. – Azaghl told him, ignoring his joke.

“Then I will sit down with you and we will discuss the new plans among the three”. – Seeing that the issue was important, Feladrias did not want to waste time with more jokes and he sat next to them.

“As far as I know, the enemy could attack at any time, so I propose to continue with the same defensive strategy that we have followed until now”. – Without further ado, the dwarf king expressed his thoughts.

Feladrias said nothing, while maintaining a thoughtful expression, but Aldarion did object immediately. – “I think they’re not going to attack today”.

“What are you based on?” – Leaving her thoughts, Feladrias asked and Azaghl waved her hand to indicate the same to Aldarion.

“As I have seen, the troops that we ambushed in the forest had camped in such a way that it seemed they were going to spend the night there. I think they were going to attack tomorrow and, today, they were only going to put pressure on us, but without attacking us”. – Aldarion exposed his conjectures.

“If it is true what you say about the troops you ambushed, you are right with your conjectures”. – The dwarf king said.

“Actually I can confirm your suspicions. I have been watching the enemy army all day and they do not seem prepared to attack in the least. Many of your troops are injured, and they are not even as many as yesterday”. – She exposed Feladrias. – “All that seemed strange to me, but just when I heard your arguments I confirmed it”.

“Then today we will not have to worry, dispose the soldiers to rest, just watch the soldiers on duty”. – He ordered Azaghl.

“I think I have an idea of what we could do, and if it goes through and it goes well, we could win even before the Cirdan reinforcements arrived”. – Aldarion suddenly said. This caused the two leaders of the alliance to stare at him.

Aldarion was not intimidated, and took their silence as an indication to keep talking. – “Tomorrow they will attack without knowing that the troops that sent through the forest were already massacred, so if we cheat them, they will attack us with everything. For when they want to realize that we have cheated them, it will be too late and they will have many casualties”.

“Definitely a good plan, brat”. – Expressed Azaghl.

Aldarion smiled at the acceptance of the two and continued talking. – “There is still more. If this happens, in two days…” – Azaghl and Feladrias were becoming more concentrated while listening to Aldarion.

“It’s a wonderful brat plan, but… Do you think you can carry it out?” – said Azaghl.

“Trust me and my men”. – Aldarion answered very sure.

The three continued planning for hours, even the Sun had already hidden on the horizon.