Every dwarf in the town was preparing for the war to come tomorrow. They didn’t have much time. The battle was tomorrow, and it was already night.

  They were gathering supplies, arming the walls with arrows, and rushing weapons into position.

  The Nyctona were also outside the village in their own camp made of cloth.

  The moon was not out tonight. Stars covered the sky like a blanket.

  Three dwarves and four others were gathered in the town hall.

  They were sitting on chairs. Arix, Meilie, Tarin, and Lyra were there as well. With them were Bromgar, the chief of the village; Durik, the army commander of the dwarves; and Dorn, the accountant of the dwarves.

  Candles were placed all around the table and the room. They were the only source of light.

  “Now, can we discuss strategy?” Bromgar said.

  “Are you sure we should be here? We are outsiders,” Tarin questioned.

  Arix looked at him.

  “Your partner here said you will help in our war, boy,” Bromgar said.

  “No, I mean, should we hear your inside meetings?” Tarin questioned again.

  “It’s okay. You guys are strong. Your help will be needed in this meeting.” Bromgar paused, took a deep breath, then said again, “So, shall we start now?”

  Everyone nodded.

  The flames of the candles twitched. It was silent except for the seven of them in the room.

  "Ahem. The only good thing in this war is that we have the same number of soldiers. Their number will approximately be one hundred to one fifty. Ours, on the other hand, is one fifty," Durik said.

  There was a map of the village in the middle of the table. It was large; when opened, it covered the whole table.

  “This map is so detailed,” Lyra said, looking around at it.

  "All strategy maps are big. Didn't you know?" Dorn said.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “I have not seen any strategy map before,” Lyra said.

  “Oh right. You are from that island,” Dorn said.

  Tarin and Arix both gave him side glances.

  “Leave this useless talk. Let’s discuss strategy,” Bromgar said, taking a stick and pointing it to the entrance of the village on the map. “There are one fifty of them here. There is only one entrance to the village. We should cover it with the best we’ve got.”

  “Fifty of our dwarves will be on the walls. We will have the height advantage. Fifty will be on the left side and fifty will be on the right side of the wall,” Durik said, standing on a chair to get a good look at the map.

  "You guys are half the height of the Nyctona and we don't have horses," Arix said, looking at Durik.

  “Don’t underestimate the spirit of the dwarves, boy. One dwarf with an axe and a short sword can easily take two Nyctona,” Bromgar said.

  “I think you are forgetting the night they attacked this village,” Lyra said, giving Bromgar a side glance.

  “They took us by surprise. We didn’t even have our weapons,” Bromgar hissed at Lyra.

  Lyra quickly turned toward the map, avoiding Bromgar's gaze.

  “Where will we be positioned? I mean, we humans,” Tarin questioned, crossing his arms while sitting.

  “I have a plan for you guys,” Durik said.

  “What plan?” Arix questioned.

  “Ahem.” Durik cleared his throat and jumped onto the table. He didn’t have a stick like Bromgar to point at the map, so he walked to the entrance of the village marked on it.

  “I want you to go around the army from far away so they don’t spot you,” Durik said. He walked around the Nyctona army on the map to show the path they would have to take. “There is a wood behind where the Nyctona army will be. You can hide there. And when the time is right, attack them.”

  “The king will be at the back and let his army go forward. So this is a good plan,” Bromgar agreed.

  Arix stood up and analyzed the map. “Will they not spot us if we go from their side?” he questioned.

  “Not if you leave right now. You will move in the dark and reach there when the battle starts,” Durik said, standing close to Arix over the map.

  Arix looked at the group. Tarin nodded slightly, and Lyra and Meilie remained silent.

  “We have no issue,” Arix said.

  Lyra snapped. She widened her eyes and shook her head at Arix, but Durik interrupted her. “Alright, that’s it then. Now shall we talk about our supplies?” Durik walked toward Dorn.

  “We have enough supplies to last us months. We have enough weapons and armor too. So that should be no issue,” Dorn said.

  “Alright then. It’s settled. Shall we move now?” Bromgar stood up.

  The group also stood up when Dorn said to them, “You can pick food and weapons if you like. You are leaving right now, after all.”

  "It's okay. We already have weapons, and we are not hungry — we just had dinner," Lyra said as Meilie nodded.

  The other two had no objections, so they walked outside as well.

  After half an hour, the group was standing at the gate of the village, ready to move out.

  They had their usual armor and weapons, and nothing else.

  “Alright, shall we move now?” Arix said.

  "Fine…" Lyra dragged her words and started heading left, keeping close to the village wall.