Curse of the Crystals

Chapter 10: Setting up a Meeting - part 4

Maiara shook her head. "There were countless of suspicious things in the materials we were looking through, so it was crazy to go along with such an ambitious plan. I should've done whatever I could to stop it, so that we could've prepared a much better plan."

Qadir didn't respond for a while, as they kept moving away from the sounds of battle. Maiara almost figured he silently agreed, but then he spoke up again. "The same can be said about every other person involved, but nobody stopped our plans. We were all focused on trying to defuse the tension in the camp, so much so that none of us realized that our attempt to defuse the situation would be the ignition."

Suddenly, something clicked, as Maiara stopped in her tracks. "You're right, that couldn't have been a coincidence. If they were able to ruin a meeting like this, surely they'd have been able to start a fight before that. Did they do it just to stop us?"

Qadir nodded. "That's what I think."

"If what we did forced them to play their cards early, they must have been waiting on something. I wonder what they had to gain from it... Wait! The army seemed to be asking for back-up, from what I've read in their reports."

Qadir was able to connect the dots as well. "So they were waiting for the back-up to arrive, after which the army would be at full force."

"Yes. That way, the massacre would've been much bigger than it was right now. I think that escalating the situation here has always been their plan, but that they had to start it early."

"Who would do such a thing? What would anyone have to gain from this?"

After a moment of deliberation, Maiara had a guess. "Guerilla warfare."

"What?"

"It's a tactic the Forest Elves employed during the conquest of their lands. They would form small yet highly trained groups to attack the High Elven army at random times and places, before retreating back into the forest before they could counter-attack. The High Elves, not used to the terrain, suffered great losses as a result."

"How does that relate to the situation here?"

"By creating a situation where the High Elven army massacres a lot of Forest Elves, Liberators or not, they will inspire lots of other Forest Elves to pick up arms. These groups are likely to then form their own guerilla groups and to stop the High Elves from taking over the autonomous zone for as long as they can."

"I still don't get it. What do they have to gain from that?"

"My best guess is that they want to buy time to do whatever it is they are doing at the Heart of the Forest. The place is difficult to get to, and with a war waging between the High Elves and Forest Elves, it will be nearly impossible to reach it."

Qadir grimaced. "That makes it clear what we should do."

Maiara nodded. "Yes. We should try to reach the Heart of the Forest at all costs, before it becomes impossible, and before they finish whatever they are doing there."

"First we need to make sure that..." Qadir stopped his sentence halfway, suddenly on full alert, as he was looking at a hill in the distance.

Maiara followed his gaze. She soon spotted what he was worried about. A group of three cloaked figures appeared on the horizon, and the moment they spotted Maiara and Qadir, they started running in their direction.

"They don't seem friendly." Maiara commented. "Should we run?"

Qadir shook his head. "I don't think we'll be able to outrun them. Fighting is the only option. Please stay behind me."