Origin of the 12th

Chapter 5: To Wit's End

"We cannot give up!" Doash yelled, causing every other council member to wince. "I swear that my men will fight to the bitter end to defend Jericho. We will not fail. Your Majesty, I request that you grant authorization to confront the Israelites in open combat."

"I am sorry Doash, but I cannot allow the open confrontation of this enemy with our forces alone." King Nacaan replied firmly. "According to our reports, our forces would be outnumbered 5 to 1. Without the protection of the wall, the army would be decimated."

"What say you Katrina?" Doash asked, obviously hoping that I would affirm his brainless strategy.

"I suggest that we use our army to strengthen our supply carts." I said, choosing my words very carefully. "In addition, we could focus on further strengthening the wall with additional fortifications. With the additional supplies and fortification, we can repel the Israelites long enough for our allies to arrive. Then we can destroy them." I concluded confidently.

I had been thinking about Jericho's military strengths and weaknesses for a while. Its military strength relief almost exclusively on the defensive presence of its wall. However it's fighting force was not nearly powerful enough to fight any larger force in open combat. As a result, I recognized that the strategy was its only chance. As long as Jericho's wall stood, the city could not be conquered. The only problem was that it could be starved out in a prolonged siege, but with additional supplies, that weakness could be mitigated.

"A sound plan." King Nacaan coughed a little before continuing. "Katrina, I give you authority to strengthen Jericho's wall in whatever way you see fit. Doash, you will handle our supply convoys. Jonathan, I must speak with you privately. The rest of you are free to go."

Jonathan seemed quite concerned about his father's request. Usually, King Nacaan spoke with Jonathan and me as a pair. I gave him a smile of encouragement before heading towards the wall. In the back of my mind, I wondered slightly about what Jonathan was being told, but I brushed it off. I had to focus on the task at hand.

I eventually made my way to the top of the wall. Looking at the wall strategically, it was already invincible. Made of several layers of the finest earth many feet thick, no siege could conceivably penetrate it. Yet I was not fully convinced of its indestructibility.

"How do I repel a God?" I asked myself out loud. This was of course the biggest issue. I had no way of predicting how powerful the Israelite God was nor how influential their God would be. I tried to remember all the available information that I had heard about the Israelite deity, but it was so mysterious. It did seem to be very powerful though.

It apparently was able to divide the Red Sea, something that I could barely wrap my mind around. According to my calculations, the amount of energy required to lift the water of the Red Sea in the depicted fashion vastly exceeded the energy required to lift all of Jericho off the ground and throw it to the Red Sea. So if the Red Sea incident actually happened, then nothing I could do could possibly save Jericho. I sat in thought for about three minutes before a strange voice snapped me out of it.

"Hey girl, whatcha doing all up on the wall?" I turned and saw that the strange voice belonged to a man who looked about three years older than I was. He had a strange smell about him, as if he was one of the people of the prostitution business.

"Who are you?" I asked, not feeling threatened, but quite annoyed. These kind of guys were the second most annoying type, first being those like Queshemech. They were like predators of girls, always looking for new prey.

"I'm Gilash the Shiite. My cousin and I are visiting a relative here." he said, shrugging slightly before repeating. "What are you doing on the wall?"

"I'm trying to think of a way to make it stronger." I replied, not really thinking to much about this guy. There wasn't really any reason to hide that piece of information if he didn't know who I was even though I usually dressed in a large, white frayed rag. Besides, he was a foreigner.

"Really? I had heard that Jericho's wall was invincible. Who are you trying to make it stronger for?" he asked, looking rather puzzled. Because he was unable to assume that information, I knew that either he had arrived less than three hours ago or that he was just the typical stupid guy.

"The impending Israelite invasion that the entire city was warned about three hour ago. When did you get here?" I responded, quite impatient because it was basically common knowledge. I saw his eyes light up in surprise, but I didn't think much of it. It was natural for someone to be shocked when hearing that Jericho would be invaded.

"Well then, good luck. We'll see how it goes I guess." he said before walking off. It was just the average guy who would annoy a girl and run away if he figured out that she had a brain. They usually weren't worth dealing with. I preferred to just stay away from them.

And then it came to me. Og and Sihon had been killed by the sword. So if I could find a way to kill the Israelites before they reached the wall, then their God wouldn't have the chance to destroy it. I would have to kill all of them because if the wall fell, the spirit of Jericho would fall with it.

I headed back to the palace, hoping that King Nacaan had finished speaking to Jonathan. I managed to arrive unnoticed just to be cautious, and surely enough, the two were still talking. I departed quickly, hoping not to waste any more time. Heading towards the palace garden, my mind was focusing on one thing. To create the first weapon capable of killing an entire army at once.

I arrived at the garden and began mixing various types of vegetation, especially focusing on mushrooms and poisonous plants. Eventually, I created a volatile fusion of venomous fungi that would explode if pressure was applied to the bottom. I put it in a crate using two poles and brought it to the forgery. Picking up random shards of failed metal work, I inserted them carefully into the top of my mostly biological weapon.

The end result resembled the hypothetical offspring of a porcupine and a mushroom. I decided to name it the "Shrapnel Shroom" for that reason. I instructed the gardeners how to make it and told them to make as many as they were able before rushing off to find Doash. I had to coordinate my strategy perfectly in order to secure victory.

"Hey Doash. I need to tell you something." I said once I found him.

"Tell me whatever you desire Katrina." Doash responded slowly.

"I found what could be our only chance, but I need to know when the supply convoys are returning." I said quickly, ignoring the stunned look on his face.

"They should be back tomorrow morning, but why would you need them?" He asked, still looking completely lost.

"I need about half of them to impose siege policy and for half of them to dig a series of small holes around Jericho in close proximity to the wall. The holes are for the deployment of a new weapon that I developed and the siege policy is to keep Jericho's people away from that weapon." I explained thoroughly so I wouldn't get any more questions about why this needed to be done.

Doash grinned brightly. "It will be done as you have said Katrina. Jericho is truly blessed to have you as a council member. I only wish that you could have been one a long time ago."

"Thanks." I replied, turning and walking back towards the location of King Nacaan and Jonathan. I had to tell them that there was a now a chance of survival. I was the greatest strategist in the world, and I would fight to wit's end and beyond in order to save Jericho.