Origin of the 12th

Chapter 9: Crumbling Walls

"By Baal himself! What will we do now?" Doash asked, looking over the hoard of Israelites.

"For now, we can do nothing but wait." I replied. "We'll just see what they do right now and react accordingly." Jonathan nodded and we simply watched them for any signs of movement.

After a while, a small portion of the Israelites detached itself from the main group and went forward. It appeared to be carrying trumpets and a strange mobile coffin-like object. But the rest of the group were clad in armor and possessed a variety of weapons. It had to be their armed soldiers, but the percentage was no larger than two.

"Their army seems so small compared to their total population, but it is still much larger than ours. I honestly thought that the percentage would be greater." Doash commented, analyzing them like a hawk.

I didn't respond because I had noticed a strange formation. The Israelites had formed a procession around that coffin and had begun to walk towards Jericho. They were almost to the traps. "Come on, just a little bit closer." I prayed out loud, but the Israelites halted right before the furthest trap and began to move in a circular around Jericho.

"What are they doing?" Jonathan asked, staring at the large group moving around Jericho, staying the same radius from the city for the entire time. "The aren't accomplishing anything by walking around Jericho. That won't get them through our wall."

"It won't help them, but we can't do anything to them right now. Our archers can't reach them. Even if they could, the enemy's defensive formation is designed to protect them against arrow fire. They really are just intending to walk around the city." I noted, still wondering how to deal with them. The Israelites could theoretically starve us out, but that would take several months due to the supply stocking that the city had done earlier.

Doash slammed his fist into the nearest part of the wall in frustration. "They are probably just establishing a perimeter around the city so no one could escape if a fight were to commence. Yet they keep their civilians all the way back at the Jordan." he ranted angrily. "And they are using a useless battle strategy against us just to mock us."

"The more concerning part is how they didn't step on any of the traps and knew to stop there. They shouldn't have known about them at all." I observed, a new thought coming into my mind. "We may have a traitor in our midst."

"We'll deal with the traitor after we get rid of the Israelites." Jonathan said simply. "Maybe it's some sort of ritual for..." He was interrupted by the Israelites, who had started blowing their trumpets after completing one lap around the city.

"Here they come." Doash warned the soldiers on the wall. But the Israelites didn't come. Instead they simply retreated back to their main group as if they didn't know what to do next. Doash's jaw dropped as he took in the Israelites' move.

"Well, we have a little relief for now." I commented and started making my way down the wall.

"What do you mean?" Jonathan asked, following me back to the palace.

"They are going to do this for a week." I said, remembering the lunatic's prediction. "Seven days. Then they will come."

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The lunatic's prediction had come true so far. Each day, at the same time, the Israelites would perform that same 'ritual' before returning to their base for the rest of the day. Gradually, the tension in Jericho had begun to die down and the wall was only topped by a few soldiers at a time rather than our entire army. Many civilians in the streets were wondering if the Israelites leaving Jericho alone was a possibility.