The Tiny Emperor's Great Wall (Revised)

Chapter Twelve

The hardest parts of war were the calm times. Sitting on his stool on the wall, Fenghua stared at the enemy camps. The distance to the camps made it impossible to make out details. All he could really see were small figures darting among the tents. He wondered what their next move would be. If he had scouts or an air force, he would have sent them out.

A craving for better resources came over Fenghua. With more troops, he could at least try a counterattack or maybe even a bluff. The shattered fields before him offered plenty of options. Yet his puny force would be brushed aside with ease. So here Fenghua sat, anticipating the final drop of the sword.

To help pass the time, the general studied his own camp. Running messengers brought reports from all over the camp. A fight had broken out again between soldiers and militia. Logistic officers notified him that the supplies were plentiful for now. Cleaning crews battled the rust and grime that were trying to consume their weapons.

All the while, the enemy had not made a move. Hideyoshi's threat was still fresh in Fenghua's mind. Leaning upon the merlons, the general took a deep breath.

"Sir," called Shouwie. Darting to the general, he panted as he handed over another report. "News from the Emperor. By the looks of it, we might just get the help we need." The general took the letter and read it over. If it told the truth, the Emperor would be sending an army this way by the end of the month.

Nodding grimly, the general handed the report back to the lieutenant. "Looks like we will have a cleaning crew for the end of this battle."

"Is there anything you need, sir?" asked the soldier.

"Please find Faita and Teboh and bring them here," requested the general. He stuffed the paper into his pocket. Maybe he could burn it for warmth later.

"Of course, sir."

Morphing into fox form, the lieutenant rushed away. The first person Shouwie fetched was Teboh. Ever since the snow blanketed the ground, the blind woman favored staying within one of her tunnels. Being a good several feet under the earth, the tunnels cut into hard rock. Lanterns and flames were used by the sighted earthbenders to get around. Yet they all followed the blind woman's path.

Shouwie used his ears and nose to track Teboh down. When he finally caught up, he heard the cracking of bones and smelled the iron of blood. Panic made him charge down the tunnel. He feared that their best army detector would be downed. When he reached the end of the tunnel, he smelled Teboh and blood. He went up to her and pawed her feet.

"What is it, Shouwie?" hissed Teboh.

Morphing into humanoid form, Shouwie curled his tails around his body. "What was that noise from earlier?"

"Just some sappers trying to assault the walls," stated Teboh, smugness dripping from her voice. "Too bad for them they can't see me coming."

The lieutenant grinned at the enemy's misfortune. Maybe it was a sick desire to want to hurt fellow people, but the Acciro deserved it.

"So why are you here?" asked Teboh.

"The general wants a report on enemy movements," said the huli jing.

Stomping her feet, Teboh hummed in concern. "That's ... odd."

"What is?"

"You know all that rock we uplifted a couple weeks ago?" she asked. Teboh grabbed him on the shoulder. He jumped a little at the touch. The lack of sight made the grab so sudden. "There's a lot of activity over there. At first, I thought it was rocks shifting about. Yet now that I take a close look ... I'm not quite sure. The snow above is muffling things. Just keep an eye on it, okay?"